Episode 13 Roar

'Today, Wilma the tapir still hasn't given birth.

'The keepers can't wait. Want to know why?

'Look how cute the baby will be.'

-Welcome to Roar. I'm Rani.

-And I'm Johnny.

We're taking part in the DeBraza and colobus monkeys' grooming.

They love grooming themselves

and each other, to make sure they look great.

It plays an important role in their society,

helping them communicate and bond with each other.

Let's get on with today's show.

-We look fantastic in our matching haircuts.

-Matching? I think not!

'Coming up, the tigers are given some ice blocks to cool off with.

'It only seems to fire them up.

'Rani tries to get six adult gorillas to behave for a photo.

'They don't exactly say "cheese".

'Our Roar ranger decides to be brave and hold a snake.

'IT decides to go up his T-shirt.'

'Sumatran tigers are pretty full-on.

'If these massive cats want something, they go for it.

'And who's going to stop them?

'It's up to the keepers to make them use their minds

'and work for their food.

'The master of this is Jim Vassie,

'head of the big cats.

'So, what's he come up with now?'

-What's the plan?

-Well, the plan is I'll rig up two ice blocks.

There's a toy inside for them to play with.

It's supposed to be indestructible.

That shows how strong their teeth are.

-And I've put a little treat of some meat.

-Where are the tigers?

We're in the enclosure.

They're locked away safely in the enclosure next door.

If we tip these out on the bridge...

You take that one.

Turn them upside down carefully, so we don't break them.

-Do you think they'll like the ice?

-Yeah, they'll love it.

There's the toy. Inside is a little treat, to encourage them to play.

We're hoping they tip it into the pond,

then get in the water and have a good old play.

-I can't wait to see them play. Shall we let them in?

-Go for it.

'The toys are primed. The gate is locked.

'And Inda and Amir want to play.'

OK!

Here they come now.

Straight over!

She IS playing with them, licking the ice.

-This guy is just chilling out in the water.

-That's natural.

In the heat of the day they spend a lot of time in the water.

Apart from getting the meat, do they enjoy playing with the stuff?

The blue bin hanging from the bridge, we put their meat in there.

You can see all the holes where they've chewed it.

They love it. It's all part of enriching their lives.

They seem quite interested in the ice.

He's pushed it in!

-It's broken, look!

-Maybe she'll learn that's the way.

She's realised the toy's there!

He's done all the work and she's reaping the benefits.

-Do they argue or...?

-Here he comes!

He's chasing her off!

-Is this a bit of an argument, a tiff?

-Yeah.

They'll just chase each other around and come back to it.

He's saying, "I did all the work! You're trying to eat my food!"

'Amir's seen Inda off. But will he find the toy?'

He's quite tentative, isn't he?

-Look at him creeping up!

-He's a bit thick.

He knew something was in there, pushed it off and now he's lost it.

It might take a bit of working out that there was a treat in there.

-He'll get there eventually?

-Yeah.

This has been cool for cats. Nice ice, baby!

'The aim of the wildlife park

'is to breed endangered animals.

'They have been very successful.

'But there is one mum-to-be

'who is causing a real stir.

'Wilma the Brazilian tapir is fit to burst.

'It'll be the first baby Brazilian tapir at the park for four years.

'Shelley still can't believe it.'

I am very excited. It's my first baby tapir since I've been a keeper.

'This baby is also very important. Tapirs are endangered in the wild.

'They come from the rainforests of Brazil.

'Their habitat is being destroyed.

'They're keeping a close eye on Wilma and her bump

'by doing regular weigh-ins.'

It's looking that she has put on weight.

She was 298 kilos last time. She's 301 now.

That's brilliant news for us.

'Wilma's definitely eating for two. Dad is Tommy.

'This will be their first baby together.

'A tapir pregnancy lasts for a massive 13 months.

'Shelley believes that Wilma is due any day.

'But it's not an exact science.

'All they can do is look for tell-tale signs.'

When she's sitting like this, if she doesn't roll over,

we can look under her belly.

She's got a very full round belly.

We can get a view of her teats.

They're a little bit bigger, but are nowhere near full of milk.

It's not going to be in a few days.

Tommy and Wilma are my favourites.

To see a baby of theirs is going to be very exciting.

'Just like in the wild, animals tend to give birth at night,

'when they feel safe.

'We've managed to capture several on film,

'including the red river hogs,

'a gibbon

'and the bongo.

'Watching these precious moments is a huge privilege.

'However, we've never managed to film a tapir birth.

'This time, we're pulling out all the stops.

'Joel is rigging a camera in her bedroom, where the action should take place.'

It'll be exciting to see a birth.

I've never seen it. I've been there when the kid's a few minutes old.

I've never seen the birth itself.

It will be quite exciting to see exactly how the mum behaves,

what she does when the kid's born, so it's well worth doing.

'This is a baby tapir.

'They're born with spots and stripes for camouflage.

'You can see why the keepers are excited.

'The camera's recording. Wilma is being pampered.

'But this baby won't come until it's ready.

'In the meantime, we'll have to be patient.'

# Bonkers! #

-What do you get if you feed a chick gunpowder?

-I don't know.

An "egg-splosion"!

A-ooo!

What do you call a pig thief?

A "ham-burglar"! Ta-da!

-Why didn't the butterfly go to the dance?

-I don't know.

Because it was a moth ball.

EVERYONE: Boo!

'It's time to put a Roar ranger through their paces.

'He has no idea what animal he'll be working with. It could be anything.

'From the cute to the terrifying.'

Grr!

'Which will it be today?

'Not everyone would be pleased about that.'

I'm going to be brave!

I can't wait to find out what I'm going to do.

'He's brave but will it last?

'One man who isn't scared of snakes is Rob. He's got loads of them.

OK, Hyaat. We've got lots of snakes.

The one we're doing first is over here.

He's a Honduran milk snake.

'These come from Central America.

'They are non-venomous and can grow up to two metres.

'They'll eat anything, from small birds to other snakes.'

-I'm going to open up the tank. We'll get out a snake.

-I'm excited.

-Have you ever held a snake?

-No.

-No? This is the first time, is it?

-This is a good one to start.

-Is it poisonous?

-No. She's not poisonous.

-It looks poisonous.

-That's a very good observation.

Normally, creatures like this, it does mean they are dangerous.

This snake is completely harmless.

'Being brightly coloured makes them appear dangerous to other creatures.

'Hyaat's looking worried.

'Handling them is an important part of the keeper's job. Will he do it?'

-Do you think you're up to the job of holding this for me?

-Yeah.

There you go. See what I'm doing, holding my hands out flat.

Just support as much as you can.

It looks scary!

Oh, no!

Is she going up your sleeve? Don't worry about her.

It made me feel like she was going to bite my armpit!

These snakes don't tend to bite. Do you know what they do?

They prefer to go to the toilet on you.

'Our Roar ranger plucked up the courage to hold this snake.

'Later on, it'll be feeding time.'

Welcome to the Rani photo shoot! Phil's trying to catch my wild side!

I'm only joking. Phil, what are we doing?

We're going to take pictures

of each gorilla for Johnny to try and identify.

That sounds tough. It's a group of silverbacks.

Pretty much look the same. All silver, all big.

Do they really have individual characteristics?

Most definitely.

All gorillas are individuals, like humans.

Let's start. Tell me who it is and what makes them different.

We'll start with the one on the right. That's Boumi.

So how can you tell this is Boumi?

I've known him a long time so it's easy for me.

-He's arguably the most handsome gorilla we've got.

-Really?

The crest of his head's quite rounded. Look at Kush.

The top of his head is very pointy.

Being able to identify animals is really important,

just in case any of them get sick or need a special diet.

Down here we've got Ambam, the largest in this group.

-Ambam's my favourite.

-He's a bit of a sweetheart.

He's a very nice personality, very laid-back.

The most obvious thing with Ambam is that he stands upright, like we do.

He's not doing that at the moment.

How can Johnny tell the difference between Ambam and Kush?

The most obvious is his size. He's immense.

-Who are you snapping now?

-This is Bons. His real name is Matake.

-Why do you call him Bons?

-It's one reason you can tell him apart.

He's quite dopey.

-We've got one more. We need a piccy of this guy.

-That's Djumu there.

When you see his eyes, they're quite intense, buggy eyes.

-When you look into his eyes, he's got this mesmeric stare.

-Yeah!

'Johnny will now look at Phil's pictures.

'Will he spot the difference when he meets these boys in the flesh?'

'At the tapir house, Shelley the keeper is still waiting.

'She's waiting for one of these -

'a baby tapir.

'Wilma, one of Shelley's favourites, is heavily pregnant.

'What's going on?'

Last time I saw you, Wilma was pregnant.

She still is pregnant! We don't know when she's going to give birth.

'It's been so long that there's a major complication.'

I'm about to go on holiday and we still haven't a baby.

I am gutted! She's looking close to giving birth.

Luckily, I'm only going for a week

so, hopefully, it's not within that week.

I will probably cry if I get a text on holiday that she's given birth.

I have considered not going on holiday!

It's all been arranged and paid for. It would be silly if I didn't.

We can't work 24/7 every day of the year!

'Wilma continues to keep everyone guessing

'and poor Shelley could miss it!

'Stay tuned to find out what will happen with Wilma.'

OK, Wilms? I'll see you when I get back.

It's test time at the bachelor gorilla enclosure.

Does Johnny know his Ambams from his Boumis?

I've got head keeper Phil on hand

to give Johnny a good "gor-illing"!

It's not much of a test. I know all the answers anyway.

-We shall see.

-Let's go straight into it.

We've got Bons. Real name Matake.

You call him Bons. He's a bit dorky. Djumu.

Deep-set eyes. Ambam's bigger in the flesh.

Don't really know him in the flesh.

He's got quite a soft forehead. Here we've got Boumi.

He's one of the more handsome gorillas. Quite good looking.

Finally, Kush the conehead.

He's done really well!

Five out of five!

-Thanks, Phil.

-Put these away, I'm afraid.

We've got more for you to do.

-Why?

-Pictures are easy. Come aboard, my dear man.

It's time to find out if you can spot the gorillas in the flesh.

You could have written names on the back!

I don't know the gorillas in the flesh. I've just met them.

We've definitely got Kush over here,

with the "conicular" head.

-Who have we got here?

-You've got to tell us.

I'd say he's a handsome fellow.

Wouldn't you say? I'm going to go for Boumi.

Furthest away, I think that could be...Bons! I think that's Bons.

You've got to tell us why. You can't just call the name.

-That's cheating, isn't it, Phil?

-Yes.

Actually, could that be Ambam?

Ambam's the biggest. That's Ambam.

That's not Bons. That's Ambam.

-I think Bons is this guy.

-You're calling everyone Bons!

You think they all look dopey! These are big fellas! Silverbacks!

They'll get offended.

-None of you look dopey, guys.

-Who does that leave?

-Djumu.

-Correct.

That leaves this fella. He's got quite deep-set eyes.

They all kind of have, though. Final answer. Djumu.

-Perfect. Phil, shall we tell him?

-Yeah. I'm loathe to say...

-Eventually, five out of five.

-Yes!

-I'm so happy!

-Well done, Johnny.

You know your Ambams from your Boumis.

Your Kushies from your Djumus. Phil, he's after your job.

CHEERING

'Hyaat is getting to grips with the snakes.

'He started off very keen.'

I'm going to be brave!

'Before a harmless Honduran milk snake went up his armpit.'

-Oh, no!

-Is she going up your sleeve?

'Now he needs nerves of steel.

They're off to meet a properly big snake.'

We've got the big boa constrictor. You can see the food.

A big rat. That's what they like.

I'm going in through this door.

I'll dangle it in front her. She should smell it and get it.

'Boa constrictors come from Central and South America.

'They grow to over four metres, three times the height of Hyaat,

'and eat animals the same size as him.

'At the park, they're fed rats and mice.'

She's going to get the scent, hopefully.

'You can see, the boa strikes grabbing with its teeth.

'If it was a live rat, it would suffocate it by wrapping around it

'before swallowing it whole.'

It just leapt up to the mouse and just attacked it.

'Now it's Hyaat's turn to feed a two-metre long

'indigo snake from North America.'

-Shall we give it a go?

-Yeah.

-Good.

This is the indigo snake.

'Having never touched a snake before today, feeding one will take guts.'

I'm going to open the door a little bit.

That's it. Hold it there.

And if he's feeling hungry...

Don't jump. Don't jump.

Sizing it up.

-There you go.

-# Food, glorious food! #

'He did it.'

It felt really brilliant, feeding a snake a dead rat.

'Snakes are not everyone's cup of tea.

'As Hyaat found out, there was nothing to be afraid of.

'Rob's looked after them for years and was impressed with our ranger.'

Hyaat checked the snakes over quite well.

He was a bit unsure at first, then he got used to handling them.

Have you checked out the new Roar game?

We've got loads of new stuff, including a brand new enclosure.

You can look after penguins and seals, and that's not all.

We're giving you fresh cheat codes.

The one for today is snow11.

So, get on it and get roaring!

'We've been following goings-on at the tapir house,

'as the keepers wait for Wilma to give birth.

'Well, we've got some news for you.

'A healthy baby has been born.

'To give it the best chance, they're leaving Mum and baby alone.

'Our night vision camera got great shots

'a few minutes after it arrived.'

The baby's doing really well.

It's looking really good, so far.

It's a boy. He looks like Mum. He's got the wiggly nose.

He's a smaller version of his mum.

It's 11 years since her last calf.

She's taking care of it. She's cleaned it up.

Mum's nice and calm with it.

'The other excellent news is that Wilma waited till Shelley got back.'

SHELLEY: Yeah, I am really excited.

It's so small and cute.

Everything's still new, even his mum's face.

He's just checking her out, having a sniff. He probably wants a drink.

He's not quite sure which end it is yet!

She's rolled over for him.

'These two are doing all the right things and don't need any help.

'The night vision camera has given us some great shots.

'Watch the next Roar, when we meet the newest boy at the park.'

It's nearly time to say goodbye,

but not before we visit head of primates Simon Jeffrey,

and his greater bamboo lemurs.

I've never seen these guys before. We've seen most of the animals.

-Are these one of the rarest animals at the park?

-Yeah.

These are one of the most critically endangered animals.

There's about 110 left in the world.

-Why such a low number?

-They only come from one place, Madagascar.

It's usually down to deforestation, the pet trade, bush meat.

There's only 5% of the forest left. They've got barely anywhere to go.

I've heard that, apparently,

they're trying to find if there are any more out in Madagascar.

The park's organising a survey. We'll go to Madagascar.

We'll ask local people if they've seen any near their houses or huts.

We'll also send people to look for signs like bitten bamboo.

They're very hard to see, so you're more likely to see signs.

There are signs being seen that there are extra groups.

-But we've got nothing confirmed.

-Sounds good!

-What does the future hold?

-The future's a bit brighter.

We could set up a reserve, get these areas saved

and hopefully get this species' numbers back up.

First, we want to save the areas where we find them.

And hopefully, fingers crossed, there'll be loads more lemurs out there.

-That's it today, but check out what's on the next episode.

-Bye.

'Which do you think would win in a race? An elephant or a rhino?

'Johnny takes his life, and a spider, into his own hands!'

-Am I in danger?

-She hasn't bitten anyone for weeks!

'And, at a week old, the baby tapir gets to meet his dad.

'But the keepers are close by, as Tommy could decide to attack.'

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd