Episode 21 Roar

On Roar today:

There could be trouble when two big cats meet for the first time.

Will they be friends or foes?

Hello and welcome to another action-packed episode of Roar -

-I'm Johny.

-I'm Rani and these guys over here are the siamang gibbons.

The siamangs have special features that help them survive in the wild,

such as really tough buttock pads!

The cushioning helps make sleeping in the trees in the wild

more comfortable.

It's really impressive when they come down to the jungle floor

cos they move around on two legs,

waving their very long arms in the air for balance.

Like this, Rani?

Johny, that is amazing!

I thought that one of the siamangs had escaped.

Thanks. That's enough monkeying around for now,

let's get on with today's show.

-Shall I do it again?

-Go on!

Wicked!

Coming up, the Roar Rangers discover

it's not the horns you have to look out for,

it's the beaks!

Ooft! Bit my finger!

The lemurs love fruit and what goes in must come out.

But why is Rani on poo patrol?

I'm going for the bit our cameraman hasn't stood on!

And is a loaf of bread and a pot of honey

really going to keep the keepers safe when they have to go home

with the most ferocious animal in the park?

These have been known to chase leopards off their kill.

Last year, the parks got a new kind of cat -

two male cheetahs arrived separately.

One named Nescio, the other Fundi.

Capable of over 110 kilometres an hour,

the cheetah is the fastest land animal on earth.

And a threatened species.

They were once widespread,

but now there are only around 7,000 dotted across Africa.

So, as Big Cat keeper Chris Hales knows,

having two here is pretty special.

They're one of my favourite cats.

I know a lot of people here are very fond of them.

It's always exciting to get something new,

especially something that we really, really wanted.

The best thing about a cheetah is something that everybody knows about,

is their speed.

They're not as strong as some other big cats -

they've had to sacrifice a lot of their strength

in order to be able to run fast,

and although they can run incredibly fast,

they can't keep it up for a long period of time

because when they're going so quick, their bodies generate

an awful amount of heat, to dangerous levels,

so they only do it over short distances so they can

sit down and relax afterwards - get their heat back down again.

Nescio and Fundi were born in captivity,

and were brought here separately from different animal parks.

Both Fundi and Nescio are settled in absolutely fantastically.

I mean, Fundi just came strolling straight out of his box

and had a good old sniff around.

And Nescio was pretty much the same, really.

Very relaxed - nice to see.

Nescio came from a park in the Czech Republic,

and like all animals from abroad,

had to be kept separate in quarantine for six months.

That period is now over,

so the time has come to mix the two cheetahs together.

But it's going to be a tricky business.

If it's not done right, they could be very aggressive.

We won't be putting them straight in together,

because there could be the possibility of fighting and injury.

We'll be putting Nescio in this enclosure

where Fundi is at the moment.

Fundi will go into a separate part just next door over there.

So here's the plan.

Fundi will move from his large enclosure

to a smaller one on the left.

Then Nescio can go in where Fundi used to be.

Between the two enclosures, there's a fence gap.

When they've got used to each other,

Fundi will be allowed into that gap

and if all goes well, they can then move in together.

But it's not as simple as it sounds.

Stay tuned to see if the plan works.

I'll be honest with you,

I'm a bit scared because I've been told I've got to help

the carnivore section deal with one of the most dangerous

and ferocious animals on the park,

and all I've been told is to bring this jar of honey.

I'm here with Ricky, Jim and Mark,

How are you doing? It takes three of you to do this job,

where is this ferocious animal?

Well, it's actually Winnie, our honey badger.

A badger?

Yeah, a honey badger.

And this is the most ferocious animal in the park.

That's the most ferocious animal in the park -

Jim, are you having me on?

Trust me, that's why we're going to be doing the strimming -

me and Ricky - and you're doing the safe job and the easy job.

We're going to give you the bread,

and you're going to put the honey on the bread,

and then give her the honey and bread to keep her occupied.

If she leaves the bread and comes for us,

you'll have to give me a shout so we can get out quick.

I've never seen you so scared before, Jim!

You've dealt with tigers! Come on then, Mark.

Right, come on. Jim and Ricky are in position

-with the strimmer.

-They're ready to go.

What do you want me to do?

Well, as Jim said, just start dipping

little bits of bread in the honey,

and just drop her a few bits in there -

don't lean on this cos it's quite loose.

Um, just basically want to keep her as occupied as possible.

And if she starts making her way over,

-then shout.

-We panic! Basically...

-So if you want to make a start before she gets bored.

-OK.

There you go, Winnie. We're friends, aren't we?

So, I've got to say, Winnie the honey badger

doesn't sound very scary, doesn't look very scary.

What makes her so ferocious?

Well...

they don't have any fear, for a start.

But she's equipped with a huge array of weapons and defensive things

that she's got that just makes her such an awesome predator.

Basically, one of the things you can see...

She's got extremely long claws

which could pretty much rip apart anything.

Very sharp teeth - they can also lock their jaws as well,

so if one of them manages to clamp on to Jim or Ricky,

-they're not going to let go in a hurry.

-Really?

Another thing as well, their skin is really, really loose,

so if you actually tried to grab hold of one,

she could spin round in her own skin and bit you on your hand

-while you're holding her.

-Wow!

-Yeah.

Winnie! Come on, girlie.

-Winnie, come on.

-Winnie!

Winnie, we've got honey here!

I don't want her to get Jim's legs.

-Winnie!

-I feel a lot of pressure in this job!

-Take my arm, come on.

-Winnie, there's honey.

-Girlie!

-Oh, gosh.

-She keeps on wandering off.

-Winnie!

If she wanders off too far...

Come on, sausage. Don't be silly.

Is there anything out in the wild that will hunt these guys -

that will dare to hunt them?

Young, juvenile honey badgers, or elderly or wounded honey badgers

will get taken down by larger animals.

But these guys, in their prime,

nothing'll take them down.

Potentially you've got things like leopards and lions

that could take them down, but they don't want to risk getting hurt -

getting hurt would affect their ability to hunt,

which could lead to death from starvation.

These guys have been known to chase leopards off their kills.

They'll climb up the tree after the leopard and take the food off them.

I can hear that they've stopped the strimmer.

So I think that while Jim's still got his legs intact,

we should get out of here. We're done, Jim!

HE MOUTHS

back up at the cheetahs, the team is preparing to move Nescio

from his place at the top of the park,

down to the enclosure next to Fundi.

But to do that, he must be sedated first.

Park vet Jane Hopper is here to shoot him with a tranquillizer dart.

Hopefully Nescio will be darted easily,

be moved easily, be nice and quiet and wake up in his new enclosure.

But we'll have to see.

Big cat keeper Jess is ready to start.

I expect it to go pretty well,

as long as he comes round from the anaesthetic all right.

They're going to be separate first,

and then we'll see how they get on for the day.

And see if we can then put them together.

With such a fast cat, darting could be tricky.

GUN CLICKS

That's it, done.

But not for hotshot Jane. She's hit the target first time.

Now they have to wait for the drug to make him fall asleep.

We're just waiting to make sure that he's completely out,

and so he's completely unresponsive to everything we do

and just wait until it's safe to go in.

But the minutes tick by,

and Nescio is still wide awake.

Give him five minutes.

Maybe all the excitement is stopping the tranquillizer from working.

The keepers are going to pull back to leave him quiet and calm.

I think if we all stay

the other side of the gate to keep him really calm.

And a few minutes later Nescio is finally out for the count

and they can begin.

Easy...right, weigh him him.

We're going to lift him on to the stretcher.

One, two, three.

With him safely sedated,

the team is going to carry Nescio through the park

to his new enclosure.

On foot, it's a short distance from enclosure to enclosure,

but by vehicle it's actually a long way round

with a lot of gates to go through,

so we decided to move him like this. We had medication drawn up,

so the slightest increase in breath, or any sign of waking up,

we could give him more medication.

After you.

Great.

Come on, mister. Ooh.

And soon enough, he's in his new home

and starting to wake up.

There's a good boy. Come on.

Come on.

When he's had a chance to look around,

they let Fundi out of his house next door.

Now for the very first time,

the boys can see each other through the wire.

They both seem calm, they're literally just watching,

which is ideally what we want.

They're not showing any signs of aggression.

Nescio's woozy from the anaesthetic, so he's still coming round.

This is an ideal situation -

they're watching each other and seeing what they're doing.

They may be calm now, but what will happen

when they meet face to face with no fence between them?

We'll find out later on.

Why did the spider buy a car?

I don't know.

So he could take it out for a spin.

Baaa! Baaa!

Where do you weigh whales?

I don't know.

At a weigh-whale station.

Roar, roar, roar!

There are a few cows in a field. One cow says...

"Do you worry about getting mad cow disease?"

And the second cow says...

"No, cos I'm a penguin."

I'm here at the lemur enclosure

and I've come to meet up with keeper Adam May.

Adam is always asking me to bring things

when I pop down to see him,

and this time he's asked me to wear gloves.

I'm dreading this, Adam! Am I dealing with poo?

Unfortunately, Rani, you're right.

We're going to be having a look at the lemur poo today.

I'm not pleased, but you've got some melon -

can I not use these so I don't get sticky hands, and eat that?

We'll give them some of the melon. It's got the seeds in it,

which we'll be talking about, so we'll pass some of that out.

OK, these lemurs look very hungry,

and ready for the food, so shall we place this down first,

so we can actually have a look at their poo?

OK, yeah. That's fine, yeah.

If you put one up on the feed bench, there.

So don't give them it by hand?

Oh, he's taking it!

-Do it by hand, then!

-Look at that.

I didn't even get a chance to place it up there.

Here you go, darling. Do you want some melon?

Right then, Adam, they seem to be enjoying their melon,

but what's with the gloves and the poo thing?

We've got some quite fresh poo down here

that we can have a look at

and just talk about the different colours

-and how it's important for their environment.

-Oh, great!

I'm sure there's method to your madness. OK.

This is lemur poo - fresh lemur poo.

OK, the first thing I want you to do

is pick the poo up and have a nice little look at it.

I'm going to go for the bit that our cameraman hasn't stood on

cos that's all squashed there.

-I'm going to go for...

-Not quite so fresh, that bit.

-Good.

Just by looking at it first, you can see

some aspects of their digestive system -

you can see there's bits of food left in there.

Have they been eating carrots?

Yeah. Because it doesn't take long to digest,

you obviously get little bits of food left in there

and cos the food's different colours, so's their poo.

When you say not long to digest, how long are you talking about?

-About an hour or two. It doesn't take long.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-So they eat something and run off to the loo?

-Yeah,

they don't normally run off, they just go wherever they want, really!

It does look like they go wherever they want!

We're talking about the food passing through them,

so why is this important? We know they do that,

let's just clean it up and get out of here.

It's very important for their environment as well -

as we were saying there's lots of bits of food in there,

and also, some of the food they eat such as the melon, has seeds in it

and that's important for the environment

because that helps distribute the seeds,

and then the plants can re-grow from those different areas.

I know with other animals here at the park

who don't have great digestive systems like the elephant,

they rummage through their own poo

and might take out whole bits of food again.

-Do the lemurs do that?

-They don't, no.

-That's good!

They've always got food that they can eat here -

vegetation and we've actually got apple trees they can eat as well,

-if they want to eat the fruit off that.

-Talking about apple trees,

so wherever they poo, is there a chance

you're going to have loads of apple trees in here cos of the seeds -

they'll just be pooing them out?

Yeah, that's how it would work in the wild.

It'll help seeds germinate in different places

so that helps with the environment

because in Madagascar it's being knocked down very quickly,

there's a lot of plantations which isn't suitable areas for them,

so if they can rejuvenate their own environment,

-then it's a good thing.

-So it's a really clever thing, isn't it?

Cos it's helping build up their homeland -

they're doing something to save their environment.

Even lemurs are doing it for the environment! I'm loving that!

We're just saying here, Mr Lemur,

that you're very, very clever the way you plant plants and everything.

But your poo ain't that hot. So thank you very much

for letting us pop down, and, Adam, thank you very much

and I think we're going to get out of here.

-Hey, want to shake on it?

-Go on, then!

THEY LAUGH

Our Roar Ranger today is nine-year-old Oscar from Kent.

And he's certainly keen to become an animal keeper.

I'm very, very, very excited about what you've got in store for me.

All these different animals need different kinds of care,

so Oscar's day depends on what he gets.

"Oscar, today you are going on safari... Keep your eyes peeled."

I think this is going to be a really exciting one.

"On safari" means that Oscar is bound for the African Experience

where several species mix.

First he needs to meet up with hoof-stock keeper Laura

who's going to show him the ropes.

-Hi, I'm Oscar.

-Hello, I'm Laura, you all right?

-Yeah.

Today we're going to go on safari, feed some animals.

But to start with they have to get the food prepared.

These are ungulate nuts.

They look nothing like nuts to me!

That's because they aren't nuts -

they're actually compressed feed pellets

made specially for ungulates.

And an ungulate is any animal with hooves.

Give them a couple of carrots -

if you give them a couple out that bag there.

Chuck them straight in there.

Get them a few apples, that's it. Chuck them in there.

And a few bananas.

You chuck that in the back.

I think I might be able to even lift it off the ground.

-No I won't!

-I'll help you, there you go.

That's it, and put the back up.

That's it, I think we're ready to go.

The African Experience is a huge enclosure,

almost 150 acres of open grassland where antelope,

giraffes, wildebeest,

rhinos, ostriches and zebras can roam together,

just as they would on the open savannah.

First up for Oscar is to feed the ostriches.

These are the largest birds in the world

and can grow over two and a half metres tall.

That's a big ostrich.

Yeah, he is big once you get out.

You have to always remember that ostrich can only kick forwards.

OK.

-So if we go behind, they'd be quite harmless.

-Yeah.

If you put some... See?

You have to be a bit careful.

-Can I try?

-Cos they can be a bit...

A bit vicious. Keep your hands as flat as you can.

Ooft! He got my finger.

Ah!

That was just a little accidental nip.

It's only safe for Oscar to feed the animals

because he's with a trained keeper,

so if you go to any animal park, don't even try it.

We want the wildebeest to come up now, the eland.

Yeah, here come the elands.

So, we, um...

Just get some handfuls, just chuck it all around the grass.

Wildebeest, sometimes known as gnu, roam Africa in giant herds.

Because they're a popular menu item for lions and other predators,

when a calf is born they're able to run within minutes of birth.

They're coming right up to us now.

Ready? Let's chuck some food out here.

A little bit. That's it.

Walk along a bit.

-OK.

-Bit more.

-That's it.

-You hold it and I'll shake it to get some out.

That's it.

Look, here come... Look, there's a wildebeest right there.

-Yeah.

-Looks like it's got a hairdo!

Yeah, they do. They have little nice hairdos there.

You see the male eland?

Wildebeest are quite greedy but cos the eland are a lot bigger than them

they don't tend to challenge them too much.

Eland are the largest kind of antelope in the world

and can weigh almost a tonne.

Despite that, they're great jumpers

and have been known to clear a three metre fence from a standing start.

That's like hopping over an African elephant!

So how's our Ranger getting on?

He likes to chat away,

but it's always good for questions to be asked.

Maybe I should ask him some questions instead of him asking me!

This is definitely hard work,

but I'm enjoying it.

But Oscar's shift isn't over yet.

Stay tuned, we'll be back shortly.

Pay attention, all you Roar gamers,

because here comes today's cheat code.

It's snow9.

Type that in and see what you get.

There are loads of games on the CBBC website,

but the Roar game is the only one where you can create

your own wild animal park.

So if you haven't tried it yet, why not give it a go?

Happy gaming!

Oscar the Roar Ranger

is still out in the African Experience with keeper Laura.

Off we go. What's next?

-We're going to go off-road now, are you ready?

-Oh, yeah!

Getting a bit bumpy!

-It's definitely bumpy.

-Exciting, though, don't you think?

Yeah, exciting but bumpy.

Not many people get to go off-road, you know.

-No.

-You're a VIP today.

-Yeah.

I think my eardrums are wiggling out of my ears.

Usually off-roading affects a different part of the body.

My bum hurts.

Now it's time to put out the rhinos' food.

-OK.

-Just grab each bit

and just chuck it as far as you can over there.

That's it.

One of the bananas has gone mushy.

Mushy banana.

Just have to keep an eye out for the rhinos.

The black rhino is one of the largest animals in the world.

They can weigh as much as a car,

run at 50 kilometres an hour

and their horns can grow over a metre long.

They also love their food, so soon they'll be coming this way.

The last two, you do one and I'll do the other.

OK. Go!

Uh! Yours went further.

I think we're going to have to put that bag in the back.

-Chuck it in.

-I can see a rhino coming up, so...

-Just to be safe we're going to have to get back in the vehicle.

-Yeah.

We don't want any mishaps.

As the rhinos approach,

Laura and Oscar make a quick getaway

and head back to base.

Right, that's the end of your safari experience,

-hope you had a good day.

-I did.

-Thank you.

-Thanks for your help.

Oscar did really well, he was quite a good keeper today.

Quite chatty, asking some good questions.

It's been an amazing experience, being a Roar Ranger.

The two cheetahs, Nescio and Fundi are now separated by just one fence.

In the wild, male cheetahs form groups or coalitions.

And the keepers are hoping these two will naturally do the same

and in the end they'll be happier living together.

But no-one knows how they'll react when they're first introduced -

they could fight.

So most of the Big Cat team has turned out,

despite the terrible weather.

They're prepared to rush in if the meeting goes wrong.

We've got rakes so we can run in if we need to,

we've got fire extinguishers, just... Not to hose them down,

but to make a bit of noise, you know,

just if anything does really kick off.

It's just a matter of how bad it gets as to whether we step in or not,

so we'll see.

Let's go for it. Right, you ready?

Everyone cross their fingers!

OK.

This is it

and the only thing that's certain is that they won't ignore each other.

But will they be friends

or foes?

THEY YELP

Don't worry, this isn't bad.

The boys are trying to work out who is more dominant.

Cheetahs are one of the few big cats that can't roar.

Instead, they make these odd yells.

The vocalisation - the calling and the threat postures,

the submissive behaviour - all that's quite natural.

Fundi's name actually means "the boss" in Swahili

and it looks like he does want to be the heads honcho.

Fundi's showed that he's tried to lay his dominance down a little bit,

but Nescio's not massively bothered.

He's chased him around a bit but he's stood his ground pretty much.

After a few more squeaks scraps and swipes,

the boys calm down.

It's nice they're mixing, um...no massive aggression.

Cheetahs do have territories which they scent mark,

but Nescio and Fundi seem to be OK with sharing.

There's been a few swipes, but nothing major.

We couldn't have asked for more.

They've mixed fairly OK, so, yeah, pretty good so far.

And the hope is that in time, they'll go from being house-mates

to best friends.

Earlier in the series,

we followed the action when Sancho, the elderly mangabey monkey,

had to be rushed to the vets for emergency dental work.

He was suffering from a dangerous infection in his gums.

You can see this lump on Sancho's face here.

It's quite marked.

I'm going to investigate where that's come from.

The problem turned out to be a rotten tooth

which had to be removed.

And Jane soon found it wasn't the only one that had to go.

The keepers were going to need to give Sancho a lot of care -

just as well he's a popular character!

As a monkey, he's nice, he's all right. Like I say, he's a bit old,

he's a bit rickety as far as getting round the cage -

he gets oil tablets every day to help with his joints,

but he can be grumpy. He's been known to chase us out the cage,

so you've got to be careful. Even though he hasn't got many teeth.

And when we last saw him,

he was still on a special diet while he was recovering.

Before we leave you today,

we've popped up to meet head keeper Simon Jeffery

for a catch-up on his golden-bellied mangabey, Sancho.

-Hi, Simon.

-Hi.

We saw Sancho lose his teeth cos they'd all rotten...

They'd all rotted out, hadn't they?

So how's he doing now?

As you can see, he's doing very well. He's still putting on weight,

he loves his banana cos it's nice and soft for him.

He's still got a couple of teeth left,

but his gums have hardened up really well.

He's able to chew into other stuff. He's eating everything he used to.

That's fantastic. I can see one tooth spiking out at the side.

So you haven't had to change his diet at all then, really?

Not really - we've got to be more aware.

It's important to keep an eye on his weight,

to make sure he is putting on weight, cos if he's not,

then we do have to change his diet.

We might have to give him more boiled fruit

or more sort of porridgey substances

to make sure that he's keeping up his weight.

We all know all monkeys love nuts.

Can he eat nuts without any teeth?

He can eat peanuts and stuff,

-he's not very good at cracking walnuts...

-Oh!

But he likes his peanuts, so it's great.

Unfortunately we're out of time,

but stick around to see what's coming up

on the next episode of Roar.

Cats eat meat, right?

So why is Melindy going bananas for our fruit treats?

Oooh, she's got the whole kebab!

I'll be catching up with the biggest little baby in the park.

And to save his life, this gibbon needs an injection every single day,

but how will the keepers get him to co-operate?

So don't miss the next Roar!

Subtitles by Kirsty McLaren Red Bee Media Ltd

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