Episode 30 Roar

Today on Roar,

the keepers are in training and need all the help they can get,

because they need to catch the wildest horses in the world.

Hello and welcome to Roar. I'm Rani.

And I'm Johnny, and this magnificent creature here is the black rhino.

Not only do they look impressive but they can also run

as fast as a racehorse, and they weigh as much as 12 female lions.

-And do you know what, Rani?

-What?

They can grow horns as long as 60 cm,

which is about as long as this. Check that out.

And that's only the tip of the iceberg of trivia

that we'll will be giving you on today's show. So let's rock on.

How do you cool a hot tiger?

With an ice lolly, of course. But I'd prefer mint choc-chip to meat.

Would you dare to hold one of these? Johnny doesn't.

See, look, he likes you.

Then we try and mimic a monkey, but it doesn't quite work.

But first, these stunning animals are called Przewalski's horses.

And they are truly wild.

No-one has ever ridden or tamed them.

Originally from Central Asia,

in the wild they're on the brink of extinction.

Half-a-century ago there were only 30 on the whole planet.

Today, there are 1,500.

Every six months the keepers trim the hooves of their four wild horses.

And there's only one man for the job.

Unlike a domestic horse, these haven't got any shoes on.

If we didn't cut them,

their toes would just grow like our fingernails, and then split.

Mud and stones would go up the cracks. It'd be very painful.

They're big horses, they'll be panicked, excitable.

When they lose the plot, if you're in the way

they'll flatten you against the fence or jump all over you,

so we just have to be a bit careful.

When this tricky task was attempted last year

it didn't exactly go to plan.

The keepers got the runaround and it took two days to catch all of them.

But this year Bob has a plan.

He has put his boys - Chris, Ben and Simon - into training.

Right, team, it's time to get fit.

I want 100% off of each of you.

We've got lifting, jumping and carrying. OK? Got it?

WHISTLE PEEPS

I don't know why they're complaining. My training's easy.

So is theirs. Beautiful.

A few more hours and I'll give you a doughnut.

It's been a wild workout, but will it be enough

to catch the wildest horses in the world?

We will find out later on.

Here I am in the plantation, through the moist succulent leaves,

that...look good enough to eat. But not for me.

Good enough for the Javan langurs -

I've popped up here, to meet up with keeper Mel.

-Hiya.

-Hello. Are you coming to give me a hand, Rani?

-I believe I am.

What exactly are you doing?

I'm basically stripping the leaves off of this willow tree

for the Javan langurs, because willow is a big favourite of the langurs.

But they can't have the whole tree because the bark comes off in strips,

and that will impact in their stomach and cause problems.

So we come up here and strip all the leaves off for them,

put them in his bag, take them back to the park and feed them to them.

Brilliant. Let's just clear something up.

I said I'm in the plantation, but this is not just some

random person's park or garden, where are we?

No, this is our tree plantation, which is feeding all of the animals.

This is what we use to give browse to all the animals in the park.

We come up here, cut down some trees or branches,

or strip the leaves, take it back and feed it out.

What do I need to do exactly?

Basically we're just going to pull all the leaves off like that.

-Ooh!

-There we go.

One has fallen off! Is that bad?

No. Literally just pull the leaves off like that, pop them in the bag.

When you start putting them in a big bin bag like this,

there's not that many there.

How many Javan langurs are we trying to get enough leaves for?

How much will we need?

There's 10 Javan langurs, so I reckon a little bit more in that bag

and then we will take it back and feed it to them,

Hopefully they'll show appreciation.

Join us later and hopefully we will be taking this to the Javan langurs,

and they should be getting themselves a tasty snack.

It is Ask The Keeper time, and we're about to meet the park's

creepiest crawleys, and I'm not talking about this gruesome lot.

No, I'm talking about the hissing cockroaches.

Keeper Chris, they're your favourites, aren't they?

-One of my favourites, yes.

-Look they're there.

They are massive. I'm not touching one, OK?

Guys, have you got some questions?

Is it true that they can survive a week without their head?

Erm, no.

They can survive an awful lot, they can go without food for a long time,

they can be frozen, but like you and me, if we took their heads off,

that would be the end of it.

-That's straightened that one out.

-How long can they live in the wild?

In the wild they can live for about five years.

How do they communicate?

The name of these guys is actually Madagascan hissing cockroach.

They're called that because they make a nice hissing noise.

-This one was doing it just now.

-HISSING

There we go.

Is he hungry now, do you think?

He's a bit upset, I'm holding him very still, he's feeling threatened.

They let out this hissing noise to basically help deter any predators.

-It works quite well on people.

-It works well on me.

-Are they poisonous at all, Chris?

-Erm...

Interesting fact - they are not poisonous, OK,

so you could eat these.

People do eat them, but they give out a chemical when you eat them

-which makes your mouth go numb.

-Really?

-Yes.

So you can eat them but...

If you eat lots and lots of them you will have a numb mouth.

I'm definitely never going to eat a cockroach.

I've been here feeling uncomfortable. You seem to be really chilled out.

-Are you not scared by that thing? It's huge!

-No.

Would you dare to hold it?

-Maybe.

-Maybe? The easiest thing to do is, put your hand out flat.

I'll let it walk across your hand and take it back off the other side.

It might feel slightly sticky. They have tiny little claws

on the end of their feet which just kind of grip into you,

but it's not slimy or anything. Ready?

Straight across. You're not allowed to drop it.

See, he likes you, he's just going to sit there.

I think he likes you, I think you've got a pet there for life.

-Do you want to take him home?

-No.

-I didn't think so. Round of applause.

-Well done.

He has answered all our questions, I can't think of any more myself.

So I think it's time for the killer question.

Come on, guys, come in.

He is doing well so far. But we need something...

THEY WHISPER

Come on, guys.

Let's limber up. Get ready for the main question.

Killer question, Chris, are you ready?

-I am scared now.

-You should be.

-Yes.

-OK, here we go.

If you put a cockroach at the bottom of a swimming pool,

how long could it live under water for?

Ooh! Very good question.

But this depends, does it have a ladder to get back out?

He's clever!

Erm, no, it doesn't have a ladder to get back out.

How long would he live? I'm going to say...

-You've got me. You've got me!

-Have a guess.

I will say, a day.

Yes, we got him on that last one!

I will tell you that you are actually wrong.

It could survive for 40 minutes, which is impressive, under water.

Listen, guys, he did not get our killer question right,

but what do you think he did overall,

-thumbs up or thumbs down?

-Thumbs up.

Thumbs up, you did well, we got you on that last one, though.

Yes, result!

How do you start an insect race?

-I don't know.

-One, two, flea, go.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

What is a penguin's favourite aunt?

-I don't know.

-Aunt-arctica.

Co! Co! Co!

What d'you call a dinosaur with one eye?

Don't know.

D'you-think-he-saur-us?

SHE LAUGHS UNUSUALLY

SHE LAUGHS UNUSUALLY

I'm still with keeper Mel, this time in the Javan langur enclosure.

you saw us stripping these willow leaves earlier on from the trees.

And now we're going to put them out.

Shall we just chuck them out on this table here, Rani, and then hopefully

they should come down?

Now, I'm not seeing any Javan langurs, here, Mel.

They're all at the top there. Can you hear them?

-LANGURS SQUEAK

-Oh, look. They are squeaking away.

That's them. They are starting to move. That's lots of excited noises.

-Is that what it is?

-Yes.

-Are they hungry?

Willow is a big, big favourite of the langurs.

Normally when we say a favourite food, we're giving a treat.

This isn't a treat.

It's a treat for these guys, this is the best leaf they could get,

they absolutely love it, as you can hear, she's come straight down.

The rest of the group are starting to make their way down.

Slightly apprehensive about us being here, shall we back away?

-Yes, if we back away just a tiny bit.

-I'll take the bag, as well.

So this little lady... I say little lady, is she quite mature?

Yes, she is, she is a mum to one of these youngsters up here.

We've got two black babies, and we've got a brand new little orange baby

up the top there. The orange baby is a month old.

It has got its baby colouring, they are born this bright orange colour.

Eventually they will either change

-to a darker colour or they will stay the orange colour.

-Is there a reason?

Just like different hair colour. It's as simple as that, that's all it is.

Here comes big man here, he's getting handfuls.

You say big man but he's more nervous about staying down here.

Yes, he is wary, he's got a handful and he's

run up the top to eat it in a safe place.

She is ravenous, she is really going for that!

She's having her fill of it, she's absolutely loving the leaves.

The majority of their diet is made up of all different leaves

that they would find in their native home in Java.

A small percentage of that is unripe fruit.

Their stomachs are not really made for digesting ripe fruits,

they have a very complex digestive system, which is made for

getting as much calories and as much nutrients as they can out of leaves.

So, apart from full of nutrients,

is it right that it is filled with something called tannin, as well,

which is kind of like something we might take for an upset stomach?

Yes. Tannin is a substance which is found in the leaves,

It has been known to help with upset stomachs.

Monkeys are known for self-medicating in the wild.

They've an upset stomach or a bit of pain, they'll eat more leaves

and hopefully that will settle it down a bit.

I'm not hearing any of them going, "thanks very much, guys".

That was a lot of work, it's quite time-consuming.

In the winter, when the leaves aren't out, before it gets to that point,

we have to strip as many bagfuls of leaves as we can, and freeze them,

so that these guys have got a supply of leaves all winter.

I tell you what, it has been fantastic. But I think...

this little lady is getting her fur full of leaves. I think we should

probably get out of here so the others can come down.

Definitely, let's do it.

-I've got my bag ready, let's go and do some more stripping.

-Let's go.

The hoofstock team are on the move for the toughest task of the year -

rounding up the wild Przewalski's horses to trim their hooves.

But this task is no joke.

Jane the vet needs to give each horse a tranquilliser so they can do it.

But these animals need a huge dose to make them sleep.

One of these horses needs about 4ml of a very strong drug,

mixed with some other drugs, compared to an elephant,

which would need only a fraction of a ml, 0.6ml or 0.7ml,

so it shows how strong they are.

Incredible. These horses are so tough, they need eight times

the drugs an elephant would.

No wonder they can't ride them.

You three, follow them round.

With such powerful drugs in use

the team must first heard them into a small paddock

where Jane can do her bit.

This is where it all went wrong last year.

Will the training pay off?

The wild horses are on the run, but in the wrong direction.

The keepers need to be quick and regain control of the Przewalskis.

SHOUTING

Shouting at them seems horrible, but for the wild horses' safety,

the keepers must get control of them.

It works and soon the horses are exactly where they want them.

And they're safely rounded up in record time,

but what was the secret behind Bob's success?

Well, the training helped. All the jumping, lifting and carrying,

yeah, that definitely played a part.

Doughnuts helped for me.

Now, in a small paddock,

Jane's task of giving the horses the tranquilliser is much easier.

-129, Bob.

-The dart's in the perfect place

and the drug will quickly take effect.

So that she doesn't injure herself when she falls asleep

the keepers need to hold her down.

It's far too dangerous for our crew to film this,

but you'll get a keeper's eye view as Chris is going to wear keepercam.

Restraining a Przewalski is a tough job and needs to be done quickly.

They firmly get the horse to lie down and then a towel

quickly goes on her head to keep her calm.

All right, all right.

The huge clippers make quick work of the overgrown hooves

and they don't feel a thing.

This is our first horse.

The hoofstock keepers are clipping the hooves,

which is great cos it's very hard work.

It's going very well and we're nearly done.

If someone takes this box, Clive and I will get this horse up.

Jane gives her a drug to wake her up and she's awake.

That's one down, three more to go.

That one looks quite nice, don't they, Carl?

Great. Well done.

When under anaesthetic, animals can overheat which can be dangerous.

A bucket of water helps lower their body temperature.

Come on. Very nice. Well done.

That horse was getting very hot

cos it had run around a bit and then it was sedated, so it was sweating.

Rather than develop any muscle problems, by getting too hot,

we throw water over them.

Just take a snip off of both those.

A little bit there and a little bit there.

Come on. Wake up. Come on.

Suddenly, there's a problem bringing round the final horse.

Her feet have been clipped and filed.

The horse is breathing, but won't wake up.

-Wakey, wakey.

-Just get up. Come on.

We'll be back later to see what happens.

The competition's hotting up to attract the most visitors

to your own wildlife parks in the Roar online game.

So type into day's cheat code, drought14,

and make sure your animals get the food and treats they need.

Happy gaming!

# And there'll be sun, sun, sun All over our bodies

# And sun, sun, sun All down our necks

# And there'll be sun, sun, sun All over our faces

# And sun, sun, sun.. #

On a hot day the Siberian tigers like nothing more than

splashing around, getting wet in the water.

Head of carnivores Jim Vassay has come up with another way

to keep these cats cool. And here's a clue.

What?.

So, Jim, what's this I'm hearing about ice lollies for tigers?

As you can see, I've put four ice lollies out there

with bits of meat in there to entice them to play with them.

It's a bit of fun more than anything, but also in this heat, you know,

you don't need much for a tiger to go in water cos they love water.

But this is a bit of fun as well as a bit of enrichment, as well.

-Where are the tigers now?

-We've got them shut away

in the little cage so I could put the ice blocks in.

So if you're ready, will let them go and see what happens.

-I'm ready if you are.

-Let's go for it.

-D'you reckon they'll come straight to the ice lollies?

-Yeah.

They've watched me put something out,

so obviously they're inquisitive now. "What is it?"

-Who's this, coming first?

-This is one of the cubs.

Just like humans, is it the kids that love the ice lollies

more than the parents?

Yeah. It's the first time they've seen them, a bit of fun.

-We want to try and encourage them, to have a little bit of a swim.

-Yes.

Why do they like water so much? What is it, do you think?

Well partly, obviously, during the summer it gets

extremely hot where they come from,

-but also they use water to trap their prey.

-Right. OK.

They chase prey into water, it slows them down

and they can pounce. They're very good swimmers.

They're looking. They're very interested by it.

They don't seem to want to get wet just yet.

It's something new. They're inquisitive.

I reckon they'll tip one in in a little bit.

-They're having a sniff.

-Yeah.

So is this dad here?

This is Malchek the father, yeah, and the three cubs.

The one over the far side of the pond, I've put fish in that -

something they've never had before.

Look - dad's found the meat in the middle.

Oh, there he goes.

And so do think they'll be watching what dad does and then kind of

-switching on to what's happening?

-Yeah.

Would they be able to smell the meat through the ice

-and through water?

-Oh, yeah.

Their sense of smell is amazing.

There's dad telling one of the cubs off.

Obviously dad wants that water himself.

He found a piece of meat and eaten that, but there's still a bit left.

-He now wants that last piece.

-We've got one cub who's, he's desperately

wanting to go in the water, but he's just still a little bit...

You big coward! Look at him, the big coward.

Dad's knocked one in.

They're very interested in the water now dad's in there.

-I guess they know it's safe now?

-Yeah, that's true, yeah.

And, of course, they learn from their parents,

so you know, this is how it's done, you know?

See the parents do something, they try it and they learn

and you know, and they remember these things.

Look! Over there. Here we go.

He's gone in! The first cub's gone in.

It certainly looks like the tigers are having a laugh in their pool.

-I feel like a bit of a swim myself, but certainly not in there.

-Oh.

I could let you in. HE LAUGHS

The hoofstock team are having an anxious wait.

After successfully trimming the hooves of three Przewalski horses,

they are having a problem waking up the last one.

What's wrong with you?

These horses need large amounts of drugs to make them sleep

and that means it's high-risk.

But if they don't have their hooves clipped, they would go lame.

Just get up.

Finally, to everyone's relief, she starts to get up.

Bloomin' horse. Go on.

Steady.

Steady.

Bob's steadies her and she takes her first steps.

Sedating a horse is always a bit of a thing

and they sometimes can take a little while to get up.

They're always fine, always breathing Sometimes they just breath hold.

The job was done quickly and efficiently

We weren't hurt, the horses weren't hurt.

That's the main thing at the end of the day.

So the Przewalskis pedicure is complete

and Bob's crack team of keeepers

managed to tame the wildest horses in the world.

Before we go, there's a time to introduce you to the Gelada baboons.

Along with a fancy haircut, these guys also have an unusual

red a patch of skin on their chest, which helps attract other baboons.

Much like how some baboons have brightly-coloured bottoms.

One man who knows even more about these guys is their keeper, Liam.

-Who have we got here, then?

-On the right is our male Gelada baboon.

This is Agoalo. He's a stunning looking animal

On the left is his little girlfriend, Jeema.

You say little, but she's got big teeth. Are we all right so close?

Yeah. It's not normal that we are this close to the mesh,

but it's OK for now.

They're focused on the food, so I think it'll be fine.

Food. Some very smelly spring onions.

-Are you going to feed them? Can we join in?

-Yeah.

So what we'll do is we'll just grab as far away from the bulb,

and then just pass them through the mesh just like that

-and she'll just grab it.

-Johny. One for you.

This is very cool to be feeding these guys spring onions

Do you think they'll like them? Do they eat anything else?

Yeah. It's not a vital part of their diet. Mainly they feed on grasses.

We also feed them a supplement on hay, as well, in the wintertime.

You can see their enclosure is pretty much grass.

We supplement with treats and vegetables.

Spring onions seem to be their favourite.

-BABOON GROWLS

-He was growling, or barking at me.

that's because she thinks you're going to be giving him more food

than she is and maybe she's being a bit protective over him

cos They are very much in love.

-Ah!

-So they look after each other. So that's all that'll be.

Liam, rather like myself, he's got a pretty impressive head of hair.

Is that because where they live in the wild it's cold?

Yeah. You hit the nail on the head, there.

They live in Ethiopia in the wild, in the highlands of Ethiopia.

At night time it gets quite cold. They go up on the sheer rock faces.

Also the males have got to be nice and big, look really strong

for the competing males, for the females in the wild. But yeah,

-a lot of it is because it is cold.

-What about the female?

She hasn't got such a thick coat.

Does that mean he takes his cape off...

-THEY GROWL

-Listen to them.

-Is she checking his cape?

-It looks that way, doesn't it?

Because there are bonded pair, a lot of grooming is

an essential part of their social system.

So they do that throughout the day.

they seemed pretty relaxed and decided to do it in front of us.

Oh, bless! Well it's fantastic. Johny, come and groom me.

Come on then.

While I groom Rani, check out what's coming up on the next Roar.

Come on, more, more! Ooh, that's...!

With a diet of raw meat, how come the lions stay spotlessly clean?

Surely the keepers don't wash them, do they?

You've to work hard as a Roar Ranger and it helps if you can aim, too.

One, two, three.

Oh! We got some of it on.

And we discover the world's most fearless creature.

She certainly is not camera shy.

Make sure you're watching.

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