Episode 11 Roar

Today on Roar, hold on to your hats!

We've got first shots of the rarest babies in Britain! What are they?

-Here's a clue.

-CUB LAUGHS

They laugh!

Hello! Welcome to another edition of your favourite show about animals,

-Roar! I'm Johny.

-And I'm Rani.

This little lady is Winnie the honey badger.

She might look all cute and cuddly,

but she's one of the most fearless and ferocious animals here.

Even the Siberian tiger wouldn't mess with this one.

She has loose fur, so even if she's pinned down,

she can turn and bite you with her big teeth.

She might look cuddly, but don't hug her.

On that note, let's get on with the rest of the show.

Coming up today:

the monkeys are over-heating.

But can they figure out what to do with their ice lollies?

No, it's not a cabbage fight. We're trying to find out

what size shoes bison wear!

-That's a mad question!

-Was that the killer question?

And we'll find out just how many keepers it takes

to wrestle a gorilla!

First, there's some very important news about the brown hyenas.

Earlier in the series,

we got a glimpse of these incredibly rare animals

when the keeper in charge of the carnivores, Rich,

had to take his life in his hands

and go right into their enclosure to check on them.

There's a male and female pair in here.

They're the only brown hyenas anywhere in Britain.

So Rich is proud to have them.

In fact, there's only one thing that could make him happier. And now,

it's happened!

I called you down cos we've had some really good news.

We've had some baby hyenas born. We believe they're the first in the UK.

These are certainly the only pair in the UK at the moment,

so it's a result and we're chuffed!

But there's a problem.

The cubs are a few weeks old, but no-one has actually seen them yet.

That's because brown hyenas are desperately shy.

The mum will be keeping her cubs hidden inside the den.

The shed that she's got them in is in the middle of the enclosure,

with her in it.

The only way I can gauge if there are any of them in there or not

is by going up and trying to listen.

I can't get visual access to them,

but I can hear them fighting and suckling and playing.

The only thing that Rich knows for sure is that there's more than one.

I think there's at least two because I hear two different voices.

I hear some "grrr" noises from the young, fighting, squabbling a bit.

Then one just starts laughing and they've got a "hee-hee"-type laugh.

It's actually quite funny.

Every time I hear it, it makes me laugh

and I have to step away so I don't make any noise laughing!

When new babies come along,

the keepers need to get a look at them as soon as they can,

in case they're sick or injured. But with the brown hyenas,

that's not so simple.

We're worried that if we get too close to the enclosure

and make lots of noise, it might upset the female.

We don't want anything to hinder her chances of looking after the young.

They're that important, we can't risk it.

But what if the cubs do need medical attention?

Rich has come up with a way they might be able to get a look at them.

The plan is now to hopefully set up a camera

on the edge of the enclosure,

point it in towards - obviously we can't get one in the shed, no way.

In the wild, even the adults are rarely seen

because brown hyenas are nocturnal animals.

Usually, they come out after dark.

In southern Africa, where they come from,

they survive by scavenging for dead animals in the middle of the night.

So Rich is going to set up a night-vision camera

to get a shot of a part of the enclosure the hyenas often use.

I reckon if we just aim to put it here, facing across that way.

Mum's got to come down to the water bowl.

I hope we get a glimpse of them following her.

I'm pretty sure this will get the best view, really.

The kit has an infra-red lamp

so the camera can film even in total darkness.

We've set everything up, so we'll leave as quietly as we can.

All we have to do is keep our fingers crossed we get something.

Hopefully, we'll soon find out if the cubs are all right.

It depends whether the night-vision camera can get clear shots.

So don't go away!

When the temperature rises,

the animals find different ways to deal with the heat.

But sometimes they need extra help from the keepers.

It is a baking hot day so we've decided to hand out ice lollies

to all the monkeys on keeper Simon Jeffrey's primate section.

-Simon, how are you?

-All right.

It's so hot. What's the plan?

The plan is to give these to the monkeys so they can get cool.

Good. I like it. What's in there?

We've got fruit juice and fruit.

Things like strawberries and apple and sunflowers.

-They'll love all of that.

-Wicked. Let's get on with it.

Gorby, come on!

So, who have we got here, then?

We've got the drills here. These are very rare monkeys, also very big,

so they get very hot as well.

Have they had ice before?

They've had it once before, but not often.

We don't do it often. It hasn't been this hot for a long time.

Big fellow. He wants it.

The drill comes from just one small area of west Africa.

They're an endangered species

with only a few thousand left in the world.

-Shall I pop it through the fence?

-Yes, pop it through.

They're not sure about it.

-How much are we going to give them?

-A few more chunks,

then I'll move on to the next ones.

Simon, this big fella down here is making some very odd noises.

-Why's that?

-It's a happy noise.

-He's happy that he's getting food.

-OK!

Male drills have large brightly-coloured bottoms.

It's thought this helps the rest of the family keep sight of Dad

as they follow him through the dense forests where they live.

-Right, you think that's enough here?

-That's enough for the moment.

-Let's move on to the next one.

-Bring it on!

There are over 150 primates in Simon's section

and they all need cooling down. Better get more ice lollies!

Stay tuned and we'll be back soon.

A one, two, three, four!

It's Ask the Keeper time. Today, we're getting the low-down

on the beautiful, the boisterous, the brilliant bison!

We're going to be throwing cabbages at them

and throwing questions at keeper Barry Higgs.

-Hi, Barry!

-Hiya.

-Are you nervous?

-A little bit, yes!

Look, he's itching his face! Or is he desperate for our cabbages?

He's having a scratch, but he also wants that cabbage from Joe.

That's lovely.

Are they an endangered species?

They were very endangered, almost extinct.

It's been a really good conservation story.

Since then we've got about 2,500 in captivity, 3,000 living in the wild.

So we're looking after them.

How many ribs do the bison have?

-That's a mad question!

-Was that the killer question?

-No,

it's not the killer question.

I actually have no idea! I'd love to be able to count them.

I've never seen a bison skeleton, so I don't know. Sorry!

How many babies can they have and what's the gestation period?

They will have one baby, one calf per year.

The gestation period, the pregnancy period,

is about eight and a half months.

How many cabbages can a bison eat in one day?

Oh, my goodness! As many as you can throw them! They do like cabbages.

They don't get it all the time. It's not part of their staple diet.

It's a special treat. There's lots of grass for them to eat.

They've got hay as well. Cabbages are something different.

Probably Bransk here would eat a whole tray of cabbages if he wanted.

GROWLING

That sound they just made. Are they angry? Do they want more cabbages?

Or do they think these guys are cabbages?

No, they're just communicating with each other.

They probably are prompting me. Zelda makes this quite a lot.

It's her way of talking to us. She's saying, "I want more cabbages.

"I didn't have enough." It's near tea-time, so let's have some more.

-They're talking to each other.

-Barry, you seem to know your stuff.

-Apart from the rib question!

-I'm not going to live that one down!

-We'll try to catch you out again.

-I'll have to read up some more now!

-You've caught me out.

-Hang on. We've still got a killer question.

-I thought that was it?

-No, no. We'll make it harder. Come on, guys.

Let's decide what to ask Barry.

No cheating!

Right. We've got a question for you.

You know your bison very well, would you say?

-Yes, I would say so.

-Don't look so nervous! Here's our question.

If an adult bison was to wear shoes, human shoes,

what size do you think he would have?

The equivalent of, I would say,

let's look at Bransk's foot there.

It's probably about that size. So let's say a size five.

-Size five? Actually, it's a size one!

-No!

And who's got a size one foot but our lovely Maddie.

-Well, you've got me again!

-That's the size feet.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-That's amazing. I've learnt something again.

-Thank you very much.

-No worries. Guys, what do we think of Barry?

Has he been a star? Thumbs up or thumbs down?

-Oh, that's good.

-It's thumbs up for Barry. Thank you very much.

We've all learned loads about bison.

Join us next time on Roar for more Ask the Keeper.

Hopefully for more thumbs up.

In case you're wondering, we checked.

The European bison has 14 pairs of ribs.

Humans, by the way, have 12.

Back in the primates section, the temperature is still rising.

Simon and I have more ice lollies to cool down the overheated monkeys.

The next animals are the siamangs.

Siamang gibbons come from the Malaysian peninsula

and the island of Sumatra.

They're an endangered species which has suffered from habitat loss.

Have you given ice to these before, Simon?

Siamangs have had it before. They quite like it.

How would they cool down in the wild, Simon?

They wouldn't come across ice.

In the wild they might stay in the shady areas of the trees.

They might go down to the rivers where it's cooler.

Generally, they are designed to live in a hot climate

so it's not too bad for them.

This is a luxurious treat for them.

The arms of a siamang are very long,

up to two and a half times its body length.

If you had arms like that, you could touch the ground while standing up.

-Who have we got next?

-Next we move on to the capuchins.

They love them. Out here.

The capuchins are supposed to be the smartest monkeys here.

Will they have a crafty way to beat the heat?

Find out very soon.

What do penguins sing at a party?

-#

-Freeze a jolly good fellow Freeze a jolly good fellow!

-#

Why is there no medicine in the jungle?

Cos the parrots-ate-'em-all! Squawk!

Sssss!

What do sheep do on a sunny day?

They have a baa-becue!

Back at the hyena enclosure,

it's the morning after Rich Barnes set up the night-vision camera

to try and capture the very first shots

of the incredibly rare new cubs.

Now keeper Jess is in early with another camera

to play back the footage.

Like all the keepers, she's worried

because they haven't yet been able to see if the babies are healthy

or if they need medical help.

We've heard noises and we think there's either two or three,

but we haven't seen any signs yet.

So we're waiting to see what the camera shows us.

Let's have a look.

Everything seems quiet.

Then there's movement along the fence line.

We've got a shot of Mum coming down for a drink.

They are stunning creatures.

Until you see them, you don't realise how muscular they are.

Plenty of shots of Mum wandering around, checking things out.

But we haven't got any cubs yet.

Mum has now disappeared.

The enclosure is silent.

It looks like that's all we're going to get.

But suddenly, she's there again.

And this time, she's not alone!

Oh, she might have something in her mouth.

It's in her mouth. She walked past with the cub in her mouth.

Oh, that's brilliant.

It's not a great shot,

but this is the first sight of the only brown hyena cubs born here!

But that's all the night-vision camera got.

It's just not good enough to show the keepers if the cubs need help.

They're going to try a different way to get a look at the babies.

And when they do, you're not going to believe your eyes!

Back in the primate section,

Simon and I are still taking ice lollies round to the monkeys

on this scorching hot day.

Right. In here for the capuchins.

We're here with the capuchins now, Simon.

Aren't these the most intelligent monkeys here?

Yes. These are very intelligent.

So we can leave these bigger lollies.

-They'll take them up and smash them apart.

-I can't wait!

Capuchins are one of the few monkeys who've been seen using tools.

They use rocks like a hammer to break open nuts.

Where would you find capuchins in the world?

Capuchins come from South America.

Argentina, Paraguay, all those areas.

There you go!

He's touching it very gently. Quite dextrous hands he's got.

Capuchins are known for having good hands.

Their hands, in proportion, look exactly like ours.

But then they will get really cold hands like us!

There we go. He's licking.

They're having it like an actual ice lolly. I love that!

He doesn't like it on his hands. He's wiping them on the side.

Will they share the ice with the other capuchins? He's dropped it.

Come here.

He probably won't share it. The others will try and take it off him.

These monkeys are so smart, they even use insect repellent!

When bothered by mosquitoes,

they crush up millipedes and spread the remains on their backs.

That keeps the bugs at bay.

Tell you what, I'm hot myself.

The box is empty. Shall we get an ice cream?

I'm afraid we've got another 120 monkeys to give ices to.

I've got more freezing. We'd better get on.

Oh, man!

If you like online games,

you'll love the Roar one on the CBBC website.

The idea is to build up your very own animal park

and see how many visitors you can attract.

On every show, we give out a cheat code to help.

Today it's sand3. Type that in and see what you get.

Happy gaming. Don't forget to look after your animals.

In one of the largest enclosures in the park

there are four kinds of deer and antelope.

They've all come from India and the surrounding countries.

There are hog deer,

axis deer, blackbuck

and nilgai antelope.

All of these animals can be quite shy,

which means the best time to see them is when they're hungry.

So I've jumped on the feed wagon with keeper Joel Bunce.

We're on the back of the truck, inside the deer park.

Joel said when the food was ready to go, they would come running.

And look, it's amazing.

So we're just chucking it out?

Yep, just spread it out as much as we can

so everyone gets some.

So you've got to tell us what kinds of deer or antelope they are.

-Who's this?

-The hog deer here.

And a few axis coming down.

Are these the greediest? Is this why they come first?

They're running for food.

This is the end of the park where the hog deer mostly hang out.

Do they all have a specific area they like hanging out in?

-Do they mix with the others?

-They do,

but the blackbuck like it at the top end of the park

which hasn't got as many trees in.

The hog deer and axis deer hang around here

which has a bit more shelter and more trees.

Is that because of where they're from, the terrain they live in?

It seems to be that way, yeah.

The park is a lot smaller than what their sort would be used to,

but it does have the kind of areas which each species prefers.

Are we coming into somebody else's territory now?

This is where the blackbuck and the nilgai hang out.

Just behind us.

Look at them all run and bounce!

I love the way they do that. They're so light on their feet.

Yes, they do that a lot when they're quite excited.

Feed time is one time when they're quite excited.

They jump around a lot.

With 100 deer and antelope out here,

is it impossible to make sure they're all healthy all the time?

Do you come and do checks? You've got so much space.

That's right. We do a morning check where we walk around the entire park

and make sure everyone looks fit and healthy.

You can't always guarantee it.

These are the female nilgai.

Deer and antelope are very good at hiding any kind of weakness

like illness or a wound or anything because they have to.

A predator will spot a vulnerable one from a mile off

and target that animal

so they're good at hiding if they're not feeling too good.

So we do a check to make sure they all seem to be well.

I'm just amazed the nilgai have come out. He's a big fella, isn't he?

He is a big boy, yeah. Much bigger than the females.

I've not seen them before.

He's a different colour and he's got those small horns on his head.

-He's kneeling down to get the food.

-Yeah, the males do that.

The females don't. The males kneel down for their food.

Kneel down. Like nilgai.

I'll tell you what, Joel,

for a snack we've still got a lot of food to get out.

So I think you guys should go and watch the rest of the show

cos we're going to be here for a long while.

Who wants rhubarb crumble?

Here on Roar,

we always strive to bring you the most fascinating animal facts.

Here are some I bet you haven't heard before.

Adult elephants need to drink 200 litres of water a day.

That's enough to fill an entire paddling pool!

The average weight of an adult male gorilla is 200 kilos,

the same as four female keepers.

The average strength of an adult male gorilla

is about the same as eight male keepers.

Grrr!

My heart weighs the same amount as half a can of baked beans.

But a giraffe's heart weighs the same as 26 cans of baked beans!

Did you get that? I hope so.

You never know when such useful facts will come in handy!

Earlier, we followed the head of the carnivore section, Rich Barnes,

as he set up a night-vision camera

to try and get a look at the new brown hyena babies.

No-one had seen the cubs

and the keepers didn't even know how many there were

or if any of them were sick or injured.

But when Jess checked the night-vision footage,

there was just a quick shot of one cub carried in its mum's mouth.

So Rich decided that the time had finally come

to grab a camera and go and find out exactly what was going on

inside the hyena's den.

Now he's joined me in the park

because he's got something to show us.

-Oh! Oh, my goodness!

-How cool are they?

How big his ears... His? Hers?

We don't know. It's hard enough just getting to see them

let alone find out what sex they are.

That is so cute, the little tongue and little face!

I thought hyenas were supposed to be spotty?

These are brown hyenas, they're not spotty.

-They're a bit stripy on the legs.

-The little legs!

A golden ruff, just like Mum and Dad. And massive ears.

And a big black face already.

Rich, how many is there in there?

There's three. See one at the front?

There's one just behind there.

And one just to the left there.

How old at this point is this pup?

At this point I think they're six weeks, maybe six-and-a-half weeks.

How long before we can see them running around and out and about?

Difficult to say. We've never had any babies to judge it by.

They're nocturnal,

so most of their activity doesn't start till the visitors leave.

What's the future for these three adorable pups?

Do you call them pups, as hyenas?

-They're called cubs.

-Cubs. Gorgeous.

They're not actually dogs, as many people think.

They're closer to cats than they are dogs.

There's three at the moment. We don't know their sex.

You'll have to name them. Thought of any names?

Funny you should say that, just because of the sounds they make,

one makes a funny noise that sounds like a laugh.

LAUGHING SOUND

He sounds like a cartoon I used to watch as a kid, called Popeye.

Some of the kids today might not have heard of Popeye,

but he does a funny laugh and one of them sounds like him.

LAUGHS LIKE POPEYE

I think I can do the laugh. Ger-ger-ger-ger. Like that?

I'm not going to do it, but that's close enough.

-Maybe we'll call one of them Popeye. We'll see.

-Brilliant.

Thanks for showing us the footage.

It will have to keep us going until we see them for real.

You've topped off a perfect day.

Put it there. Well done, you!

The best part is that we now know the cubs look fine.

And they all seem to be doing great.

CUB LAUGHS

-It's almost the end of the show.

-Let's not go just yet.

Let's squeeze in a visit to keeper Mark

and the beautiful Melindy, the serval.

Here's Mark. Hiya, Mark.

And here is Melindy. She's so lovely.

Mark, we're so close to her. Why is she so tame?

When she was very, very young,

her mother, Saba, carried her incorrectly.

Or she moved. She ended up getting a nasty cut on her neck.

Ooh, she jumped, then.

When she got cut, we decided to hand-rear her.

So she got used to people, so it makes her a bit more approachable.

You want to play with the rubber snake.

Are we safe to get this close? Are we OK?

Yeah. Don't make too many sudden movements.

If you start running she might chase you and give you a nip.

-Generally, she's pretty cool.

-Can I play with her?

Yes. Just watch your fingers.

She's got big claws. Are they retractable, like a tiger's?

-They are, yes.

-She's loving that snake, isn't she?

Bless her. Mark, I've got to say, it's great to get so close to her.

As usual, Melindy is a playful one

and loves hanging out with us.

-Are you enjoying that, Johny?

-I'm loving it.

While I'm playing with Melindy,

why not check out what's coming up on the next episode of Roar.

A very rare gibbon is due to leave the park,

but the vet needs to find out if she's well enough to travel.

Monty the python has taken a liking to Johny.

But is he friendly or hungry?

-I think he likes you.

-I think he does!

And Jake the Roar ranger is helping with the elephants,

which could mean trouble...

..for the film crew!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd