Episode 23 Roar

'Today on Roar, Leon the zebra has been biting and kicking

'the other animals, so now the keepers must catch him

'because he's got to go.'

Hello and welcome to Roar. I'm Rani. Come over here.

-You've got to see what Johny's doing. Johny, hiya.

-Hiya, Rani.

-What you doing?

-I thought I'd pop down to the fishing cat enclosure

and help Rondo catch his breakfast. Come on.

I'm sorry to break this to you, Johny, but he doesn't need help.

He's perfectly adapted to catching his own fish.

He's got partially-webbed front feet,

he's a great swimmer and he can grab his prey from the water

just with his paws, or he can dive underwater.

Right, well, that puts my fishing technique to shame.

While I hang about for a bite,

why don't you hook into the rest of the show?

-Ooh, it's a big one!

-Eh, looks like a size 11 to me.

'Coming up today, the last seven baby red pandas they had here

'all died young, so we'll find out how the new one's doing.

'The team have some serious questions

'about the grizzled leaf monkeys. Does the keeper have the answers?'

'And fancy a swim in an icy pool?

'The tiger cubs do, and we're going to discover why.'

'But first, there's a problem in the safari area.

'Leon the zebra has been aggressive to the other animals

'that share the enclosure.

'He can't help it. It's natural for him to fight for his herd

'and defend his females.

'Trouble is, he doesn't have any females here

'and all his frustration has come out as bad behaviour.

'Carl is one of his keepers.'

He's quite a biter, so he goes round biting other animals

and kicking the other zebra and things that are out here.

We can't deal with that, so we're moving him to a different collection

and maybe he'll have a paddock all to himself

and live the rest of his days out quite happily.

'It's for his own good, too.

'If he stays here, one of the other animals might well turn on him

'and that could be nasty, as some of them have deadly weapons.'

He could get stabbed or have his intestines ripped out, you see,

so it's much safer for him to be shut in here

then moved to a different collection where he's got his own place.

'Leon has already been lured into

'a small enclosure on the side of the safari area.

'But the tricky part will be getting him into the horse box.

'Carl's got a plan.'

They'll back it down and then we'll just walk him in,

chuck a bit of bread up the front

and I'll come out of the little doors on the side and shut them

and then the rest of the team will shut the two doors,

lift the tailgate up and he's in. Simple as that.

'So that's plan A. And it needs patience and a lot of bread.

Lovely.

Come on, then. Leon. Leon. Here you are, son. Come on, then.

'It might just work, as long as nothing distracts Leon.'

Here you are, son. Here you are, then.

Good boy! There's a good boy. Come on, then.

'Uh-oh. Here come some of the zebras in the safari area

'on the other side of the fence. They want to see what's happening,

'but they might easily put Leon off.'

Leon. Leon. Come on, son.

'In case plan A doesn't work, there's a vet here ready.

'Jane's away, so it's Jeremy, the standby vet.'

Plan B would be to dart him and knock him out.

Then we get lots of strong men to pick him up,

pop him in the back of the trailer, close the trailer

and then we give drugs to reverse the anaesthetic and he stands up

-and then he's off to his new home.

-Come on, then. Come on.

Come on, cos I'm not trying this forever.

Or you're going to get darted. It's as simple as that.

'This isn't working.

'Leon came here a few years ago from France

'so maybe he understands French.'

Entre. Entre. Entre, entre, entre.

Come on, entre, entre.

Leon. He isn't going to have it, is he?

'If they can get him in the horse box,

'Leon will be off to an animal park in Cumbria.

'Richard Robinson has come from there to get him.'

He's got two mares waiting for him, two female zebras.

So he'll be a happy chappy when he gets back to Cumbria

to meet the ladies. Perhaps if I'd brought photographs

of the lovely ladies he's going to meet, he would've run straight in.

'But it looks like Leon isn't going into the horse box the easy way,

-'so now there's only one thing for it.'

-We'll have to go for a dart.

Plan A seems to have failed, so we're going to move on to plan B,

which is we're going to load the dart and dart him.

Carl's had a go, we're not getting there, so time to move on.

'The dart Jeremy's loading contains a powerful tranquiliser drug.

'Leon must now know that something's going on

'and things could turn dangerous.'

Now, most of us enjoy a bit of a swim on a hot day.

The Siberian tigers here at the park are no different.

But imagine if someone came along and put a load of ice in your pool!

Jim, what are you doing that for?

To cool the temperature down.

-Can I come round?

-Come and help, yeah.

But, I've got to say, Jim, it seems a little bit mean

to put ice in the pool for the tigers.

Well, this is to demonstrate that they're not afraid of cold water,

because in their native country, that would freeze over instantly.

Temperatures down to minus-20.

They'd break the ice and get in for a swim.

-How do they survive the cold?

-Because of their thick coats.

They go in, they'll sit in there for a couple of minutes,

they'll come out, shake and it's gone,

but it's cooled them down. When they've been hunting, they get hot.

OK, let me chuck some in. Have they come across much ice here?

-Have you done this before?

-No, but in the winter, we do get frozen water

-and they will break the ice to swim in it, even in the winter.

-Oh, wow.

But our temperatures are not very cold compared to Siberia.

You don't think they'll be a bit scared or wary of it?

No, no. Well, the cubs might be at first,

but I'm sure they'll get in and play with it, they'll love it.

-Really?

-Yeah. Let's get it in.

Once they've been in and got all cold and wet, how do they dry off?

Cos surely it's not going to be good for them to be cold for long periods.

No, cos what they'll do is come out and shake most of the water off

-then roll in the snow, that dries them.

-Very clever. How am I doing?

-Do you think this will cool it down enough.

-Yeah, but a bit quicker.

-Right, OK. I'll just chuck it all in.

-Yeah. Don't go in with it.

Remember to let go.

Well, join us later on in the show to see if our tigers give our icy pool

a warm welcome or a frosty reception.

Right then, you lot. Come into the enclosure.

We're here now to ask some very serious questions,

and they are going to be pretty tough, as well.

-They are for head keeper Matt Ford. Hiya, Matt.

-Hello.

Now, Matt, we're going to test your knowledge today

on the grizzle leaf monkeys. Are you up for the challenge?

-I believe I am.

-All right. Who's going to kick off the questions?

What country do they originate from?

Also, what is their current population?

-Two questions there.

-OK. The grizzled leaf monkeys

are native to Java. That's the only country that they come from.

The population is in decline. There's only about 2,500

estimated population left in the world.

How many monkeys are there in the group?

They live in a very small family group,

so a dominant male, a couple of females that he'll breed with

and their offspring. So around eight is a good size group.

-Where do they sleep?

-They sleep in the shed behind the enclosure.

It's all heated to 19 degrees throughout the year,

so it's all nice and warm for them.

And they just stay in there and sleep at night.

What age do they leave their mum?

We've got one of the younger females in here who's just left the mum

and she's 18 months old.

By that time, they're independent and they'll forage for themselves

and the mum's ready for the new baby to be born.

Someone wants some food, I think.

They're so cute! Is that a little baby one?

That's the one that's just come off mum and is independent now.

What animals would hunt and kill them?

In the wild, there's things like leopards that will chase them

if they come down from the treetops.

Snakes, as well, and birds of prey.

But the main threat to them now is humans.

-What do they eat?

-Their main diet is beans.

And they have lots of different root veg, carrots, parsnips,

cauliflower, broccoli, anything veg-orientated.

They stay away from the fruits, so they don't eat much bananas,

-apples and things like that.

-Matt, you're doing really well

and that's why you're a head keeper, but we've got a killer question.

But we just need to decide what it is.

So you just wait there. Guys, come over here. Get in nice and close.

OK, then, Matt, we have a question for you.

You know your stuff, but do you know the answer to this bad boy?

How long is a grizzle leaf monkey's tongue?

Erm... Well, I've seen one under sedation

and fiddled around with its mouth and stuff,

so I don't know exact, but I would say around this,

-which is about four centimetres.

-Four centimetres?

I've got to tell you, Matt, you're not even close.

In fact, a grizzle leaf monkey's tongue

measures ten centimetres long.

So obviously they're very polite here and never pull tongues at you!

So far, you haven't been bad. But it's up to these guys.

Thumbs up or thumbs down for Matt? Ooh, a bit of a mixed bunch.

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

Bonkers!

-What do you get if you put a cow on a racing car?

-I don't know.

Past-your-eyes milk.

THEY ROAR

There's a field of cows. One's on vacation. Which one?

The one with a "wee calf."

THEY IMITATE MONKEYS

-What do you call an elephant that needs a bath?

-I don't know.

-A smell-ephant.

-THEY LAUGH

THEY LAUGH

Earlier on, head of carnivores Jim and I

put some ice in the Siberian tigers' pool

because they naturally come across icy waters in their native Siberia.

-Right, Jim?

-That's right.

-Are we ready to release the tigers?

Yeah, let's go for it. All right, Paul, you can let them go.

-Who do you think will be the first one out?

-Probably Dad.

OK. Do they know that we've been in here and that something's up?

-They've come straight over to us.

-Yeah, they're looking around

-to see whether we've put any food in.

-Are they naturally curious?

Yeah, very much so. There goes Dad, look.

-Oh, wow, Dad's gone straight in to have a look at the ice.

-There you go.

-See, water doesn't affect them.

-Amazing. Not just the water,

but the icy block. It looks like he's playing with it.

Is this play time for them now?

Are they playing around or do they think that it's some prey?

-Yeah. Cubs are taught by their mother.

-Right.

So if they see Mum doing it, they do it.

-And where is Mum now?

-She's down the bottom. She's still a bit nervous.

She will come through eventually. But, as you can see,

three cubs and Dad in the pond.

They're loving it, a little family of tigers all playing together.

Jim, this is quite interesting,

because we've done stuff with these guys before,

and when they were younger, they were more tentative about the water.

-Now they're older, are they more confident?

-Yeah.

-And they've learnt a lot from their parents.

-Right.

Dad was the first one in and they thought,

"If Dad's in, it's OK for us to go in."

And that's what they're doing. Dad's in there and they're playing.

She's dragged that one out of the pond, look.

THEY LAUGH

Once they've dragged it out, will they play with it like a ball?

Yeah, they'll drag it around.

-Wow! Who have we got here?

-This is one of the male cubs.

And was that a sign of aggression, or is he just feeling playful now

-after his dip in the pool?

-Yeah, playful.

-Right.

So if he got through, he wouldn't eat us?

-No, like I say...

-Look at that!

-They're in the mood to play now.

Jim, would tigers hunt in water?

Not necessarily hunt in water.

From time to time, they chase their prey into water.

Cos when you run from the beach into the sea, you slow down.

As the tiger slows the prey down by chasing it in the water,

-the tiger then will pounce and kill it.

-Wow, that's intelligent.

And quite scary, as well.

Here one comes.

They're in such a playful mood. It's been amazing seeing these guys

go in the pool. I've never seen them have so much fun before.

-Thanks for inviting us.

-Not a problem.

'Leon the aggressive zebra must be moved today.

'But, so far, he's not cooperating.

'To get him into the horse box, they're going to have to

'tranquilise him with a dart gun.

'Jeremy the vet is getting the dart ready

'and he's doing it very, very carefully.'

The drug we are using is a drug that's quite dangerous for people,

so we've got to be very careful from a personnel point of view.

We're going to use about 100 teaspoonfuls of this drug

to anaesthetise the zebra. What's fascinating is that

a tablespoonful of the same is enough to kill a very large whale.

So you can you kill a whale

with two, three, four times as much drug as we're using here.

-Are we happy? OK.

-'Now Jeremy's got a problem.

'Leon has got a bit wound up and won't stand still.

'And that's going to make it difficult to get him with the dart.'

I'm not getting too close. I think he knows that something is going on.

I think we need to wander in gently and see if we can get up to him.

'Jeremy is going into the enclosure with Carl

'so he can use the dart gun at short range.

'For safety's sake, no-one else is allowed in.

'So, for the other keepers and us, it's now a waiting game.'

'A lot of people reckon that when it comes to cute,

'you can't beat the red pandas.

'So how cute does that make this,

'the park's brand new red panda baby?

'This is the first baby that's survived here in three years,

'so keeper Steve is over the moon.'

We're quite excited. It's still too young to venture out by itself yet,

so it's in one of the six nest boxes.

Precisely which one, I couldn't tell you right now.

'Red panda mums move their babies between different dens

'in order to fool any possible predators.

'But earlier in the series, we followed keeper in charge Neville

'when he tracked down the baby to check on it. And while he was there,

'he got these incredibly rare shots.'

About five weeks old. But when they're born, they're very small

and weigh about 150 grams. So, yeah, tiny.

When he's fully grown, he could be anything between four to six kilos.

So he's got quite a bit of growing to do.

'This baby is especially precious,

'because the red panda is a threatened species.

'There are fewer than 2,500 of them left where they come from

'in the cold mountains of Asia.'

Baby red pandas, when they're born, are completely defenceless.

It takes them a while before they even open their eyes,

so completely different to a lot of other species you find.

Antelope can be up on their feet within half an hour or so.

These guys, we wouldn't see them for the first few months of their lives.

The cubs are born with more of a brownish coat,

as opposed to that striking red that you see when they become adults.

That will gradually develop. But, already,

you can see the white markings on the face.

In the wild, Mum would find a den, probably a hollow tree,

preferably high off the ground

so no predators have a chance to find the youngsters.

At the moment, we have no idea whether it's a boy or girl.

We've not touched it at all.

It's best not to disturb it as much as possible

and leave Mum to her job.

'One thing's for sure - this little baby is Steve's favourite.'

I think red pandas are adorable when they're adults

so, needless to say, when they're that size,

they're amazing little things.

'Now then, all you Roar gamers, how's your animal park doing?

'If you've been playing the game for a while,

'you'll know the key to success are the cheat codes we give out.'

'Today, it's gold999.

'The food, treats and other features the cheat codes unlock

'really do make all the difference. Happy gaming.'

Now, what's got thin legs, can be filled with fruit

and has got a bit of a wobbly bottom?

No, I'm not talking about keeper Simon! Hiya, Simon.

I'm talking about the shaker feeder placed in the anoa's enclosure.

The anoa's here. I should probably back off. Everyone's afraid of them.

Is he going to get really vicious? Am I safe here?

Yeah, you're perfectly fine here.

Don't stroke him! I've just said he's really scary!

As a species, they are notoriously dangerous.

They're the smallest buffalo in the world.

Do anoas come from the same place as buffalo?

Not really, no. Water buffalo come from mainland Asia

and the anoa come from a little island, Sulawesi.

You say little island. Is that why anoas are so small,

-cos they have to fit on the island?

-Not really, no.

-THEY LAUGH

-It was a try, wasn't it?

Buffalo, you think of them as these big, heavy creatures

that wallow a lot. Is that what anoas are like?

They've got the attitude for it.

They think they're a lot bigger than they are. They're quite aggressive

-and quite feisty.

-But this one is just a little softy.

-Who have we got here?

-This is Boris. He's our male.

He's getting on a little bit now. He's probably about 16.

So he's quite old. But he's wise beyond his years, shall we say.

-He's quite calm.

-Bit like myself.

All right, we've placed a shaker feeder in there, we've got some food

and we're going to give this little fella a treat.

-So what's the idea here?

-The idea is that he'll

pick up a few little bits that have fallen through

and then maybe nudge it a bit, rub it with his head or horns,

and just pick up the little bits as they fall slowly through.

What have we placed in there? We've got carrot. What else?

A bit of apple, finely chopped so it fits through the holes.

-Is that what you'd normally feed him?

-He gets that in an evening feed

and we quite often feed them some nice, leafy bits.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Look at that!

You see, that's what I call wise.

Can't be bothered just to shake it, knock it all down

and then he can have his dinner in one big go.

Simon, it's been a pleasure coming down here,

cos we don't get to see them that often.

'Back up by the safari area, Jeremy the vet and keeper Carl

'have gone in to dart Leon, the aggressive zebra.

'Suddenly, there's news.'

He's just been darted. Hopefully, it's gone in, but we don't know.

He got close enough to him. Fingers crossed we got him, hopefully.

'The tranquiliser dart has worked and Leon is fast asleep.

'But he's a long way from the horse box, so they need everyone to help.'

Come on!

OK.

-'And he's finally in.'

-We had to wait for him to calm down a bit

and then, as soon as he calmed down, we managed to dart him

and, within three minutes, he was on the floor

and within another five minutes, he's in the trailer

and he's being brought round as we speak.

'It would be dangerous to set off while Leon is still tranquilised,

'so Jeremy puts his coat over his eyes to keep him calm

'and injects a drug that should wake him up.

'Everyone else gets out, but to make sure Leon's OK,

'Jeremy waits till the last possible second.

-'Leon is now awake.'

-It's quick, isn't it?

-'But he's a little confused.'

-Problem is, he fell asleep in a field

and he's now waking up inside a truck.

So it's all going to be a bit strange for him.

There's always a risk that he could hurt himself as he wakes up.

But this is a fairly small trailer, so he can't get up any momentum.

'So, now they're ready to set off. Except for one small problem.

He's got my coat in there.

-Eh?

-He has got my coat in there.

-He's got your coat?

-Yeah.

-It's quite a nice coat, as well.

-No, it's a distinguished coat.

I had his head covered with my coat

and I thought, "We've got a few more seconds, I'll swap it for a towel"

and up he went. So he's probably trying it on now.

-There it is, at the other side.

-Right over there.

-Oh.

-Well, that's that, then.

-How you going to get your coat back?

I think probably by mail.

'Leon will travel to a wildlife park in Cumbria with Richard Robinson.'

Over the next few days, he'll be introduced to the females

and hopefully he'll calm down and it'll be a nice breeding group.

'So, after a tricky start, the move has gone well

'and Richard, Leon and the vet's coat can finally set off

'on the long journey to a new home.'

Now, before we disappear from your screens today,

we thought we'd catch up with head keeper Joel

and the very ravenous red river hogs.

Hard for me to say! But I did well! How are you, Joel?

-All right, yeah.

-So, we're having a proper pig-out, aren't we?

-Who have we got here?

-This is the red river hog family,

-Mr and Mrs Pig and their three piglets.

-We're going to have a feed.

-What have you got in there for us?

-A bit of everything, really.

Some pellets, some bean shoots, a bit of rhubarb, some sweetcorn,

-some carrots and a bit of asparagus.

-Shall we chuck it at them?

-Yeah.

-How do you feed them? Should I give it to Dad first?

-Will he get angry if we don't?

-No, just scatter it far and wide.

That way, they'll all get a bit and there won't be any arguments.

-Just throw it as far as you can.

-It's great, this.

We're just throwing it on top of the land and they pick it up,

but these guys have amazing snouts which they use.

We've talked before about them digging for food.

What happens in the winter? Autumn's setting in, then winter,

the land's going to get hard and icy.

They still like to root around. They'll be out all times of the year

digging up the paddock. When the leaves come down,

there's more to root through, they eat berries off the trees

and the leaves, so they're out all year round digging up things.

These guys are incredibly strong, so does that help them out in the wild

-to defend themselves against predators?

-It does.

They are preyed upon by big cats, hyenas, pythons

and even Man will hunt them for food. But they are very powerful,

they've got very sharp teeth, so they'd be a match for any predator.

Joel, it's always a treat for us to get so close to the red river hogs

-so thank you for that.

-Yeah, thank you very much.

It's time for us to bid farewell to the hogs.

Why don't you check out what's on the next episode of Roar?

-It's anything but boar-ing!

-Ohh.

'I'll be trying to get the elephants interested in a game of footie.'

'While I'll be meeting the world's smallest monkeys.'

'And fancy a sniff?' It's bootiful!

-'Rani's not keen.'

-Ooh!

'But what does the snow leopard think?'

'Make sure you're watching.'

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