Episode 24 Roar

Today on Roar: Lidana the tapir is very ill.

The keepers and the vet are doing all they can, but will it be enough?

-Hello! Welcome to Roar! I'm Rani.

-And I'm Johny.

-And this is Brig...the rhino.

-Yes, Johny, you do well to question that.

He's called a rhino iguana because of the horn on the top of his nose!

Right, so you could call him then a rhi-guana!

Yeah, or you could stick to rhino iguana

-and we could get on with the show.

-Probably right.

Rhi-guana!

Coming up on Roar:

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

and finding out if they've got ticklish feet!

I meet the world's smallest monkey, the microscopic mini marmoset.

And fancy a sniff? It's "boot-iful"!

Rani's not keen!

But what does Marta the snow leopard think?

First, we're going to the Malayan tapir house because Lidana is sick.

She's mum and grandma to many of the other tapirs here

and one of the park's best-loved animals.

Head keeper Bob Saville is very worried.

This is Lidana. She's 20 years old.

She was born at the park.

About three weeks ago, she started getting quite fussy about her food.

This went on and on and the situation got worse and worse.

So we took some bloods and unfortunately

it showed she's suffering from liver and kidney failure at the moment.

Potentially, it's terminal.

But hopefully it won't be.

The last blood test we had said it possibly is reversible still.

So we're doing everything we can, aren't we, eh?

That's the cameraman again. Yes, you're back on Roar.

Yes.

Liver and kidney failure

is what happens when those organs stop working properly.

It's a serious problem that sometimes affects very old animals.

But once in a while, it can happen to younger ones, too.

Although she's a grandma,

Lidana isn't elderly.

She's 20 and tapirs often live to about 30.

So this is just very bad luck.

Now she needs a lot of medicine

and Bob gets it ready as a liquid.

The easiest thing is to squirt it down their throat with a syringe.

You'll know, any of you with dogs and cats

if you try to put wormer tablets down their throat

they spit them out. Trying to do that with a tapir,

with all this medication she's getting,

this is much the safest way. Then we know she's actually getting it.

Medicine isn't the only thing Lidana has from a syringe.

Because of her condition, the kidney and liver failure,

we liquidise her food and syringe it into her mouth.

Then we know she's getting it.

It was a few years ago when we first met Lidana.

She'd just had a baby named Tengui.

She's had six babies altogether,

which is close to the record for breeding in captivity.

She's also got over a dozen grandchildren.

The latest one here is Kopash,

who we followed last year.

But now Grandma is so ill, she could die.

There's a good girl! Yes!

Like all patients, she has her good days and her bad days.

But overall she's a very good patient.

I'm sure some of our tapirs could be more troublesome!

Good girl!

This has got some apple in it.

Apple is good for you.

You know, it's not nice doing this

but if we didn't do it, she wouldn't be eating or drinking.

She would deteriorate very rapidly.

Nearly done!

It might look a bit undignified,

but I assure you, if Lidana didn't want this food,

she would shut her mouth and you wouldn't be able to do it.

At least this way we're keeping her alive, keeping her stable.

She's not suffering.

Get up, then, darling.

There's a good girl!

Are you getting up?

There.

It would be good for her to eat some solid food,

so Bob's got her favourite twigs and fresh hay.

But she's just picking at it.

She's like us when we've got the flu.

We're not sure what we want, or whether we're coming or going.

Bob's been working with Lidana for over 18 years

and he's doing everything he can.

Today he's also keeping his fingers crossed.

We took a blood test from her yesterday.

We're getting the results back today.

Hopefully, that will be good news.

When those blood test results come back,

we'll find out if Lidana is getting better or getting worse.

A new kind of monkey has recently arrived in the Discovery Zone.

Rani, who has all the luck,

has gone to find out more.

Right, I have to say I am really excited now

because I'm in the Discovery Zone to meet two animals

I've never, ever seen before.

These are the smallest monkeys in the world, the pygmy marmosets.

-I'm with Jess. Hiya, Jess.

-Hi!

I'm really excited. Where are these tiny, tiny monkeys?

Just in this enclosure here.

Oh, look! There's just one here.

They're not monkeys!

-Yeah!

-Are they really?

-Yeah.

They're absolutely fantastic. We've never seen these before.

It's a first for me.

Tell me a bit about the pygmy marmoset.

These guys, like you said, are the smallest monkey.

They have several different adaptations. They have special teeth

that help them get gum out of trees.

-Like chewing gum?

-Not quite!

It's like the sap that comes off trees.

-Right.

-They have a special tooth to engrave holes out of trees

to get the sap out of it.

OK, tell me what you want me to do.

-Take that syringe for me.

-Right.

Put some gum into there. Draw it back in the gum.

-It should come up.

-Pull it in?

-No, pull it out.

-Obviously I haven't done this before!

-More?

-That should be enough. We'll put loads more in.

-OK.

-Then you squirt it in the holes.

-OK.

I'll squeeze it in. Tell me more about them.

Where are they from, in the world?

They're from various parts of South America. They live in the canopy.

They don't tend to come down much.

They'll find a tree, then hollow it out until all the sap is gone.

-Obviously they do this over weeks and things.

-Right.

Then they move on to another tree with a high level of sap.

Something as little as that, they can't eat much.

-How much do they weigh?

-100 grams,

about the same size as a satsuma!

What else do they eat, apart from sap?

-You can't just survive on sap.

-No, not at all.

We give them fruit as well as sap.

Various fruits - they have mangoes, passion fruit, satsumas.

-Quite posh, then!

-Yes, they eat lots of fancy fruit.

As the pygmy marmosets are new arrivals to Roar,

we've placed a little bracket there on the logs.

We'll place a camera in there later on.

So when we place the log inside their enclosure with the sap,

we'll see them nice and close. When they go...

Drinking all the sap. Is that how they do it?

No? We'll wait till later and see how they do it.

I think it'll be like that.

There was two monkeys sitting in a bath. One goes, "Oo-oo, ah-ah!"

The other one says, "If it's too hot for you, put some cold in."

IMITATES PANTING DOG

What animal goes, "Green, green, green, green, green, green"?

A frog going down a hole. Ribbit! Ribbit!

Wheeee!

Why did the elephant wear sneakers?

To sneak up on mice!

Lidana, the Malayan tapir, is very ill with liver and kidney failure.

Now the park's vet, Jane Hopper, has arrived to check on her

and to see head keeper, Bob Saville.

-Jane, do we have the results of the blood test?

-I'm afraid we do.

I'm afraid it's not good news.

Her blood values have all got quite a bit worse,

especially her kidney values.

It does now look as if her kidneys are failing.

Unfortunately, despite all the medication she's been getting,

and all the care she's received, things are getting worse.

Apart from the medication she's already on,

there's nothing extra we can particularly do.

-So it's not good news at all.

-Right.

It's the worst possible result.

Oh, dear.

Lidana is dying.

When it does start to deteriorate, will it be rapid or gradual?

I think it might be quite rapid when it happens.

-Again, each case is different.

-Yeah.

She's certainly fighting it very well.

-I don't think she's suffering at the moment.

-No.

It's very frustrating that despite everything we're doing for Lidana,

and the keepers are doing a fantastic job,

that she's getting worse. So yeah, it's very sad.

We'll focus on keeping her happy and comfortable as long as we can.

Bad news travels fast.

A little later, keepers Mike and Simon have come to visit.

No-one knows how long Lidana is going to last,

so this could be their last goodbye.

I don't think it's properly sunk in.

The problem is, because she's had a lot of different illnesses,

we just expect her to get over it, like normal.

I suppose the body's had enough.

When I first met Lidana, she was a very active, healthy animal.

She loved attention, she was great fun to be around and work with.

So I think when I remember her, that will be the way I'll do it.

Out in the paddock in the summer, with Tengui, her last baby.

Running around looking incredibly proud of her youngster.

And just being an all-round brilliant tapir.

That's how I'll remember her.

Poor Lidana.

Mum, grandma, and all-round brilliant tapir.

Now all the keepers can do is make sure she's comfortable.

Skill! Skill! Johny! Johny Pitts!

Passes it to Jums! Jums - pass!

Jums? You big hogger! You'll never be a Wayne Rooney!

Honestly! Sometimes, elephants like games.

We've put a football in the paddock to see what Jums makes of it.

-Hi, Angela!

-Hi!

-Is it true they play with the football?

They like a game every now and then.

We put things in the paddock to keep them stimulated.

We've tried a football today to see what he does.

-We've got Jums here, who's like the big boss, really.

-Yes.

He's the dad. He's not playing with our football at the moment,

but we can talk about their feet. They're amazing.

An elephant actually walks on its tip-toes.

Its bones are like that with fatty tissue underneath.

It's like a gigantic cushion which helps support their weight.

The underneath of their foot is flat

but it's got grooves for the tread

so it's like a trainer!

Are their feet sensitive?

Really sensitive. They do a lot of feeling with their feet.

If there's a calf lying on the floor, they feel with their feet

or any unusual item, they use their feet to brush against it

to see what it is. They pick up a lot.

Are their feet ticklish, then?

They may well be. The youngsters put their feet on the steelwork

and like to have a pat on the feet. It feels nice.

Nice. He's not really had a go with the football.

Maybe his feet are too sensitive. Maybe he needs football boots!

Good idea!

Our Roar Rangers today are Laura and Caitlin from Leeds.

They're ten years old and they're twins.

These cheerful cheerleaders know all about looking after cats.

They've got a pet one called Tilly at home.

But will that help them today?

-I'm pleased it's monkeys!

-Me, too.

-I've never met one before.

-Nor me.

-BOTH:

-We're going to be monkey-keepers!

And this is the kind of monkey they're going to help with.

The Diana monkeys.

Here comes their keeper, Mel Frampton.

-Hi, I'm Caitlin.

-I'm Laura.

Hello, I'm Mel. You guys are going to help me clean out some monkeys.

-Yeah.

-Are you ready?

-Yeah.

-Come on, then. Let's get some stuff.

The Diana monkeys have their own house

that has to be cleaned out every day.

Do you want to come in, girls?

All the Dianas are locked outside,

except for one, the young male named Keymon.

When he was born last year, he was rejected by his mum.

He had to be hand-reared by the keepers.

Since then, Keymon's been very friendly.

-This is Keymon.

-He's cute!

-Really cute.

Good boy!

Shall I put him down and we'll get on with some cleaning.

The first thing is to wash down the platforms.

It smells!

It's a little bit like cleaning the dishes at home.

This is quite hard work to hold the broom.

-I think I got the really easy job!

-It's not fair!

I got the hard job.

I thought it would be easy, but it isn't.

But when the dirty work's done,

there's time to get to know Keymon a little better.

Hello!

Come and say hello to the girls.

He's really soft!

-He is. Is it softer than you thought it would be?

-Yeah.

Keymon may seem friendly,

but all animals can be dangerous.

So Laura and Caitlin can only stroke him because they're with Mel.

It's really cuddly, stroking a monkey.

Really happy.

This is how monkeys groom.

They go through the fur like that

and when they find bits, they eat it - but we won't!

Give him a little groom.

That's it.

He likes that, look. That would be friendly. He's chatting now.

Nice, happy noises. He's enjoying that.

You must be a very good monkey groomer!

-Really cute.

-This is also a nice way of keeping friends

in monkey groups as well.

Friends groom each other like this.

It looks like he's got a beard.

He's got a little white beard.

He's doing it to me now, cos you're doing it to him.

I think he's definitely enjoyed your visit, girls.

MEWING

He's said it himself!

While Keymon's been inside, getting all the attention,

the rest of the troupe have been outside getting hungry.

So, can the Roar Rangers make friends with them, too?

We'll find out later on.

Back up in the Discovery Zone,

we're about to get a close look at the world's smallest monkeys,

the pygmy marmosets.

Jess is hanging up a little mini log filled with tree sap

in the pygmy marmosets' enclosure.

Earlier, I got to fill the log with sap

cos we've never met these guys before.

It's in position and hopefully we'll get to see the new arrivals

gnaw away at their little treat.

We've placed a mini camera in there to get a close-up.

They're so tiny and they can be quite shy as well.

-Hiya, Jess.

-Hey.

Look, they've gone straight for it.

We said earlier they had quite big teeth.

But you never mentioned those cute tongues!

Come on, why hold back?

Is that how they get the sap out of it?

He's using his lower jaw and his tongue to get the sap out.

A lot of it dripped down the log so they don't have to gnaw for it yet.

Later on, they'll work their way to gnawing at the holes a bit.

Unbelievable. That is one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

Their tongues are really fast, as well.

In the wild, you say they eat a lot of tree sap.

Is it fair to say they're gumnivores?

They just eat gum all the time?

They are called gumnivores.

But they do eat fruit as well. They're fruitivores, too.

They eat fruit. Sometimes they eat meat - small birds, lizards, maybe.

I'm amazed, watching them.

Even though they're so little, they look quite sturdy.

And their tail. They're gripping on.

Is that for balance, that tail wrapped round the log?

Yes, definitely. They use their tail for balancing

as well as using it to help them climb when they jump across trees.

They're absolutely fantastic.

In the wild, these tiny little things,

how many would live together in a group?

They're quite sociable. There's the dominant pair, a male and female.

Then their offspring, so up to about 15 in the wild.

So we might have 15 little ones running round very soon.

I've got to say, Jess, they are unbelievable.

And to see them, they're confident little things.

When they have little ones, I'm going to come down here

trying to find them. I'll be there with my magnifying glass!

Thanks very much, Jess. They're so little!

Have you got your own animal park on the Roar game?

If so, you'll know what to do with this.

That's today's cheat code.

If you haven't checked out our game yet,

why not give it a go? It's easy to find on the CBBC website.

Happy gaming!

Come on, then, girls.

They're all excited. Ready and waiting for their nuts.

Our Roar Rangers are out with keeper Mel and the Diana monkeys.

Wild animals can be dangerous.

No-one should ever try to feed them unless with a trained keeper.

So Laura and Caitlin are very lucky.

Are you ready? What we'll do is, if I take this,

then we'll just hand them the nuts.

Do you want to take some?

There we go.

They'll take them out of your hand.

In the wild, they have to stuff as much food in as they can

before any predators come, then they go somewhere safe to eat them.

Diana Monkeys come from West Africa.

But their forest home is disappearing.

The trees are being cut for wood and the land cleared for farming.

So this little monkey is now a threatened species.

-They're very good climbers.

-He's a very good climber.

See him jumping around?

-Yeah.

-That's that big long tail. That helps him balance.

They do have very long tails!

About a third longer than the rest of their body.

Do you want to try and do some of the monkey calls they do?

-They do like a little whistle. They go...

-WHISTLES

And then they go, "Brrrr"!

See if you can talk to the monkeys.

Someone's talking back to you!

You're actually monkey whisperers. How about that?

They're all excited now. Maybe that's all the talking you did.

Here's Keymon. Good boy. He's come to say hello.

He thinks, "I remember you. You did the grooming."

Thank you very much, girls. You've been brilliant.

You're fantastic monkey keepers.

These guys have enjoyed you putting the nuts in.

That'll keep them occupied for hours.

It was really fun. I wish I could do it again.

Maybe one day, eh?

Shall we go this way? Come on, then.

It was fab being a monkey keeper.

We got to stroke the baby monkey.

I liked monkeys before, but I love them now, more than ever.

It was one of the most special things I've ever done.

It was really good. What a treat!

Back at the tapir house, there's very sad news about Lidana.

Despite all the care and attention that the vet and keepers could give,

her illness just got worse and worse.

Lidana has now died.

We came in and found her collapsed on the floor.

Jane, myself and Adrian, the animal director,

took the decision that her time had come

and in fairness to Lidana, we couldn't do any more for her.

Her quality of life had deteriorated rapidly.

The keepers did a fantastic job, tempting her to eat.

They kept her going really well.

But unfortunately we had to put her to sleep.

All the results do indicate

there was nothing else we could do for Lidana.

It doesn't make it any better,

but at least we know everyone did everything they could

and nothing could be done. But the situation is very sad.

Come on, Prince.

Lidana may be gone, but she won't be forgotten,

especially with so many of her children and grandchildren here.

Bob's letting them out into their favourite place, the big paddock.

If Lidana had still been here, she'd be in the paddock here

next to her daughter and grandson.

It's a great shame she's not here, but life has to go on.

Because of the great success we had with her,

we've got her three daughters here.

Her eldest daughter, Linang, is in with her grandson, Kopash.

She might not be here, but her genes are, shall we say!

It's almost the end of another episode of Roar.

Before we go, Rani, smell my boot.

It's boot-iful!

Johny, I like you, but I am not smelling your stinky old boot.

But this is no ordinary stinky old boot.

In it are loads of herbs and spices

and keeper Mark is about to tell us why.

-Right, Mark?

-Hi, Mark. Is this where you store your herbs and spices?

-Are you going to cook for us?

-When I run out of room in the cupboard.

No, we've got a load of spices in there

that you find in places in Central Asia.

-We brought it down for the snow leopard, Marta.

-Right, OK.

In there is a mixture of things like coriander, cumin, nutmeg...

-It smells quite nice.

-Not bad for a used boot!

It doesn't smell bad. Johny has only brought one boot.

How mean is he? You could have brought two, Johny.

Rani! Tell her, Mark. Go on.

If you look to your right, there's one that was prepared earlier.

I did the dangerous part of placing it, so you're at no risk.

You say dangerous - I can't see Marta in there.

Actually, I shut her out there.

I didn't really go in with her. That's too much!

-You're so macho!

-She's sitting by the slide.

-Shall we let her through?

-That would be great.

Here comes Marta.

-She's so slow as she walks.

-She's coming straight to the boot.

-Oh, she's beautiful!

-She's huge!

What's the reason we're doing this, Mark?

It's to give her something interesting.

See where she opened her mouth then?

-Getting hungry?

-There's a gland at the back of her nostrils and throat.

By opening her mouth really wide, it enlarges the nasal passages

so she can take in the scent a lot better.

-It's not just a sign of aggression.

-You might want to step back a bit.

No, it's not a sign of aggression at all.

Her ears would be flat back, she'd be hissing and spitting.

No, she's just soaking up all the flavour, if you like.

That's nothing to be sniffed at! It's been brilliant to get so close.

We're going to hang around a bit longer.

Why not check out what's on the next episode of Roar?

Oooh!

Pinatas for the monkeys? And papier-mache prey?

I find out who comes up with these daft ideas.

Tapirs always poo in their pool.

So is Diega, the new baby, having a swimming lesson

or getting toilet trained?

And the tiger cub's dinner is stuck in a tree.

But if at first you don't succeed,

try again, and again,

and again,

and again!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd