Episode 28 Roar

'Today, on Roar, we go in search of wild gorillas

'in the jungles of Africa.

'But things get dangerous when the big male gets too close.'

-Welcome to Roar. I'm Rani.

-And I'm Johny. Rani, riddle me this.

Which breed of horse is the wildest, most endangered

and named after Russian explorer N.M. Przewalski?

Let me think, Johny(!) Are you talking about the Przewalski horses?

The answer's in the clue there.

-It was when I said "wildest", weren't it?

-No, Johny...

-Forget it. I wonder about you.

-Hold on! Let's get on with the show!

'Coming up today...

'How would you like it if someone poured mud over your breakfast?

'We'll see what the timber wolves make of it.

'One keeper loves his langurs so much,

'he's tried tasting their food.'

They love it so much. I thought I'd give it a go.

'And, in a few minutes' time,

'we'll reveal today's cheat code for the Roar online game.

'First, those timber wolves.'

Dinner! Dinner! Dinner!

Ooh. Thank you. Mm!

That looks like gourmet food!

Er... Thank you, Jim Vassey(!)

As head of carnivores, you should know better than to ruin my dinner.

-Why did you do that?

-This is an experiment we're going to run.

Now you can't see it there.

-You can't smell it.

-No. Can't smell me lovely dinner.

I know an animal who will know where they've left it, smell it,

-and remember where they've put it.

-I'm intrigued.

So, you've got a bucket of mud, and something that looks very gross.

-Do you want me to carry that?

-If you want to.

Which animal's enclosure are we in?

We're in the timber wolf enclosure.

-Where are we going?

-Straight ahead.

What are we doing with this ugly meat and this bucket of mud?

-We're going to bury their food.

-Why would we bury their food?

Where they come from, in the tundra,

the ground is frozen almost all year round.

In times of plenty,

when they kill more than they eat, they're storing for the winter

for when times are lean.

Most of the animals they chase, like caribou, migrate.

So they're stuck in their own territory with not much to eat.

It's almost like they store it in the fridge for later in the season.

-I'm impressed!

-One way they find it, cos you've got three foot of snow

that has gone on top of their food, they use their sense of smell.

They must have a good sense of smell.

Am I going to put this in a hole?

If I make a dent in it for you.

-If you'd like to put that in there.

-It's a massive piece of meat!

It weighs a ton!

-Will they be able to lift it out?

-Hopefully not.

We'll make sure it is covered so they can't see it.

-How many timber wolves have we got in here?

-Two. There's a pair.

One male, one female.

More on top to make it more authentic.

Have you tried this before?

No. But it's all part of enriching their lives.

It gives them something to do, gets their brain active

and their sense of smell, because they don't need to use it much.

We bring the meat in. They take it away.

-They have to work for it.

-Will they be intrigued by a mound of mud?

-I hope so.

-Now, hopefully, they will come out and sniff the meat.

But the timber wolf's elusive and it's rare we get to see them.

So we're prepared.

There is a camera hidden in the trees, ready to catch any action.

-We're going to get out of here now.

-Yeah.

Fingers crossed they come out and smell the meat.

'It's time to leave the park and fly to Africa again.

'Last year, keeper Donna Honey took three baby gorillas, the Oudikis,

'to the Gabon so they can grow up to live free in the jungle.

'It's the latest stage in an ambitious project.

'Ten years ago, the park set up a gorilla nursery

'where babies born in captivity in Kent

'are taught to fend for themselves with local orphans.

'And it works.

'Some of the little ones are already wild gorillas living in the forest.'

Once upon a time they were at the same stage as the Oudikis.

They had carers seeing to them every day.

Now they don't have people spend time with them.

They're left to their own devices. We're going to see if we can find them.

'Liz Pearson has run the project since it started.

'She'll go with Donna cos visiting the now wild gorillas could be dangerous.'

We won't go into the forest with them cos it's too dangerous.

They have no fear of humans

so even if it's just a nice gentle slap,

it wouldn't be nice for guests!

'The first thing is to find them.

'They could be anywhere in the 2,000 square km national park.

'Liz thinks that the best bet is to head up the river, to find a group called the Djaltas.'

The Djaltas have been in this area for a while.

And I was hoping that, maybe, if they were nearby,

we'd have a chance that they would come alongside the river.

As I didn't hear from the trackers this morning, they might be in a completely different area by now.

'They're keeping their eyes peeled. Suddenly, Donna spots something.

'But it's not a gorilla.

'Wild forest elephants are known to live in this part,

'but it's incredibly rare to see one,

'let alone find one swimming.'

We came around the corner and Donna spotted him.

-Very special. It's nice to see.

-Didn't expect that at all.

The elephant seemed so calm as well. It was great!

Not every day you see that.

'It's an amazing sight, but there's no sign of the gorillas.

'Liz knows a spot where she's seen them before.'

-Can you stand there and hold the boat?

-OK.

Don't go downstream without me.

'Liz doesn't want to be stranded.

'Even with her experience, the jungle can be a dangerous place.'

If you want to just stand here.

-If they arrive, we won't want to be all tied up.

-OK. Yeah.

-I thought I heard a "woo"!

-I thought I heard a gorilla cry as well.

-You did, too?

-Yeah.

I could just be hearing what I want to hear,

but strange that we both heard it.

'Liz needs to be very careful.

'Although gorillas rarely attack people, they might, if taken by surprise.'

I feel a bit vulnerable here

knowing that some gorillas that are more wild than the Oudikis

could just come round the corner but, er...

..Liz is over there. I feel safe with the knowledge

that Liz is probably going to see them before me.

We're in safe hands.

It's quite exciting.

'The crying sound they heard could mean the gorillas are close.

'But it could be a different kind of creature, too.'

There is a bird that we call a "crying gorilla bird"

because the crying out sounds are a lot like a gorilla.

It's possible it's that, and who knows where they are now?

'So they haven't found the gorillas yet.

'Are they so wild that we won't get to see them?'

What's happening when you hear "Woof. Splat. Miaow. Splat"?

It's raining cats and dogs!

Zzzzzz...

-Where do bees keep their money?

-I don't know.

-In their "honey" box.

Zzzzzz.

What does a lion eat?

"Roar" meat!

We know primates are clever,

but we're about to give the Javan langurs a prickly predicament.

We've got some hawthorn to feed them and check how sharp that is.

Matt, why are we going to give them a sharp point?

The sharpness of the thorns are just the tree's mechanism

to stop animals eating the leaves.

This species, they wouldn't come across in the wild.

It's a natural defence that the langurs can pick through

and get the nice leaf matter.

How? If I was going to eat this with my mouth,

which I suspect they will do, I'd end up with an injury.

They've got different pain thresholds to us.

As we touch them, they cause us pain.

-Hence me wearing these masculine gloves!

-Very fetching.

With them, their hands are really leathery.

When they start picking at them,

if they touch one of the thorns, they're not as affected.

Will they be OK?

You'll see them wrestling the leafs off each other, grabbing the thorns.

-It's a strange thing to watch.

-Have they got nutritious value?

The langurs are actually leaf-eating animals.

This is the best diet that we can give them.

Because we're from England, we only get leaf for a few months.

This is a good supplement through the normal diet that they get daily.

-What happens in the winter when we don't have leaves?

-We freeze leaves.

We strip the leaves off, freeze them and we've got it all year round.

Would they come across anything in the wild

-that's sharp that's helped them develop special hands?

-Yeah.

In every habitat, there'll be a tree trying to defend its leaves.

There'll be different versions throughout the world.

It sounds like the Javan langurs have specially adapted hands

to combat against these spikes.

Are they the only primates that have those tough hands?

No. I think pretty much it's a general rule for all primates.

They have to use their hands to move around.

They need their hands to be solid so if they jump on a branch with spikes

it's not going to injure them.

They can't survive without their hands. I'm sure they're all good.

We'll let the Javan langurs out and see what they make of our prickly treat. Wicked!

'We're heading back to the wild again.

'Donna Honey and Liz Pearson are trying to track down some gorillas

'who were born in England but released into the African jungle

'six years ago.

'A team of trackers try to keep an eye on them.

'They don't feed them but go out every day to see how they're doing.

'It isn't easy because now they're wild they could be anywhere.

'But Liz has heard that the gorillas have been seen not too far away.

'The trackers found them in an area they often come to.

'Suddenly, the gorillas appear from the forest.'

DONNA: No! I cannot believe this!

Oh, wow!

I think they're intrigued by extra people being here.

It's nice that they've come out to say hello.

'Because they're used to seeing the trackers,

'the gorillas don't feel frightened or aggressive,

'but they are inquisitive.

'Best to keep a boat between them and someone they're not used to.

'It's amazing to think that these gorillas living free in Africa

'were born in the park in Kent.

'Donna remembers meeting them.'

There's three I met when I was doing voluntary work

about six years ago.

And then there's one wild-born orphan, Zuba.

'The four have become a group led by the oldest male called Djalta.'

Djalta keeps going like this.

Looking very chilled-out.

'Djalta's 11, and will soon start to develop

'the silverback coat of an adult male.'

Zuba!

'Zuba and Pammy are the two females.

'It's hoped they'll mate with Djalta so the troupe will have babies.

'It would be the ultimate proof that these gorillas have successfully

'gone back to the wild.'

It's great to see them like this. It puts things in perspective.

I'd love to come and see the Oudikis like this one day.

'Djalta's group are used to Liz and the trackers,

'but they're curious about the new visitor.

'Bim's eyeing up the boats.'

I think she likes you!

'Which is nice, as long as she stays on the bank.

'Sensing that the big gorilla might want to say hello,

'the trackers untie the boats.

'But Bim isn't the only one who's curious.

'Group leader Djalta decides to take a closer look.

'Liz acts quickly, pushing her boat out into the river,

'which stops Djalta from jumping in with them.

'That was a close call.

'He wouldn't mean any harm but wild animals can be unpredictable.

'And now he's stuck. Gorillas can't swim.

'He'll have to stay where he is

'until the trackers can get him out of their boat.

'For Donna, as a keeper of captive gorillas,

'seeing a group who's been returned to the wild

'has been a valuable experience.'

It's really nice to see these gorillas.

It puts things in perspective as to how things will be for the Oudikis.

Maybe I'll be going on boat rides trying to find them.

It's nice to see the results further on down the line.

'It's great that the Oudikis will live out their lives in the wild

'but it will be hard for Donna to say her final goodbyes in a few hours' time.'

HOWLING

'Rani and Jim buried a big chunk of meat

'to see if the timber wolves sniff it out.

'The wolves are shy so we left a camera.

'It's time to watch the recording.'

-Can I hit play?

-Of course you can.

I'll probably break it now.

There's the mud pile.

-Who's this one?

-The male, Justin.

Justin timber wolf! Wooo!

He's having a sniff.

You thought he'd smell his dinner through the mud.

Yes. We're trying this to see whether they will go for the food.

-He's digging.

-He knows what to do, scraping the mud away.

That's going to be a bit rank now. Will that bother him?

No. Their metabolism can cope with rotten meat and frozen meat.

Which they eat in the winter.

-What's he doing?

-He's scent marking where he was digging.

How does he know there isn't another piece of meat

-that he could have just piddled on?

-Maybe that's why he did pee on it.

His smell now is on that mound.

-No-one else can go to it?

-Someone might, but if they smell his smell,

they might think, "There's a male wolf around."

He's taken the meat out,

placed it on the side, walked away from it.

Typical!

-Why does he not want to eat that?

-He will do.

She might well come along later and take it down in the den,

20 foot under the ground.

They'll nibble on it then bring it back up when it's smelly.

Thank you for letting us leave the cameras in. We got great footage.

It's good to see the timber wolves, even though they can't sing.

Now the bit all you online gamers are waiting for, today's cheat code.

Type that in to find out what treats you can give your animals today.

'A few minutes ago,

'I helped keeper Matt Ford put out hawthorn for the Javan langurs.

'I think it's mean cos they're wickedly prickly.'

We've just released the Javan langurs.

-They've gone straight over and they're not bothered.

-No.

They're walking over it.

It's hitting the under side of their belly and they don't seem to mind.

Is that extra tough as well?

They seem to love it so much that they don't mind about the pain.

-They're trying to get what they can.

-Is this a family group?

Yeah. An adult male, a few breeding females and their offspring.

Do they eat nicely together or is there rivalry?

There's a definite hierarchy.

The older females should come in and take what they want.

They'll move away and the lower dominant animals will take the rest.

Look see how dexterous they are.

Will they be careful pulling the leaves off?

-Or are they not bothered?

-Not bothered at all.

They just want to eat the leaf so they'll keep pulling.

They'll probably snap off some of the thorns.

They've got no worry at all.

-You think they love the taste?

-I've tasted some leaves.

-To me they taste no different.

-Have you tasted hawthorn yourself?

Yeah. They love it so much, but I can't really taste the benefits.

But obviously, they do like it.

I must say, if there are any kids at home

thinking, "There's a hawthorn. I might try some."

Don't. It really hurts. It's not a good thing to do.

-That is right.

-You're a trained pro!

Let's go back to their hands.

They're really long, the hands and the feet. Why is that?

They live in the high canopy in their natural habitat

and they leap, as you just saw, so they need long hands and feet

to grasp onto branches.

That's just an adaptation of being a tree-dwelling animal.

-Have the leaves got medicinal qualities?

-For them, it does.

The leaf matter helps the bacteria in their stomachs,

which means they burp horrible smells!

It's a natural thing to keep them going properly.

The Javan langurs are loving their dinner but I won't be having hawthorn any time soon!

'Meanwhile, 5,000 kilometres away in Africa,

'it's time for our final visit back to the wild.

'Having seen how well the three gorillas she helped to hand raise

'are adapting to the jungle, Donna is preparing to go back to England.

'This may be the last time they'll ever see her.

'She will be taking back video recordings to show the keepers.

'The youngsters just want to play with the camera and Donna.

'She knows they don't need her any more. Her job is done.'

I think that them being here is great.

A really good outcome. They're in probably the best place for them.

'As they walk back to the little house where the youngsters sleep,

'Donna has to behave as normal.

'If she showed sadness,

'they might be distressed, too.

'But the gorillas may have sensed something

'as someone doesn't want to let her go.

'Donna has to leave

'and can't look back, but it isn't easy.'

I'm going to miss the kids.

I'm going to miss them loads, like I have done for the past year.

I'm happy to leave them here.

Everyone's doing such a good job. I couldn't ask for more.

It's been a success story for the Oudikis.

I'm just grateful to be part of it.

'It's been a very useful trip.

'It proves that it is possible to return gorillas born in England

'to their natural habitat in Africa.

'Oudiki, Kouki and Tiya are the living proof

'they really can go back to the wild.'

It's almost the end of the show but we're not just saying goodbye to you

we're saying ta-ta to two of the tapirs.

We're with keeper Chris. Who are we saying goodbye to?

We, unfortunately, are saying goodbye to Kopash there.

Kopash, he's a big fella but he doesn't account for two tapirs!

No, Kopash and his grandfather Dang, in the next paddock over.

So why are you saying goodbye?

Unfortunately, Kopash is related to all the other tapirs and so is Dang.

To keep the species going, we've got to get another two in.

Will they be moving and starting off a new "herd" together?

Yeah, they'll be going to the same zoo.

It's ZooParc Beauval in France.

So they're hopefully going to start their own family.

This is Kopash's mum, isn't it?

The one next door is Ledang, that's his mother.

How is Ledang going to cope? Is Kopash ready to move away from home?

I think he'll be more worried.

She'll see it as quite an ease, as he tries to steal all her food.

-Will him and his granddad be in the same enclosure in France?

-No.

Unfortunately, tapirs are solitary and if we put him in with Dang,

-he would probably beat him up.

-You don't beat up your granddad!

Definitely not!

If Kopash and Dang are leaving,

-are you getting maybe some new tapirs?

-Yeah.

Two new males. One the same age as Kopash and one the same age as Dang.

Does that mean there's a possibility of babies in the future?

There will be babies. Yeah.

Baby tapirs are the cutest!

Good luck with it, Chris.

While we say ta-ta to the tapirs, check out what's coming up on the next episode of Roar.

'An African wild dog called Dead-Eyed Dave has to be knocked out

'for a life-saving operation.

'Will his brother attack him when he comes back?

'Stand by for one of the longest and thinnest tongues in the world.'

I'd believe anything about these creatures after today!

'And are the lion-taled macaques smart enough

'and strong enough, to break into coconuts?'

They're all fighting for it now.

'Don't miss it.'

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