Episode 4 Roar

Today on Roar...

little Harris has to face a whole gang of bigger boys -

herds of new animals and

the local bully. So how will he survive his first day in the park?

Hello and welcome to Roar. I'm Rani.

I'm Johny, and this group of fine swine here are the red river hogs.

These guys are really social animals

and live in close-knit families called sounders.

Sounders can be made up of many generations,

but what we've got here is Dad, Mum and their three terrific toddlers.

Don't be fooled by their cute exterior,

because those tusks can actually grow up to 7cm long

and their lower teeth - well,

-they can be razor-sharp, which can defend them against predators.

-Ouch!

Sounds painful! Talking of fierce,

check out today's show, because it packs a punch.

-Today on Roar... Our rangers are out to help feed the coatis.

-Eugh!

But what happens when the coatis start

helping themselves?

You've got to find it first!

There's some great news from the Gorilla House.

We'll be getting a good look at the brand-new baby.

Looking after the big cats is a dangerous business,

so we're going to find out if the keeper in charge of them

is up to the challenge.

But first... We're going up to

the Giraffe House because the new boy could be in for a difficult day.

In our last programme, we followed the action as

a young male named Harris arrived here to join the herd.

He's now spent his first night alone inside the house,

where keeper Paul Beer has been keeping a close eye on him.

He seems quite calm. We went in last night and gave him some food

by hand and he's eating out of the hands,

and yeah, getting on really well. He's really friendly.

But now Harris must face a dangerous situation.

He's just two years old and nowhere near fully grown.

But he's about to be introduced to the rest of the tower.

They're all males, all taller than him and they're all waiting outside

in the Giraffe House yard.

It's vital that they accept Harrison into their gang, so Paul has made

a plan for the introduction.

I'm going to get Nick, Kieran and Clare to call the four over

into the corner of the yard and I'm going to go in

and open the door and mix them outside here in the yard.

Giraffes can kill each other by swinging their huge neck

and using their whole head like a giant club.

But now we'll see what the big boys do, because here comes Harris.

He's a bit wary but...it's all new to him. It's a lot to take in.

There are three possibilities - they might attack him, they might ignore

him or they could make friends.

The rest of the boys are just checking him out. Sniffing him.

The big boys are curious, and there are no signs of aggression.

In fact, it's looking really good.

The introduction has gone really well so far.

They're quite relaxed and chilled out

and they're really settling down, so yes, I'm pleased.

Harris has been accepted by the others.

But the next step could be much more stressful.

The giraffes are about to be let out into the safari area,

where Harris will come face to face with a lot of animals he's never,

ever seen before.

Giraffes might be tall, but zebras can be mean.

The last youngster out here

was the target of some very aggressive behaviour.

It'll be a bit of a shock when he first goes out there,

but hopefully he'll cling to the rest of the adults

and find his feet, but we'll keep an eye on him.

And we'll be keeping a close eye on him too, so join us later to

see what happens to little Harris

on what might well be the scariest day of his life.

There's been some terrific news about the rhinos.

The female named Rafiji is pregnant.

It's always a very special event

when a new baby black rhino comes along.

In fact, it's been three years since the last time

there was one born in the parks.

That was Grumeti and he was great fun to watch.

So, I've braved the windy day to get the details about Rafiji

from keeper Dave Stokes.

On a scale of one of to ten, how excited are you?

Very excited, obviously, all of us here.

We can't believe that we've finally got a pregnant rhino.

It's a hugely exciting time for us.

She seems quite feisty, is that because she's pregnant?

To be honest, she's calmed down a little bit recently

because she's been separated into a different paddock.

At the moment, because we're standing right next to her,

and we've got some feed down here, she knows she's going to get fed.

She's just getting a little bit impatient and waiting

for us to give her the food.

Let's not keep this expecting lady expecting any longer, Dave.

-Shall we give her some bananas?

-Yes.

There you go.

Have you had to vary the diet now that she's pregnant?

Not so much at the moment.

We need to make sure she's getting plenty of food.

But we have to be careful that she doesn't get too much as well,

because we don't want her getting too fat

rather than just feeding the youngster inside her.

How long until she gives birth then?

The earliest she could give birth is in about the next six months.

You must be so excited. Have you ever seen a rhino give birth before?

No. I've seen baby rhinos on film before but never in the flesh.

For all of us on the section, it's a really exciting time for us.

Will you promise to keep us updated throughout the series?

Absolutely, we'll let you know how she's getting on.

Good luck, Rafiji!

Today's Roar Rangers are sisters Laura and Caitlin from Leeds.

Yes, they're twins, but does that mean they

always agree with each other?

Who's going to be the best Roar Ranger?

-I am!

-No, definitely me!

-Definitely me.

-Well, we both are.

(BOTH) Yes!

These cheerful cheerleaders know all about

looking after their pet cat, Tilly,

though that might not help with the animal they're going to get today.

Laura and Caitlin, today you are coati keepers.

-I wonder what a coati is?

-Let's go and find out.

-I'm Caitlin.

-I'm Laura.

-I'm Jess, the coati keeper, and you guys

-are going to help me today. Do you know what they are?

-(BOTH) No.

-Shall we go and meet them?

-(BOTH) Yes.

The coati is about the same size as a pet cat,

but they're actually related to the racoon.

And while the racoon comes from North America,

the coati lives in the forests of Central and South America

where they spend most of their time in the tree tops.

Right, then. These are coati.

Do they remind you of anything?

Their noses look like pigs' noses.

They do have noses similar to pigs.

They use them to dig around in the soil and find grubs and fruits

and things that are under the ground.

When they stick their hand out there, they look like humans.

We've got to go and clean up in there, rake up all of the mess

that they've made from yesterday and then we will feed them. Is that OK?

(BOTH) Yes.

In the wild, male coatis can be aggressive,

so they usually live on their own.

But females stay in a family group called a band.

Here in the park, they've got a band of six females

and they're a pretty relaxed bunch.

Unlike the neighbours.

Whoa!

That made me jump!

To reach the coati's back door, you have to get past Layla and Jabir,

the Barbary lions who don't like strangers.

There you go, there's a rake each.

Laura and Caitlin are going right into the coati's enclosure

while they're still in there.

But it's safe because they're with a trained keeper.

Can we stroke them?

Not really. But they're not going to hurt you. Come on.

-See all these bits of straw?

-Yes.

They need to be raked up into a pile.

SQUEAKING

He keeps squeaking.

Yes, they make lots of noises to each other.

Coatis communicate with squeaks, snorts and grunts.

When they're angry, they make a loud chirping noise.

But this lot seem to be happy.

It was a bit scary when we came in because I thought they were all

going jump up at us, but they wasn't.

It's a bit weird. Cos they're all surrounding us.

It's cool as well, because you get to see them up close.

I think that's a good enough job.

We'll go and get their food, shall we?

Coatis are omnivores.

That means they eat meat as well as fruit and vegetables.

Jess has their dinner ready in a bucket.

(BOTH) Oh, they're trying to get out!

They just want the food.

Come on, then. Follow me, then, girls.

They get fruit and veg twice a day,

but meat only about once a week.

And today, it's one of their favourites...rat.

If you hold onto the tail,

they can take that bit and they won't hurt you.

There we go, give that to that one.

-Yuk!

-Do you want to do the same?

-OK.

-There you go.

-Lower it and then they'll take it. That's it.

-Eugh!

I wouldn't like to eat rat.

They're really good climbers,

why do they climb so much?

They climb so much mainly to get away from predators,

and there's a lot more space in here for them up at the tops

and they can get away from each other and have their own food.

When we give them the fruit and veg,

they'll come back down and eat together.

As they're tucking into the rat, shall we leave their veg?

If you both grab a couple of handfuls...

We'll throw the rat out first. If we spot it around in

different places, that will give them something to do later on.

The coati has a very keen sense of smell, so it won't take them long

to find out where Laura and Caitlin have hidden the food.

Now, we've got someone trying to invade the bucket.

-Oh!

-Get off!

You've got to find it first?

As you can see, coatis are quite acrobatic.

Like most animals that live in trees, they need to be good at

jumping and climbing.

They're all pushing!

I thought that they would be really scary, but they're nice and gentle.

I didn't know what they were before, but I really like them now

because they're really unusual.

That's them all cleaned out now and they've got all their food,

so shall we leave them to eat the rest of their food? Yes? Come on.

But that's going to take them past the grumpy neighbours.

LION GROWLS

Fortunately, they can't get to us.

GROWLS LOUDER Oh! He's scary!

So what did the Roar Rangers make of these little-known animals?

It was really fun being a coati keeper today

and I'd never think I'd get to meet one.

We had no idea what a coati was at the start, but now we know,

and if it wasn't for Roar, we wouldn't ever know what a coati was.

(BOTH) We love coatis! We love coatis!

What do you call a sheep with no head?

-And no legs?

-And no tail?

A cloud. Baa!

Oo-oo aa-aa!

-What animal was last to leave the Arc?

-I don't know.

The elephants, because they had to pack their trunks.

Meow! Meow!

What do cows like to dance to?

-I don't know.

-Any kind of moo-sic you like.

Back up at the Giraffe House, new boy Harris could be facing

a run-in with a bit of a bully.

He's about to be let out into the safari area

where 16 species roam together.

Harris is only two years old

and has never met any of these creatures before.

But keeper Paul is most worried about one animal in particular.

My main concern is the zebra. They can be a bit aggressive.

We've had problems in the past when Karamoja was younger,

with kicking and biting from them,

but hopefully, he'll stand up for himself.

Zebra and giraffe do live together in the wild,

on the dry savannahs of Africa,

but it's going to be a new experience for Harris.

First, though, he and the others need to come out of the yard.

I'm going to go in a minute and open the gates,

call them out and let them wander off,

and hopefully he'll come out nice and steady

and not go stupid and clutter off down the hill.

Go on, then.

If you see a rhino, shout.

Harris is the small one at the back.

-Good boy, Harris.

-As long as he stays with the rest of the tower

whilst he's getting used to the safari area,

he shouldn't become too stressed.

And he'll be safe from those aggressive zebras.

He's a bit nervous. It's all new to him.

There's acres and acres he's going to be roaming on now.

As you can see, he's staying with the boys, which is good.

But the boys don't seem to be in any hurry to go down the lane -

they've been distracted by their favourite food, hawthorn trees.

It's only taken a couple of minutes

and he's eating brows with the rest of them now.

Finally, the boys move off, and Harris is right there with them.

He certainly seems to have fitted in with the gang.

Paul is very pleased with how well he's done.

It would be nice to keep him and get some females in

and use him as a potential breeding male in a few years. It'd be good.

And when the boys reach the safari area, Harris continues to take

all the new experiences in his stride.

He's not fazed by the space or the other animals, and so far,

there's been no trouble with the zebras.

So even though Harris is the smallest giraffe in the place,

his arrival has been a big success.

Some of the carnivores here are pretty dangerous,

so it's important that the keeper in charge of them is both

crafty as a fox and cool as a cucumber.

That person is big Jim Vassie.

But the trouble with Jim is, every time we get him on Ask The Keeper,

he keeps wriggling out of the questions.

The last time I was there, he spent most of the time arguing.

-Are we including the tail?

-No, we didn't measure the tail.

Hang on - did we measure the tail? Yes, we measured the tail!

So, to try and get some straight answers out of Jim,

we've just invented a new way to give him a grilling.

It's a quiz, and to make sure he pays attention,

we've added the promise of prizes.

It's now time for Carnivore Quiz.

OK, the man in the hot seat is Mr Jim Vassie.

Now, Jim is head of the big cat section,

and he believes he knows everything. Isn't that right, Jim?

-No.

-Oh, come on, Jim! You know it is.

Now, let me just point this out to you.

Can you read this?

No - you've smudged it.

It says Quiz Master, Jim, which means I know it all for today.

Now, I have some questions for you.

And questions mean prizes.

We've got some great prizes on offer, and they're all things

that we think would help you become an even better keeper.

-What, pink gloves?

-Seriously, they will help you

be better. Make you more stylish.

Round one. You are playing for an ice cream.

Now, this ice cream will hopefully keep you cool on warm days

like this. Here is your question.

What is the fastest cat in the world?

-I'll guess the cheetah.

-Well done.

OK, Jim. You get yourself an ice cream. Let me just check it's OK.

You've got yourself an ice cream.

Minus your part.

Just had to check it was OK, Jim!

It's perfect. It's very nice, actually.

Right, then. Let's go for the next one.

OK, this time you're playing -

let me put this down - for these marvellous overalls.

Let me just show this to everyone at home. Beautiful overalls.

Just Jim's size. OK.

Here's your question, Jim.

Which carnivore that hunts in packs

has around an 80% success rate for a kill?

-Now, this should be easy for me, because I look after them.

-Yeah.

So I'm going to go for...

-Come on - you know this.

-African hunting dog.

Yes, you know this one. There you go. The overalls are yours.

Now, put on your gloves and let me put on that hat.

-Oh, no, man!

-That suits you. And you can wear this another time.

There is one more question for you.

It's a toughie. It's for a star prize.

The star prize is underneath this beautiful cloth here.

It's a mystery prize, so I'm not going to tell you what it is.

If you would like that prize, you're going to have to be willing

to give up all these other prizes for what's in there.

However, I won't take back your ice cream,

because that's going to be tricky.

-Yes, go for it. I'll risk it.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-You sure?

-Yeah, go for it.

OK, you're confident in your ability as a big cat keeper.

In the wild, how large can a Siberian tiger's range be?

Now, is it A - 250 square miles,

B - 120 square miles,

or C - 500 square miles?

Ooh...I'll go for B.

So, Jim, you're saying B,

120 square miles, which is 310 square kilometres.

OK.

Jim, that is right! Congratulations.

You get to keep all your prizes, plus you get the star prize!

Would you like me to reveal it?

-If you would.

-Da-da da-da!

Not one, but two signed pictures of myself and Johny, for your pleasure.

Jim, when it comes to the Carnivore Quiz, you are definitely the master!

-That's good.

-Now, get your overalls on.

What's on the back?

Right, that's it!

Did you know that the Roar game is now bigger than ever before?

There's a new enclosure that's just been added.

Check it out on the CBBC website.

But right now, make a note of this.

"Coral1" - that's today's cheat code.

And you'll need it to unlock features like food and treats.

Good luck with your park, and happy gaming.

It's a glorious day, and I've popped down to the deer park,

but who might possibly live in a house like this?

Well, let's find out.

It's hoofstock keeper Helen Rhodes. Hiya, Helen.

All right?

I wasn't expecting YOU to be in here,

but I'm presuming there must be something else in here as well.

-This is actually the house of the guinea fowl.

-The guinea fowl!

-Where are they?

-They're just in that corner.

Now, these aren't the same three that I met a few weeks ago,

that were tiny, just newly-hatched babies?

Yeah, they're the same. As you can see, they've grown a lot.

This is their new home.

It's bigger than that enclosure they were in before.

We moved them in here because they're a bigger,

and we want to get them used to perching up high,

so that when we let them out into the deer park, they can roost on higher

fences and branches so that there's no chance of predators getting them.

We've got lots of foxes around here,

so we do need to be very careful, keep them safe.

-They are so cute. Can we get closer?

-Yeah, yeah.

If you stay there. They'll run off otherwise.

-How old are they?

-They're six weeks now.

-And can they fly yet?

They're developing their wing muscles, so they will be flying soon.

They're starting to jump high.

So how high? We've got these sticks here and these twigs.

Can they jump up to the top?

No, they wouldn't get right up the top yet.

Maybe in five or six weeks' time.

-Right.

-But they're starting to go sort of halfway up this log here.

And how long before they're fully grown?

Probably about six or seven weeks, they should be about fully grown.

We've got the three youngsters. Are there any more guinea fowl?

Yeah, we've got five adults outside.

So what we've decided to do is mesh up the window,

just so they can see each other through the mesh,

because otherwise they might bully the youngsters.

We've got to careful that they don't hurt them.

When you say bullying, what kind of things?

They'll chase them of their food. They'll run after them.

We don't want that to happen.

Do they ever escape? Because, obviously, if they can fly...

They could escape if they wanted to, to be fair.

They could get to the top of the fences.

But they're quite happy in here.

They just don't bother. We're here to feed them and we water them,

-and they seem to be happy where they are.

-They've got a nice life here.

-Exactly.

-It's good to see how much they've grown.

These guinea fowl have certainly come home to roost.

Something amazing's happened up in the gorilla house.

A new baby's been born.

It's a boy! And his mum's name is Boma.

Keeper Mark is going to tell us all about it.

Boma's baby's now just coming up to two months of age,

and we've named him Nkoumou.

When baby gorillas are first born, they mainly sleep, poo and drink.

He spends his days doing whatever Boma's doing,

because he's hanging onto her all the time,

particularly when she's moving around.

Over the last few weeks, Boma's started to put the baby on her back.

He's riding on her almost like a jockey.

When they're born, baby gorillas are very small, around 2kg.

That's only about half the birth weight of the average human baby.

Then they develop fast.

Nkoumou will be crawling very soon, at around nine weeks. And then in

just a few months, he'll be running around with the other kids.

He's very alert. He's taking in his environment nicely.

He's getting to an age where he's really looking around.

Happy with his progress, and also Boma's doing

all the right things. She's letting him suckle,

she's carrying him around nicely and she's being protective.

It's important for Boma, her first offspring.

It's good that she's caring for it so well,

because she's learning all the time.

The other females in the group,

they'll actually observe Boma rearing Nkoumou, and they'll learn from it,

so it's good for Boma and for the group.

Their personality will develop a little bit later on,

particularly when they start moving around the enclosure.

It's nice that he's got two other infants in the group that he'll be

able to play with. Hopefully

they won't be too rough with him, but it'll be a nice little group.

And we'll be there to bring you all the action, because while

two gorillas are fun...

three together are an absolute hoot.

So don't miss the further adventures of Nkoumou later in the series.

Now, it is almost the end of the show, but before we leave you,

we've got enough time to catch up with our three favourite ladies.

-Hey, Jen.

-Hello.

-And of course, the two lovely ellies as well.

Hiya, Jen. So who have we got here, then, Jen?

On the right is Lara, and on the left we've got Issa.

-They're mum and daughter?

-Yes.

-Not much difference in height, though?

No, Issa's actually bigger than her mum.

She's going to be a big girl when she's finished growing.

-So how old is Issa now?

-Issa's about 15 years old.

-Wow, OK. OK.

-And Mum?

About 31.

Can you tell that Lara is Issa's mum by the way she acts with her?

When there's food around, no. Lara's very greedy.

But if Issa is ever in a bit of distress or a bit worried,

she'll call her mum and Lara'll come running over to check she's OK.

-Even though she's bigger than her mum?

-Yes!

That's lovely they've got that relationship.

You've got mum and daughter here. In the wild is that what you'd have?

Would they look after each other?

Yeah. In the wild, you'll have big herds of like 30, 40 elephants,

mothers, grandmas, aunties, cousins... All females together.

And they all look out for each other.

We mentioned earlier, in the wild, there'd be

massive herds. Would you ever think about bringing more females in here?

Yeah, we'd love to bring more females in, but everyone wants to keep

young females, because that's what it's natural to do.

If we're getting any more elephants, it'll be making our own.

And is there any chance of that?

Hopefully, in a couple of years' time...

-Ha, Jen!

-..we'll have some baby elephants.

So would you give us a call back when there's some new

-baby elephants, and we can come and see them?

-I will do.

Thank you so much, Jen.

While we chill out with Mum and daughter,

check out what's coming up on the next episode.

There's a new tamarin in town,

but will the other monkeys welcome her or drive her out?

Tamarins, although small, can be quite ferocious.

We all know that lions can be fierce, but we're going

to find out how strong they are, too.

And it looks like there's a baby boom in the Gorilla House.

We'll be meeting another arrival who is just two weeks old.

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