Episode 1 Roar

When lions go in for the kill, the prey doesn't stand a chance.

Which is a bit scary, because today on Roar, the prey is me!

Hello and welcome to an all-new series of Roar.

It is all new, Johny.

We've got new animals, new stories,

same old presenters, but we do have a new park.

This year we're at Longleat Safari Park.

As you can see, we're already surrounded by animals.

-You know what?

-I reckon this lot are really going to like us.

I'm scared they're going to eat us!

And I would like to explore this new park,

so I think we'll get this show and this truck on the road.

Move it out, boys!

This park is home to almost 1,000 animals, so there's lots to explore.

Today, I'll be taking a voyage of discovery...

-and meeting the three-ton killers!

-Hippos are incredibly dangerous.

-Really?

-Yeah. They're one of Africa's most notorious killers.

The pygmy goats are having a baby boom,

but one of the newborns has a problem.

We are still very concerned about the little one.

So will she survive?

And the keeper tries to bribe his way out of a tricky task!

-If anyone wants some of these...

-Oh, you little cheat!

-'Maybe he should have let the bird do the talking!'

-Hello!

On Roar, we know all about lions.

But I've heard meeting them here

is unlike anything we've ever done before.

I've come down to meet lion keeper Bob, because he said

he's going to give me a VIP guided tour of the lion enclosure.

-Hiya, Bob.

-Hello, Johny. How are you?

-Where's the limo, then?

I'm good, thank you.

You take those, jump in there - we've got some very hungry cats to feed.

-It's not a limo?

-No, no, unfortunately not!

-Are you sure this is safe in here?

-Very safe.

'This is a new experience.

'I'm the one inside the cage while the animals are outside looking in!'

Look at the lions running alongside us! They're waiting for their food.

Do you think they'll be attacking us or anything?

Because I guess we're the prey.

Well, we ARE the prey, and what they're doing is they're chasing us

and they also chase each other.

They're just practising their hunting skills.

I tell you what, it's incredible being here.

There's just a small cage in between me

and these lions. There's such a wildness in their eyes.

So, where do we put the meat, then?

-Seeing as we're in a cage, there's only one way out.

-Right.

-That's down this hatch.

-Right.

So if you chuck the meat down there, they'll grab it and then run off.

There's no way... It's so bizarre to see this big opening here -

there's no way the lions can get in?

-Not while it's on its wheels!

-Right!

That's good to know, reassuring!

Right, let me pop this big chop down.

-A heavy one there.

-There we go.

-Oh, look - she's got that one.

-She's grabbed a piece.

You know what, I've just picked up

this chunk of meat that was really heavy for me,

and she's picked it up

like it was effortless, like it was nothing, like it was a feather.

They are very, very strong creatures.

If they're in the wild, they'd be hunting buffalo,

they'd be hunting zebras and they'd have to take them down.

They'd knock them over and just start eating them.

So I guess they have to be strong to knock other big animals down.

Yeah, otherwise they'll starve to death.

I've just put some ribs out there.

How do they get the meat off the bone?

What they do is, as soon as they've pulled it off using their teeth,

they use their tongue to lick any meat that's left on the bone.

On the tongue, it's very, very coarse hair.

And it's like a file or a rasp.

As they're licking the meat, bits and pieces are coming off,

and they're taking it in.

A couple more pieces of meat left. Shall I put it out?

Chuck that out, and then I think we're pretty well done then.

Well, they're not following us any more,

so they must be pretty bored of us at the minute.

We should get out before they decide

they want a second course!

In fact, we've got a second course for YOU,

because there are two prides here that need to be fed.

And the next gang are bigger, older and hungrier.

These are African pygmy goats.

At the moment, they've got a herd of 14 here, but that's about to change.

The keeper in charge of them is Bev Evans.

There is actually quite big news at the moment, so we're overexcited

here with the goats, cos we've got three of our youngest females,

who are all about three years old, due to give birth

any day now, to be honest. It's very exciting times, actually.

One of the pregnant mums is called Bubble

and she's very important to Bev, because Bubble is the comeback kid.

It all goes back to when she was born.

Bubble was the smallest baby of three, and her mother rejected her.

Bev had no choice but to take her away and try and save her.

But poor Bubble was so weak and cold,

it looked like she didn't stand a chance.

It was touch and go

whether she'd actually survive when she was very little.

And there was a moment when they thought she'd actually died.

But Bev didn't give up, and Bubble came back.

Slowly, she got stronger and stronger,

and when she was a week old,

she could join the other kids playing outside.

And now, three years on,

the comeback kid is about to have kids of her own.

Very excited at the moment about Bubble.

She's a special goat to a lot of the keepers here,

so we're very, I think, overexcited to see Bubble become a mum.

That'll be great.

But after the drama of Bubble's birth,

Bev knows you can't be too careful.

She's called in safari park vet Duncan Williams.

-So how are we getting on, then, Bev?

-Very well, actually.

Bubble's very, very close to her due date.

Every day we're seeing changes.

-She's getting bigger, and her udders are coming down.

-The udders are huge.

When goats are about to give birth,

their udders start to fill with milk, ready to feed the new babies.

Looking at the udders,

I would say they're probably all within a week or so.

-Possibly this one here could be days, really.

-Yeah.

So it looks like Bubble might be the first, but there's more

to being a mum than just giving birth,

and she could have difficulties.

Bubble, since she was hand-reared,

she hasn't had the experience of her mother,

so that may be an issue in terms of she doesn't know what to do,

how to look after babies, cos she hasn't had that.

If Bubble does have a problem, at least Bev could help...

if she was around. But there's a snag.

I am going on holiday in about a week's time.

Bubble did promise me she'd give birth before I left,

which is likely, highly likely.

But I think Bubble will probably do it before I leave,

Marcia while I'm away and Lottie when I get back.

But of course, no-one can really control when babies get born.

Bev has saved Bubble's life once already,

but will she be there if the comeback kid needs her help again?

We'll have to wait and see.

One one side of the safari park, there's a huge lake.

It's half a mile long.

They tell me it's home to a very strange mix of creatures,

and the only way to explore it is by boat.

All aboard! Ahoy, shipmates!

I'm here at Half Mile Lake to meet the inhabitants.

Who better to take me round than Captain Mark? Reporting for duty!

-Can I stop speaking like this and take this off?

-Yes.

Thank you very much! I'm very excited - Half Mile Lake.

-And I've noticed we've got a noisy animal down here.

-We do.

-This is a sea lion called Zook.

-Hiya, Zook!

How many sea lions have you got out here?

We've got four in the lake at the moment.

-There's another sea lion as well!

-This is Buster.

He's huge!

-He's a 15-year-old male.

-Can I feed a little bit?

-Yeah.

I'm going to get stinky hands. What are they saying to us?

-"More fish, please!"

-More fish, here we go! All right?

We came out on Half Mile Lake,

and I was expecting to see some water animals,

but over there's a gorilla!

-That's our gorilla, Nico.

-Is he by himself?

He is by himself, unfortunately. His partner died three years ago.

What's he doing out on the lake?

That's where he lives.

He's lived out there since 1986.

In fact, Nico is one of the oldest gorillas in the world.

But at 50, he's just too old to accept any new companions.

SEA LION BARKS

Do they have to be so loud?! I'm the loud one round here!

You'll go some to beat Nancy. She is extremely noisy.

That's how she gets the attention to get the fish.

I'm sorry, viewers, if this is giving you a headache,

but I've got to say it's pretty amazing to be here as well.

-And there's a hippo there.

-There's the hippo!

-Do they ever come out of the water? Do they just stay?

-They do, yes.

There's another one!

Sorry, I'm getting really excited! I've not seen the hippos before!

That's Spot and Sonia.

-Male, female?

-Both females.

I can only see heads. Are they very little?

-Have they got little bodies?!

-Absolutely not.

Huge bodies. They can weigh anything up to three tons.

Are they floating in the water or are they hitting the floor?

-What's going on there?

-They do kind of swim of a fashion.

It's bouncing off the bottom and paddling their legs,

doggy-paddle style.

They're quite quick, though, at moving.

They do, they're very stealthy as well.

They can move around quickly without knowing where they've gone.

Are they quite dangerous?

Hippos are incredibly dangerous, really.

They're one of Africa's most notorious killers.

They tend to tip over small boats, is one of the things they're good at.

Small boats, you said! We're on quite a big boat here.

This one's safe. And also, when they go out grazing at night,

and people are going to the waterholes,

sometimes they get stuck in the middle and get trampled.

-They're vegetarians, aren't they?

-They are.

-So they're not killing for food.

-They're just that kind of animal.

If they're spooked or scared, they run for water. That's their safety.

So if you're in the way, you're just going to get flattened.

So never be between hippo and water, is that kind of a rule?

-That is a rule.

-You said grazing.

What about here, do they ever get out and graze?

Yes, they've got the run of this field over there.

-They graze out there, mainly at night.

-How come at night-time?

They are nocturnal feeders. It's cooler, it's better for them.

They go out at night.

Mark, I have really enjoyed my trip on Half Mile Lake

and I think the animals are getting on swimmingly too. Thank you.

-BARKING

-Ssh!

-I'm on telly!

What do you call a pig who knows karate?

Pork chop!

BOTH: Ooh-ooh-ooh!

What do fish like to watch?

Tele-fish-ion!

Meeow!

What do you call a sheep with no legs?

-Don't know.

-A cloud!

THEY LAUGH

'There's not much to laugh about where I am -

'inside a cage on wheels that's piled high with meat,

'right in the middle of a whole pride of hunting lions.

'This is the second lot and they look even hungrier than the first.'

Can I ask you a question?

First time in this truck, I'm a little bit scared.

Could they possibly either get in here

or are they strong enough to push us over?

No, we are very, very secure in here.

The only problem that we would have would be

if they tip it and the cage went on its side.

Then we might have a bit of a problem.

-But I'm sure you could fight them off!

-I'm not so sure I could, but...!

Looking at the size of these fellas!

How many lions have we got in here, then?

We've got five lionesses in this pride,

ranging from 23 years old to about 10.

And how long will they generally live?

In captivity, late teens, early 20s, but in the wild,

10 would be a very old age.

Wow, really?

This is our old girl. She's 23, so we save her...

-If you want to give her the big treat...

-I'd love to.

-So what's her name, then?

-This one's called Naomi.

-Naomi.

Is she still healthy, she's still doing well?

She's doing all right with that!

She's really fit and healthy.

A little bit slower, but then she's a granny, so...!

She's doing all right, then!

You don't expect your granny to run after the ice-cream van, do you?!

No, that's true!

Bob, it's one thing to get up close to a lion

but another to be chased by one. To be able to feed them,

it's been brilliant.

-Thank you so much.

-That's OK.

-Right, that's the last piece out there.

-Brilliant.

-Job done?

-Job done.

Back up with the pygmy goats,

everyone's been waiting for a baby boom to start.

Days have passed and nothing's happened,

and now Bev has gone away on holiday.

But finally, there's been a development.

-Keeper Corinne Hill has rushed up to the barn.

-It's very exciting.

We've actually got a baby goat.

It's a new edition, so I'm going in to check on Mum

and see about what's happened.

The baby was born in the night so is only a few hours old.

Good girl!

And it turns out that

the first mum to give birth wasn't Bubble after all.

It was Lottie.

I just want to go in and check it over,

make sure Mum's fine, the little one's fine.

I'm also going to spray it.

It's just a sort of antibacterial,

just to make sure the umbilical cord's nice and clean.

It is, looking at it, it's a little boy. It's a male.

He's maybe four hours old, six hours old, so still quite young, bless him!

The first few hours are very important.

The baby must drink his mother's milk to survive.

But finding those teats can be tricky for a newborn kid.

At the moment, he's at the wrong end.

Lottie seems quite good as a first-time mum.

She's trying to stand over him.

It's up to him to find her teats and start suckling.

So it's a patient game, really, of him finding the nipple.

Hopefully, it won't be long before Bubble and Marcia have

their babies too, so this youngster will have someone to play with.

Baby pygmy goats are very cute. They're absolutely lovely.

Certainly, once he gets a little bit older,

more confident, they're spring-loaded,

they start skipping around, and it's hilarious, absolutely brilliant.

As you can see from these pictures.

They're from the baby boom they had here three years ago.

But right now, just standing up is a challenge for Lottie's kid.

And there won't be much bouncing

if Marcia and Bubble have problems giving birth.

So, will Bev be back in time to help? Stay tuned to find out.

Hey, all you gamers - great news!

The Roar online game is back in business on the CBBC website.

The idea of the game is to create your own wildlife park

and look after all the animals.

On every programme, we give out a cheat code that will unlock

features you'll need to help make your park a success.

And today, that code is snow1.

Make a note of it now, cos you'll need it later.

Happy gaming!

For the first Ask The Keeper of the series,

the gang have come to the Animal Adventure area.

There are loads of new creatures here,

but we're starting with keeper Jon and his feathered friends.

Who's a pretty girl, then?!

Well, me, of course, but will Jon still be sitting pretty

after we've grilled him on Ask The Keeper?

Let me warn you, these guys have got some really tough questions.

-But not to be rude to your friend here. Hi, Gunner!

-Hello!

It worked, as well! That was good, wasn't it?!

Who wants to ask Jon the first question?

-Why do parrots copy people?

-They don't just copy people.

They copy lots of different sounds and actions.

There's a parrot that copies a monkey

to scare off other parrots,

and then that parrot can eat their food.

So it's not even just people. They're obviously very, very clever.

How many different types are there?

There's actually about 350 types of parrot.

All these guys that you can see here are all macaws.

They're one of the bigger species of parrot,

and there is 17 species of macaw.

-How strong are they?

-How strong? They're pretty big birds.

They're pretty strong. They've got a good grip.

Gunner's gripping onto this baton nice and tightly.

The thing which is the strongest, without a doubt,

has to be their beak.

So obviously, they eat lots of hard nuts and hard fruits.

Gunner, she might have a go on this hazelnut.

Want to see if you can break this nut?

-Have a little go if you can break it.

-Go on, then!

Don't step on it, that's cheating!

-Just using the tools available!

-Can you break that one?

Do you want to see if Gunner can break it?

Let's see if Gunner can break it.

It depends if she's hungry. Have a little go, Gunner?

-There we go!

-Well done, Gunner! All right, more questions, then!

-How many feathers do parrots have?

-How about you have a count?!

Have a little count, let me know!

What do you reckon? Quite a lot.

They do lose their feathers quite a lot.

There's a few hanging around.

They fall out when the new ones get pushed through,

and they push the old ones out.

Jon, I think you're doing really, really well, but we do want

to catch you out, so we're going to come up with a killer question.

THEY WHISPER

-Jon looks nervous!

-ALL:

-Yeah!

Jon, they seem excited about catching you out.

OK, we think you've done really well,

so we're going to give you a task now.

OK. I tell you what, before...

before you give me the task,

I don't want to affect it, how easy or difficult it is,

but I found a few things on the floor a minute ago -

-I don't know if anyone wants some of these?

-Oh!

You little cheat!

I don't need them, Archie doesn't need them, so I don't know...

I wouldn't want it to affect how the task goes, but...!

-Jon, I'll take those for safety.

-There is one for you as well.

There is five.

I'll take those for safekeeping, but you are not out of this task.

Please can you make Gunner say "Roar"?

Because the show's called Roar,

we would like Gunner to say "Roar".

OK.

I don't know how that's going to go. Gunner, can you say "Roar"?

Can you say "Roar"?

-Hello.

-I'm afraid you'll have to change the programme to Hello!

-Can we change the programme to Hello?

-No!

Can you make Gunner say anything else? Like, "You lose, Jon"?

Gunner, can you say, "You lose, Jon"?

-Hello.

-Oh, dear. One-trick pony, I'm afraid!

Thumbs up or thumbs down for Jon? Oh!

Give me the feathers back, please!

Or do you want to change your mind?

-Change your mind, feathers back?

-I think the thumbs speak.

The thumbs speak. Thumbs up, and a feather for you all.

Say, "Thanks, Jon."

-Thanks, Jon.

-Thanks, Jon.

-Thanks very much, Jon.

There's some great news from the pygmy goats.

Bubble has now become a proud mum,

and Bev was back from her holidays in time to help with the birth.

I am so pleased to have made it back off holiday. The birth was amazing.

She did it really quickly.

She cleaned them up an absolute treat.

They are really, really fluffy.

And she's just making the most wonderful mother.

Bubble has had two healthy babies - one boy and one girl.

I think it's amazing.

Bubble's had quite a traumatic life, and this is her first baby,

so I'm chuffed to bits.

While it's looking good for Bubble,

there's cause for concern with Marcia.

She has also just had a boy and a girl. They're now one day old.

And the little girl may have some problems.

At the moment, Marcia's doing really well.

She's feeding both the babies, but we are still

very, very concerned about the little one.

She is much, much smaller than the little boy and also she's got...

If she'll let me.

She's got quite weak legs, which have been quite bendy.

She was having trouble to walk at first

and she was a bit bandy, to be honest.

A lot of times, things like that just straighten out.

But just because she's little,

we are completely... quite concerned about her.

Small and weak babies are sometimes rejected by their mothers.

Then their chances of survival are not good.

Bev and her team are ready to save the baby if they need to.

They've been checking on the little one day and night.

Well, overnight, we did pop up just to make sure she was all right,

because in the first few hours, that's when she'll flag,

and that's when you really need to step in.

But she survived the night.

What we need to watch, as she starts sleeping more,

she sits down more.

You've got something to compare it to - her brother.

She's been on her feet most of the morning, pootling about.

She dozes a bit. It's quite tiring, being born.

I imagine, if I had to worry about anyone,

and we have five here, it's the little one.

But for now, she's surviving.

And with four other kids in here, the barn is still a fun place to be.

They are so soft and so lovely.

Nothing beats a baby goat, to be honest.

We'll be back with the pygmy goats later in the series to find out

if Marcia's little one survives to bounce outside

with all the new kids on the block.

It's almost the end of our first day here,

and there are still hundreds of animals we haven't met.

Lucky this is just the start of the series.

What a day! Have you enjoyed our new home?

It's been quality.

I've got to see loads of animals

and I also got to feed the really big cats, which was amazing!

Pretty scary too.

-You were scared of the pussy cats!

-They're not just pussy cats.

I was in a cage, and they were running round.

What have you been up to?

I had a tour of the lake. I saw Nico the gorilla,

I got to see the two largest lumps in the park,

Spot and Sonia, the hippos,

and I found something that is louder than me - the sea lions!

-Amazing.

-I doubt they're louder than you.

I had such a great day, I can't take any more. I'm happy.

We have got time for one last treat.

We're here to meet head keeper Andy,

who's going to let us watch the rhinos go to bed. But where is he?

-Here's Andy. Hi, Andy.

-Hi, guys.

-And who's this coming over the hill?

We've got Marashi and Anjanu.

They look excited, shaking their heads as they run down!

They're ready for bed. Their bellies are rumbling.

-So, what kind of rhino are they, then?

-These two are white rhino.

You can tell with their wide lip.

Can I just say, even though you said their belly's rumbling,

they are being chased to bed, like most of our viewers, aren't they?

It's not like someone said, "Off to bed," and they go, "OK!"

They're like, "Go to bed!" Is that what's happening here?

We kind of guide them down with a tractor and we get them moving,

because it's quite a nice bit of exercise as they come down.

So there's no force involved whatsoever.

-I think they see the tractor as another rhino.

-Really?!

-Yeah.

Not good eyesight!

About the same size, though!

-Unfortunately, we are out of time today...

-No, we're not.

-Can you just pick all this up, please?

-Scrape the poo?

You've had an easy day by the sounds of it, so if you could do that...

-Could you lock up when you're done? I'm going home.

-Thanks, Andy(!)

-Bye.

-I knew this was too good to be true.

As we end the day in style, you lot check out

what's on the next episode.

Do you know what, Johny, I'm going home too! Ha ha ha!

Next time on Roar, the keepers need to move the otters,

but they've got razor-sharp teeth and they're ready to fight.

-Ah(!)

-We'll see who's got the bottle

to take on the stick insect from hell!

And I'll be helping Bob feed the wolves, and this time,

we get out of the cage!

I've done things in my time,

but I have never gone in a wolf enclosure with their food!

So don't miss it.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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