Episode 20 Roar

Today on Roar, it's the animal Olympics,

and the finalists are warming up to see who is the fastest in the park.

The lions are looking confident,

but could Dave the tortoise be a contender?

MUSIC: "Gonna Fly Now" by The Rocky Orchestra

You've joined us at a crucial moment in Roar's history.

Johny is about to attempt a world record.

I have the speed gun.

Johny, please, on the starting block.

In three...two...one.

29 kilometres per hour.

Johny, it's official.

You are the slowest animal on the park. High five!

Well, I might be a slowcoach but there are plenty of speedy animals

coming up on today's show, so let's just get on with it.

-Come on, let me have another go, come on.

-You can't get any slower!

Also on today's show.

Maroni the anteater might not be a sprinter,

but she'd certainly win the Longest Tongue award.

That is one long tongue.

If this was a beauty competition,

then surely the warthogs would steal it.

Why are warthogs so ugly?

And in the Being Brave category,

Johny lets the side down when the bats get a bit fruity.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I've got a bat on me.

-I have actually got a bat on me. Is he all right?

-He's fine.

'But first, we've got a speedy show today so we'd better get a move on.'

Here on Roar, we're always talking about how fast animals can run,

but we get that information from experts.

So today, we thought we'd do a little research ourselves,

and see just how quick some of the animals here are.

Our speed cop for the challenge

is deputy head of the safari park, Ian Turner.

My mission is to find the fastest animal in the safari park.

This little beauty, this is a speed gun,

and this, obviously, picks up the speed of the animals.

There can only be one winner,

so who does Ian think will take the gold medal?

If I was a betting person, I'd go for...

The fastest animal on the park was going to be...

tigers.

Ah, but will he be right?

First on the starter's blocks are the other big cats, the lions.

Lions are quick. They need to be to catch their prey.

The experts reckon their top speed is 56kph,

but they can only do it for short distances.

Weighing in at nearly 200kg, they are sprinters,

not long-distance runners.

But how do you make a lazy lion run fast?

Big cat keeper Bob Trollope has got a plan.

What I'm doing now is, I'm just trying to get their attention

so that they know there's something up here

for 'em to run up for, basically.

The lions can see the meat in the paddock.

When they run out, Ian's only got one chance to get their speed.

OK, Bob. Let 'em go.

And they're off.

The lions are hungry. It looks like a great performance.

There you go, the fastest reading, 38, look.

You could tell as soon as they came out

they were definitely in the mood for running.

The lions made a good sprint out of the paddock.

They weren't at full speed, but 38kph is still a good result.

That was a good run, yeah. I was pleased with that one.

It was the first race of the day,

and Bob's full of "pride" for his team.

That time could possibly be one of the quickest in the park.

But there're a few more challenges yet.

Next on the list are a mighty mob who could give the lions

a run for their money.

While that lot are running around, I'm heading down to old Joe's mine,

not for a race, but to face my fears.

Now you might wonder why I'm flinching a little bit.

It's because I'm here in the bat enclosure

to hook up with head keeper Darren to feed the fruit bats.

Why are they going so, kind of, mad?

Just like you and me, when it's dinner time.

They're just excited. We're going to give 'em some of their fruit.

These are Egyptian fruit bats and they've got no manners

and no patience, I'm afraid.

Can you see, they're over us straight away, look.

Yeah, let's have a good look.

This is so amazing to see a bat so close up.

I mean, what are these things, Darren?

Bats are a family all of their own. People say they're rats with wings,

well, they're not. They're not rodents, they are flying mammals.

Can you see? This is lovely soft skin. Touch that, it's like velvet.

-I've just touched a bat.

-Incredible, isn't it?

So, they're not rodents? Because they do look a bit like rodents.

And I didn't think I'd be freaked out by these guys

but I am a bit. It's a bit creepy.

If you thread that on there... That's brilliant.

We'll put a bit of fruit up for them

because they have to eat huge amounts of food. This flying...

Look at this. I've just got to stop you there, Darren,

because there's a little hook that just went in

to stop you from getting the food. What's that?

On the corner of their wing they've got an especially extended finger

and they use that finger to hang on and they'll protect their food.

They'll shield it, wrap their wings round it.

They don't want to share with anybody.

And they've got to keep eating cos flapping wings takes a lot of energy.

That's muscle that keeps them going, you know?

He scoffing his down, there, can you see?

That's incredible. Look at how wide he's opening his mouth.

Look at those eyes as well. Those eyes are quite something.

Have they got specially adapted eyesight?

People say, "Blind as a bat,"

but in fact it's not true, they can see quite well.

These will fly in very low-level light, so mornings and evenings,

but also bats have this wonderful thing,

they have echolocation, and that means

they bounce sound of off objects. So, even if this went really dark,

and we can turn the lights off as and when we want, or down,

they don't crash into things.

They'll still find food, they can smell it,

they can see it and they can bounce sound off it.

So, should I put one of these kebabs out, then?

-I don't want to get...

-Please, Johny, yeah, that's...

-Mind your fingers.

-Bats eat pretty much all day long.

-Do they?

Yeah, they eat two-thirds of their own weight...

They don't even wait for us to put the food out.

But you have to remember that they're not tame.

If I grab one of these, it's going to bite me.

They've got very sharp teeth to get through the skin of the fruit.

They're not friendly, just not nervous.

-And you'll find that with animals.

-Woah! I've got a bat on me.

I've actually got a bat on me. Is he all right?

He's fine, but he's obviously coming down for a bit of food.

He sees you're here, he sees a nice, handy, warm tree

to hang on while he gets a bit of grub.

Darren, I think the biggest thing that's freaking me out

a little bit is the way they move.

They don't soar like birds, do they? They're kind of flappy.

Yeah, you're right, Johny, and it's all to do with this special wing.

-Can you see that, look?

-Yes.

-See those bones in there?

-Yeah.

-Are they bones?

-Yeah, that's bones. It's just like your hand.

It's five fingers all spread out, and the idea is that that skin

is very, very flexible, it's filled with nerves.

They'll actually rip this day to day. They'll rip this in the wild

and damage it a little bit but it grows back,

just like your skin grows back if you graze and stuff.

So, they don't have hollow bones or air sacs like birds

to make flying easy, this is all about chest muscles

and those really special wings.

It's like flapping your hands really hard

and being able to get somewhere very fast indeed.

They freaked me out when I first got in here

because they are quite strange animals,

but really, they're the good guys, aren't they?

Bats are pretty cool animals, actually.

This has been amazing. I actually had a bat on me

and you guys at home might think I've gone batty,

but I actually quite like bats now, made a new friend.

Down at Meerkat Mountain, the mob are limbering up.

Can they beat the lions' top speed of 38kph?

They're certainly fast. They have to be to escape

from predators like jackals and birds of prey.

Meerkat trainer John Reynolds is confident.

They are fast, yep.

One of their greatest attributes is that they are very fast.

I reckon for their size, they'll put a up a good old fight.

I'm optimistic they'll do us proud, down here.

To get the mob of 15 athletes to run past the speed camera,

Ian needs to get down to their level.

That's the ticket. And they're off.

24! 24.

You getting that? 24.

That really is 24.

And I don't think they were running fast.

I think we might be able to get more than 24.

It's a good speed, but can they do better?

Ho-ho! That's a new record, that's 29.

Ho-ho-ho!

Well done, boys!

29.

The only thing I will say is that was a good run.

We did a good run on that one.

So that's probably one of their top speeds.

Well done, boys.

That was a great performance from the meerkats.

That is actually extremely impressive.

I didn't think they'd go anywhere near that.

I don't think they'd break the sound barrier any time soon

but I didn't think that they had it in them.

29kph. Fast.

It's not surprising to me, anyhow. I knew they were going to be fast.

So, this is how the leaderboard looks now.

The lions are leading with the meerkat mob in second

but there are more animal athletes -

sea lions, rhinos and Dave, the tortoise.

Trust me, you don't want to miss it.

It's time now for Ask The Keeper,

and today, hogging centre stage, is Ryan.

Now Ryan, your challenge today is to answer questions about the warthogs.

Are you up for this?

-Yeah, I'm pretty confident.

-Ooh!

He's looking cool. OK, girls. Are you ready to catch Ryan out?

ALL: Yeah.

All right, who wants to go first?

Why are warthogs called warthogs?

Mmm, good one. The reason they're called warthogs

is because of the warts that the males have on their faces.

They're hard patches of skin. That's to protect their faces and their jaw,

when the males fight.

Who else has questions?

How tall can a warthog's tusk grow to?

Well, on the males, and we have males here,

they can be between 30 and 60 centimetres.

The biggest ever was 60, but about 30-40's a good size.

How big do warthogs grow to?

For a male warthog, about 70 centimetres.

70-80 centimetres is a good height.

For the females, a little bit less, about 60 centimetres.

Why are warthogs so ugly?

Well, they say that beauty's in the eye of the beholder,

and some people look at warthogs and think, "That's a truly ugly animal."

Me, personally, when I look at them, I think they're cute.

If you think they're cute, give us a yay!

ALL: Ya-ay!

Anyone for ugly? I think we're all agreed.

They're cute... in a kind of ugly way!

We need a Killer Question, Ryan,

cos you are doing far too well for us! Guys, over here.

In we go, in we go, in we go, ooh, there we go!

THEY WHISPER

Is he still there? Yeah, he hasn't run away.

-Are we ready to catch Ryan out?

-ALL: Yeah!

All right, then, Ryan. Here is your Killer Question.

Let's see if he brings home the bacon this time. Right, Ryan.

Do you think these four lovely ladies,

do you think their weight combined

is heavier or lighter than a warthog?

Ooh, now...that is a tough one, actually.

If you want to pick them up, you can do.

Well, I'd like to say I've got a pretty good eye for weight,

cos I like to guess the weights of the animals.

So, if you weighed more than the warthog, that would mean

that you would just be 25 kilos each.

I'm going to say that together, you four weigh more than one warthog.

Ryan, you definitely have an eye for weight. Well done, you!

Combined, our research says these girls weigh around 180 kilos.

So, thumbs up or thumbs down for Ryan?

Yes, it is thumbs up all round!

Sw-w-eet!

The title of the fastest animal in the park

is being decided by deputy head warden Ian Turner,

and his trusty speed camera.

So far, the meerkats have put in a great performance with 29kph,

but the lions are topping the leaderboard with 38.

So, who's warming up to go next?

Off to the rhinos. They might be big and bulky,

but people will be surprised how fast they can go!

At nearly three metres long, up to two metres high and weighing over

two tonnes, rhinos are the biggest of all our competitors today.

But don't be fooled - that doesn't mean they're slow.

These giant herbivores can reach speeds of up to 50kph.

Useful if they're charging an attacker

or running away from a predator.

But will they perform for the speed camera?

Keeper Andy Hayton has got a trick up his sleeve

to get the best out of his team.

They come over the hill. It's teatime,

bellies are screaming, want their tea.

So, hopefully, they'll give it a bit of billy-o down the hill.

As they come charging in for their tea,

Ian will be right in front of them.

I'm going to be in the truck. They're going to come

across the hill, towards us.

That last second, they turn off, go that way,

into the gate behind us, just like that.

If they don't stop, they'll come straight for the vehicle,

and we'll be in a pile of rubble.

Let's hope the rhinos make that turn,

otherwise Ian is history!

Here come some rhinos.

Come on, girls!

36!

That was a sterling performance! A powerful sprint down the hill,

with Rosina, the female, out in front. A good shot at the title.

36 kilometres. Respectable.

She can go faster, we see them coming all the time.

We know what speed they can come in. But that was good, 36.

36 kph may be a good speed,

but it's still two kph slower than the lions.

That puts the rhinos second on the leaderboard.

But are the lions about to be knocked off the top?

Limbering up next, it's...Dave the tortoise!

And Sarah Clayson is his trainer.

I think he'll go quite fast. They're determined animals,

and they can get a bit of a stomp-on sometimes, and they go pretty quick.

I think he's going to go quite fast today.

This is a joke, right? But remember the tortoise and the hare?

-Are we in for a bit of a surprise here?

-He might be a dark horse.

He might be a bit up the table than people think.

Let's see what he's going to do.

Looks like Dave is already warming up. He's a keen one.

Looks like he's ready to go. Legs is moving, he's got

a bit of muscle to speed him along the ground.

Hope he's hungry and fancies a bit of carrot today.

I think he's going to surprise you.

Ready?

And he's off!

-You can do it!

-Dave's giving it all he's got...

-Come on, Dave!

-..but will it be enough?

Come on, Dave!

You can do it.

Come on, Dave!

Nearly there!

Come on, Dave!

Dave, you're not registering! Nothing!

Looks like the lions are safe.

Bit disappointed. He was not fast enough to pick up on the gun.

He was going at a fair speed, you can see him moving.

But just not fast enough for the gun to pick him up.

Bit disappointing.

Dave started off well, but then slowed down.

It could be a lack of fitness, but it's not a medal-winning run!

I'm a little bit disappointed in Dave today.

I think he's a bit nervous of the competition,

cos he can go quite a bit faster than that.

He's just having an off-day.

Dave's speed didn't even register,

so unfortunately it's bottom of the table for the tortoises.

The lions are holding on to the top,

but are they about to be knocked off?

Join us later when we head to the lake, and the swimming supremos,

the sea lions.

What happened when pigs learned to fly?

The price of bacon went up!

A-a-a-ah!

What's the most expensive type of fish?

A goldfish.

Ra-a-ar!

Why do zebras like old movies?

Don't know. Why do zebras like old movies?

Cos they're in black and white!

Can you touch your nose with your tongue? Have a go. John, have a go!

Roar team? Can you do it? You're going to need a pretty long tongue.

Aww, that was pathetic!

But we know an animal that has got a very, very long tongue indeed!

-And here she is, it's the anteater! Hi, Maroni! Hiya, John.

-Hello!

John, how long is an anteater's tongue?

Well, an anteater's tongue is about 60 centimetres.

It's a strange creation. They've got this tongue,

but obviously ideal for the food they eat.

-They lash out and get the bugs.

-Yeah.

-All right,

-so today, we're going to measure their tongue?

-Yeah.

-How are we going to do this?

-We've got this

-peculiar looking contraption here.

-OK...

-It's a tube with a tape measure inside.

-Goes up to 61 cm.

Yep, so might even break a record if we...you never know!

What we're going to do is put a bit of Maroni's food into the tube.

And she's going to stick her tongue all the way down,

right in the bottom of the tube,

and we'll be able to record how long the tongue is.

-There's a camera in the bottom as well.

-Right, let's get the bugs in.

You do that cos I hate bugs! Don't mind anteaters, but bugs scare me!

The camera's rolling already, so you might see the crickets drop in.

-So if we put a couple in there.

-Wow, that's going all down to the bottom.

-I

-can see it on my camera. Look at Maroni!

-She looks keen already.

-I'll hold onto the tube...

-OK, you can hold the tube...

I can see the 60 centimetres.

In, in, in. Oh, my goodness, look at that!

-She only got to 25.

-Try a bit harder than that, come on!

-You've never done this before, have you?

-No, it's a...

It's a peculiar experiment! We don't go around measuring animals' tongues!

But it's interesting to know as much about the animals as you can. Oh!

Oh! A-a-a-agh!

Ha-ha!

You know what? You can just see it stick it down.

-It's like the tongue's trying to hook round.

-It is,

it's a peculiar bit of equipment... it's like a long finger,

so it gets hold of the cricket, their tongue's sticky,

-and that helps get hold of the crickets.

-Look at that!

-Oh, that's beaten the record. That's at least 35!

-That is great!

It should be twice as long.

But doesn't look like there's much effort going in.

She's not forcing herself...

Obviously, this is a bit of an odd thing to try, it's taken Maroni

a bit of getting used to.

-But even seeing her tongue at 35cm...

-It's still longer than mine!

It's longer than all of ours put together!

Maroni...well done, you!

At Half Mile Lake, Deputy Head Warden Ian Turner

is taking to the water to test the speed of an animal

that's meant to be blindingly fast.

Next on my list to find the fastest animal in the park...

is it the Californian sea lion? Find out next!

Despite great performances by everyone -

except Dave the tortoise - it's the lions who are still at the top,

with a magnificent speed of 38 kph. Can the sea lions beat that?

To get a reading,

Ian must be in the middle of Half Mile Lake.

But using the speed camera on animals in the water

could be a lot trickier than for those on land.

I wouldn't think this has ever been done. This is going to be the first.

And, if it works, it's brilliant!

Sea lions may pack a few pounds, but that doesn't mean

they're not athletic. To eat, they need to chase and catch fish.

With their streamlined bodies, they become torpedo-like,

and rocket around the lake reaching speeds of around 40kph.

But it's race day. Will nerves get the better of them?

The sea lions in this lake are, in captivity,

the fittest sea lions in the world.

The room they've got, they've got Half Mile Lake to go up and down,

20-30 times a day.

The plan is to throw fish away from the boat,

and as they come racing back for more, Ian will capture their speed.

First reading, 18.

The race is on!

40, so far. Still trying!

42, fastest so far!

Blimey, the highest speed was 42!

They're really fast! That's the highest reading we've had so far!

42kph puts the sea lions in the lead!

Let's see that run again!

Giving it all they've got! That could be a gold medal performance.

Sea lion keeper Michaela is delighted!

That went absolutely fantastic!

The sea lions seemed to love all the fish,

and they did very, very well!

So, the streamlined sea lions have blown everyone out of the water

with their effort.

42kph takes them to the top of the leaderboard.

But there's one more animal to compete, Ian's favourite to win.

The tigers.

Don't go away.

How are you coping with all this excitement?

Well, there's more to come! Here's today's cheat code.

Type that in, as quick as you can, and see what you get!

If you haven't had a go at the Roar game, it's high time you did!

It's easy to get started and great fun! Happy gaming!

We've speeded through today's show, cos we're trying to find out

which is the fastest animal on the park.

We're here with Ian and Bob to find out the results.

-So, Ian, who's in the lead?

-Californian sea lions, 42km!

-Wow, that's quick!

-That is fast... What's wrong there, Bob?

-What's wrong?

-You don't look happy!

-Ours can do better than that!

The tigers can do better?

Anything up to 60kph.

Really? You think the tigers can run at 60kph?

How are you going to make them run that fast?

Don't say they're going to chase me or Johny!

We could use that version, but no. We'll put a bit of meat out for them.

Just a bit of a snack.

Hopefully, they'll come out of that gate, fast as they can, 60-plus!

THEY ALL LAUGH

We'll see if they can take on the sea lions!

-Ian, where are you going to be?

-We need to get in the truck for safety.

I like Ian's thinking. Safety.

We'll leave you outside, and we'll get in the truck!

Ian, when you said the safety of the truck,

I didn't realise we were going to be so close.

-Are we safe here?

-We're fine, yeah. I'll be blocking the window,

and there's the meat. That's what they're interested in.

-All right, then. The gate's open, here they come!

-Ian, go for it!

I'm ready!

Ian...ah, that's it! They're out, they know the meat's here.

Will they be able to beat the sea lions?

Look at this, this looks pretty quick! That is fast!

Sundari's come out fast! This could be a quick time!

He slowed down a bit, there, Ian. Not that interested in the meat!

-Only 37.

-Ian, 37! They didn't show up on the day, did they?

Are you surprised?

That was a slow effort. The tigers run quicker than that.

Bob's going to have to bite the bullet -

his big cats aren't in first place, I'm afraid!

They got beaten by sea lions! I love it!

They're fast, but I'm hoping our driver is faster

cos they're so close to the window.

Why don't you check out the next episode? Close the window, Ian!

In another action-packed show, the lions get a new scratching post.

Is it tough enough to survive these heavyweight killers?

Roll over!

Has Rani gone mad?

Roll over?

That's a rhino, not a dog!

And breakfast, anyone? Our Roar Rangers face a prickly problem.

That makes me feel disgusting!

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