Episode 8 Roar

On Roar today - with a kick that can kill

and claws that go back to the dinosaurs,

the ostrich is one dangerous bird.

We're on a mission to check out their nest.

So, stay tuned - there could be trouble.

Hello and welcome to Roar. I'm Johny.

And I'm Rani. Johny, what on earth are you doing?

Practising my juggling skills, obviously.

Those apples are for the warthogs!

They're waiting for breakfast, and we've got a show to start.

Don't worry, Rani, I've got it under control.

Here you go, lads. How do you like them apples?

'Coming up today -

'could you make friends with a snail the size of a guinea pig?'

It's all sticky!

'Too much monkey business lands the keeper in trouble.'

Oh, no!

'And the lions must be tricked into taking their medicine,

'so there's a rare chance to get really close to the business end.'

I just hand-fed a lion!

But first, we're starting off down in the Animal Adventure Area,

where earlier in the series we met the giant stick insects.

They've also got enormous scorpions and huge spiders.

Rani's about to meet another giant,

though this one doesn't have eight legs, just one foot.

When I heard there was an animal in the park

that spends its entire life on one foot,

I thought, "Somebody's pulling my leg." So I've hopped down

to meet keeper Jo to find out which animal she's talking about.

-Hiya, Jo.

-Hiya.

-Jo, which animal spends its life on one foot?

This is Gary, the giant African land snail.

Very interesting, Jo, but which animal spends its life on one foot?

-Gary.

-He hasn't got any feet, Jo.

-He HAS got a foot.

-This here is his foot.

-That's his foot?

-Yes.

-Hi, Gary.

-That's one big foot then?

-It is quite a big foot, yes.

So you're saying a snail is just a foot?

Basically, this is a big sheet of muscle

-and he uses it to pull himself along with.

-Can we see how they move?

You might be able to see a few ripples.

Yes, you can! If you look carefully, you can see the dark lines moving.

I don't know if you can see that at home,

You can see them curling round.

Everyone at home's probably looking at this and going,

"That doesn't look like the common garden snail we know."

And I can see you've got one just down there as well.

I'll get it. If that one's called Gary, does this one have a name?

-Gerrard.

-Gerrard?

-OK, so this is...

-A giant African land snail.

A giant African snail and there is a massive difference.

We all know from these ones that they leave a slimy, silvery trail.

I dread to see how big his trail his.

But why do they leave the trail? Is it like Hansel and Gretel

leaving breadcrumbs so they can find their way home?

Not quite, no. His home's on the back of him,

so he doesn't really need to find his way back. But you can see,

just about on here, some slime he's left from a little earlier on today.

-So what's the point of it?

-It reduces friction.

If he's climbing over something.

If he's nice and slimy, it's a bit like going down a water slide.

You go down a lot an awful lot faster and awful lot smoother

-if there's a lot of water there.

-But in Africa, it's quite dry.

-Can they produce slime there?

-They can, yeah.

If the weather's too hot, what they can do

is pull themselves back in their shell and create a slime barrier.

It's a bit like a door. If it's not quite wet enough out there for them,

they'll create a door and won't come out until it's nice enough.

It's really great to get this close to Gary, here.

The amazing thing is that the foot,

it's almost suctioned onto the glass. Is that what's happening?

-Do they stick to things?

-Yes, that's what the slime can do,

it can help him stick. What we can do, very carefully...

-Oh, he'll fall off!

-He won't fall off. There you go.

-He's got a hole in his back.

-He has, that's where he breathes from.

-Will he fall off?

-He won't, don't worry.

-He's like Spider-Man.

-He is a bit like Spider-Man.

-Look at that.

-There's a hole. Is that his bum?

-No, that's where he breathes from.

Oh. I thought he was going to do a big snail poo then!

How do we turn him back? Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness!

Can I ask, just seeing when we turned him upside down,

there seems to be a lot more muscle in there.

If we were to take the whole of Gary out of his shell, would he be huge?

He wouldn't be too big, no. This is a big fat bit inside of here

that fills up most of his shell. But if we took his shell off, he'd die.

I've got to say, I'm not a massive fan of snails,

-but, Gary, you're quite cute, and his little antennae.

-His little eyes.

The two bits at the top are his eyes. You can just see his pupils

-on the end of each one.

-Oh, right.

-And the bottom two,

these are feelers here and his mouth is just below.

He's quite cute. I feel I should give him a little touch goodbye.

-You can give him a stroke, yeah.

-Gary, it was lovely meeting you.

Oh, he's all sticky! I think I'm going to leave you to it

-and hop out of here. Thanks very much, Jo.

-Thank you.

The giant snail has got to be the slimiest,

but what do you reckon is the most popular animal in the park?

The magnificent lions?

The thrilling tigers?

Or maybe the mighty white rhino?

Well, for many years,

one of the most popular animals they've ever had

lived out on the East Africa reserve,

where Andy Hayton is the keeper in charge.

We're not talking about a popular species here.

This was a single, well-loved individual. In other words, a star.

One of the greatest animals we've ever had here at the park

was Trev the ostrich.

Yes, an ostrich. And, yes, his name was Trevor.

Trev, he was awesome.

We had people coming for miles to see Trev.

No other animal, none of the giraffes that had babies.

We've got big male lions, we've got rhinos or whatever.

It was all about Trev, because he was just a nut.

He even got fan mail.

But while the public loved Trevor,

he only had eyes for his girlfriend, Honey.

And as much as he loved Honey, he hated Andy.

It got to the point where, if Trev saw me and my vehicle

driving into the giraffe reserve, he would be up and at it

and kind of chase me out, basically.

Trev was no respecter of position.

I'm supposed to be in charge of everything, but he wasn't having it.

He was just an absolute nightmare.

But, in equal measure, we loved him to distraction.

But Trevor and Honey were no spring chickens.

They were getting old and, last year, the sad news came

that these lovebirds had danced their last tango.

Unfortunately, both Trev

and his missus, Honey,

both passed away last year at different times of the year.

Losing him really devastated the whole section.

Because it's him, isn't it? It's Trev.

Yeah, his loss was really felt. We'd drive around here looking for him.

When he wasn't here, it was a real shame, it really was.

The park just wasn't the same without the ostriches.

So just a few months later, they got themselves another famous couple.

So, Andy - what's occurring?

We've got a new pair,

Gavin and Stacey, and they're doing really well here.

So well that they've actually laid eggs.

So we're hoping for a little ostrich sometime soon.

That's egg-stremely egg-citing news!

But hatching these eggs is going to be no yoke.

Partly because your average ostrich ain't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Ostrich are... They are pretty dim.

Their brain is actually smaller than their eyeball.

Yeah, you'd never see one on a quiz show, for sure.

They ain't bright.

And ostriches are also incredibly dangerous.

They have just one claw on each foot, but it's very sharp.

And those long legs can deliver a kick powerful enough to kill a man.

But now we're after hard intel on those eggs.

It's going to be a risky mission to get close-up pictures,

so we'll need a keeper with cunning, courage, and a licence to thrill.

MUSIC: "Theme From James Bond"

There's only one man for the job, and the name's Hayton - Andy Hayton.

What we're going to do is drive up

and have a look at who's sat on the nest. It'll probably be Stacey.

We'll see where he is. He'll no doubt make quite a big appearance.

Will Andy be left shaken when he stirs the ostriches?

Stick around to a find out because that's for Roar eyes only!

Question for you - with 30 razor-sharp teeth

and claws twice the size of my fingers, how do you give a lion

its medicine? The answer is a treat on the end of a stick.

The marshmallow is for me, but Stu has something entirely different

for the lions. Isn't that right, Stu?

All right, Johny? Yes, it is. What we've got here is some meat.

And we're medicating them with worming tablets,

which they have to have on a regular basis.

They're all done apart from that last one there, Johny.

-Do you want me to do this one?

-You can do.

-Oh, lovely!

-Let me get stuck in there. So what do I do?

-Hold the meat flat.

-Yeah.

Make a pocket into the meat, along this edge here.

So you stick it in.

-So, Stu, what's the medicine for?

-The medicine is for worming.

That's exactly the same as your domestic cat or dog at home.

We have to do them on a regular basis to keep the worm count down

and keep them nice and healthy.

So, Stu, how do you know if a lion's got worms or not?

The way we find out whether the lion's got worms is dung samples.

We then send them to the vet, who'll do an egg count under a microscope.

There's always be eggs in them,

but if they're over a certain amount, then they're wormed.

But we worm them regularly for that reason.

We've got some lion poo here. Check this out.

If we were to have a look in there, might we see some eggs or worms?

-You carry on, my man.

-OK, let me get stuck in.

Look at that, it's horrible.

Can't see anything, but I guess that's why you'd send it off,

-so they can see it with a microscope?

-That's right.

What type of worms are we talking about here?

Is it regular garden worms or tapeworm?

It would be tapeworm. Internal parasites, basically.

Not your garden worms, they live inside the intestines

and they feed off whatever the animal is eating.

So, what's the plan then, Stu?

What we'll do is go in to the house with the medicated meat, here.

And we'll separate the lions off one by one.

As the individual goes into the pen on his own away from the pride,

we'll feed them their allocated amount of medication,

let them out of the house and move the next one in.

-So we're going to hand feed them?

-Yes, off the sticks.

Well, join us later to see if the lions

are good little ferocious meat eaters and have their medicine.

It's time to stop your monkeying around.

Now it's time for Ask The Keeper,

and we're going to put Jo under the spotlight.

All right, guys, are you ready to swing into action?

ALL: Yes!

How much fruit and veg do they eat in a whole day?

They've a little kind of bowl, like this one, look.

Full of veg in the morning, like carrots and greens

and things like that, peas and sweetcorn.

They have the same in fruit a day, as well.

I scatter it round and hide it in the enclosure.

How can you tell if they're male or female?

Girls are the bosses in the marmoset world.

They're much bigger and much more dominant.

They're more likely the ones to come up and go, "Grr!"

They puff their hair up to make themselves bigger.

Where do they come from?

These come from South America. They're called New World monkeys.

-Right, gimme more!

-She's up for the challenge.

How long do they hold their pregnancy for?

-It's roughly about four months.

-Do they have any predators?

Marmosets, in the jungle, they live midway

in a nice thick tree, like the one behind us.

The reason for that is if they go too near to the top the tree,

they'll be open to large birds of prey.

That's their number one predator.

Hence if they go down too low, things like snakes along the ground,

they'll get them as well. So they stay mid-range.

So, snakes and large birds of prey.

Would you ever release them back into the wild,

or would they stay as a group here?

These guys here, Mike, Michelle and Mandu, they're so well looked after,

if they actually went out into the big wide world,

they would find it difficult. As you know,

rainforests are destroyed every day,

chopped down for logs and things.

So they're probably a lot safer here.

-You lot, are you impressed with Jo's knowledge?

-Yeah!

I'm really impressed, Jo.

But I still think it's our duty on Ask The Keeper

to try and catch you out with Killer Question.

Oh, no!

THEY WHISPER

The bit I'm dreading.

-Yes? Yeah! Go, "Yeah!"

-ALL: Yeah!

All right! OK, we're fired up and ready with a Killer Question.

Oh, no! Be nice!

How many different species of marmoset are there around the world?

I believe there are about nine.

From our research, around the world,

there are 21 different species of marmoset.

Oh, no, that's awful! OK.

So the next time we meet you, we'd like you to name them, Jo!

Great, OK. I shall go and start doing my homework now then, shall I?

Before you go, thumbs-up or thumbs-down for Jo?

Come on, she did really well.

She got the Killer Question wrong but what about everything else?

Jo, if I had more toes, I'd give them to you right now.

I mean thumbs, yeah.

Hey, gamers. Have you got your own animal park on the Roar game yet?

If you haven't, you should. It's great fun!

To make your park a success,

you need to collect as many cheat codes as you can.

Today, it's blizzard92.

And it also helps to check on your animals every day. So, happy gaming!

Earlier on in the show, Stu and I put some worming medicine

inside some meat and now we're going to hand feed it to these guys.

This could be very dangerous, so don't ever do this yourself.

I can try hand feeding only because I'm with a trained keeper.

Who have we got here? I need an introduction

before we get personal.

Here on the end here is Aysha.

This is Satellite.

At the back there, laid down nice and quiet, is Skye.

Just coming up through the middle here is Nola.

Then we have the mum of some of them here, Naomi. She's our old girl.

I think we should get on with feeding them,

-because they don't look happy.

-I think that's a good plan.

-Take it away, Stu.

-Who's first then?

-Look at those eyes.

-Anybody? Satellite, come on. Good girl.

Get your tail in.

-So we've got Satellite here?

-Satellite here, yeah.

Hello, Satellite.

HE WHISTLES

Sattie, good girl.

Brilliant, she made really quick work of that.

Oh, yeah. You've got to be quick with them,

while they're still interested. All right, Amy. You can let her go.

Go on, Sattie, out you go. Go on. Good girl.

That was incredible, the way she took that meat.

There was no messing about, was there?

-We'll just hope the rest of them go that way as well.

-OK, right.

Are you coming in? Come on then. Naomi?

Come on.

It's just incredible to get so close.

I don't want to get much closer though, she still looks hungry.

-Shall we bring in the next one?

-It's a plan. Go on, Aysh. Aysh!

Go on. Go on!

You know when they're growling like this?

Is it signs of anger or are they just being playful?

What does this mean?

They know there's meat here, they're hungry

and they want their food.

She's noticed the door's open now, so she's gone out.

It's going well so far but now it's my turn to feed the lions.

It is. Naomi, are you coming in?

Come on then. Come on.

There you go, Johny. Take that, I'll just shut the slider.

I'm quite nervous, actually. So we've got Mum here, then?

-This is one of the mothers, yes.

-How old is she?

-She's 22 years old.

Good girl. Wow. Wow, wow, wow!

That's the one.

Wow. I just hand-fed a lion! Amazing!

Look at those teeth, those teeth are amazing!

Earlier on I had difficulty cutting through that meat

but those teeth have ripped it apart, straight in there.

Brilliant, so we've got another lion done - and I did it, nice!

-Shall we bring in the next one?

-I reckon we should.

This is amazing. Just a thin cage between me and a lion

-and I'm hand feeding them.

-Come on, Molly!

Stuart, this is a rare opportunity to see their teeth close up.

-Do you often do health checks?

-Every time we get in close to them,

it's a prime time to check them for any injuries,

You wouldn't be able to get as close outside to check these things.

It's an ideal opportunity.

To me, these guys look really strong and healthy, is that the case?

It seems to be the case, yeah.

We like to think so. There's nothing untoward we've seen.

A few battle scars. But they're lions, aren't they?

This has been an amazing experience for me,

seeing the lions so close up. You've got one more lion to do,

I think I'll leave you to it. That was incredible.

I've just hand-fed a lion! They've had their medicine

and enjoyed a treat. Now, time to enjoy my treats, marshmallows.

What's a cow's favourite TV programme?

Dr Mo-o-o!

LAUGHTER

What do you call a sick crocodile?

An illigator.

What do you call a rabbit with fleas?

Bugs Bunny.

LAUGHTER

Back up in the East Africa Reserve,

Andy Hayton is on a mission

to get a close look at the ostriches' eggs.

But he'll have to watch out because these guys have dinosaur claws

and a kick that can knock you into next week.

We're getting close and Stacey's by the nest while Gavin's on guard.

I'm wary of him. This guy, I'm kind of watching him

out of the back of my head. I know exactly where he is.

You show respect, but he's calm and collected at the moment.

What I'm worried about is him pecking me when I'm not looking. That really hurts.

Hmm, maybe he's not so fearless after all!

Gav's just pretty unhappy that we're here.

Because he's sat there, he feels he can defend her and the eggs better

because they're such incredibly attentive parents.

Everything revolves around those eggs.

They really would defend them with their lives.

So, this is as close as we can safely get.

This is a really nice opportunity for us to see the eggs.

She's obviously trying to count them.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,

7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 in there.

12, Stace. She's rubbish at counting.

She started sitting when there was about four eggs.

'# Oh, Stacey, look what you've done... #'

Ostriches are the world's largest birds.

So, of course, they lay the largest eggs.

At 1.4kg, each egg is the equivalent

of 24 hens' eggs.

So there'd be plenty to go around if you were having one for breakfast.

But once you've spent an hour boiling your ostrich egg,

the shell's so thick that a teaspoon would never take the top off.

You'd need a power tool.

And imagine how big a soldier you'd want for an egg that size.

This is an empty one. I wouldn't be stupid enough to go over there

and try to take one of Gav's eggs! We've blown this one.

You can see how thick this shell is,

it's absolutely awesome.

How the chick gets out of there, I think it's just size.

They explode out of it, almost.

To push their way out of this is quite incredible, really.

'# Oh, Stacey, look what you've done. #'

There she goes. Not the most comfy bed to sit on.

She'll start sorting them out now, so they're nice and comfy.

She'll pull them in, so they're nicely positioned.

They've done research and believe the chicks in the eggs

start talking to each other. If some are more advanced than the others,

they'll slow down and catch up so they all hatch at the same time.

It's amazing.

Gavin and Stacey seem to be model parents so far.

But Andy knows you must never count your chickens...

I mean, ostriches, before they're hatched.

In the wild what you'd get is,

of the clutch of eggs, you'd get 10% of the eggs would hatch.

Then 10% of those hatchlings would survive.

So, when you've got 12 eggs, your strike rate is very low.

At least there aren't any predators to bother them here.

But, even so, they'll be very lucky

if just one of these eggs ends up as an adult ostrich.

Right now, though, Gavin's getting a bit egg-cited.

So we'd better make a swift eggs-it!

But we'll be back later this series to see if the eggs hatch.

With all the animal action,

the park's not exactly what you'd call restful.

Except for one place, the tropical butterfly house.

The trouble is, they have to keep it really hot in here.

Wake up, guys!

Bacon! What?

Hi, Kim. All right?

-It's so peaceful and relaxing in here, we fell asleep.

-We really did.

It's almost the end of the show, but we thought we'd spend a bit of time

to calm down in the butterfly house.

But there are no butterflies in here. Or are there, Kim?

We've got probably about 30 species. There's a few here we can look at,

-because they're sat eating at the moment.

-Dear me!

I think they're asleep as well. Look at this!

-Wow, they're big!

-They're beautiful.

What's so special about these butterflies, then?

This one here is what we call an owl butterfly. They're very special.

They've got a big eye on the side, to look like a bigger animal

when they're sat feeding. Here, anything could come and eat them.

Is it possible to get close to one?

We can try, if they'll sit on the fruit for you.

Is this their daily diet, is it their snack?

Butterflies usually eat things with lots of sugars in, obviously.

People outside, they might see a butterfly, what shouldn't they do?

You shouldn't really try and grab hold of it if you can help it.

Butterfly's wings are delicate. They've lots of scales

on the wings, that's how they're made. Those bits can rub off.

This one's enjoying its snack. I could do with a snack, too.

-Shall we head home?

-Let's do it. While we flutter away

and grab some grub, why don't you check out what's coming up

on the next episode of Roar?

We're going to discover what they keep behind locked doors.

The sinister, the scary and the downright weird.

Lions have a great sense of smell to help hunt down their prey,

but wouldn't they rather sit around sniffing pretty flowers?

We're going to find out.

And how do you stop a three-ton rhino from playing too rough?

We're going out with the rhino patrol.

We'll have all that and more next time on Roar.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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