Episode 14 Roar

Today on Roar, the prairie dogs are notorious escape artisits.

We're about to release the prairie dogs, send over reinforcements.

So, can the keepers stop them from doing a runner?

Hello, welcome to Roar. I'm Rani.

-IN AUSTRALIAN ACCENT:

-G'day! I'm Johny, and this is Bruce.

He's a bearded dragon from Australia.

If he's Australian, what's with the Welsh accent?

What ya' talking about? Ya' dreaming!

That was a perfect Australian accent.

Yeah. Let's just get on with today's show.

Bonza!

When it comes to coarti poo, the Roar ranger is fearless.

Ew! I can't believe you just smelt it!

But does he really have nerves of steel?

I don't like it, I don't like it!

She's a celebrity, she can do what she likes,

and she weighs almost four tonnes.

So, how do they get Anne to come out for a walk?

And their grub is gruesome,

so why would anyone want to cuddle a vulture?

But we're starting with the prairie dogs

because they're about to make a big move to a new home.

Since they first arrived at the park last year,

the 17 prairie dogs have been living inside.

But now, a spacious outdoor enclosure has become available.

But housing prairie dogs is a difficult business.

There's one big problem.

Keeper Sarah has been looking after them since they came.

We were told that they're good at escaping from enclosures,

that was a major issue when housing them.

Prairie dogs come from North America.

They're not dogs, but rodents, related to squirrels and chipmunks,

and are famous for digging whole networks of underground burrows.

But they don't usually escape by tunneling out of enclosures.

Sarah was told that it's their jumping you have to watch out for.

So, last year, she set up an experiment to find out

how high the barriers would need to be to stop them escaping.

Inside a wooden tower was some food. To get to it,

the prairie dogs had to jump over the walls.

Stage by stage, the tower grew higher,

until it reached an impossible height.

Surely, this would be a mission too far?

Prairie dogs, your mission, should you choose to accept it,

is to scale a one-metre high wall to retrieve vegetables.

It was tricky, but somehow, they just about made it.

APPLAUSE

They can jump about a metre,

which is quite high for an animal with such little legs.

And it turns out the barrier around their new enclosure is

already higher than that.

So, they should be safe in here.

Keeper John will be looking after them

when they move into this new home.

Basically, I am now in charge of the prairie dogs.

Before, they were in Animal Adventure.

In that environment, they were in a building.

So, they had a roof and four sides.

Here, there are different elements for them.

We have no roof.

They can go anywhere, they can hide,

there are hundreds of places to hide here.

Hopefully, it'll be a lot better for them here.

The enclosure is now ready for the prairie dogs to move in.

But, so far, they've beaten every challenge.

So, is it really escape proof?

We'll find out later on.

The ancient Egyptians thought cats were sacred.

Often, when they died, they were turned in to mummies.

Anne the elephant has always been a celebrity. She used to be a star in

a circus before that kind of animal performance was widely banned.

These days, Anne is famous

because she's probably the oldest elephant in Europe.

Even though no-one is quite sure how old she is, they think she's 58.

She's been at the safari park for a few months now.

And Johny's come to see how she's getting on.

Most of you have taken a dog for a walk.

But how many people have taken an elephant for a walk?

That's what I'm going to do today,

Andy has kindly invited me to the elephant paddock

to let Anne the elephant out today.

I'm looking forward to this, where do you start?

How do you take an elephant for a walk?

Carefully!

What we'll do is, we'll go and get her,

if we can have the crew stood over in the paddock, safely out of the way.

We'll bring her out.

That sounds like a plan, I'm loving this.

You get into position, while we take an elephant for a walk.

I have to say, this is incredible.

She's actually holding on to your stick.

You're actually taking her for a proper walk!

Yeah, she's a pretty good girl.

She knows what's expected of her, and, you know, holding hands.

Come here, Anne. Come here.

Anne's quite an old elephant.

She's a very old lady.

Is it important to take her for a walk and keep her active?

Yeah, what we try to do is not give Anne too much to do.

Anne, hold it.

So, she comes out in the yard, here.

And she does what she wants to do. It's, kind of, up to her.

Hold it, good girl.

So...how many people get to do this every day, you know?

This is something...incredibly special, I can't believe that.

It looks like you've developed a real bond with Anne.

Good girl. Oh, yeah, she's awesome. You know...

She's just a really special old lady.

And...you know, she's lovely to be around.

I've noticed that she's picked a couple of bits and bobs.

-What's she eating?

-What we do is put scatter food out here,

we hide it in different places every day.

She comes out and has to look and search for it,

we bury some in the sandpit as well, so she has to dig around.

It's elephant TV, it gives her something to do.

And it keeps her active.

Let's just say she's a very old lady.

So, we don't want her charging round.

She's never going to start running around being totally silly.

She has her daft moments, but she's here to retire, relax,

kick back and take it easy, really.

Will you talk us through a day with Anne?

In the morning, she'll get up and you'll give her a good clean?

Well, first off, lots of shovelling.

Muck out, give her breakfast and her medication.

Check that she's OK, and then, she gets her bath,

and she's scrubbed from head to foot.

Then, she comes out here, she does her thing.

She lets us know when she's bored.

Then, she comes back in, kicks her feet up and...kind of, bed time.

Not a bad life.

Andy, it's been absolutely amazing giving an elephant a walk,

but there is the tricky task of getting her back in the paddock,

-which I'm going to leave to you.

-That's fine. No problem.

What do cows read at bed time?

I don't know.

Dairy tales.

Cluck cluck cluck.

What do you get when you cross a pig with a flea?

Pork scratchings.

Oink oink oink.

How do turtles talk to each other?

They use shell phones.

Our Roar ranger today is 11-year-old karate expert Tai.

When it comes to hard work, if I put my mind to it, I can get it done.

But can he cope with poo? Because there's always poo.

I'm not worried about poo, cos I've got a blocked nose.

Hm, that might help!

Right now, Tai's got to figure out what animal he's going to

help with today.

He's got two clues.

Clue one, some pictures of a strange animal.

Clue two, an egg.

Hm, could be something that eats eggs.

Or something that lays eggs.

What about that picture?

Hm... I know a lot about animals,

but I've never seen an animal like this.

Come on, Tai. Take a guess.

I think it's a ring-tailed lemur, but do they eat eggs?

A lemur?

Let's find out.

It's the coati's.

Yes!

The ring-tailed coati comes from

the forests of South America.

It's related to the raccoon,

not to the lemur.

Hi, I'm Tai.

Hello, I'm Michaela.

We're going to be working with the coatis,

where you're going to get up close and personal with them.

But, I'm afraid, it is going to be a bit smelly.

Tai shouldn't worry, after all, he's got a blocked nose.

But some smells cut right through.

Ahhh! Why does it smell so bad?

Well, their poo is quite strong.

Now, don't worry, they will move out of our way.

They don't bite, do they?

No, they won't bite you, they're very friendly.

The coatis are new to the park this year.

There's Ringo, the male,

Zoe. At seven, she's the oldest.

Talulah, who has white around her ears.

And Big Mama, who really is quite big.

All of them are brilliant at climbing.

They are so athletic!

That's because in the forest, they spend a lot of time in the trees.

Tai's noticed something else.

She's got a really big, long nose. And she can move it like that.

All the way round.

I've never seen anything like it, never ever, ever.

Despite their flexible noses,

they don't seem to mind the terrible pong.

-I can feel the smell in my throat.

-I did say it was smelly!

These guys are quite tricky, they like to poo where we can't get to it.

It means that you have to crawl under there and pick that up.

Is that all right?

You're a lot smaller than me, so it should be a bit easier.

Um, I think I can smell wee.

Animal keepers have got to tackle the bad jobs as well as the good.

And now, we'll see if Tai's got what it takes.

The poo is...squidgy, brown and sandy...

and smelly.

Ew, I can't believe you just smelt it!

-Go on.

-No, thanks!

If Tai can handle that, cleaning out their beds should be a doddle.

If you just lift up the hay, can you see any wetness?

-It actually feels quite dry to me.

-No, I can't see any wetness.

OK. We have got another bed, which is just over there,

would you like to go and check that one?

Oh, yeah, there's wee.

-If you want to pop that inside.

-Oh, nice, fresh hay.

Phew!

When the place is clean and the beds are made,

it's time to feed the coatis.

That's not as straighforward as it sounds.

Find out later what Tai and the coatis make of each other,

when they get really up close and personal.

Out in the wild, when you see the vultures circling,

you can bet there's been some bad news.

Cos vultures are scavengers. They don't hunt for themselves,

but feast on animals that are already dead.

And, quite frankly, it's not a pretty sight.

But does that make vultures scary, gruesome and bad?

Rani's gone to find out.

Now, the word vulture sends a chill down my spine,

Apparently, this shouldn't be the case.

Head falconer Jimmy is going to put me at ease.

-Hello.

-So, this isn't filling me with confidence,

-is this left over from feeding time?

-No, it's plastic.

-Aw, Jimmy, you've ruined it!

-Don't panic.

Everyone at home was going, "No! No!"

This plastic carcass is here to make feeding time more realistic.

Now, you've got gloves there, never a good sign!

We're going to put food inside for the vultures.

We need to get kitted up.

So, how are we going to feed them?

Because I can see some holes just down here, in the buffalo.

Yeah, basically, we're going to put little bits of chicken in there.

Then we're going to let the vultures out,

so, if you help me, that'd be great.

Any hole? Do they have a preference?

Any hole you like, definitely.

There's even a hole where the bum should be.

-Would they go there?

-They would in the wild, certainly.

-And the eye?

-Yeah, the eye socket, yeah.

-That makes it really gruesome.

-It is, but we'll put some in there.

So, the buffalo is stuffed, where are the vultures?

-They're on their way now.

-Let's take cover.

OK, so, what kind of vultures are we expecting?

We've got a hooded vulture.

He's coming straight in.

-Look at that flight!

-Like he's straight from the wild.

Here come the rest of them.

This is how it would work in the wild.

One vulture would come in, then the rest would follow.

-Which ones are these?

-These are the black vultures.

So, we've got African hooded vultures and American black vultures.

Now, you've put holes in this buffalo to show us how they feed.

Something like this is really gruesome.

There's no skin left on the teeth, or over the ribs.

Is that what a vulture would do to a buffalo, or how they'd find it?

Would they go, "That looks appetising"?

It's what they'll do in the wild,

keep feeding until there's a skeleton left.

So, they eat absolutely everything, which is a bit grim.

If this animal died of a disease,

they stop that spreading to other animals.

Wouldn't they get the disease?

No, because they've got amazing digestive systems,

they can overcome lots of problems that would kill us.

Wow! So, in some ways, they're actually doing some good, then?

Yeah, they're nature's answer to dustbin men.

We need them to clear our rubbish,

and the animal kingdom needs vultures in the same way.

I've got to say, vultures have a bad rep,

and I admit, I've always believed it, but listening to you today and

seeing them, I actually want to say they're quite sweet and quite clean.

They're great birds. Fantastic fun to work with.

As you can see, they're really friendly.

-There are a lot of things about vultures to like.

-I'm convinced.

Back with the prairie dogs, the time has come to release them

into their new home.

Keeper John has been told that they're great jumpers

and desperate escape artists. So, he's taking no chances.

What we're going to do is,

we're going to have people standing all the way around the exhibit.

They're going to be carrying nets and all sorts of capturing equipment.

And now, it's time.

We're about to release the prairie dogs, send over the reinforcements.

With 17 prairie dogs,

they'll need a big team to catch them if they try to escape.

Only three? Is that it?

The team may be small, but they are professionals.

OK, keepers on alert, nets at the ready.

Standing by, guys? Release the prairie dogs.

The prairie dogs have already been moved to an indoor holding pen

that's built under the mound.

But now, the door has been opened to let them outside.

They should come rushing out of this tunnel at any moment.

Or maybe not.

After all, in the wild,

there are quite a few animals that eat prairie dogs,

and a prey species that takes risks doesn't last very long.

So, these guys are coming out, but carefully.

Slowly, the prairie dogs emerge, and start to explore.

They're always on the lookout for predators. When they spot

danger, their only defence is to dive for cover down their burrows.

But they soon discover that their new home is covered in rich

vegetation. Which is what they eat.

In fact, the whole place is a living banquet.

Prairie dog heaven.

Which means escaping is the last thing on their minds right now.

So, the keeper catching crew can stand down.

But once they've settled in, will they start wondering

if the grass is greener on the other side, and make a break for it?

We'll find out later on.

If you're a Roar gamer, you'll know what to do with this.

That's today's cheat code.

Type it in and see what you get.

And, if you're not a Roar gamer, why not?

You'll find it on the CBBC website. It's easy to get started

and great fun. Happy gaming.

If there were medals for tackling poo, Roar ranger Tai

would have one.

He's been fearlessly helping Michaela

clean out the very smelly coatis.

But now the dirty work is done, the coatis are going outside.

And they're hungry.

In here, we've got their juicy mealworms.

-What do you think is in here?

-Eggs.

-Yeah, we've got their eggs.

Now, eggs are one of their favourites,

so, we're going to hide them on the floor and see if they can find them.

Coatis eat all sorts of things

and they use that incredible nose to find their food.

The keepers often hide treats,

to help keep up their sniffing practice.

We'll hide them just here, I think.

Just pop them down and then, push some of this mud over.

Those eggs are completely hidden.

If the coatis find them, it will be by smell alone.

Remember where they are, don't stand on them.

-I've got a rock on mine.

-Oh, well done.

Coatis also eat bugs,

and Michaela has some mealworms to be scattered around.

Tai has never come across mealworms before

and he's just discovered that he really doesn't like them.

-This is horrible!

-Are they wriggling around?

-Yes!

I don't like it, I don't like it.

Please, get off my hand.

But now with the food ready, the coatis start to come down.

First on the scene is Big Mama.

And her nose goes straight into action.

Wow, it has got my egg!

Wow, hold on, let's see that again.

She's playing football with the egg.

Coatis also eat fruit,

and because Tai is with a trained keeper,

he can try and feed them by hand.

Here comes Ringo, he's interested in the apple and in Tai.

Don't, don't even...

He's sniffing you, he's seeing who you are.

Oh, I think they've found MY egg this time.

Oh, yeah, that one's got it now.

Yeah, they've got the egg.

We've only got a few mealworms left,

-shall we sprinkle them on the floor for them?

-Yeah.

With the work all done, how does our Roar ranger rate the day?

Being a coati keeper was the best!

Tai was surprised at the stink,

but, to be honest, that's coati keeping for you.

The room absolutely smelt so bad.

I've never smelt anything so bad before.

I think Tai has got what it takes to be a keeper, he was really good.

I do karate and I like the coati.

So, you could say that Tai is the coati kid.

Here's a sad fact - the Siberian, or Amur,

tiger is an endangered species.

There are fewer than 450 left in the wild.

So, if they each took a seat, you could get every last one of them

on just six double-decker buses.

The prairie dogs have been in their new enclosure for two days.

And even though they've now scoffed all the juiciest plants,

they're all still here.

Well, the good news is that the prairie dogs haven't tried to escape,

they've not even really attempted to go anywhere near the fence.

However, saying that, instead of going over,

they appear to be going under.

Here's some of the tunnels.

There are lots that they've dug themselves,

of different sizes and lengths.

They can go anywhere they like, they can go in,

and we've no idea where that tunnel goes.

That tunnel could come out over there.

The enclosure fences do go underground a little way, and

there are also natural barriers to stop them digging their way under.

I don't think they could tunnel their way out of here, really.

They can tunnel down to a certain depth, then it gets hard,

it's very rocky at a certain depth.

Also, in other places, it's very wet and full of clay.

They probably wouldn't want to dig that,

because it gets sticky and they won't like it.

They'll only go down a couple of feet, and that'll be it.

In fact, these prairie dogs don't seem at all interested in escape.

They're too busy digging burrows and scoffing all the greenery.

They love it, they adore it, you can see that.

They've got this hard sand that they can dig in.

They love the plant life in here.

You'll never need a lawnmower again.

Yeah, everything in here, they're slowly getting through.

Hopefully, the plants will survive

and they'll be able to keep on growing.

So far, the prairie dogs' new home has been a great success.

But only time will tell if they've really given up on trying to escape.

We'll catch up with them later in the series.

It's the end of another show, unfortunately,

and that one was head and shoulders above.

Speaking of head and shoulders above,

have you seen this awesome giraffe herd?

-Wow! We're here to talk to keeper Polly. Hi.

-Hiya.

Remind us why a giraffe's neck needs to be so long.

I mean, they're just showing off there, look at that.

It's mainly for feeding, so they can reach higher leaves.

But also, they use it for fighting with males.

So, it's like a sword fight with necks, is it?

Yes, the males will swing their necks,

and try to off-balance the other one.

They use their height and strength to try and win females.

They're known for being relaxed, chilled-out animals.

Is it fun to look after them?

They are nice, we've got a nice mix of characters.

We've got some that are laid back,

and then a few who are a bit more nervous.

They're nice, they all get on well, it's nice looking after them.

Admit it, you've got the little ones now,

that's got to be great.

It's fun seeing them. We've got three which are a year old.

I'll tell you what, don't you lot run anywhere just yet,

because here's what's coming up on the next episode of Roar.

Johny's going to come face to face

with the creature that stalks his nightmares.

And you'll never guess what it is.

We're going to have to get tough.

Evil laugh, girls!

To find out if the keeper knows what she "otter" about the otters.

And we'll be trying not to get gobbled by Mr Snappy.

The greediest gob in the place.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]