Episode 25 Roar

Today on Roar, the lion cubs are finally coming out to

where the visitors can see them.

Are they ready for their first public performance?

-Hello and welcome to Roar. I'm Johny.

-And I'm Rani.

The amazing ants can carry more than their body weight,

so Johny has challenged me to carry him.

-I'm ready, go!

-Put your back into it! Come on!

-OK, hang on!

-You can do better than that, Rani. Come on.

-OK.

Shall we just get on with today's show?

I don't know about ants, that was pants.

On Roar today, we've got a baby theme going.

As well as the lion cubs, we'll catch up with the newborn giraffe.

He's Gertrude's first baby. So, how's he coping?

He's grown a bit since we saw him take his first swim,

but is Riley the sealion still a big kid?

When is a tortoise all soft to stroke?

When they're a tiny baby, just a few days old.

It is still soft, isn't it?

We're starting off with the lions,

because they're in for a challenging day.

Six months ago, Nilbalo arrived from Germany

to become the new pride male.

12 weeks ago, the lioness named Yendi had four beautiful cubs.

So far, the cubs and Nilbalo have been confined to the lion house

and the enclosure outside they call the paddock.

They've never been in the much larger enclosure that lies beyond.

That's a section of the safari park where the public can see them,

as they drive through in their cars.

But now, Nilbalo and the cubs will soon be out there,

along with all the lionesses, enjoying the run of that big space.

If everything goes to plan.

Keeper Bob Trollope has got his fingers crossed.

Big day today.

It's quite an exciting day,

because we are letting Nilbalo out for the first time, into the section.

And, also, the cubs. It's going to be quite a nerve-wracking day, I think.

We don't know what's going to happen.

Obviously, Nilbalo coming from Germany,

he's never been out here, he's spent six months in quarantine.

The cubs have never been out here, so it's going to be exciting.

Today is also feed day,

so Bob's scattering some meat around for when they come out.

The enclosure is ready, but are the keepers?

We've got to play it as it goes.

There are going to be several things going on at any one time.

There's four cubs that are going to be running around

all over the place.

Mum's going to be trying to keep an eye on them, the rest of them are

going to be playing, there's going to be a lot to keep your eyes on.

We're going to have a few members of staff in here initially.

Until they get used to it, we will be keeping an extra eye on them.

To avoid any fighting, the feisty lionesses will be released first.

Then the mum Yendi and her cubs.

And when they've all settled down, Nilbalo.

The keepers are in position.

The lionesses have been in doors all night, so they're raring to go.

-'Are you ready?'

-Yeah, we are ready.

As soon as the gate is open, the lionesses

streak across the paddock and straight out into the big enclosure.

Next up are Yendi and her cubs.

The youngsters have never seen anything like the section before.

It's exciting, but also scary.

Stay tuned to see what happens

when the little cubs meet the big outdoors.

When it comes to baby giraffes, Longleat has a great track record.

Over the years, they've had over 110 successful births,

including three last year,

when we saw little Kaiser, Kate and Kruger.

This year, we had some great news,

when first-time mum Gertrude had a baby.

But even better, we managed to get footage of the actual birth,

which happened in the middle of the night.

-Aw!

-There you go.

It's a big old drop!

The baby is now three weeks old.

So I've met up with keeper Andy

to get a clearer look.

I did see the footage, it was very exciting stuff,

but now I want to see the little one, in person.

-Is he behind me?

-He is. He's over there, hobbling around.

SHE SHRIEKS

-We can see him! Now, we are saying he...

-He.

-Officially a he?

-It is officially a little boy.

-Name?

-Because you said you wouldn't name it until it was a week old.

-Yep.

-We've named him Lewa.

-Lewa?

After a game reserve in Africa that Longleat supports.

He's an endangered Kenyan species of giraffe, we call him Lewa.

You say endangered, what are we talking about?

There's about 500 Rothschild giraffes left in the world,

so they are very endangered.

Every birth we have is very important, but it's Gertrude's

first baby and she's done brilliantly.

We were talking about this last time, you were slightly

nervous of Gertrude, you said she was doing well in the enclosure.

We just saw a little bit of footage there, now she's out

and he is out, how is she doing?

Is she still being a great mummy?

Right from word go, when myself and Bev went in about 1am

and she was licking the baby, it just allayed all our fears.

It worked beautifully, it really did. She's been a very attentive mum

and he's a very good lad. I say he stays near Mum, Mum's over there...

This is what I was going to ask! There is Lewa there, he's just

wandering off, making use of this great field. Which one is Gertie?

Gertrude is the one just through here.

There's one bent over, a small one,

and Gertrude's the tall one with the white face.

-Just here?

-That's the mum, yeah.

-She is looking that way.

-Yep.

How protective of a mum is she? Is she always keeping an eye on him?

Yeah, she is and she's very good, if she thinks he's

getting in trouble, she'll go over and look after him.

Again, this is perfect, because she's not being over attentive,

she's letting him toddle around and he's gone over there.

He's not even toddling! You say toddling, he's kind of walking fine!

It's brilliant seeing him! Get him big, get him strong.

To be honest, he's off on his own adventures. Hopefully, that

-will continue. Thanks, Andy.

-That's OK, Rani.

Most animals have loads of different names.

For example, the Canadian Timber Wolf

can also be called the Mackenzie Valley Wolf.

Some people call it the Northwestern Wolf.

You'd still be right if you just said the grey wolf.

So, to avoid confusion, every single animal has also been given

a scientific name which uses Latin, that's the language of ancient Rome.

The Latin name for these guys is...

Hmm. No wonder the keepers stick to names like Frida and Nobby.

THEY HOWL

Be afraid! Be very afraid! It's time for Ask The Keeper.

THEY LAUGH

-Can you feel the fear, Liam?

-I can feel the fear.

There's quite a lot of excitement going on, but I'm ready for it.

I don't think you are ready for this lot. They've got some serious

questions about the prairie dogs. Who's going first?

Where did they originate from?

These are black-tailed prairie dogs

and they're found on the

Great Plains of North America.

What type of food do they eat?

Their staple diet is actually prairie grasses, hence the name prairie dog,

but they'll eat all sorts of seeds, other types of roots and shoots,

some berries if they can find them, mainly just grasses and seeds.

How long has the name prairie dogs been in use for?

They were found about 200 years ago, eating prairie grasses,

that's where the prairie bit comes from. The name dog is because when

they talk to each other, they bark like dogs.

-So, prairie dogs.

-Are they related to dogs?

-No.

The name suggests you might think so, but no. They're actually a rodent.

They're related to squirrels and rabbits.

I can't believe you got that one right. Unbelievable.

We're going to have to ramp up the pressure, he's a tough nut to crack.

Have you got a good question, Stella?

In the wild, do other animals eat them?

Prairie dogs have a lot of predators, which is

why they live so close together.

Things like coyotes will eat them, and eagles.

How do they defended themselves against predators?

Their best defence is numbers.

They have a couple of sentries on each tunnel mound,

on which one will stand around and look out for predators or whatever

types of danger, and they'll make a little bark to tell them,

"Quick, run away and hide, this is coming."

But their best defence is just to hide in the tunnels,

because they go very deep and not a lot is going to get in there.

What is the Latin name for a prairie dog?

Do you know, you've stumped me on this one. I haven't got a clue.

Chloe, put it there! That's what I'm talking about. Yes!

We got you, finally. You know everything about prairie dogs.

-Stella, have you got one?

-Do they live in groups?

-They do.

What they actually do is they live in big things called towns.

So, imagine how many families live in a town.

They have lots of different prairie dog families

in a town, which can be about 100 acres spread across a Great Plain.

Miles and miles of different sorts of tunnels where they sleep.

A big family consists of about 20 prairie dogs.

They would have neighbourhoods of each 20 prairie dogs

and that keeps expanding.

The biggest one ever found was 400 million prairie dogs.

Liam, I can't believe it!

That was our killer question before we even got to ask it!

For the first time ever, you have aced Ask The Keeper.

Your name is Liam Crowne, I give you the crown.

You're the king of Ask The Keeper. Unbelievable!

That's got to be a thumbs up all round.

-Oh, yeah.

-I'm quite happy to take that crown, thank you very much.

In case you're wondering,

the Latin name for the black-tailed prairie dog is...

Shame we didn't save that for the killer question.

Would you keep a bison in your bedroom?

How about a lion in the lounge?

With the Roar online game, you can have a whole

park full of animals in the comfort of your own home.

You'll find our game on the CBBC website.

But, before you check it out, make a note of today's cheat code.

Happy gaming!

Back with the lions, Yendi and her cubs are about to be

released into the big drive-through enclosure.

For the youngsters, this will be an all-new experience

and no-one knows how they will react.

Bob and the other keepers are standing by in their vehicles,

in case anything goes wrong.

And here they come. But they stop in the middle of the paddock.

They don't know where to go next.

Here comes Mum, she knows the way!

But the cubs don't follow.

The cubs are slightly hesitant. They've seen Mum go out

and they can see the others out, but they haven't quite

worked out how to get out. There's a great big...

Oh, here they come!

But they are still not sure.

This is as far as they have ever been before.

One more step and they will be on new territory.

Eventually, the bravest two venture out.

But the other two need some more encouragement.

I'll just go in the paddock and try and edge them out a bit,

see if that will help.

Get out!

Very carefully, Bob drives his vehicle in to try

and shoo them out.

But the cubs retreat right into the corner.

And now, they can see their brother and sister through the fence,

but can't work out how to join them.

There is a small gate in this corner,

but it can only be opened from the other side.

Is there any chance you could come over to the paddock

and open this little gate?

We've got two in here panicking, climbing up the fences and things.

But when the keeper comes to open the gate, the two cubs scatter.

This could get serious.

The cubs must feel cut off and they are starting to panic.

Don't go away, we'll see what happens very soon.

In our last series, we got to meet a sea lion pup named Riley,

when he was just one day old.

And we were there two days later when he took his first swim.

Today, I've popped down to see how he is getting on.

-I brought him a fishy treat! Mark, how are you doing?

-Hi.

I've come to see Riley. Why aren't we at Sea Lion Beach?

This is where we have to bring them, to wean them away from their mothers.

That's why I've brought the treat, then. Look at him!

He's looking really well! Not you, you're a big one. Who are you?

-This is Jazz.

-Hi, Jazz! How is Riley getting on?

He's doing really well.

He was one of the quickest sea lions to wean.

He was eating bits of mackerel in two days.

-How long does it normally take?

-It can take anything up to two weeks.

What would happen in the wild?

In the wild, the parents would just give them the cold shoulder,

and tell them off, push them away.

So they would have no other choice but to go out

and find fish for themselves.

How are Riley and Jazz getting on in here?

They get on really well.

They are very sociable animals and they like company.

It's good for them to play together, especially when we're doing things

like this. It can make it a bit of a free-for-all.

What age is Riley now?

He's just over a year. About a year and two weeks, I think.

So, one year old and fully weaned, does that make him an adult?

Definitely not, he's still a child at heart.

You can tell by the way he messes about.

It'll be about four to five years before he is classed as an adult.

Then will he be the size of Buster, or is Buster just something

else and he's never going to get as big as that?

It would take at least ten years to get to Buster's size.

-And a lot of fish.

-A lot of fish.

OK, Mark, let's get throwing in the fish!

What's a lamb's favourite place?

The baath.

SHE BARKS

Why don't cheetahs take baths?

I don't know, why don't they take baths?

They don't want to be spotless.

Miaow!

What kind of fish do soldiers like?

Swordfish.

THEY LAUGH

Here on Roar, we love getting the first shots of a new

arrival at the park. I'm here with keeper Sarah,

because she's got something very special to show us.

Sarah, who is this incredibly cute little guy here?

This is our new addition. It's a baby spur-thighed tortoise.

I'm kind of keeping my voice down, should I be? Will I scare it?

-No, I wouldn't worry too much. I'm sure it's fine.

-He is so cute!

-How old is he?

-About three or four days. Not very old at all.

-Is this Mum and Dad we've got here?

-This is Mum, Dawn. And Sid is Dad.

Mum's a lot bigger than Dad!

Females get quite a lot bigger than the males,

so they are probably roughly the same age, but they will keep growing,

and the females get quite a lot bigger.

How come the baby isn't with Mum and Dad?

Would that not naturally happen in the wild?

In the wild, Mum would lay the eggs, cover them over and just leave them.

When they hatch, they are completely on their own from the off.

What's different about a baby than the parents, because that just looks

like an exact miniature of these guys?

There are a few things you can notice, it being a baby.

If you look underneath,

that tiny little patch here is where it was connected to the egg, inside.

So, it's connected to the yolk,

and that's what keeps it alive during the time in the egg.

It's like the umbilical cord, so to speak?

Yeah, it's like his belly button.

When they come out, the egg yolk's absorbed and that's their first meal.

Gradually, it closes over.

You can see a white line across here, that's where he was folded over.

It's quite cramped in the egg and he was folded over and squished in.

He straightens out in the first few days after hatching.

-His shell is still quite soft.

-Could I have a very gentle touch?

-Yeah.

I'm terrible with babies!

You hold it, please.

-That is still soft.

-It's not hard yet.

How long will it be before he has a proper hard shell like Mum and Dad?

It'll be a few weeks. It'll take a little while

for it to harden completely.

He went through incubation, didn't he?

We take the eggs and put them in an incubator

because the temperatures of our British summer aren't always steady

and the eggs need to be kept at a certain temperature all

the way through, otherwise they won't hatch properly.

We need a bit of control, that's why we dug the eggs up from where

she laid them and put them in an incubator.

How many eggs did she lay? Is this quite a big deal?

It's quite exciting for me to see a baby tortoise.

-Is this a big deal for you?

-It's really exciting.

She laid four eggs in that clutch and we put them all in.

Hopefully, the others will hatch as well.

It's always really exciting, you never get tired of it.

It's one of the best parts of the job.

Thank you for sharing it with us.

It's amazing to see this baby tortoise.

-Will you invite us back when the others hatch?

-Definitely.

-Awesome.

The Nile crocodile is huge.

It can grow more than six metres long

and weigh almost three-quarters of a ton.

They also have an enormous appetite.

When they catch their prey,

these guys can eat up to half their own bodyweight.

That's like scoffing Johny

and a whole gang of Ask The Keeper kids put together.

Back with the lions, two of the cubs have become cut off from the others.

The gates are open to let them out

into the big drive-through enclosure,

but they just can't find their way.

Just as the two cubs are on the verge of panic,

here is Mum, Yendi, to the rescue.

Hopefully, now, Mum will take them all out.

There's always one, isn't there?

Bob inches forward and moves the last one along.

In no time, they are making the most of the big new space.

So far, so good. Fingers are crossed, I think we can relax a little bit.

They've been really good,

the cubs haven't ventured too far away from Mum.

Now, they've found some of the meat Bob spread round.

They've never had big bits like this,

so they don't know what to do with it.

Luckily, their mum doesn't mind them playing with their food.

Just as long as they don't play with hers.

Ouch! Don't worry, lions are tough, even little ones.

Now, Nilbalo has come out too.

He's not bothered about being in a new enclosure,

all he's interested in is getting some of that food.

We are going to keep a few vehicles in here today, just initially.

There is a lot for one person to keep an eye on.

It's going to be a busy old day today.

Before long, the cubs are too busy playing to get up to mischief.

And the adults just want to lounge in the sun.

If only the kids would give them some peace.

It's almost the end of the show but,

before we leave, we've found just enough time to meet a man

with many talons, it's Jimmy from the hawk conservancy.

-Hi, Jimmy, are you all right?

-Yeah, not too bad.

-Hi, Jimmy.

We're the ones with lots of talons, because we've got

these great birds on our arms. You have to tell us what we've got

on our arms and the difference between their talons.

-All I can say is, Little and Large.

-Yes!

This little bird here is an African Lanner Falcon.

One of the fastest predators on the planet. They can go incredibly quick.

She's got specially adapted feet for catching birds in the sky,

because that's what she'd normally feed on in the wild.

Because she does it at high-speed, she's got little shock absorbers

under her talons, if you look really closely. Do you see that?

-Yes. Can I touch?

-Yes.

-They are really soft.

-Yeah, they are! That's so she can land quietly?

That's for when she strikes her prey.

She uses her back talon as a dagger, to strike a bird in the sky.

And so, she has her own version of shock absorbers underneath.

With these bright feet, I'm surprised her prey doesn't

see them and get away.

Yeah, but she is so quick, she can go over 100 miles per hour.

That isn't a bird, THIS is a bird.

Tell us some more about this amazing hawk.

She's an eagle, so she's a lot bigger than a hawk.

Eagles are some of the biggest birds in the world.

She's a North American Bald Eagle.

Bald is an old English word for white, because when she grows up,

she will get a white head and a white tail.

So she's not even fully grown yet?

She is fully grown, she's a year and a half old, but she'll change

her plumage, her feathers, when she's about four years old.

Talk us through her talons.

She's got massive talons, which are mainly designed for catching fish.

The undersides of her feet are very rough,

so she can hold on to the fish.

Her talons are more curved than this little falcon,

almost as fishing hooks. She's specially designed for catching fish.

-So, she loves fish, what does this one love to eat?

-Catching birds.

-Mainly birds?

-Yes, small birds.

How big are the birds? Because she's only tiny.

Similar sort of birds to pigeons. Are you all right?

-Keep your arm nice and stiff.

-Oh, my goodness! She is massive!

That's incredible. Thank you. I'm so glad that you're here, Jimmy!

She's incredibly heavy, I'm finding it hard to hold her up.

-Be honest, who would win in a fight?

-In a fight, right.

-Seriously, you're asking that question?

-We all want to know.

She's the more powerful bird, she's got an amazing amount of power.

He is a lot quicker.

He would swallow him whole, but he's fast enough to keep out the way.

-So he's a lot quicker?

-A lot quicker.

-Who's the better hunter?

Probably this one, because Bald Eagles scavenge in the wild.

-So they are a little bit lazier?

-Yeah, a little bit lazier.

-I think I prefer you.

-I'd love to say the same thing, but my arm is

about to drop off. Before it does,

why don't you lot see what's coming up on the next episode of Roar?

-See you. Can you take him back?

-There you go.

Next time, we'll see who's smarter,

the Roar crew or the rhesus macaque monkeys.

I'll discover the curious charm of the leopard gecko.

He's so cute and chilled out!

If you're eating, look away now,

because the Roar Ranger must tackle the anteaters,

and they do the pongiest piles of poop in the place.

Oh, wow!

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