Episode 30 Roar

Today on Roar, we're trying to catch the master criminal who keeps

letting the animals out of the farmyard exhibit.

The prime suspect is Arthur. He may be a pig, but he's looking sheepish.

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

-And I'm Rani.

And this is Freya.

She's a giant African pouched rat.

-What a whopper! She's huge.

-I know.

And, speaking of huge, let's get on with today's humongous show.

Ain't that right, Freya?

Coming up today, there's funny business afoot.

We find out why the meerkats go mad for painted toenails.

The Roar Ranger is in for a surprise

when he has to land a bird with a wingspan that's bigger than him.

It's Africa's biggest owl.

And, will they kiss and tell?

We'll get the latest gossip about Carlos and Cessna.

Now, hold onto your hats because we're about to be drawn

into a web of mystery,

an investigation to catch a criminal mastermind.

Recently, a temporarily farm exhibit was set up in the park,

filled with everything from donkeys and alpacas,

to pigs and lambs.

During the day, it's a scene of order and calm.

But at night, something strange has been going on.

Scarlet works with these animals and she's a key witness.

When I've been coming in, in the morning,

all the animals are out, there's stuff all over the place.

Things are being moved, things that aren't the way

we left them when we left on the night before.

All the pens are open.

Animals are running around.

Everybody's everywhere.

Incredible as it may seem, the evidence suggests that

one of the animals is getting out and setting the others free.

But whodunit?

Let's round up the usual suspects.

It could be the donkeys because they have a lot of strength

in their upper bodies to push the gates open.

It could be the goats, with their really long horns,

could be lifting up the pens.

It could be the alpacas because they have really long necks

and they could be getting their necks right underneath.

It could be the lambs because they are so springy

when they're this young.

They could be jumping over the hurdles.

All those guys may be capable of pulling off a stunt like this

but, really, have they got the brains to be a criminal mastermind?

In fact, the only one here who's got what it takes upstairs is

Arthur, the potbellied pig.

And here's another clue.

During the day, Arthur the pig is always sound asleep.

He doesn't get up. He doesn't walk around.

Arthur's sleepiness has made him the prime suspect.

We think the pig's getting out through the night,

letting all the other animals out and then going straight back into bed

again to make it look like he hasn't done anything wrong.

Hmm, cunning.

But the evidence is still a little thin to get a conviction.

JOHNY YAWNS

So Scarlet is calling in the professionals.

We would love the Roar team to come in and investigate

and put up some spy cameras to find out who it is.

Our crack team gets right on the job.

We're putting up spy cameras equipped with infrared night vision

to see what goes on when no-one's here.

Will we be able to solve the mystery and name the culprit?

Stay tuned to find out.

Got to say, Johny, you are really working that blue nail varnish!

I'm loving the red as well. It really suits your skin tone, Rani.

Yeah, well, my feet are a bit pale.

THEY LAUGH

OK, so these aren't our real feet. Can we just say that?

We've actually got some fake feet with painted toenails

and we have got some fab Roar cameras here.

And, Johny, why are we doing this?

It might all seem a little bit odd right now

but all will soon be explained, as we see keeper Gemma because,

apparently, the meerkats absolutely love painted toenails.

-Gemma?

-What are we doing and why are we doing it?

Well, basically, the meerkats, over the last couple of lovely, hot days,

have been picking on people with sandals and coloured nail varnish.

-Right. Look, they're all coming over.

-Yep.

-Here, would you like one to test?

-Go on, try it out.

Ooh! Now, are they biting people's feet? That's what we need to know.

Or are they just curious?

They're just ever so curious.

That's all it is.

I think they won't take a nip.

It's just a sniff to see what it is.

You know, move it around a little bit!

Move it around! Move your toes around a little bit?

Why do you think it's the colour?

Can they see in colour, then? It's not just black or white.

They do see in colour, yeah.

And, out in the wild, and even in this pen here,

they would naturally dig in the sand to pick out all

different coloured beetles, as well.

But fruit's all different colours and brightly coloured, as well.

This is probably quite weird for them because, normally,

the people are on the pathway and

they come out onto the pathway to have a look.

But, today, we've gone into their enclosure

so do you think we should go over and get a closer look at them?

-Yeah, come on, let's go.

-Not to scare me!

I mean, they're not scared at all.

Is it just toes, or is it anything that's brightly coloured, Gemma?

At the moment it just appears to be toes.

But it could also be because people stand and wiggle them.

And it's like a little bit of a wiggly worm, you know.

-OK! So they might think it's food?

-Definitely.

-And then they have a good sniff and then go, "Not for me."

-Definitely.

OK, so when people are coming through, truthfully,

should they not wear open-toed sandals?

Is it dangerous at all?

It's not dangerous, no.

I mean, lots of people love the fact of having their toes

sniffed by a meerkat, you know.

My preference, I don't think I would walk through with open-toed shoes.

I actually meant, is it dangerous for the meerkat?

Because if they were to smell Johny's feet,

-they'd probably get really ill.

-Hey! I resent that.

I take good care of my feet.

Well, we'll keep them way away from Johnny's feet, don't you worry!

I can't believe that! On that note, I think we better get out of here.

But thank you so much for letting us come so close to these meerkats.

-And we spared them from my feet. Are they really that bad?

-Yeah.

Australia,

New Zealand,

Uruguay,

and Ireland,

all have more sheep than people.

So they're never short of woolly jumpers.

Our Roar Ranger today is 10-year-old Ethan.

He's mad on magic and on animals.

My favourite animal is a goat.

Ethan is an experienced Roar Ranger.

The first time we met him, he was learning the

basics of falconry with a barn owl named Mulberry.

But what will he get today?

He's got two clues to work it out.

And the first one is a tape measure.

Hmm.

A tape measure.

It's normally used for measuring long things.

So I presume this thing is either long or is incredibly big.

No animal too big for me!

And here's clue two.

A giant glove.

Hmm.

It's like the glove I had last time.

But it's a lot bigger.

I hope it's falconry.

I really loved it last time.

Well, it's time to find out.

Today, Ethan will be tackling...

Ha ha! Great! Yay!

EAGLE SCREECHES

Having mastered the basics,

he'll be back with Jimmy the falconer for a real surprise.

If all goes well, he's going to get the chance to fly the big one,

the verreaux's eagle owl.

This is Africa's largest owl.

But, right now, Ethan doesn't know anything about that.

-Hello, again. How are you doing, all right?

-Yeah.

-Nice to see you again.

Right, OK, Ethan, got a bit of a compromise.

We have got a fantastic special treat for you.

But we've got to take the rough with the smooth.

We have to clean this out first.

This is one of the houses where

the birds from the falconry demonstrations live.

They've got 40 birds and, as well as owls, there are eagles,

hawks and, of course, falcons.

First job, the water bowls, OK.

-They need to be sparkling and gleaming. Are you up for that?

-Yeah.

-Bit of scrubbing around, cleaning and washing everything down.

-Yep.

I go that one. You go that one.

On your marks, get set, go.

They need to work fast

because there are almost 80 water bowls to be done every morning.

Why are we cleaning it out if it doesn't look bad?

Everybody likes a clean bath and so the birds do, as well.

Because birds of prey, they drink and bathe in the same water,

we need to make sure it's all sparkling, every single day.

It's hard work, but quite fun.

-Quite fun?

-Yeah.

And when the bowls are clean, they can be filled with fresh water.

-Have you got a birdbath in your garden?

-Yeah.

Birds of prey do, as well.

When they come out on fly-throughs, they like to come back in here,

have a drink, have a bit of a bathe.

Birds can get quite hot when they've been flying and some of them

use their bath to cool down.

Quite a lot of falcons sit in there for a couple of hours sometimes.

Has a bird ever escaped, by accident,

like if a door has been accidentally left open?

No. No, all of us are fully trained so, even if they do go off for a fly,

they're always happy to come back.

That's got Ethan wondering about his surprise.

So he's fishing for clues.

Will I need to use a glove?

Yes, you will definitely, definitely need to use a glove.

Is it a rare bird?

No, it's quite a common bird, but it's not found in this country.

-It's not a pigeon?

-It's not a pigeon, no.

-Or a seagull?

-Or a seagull.

Jimmy's not saying any more so join us later when

Ethan comes face-to-face...

What is that?

..with Africa's largest owl.

EAGLE SCREECHES

Given half a chance, lions can be very lazy so, here at the park,

they get them up and active by feeding them from the meat wagon.

Today, I've jumped in to help keeper Bob feed Nibalo's pride.

There are four cubs in this pride but they're still too young

to join in with the adults and chase the feed wagon.

They'll stay on the sidelines until after the food's out.

And, then, they do!

Now, when you think of a 5-month-old lion cub,

you're thinking, "Oh, it's so cute and cuddly,"

but can you imagine it munching on this?

Well, that's what we're going to find out, isn't it, Bob?

That's right, yeah.

All right, really? Are they going to go for meat?

-Oh, they'll go for that, yeah, definitely. Oh, there they are.

-Oh!

There they are.

Aw, they're so gorgeous! There's so many in this pride.

How big is this pride?

-We've got 12 in this pride.

-Right.

As you can see, they're all chasing the feed truck.

-We going at some speed here, aren't we?

-We are.

And they're not full pelt, are they?

This is probably a stroll to them.

Yeah?

If they wanted to, if they were hunting in the wild,

a killing sprint would be anything up to about 35 miles per hour.

Wow!

Which is quite quick. But they can't do it for a long distance, obviously.

100 metres, 200 metres, and that's it.

But they are hungry, so shall we chuck some meat out?

Are you hungry? Oh, my goodness!

He's got such big eyes when he's close.

LION GROWLS

Agh!

-Can you handle another one?

-I think so.

-You seriously think a lion's going to pick that one up?

-Quite easily.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

They are really heavy pieces. That's the most amazing thing.

Because we never really gets to lift them here but that's really weighty!

Well, the cubs will probably run over and grab that and run off with it.

-They're strong.

-No, they wouldn't! Stop making out I'm really weak!

No, no, they really would!

Here we go, kitty cats.

Here, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty!

-Is there a pecking order here?

-Well, there is a pecking order.

Nibalo his top of the tree. Mainly because he's so big.

And then you have some of these females.

The older ones are obviously the wiser ones.

And then finally the little cubs.

And then obviously the cubbies.

But they have their own little pecking order amongst themselves.

Look at this little cub. Little cubby.

Look at the size of the piece he's got!

As you can see, you've got the biggest and the smallest altogether.

If they were to go over there now, even though

they've just started feeding,

Nibalo would probably tell them off.

-Why?

-Because, you know, he's hungry.

When he's had a bit of a fill, he'll probably let them

eat off the same piece.

They look amazing, don't they? And seeing them, like, pulling it.

Look at how they're actually pulling it!

Just going over to mum, look, and help with that piece.

That was a tough piece of meat and, you know,

you think about yourself eating meat.

You know, you've got a nice sharp knife.

-And all they've got is their teeth.

-Yeah.

But that's all they need, isn't it?

They're very, very sharp teeth, as you can imagine.

RANI LAUGHS

They're going to have a cleaning session now, too, look.

Now they know dad's on the move now.

So it really is like, sort of, us as parents, as well, isn't it?

You know, make sure they're well fed,

keep them clean, keep them safe.

-They really do look after their young.

-Oh, very much so.

That is a mum's main priority, to look after those cubs.

Looking at them there, it's just like a real family, isn't it?

And it's really beautiful to think that's how they'd be in the wild.

Well, thank you so much. It's been great being in the feed truck.

But now I'd like to go and get cleaned up.

Who was the first mice emperor?

Julia Cheeser.

MONKEY IMITATIONS

What do you call a great dog detective?

I don't know. What do you call a great dog detective?

Sherlock Bones.

Meow.

What do you call a sheep that dances?

A baa-llerina.

Now we've all got our favourite hobbies.

In my spare time, I love a kickabout with my mates.

And if you're an Argentinian tegu,

you've got one hobby in particular that really pleases you.

And that is digging. Isn't that right, Sarah?

-Yeah.

-What does he love so much about digging?

Well, it's just something they do naturally in the wild.

They spend most of their time in burrows in the ground so they like

to be nice and covered over, and secure, in a little digging area.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-And so where he would...

-Diego, that's right, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Diego the tegu. I always have trouble with that.

-Shall we see him in action, then?

-Yeah.

So is this his special digging place? Was this put here for him?

Yeah, this is quite a nice for him because it's quite deep, as well.

And they do like to get right down in the ground.

So we'll see what he does, if he likes it.

Would they ever look for food underneath the soil?

It's kind of more shelter, I think.

They eat a lot of different things in the wild.

They eat small rodents and birds.

And greens and fruit.

So there might be burrows that you might catch the food in but,

I think, generally it's nice and secure and shelter.

Just look at that tongue.

Like many reptiles, tegus smell with their tongues or, to be exact,

they use their tongue to sample the air

and then taste it with special sensors in their mouths.

It looks like Diego's kind of interested in other things,

namely our cameraman.

I hope you're all right there!

Now, why are we doing this for him?

I mean, is it important to keep him active?

Yeah, this is quite a nice enrichment thing for him today

because it mimics what he'd do naturally in the wild, as well.

That's ideal for the animals, to be able to perform natural behaviours.

So, for him to have this means he can dig down

and do what he'd do naturally the wild.

Well, I'll tell you what. It looks like Diego's had his fun,

but fancy joining me for a kickabout later, Sarah?

Actually, I'm more into synchronised swimming.

Well, let's just stay here and watch Diego, shall we?

Back up in the farm animal exhibit,

there's a mystery to be solved.

Every night, someone keeps letting the animals out of their pens.

The prime suspect is Arthur, the potbellied pig,

but it could be any of them.

So Roar has rigged spy cameras to try to identify the culprit.

And now we'll see what happens when no-one's there.

6pm, the exhibit has just closed and all is quiet.

7pm, Arthur's up to something.

But is it mischief?

7:30, is that goat behaving suspiciously?

As darkness falls,

our cameras automatically switch over to night vision.

By 10pm, it seems they're all asleep.

And then, nothing happens...

until five in the morning.

Arthur is awake,

playing with a football,

but still in his pen.

Hang on. He's arranging his straw bales.

And, as dawn breaks, the truth is revealed.

That's Arthur, and he's got out of his pen.

Keen to catch the culprit red-handed,

Scarlet has come in extra-early.

The pig has managed to get out of his pen.

No, he didn't use the straw bales to go over.

In fact, he just barged through the barriers.

I think we got here just in the nick of time this morning.

Just before he was about to let all the others out.

But a crime's not really solved till you work out the motive.

I think Arthur the pig's having lots of fun, doing this.

And it does look like he just wants to play.

I think to get him back in his pen,

we're going to have to put out some breakfast for him and try

and get him to wander back through that gate that he broke to get out.

He may be a criminal mastermind, but Arthur is also a pig,

so he'll do anything for food.

With him safely back in his pen,

it's time for Scarlet to work out how security can be tightened.

If we cable-tie and string-tie these gates up,

he shouldn't be able to get out again

because I can't cope with having all these animals out every morning.

And the Roar team are only too happy to have helped solve the mystery.

I'm very glad we've found out who the culprit is.

And it was who I thought it was all along.

Meanwhile, Arthur looks worn out.

Though is he asleep, or just planning more mischief?

OK, gamers, make a note of this.

That's today's cheat code

for the Roar game on

the CBBC website.

And if you haven't given it a go yet, you should.

It's great fun!

Happy gaming!

OK, grab your hosepipe, we'll pull it out.

Our Roar Ranger Ethan has just spent the morning cleaning up

after the birds of prey.

And now Jimmy the falconer has a surprise for him.

-Look at that!

-What is that?

That is a verreaux's eagle owl.

OWL SCREECHES

You're desperate to have a go, aren't you?

-Here she comes.

-Ha...

The verreaux's eagle owl is the largest owl in Africa

and this one is a female named Cabelli.

Out in the wild, most owls hunt prey the size of mice.

But these guys go for things like hares and guinea fowl.

Jump, jump, jump.

Now, feel how heavy that one is.

These owls can weigh over three kilograms.

That's like the weight to have a large laptop.

Keep going. Keep going.

Fight the bird. Fight the bird. Ooh!

Ethan has flown a barn owl before

but Cabelli is almost ten times heavier.

Which means that when she flies up to Ethan,

she's going to land with considerable force.

We're going to have a think about wind direction,

where we're going to position your gauntlet.

-Which way is the wind direction?

-That way.

OK, so we're going to call the bird in from which direction?

-That way.

-That way. So your arm goes out nice and straight, OK?

Perfect.

How do you feel, Ethan?

Excited and confident.

-Excited and confident, yeah? Maybe a smidgen little bit nervous?

-OK.

Yeah, a little bit nervous. It's a big owl, isn't it?

For Ethan's first flight, they've got Cabelli 15 metres away.

When he's ready, she should come straight at him

and land on his glove.

It's definitely going to be worth the hard work.

-Ready?

-Yeah.

OK, mate, let's go.

And here she comes.

Wow! Look at that!

You can see how big she is.

The wingspan of this species can reach two metres.

About the same as Jimmy's height.

-Are you ready?

-Yep.

Hold her out in the air for as long as you possibly can. Go!

Massive muscles!

After a few flights, Ethan is getting the hang of it.

OK, we're going to get him to go

back across to my friend Ryan for one last time.

-Argh!

-It was right there.

-It was right there, what it?

-Nipping on the foot off the glove?

-And it just went...

Thank you so much for letting me do that.

You are more than welcome, mate.

Flying Africa's largest owl is a big achievement.

So how does Jimmy reckon our Roar Ranger has done?

What I taught Ethan is the very basics of falconry.

Because it's not a small owl, there's a lot to take into account

when you fly such a large bird, so Ethan's done incredibly well.

Jimmy is a brilliant trainer.

But it is very, very, very heavy.

I'm proud of myself that I got to hold it and all that.

Earlier in the series, we met Cessna, the marmoset who had to be

put in an enclosure on her own, after being bullied by the group.

Then Carlos arrived from another park.

But no-one knew if they'd get on.

Well, they did.

Like a house on fire!

But the question now is, has their love stood the test of time?

Here on Roar, we love a romantic tale

and we're hoping that Jo is going to tell us one of those before

we leave you today, so we want it to be about the lonely marmoset Cessna.

Do you know what, Rani? This is the loveliest story of the year.

Our little Cessna, our female marmoset, she got kicked out

of our group of big, common marmosets last year and we housed her in here.

She's such a lovely, lovely marmoset.

And we got her a boyfriend, Carlos,

and we put them together and,

do you know what?

It was love at first sight.

-Really?

-Yeah.

And now, obviously, we're hoping that they'll get it together

and we can start breeding with these two

and that they'll start their own little family.

Really, you are hoping for that?

-Because they've just met, practically, haven't they?

-Yeah.

Oh, they're right here. Look at that.

Do they hang out together, then?

Is that how you can tell a marmoset loves another marmoset?

Definitely. You've got Carlos at the back there.

That's actually her at the moment.

But Carlos is very protective over her.

You know, like, you guys are in here at the moment

and he's like, you know, this is my lady.

-Aw!

-Yeah, so they really look out for each other.

What a lovely story, that is.

-And let's hope they live happily ever after.

-Ooh, a proper fairytale!

I know, it's lovely.

Unfortunately, that's all we've got time for on today's Roar.

Why don't you lot check out what's coming up on the next episode.

I wish I was in love.

We're going to test how clever the monkeys are.

Will they use sticks to get at their gooey treats, or just grab handfuls?

A group of rhinos is called a crash.

So will there be an accident

when the gang grill the keeper with questions about the white rhino?

And we've a special report from Africa as six cheetahs

get ready to start a new life at the park.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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