Episode 2 Animal Park

Bovine tuberculosis, also known as bovine TB, is a disease that farmers fear.

If contracted, entire herds of cattle can be destroyed.

Now, it may surprise you to know that animals in

a safari park are just as much at risk as farm animals.

Today, we'll follow the keepers and local farmers,

as they take every precaution to protect their animals against

a disease that doesn't discriminate between the ordinary...

And the extraordinary.

We're back all this week, bringing you the latest stories from

the park, packed into these Easter specials.

-And today...

-Jean must perform a pedicure on the pygmy goats.

Why do I have the feeling this is going to be harder than it sounds?

But she's got to catch them first!

Oh! Who's that?

Keepers must work through the night to handle a high-risk arrival.

This is a potentially very dangerous animal.

Steady, steady.

And staff are on tenterhooks,

whilst caring for the calf of a critically endangered species.

You just can't guarantee anything. Literally, on a sixpence.

They can be fine one day, the next, something's gone wrong.

Parks such as Longleat are a sanctuary for animals under

threat from extinction in the wild.

But sometimes, even here, they're not safe.

I remember back in 2001 when the park narrowly escaped an

outbreak of foot and mouth, a disease that threatened the

life of not just animals here in the park, but also surrounding farms.

Now, there's a new threat - bovine TB, another disease that

doesn't distinguish between farm, smallholding and safari park.

And without vigilant testing by the team here, all the animals,

even those that are critically endangered in the wild, are at risk.

Bovine TB is a problem best known in cattle.

But now, the disease may have made its way on to the park.

Vets found positive results in a number of deer on the estate,

but now, keepers have no idea how far the disease might have spread.

Many of the endangered species who live in sanctuary here are at risk,

including the two new cheetah cubs.

It's now a race against time to find

the disease and stop it in its tracks.

The longer it's on the park, the more species that could be affected.

All this week, we're following the biggest screening operation

in the park's history.

The man responsible is the park's head of animal operations,

Darren Beasley.

We have hundreds of animals here, so it's a huge undertaking.

And then it's just the nail-biting, the nervousness

of waiting for those results.

Today, team leader Amy has scrambled the entire team to begin

testing 14 of the park's famous lions.

LION ROARS

It is a very big day today.

We're doing lots of animals, in the same house, all at the same time.

But unlike testing farm animals,

testing a lion requires a full sedation.

We're a safari park.

Most of the things in here will either jump on your or eat you

or chase you. That's what we are.

So when it comes to the big cats, these are dangerous animals.

So we have to anaesthetise them, we have to sedate them.

LION ROARS

Once darted, a lion will succumb fairly quickly to the sedative,

but senior vet Chris Mangham and his team are following

a strict protocol before anyone enters the lions' den.

We just need to make sure that the sedatives work.

They're just such dangerous beasts, you can't take anything for granted.

So we give at least 15 minutes and then we make sure we poke

them with a pole and then what we'll do, we'll open the cage door

and we'll go in and we'll poke them again with a stick.

And only when I'm really happy that they're fast asleep, do we let

anybody else in. It's just too risky not to take our time.

Nothing on Claus, boy.

Anaesthetic drugs carry their own risks, so the animals are given

as little sedative as possible, but it's vital to get the dose right.

You don't want a lion waking up out of its pen.

180kg of muscle, topped off with razor-sharp teeth,

these cats are killers.

Once they're under, the clock is ticking.

There's big risks any time we knock out any animal.

They might not come back round, which is the biggest one really.

The other risk is actually they do come back round when we're

actually in there, we've taken them out to do the work.

So we try to do it as quick as possible and that's why we've

got so many people here, all working together,

all trying to do everything as quick as we can to get them back in.

Screening is done by seeing how animals react to

a controlled amount of TB bacteria.

Now, we're just TB testing them, using the skin test.

Which basically involves measuring the skin on day one,

before we inject the samples.

After three days, the same area is examined.

If there's no swelling at the site, the animals is declared TB-free.

But if there IS a swelling, then the animal has tested positive.

It must then be put to sleep.

This is day one, so in three days' time,

we'll be doing the same process again.

That's the big day really cos that's when we actually find out

whether we do have any animals that are positive for TB.

All the keepers can do now is wait.

We'll return later to find out the results for this killer disease,

which determines the future of the entire park.

BIRDS CRY

Since she joined the team last year,

Jean Johansson has been involved with her fair share of feed ups.

From the big cats of Lion Country,

to the giant anteaters of Jungle Kingdom,

Benito and Maroni.

Last series, we saw how they used their incredible tongues.

She's headed back there today, to test their other amazing adaptation,

their claws.

-Hi, Charlie. Ah, I take it this box is for Benito.

-It certainly is.

-We've got him a nice pinata.

-Oh, perfect.

And he's not in here yet, so tell me what's inside.

So, in here we've got some leaves,

mixed up with some mealworms and some crickets.

Oh, good. All his favourite things.

So, what do you intend to do with it? What's the plan?

So, we're just going to hang it up here and then, we will leave and he

will come out and, along with Maroni, hopefully, come and rip it apart.

Yeah, I remember meeting Maroni last year and she had massive claws,

-so they would be perfect for ripping this box to pieces.

-Yeah, exactly.

So they use them to rip open big termite mounds in the wild,

so hopefully we'll be seeing some of that behaviour with this box.

Well, hopefully, they're going to enjoy this, so shall we got the box

-up there?

-Absolutely.

Now, you'll have to help me out, Charlie,

because I'm not going to know which one's Benito and which one's Maroni.

How do I tell them apart?

-So, the easiest way is Maroni is a lot greyer than Benito.

-Ah, OK.

And she's got much longer hair on the side.

So they're using that sense of smell now.

-Do you think they can smell what's in the box?

-Yeah, definitely.

You can see their noses waving around all over the place.

Well, they're kind of just walking around and exploring at the moment.

And actually, Maroni seems to have got to the box first.

I thought she would.

Oh, really? There she is. Up on her hind legs.

She's not sure about movement. She can't get her balance.

Yeah, she's going to have to work for it

a little bit and Benito's up there as well.

I really want to see them hooking in claws into those boxes.

Yeah, you can see he's trying.

But obviously, it's moving around quite a lot.

Oh, and they've pulled it down.

In they go, straight in there.

Heads right in there.

Yeah, and I think they're using those claws to just pull that box

apart. They're really getting stuck in to those treats and I can see

their throats moving a little bit.

-Is that the tongue that's causing that?

-Absolutely, yeah.

It's a huge muscle that obviously rolls up when they're sucking

the tongue in and out, so you can see it really working nicely there.

They are such an amazing-looking animal, so unique.

It's lovely to see them both kind of enjoying that treat.

They're loving it. He's sharing quite nicely actually.

I'm impressed.

At this time of year, when the weather isn't great, the fields

in the African Safari need time to recover from the heavy rainfall.

It's at this point that the heavy-footed rhinos come down to

the lower paddock to allow the fields to recover.

But the rhinos need access to mud.

Without it, their skin can become dry and damaged.

So today, I'm joining Tina to give them a mud bath. My favourite!

-It's going to get a bit messy, I'm afraid.

-Is it going to get a bit messy?

-Yes, it is.

Come on, let's get straight in. So we've got some mud here. Where are we going to...?

Just behind us, so we've warmed it up, so it's nice and warm,

-cos it is cold weather and this is the rhino you want.

-OK.

-So who have we got here?

-This is Marashi.

She's one of our adult females.

-Yeah.

-So, if you want to pull the lever there.

-Pull the lever. This one?

-Yeah.

-And then we just pull this bit down here.

-Yeah. There we go.

-Come on, Marashi.

-She's going to come in there.

That's it, and once she's in, just shut it behind her.

-She's a big girl, isn't she?

-She is. That's it.

-Wait there.

-There we go.

-Perfect.

-I'm desperate to get my hands muddy.

-So you've just got to get your hands in there.

-Yeah.

-Nice big ball.

-Yeah.

-And then...

-And where do we want it? All over?

All over, yeah. On the top, on the sides. As far as you can reach.

Now, I've been out in Africa a number of times and obviously,

they love to wallow out there.

In Africa, this keeps ticks and things off the skin as well

and helps keep parasites away.

What good does this do in the heart of Wiltshire?

Exactly the same. In the summer, it keeps the parasites...

We know they have biting flies, but in the winter down here,

you'll find that once you put the mud on,

their skin does get a bit dry, so what they'll do is go off and find

a good scratching log and then all the dry skin can be scratched off.

It encourages them to do that behaviour and that way it

exfoliates their skin.

You think of rhinos as being these big, tough,

almost armoured creatures, and yet we're giving them a mud pack.

-They're actually quite soft, aren't they?

-They are.

Their skin is quite thick but they can feel an insect land on them.

And in the summertime, they obviously do this themselves.

-They don't need your assistance cos they're out in the fields.

-Exactly, yes.

They'll make their own wallow, which can create a bit of a mess for

-the visitors, as they have to drive around it, but they're fully capable of doing it themselves.

-Fantastic.

Well, Tina, I have to say, this is a pretty unique experience.

Thank you very much for letting me help you give a rhino a mud pack.

Any time. I know. You've been very good.

Caring for rare animals often calls for some good old-fashioned

trial and error.

One keeper who knows this more than most is team leader Mark Tye.

Under his watchful eye are the park's group of pink-backed pelicans,

a species who simply refuse to breed in captivity.

All across the country,

collections have tried and failed to convince their birds to nest.

But around 20 years ago,

Mark decided to hand-build nests for them.

We built these pods for them because we figured that they were

tree-nesting birds, so we'd raise them up off the ground,

and that one event was the spur that got everything kicked into

gear and, you know, they started nesting and very soon after,

we started getting eggs and we got the first ones incubated and

the first chick came along and was hand reared.

Since that first chick, they've had huge success,

with 35 more hatched into the group in Pelican Cove.

But they've all been hand reared.

Mark believes pelicans simply aren't natural parents in captivity.

The parent rearing side has been rubbish, for want of a better word.

They've fought over eggs and dropped them in the water.

Or the time of year has never been very good,

so there's always seemingly been something in the way of

getting them to actually do it themselves.

Until now.

And this time, they've hatched one out and this time - it's worked.

For the first time in the park's history, a pelican chick is

being successfully reared by its mum and dad.

We're extremely excited about it.

It's taken us 22 years to get to this point!

So it's quite something else.

The chick is now 38-days old and Mark is delighted with its progress.

It's looking really good. Starting to stand, just slightly.

They do tend to just shuffle around when they're young,

but it's now starting to put some pressure up on its legs.

And has been feeding from the father this morning.

The parents will actually just regurgitate whatever they've got.

The chick will pick it up and help itself.

As it gets bigger like it is now,

it kind of forces the issue and actually,

you'll see it going up round the side of the parent's beak and

almost make the parent open the beak and then it will be in and

the head will disappear down their neck and you'll see them pulling

out bits of fish and everything, so it's quite dramatic to watch.

Mark's hoping that successful parenting here will catch on.

I'm just delighted because all the other birds now within the

group are seeing this bird rearing next door,

they're learning from that, so hopefully,

as the future goes on, we won't have to hand rear hardly any,

that the parents will hopefully all do it themselves.

Of all the animals on the estate,

some of the most important are the giraffe.

These are Rothschild giraffe, one of the most endangered species,

with less than 700 left in the wild.

Over the past 50 years, the park has made an extraordinary contribution

to the world population, with 121 calves born here.

Last year, when a heavily pregnant Ella started showing signs of

being in labour, the keepers used a small video camera to bring us

exclusive footage of the nerve-racking event.

Come on, darling. A couple of really good pushes and it will be out.

OK, so that's another good push.

Finally, the calf appeared. But had it survived the six-foot drop?

We just need movement.

As the moments ticked by, the calf showed no signs of life.

OK, it's moving.

Yeah, and it's breathing.

The early signs were all positive that the calf was healthy.

It's in a good position, it's not twisted,

its legs are in a good position.

Well done, darling.

After 15 months of pregnancy,

mum Ella was delighted to meet her new baby daughter.

This year, there's another new addition to the herd.

We've got some big news.

Last night, our female giraffe Gertie had a baby.

We have been expecting it a while.

She went into early labour yesterday morning

and it was there this morning when we came up.

So at the minute it's doing well.

Our cameras have never been allowed inside the giraffe house

on the day of the birth, to see a newborn.

Until today.

This is a first for Animal Park fans because we've never actually shown

them on the day, just because we like to give them that bit of time.

But this one is really strong, so come and have a quick look.

If we just head in and just stand in the doorway, so if the girls

want to go and stand at the back, they can get out of the way of us

cos, being giraffes, they're quite nervous.

Hello, poppets.

Here they are. Steady, steady, steady.

Can you see its feet? It's hiding.

There it is. Less than six hours old.

It has done all the right things. It's feeding.

She's cleaning it, she's looking after it.

A newborn in the giraffe house means keeper Dan is on red alert.

Despite their size, these calves are very fragile

and a lot rests on the next few weeks.

If there's one thing I've learnt in my time being here,

you just can't guarantee anything.

Literally on a sixpence, they can be fine one day

and the next something's gone wrong.

So it is just a day-by-day thing.

But at the minute everything is going the right way.

For now, the big question is - boy or girl?

I do think it's a boy. So if it's a girl, I'm going to look very silly.

He'll grow up to be as naughty as the rest of them, I'm sure.

I'll be back later, to find out how he or she is getting on.

Earlier in the show, we saw how the park's flock of pink-backed pelicans

successfully raised a chick themselves,

after 20 years of failed attempts.

Well, Jean is about to meet this very important new resident.

It's been eight weeks since we saw Mark with that precious chick,

so I'm here to see how they're getting on.

-Hi, Mark.

-Hi, Jean.

I can see that lot over there are quite big. Which one's the chick?

-It's the one at the back.

-Yes, I can see.

Quite dark, which is pretty big.

It doesn't look like a chick any more.

-How many weeks old, exactly, is our chick?

-It's just over 12 weeks now.

-12 weeks now?

-So it's left the nest, decided to be on its own.

-Shall we go over and take a closer look?

-Yeah, I'd love to.

It's not surprising the chick has grown up fast.

Back up.

These birds are voracious feeders,

eating up to a kilo of fish each day.

They're all sort of sticking together at the moment.

-Is this the way we'd see them out in the wild?

-Pretty much so.

They will congregate in large groups.

-And how's our new chick fitting into the gang, then?

-Really well.

As you can see, the chick is in with the rest, fighting its corner,

going for the food, which is all great because it shows now

that it's become completely independent.

-It's left its parents.

-Great.

-So that's a good thing for you to see.

-Yep. Absolutely. It's great.

Having had so many failures because we have given these birds

plenty of opportunity to rear their own - and it's just never happened.

The chicks die normally around about a week old

and this one has been an absolute blooming miracle.

We've shown now that we don't need to worry about them

as much as we thought we did.

For them to be able to rear them out in cold and frost

and all that kind of horrible winter conditions,

just goes to prove they don't need us as much as we think.

-So will you attempt to do it again?

-Definitely.

They've proved they can do it once, they can do it again.

I know you've been here for 32 years, so that must be a huge achievement for you.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

This week we're following the largest testing programme

in the park's history.

Many endangered species are at risk from a fatal

and highly contagious disease - bovine tuberculosis.

Parts of the park are on lockdown and international wildlife breeding

programmes are at a standstill until they get the all clear.

Unfortunately, the keepers don't have to look far

to see the devastating effect bovine TB can have.

Go on.

Steve Crossman and his family have been farming land

owned by the Longleat estate for over three generations.

961.

Like many farms in Britain,

last year Steve's cattle tested positive for TB.

Since then, his whole livelihood has been at risk.

It's a nightmare.

It literally does mean your business just grinds to a halt.

There's nothing you can do about it.

Just like the animals in the safari park,

in order to get a clean bill of health, the herd must test clear.

It's just a waiting game.

You're just wishing it's over by the time you get the next test in, and hope you go clear.

482.

Steve's cows receive exactly the same test

as the animals in the safari park.

It may be a safer process here on the farm, but it's no less tense.

Go on, then, big boy, off you go.

Another positive test this week for Steve would mean more cows

being destroyed and trading restrictions remaining in place.

You've just got to hope it all goes right now.

If we go down with TB again on Friday,

which is when we're going to have our reading,

we're going to have to seriously sit down and consider the future

and see where we go from here.

And we'll... I don't know, sell up, I suppose. Get out.

Just like the keepers, Steve is praying for a good result.

Friday is such an important day for us now.

If it all goes clear on Friday,

we're back in what I classify as the real world.

The stress of it is just horrendous.

Uncertain times but hopefully we'll have a clear test

and things will go away.

Back at the park, it is results day for the lions.

72 hours ago, we knocked down the 14 lions,

so today really it's just a process of reading the test sites.

The best-case scenario for us today

is that we find absolutely no reaction whatsoever.

The vets must carry out the all-important examination

of each lion's skin.

By sedating them all again.

If one lion has this fatal disease,

there's a strong chance others will.

Head of safari, John Merrington, is on hand.

It's a very tense time.

Of course, all the keepers care passionately about the animals, so fingers crossed.

You want it all to come back as negative results for the test.

Thankfully, the first lion shows no signs of TB.

That's good news.

We've just heard this one has got a negative result,

so that's absolutely fantastic.

A completely negative result across-the-board

would enable us to come out of restrictions.

Of course, with all these animals we have on the park,

they're all part of breeding programmes throughout Europe,

so that will enable us to do that.

One by one, the 14 lions are sedated.

With so many to check, the team must proceed with extreme caution.

To enter each pen safely,

both keepers and vets must work perfectly in tandem.

Because they're such dangerous animals, they're just testing

for responsiveness and then once they're happy, they're

not getting any flicking ears or the animals' heads aren't moving,

they know it's safe to go in.

Let's get another little look.

It's looking good.

Halfway through and each lion is testing negative for TB.

Yeah, that's clear as well. He's clear.

Let's hope it continues. So far, so good.

Fine. Yeah, another pass.

In fact, none of the lions were positive.

It's a huge relief.

That's fantastic news for today.

However, that is only a third of the way through our entire carnivore collection.

So very apprehensive still,

very nervous because we've still got the others to come back.

Later in the week, testing continues across the park and farm.

But when disaster strikes,

what will the consequences be for all involved?

Exercise is essential for keeping animals in peak condition,

but when it comes to wild animals, it's not always as easy as just popping on a lead.

-Or is it? Hi, James.

-Hiya.

-This is a bit of an unusual sight.

-Slightly unusual.

-Who do we have here?

This is Rocky, he's a striped skunk.

That makes me a little bit nervous because I'm at the back end of a skunk here.

-Should I cover my nose?

-You're absolutely fine.

-Rocky actually used to be someone's pet.

-Someone's pet?

-Someone's pet, yes.

They're becoming more and more common as people's pets.

He's actually been de-scented,

which in the UK is actually against the law.

Yes, that doesn't sound natural.

Even though it's possible to have a skunk as a pet,

we certainly don't recommend it.

Aside from the smell, they can be aggressive

and require specialist care.

Should we take him for a quick stroll?

Yeah, he's definitely raring to go, so let's do it.

Come on, Rocky.

And does he like to get up to some quite fast speeds?

This is close to top speed, so it's more of a waddle along.

He will go wherever he likes, basically.

-So really, he's walking you.

-Yes.

I actually can feel him just tugging me a little bit and I have to say,

this is one of the strangest animals I've ever taken for a walk.

Tell me more about him in the wild. Who would his predators be?

-Really, with skunks, not much wants to eat them.

-I wonder why!

Exactly. Bears are scared of them, wolves are scared of them.

Most things will steer clear because of that immense smell.

They can actually shoot the smell to up to 10 feet,

which is pretty impressive.

-So the spray, is it essentially just wee?

-It's not wee.

A lot of people also think it's just a fart. It's not.

It's from a special scent gland.

It's basically just a fluid, a foul-smelling fluid.

He's very well-behaved, I have to say. He's very relaxing.

-He's doing a great job.

-I'm quite enjoying this walk.

So how did Rocky come to you?

There's a bit of a sad story behind him.

Because he was someone's pet, they didn't look after him great at all,

they kept him in a very small, confined space.

He was brought to us by the RSPCA.

When he first arrived he was, for lack of a better term, a monster.

He would be hissing and spitting.

He would try and bite you at any opportunity.

But through sheer persistence and positive reinforcement,

this is what you've got.

Well, he seems very happy here.

Well, James, I think he's had a good little bit of exercise today.

-I don't know about you, Rocky, but I'm pretty tired.

-Definitely.

Come on.

The park is increasingly involved in the conservation

of rare and endangered species.

Any animals bred here could one day help save a species from extinction,

through reintroduction programmes.

The key to successful breeding however,

begins with two suitable mates.

Tim has been looking after two extremely important individuals

for the past six years.

Up. Good boy.

So these are binturong. We have two males here.

We have Tai-lo and Namtok. They're brothers.

So Tai-lo here is the one with all the grey flecks in his fur

and then Namtok there is black

and has a little white patch on his chest.

The binturongs live in Jungle Kingdom.

This part of the park has thankfully tested free from TB,

so they can still be an active part

of an international breeding programme.

The binturong is under threat of extinction

in the jungles of Southeast Asia.

Binturong are arboreal, so they kind of live in the tree tops.

So they are very good at climbing.

They've got a few things that help them climb.

They have really sharp claws, which helps them climb up trees.

They also have this amazing tail, really long tail.

It's normally about the size of their body and it's prehensile.

So that means it can grab things.

It's a bit like a fifth limb, so they can grab onto branches,

they can even hang from it, as well, if they want to.

Their numbers are decreasing at an alarming rate.

Over the last 30 years, there has been a 30% drop in the population.

To do their bit for conservation,

big changes are due to take place tonight.

One of our boys will be leaving us and will be going to somewhere

in the Netherlands and then we'll be getting a female from France.

Namtok is leaving and Tai-lo will remain

to be paired with the new female.

The brothers have been together all their lives.

For such endangered animals, it should be a time of celebration

but Tim knows they have never been separated.

You can see how comfortable they are

and they are used to each other's company.

This is what they do a lot of the time when it's sunny.

They sunbathe together.

They just lie on each other, make themselves comfortable and enjoy the sunshine.

But, you know, it's for the best.

These guys are vulnerable, so it is quite important

that they have a captive breeding programme.

So as hard as it may be to separate them,

they will be going on to better things.

After a long journey, the female binturong is getting close.

This bittersweet exchange will happen after dark.

-Your binturong transport has arrived.

-That's great news.

We'll come out now. Thank you very much.

Just a word of caution, that obviously as you are all aware,

this is a potentially very dangerous animal,

so we want to try and make sure this happens as smoothly as possible.

So I'm hoping it's just a case of unloading

and straight into the crate but do obviously watch your fingers,

make sure you keep your exits guarded and have somebody

at your back just to make sure it's all nice and smooth.

Little is known about the new arrival,

other than her name - Arabella.

Female binturongs are on average 20% bigger than the males.

Experts have paired her with Tai-lo,

but no-one can guarantee, of course, they'll get on.

Look at you, princess.

You're beautiful.

It's OK, sausage.

With Arabella unloaded,

the time has come for Tim to bid farewell to Namtok.

They've worked together for six years.

It's all right.

You're going to a nice place.

-Travel safely. We'll miss you.

-Good boy. See you soon.

The team's attentions must now turn to Tai-lo

and his new mate - who's travelled all the way from France.

Even though they're not well-studied,

binturongs are known to make a range of noises.

A chuckle when they're happy and a wail when disturbed.

This pair won't be in the same pen for some time but a bad first

impression could impact on them being a successful breeding pair.

So obviously this is all very exciting.

This is the first time they're meeting each other.

BOTH SNARL

Interesting vocals.

BOTH SNARL

It's not a great start.

The hopes of an international breeding programme

rest on these two hitting it off.

It's been a big day for the keepers and the binturongs.

-I think it's time we let them settle down a bit, don't you?

-Yeah, I agree.

Let's get the lights turned off and leave them to it.

The park is home to some pretty ferocious animals,

both large...

..and small.

Yes, these are the park's nine pygmy goats

and living amongst them is the notorious Bubble.

Probably the least friendly goat in Wiltshire.

Possibly the world.

Or maybe she just doesn't like being filmed.

In their native Africa, their hooves get worn down in the arid terrain.

But here, they need a bit of help

and it's keeper Tina's job to give them a pedicure.

Today, Jean is helping her out.

So the first thing we have to do is pretty much catch them.

This is Piglet, who we're going to do. She's the creamy-looking one.

We kind of just have to pick a corner, work as a team

and if she comes near you, don't hold back, go for the horns.

Try not to pull her hair. She will forgive you.

She's got tiny little horns there.

-How am I supposed to get hold of them?

-Practice.

-Right, OK.

So if we head down. We'll go for that corner over there.

And we're trying to catch Piglet.

Why do I have the feeling this is going to be harder than it sounds?

She's coming over. So if you want to...

This is never going to happen.

Down you go. That's it.

Who's that?

-You nearly had her.

-I nearly had her. Come on, Piglet, out you come.

Don't be shy. Pedicure time.

That's it, well done. That's perfect.

-This is not hurting her at all, is it?

-No.

This is the right way to move them about. We always have a couple of people.

How often do you girls do this?

Every four to six weeks, to be honest.

So why do you have to cut their hooves so often?

If we don't cut them, it causes them to be unbalanced on their feet,

which means they're more likely to walk on their heels,

which can cause a lot of problems later on.

What tools do we need?

-We need some good old hoof snips.

-They look quite big, Tina.

She has got little feet but these are absolutely fine.

The first thing we do is... Usually she's got mud between her toes,

so we want to take all of that dirt out.

-And unfortunately you want to have good smell of it.

-Why?

Thankfully it doesn't smell, because one of the things you smell for

is foot rot and you will instantly know if that smell's there

that she's got a problem deep in her foot - but I can't smell it, so she shouldn't have it.

You can see she's got heels here. They're all overgrown.

These are the outer walls of the foot, so what we want to do is

basically we want to even all this out, so she has a nice flat foot.

You want to make it a nice long clean cut, one go,

because if you do several cuts, it leaves jagged edges.

-It really is just like our own fingernails.

-Basically, yeah.

It is a bit nerve-racking at first.

You're cutting an animal's foot and they do have blood supply in here,

so you do want to be careful that you're not going to hurt them.

But once you learn how to handle the tools and things like that,

everyone quite enjoys doing it really. They quite enjoy it.

They get cuddles, they get nuts afterwards and when you've got

an overgrown foot, there's nothing better than getting it sorted out.

That is a perfect foot and she should be able to walk on that with no problems.

There you go, Piglet. One pedicure done.

So, girls, we've only got one, two, three,

four, five, six, seven, eight to go.

Yes. And all of them have got four feet.

-Let's get started. Come on, you lot. Pedicure time.

-Come on, Pig.

-Come on.

Earlier in the show, our cameras were with the keepers

as they welcomed a new arrival.

Binturongs live in the forests of Southeast Asia,

but these captive animals are part of a delicate breeding programme.

Arabella has come from France,

but her first impressions of Wiltshire lad Tai-lo weren't great.

SNARLING

So keepers have kept them apart for a week.

It's really important we take our time with this process.

Binturong, they're not very common,

we've never done this before and we're not going to take any chances.

Put them in together straight away and they didn't like each other, it could end quite badly.

Refusing to give up, Tim has been reading

what little information there is on binturong courtship.

And it seems actions could speak louder than words.

He's been using our cameras to keep a close eye on their body language.

So this footage is a great chance for us to see how they are,

so it will give us a good indication of what they're going to be like in the future.

So it's really important to see that they are getting on, basically.

Recently, he's noticed some encouraging behaviour.

So even now they're interacting at the top end of the mesh.

You can see she's turned upside down.

By turning upside down, Arabella is allowing Tai-lo to smell her.

They are very scent-based animals

and it looks like he's sniffing her scent glands, basically.

They have a very unique scent.

It smells like freshly cooked popcorn

and scent plays a big role in their courtship and mating.

# Je t'aime

# Je t'aime. #

This extraordinary ritual is the first indication for Tim

that this pair may have a beautiful friendship ahead of them.

Tai-lo's been chuckling a lot.

He makes a vocalisation which sounds like someone laughing a bit.

CHUCKLING

It's a good sound, basically. It means he's happy,

he's interested and he's showing a lot of interest in her.

Having said an emotional goodbye to his brother,

Tai-lo may be beginning to accept Arabella as a mate.

It's really encouraging stuff.

Based on this footage and how relaxed and how interested and

calm they both seem to be, we'll be able to mix them pretty soon.

And we'll be back this summer to let you know

how this relationship develops.

It's almost the end of the show but there's just time

to meet the baby giraffe - who is a boy called Evan.

I'm here with Polly and we've just been looking at your latest arrival.

-And how is he doing? He looks fantastic.

-He's doing really well.

He's quite a confident little character.

He's got that from mum Gert.

She's quite confident character herself

and I think Evan has taken that on as well.

And how is he fitting in with the rest of the group? Look, here he is.

-He's like, "I want to steal the limelight."

-Yep.

Do the rest of the group tend to be quite respectful of a youngster?

It depends on the characters in the group.

Quite often, the other calves are maybe a year old or so.

Sometimes they get a little jealous

or they want to assert themselves over the new ones.

But generally, they want to have a sniff and they are quite respectful.

It's just in the instance if the new calf looks for milk

from the wrong mum, then they get a little upset about that.

Evan is actually just having a snack.

Someone else is trying to have milk at the same time. Gertie doesn't like that.

-So that would have been a calf that was born last year, would it?

-Yes.

-You do get milk thieves sometimes.

-Right.

But obviously Gertie only wants Evan to feed from her,

which is why she's walked away.

She won't allow the others to steal her milk.

And what's his future?

Will he stay here or will he go to another herd and have

another important breeding programme for Rothschild giraffes elsewhere?

Because he's a boy, he will move on once he is mature.

So hopefully he would go on to breed somewhere else

but he might go to a bachelor group for a little while before that.

So it would be lovely if he could go on breeding somewhere within the UK or in Europe.

And what about for later this year? Have you got any more calves due?

-Potentially we have a few during the summer.

-Oh, really?

-So maybe when we're back we might see more?

-Maybe, yeah.

That would be really exciting. Well, Polly, thank you very, very much.

Always a real treat to see them.

Sadly, that's all we've got time for on today's programme

but here's what's coming up on the next Animal Park.

Jean meets Animal Adventure's strangest resident.

Wow, he's just completely turned into a little ball.

How amazing is that?

Animal Park legend Ian risks life and limb for the killer shot

of Africa's deadliest animal.

They wake up in the morning grumpy and they go to bed grumpy.

And we find out what happens when a dangerous animal tries to get out.

I've got cars coming in,

so he knows that he's got a perfect opportunity. There he goes.