All language subtitles for Inside Taronga ZOO s02e06.eng

Sydney Harbour is home to one of the
world's most iconic zoos, Taronga.

Everyone stand as far apart as possible.

But never before... Make sure you've got
your mask on. ...has it faced a year

with as many monumental challenges.

It's really hard to see because I'm
fogging up.

Atta boy, Jim. Nearly home, mate.

But the teams across both of Taronga's
zoos... Open.

...lead every challenge head on.

And our cameras are there.

Every step of the way.

On this episode, where there's a shell,
there's a way. This is the biggest

animal that I have had to weigh here at
the zoo.

Will this tricky tortoise... Good boy!

Let's get up here.

Finally step up. It's just one foot.

We are so close.

Just one foot.

Stay on.

Making a splash.

So this handsome boy is Bondi.

The zoo favourite, Bondi. He does have a
little girlfriend, Kiki.

Feel the deal.

We actually did see a viable mating.

So sing a song.

And all hail Kartika, the tiger queen.

In the wild, it would be natural for...

the mum to look at ousting the cubs. To
keep the tiger family together... Good

luck, girlfriend.

Thank you. Taronga staff undertake a
dangerous procedure.

Loaded.

Taronga Zoo is home to seven Sumatran
tigers.

Native to the dense Indonesian jungle,
Sumatran tigers are excellent swimmers

and as ambush predators they can run up
to 40 miles per hour.

Carnivore team keeper Danielle has been
part of the tiger team for years.

Here at Taronga we've built this special
series of habitats to breed the tigers

and it means that we can house up to 10
tigers.

So we've got Kartika and her three cubs.

We've got the father of the cubs,
Clarence, and then we have grandma and

of the cubs, Jamila and Kimbali.

With less than 400 Sumatran tigers in
the wild, they're really in trouble. OK,

so I've got Kartika and Pam here.

So Taronga's breeding program is part of
a worldwide effort to help preserve the

species.

Karthika is very important to the
breeding program. She has successfully

three cubs.

So she's got Tenga, female, Mawa,
female, and Pemina, the male.

But now's the time where she's thinking,
I might like to breed again.

And in the wild, it would be natural
around this time for the mum to probably

look at ousting the cubs, saying it's
time for you guys to move on.

But the zoo faces a problem.

While the tiger breeding program is
crucial for species survival, it has to

managed carefully.

At the zoo, we have limited space, so we
can't always breed everything

all the time.

It gives the moms time to raise their
offspring.

Kartika had her first litter a year ago,
so the team have decided to give her a

hormone implant to stop her from getting
pregnant for the next 12 months or so.

It's a procedure that involves a general
anaesthetic.

Anesthetising a dangerous animal has a
lot of safety concerns for us and there

is risk.

It's not something that we take lightly.
It's really serious.

Doing the anaesthesia is

difficult in the sense...

That you have to be able to monitor when
the tiger is asleep enough to allow

people to go in there.

And that responsibility falls on vet
nurse Liz.

All in there, so if you need anything
extra, she can just call out to me.

Who's come up with an ingenious way to
make sure the gas goes into the tiger.

This is her mask that's going to go on
her face for an anaesthetic.

One of our welders actually made this,
so he had to make a fitting and then he

had to make it sealed on there. Special
design and, yeah, that's what we use now

for lions and tigers.

To avoid moving these dangerous animals
around the zoo, these procedures are

conducted in specially designed surgical
dens.

What we need to do is pack up the whole
hospital and take it to her.

So it's a lot of planning.

It's not just a matter of taking an
anaesthetic machine. We're going to take

the equipment.

Getting full in there.

It's like going on a holiday.

I'm going to go in the van.

See you.

With hospital staff en route and keepers
on standby, only by working

together will this dangerous procedure
go off without a hitch.

I'm thinking about it all the time.

Many sleepless nights leading up to an
anaesthetic because you want to make

that you're safe, your team's safe, the
tiger's safe, and a great outcome at the

end.

Taronga is the perfect place to exhibit
some of the marine species that call

Australia's coastline home.

And the seals are a consistent favourite
for guests.

We have a mixture of different species.
We've got the Californian sea lion, the

Australian sea lion, and then we also
have the New Zealand fur seal.

As a conservation zoo, Taronga aims to
educate the public.

They also manage breeding programs and
are committed to

the rescue and rehabilitation of injured
wildlife.

Taronga have a really long history of
taking in rescued animals and rescued

seals. At the moment, almost half of our
seals are rescued animals.

We probably get in a rescued...

seal at least every year. It may be on a
popular beach, got extensive injuries

and once they come onto our site our
vets assess them and see how bad their

injuries are.

The main goal for our rescued seals is
to rehabilitate them as quick as we can

and get them back out to the wild and
when release isn't an option they do

the opportunity to have a really long
and healthy life here with us at

So our rescued seals that stay with us
become ambassadors for their species and

they tell the story of the importance of
seals in the wild, what they do for the

environment and what things are
impacting on their survival.

All three of Taronga's long -nosed fur
seals have been given a second chance at

life. Bondi, Kiki and recent addition,
Abel.

We think Abel's about four years old or
turning four this year.

He's a pretty chilled animal. He learns
really quickly. He's very engaged in his

training sessions.

Lay down.

Over. And he's actually really confident
for such a young animal.

Well done.

Being motivated.

On his left shoulder, he's got a pretty
nasty scar.

That's lovely, mate.

Right here.

And that scar is likely from a cookie
cutter shark.

And these species of sharks prey on
sickly marine mammals. So we find cookie

cutter shark bites on stranded seals,
dolphins and whales.

In you go, mate.

Abel's doing really well now. So he was
really lucky to be found early and

therefore to survive that traumatic
injury.

Good job.

Hey, where are you going?

The seals are a playful species.

And keepers get attached to them.

They all have different personalities
and you get to know who they are.

And they are also different. They're
really funny and sometimes they're

and sometimes they're a little bit
crazy.

I love them.

This handsome boy is Bondi and he is a
rescued long -nosed fur seal or New

Zealand fur seal.

Bondi is probably the funniest seal we
have. He really marches to the beat of

his own drum.

He was found at Bondi Beach about six
and a half years ago.

He had a really nasty gash on the left
side of his body. You can actually see

there now.

We're unsure about what caused that
injury. It could be a variety of things

a shark attack to a larger seal.

or even something like a boat propeller.
So he was in a really bad way. And they

didn't think that Bondi was going to
survive because of the extent of those

injuries. However, he did. He's a
miracle child.

Good boy.

In the water.

Nice work, Bond.

Due to Taronga's efforts, these seals
not only have a second chance at life,

also a chance to do something really
important for their species.

Good job!

He does have a little girlfriend, Kiki,
who is another one of our rescued long

-nosed fur seals.

So hopefully there'll be a little Bondi.
That'd be cool.

Little mini you.

Every day across Taronga's two

zoos, keepers work to ensure all their
animals are in peak physical condition.

All right, finished.

Good boy.

At Taronga Western Plain Zoo in Dubbo,
Keeper Taryn is focusing on the well

-being of a very important breeding
male, Dora, the greater one -horned

We're about to do a training session
with him. So this is a part of their

husbandry routine.

What we're going to be doing is getting
his feet up. We need to check his feet

daily just to make sure he's got no
cracks in his nails, no absences

that kind of thing.

We're also going to get him to lean in
nice and close. This is just a way that

we can be quite tactile with him. And
the reason we would do that, if he ever

had any injuries, we'd be able to treat
them.

Good boy.

Lean in.

So just a general check over of his
skin. So we're just checking his eyes at

moment. So especially in winter, they
tend to get little cracks around their

eyes. His are looking pretty good right
now.

Joel, do you want to walk him down this
way and we'll get those feet up?

Good.

Good boy.

Just keep feeding him.

So just checking different cracks and
things.

His feet look pretty good. So we just do
these daily checks. So we do look

underneath just to check that everything
is looking nice and clean under there.

While a visual inspection is
important... Joel, can you just make

scales are on for me? You're already
there.

All right, are you happy for me to send
him?

Yeah, you're all right.

Another way to check an animal's health
is to routinely measure their weight.

But 1964, Joel.

Happy? Happy. Yep, you can see him.

I'm going to send him out.

Yeah.

We'd like to see him around the 1950 to
1960.

When he gets to two tonne, we kind of
start thinking he's getting a little bit

too heavy. But 1960 is a great weight
for him. Good boy.

Nice work, mate.

And while weighing such a large animal
was a relatively quick and easy process,

back in Sydney, Keepers are coming to
terms with the fact that smaller

doesn't always equal easier.

What's the maximum weight capacity on
this?

We're about to find out.

These are designed for cattle.

As today, they're hoping to get an
updated weight on their two giant

tortoises.

We've got Lance here on the side with a
super orange bumpy shell, and we've got

Esmeralda, who's the oldest animal that
we have here at the zoo.

Yes. Are you going to get on?

Are you going to get on yourself?

That's a little bit strange, isn't it?

Good boy.

Let's get up here.

Here.

Come over this side.

This is very, very tricky.

This is the biggest animal that I have
had to weigh here at the zoo.

Pretty exciting.

Come on, let's get up. You got this.

What's this?

It's a bit funny to be enticing him with
food when we're just about to weigh

him, but this is a yummy treat.

He got this.

He's on there.

No.

Is there another foot?

We're all here. No?

Yeah, we have a slight problem.

We have a slight problem? We forgot to
turn the scales on.

So now we have to get him off.

And weigh him again, so... Taronga is
home to

three rescued long -nosed fur seals.

Abel, Bondi and Kiki.

Kiki is an 11 -year -old New Zealand fur
seal.

She came to us as a young seal when we
found her. She was in the harbour.

She was showing some erratic behaviour.

We think she may have been hit by a
boat. And so she came in with suspected

brain injury.

While Kiki couldn't be released back to
the wild, Taronga has given her a second

chance, not only to live, but to breed.

Last year, Kiki met Bondi, our resident
male New Zealand fur seal.

and we actually did see a viable mating.
We haven't had a New Zealand fur seal

pup in recent history, so lots of
excitement, the fact that we potentially

got a pup. Yeah, fingers crossed.

Although they mated six months ago...
All right, let's... ..today is the first

time that senior vet Larry is able to
get close enough to Kiki to conduct an

ultrasound and hopefully confirm her
pregnancy.

Kiki generally is quite a nervous animal
so she's going to be very aware of her

surroundings. We've done a lot of
training to get her to this point that

at today. We've tried getting different
people in, doing different scenarios and

hopefully it'll be smooth sailing.

She's good today? Yeah, so she's been
working very well lately, so we've been

aiming to get to this point.

We've done a lot of extra training, so
hopefully she's... She's solid today?

She's solid today.

Good, good. Famous last words,
obviously. All right, well, fingers

Let's get going.

Thanks.

Come on.

Good girl.

Hey.

Excellent. Hey, girl.

So just because she's a little bit
nervous, Jose is going to hold the

probe against her. Good girl.

So just really, like, ruffle the fur as
much as you can, mate.

Nothing there.

The problem is we're not getting an
image because of that layer of air

trapped under the fur.

And she hasn't taken her eyes off me.

Good girl.

Good girl.

Do you want to just get her in the water
again so she's wet? Yeah. And then you

want me to try? Yep.

To survive the freezing southern ocean,
fur seals are equipped with an inbuilt

wetsuit. Fur seals have a double layer
of fur, and the layer closest to the

traps the layer of air against the skin.

Can I just touch her? Stay there.

Stay there.

Ready, we'll try again. Touching.

and unfortunately ultrasound waves don't
go through air very well.

So we have to make sure she's very wet,
and we have to ruffle her fur a lot to

try and dislodge that layer of air
against her skin so we can see an image.

Good girl.

Excellent. Stay there.

Nothing. The ultrasound waves are just
not penetrating, so we're actually not

getting an image at all.

I'm just going to just feel.

Without a clear image, Larry resorts to
some old -fashioned diagnostics.

To be honest, just looking at her and
just feeling like this, I can't imagine

that there's a pup in there at all. At
this stage of her pregnancy, she should

have quite a large pup, and it just
seems empty.

You can see that she's got a very nice
little waistline there.

Yeah, she certainly hasn't put on
weight.

She's maintained weight.

All right. Well, we'll try again this
year. Yes. End of this year. That's

Exactly. Good girl. All right.

Excellent. I think we're done.

Bye, Larry.

See you, buddy.

While there's no seal pup arriving for
Kiki in the near future, Okay.

Taronga is about to receive another fur
seal under more urgent circumstances.

It is only a little guy.

Down at Tiger Trek, I might prepare the
dart.

the zoo is getting ready to conduct one
of their most dangerous procedures.

Today we have an anesthesia on our
smartphone tiger named Kartika.

Kartika is nearly nine years old, and
she's had her first litter about a

over a year ago.

And today she's getting a reproductive
implant.

We're going to stop her coming into
heat, and then she can stay calm, stay

her cubs, raise them.

And with so much at stake, both hospital
and keeper staff have left nothing to

chance.

It is quite challenging because he's a
dangerous animal. We have to be very

careful.

We'll be putting some shackles on her
hind feet. We have to be totally ready

anything that could happen. So she could
go very smooth, but also, you know,

something could happen. She might, you
know, stop breathing.

So we have to be prepared and have all
our emergency equipment available.

Okay, so we're just going to take five
before we start the GA.

When we're in there, everyone has to
wear masks because COVID for the tigers

there's not enough room for social
distance for us. So make sure you've got

mask on. It's a dangerous animal. So,
you know, be cautious and just remember

that sometimes with this drug, the
animals can spontaneously arouse. So we

want to make sure the anesthesia is
really solid before we go in. Yes.

And giving the anesthetic is Keeper
Tamara, who is doing her first ever

injection. We've got about 1 .4 mils
there.

Good luck, girlfriend.

Thank you.

She doesn't know you.

She's not suspicious that you're going
to do that.

It's loaded.

Good luck.

We don't need luck.

We've got this.

This is the only part of the procedure
where I do get a little nervous.

Hopefully she'll get the whole dose.

And then this drug combination can take
about up to 20 minutes to have full

effect. So we may not know if she's
going to go to sleep fully until the 20

minutes.

For me, this is the worst part.

Keepers Delvina and Adam are attempting
to weigh the zoo's two giant Aldabran

tortoises.

We weigh all our animals here at the zoo
to ensure that they're healthy, they're

maintaining weight, not losing weight.
It also indicates whether they have any

internal parasites or anything wrong
with them.

By weighing him, we can look back in our
records and compare to make sure that

he's on track or, you know, Esmeralda's
on track just for their general health.

Just like you and I weigh ourselves just
to make sure we haven't, you know, gone

a bit crazy over the tilly season.

What's this?

After a false start with Lan... He's on
there.

No. We have a slight problem.

We have a slight problem? We forgot to
turn the scales on.

They're keen to reset.

and try again.

What I'm doing right now is bringing
Lance over to the scales because he

come willingly.

No one wants to know their own weight,
including him.

At the moment, it's been quite difficult
to get Lance onto the scales. He did it

once and now he's like, nah, don't want
to do it again. But we do have Esmeralda

coming in very, very fast.

It's like a speed of light for her.

And if anything, if she goes on first,
that might make it a little bit easy.

She is the oldest resident here at the
zoo and obviously the wisest.

She knows what's up.

So I have no clue how heavy she is. I
can't remember our last weight on her.

It's probably not right. Is she up?

Yeah, she's completely on. Are you on?
Good girl.

Now you have to stay here for a little
bit.

126 .5.

That is a very good weight.

You can see actually how concave the
plastron is underneath. Have you seen

underneath them before? Have a look.

To get underneath and have a look is
really important as well. So we have to

take full advantage of these weigh -ins.

Carrot for you.

She's a delicate eater, but watch how
she bites.

This is a carrot. They're pretty hard.
Imagine if that was your finger.

With Edmirelda weighed... Come on.

..they've decided to take one last crack
at getting Lance back on the scale.

All right.

Let's try and get you on.

Definitely slow and steady wins the
race. Always slow and steady. Never in a

rush with these animals.

They actually do move quicker than
you're led to believe. It's just that

little bit cooler. It's a bit later in
the afternoon, so they start losing

body heat.

It's not like we can just pick him up
and sit him on like if it was a small

tortoise, you know.

He's halfway on the scales and he's sort
of sitting up around, oh no, looking

like 150 kilos and he's halfway on.

So hopefully he decides he's going to do
it.

Otherwise, we're going to be here for a
while.

Well, we're nearly there. He's like
three quarters on. Come on.

You've got your foot up. You've got
this. Come on. Good boy.

Good boy, Lance. Good boy.

Come on, Flippy.

Come on.

You can do it. Come on.

Good boy, good boy, good boy.

Three out of four feet. Not too bad. Not
too bad. No, no, no. No, no, no.

Stay on.

It's just one foot.

We are so close. Just one foot. But now
he's decided that he wants to get off.

Flippy toes. Come on.

That's it.

This way.

Come on.

No.

Glenn. It looks like we're going to have
to try another day.

You'll get more of this if you turn
around.

This has been by far the hardest thing
that I've done here.

We might be here for a little bit
longer.

You've got one minute to do this. You
are the fastest tortoise in the world.

Yes, you are.

Before Katika can receive a hormone
implant, this cautious tiger needs to be

given a pole injection to put her to
sleep.

And since all the anaesthetic went into
Kartika, Kimberly doesn't

have to wait long for the good news.

Go ahead.

Just to let you know, it's taking
effect.

She's laying down.

Oh, my God. All right, it's quick.

Awesome.

Okay, is it okay for me to head in then?

That was fast. She still has her eyes
open, but probably if you come in

This is fine. She's right there at the
door.

She's having occasional blinks, so we
can see that her anesthesia is working

really well.

But to be completely sure, Kimberly
applied the low -tech but very effective

of checking if it's safe to enter the
tiger's den.

I'm just going to see if she reacts.

Good, I think she's quite anesthetized.

Any reaction there?

No.

I'm happy.

You can stretch her in an anesthetic
machine.

Satisfied that Katika is out, the team
immediately get to work.

Okay, I'm okay. Cargo net?

I'm going to come behind you.

We need gas.

We'll move the table.

Okay, Annabelle, this is in two and a
half and two liters.

With any dangerous animal procedure, we
put the shackles on their legs. If by

any chance she was to arouse, there's
just another level of restraint, so we

have more time to get out.

Happy? Yeah, I think so.

Yeah, that pulse is correct.

Are you happy with the anesthesia?

Good job.

Now she's on the gas, and we have a
tracheal tube down her airway, so we're

giving her supplemental gas anesthesia.

The jaw is really loose, so that's a
good indication that she's deeply

anesthetized. Happy to take that off?
Yeah.

Yep. Thanks.

Great.

She's gorgeous, isn't she?

She's in really good shape, too. Like,
she's not fat at all.

It's not often that a big cat goes on
the table, so Kimberly takes the

opportunity to do a complete exam to
make sure there's no other underlying

problem. Let's check all her paws.

Sometimes these guys can get ingrown
nails, so... You guys happy with her

weight? Yes, very happy with her weight.

I love detecting nails.

Find it a lot of fun because they hold
the nails in there, and then you can

them out, and that's how they stick them
out when they want to use them to

capture things.

So I'm just going to do a dental exam
and see if any of these teeth have

problems. A little bit worn on the
incisors, but not too bad.

How old is she? She's nearly nine,
right? She's a little over almost nine.

A bit of a gray spot there.

It's got a fracture here. Do you see
that tooth that's loose there?

Oh, it's wibbly wobbly.

Yeah, it's very wobbly.

Yeah, an infection in there.

Yeah,

it is only a little guy.

Meanwhile,

up at the wildlife hospital, Larry has
just taken delivery of a badly injured

fur seal.

It's very, very lethargic, but still
potential for suddenly rousing and

us.

So we'll just give him a little bit of a
gas anaesthetic so that we can examine

him thoroughly.

The seal is so ill, Larry gets him on
fluid

straight away.

So this little fur seal was brought in
by NSW National Parks and Wildlife

Service officers. It was hauled out at
Cornell, which is just on the south side

of Sydney.

but it's extremely lethargic, very sick
little seal, so we're going to examine

it, try and work out what might be going
on.

So it's a boy.

His willy's just there.

Let's have a look in the mouth.

I'd say just looking at this animal's
teeth, it's probably at least two and a

half years old.

So it's certainly older than you'd
think, especially if it's a relatively

seal. The seal is small for its age.

Can you hold that eye open there?

An indication that it hasn't been able
to find food for quite some time.

Yeah.

And his eyes are concerning Larry.

Sadly, I've already got a bit of an idea
of what's going on here.

Let me just look at the other eye.

So this poor little guy has had major
trauma to his eye.

See there?

Terrible. So damage to ripped cornea.
And unfortunately, this eye is also in a

bad way.

And so there's a terrible cataract in
that eye.

So this animal is blind, essentially.

It's a real shame because it really
looks like...

There may be nothing else wrong with the
family.

I don't know what happened there, but it
must have been a traumatic injury, I'd

say, of some sort. That happened some
time ago.

And he's probably been just sort of
hanging out there slowly, getting

and thinner, and got to the point now
where he's just very, very skinny, skin

and bone.

So sadly, not a good outcome for this
little guy because he would not be

releasable. These eyes are permanently
damaged and also wouldn't even be an

option for keeping him in permanent care
here at the zoo because of not being

able to see.

So, another sad one.

The decision to euthanise an animal is
never taken lightly.

But sadly, for this fur seal...

His wounds are just too severe.

These wildlife animals that end up going
to post -mortem provide a great

opportunity for disease surveillance.

So sad to lose this animal's life, but
we will get some valuable information

from it, that's for sure.

All right, another day, another way.

That was good. That was amazing.

Now let's go weigh a tortoise.

Well, hopefully we'll get him today.

Two weeks after their first attempt at
weighing Lance, the giant Aldabran

tortoise... You all right? Yep.

Keepers Delvina and Adam are back for
another try.

Teamwork makes the dream work.

Let's see, because I'm about the same
weight as him.

Whoa.

That's my COVID weight.

Yeah, looks like...

I'll be eating salad for a while.

Luckily for these famously stubborn
animals, salad is what motivates them.

We have our secret weapon here today.
We've got bananas, which is their

favourite fruit.

We've also got some capsicum and also
some carrot as well. Now, they're quite

driven by colour, so they will opt for
the more orange and red and yellow more

than they will the green.

I think that's why they like me, because
of my hair.

So it seems to be working. That's good.
Let's go.

Step into my den.

Hello.

What's that?

It's a carrot.

But maybe if you come outside, you will
get your carrot. Come on.

Let's go.

Almost there, Lance. Good boy.

While the carrot got Lance moving.

Good boy.

Let's go.

To get him to the scale, Delvina needs
to pull out the big gun.

What's that? Look at that. Make it like
a banana peel and let's split.

Come on Lance, come on.

It's a banana, it's your favourite, it's
so yummy and you get the rest of it

once you're on the scales.

Let's go.

So close.

Almost there.

You've got this.

He's actually coming a lot faster than I
anticipated.

How's this?

What about this?

Come on, Lance. You've got this.

Two feet up now.

Just two more to go and a whole lot of
shell.

Good boy. Come on. Come on. So close.
Good boy.

Oh, my goodness. Are you all on?

Is he all on?

Check. Quick. Are you all on? Let me
check.

That's all feet?

Yep.

He's all on.

All on? So now we can get him weight.

Oh, my goodness.

197 .5.

Just under 200 kilos. That was well
worth the weight.

Hey, Adam, time to shell a break.

Lance,

you've done such a good job.

Yes, best job ever. He even looks pretty
happy about it too.

Are you happy?

A little banana breath.

Good boy.

We need gas.

Kartika, an important breeding female at
Taronga Zoo, is undergoing a general

anesthetic in the hope of slowing down
her breeding cycle.

Are you happy with the anesthesia?

But while conducting a general exam,
Kimberly has found Kartika has another

problem. You've got a fractured right
carnasial tooth.

I'm going to have to probably remove
this piece of tooth.

Yeah, an infection in there.

And for one of the world's largest
carnivores, a broken tooth is something

needs to be fixed right away.

So I'm taking out that small fractured
piece of the tooth that we saw earlier.

So that's a nice slab fracture.

what we call the carnasial tooth, the
big sawing, chewing tooth that they have

on the upper side.

I'm just putting some pressure on that
so it stops bleeding.

She's a chewer somehow because she's got
wear at the back of her canines.

I think it's the gums that have just
grown up over the hole in the tooth.

That's good news.

Yeah. After all that, I don't think I
need to fill it.

Now that the tooth is removed, it's time
for the hormonal implant.

So we're just preparing the site where
we're going to inject the birth control

implant. So it needs to go under the
skin, and we're putting it below the

ear.

This releases over time, and in some of
the tigers in the past, we've had this

last for up to 18 months.

Okay. I'm just going to implant it
slowly and draw out the needle as I'm

implanting it.

With the tooth removed and the hormone
implant in place, it's

been a successful morning for Kimberly
and the hospital staff.

It went really well. Her anesthesia was
fabulous.

She's in great condition. We gave her
the reproductive implant, but we found a

broken tooth. So she's got a bit of an
infection in her tooth, and we took that

out. We're going to send the x -rays to
our dentist that helps us. This is her

reversal. I'm going to give her
something to reverse her. This should

20 minutes for her to wake up.

Okay, let's get everything out.

Here's the reversal belt.

Yep.

I think we can leave her to finish
recovering as long as she stays

well. Let's go on out.

While Kartika will recover from this
procedure in a few hours, the keepers

need to wait a full three weeks to see
if she can begin to coexist with her

once more.

She's not quite ready to stand up.

I think we can leave her now and let
Danielle finish watching her recovery.

And she'll watch her throughout the day,
make sure she's okay.

And when she's back to normal, she'll be
able to feed her and give her some

water.

So this animal is blind, essentially.

The team at Taronga's Wildlife Hospital
do everything they can for sick animals

that come in from the wild.

So sadly...

Not a good outcome for this little guy
because he would not be releasable.

But some, like this young fur seal, just
don't make it.

Not all of the seals that are rescued
and come into our care survive.

Unfortunately, some of the injuries that
they have are really extensive and our

vets have to make the difficult decision
to euthanise when they can't be

rehabilitated.

With so many seals living on Sydney's
doorstep, the chances of another injured

one being found are high.

How are you, Bondi?

How are you, mate?

And like always, Taronga will be there
to give them every chance of survival.

Oh, no!

It's really an amazing journey to see
these animals first come into our

hospital. Oh, my goodness.

They're dehydrated and sickly. They're
usually a bag of bones.

Bye.

And to see them thrive after their
injuries have healed, to see them

back in with all the other seals that we
have and to see them start learning and

behaving like seals again, it's just
really nice to be able to give them that

opportunity to have a second chance at
life.

Kartika, the female Sumatran tiger, was
given an implant to help

reduce her need to mate.

Before the implant, Kartika had these
surges in her hormones that she

wanted to mate with the male and the
cubs were in her territory and she was

asking them to leave by growling at them
and showing them a little bit of

aggression.

If we didn't give her that implant, the
aggression may have escalated and she

might have caused a slight injury to her
cubs in the process of asking them to

leave.

But in the weeks after the implant,
Danielle has noticed an improvement in

behaviour from Kartika.

Since the implant, Kartika and her three
cubs, Tenga, Mawa and Pemina, are

living... completely harmoniously with
each other, very comfortable in each

other's presence.

It means we can keep Kartika with her
cubs for at least the next year or so,

that's great for the cubs. It will
enable them to be more social, and then

they enter the breeding program, they'll
have a greater chance of success.

And for Danielle...

Breeding success is one of the most
rewarding parts of working with the

magnificent but endangered Sumatran
tiger.

I have those moments where you think,
hey, I'm the only person in

Australia pretty much today that's
worked with seven tigers and three of

are cubs and it just blows my mind.

Just so incredibly lucky to have such an
amazing career and enjoy every moment.

I just look forward to going to work
every single day.

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