All language subtitles for Taronga s01e01 Project Platypus.eng

There's something very special about
Sydney Harbour, blessed with pure

beauty and home to some of the most
iconic landmarks in the world.

But nestled among the trees and the
million -dollar mansion is another

the world,

Taronga Zoo.

And as the curtain drops on some of the
zoo's biggest changes in its 101 -year

history... And our beautiful giraffe
being able to drink from a waterhole,

like in Africa.

...there's never been a more exciting
time to show the world what makes this

magical place tick.

To see exactly what it takes to run one
of the greatest conservation success

stories in the world.

Thank you so much.

Do you want to see it?

She's a gorgeous little frog, one of
Australia's most iconic species, and one

our most critically endangered.

These animals are going to thrive and do
great under our care.

We'll take you inside Taronga.

On this episode, for the first time in
10 years, Taronga vets... Get up close

a silverback gorilla.

He's likely to move, cough, splutter. If
he does, just hang on to him and keep

calm.

An overprotective mum refuses to let go.

Mum's made it clear that they're not
allowed to come too close.

Come on, girl. The calf looks keen to go
out, but mum just gets there and goes,

not today.

And can Taronga get this injured seabird
airborne again?

Sweetie, you going to go in the water?
Just got bashed up a bit in the storm.

And he's reluctant to swim.

One of the most popular species at
Taronga is the critically endangered

Lowland Gorilla.

So our Western Lowland Gorillas here at
Taronga is a family group. It consists

of eight animals at the moment and they
range in age from only a few months old.

up to 38 years of age.

Gorillas are interesting to watch.
There's a lot of things that you would

back to yourself.

Things like their mothering skills, so
how much time and investment they put

into their youngsters, and also how
important the family unit is to them.

They spend a lot of time with their
family, they support each other, and I

watching that whole harem work together
is very similar to how we relate with

our own family.

It is headed up by our silverback,
Kabali.

He is 18 years of age. He came to us
from France in 2012 and his role is

very important. He's there to oversee
the family, make sure everybody's doing

what they should be doing and also to
protect and support his family unit.

He's our silverback. He's a very
important animal in this group and in

We brought him in several years ago
specifically to improve the genetics of

gorilla population.

So as an individual, he's a very
significant animal as well.

So I'll go the far side, and if you want
to stay this side, sounds good, and

we'll pop the food out.

Keeping gorillas active and healthy
requires a large team of dedicated

So gorillas really like smears,
especially Kabali. It is one of his

especially the Vegemite.

But all of the kids love it, so they
should be pretty excited when they do

out today.

They've got a good combination of
different types of lettuce, which is one

their favourites. We've also got some
eggplant, or aubergine for me.

We've got some sweet potato and some
parsnips.

Over the last few months, gorilla keeper
Amy... I'm going to stick down one of

these here.

..has noticed some worrying behaviour
from Kabali.

Some days eating really well, some days
not so much.

He's been drinking a little bit extra as
well. We've seen a few stomach cramps

perhaps with him. It's been a bit of a
roller coaster with his health. So it's

about time that we did a bit of a health
check on him. The fences are on. The

bucket's in.

Tools are in.

And the food is all out. So we're ready
to release him. Cool. Let's do it.

Spring is always a wonderful time of
year at Taronga Zoo.

as the results of previous breeding
seasons start to bear fruit.

Zookeepers can't wait to meet their new
additions as babies start appearing all

over the zoo.

Can you see where her pouch is? There's
a little bit of black in the middle.

That's the ear of the joey.

Tucks itself away now.

But nowhere has a birth been more
significant this year than at Taronga

sister location, Western Plain Zoo at
Dubbo.

Located four hours west of Sydney, Dubbo
Zoo is 320 hectares of open plain

habitat and home to the critically
endangered white rhino, which has just

its population increase by one, thanks
to white rhino mum, Mapani.

Mathani's given birth to a little girl
calf which is very exciting for our

breeding program and for the future
breeding success of the white rhinos in

captivity. The little female calf is
approaching two weeks of age so she's

been sticking very close to mum off
display.

So at the moment we haven't named our
little calf and we've put it out to the

general public to come up with a name
for her. She is such a special critter

us and the breeding program that we're
hoping someone will come up with a cool

nice name that we can keep forever.

For the first weeks of a newborn calf's
life, Mum is understandably very

protective. Mum's recovering from a long
gestation period, 16 months, so she's

been resting up and the calf's just been
finding its feet as well.

Mum's made it clear to the other
resident white rhinos that they're not

to come too close, they're allowed to
check it out, but not come too close to

the calf.

And she'll decide when she wants to go
out on exhibit with the calf and explore

further.

Getting the newborn calf to mix with the
other rhino is important to their

development and confidence.

But so far, repeated attempts to
introduce her to the herd have been

unsuccessful.

Come on.

And it's not because of the weather.

Come on, girl.

Maybe you're coming out.

My body, this way.

Come on.

Up until now...

Mum and the calf have really just been
coming to their first gate.

They've sort of been poking their nose
through, having a look, and then mum

turns around and walks off again back to
their little shelter out the back here.

The calf looks keen to go out. Mum just
gets there and goes, eh, not today.

But after days of trying, Nick has
arrived this morning and noticed both

bub are already near the gate.

Good girl.

Daddy girl, let's go.

Come on.

Well, this looks pretty promising.

I'm hoping today's the day that mum
might let little Bubba out on the

Everyone's life's about to change.

Zookeepers have noticed Kabali has been
unwell.

In order to conduct a health check, they
have to rely on years of pre -planning.

Since he arrived a few years ago, it's
been actually quite difficult to get him

separate from the rest of the gorilla
group. So there's been some intensive

training to be able to separate him and
also for a hand injection for the

anaesthetic drug to be injected into
him.

Giving a silverback gorilla an injection
is not as straightforward as it sounds.

For the last two years, we've been
training Kabali to sit at a station and

positively reinforce him with his
favourite food, so things like fruit and

honey water or tea, he's really partial
to.

And he's been trained to present his
shoulder and push his shoulder up close

me as the trainer. And we can then
slowly get him used to a blunt needle

touching him on the arm.

So we do three sessions every day.

And on the day, Larry will give us the
anesthetic drug in the syringe and we

will... put that into his arm, and
hopefully it'll all go smoothly and

to sleep.

And after two years of training, that
day has finally come.

I mean, it's so much better that you
guys inject him nice and peaceful hand

injection rather than having to dart
him, which is terribly stressful,

obviously, for him and for us as well.
Yeah, and he doesn't like seeing you,

so... Oh, he doesn't mind me.

He likes me.

The thing is we're doing this so that we
can maintain that rapport, you know,

that's the thing.

The vets in zoos are an interesting
position because obviously our goal is

ensure the animals are healthy and cure
their illnesses and injuries and things

like that. But also it puts us in a
situation where often there's a negative

association between us and the animals
because...

You know, especially if we have to dart
them, they see us as the person that

causes them discomfort.

So what we've got to do tomorrow is make
sure that until he's hand -injected and

actually falling asleep, that I'm not
around at all.

So I might call one of the vet nurses so
that he doesn't hear your voice on the

radio either, because that can sometimes
set him off. It's crazy how sensitive

they are, isn't it? It's amazing. Vets
are pretty scary.

No, they're not. Keepers are much nicer.

Coming up.

How are you today?

It's touch and go for two sick birds.

Maybe he's just kind of got to the end
of his journey and that's how he's ended

up coming into us.

And zoo staff are on high alert as
Kabali's big day arrives.

If he senses anything different this
morning to any other morning, it could

the whole thing off.

Sydney's Taronga Zoo and its sister
location, Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo,

home to over 300 unique animal species,
encompassing over 5 ,000 animals.

The zoo itself is not only the zoo with
the best view in the world, but so many

fantastic animals as well that we are
lucky enough to look after every day.

And they are world leaders in the
conservation, care, and presentation of

wildlife. When you're ready, Brendan. I
love being a bird keeper. They're so

amazing. I always give the other keepers
in the zoo a hard time because I say

ours are better than theirs.

And keeping all these animals healthy
takes a team of passionate and dedicated

staff.

Nice and steady.

Good, strong beat.

I'm Kimberly.

I'm one of the veterinary officers here
at Taronga Zoo.

I'm originally from New York.

That's part of the job.

I live in Australia.

I still can't believe it. I pinched
myself.

Everyone works together and brilliantly.

We have to face emergencies together.

I don't want to cry, but we have to go
through highs and lows.

And sometimes that's really hard. I've
had such a long week, it's going to make

me actually a bit emotional.

But everyone's there for each other,
which is the beautiful thing.

What's your wife? 6 .4. 6 .4. It's just
a big family.

Amazing family. So it's not only
teamwork within my division that I work,

it's teamwork throughout the whole zoo.

Best job in the world. Hands down.

It is the best job in the world.

No buyer.

Yeah, look, it's definitely up there
with one of the coolest jobs, I think.

I feel really lucky to be able to work
with these incredible animals every day.

I pinch myself every morning to think
that this is what I'm doing.

And it's not just the animals on display
that they care about. It's all animals.

Side of Taronga Zoo that's rarely seen
by the public is its rehab center.

They take in sick and injured animals
found by the public and offer them

care and rehabilitation until they are
well enough to be released back into the

wild.

We do get attached to some of the
animals that come into care, especially

they've been here for a long time.

But we know that they're going to go
back out into the wild, so it's one of

greatest joys to release these animals.

While they care for a lot of common
animals found all over Sydney, like

turtles and owl, they're also called on
to help wildlife rarely seen in the

area.

We believe we have a shy albatross here.

He was brought in on the weekend with
another albatross.

He's been in intensive care for the past
couple of days.

How are you today?

A wildlife rescue team found two
albatrosses battered on the rocks after

particularly violent storm forced the
birds ashore.

The younger albatross was in good
condition and sent straight to

But things don't look as good for the
older bird.

We're not quite sure of the diagnosis of
why he's actually here yet.

We have taken x -rays and he has no
foreign bodies inside him, so that's one

good thing that we've seen.

He does look maybe like quite an old
bird. His feathers are quite tatty and

as nice and new as a juvenile or a adult
bird would be. So, you know, maybe he's

just kind of got to the end of his
journey and he just wasn't strong enough

you know, battle the storms that are out
there and that's how he's ended up

coming into us.

While Sarah keeps a watchful eye on the
sick albatross... Hey, girls.

...Vet Kimberly is down in rehab
checking on the younger bird.

So we need to have a look at it today,
check if it's eating okay, because it

been force -fed for a couple of days
already, right?

Yes. And is it eating anything on its
own yet? No, not yet. Not yet. Okay,

happen. It'll happen.

How's he going?

He's right here. They're gorgeous. Okay,
I'm just going to grab you. Don't go

into the water, please. You can see how
he's really grey.

Don't go into the water, darling. Baby.

It's your friend that feeds you.

Oh, no.

It's okay.

Okay.

The reason this albatross came in was he
was found in really high seas, so

during a stormy time, it's probably
juvenile. It just got backed up a bit in

storm.

For a bird that spends its life in the
vast and inhospitable Southern Ocean,

making sure he's 100 % before release is
critical.

Okay, let me look at his feet.

Very strong. Perfect.

This guy should be on the water most of
the time, but because he's on the ground

in here, he's starting to get slight
abrasions under that middle toe.

We don't want that to develop into a
bumblefoot or infection lesion.

Let's feed him, and then we'll let him
down because he's starting to get

stressed.

So he hasn't eaten on his own for about
24 hours, so we're giving him some

assisted feeding now.

Life in the Southern Ocean is brutal,
and the fact that this bird isn't

on his own is a real concern.

So if you see as he's putting the fish
in, he's swallowing on his own, so he

wants that fish.

Can you see how he's swallowing when the
fish goes in? Look under here. You can

see him gulping it.

See how he's swallowing?

Watch this right in here.

Last one.

He's swallowing that nicely. Gulping it
down.

We just need to get him to eat it on his
own.

You see how the water's just rolling off
him?

That's a good indication that he's
waterproof.

Sometimes birds that get stuck in oil or
have things on them will lose their

waterproofing, and you can see then the
feathers are really wet.

So what they have, they have an oil
gland at the base of their tail, and

use that, they get some oil with their
beak, and then they preen their

and that puts the oil on the feathers.

That's how they waterproof themselves.

He's so pretty, isn't he?

An ocean bird needs more space than a
zoo can provide, so the race is on to

him fit for release.

He's in good condition. He wasn't skinny
when he came in. He just needs a little

bit of rehab, so we want to get him out.

Kabali, Taronga's silverback gorilla,
has been sick, and the only way for vets

to work out why is a full examination
under a general anesthetic.

Knocking out or anaesthetising a large
gorilla is certainly, you know, a pretty

significant undertaking.

Just got to draw it out into the
syringe.

Very convenient drug because it does
come as a powder, so we have that

to make it into a very concentrated
form.

So the smaller the volume, the better it
is for the keepers to be able to inject

him.

Kibale, you know, he weighs really about
190 kilos, so he's a big, heavy animal,

powerful animal, and if he wakes up
during the procedure, that would be a

difficult thing to deal with and, of
course, very frightening for everyone.

You good to go?

Yeah. You pumped?

Yeah, we're ready.

Took a bit of effort to concentrate it
into the...

The volumes.

Oh, really? Yeah.

Oh, thank you, though.

Molly will appreciate it. All right.
Thanks, guys. OK, well, see you soon.

See you soon. Bye. With a sleepy
gorilla.

Hopefully.

Handling a dangerous animal is extremely
risky, and Taronga Zoo plans all

procedures of this nature outside of zoo
opening hours.

A large gorilla procedure is fairly
significant. A lot of people are

Obviously, we've got our vet team here,
three vet nurses and myself, plus a few

other staff that are going to be helping
out during the morning. And, of course,

the keeper team. They've got several
people there. But we're going to need a

people to carry him as well. So we've
recruited some big burly blokes from our

works team.

Whenever we do these dangerous
procedures, and particularly if you're

transporting the animal through the zoo,
we always have a gun person present.

Thankfully, we've never had to use it,
but it's always important to have it as

backup just in case something goes
wrong.

All right, we're good to go?

Yep. Excellent. Let's go.

A team of 17 vets, hospital and support
staff are on standby, positioned far

from the gorilla enclosure, giving the
keepers all the space needed to

administer the injection.

Basically, we just want to make sure
there's no disturbance in that area,

nothing unusual.

They're very sensitive animals and if he
senses anything different this morning

to any other morning, it could put the
whole thing off.

Kabali and his family have been moved
from the enclosure into a holding area.

The head of primates, Mel Shipway, can
administer the anaesthetic.

It's always a bit nerve -wracking going
into a procedure like this. Obviously,

you want it to go so smoothly. You've
been planning it for so long.

As

the

anxious zookeepers and vets wait
outside...

It's only the years of trust Mel has
built up with Kabali that will determine

today will be a success.

It all comes down to this moment.

Taronga silverback gorilla Kabali has
been unwell.

He has had a few issues over the last
few months.

Drinking too much and his appetite has
been up and down.

And Kabali needs to be completely
anaesthetised to properly examine him.

We're doing a full health check on him.

We've got some specialists coming in to
examine his heart because heart disease

is something that is seen relatively
commonly in gorillas.

But first he needs to be put to sleep.

Excellent.

Excellent, that's great. I'll head on
down.

So we're just coming up to six and a
half minutes now, guys.

Okay. Good boy.

We're just waiting for the keepers to
get the other gorillas out of the house.

Obviously, they're not with Kibale
because he's been separated from them,

all the activity in there will disturb
the other gorillas, so it's better that

they're just outside while we are
removing Kibale from the gorilla house.

You can head on down now.

Okay, we'll be there shortly. All right,
let's go.

Good to come in.

Good to come in.

On the count of three, we'll be lifting.
So on the count of three, one, two, and

three, we lift together.

Yep.

Don't worry about the foot bar. Straight
out.

While Kabali may be asleep...

The sedative is only temporary.

Straight to the stretcher over here.

So they need to move quickly to
transport this nearly 200kg silverback

to the hospital.

Nicely on the stretcher.

OK. OK, cool.

Drop him down.

Now I'm just going to come over here,
cover him with the net.

OK.

Just so we need access to his head at
all times.

All right, now in the van.

With the zoo opening in less than an
hour, the clock is ticking.

Okay, let's get out of here.

Two injured albatrosses have been
brought into Taronga Zoo's wildlife

after a large storm washed them ashore.

But unfortunately for the senior of the
two birds, fighting the storm just took

too much out of him, and overnight he
had to be euthanized.

Yeah, it's very sad because we're really
hoping to be able to fix it up and get

it back out to the wild.

So sometimes we're not able to do that,
and this can be the result.

But down in rehab, it's a different
story for the younger albatross.

This bird's actually feeding itself. It
is, unusually, for an albatross.

Happy with his progress over the last
eight days and keen to get the bird back

out in the wild as soon as possible,
seabird expert Libby and Taronga vet

Francis are doing what they hope will be
their final exam.

While it's in the wildlife hospital,
it's in the rehab pool, which is a

area where it has a deep pool to swim in
and a very soft, spongy floor that will

help to alleviate pressure sores on its
feet.

Wish me luck.

Don't get wet.

I'm not too wet.

So you see the way he's sitting on
his... Yeah, yeah, I do. Sitting back on

cocks a little bit.

Albatross...

Probably my favourite species, and
that's saying something, having worked

so many animals over so many years.

I'll just kind of wait till we have him.

That's quiet.

Albatross have been known to fly
thousands of miles, only landing on the

surface to feed before taking off to the
skies once more.

The thinner we get him out, the more
comfortable the bird's going to be.

So before they'll give this bird the all
-clear, Libby and Francis need to be

certain he'll be able to survive and
thrive in the harsh southern ocean.

The bird certainly seems waterproofed.

We must be very careful with their
feathers so that we don't damage any of

feathers. They live in such a cold
environment, so they must have perfect

feathers on release.

So we've just done a quick check over of
the bird to make sure that we're happy

with his condition and make sure that
it's ready for release. We want to get

back out into the ocean as soon as
possible.

He's come along so well, very happy.

Yeah, I think it would be fantastic to
get him back out there.

He's coming to bite me.

That's a face washing.

He's washing his face, and now he's
going to start pruning, which is

But what I want him to do is swim
around, and he doesn't. He's reluctant

swim.

So I'm just going to encourage the bird
into the water.

This is an important step in seabird
rehabilitation.

Do you think he's going to go in the
water?

It's a great sound, isn't it?

The best.

The best sound in the world, albatross.

If he won't swim, then he can't be
released.

I want him swimming and I want him
preening in the water.

Obviously, there's not going to be any
land where he's going. He's going to

in the open ocean.

And he needs to preen to make sure all
his feathers are in perfect condition.

Otherwise, he'll get very, very cold in
the water.

Albatross are endangered.

They're in serious trouble.

Their numbers are dropping dramatically,
all species.

So these are special birds, so every one
of these birds counts.

Coming up... Hello, little one.

Will Taronga's baby rhino finally take
the plunge?

They look pretty keen.

Rightio, girls, here we go.

Vets get up close with Kabali.

A procedure like today where you get to
touch and you smell and feel this

magnificent creature is mind -blowing.

And will another storm put the brakes on
the albatross release?

Come on then, girl.

Hello, little one.

Let's go.

Out at Taronga's western plain zoo, a
newborn white rhinoceros calf is taking

her first steps to joining the herd on
exhibit.

Come on, Mopani.

Let's go.

For two weeks, protective mum Mopani has
been keeping her calf in the back of

house area.

Good girls.

But Keeper Nick is hoping the time has
come for Mum to bring her calf into the

open where everyone can see her.

They haven't ventured out on exhibit
yet. Hopefully today's the day.

They look pretty keen.

Let's go.

They'll eventually go straight through
and the lives will change for the girls

out on exhibit and the calf obviously
will grow bigger and stronger and more

confident. Here we go.

Good girl.

Come on, little one.

Good girl.

This is pretty cool, isn't it?

They're going to go out and explore
their exhibit.

Bit of rain out there yesterday.

There's a few muddy patches for the
little girl to test out her feeding.

She's not going to get too far away from
mum. They're going to be side by side.

White rhinos, calves, out in the wild
always just stay in front of their mum.

Their mums have always got their eyes.

Firmly fixed on their little calf.
There'll be a lot of communication

mum and the older rhino girls on
exhibit, letting them know their

where they're allowed to go.

It's very exciting. Now mum and calf are
out on exhibit.

We've been waiting 16 months for
gestation period for white rhino calf.

It's a great opportunity for us to
educate and engage, I guess, the

public about white rhinos and how we
need to help them out in the wild.

So an exciting day for us.

Relief as well as excitement.

Back in Sydney, Kabali has just arrived
at the wildlife hospital.

A team of vets and specialists are all
on hand for this once -in -a -decade

procedure.

OK, on the scale.

200. 200 kilos. Okay, so we've got to
weigh all that other stuff. The

today, even though it's part of an
investigation of his mild illness over

last few weeks, it is part of our
preventative medicine program. We're

give him a full health check, take
samples, you know, routine blood

We're going to vaccinate him. But
particularly, I suppose, with an animal

gorilla, it's an endangered species.
They play a significant role in

conservation of the species.

So we want to make sure that they are in
peak health at all times.

So, he's likely to move, cough,
splutter. If he does, just hang on to

keep calm.

Probably the most stressful part of the
whole procedure is knocking him down,

getting him up here, and getting a tube
into the airway.

Wide open.

He's a massive animal, big head.

You know, you have to prise his jaws
open.

Get him on the gas.

It's nice of him not to cough and
splutter.

Always scares the hell out of us.

Okay, you guys can relax a little bit.

Now we want him on his back, okay?

So, that good there, guys?

Maybe bring the whole thing up this way
a little bit.

36 .2, Larry.

Okay, 36 .2, so it's a bit low.

There are a few important diseases of
gorillas that we need to look out for.

Infections, bacterial infections,
parasitic infections in his

tract. It's actually interesting, I've
just discovered he's got a little injury

on this eye, something that's happened
in the past. There's a little scar on

there. It must have been quite a deep
wound because it scarred his iris as

Heart disease is a well -recognised
problem in gorillas.

Similar sorts of problems that people
get, in fact, which is interesting,

considering that the risk factors for
heart disease in people, such as, you

know, obviously smoking, high blood
pressure, poor diet, are not risk

for gorillas.

But still, they are a species where
heart disease is seen.

Hey, mate, how are you? I'll shake your
hand after, OK?

With heart disease such a major concern,
The Taronga vets have called in a

cardiac specialist to examine Kabali.

So at the moment, what we're doing is
looking at the heart with ultrasound.

So we're trying to determine if the
heart is normal or abnormal.

And if it is abnormal, what disease is
present and what we need to do about it.

So what we're looking at here is blood
flow.

So this is something called Doppler
echocardiography, but basically it's

ultrasound.

to look at blood flow through the heart.

They're getting some great images.

So just a couple more things to do after
this and then take him back home.

With the examination coming to an end
and no obvious signs of why Kabali is

unwell... Checking his hip joints and
his knee joints.

The team now has to rely on the scans
and blood work to find out what's really

going on. OK, we're going to move him
out now.

OK.

Open the doors.

A procedure like today, where you get to
touch and you smell and feel this

magnificent creature, is mind -blowing,
in fact. And you walk away from it and

you go, my God, it's just unbelievable
that we have this opportunity to work

with such amazing animals.

With Kabali back with his family and
fully recovered from his exam, Larry and

Mel are keen to go over the results of
all of his tests.

Good, I'm just actually looking at his
results now and, you know, everything

checked out normal.

Great. His blood work was normal, all
the, you know, we did some cultures from

his gastrointestinal tract, that was all
normal. The cardiology report was

great. No abnormalities found there.

How is he? Is he recovered okay? Yeah,
he has.

He recovered quite well. His water
consumption that we were concerned about

definitely decreased again, so that
seems to have gone back to normal.

So that's good. And we're just keeping a
really close eye on his appetite still,

and I guess we'll just stay in touch
with you.

Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure.

Obviously, we saw...

Got nothing to explain these odd sort of
signs that Kibale's been showing over

the last few weeks or so.

So let's hope that, you know, whatever
was happening is passing and he'll make

full recover.

OK, great. Thank you.

Despite early concern, the keepers will
continue to monitor Kibale over the

coming months.

Hopeful that this very important gorilla
continues to lead and support his

family for many years to come.

The usual sparkling Sydney harbour has
been replaced with grey skies and rough

weather.

Normally people avoid going out on a day
like this, but for seabird expert

Libby, no amount of rain will dampen her
mood.

We're all fit now.

After ten days of rehabilitation, the
juvenile albatross is finally swimming

his own. So the decision has been made
to release him back into the wild.

These days are the best days because
we're getting the bird ready to go out

sea, which is the best part of my job.
So I'm really happy this morning.

Surprisingly, the stormy conditions may
even help with the release of the

juvenile albatross.

So the ideal conditions for an albatross
are big seas and lots of wind.

Albatrosses need about 25 knots to fly.

That's where they live.

So for us... It might be rough on the
boat, but for the albatross, it'll be

perfect.

Beautiful.

Are you all right?

Don't slip on the poo.

But before the albatross takes freedom
again, he needs to be fitted with an

identity band.

to help scientists learn even more about
the life and travels of these amazing

birds. These are metal bands which we
put on the albatross, and this will stay

on the albatross for life.

You have to check this with me, Tony.

489. 489.

65. 65. Yep, correct.

So we always check the bands.

It's important to enable the birds to be
monitored when they're released into

the wild. This is an Australian band.

And globally, we understand what happens
with birds around the world through

these bands.

So spiky, Kemi.

Okay,

perfect. That's his band on his leg,
ready to go.

Complaining to the end.

Okay.

Just taking him up into the hospital to
put him on the scales to weigh him for

the final time.

Special bird that all animals get
weighed, banded, looked at before they

into the wild.

Final weight.

Yay.

3 .9.

What's a nine?

3 .9, which is great.

He's put on 0 .9 of a kilo since he's
been here, which is really great.

He's been weighed, he's got his band on
him, he's all ready to go.

He's going into our hospital van and
then he's going on the water police boat

and out through Sydney Harbour, out into
the wild.

Okay, loaded and ready to go.

Great.

Releasing an animal back into the wild
is often a multi -agency event.

The water police have come to pick us up
at the wharf to take the albatross out

to sea, so very kind of them. They help
us out with releases of birds and

turtles.

How are you? Yeah, good.

Yeah, I'm really excited.

It's a really good day.

It's release day for the juvenile
albatross that has spent the last week

Taronga's rehabilitation centre gaining
strength after being forced ashore

during a wild storm.

How long has the albatross been with you
guys?

About 10 days.

So shorter time as possible for these
birds.

For seabird expert Libby, today is what
makes her job at Taronga Zoo so special.

It's looking good.

I'm sure he doesn't know what's
happening, so he's just being still and

A lot of noise in the boat, so not long
now.

It's a good day, though. I'm happy with
the day.

I don't like those blue days. It's
really still.

They just sit in the water.

And then we've got to wait for like an
hour and a half till they fly away.

So today we're going about three
kilometres offshore.

Are we 3K?

OK, thanks.

With the boat well off the coast and an
abundance of other seabirds in the

area... So albatross are all around now.

..it's finally time for this young
albatross to return to the great

Ocean, where he has at least 50 years of
living, hunting and breeding ahead of

him.

his box and release him into the wind.

It's pretty rough out here so we get
what we get really.

Hi beautiful.

Isn't that beautiful?

Not very graceful was it?

Perfect day for an albatross.

Well, where he goes, we won't know.

He'll roam the oceans for years and
years before he comes ashore again.

Fantastic day.

This is definitely the best part of my
job and I have an amazing job in the

hospital at Taronga.

Being out at sea, releasing an
albatross.

Doesn't get much better than that.

Next Saturday, a very special event.

Taronga's heroes come to the rescue.

It's a lot of work, but you ought to
save everybody.

How they're saving our precious koalas.
One of the greatest joys to release

these animals.

Taronga's bushfire special event, next
Saturday on 9.

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