Original subtitles

The bushfire crisis has impacted the lives of so many Australians. The

program contains injured wildlife and scenes that may distress some viewers.

Famous the world over, Sydney Harbour is home to some of Australia's most iconic

landmarks and one of the world's most celebrated zoos.

Throughout its 101 -year history, there's never been a more exciting time

granted access to both of Taronga Zoo's locations.

From caring for a single animal... Just hang on to him and keep calm.

...to saving an entire species.

She's a gorgeous little frog and one of our most critically endangered.

We'll take you Inside Taronga.

On this episode, the fire's front line.

I think his heart has now stopped. I think he's dying.

As Australia burns,

Taronga vets answer the call.

You want to save everybody, but you can't. You can't sometimes.

A desperate around -the -clock effort.

So that's like six animals we've just put back out to the wild successfully.

But just as backup arrives.

Oh, my God, I'm so glad you're here.

So do more badly injured animals.

I heard you had two more.

My Australia's on fire and it's really, really hard to see it.

The mystery of Murphy.

Larry and the team pull out all stopped.

Good job, Murph. Just a little bit to see how he's headed straighter,

That's the way, that's the way. During this unusual house call.

You have to improvise all the time, working outside the box.

And an early morning walk.

Okay, come on, Twinkie.

certainly turns some heads.

It's just incredible to kind of see those really social interactions between

animals.

When people think of Australia, they think of spectacular landscapes and

animals.

We've been isolated as a continent for such a long time, but our animals have

evolved and they're crazy to look at, definitely.

But this year, the postcard images have been replaced by a country in crisis.

The bushfire rips over the mountains straight towards packed holiday spots.

Midday in Batemans Bay. Record heat and record drought has led to

record bushfires.

The sheer scale of these fires is hard to comprehend.

The properties in the line of fire, water bombers were scrambling.

The amount of land destroyed by the fires is larger than the area of Denmark

the Netherlands combined.

A wall of flames coming down this hill here, and it was coming straight at us.

And that had led to catastrophic loss of wildlife.

A koala makes a dash from burning bush, but frightened and confused, runs

straight into more danger.

Over a billion creatures have been killed. This has been an ecological

Taronga Zoo and other animal hospitals across the nation have been inundated

with burnt and injured animals.

But unfortunately, when they walk across the firegrounds, they do cause some

really nasty burns. But you can actually see the singed fur on the side of his

paw there. It really hurts to think about what these animals have gone

All koalas have copped a bit, unfortunately.

But Taronga vets aren't just waiting to receive injured animals.

They've taken the fight to save Australian wildlife.

to the front line hey it's kimberly i'm currently down in baronsdale uh victoria

helping out with wildlife rescue groups so just want to give you a little bit of

look around at situation we're dealing with i'm speaking with my mom in america

and all of america is asking what's going on with these bushfires and i'll

them know i'm down in another state helping with wildlife trash down there

it's intense

The urgent need for veterinary help has led to the RSPCA setting up mobile

animal hospitals.

We've got a range of vets who are coming to help from a range of different

agencies and it's been such a godsend to have people who are experienced and

skilled get a help with the animals.

And vet Kimberley has eagerly swapped the Sydney Harbour views for a cramped

in a country car park.

Burns or insulation problems.

So far, with the help of emergency vet Caroline, they have

rehabilitated dozens of koalas. This will help get his guts moving. Hopefully

he'll be interested in eating on his own soon.

There is one koala who's caught their attention, and he's in a particularly

way.

But Kimberly and Caroline refuse to give up on him.

He has a lot of work, but he's worth it.

One of those bandages has just come off. You can see he's got quite raw pads.

The worst burns are the ones that we've seen.

We just thought we'll give him a chance. Hopefully he will heal.

Sadly, this little koala has been through so much that his body is

give up.

New for him, he's got some diarrhea.

And that's the problem.

While their burns are easily visible, the damage caused on the inside is not

easily seen once their intestines get a balance sometimes it's really

hard to improve that cut it right here

they know they've done everything they can for this koala abrasions on his nose

i'm just going to put some solar site protective that's good for now we're

fluid bag is finished so i'm going to turn that off and we'll let him wake up

They fear all they can offer now is compassion.

I'm just rubbing them to stimulate them to breathe because they'd like to hold

their breath.

It's normal, but it can be very disturbing if you're not used to that

koalas. Yeah.

Come on, my friend.

But sadly, for this koala, compassion may not be enough.

Nice breath. Thank you.

Yeah. I can sit up. Get him up and lying down.

Sometimes I like to breathe a little better in a more erect position.

Good one.

He's fighting hard, but the odds are against him.

I'm going to just have a listen or a feel of his pulse and see if he's still

track.

I can't

hear

it Despite the heartbreak of the

bushfires back at Taronga Life must go on, and there are plenty of hungry

to feed.

From fruit to fish, grub to worm, and everything in between,

all the animals' menus at Taronga are set by one person, nutritionist Michelle

Shaw.

I'm Australia's first and only zoo nutritionist. There are only about 30

the world that have nutritionists on staff, so we're kind of a small group.

Michelle's certainly got her hands full.

It's different every day. There's constantly a mystery and there's

solve. And because of the record hot summer Australia has just experienced,

she's about to get a whole lot busier.

Drought and bushfires are destroying farmland and sourcing food for the

is becoming harder and more expensive each year.

In preparation for a difficult future, Michelle has helped develop an

graph, one that needs much less water to grow.

So how do you think the tigers will like it? I think they'll like it. I'm really

curious to see what the cubs do, actually.

Hello! Hello!

Special delivery. Thank you.

So what do you think, Ben? Does it look good?

It looks amazing. I'm really excited to see what the cubs are going to do with

it. Me too.

Yeah, I think they'll have fun.

So this is hydroponic fodder. It was grown without any soil or anything, just

with water, and it retains all the water. You can see how moist it is,

You can taste it up here. Very moist. Very nice.

I'm trying this hydroponic barley fodder with a number of different species

because I want to see how this food could be incorporated into their diet.

Hydroponics take about a liter of water to make one kilogram of this fodder

grass, and hay could take 200 liters of water to make one kilogram of grass.

So I want to see if this hydroponic fodder could replace maybe 5 % of their

dried grasses, their grass haze, or some of their pellets. And that'll help us

in the future when we're... Sometimes hay is very difficult for us to get in a

drought, so it's nice to have something that's consistent all year round.

Part of her trial today is to see how different animals around the zoo react

the grass, whether they use it for food or enrichment.

Now, these are in kind of big mats, but do you need it cut up at all, or are you

just going to put it in two?

I think we can just pop it in in a big mat, and we'll see how they go with it.

think they'll have more fun playing with something big that they can tear apart.

I think so, too. I can't wait. It'll be exciting.

Cool. Thanks, Ben. Have fun. Thank you, guys.

First to trial the new grass are the Sumatran tiger cub.

Put one there.

Anyone ever here? There's no arguments over it.

Cool.

Let's see what they do.

Coming up. Come on, my friend.

Kimberly and Caroline's emotional battle.

We're exhausted.

We're exhausted.

To save this injured koala.

Trying to give this guy a chance.

And Murphy the sea lion.

Gets ready for his close -up. I mean, he's so disciplined, it's incredible.

In Victoria... Come on, my friend.

..Turonga Zoo vet Kimberley is on the front line to save koalas injured from

catastrophic bushfires.

I'll sit him up and lie him sort of forward.

And during a check -up, this young male koala took a sudden turn for the worse.

It has been improving over the past few days, and we're really hopeful that he

would continue to improve.

But when we anesthetized him to change his bandages and check him today, we

noticed that he had developed diarrhea, which can be problematic for koalas.

I think he's not breathing very well, and I think his heart has now stopped.

I don't hear anything.

No, I don't hear any heartbeat.

Is that you?

I'm not hearing his heart.

Yeah, I think he's dying, and that's fine for you to film it.

So this may be our first fatality.

When we have a really sick koala in this triage situation, it's a do not

resuscitate because they're already quite compromised.

We're trying to give this guy a chance, but it's not looking too promising.

Experienced vets struggle to remain unaffected in these moments.

Do you hear a heartbeat?

No, I don't either.

I think he's just taking some laughs, sort of agonal or

reflexive breaths.

But there's no heartbeat yet. Put that on.

That color's terrible.

Yeah.

possibly choosing his own time.

So, unfortunately, he's passed away.

Pretty sad.

Yeah, he had a few things going wrong with him.

Yeah.

That's what's happening down here.

Pushed by your tree eyes.

You want to save everybody, but you can't. You can't sometimes.

It's sad, and it's hard at the time, and, you know, we just have to remember

that we're doing, trying to do the best that we can for these animals.

Aw.

Yeah, it's, um... We're both actually usually quite stoic.

But we've been working such long hours and so intensely with these patients.

that we're exhausted.

We're exhausted.

It's so rewarding, this work, but it's so exhausting.

I'll be thinking about him for a little while.

Yes. But yesterday, we had two moms and two smaller, like, back,

young -sized joeys that went back to the wild really happy, and another mom with

a joey in her pouch.

So that's like six animals we've just put back out to the wild successfully.

Very good.

He was always on the... He was on the cusp. Yeah, the cusp of should we keep

or not.

It's still not real because there have been such long days and we're tired. And

the reality of what happened today with him will probably sink in in the next

couple of days when I'm heading back to Sydney.

Yeah.

As distressing as it is for Kimberly and her team, they can't let their emotions

slow them down.

The pace is relentless, and they've just heard that more injured animals are on

the way.

When it comes to giving care to its animals, Taronga is world class.

But there's a special type of care at Taronga reserved for those that have

it all.

the elderly residents of the zoo.

And one of the most beloved is the oldest resident of the marine precinct.

Murphy, the 16 -year -old Californian sea lion.

Good boy, Murph. Come on in, Ray.

For over the last few months, Taronga staff have been keeping a very close eye

on Murphy.

Ray's going to stick you, OK, right in there.

As they've noticed, he has a limp when he walks.

And pain in his flippers.

Good boy.

Beautiful and relaxed.

Excellent. But they've also noticed he's not getting better.

Nice and slow.

Good boy.

So senior vet Larry has come down to conduct an X -ray.

Over the past few months, he's sort of had this strange balling gait.

Sometimes he's a bit lopsided. Sometimes he spreads his front flippers out. Not

quite right.

But what we'll do before we actually x -ray him, I want to see him... Watch his

gait. Yeah, yeah, that's fine. We'll give him a few runs.

What we're looking at now is whether he might have a problem in his neck, for

example. The bones in the neck, there might be some degeneration there.

That could be pressing on a nerve or something like that. The challenge is

he's so huge, and getting a decent x -ray through the massive amount of

that we've got to go through is probably the biggest challenge for today.

Oh, that's crazy.

295 kilograms.

He weighs several hundred kilos, so we're not going to be able to get him up

the hospital. It's much better to come out here where he normally lives and we

do the procedure here. We've got some good portable X -ray equipment and it's

certainly much easier to do it here.

But manoeuvring a massive sea lion into an exact position is far from a simple

process. And it all hangs on the relationship between Keeper Jacob and

So a bit further forward, so just the back of his head is on the edge of the

plate, okay?

Good boy.

Tiny bit more.

Jacob can position him perfectly on this plate.

Better than parking a car, you know.

How precise he can position Murphy on this plate is incredible to see.

Okay, stop.

Thanks, good boy. That's good, let's get that.

While the first set of x -rays seemed easy...

It's the second set that's really going to test the team.

If I stand this side of him like that, Larry?

I mean, that's perfect. If he does that, that'd be brilliant. I can even do

that. That's easy enough.

So we're going to try and do a side view of his neck. So Michelle's going to

hold the plate and I will be positioning the X -ray beam and Jacob will position

Murphy. You have to improvise all the time.

You know, the textbooks are written for dogs and cats and domestic animals, but

our animals are so different that we're always improvising and, you know,

working outside the box, so to speak.

And up.

Good job, Murph. Just a little bit, see how his head is straighter, actually.

That's the way, that's the way. Hold there, buddy. I'm just, hold on.

No, no, you stay exactly where you are, Michelle.

Stay exactly where you are.

Hold Murph. Good job, buddy. You could see how amazing Murph is and the

that Jacob and the rest of the team have done with him. I mean, he's so

disciplined. It's incredible.

Okay, are we all ready?

Good.

I think we've really got the technique is actually spot on now because I've got

a great image of the vertebra right in the middle. The interesting thing is his

vertebra are really big.

So in that whole image, I can only see three vertebrae. So there's a lot more

his spine that we could be looking at.

And hopefully Larry's captured enough to solve the mystery of what's ailing

Murphy.

Tackling the drought and bushfires head -on, Taronga's nutritionist, Michelle,

is testing out some easy -to -thaw hydroponic grass.

on various animals.

Hydroponics take about a liter of water to make one kilogram of this fodder

grass, and hay could take 200 liters of water to make one kilogram of grass.

She's trying it on animals all across the zoo, starting with the tiger cub.

Oh, yes, yes.

Oh, there we go.

Oh, my God, they're stunning.

Come on, babies.

Come on, babies.

Do it.

After some initial hesitation, the first test is a roaring success.

They're really ripping it apart. And the good thing about this grass is that

it's so dense. When they grow things hydroponically, the roots are so dense

you can't just, it doesn't pull apart very easily. So they really have to work

at it. And we want them to use all of those natural instincts of pawing at

things and pulling at things with their teeth.

and really exercising all of those muscles around their jaws and interact

with it like they would possibly a prey species.

They could have come in here and ignored it completely. There's grass in their

exhibit, so there's other things that look similar to it. But they went in,

you can see they're interacting with each other over it as well, and that's

really what we want, behavioral enrichment.

We want them to have something that they can destroy because they really love to

destroy things and something that the keepers will find fun to clean up later.

While the grass went down a tree to the plaything, the real test is getting the

animals to eat the grass.

So her next stop are the cappy boroughs.

So where do you think the sun's where they're... I think a good spot is where

the hay is at the moment, yeah.

Okay.

So we'll just put it out on the rocks? Yeah, just on the rocks there where the

hay was.

What do you think?

Is that going to be good for you?

Bon appétit, guys.

With the hydroponic grass, that's something that is much more natural in

of the moisture content that they would be getting. These are swimming animals.

They like to eat water plants and things like that. Their diets are really high

in moisture normally.

So adding some of that moisture would be good for them.

There we go.

Rodney's all over it. That's successful.

Yeah, he looks pretty comfortable.

He does. He hopped up on the rock quite easily and is quite happily munching

away on the grass.

Yeah. That's Sanchez, just there.

Okay.

That's our boy. And with this, it even floats.

So at some point, we might be able to, like depending on how the waterway is,

we'll be able to actually add it in the water and they can eat more naturally

like they would. Excellent. Right? So you'll be able to see all that natural

behavior where they're...

Swimming and then grazing and swimming.

The capybaras were a success.

So they really take into the barley fodder. They ate it right down to the

which is what we want to see with them because that grass is so full of

and nutrients.

It's something that will be a high energy source for them if we're trying

weight on them in the winter or if we need them to improve their kind of

behavioral enrichment as well.

Well, that's good, Johnny. Thanks. I think we'll let you do your beeper talk.

Awesome. Thank you. Thanks, John.

So far, it's two out of two, and Michelle is keen to see if she can keep

ball rolling on the next stop.

With the devastating bushfires raging across Australia, hundreds of

groups are helping to save endangered animals, including Taronga, who have

on 12 koalas, rescued from bushland four hours north of Sydney.

From the moment that we heard that we would likely be receiving these wild

koalas from Kanangra, we instantly had to start setting up a facility for them.

Where they're living at the moment wasn't set up, wasn't ready to go, so we

to source furniture for them, which is the branches in which they sit on, work

out the logistics of acquiring browse to feed 50 % more koalas than we currently

have. So it was a huge task to get done in such a short time frame.

So the 12 koalas that have been brought to us, you know, they're in the line of

fire and a mammoth effort on part of Science for Wildlife.

They have a major crew there that have done an amazing amount of work just out

in the bush. They've managed to get climbers in to retrieve the koalas from

height.

It took hours and hours to do. In fact, by the time we received the first koala,

it was well into the evening.

So it was a 48 -hour task that just felt like it was never going to end.

Obviously, they were shaken. They've just done a three -and -a -half -hour

from Kanangra, plus however long it took to actually capture them from the

trees. So, you know, they were very nervous animals, very quiet.

You know, they were drawn inward a little bit. You know, they weren't

all with us.

And they were slightly dehydrated, so the first thing we did was weigh them,

give them fluids and then move them to the new facility.

Given the sheer volume of the koala population that's been wiped out due to

bushfires... These 12 koalas are extremely significant and they will play

vital role in future repopulation efforts.

The 12 koalas that have been saved were from a very genetically valuable

population. Their climity are free and in fact the first koalas found living

over a thousand metres elevation.

The enormity of this fire is massive.

If these animals weren't removed from it, it is highly likely that they would

have been lost.

Although the koalas are now safe, the keepers can't relax.

They now need to find a way to feed an extra 12 hungry mouths.

Taronga has a vast collection of animals from all over the globe.

But it's one of the less exotic parts of Taronga that's one of the most popular.

The backyard to bush.

Here at Backyard to Bush, this is our farm area.

These are all of our goats and our alpacas. So this is some of our farm

In the morning, they're all running around, having fun, playing with each

While they all enjoy each other's company... OK, come on, Twinkie.

Let's go for a walk.

..part of their enrichment comes from going on walks throughout the zoo.

Yeah, we take our goats for walks quite often here in the zoo.

We do that usually before the zoo opens.

All right, let's keep going.

And so that's a chance for our goats to leave their home and just really stretch

their legs. It's really important for some exercise.

And today, it's Mother Goat Twinkie's turn to hit the road.

Or more like, the buffet.

Being a goat, she loves food, so on her walk she stopped and I think she ate

food that was a little bit of a luxury for her. So she had food that she

probably doesn't get every single day, so she was a little bit spoiled.

She's going to be eating this for as long as I let her.

No, not my pouch.

First stop on Twinkie's tour of the zoo are the ever -curious meerkats.

What do we have? The meerkats straight away came over to the glass. They had

their paws up looking at her.

What are these?

Good girl.

This is a meerkat.

But this walk isn't just important for Twinkie.

It's actually a really nice experience for the meerkats at the moment to have a

really unusual animal that they've never seen before. And they're working as a

mob to work out, is this goat a threat or...

Is he just kind of inquisitive and they want to go and check him out?

There were times where Twinkie felt a little bit unsure about seeing the

meerkats, and so you saw her move away from the glass.

Twinkie, let's say hi to the meerkats.

There was probably a little bit of an unsettling feeling there for her, but

that's actually a really cool enrichment to have and for her to experience.

After a quick bite to eat, Twinkie's off on her next adventure.

From the very small...

To the very tall.

Who's saying hello to you this morning?

Hello. The giraffes stuck their head over the fence and had a really close

at Twinkie.

Just for them also seeing a goat walking past their home is something quite

unusual. She doesn't usually walk past them and so they couldn't help but also

be curious and say good morning to Twinkie as well.

A few more snacks.

And it's off to visit the final animal for today, Kabali, the western lowland

gorilla.

Oh, you definitely haven't seen this before.

You're very curious.

Good girl.

He's definitely having a look at you, isn't he?

This is a really dominant male. You saw him come out and check to make sure

that, yep, everything's okay. I'm actually still really interested in you,

though. So he sat there and kept watching her. And you saw that from

well. She stood still. Eyes were quite alert. So for her, she was also thinking

and experiencing the same thing.

My heart was also pounding. I was really excited for the both of them and just

to see and experience that they were totally aware that they were meeting an

animal that they've never met before.

And just watching that behaviour is why we do the job that we do. It's just

incredible to kind of see those really social interactions between animals.

While it may have been more of an eating tour than a greeting tour...

It's still been an important part of Twinkie's life at the zoo.

It's really important when we're looking after our animals here in the zoo. We

want them to be accustomed to everything and she's completely comfortable where

she is.

All right, Twinkie, come on, we're heading home.

But one thing's for sure, she can probably skip lunch.

Oh, you want more pellets?

Had a bit of a buffet this morning on your walk?

Let's go back home and see all the other goats.

Murphy, the eldest statesman of the Marine Precinct, just underwent a series

x -rays in an attempt to work out what's causing his inability to walk

correctly. Good.

Now, back at the animal hospital, Larry is hoping to rule out any serious spinal

issues. What we've got here is the back of his skull and the first vertebra and

the second vertebra there.

So if you look there, so this is the skull. We just happen to have a...

bones from another california sea lion so if you look at that you can match it

up to what's on the x -ray you see yeah so we've got some reasonably good images

of the um of the vertebrae in the back of his spine i mean obviously it's not

clear as we would like because he's got the massive amount of tissue to go

through um but there's just one little little spot that sort of piqued my

interest that little bit of odd bit of bone that just seems to be out there

is that

It's a suspected fractured spine.

I'm just wondering whether that little bit of bone belongs more to the hyoid

rather than actually the vertebra. It would be hard to imagine how he could

possibly fracture a bone in his neck.

Who knows? I don't know. Maybe it's something he's had for years.

So what kind of plan should we go about this and how to actually manage this?

Yeah, I mean, I think there's several things we can do.

We know already that we've given him some pain medication from time to time

he does seem to get better. Obviously, getting his weight down a little bit

would help. Yeah, that would help. Also, just manage what you do with him. Don't

put him through things where he's going to have a lot of activity. It's going to

be hard for him because he's just so keen to do everything.

Because of his age, the risk of surgery is not an option.

So all Taronga can do now is make his remaining years as pain -free as

Murphy's an elderly animal, and we pay particular attention to ensuring the

quality of life of our ageing animals. I think what we're doing with Murphy is a

good example of that. We have a plan. We can put him on medication.

We can manage his environment, manage his activity to make him comfortable.

All right. Hey, buddy.

With Murphy, I work with him every day. I see him more than I see my family, so

I will do anything to make sure that he has a comfortable, healthy life.

Still to come, a desperate race to find a solution for Taronga's ever -growing

koala population.

We're looking at an extra 300 sticks a week just to deal with these koalas.

And the biggest test of all... For Michelle's new grasp.

We're trying it on everything.

It's been two days since the rescued koalas were saved from the bushfires and

Keeper Nick is checking in on their progress.

Due to the fact that they are wild animals, you know, we really need to

hands off as much as we possibly can.

These animals are obviously not used to people. In fact, some of them probably

haven't even seen people before. So we just need to be a bit quiet.

this is one of the adult males that have come in from the bushfire area all of

the animals that came in obviously they've come from prolonged drought as

as these bushfire issues so they are actually a little under hydrated

So some of the things that we look for first up is just his eyes, looking

straight onto him, seeing whether or not he's actually vibrant, looking for his

responsiveness to me. So koalas will quite often, when they greet another

or a koala, they'll actually greet with their noses. And crazily enough, it

actually works with us as well. So when I first look at a koala in the morning,

I'll often greet it like that, and it gives me a bit of a gauge as to how that

animal's tracking.

And if he wasn't feeling comfortable, I would most likely get no reaction at

all. So the fact that I've had that little bit of engagement there tells me

that, although he's not amazing, he's doing a lot better than he was when he

first came in.

The koalas continue to improve and Taronga will allow them to recover in

own time.

It takes a lot for these animals to adapt to such a dramatic change from

in the wild, 12 metres up a tree, not ever having seen anybody, to then being

such close proximity.

different type of leaves as well.

Eucalyptus is actually quite different depending on the elevation in which it

grows. And these koalas are actually from 1 ,100 metres. So the food that we

have in our plantation that we provide to our zoo koalas is grown at around

about 50 metres. So there's quite a distinct difference there. So we need to

and get these animals transitioned onto our local available browse.

Koalas are one of the most fickle eaters.

And Taronga has had to go to extreme lengths to ensure a continuous food

is readily available for them.

So they acquired three eucalyptus plantations 90 minutes west of Taronga

foot of Sydney's Blue Mountains Range, where a whole team of zoo staff work all

year round growing and harvesting trees.

All good, Toby? Yeah, mate. Two.

Two punctata.

How many do we need today? We need 60 of these.

We'll give them 65 because they're a bit short for the last cart.

And the amount of food a koala needs to eat is staggering.

They're talking about 200 to 300 grams of tip.

So if we were to cut that down and weigh it, you're talking about 200 to 300

grams of tip per koala per day.

So when you magnify that into terms of how many sticks we need to get,

-wise, it adds up to a lot. So we're talking roughly 600, 605 sticks a week,

it roughly averages out 1 ,000 trees per koala a year to get a sustainable

amount of food.

But since Taronga had taken on 12 rescued koalas, it now means extra

be put on this plantation to keep them all fed.

We're probably looking at an extra 300 sticks a week just to deal with these

koalas. So we'll have to talk about how we manage it workload -wise, but it's

going to be more, mate. We've got to, I guess, just band together and do what we

can to see them through.

Our team needs to step up and do their bit to help the recovery of these

animals. And at the end of the day, we're a conservation society and

everybody...

in the whole organisation, including our team, are committed to providing that

service.

While the koala team are busy working through the effects of record heat, so

Michelle, who's testing a new type of grass that requires much less water to

grow.

OK, so I got two, but that's way too much for them. Yeah.

So what do you think? How many do you think it would be cut into? I reckon if

do three, so cut one there and one there, then we can spread it out a bit.

She's come to the wildlife retreat to see if our Australian native animals

the new food as much as the exotic residents have.

So we'll just feed on these two stations here. These two? Yeah, so maybe one on

that one and two on this one, I think.

So this is our group of rednecked padamelons. So we have five adult

of them have pouch young at the moment, and then two of them also have joeys at

their foot.

So that means they've emerged, but they're still hanging around mum a fair

They're an Australian macropod species, which is macro meaning big and pod

meaning foot. So they're the big -footed marsupials. So your kangaroos,

wallabies are the ones that people typically think of. These are just

branch of that family tree.

They definitely melt hearts.

Oh, they come out right away. Yeah. They're so good.

Very food motivated.

Now, where's mum with the little joeys?

I believe that's her on the left. Yeah, big toes is on the left. She'll usually

eat by herself because she'll push the others away.

Patamelons would normally get something that's high in moisture in their natural

environment because it's a growing plant that they'd be eating. So they would be

grazing, they would be browsing on living plants.

And so we want to give them something that's higher in moisture, it fills

bellies, but also provides a pretty energy -dense nutrient package as well.

It's definitely a winner. So I think that the hydroponic fodder is something

that could potentially be a supplement to their diet. It would be something

we could provide as consistent nutrition year -round. So during the winter when

we don't have a lot of browse available, when there's just not a lot of growing

going on, then we can provide something fresh for them then.

And Michelle's last stop for today is the biggest of all.

Lex! Here it is!

Thank you. Here, I'll give you a hand.

The elephant.

Yeah. Oh, it floats so nicely. I was not sure if a full pad would float.

So we have tried the hydroponic grass on so many species. We're trying it on

everything because I want, when you're feeding a zoo as well, you need to be

very flexible and feed.

as many species as possible with very few feed items. So this is one of those

feed items that's versatile. We can feed it to many different animals.

Whether it eats grass or not, it's something that could provide something

enriching for their environment.

While mixing up food sources is something Michelle is always keen to do,

also trying to future -proof the food supply for Taronga's hungry residents.

We're having...

Many more extreme heat events than cold events in Australia. And we're also

having much less rainfall than we would normally have. And it means that in the

future we're going to have a lot more trouble growing hay.

We're going to have a lot more trouble growing grains that we need to make the

pellets that we give to some of the animals.

And so we have to look for alternatives and look for innovation. And one of

those is hydroponics.

So obviously we have to look for things that we can reduce the amount of water

that we're using.

and we need to find alternatives so that we're not competing with the human

market as well.

So we're getting the most out of this water.

Hold on, I'm here.

Next, as the army move in... I've got to go fix these koalas, so I've got to

stay focused.

It's another frantic day on the fire front line.

It's a little girl that's got a pouch.

Fires continue to rage across Australia.

They've been burning for several months now.

The exact amount of damage caused by the fires may never be known.

But what is certain is that Australia will be dealing with the fallout for

to come.

It's really hard to get your head around. It's almost overwhelming to even

conceive of all these bushfires.

When Australians went fired, it's really, really hard to see it.

I think a lot of people having difficulty accepting what's going on.

While the houses can be rebuilt, roads can be repaired, and the bush will

regenerate over time, it's the loss of wildlife, estimated at over one billion

animals, that could take decades to recover.

I do worry that we're helping these animals and we're doing great work for

particular individuals and we have to cover their welfare and make sure

healthy and comfortable.

I do worry about putting them out there because it is early in the bushfire

season. We could see this going through a long extended summer.

But Taronga won't let that thought stop them.

They will continue to treat and rehabilitate these injured animals until

last one comes in.

It is Taronga's role, obviously, to be leaders in conservation, and I think

that's what we're doing right now. We're not only preserving habitat, but we're

actually saving populations of animals.

It doesn't really matter how much this costs. It's something that we certainly

weren't ever going to turn our backs on. It's so vital that these animals are

saved.

The resource implications in feeding is astronomical.

So the burden is huge, but it's certainly one that we absolutely had to

and certainly a challenge that we couldn't pass up.

Like all the other animals at Taronga, the wild koalas only get the best care

while they wait out the fires.

We absolutely are providing temporary accommodation for these guys, you know,

well hydratedly, misting systems, perch to themselves, like they really don't

have much to worry about here.

But the wild koalas in Victoria don't have the luxury of being accommodated at

Taronga. They have to go straight back into the bush.

All of the other koalas we've worked with, they've been released.

And are we putting them back in an area that might then get burned?

And it's a struggle in the face of such trauma to remain upbeat.

But it's exactly what Kimberly is doing.

It's really hard to even think about it. It really hits me when my family and

friends from America check in and go, we see what's happening.

And it's around the world.

The smoke's going around the world.

So everybody's affected and everybody's concerned.

And that's like I'm getting all choked up. That's when it really, really hits

that this is so big and so real. It's not just a little regional problem down

here. It's not just a problem in New South Wales.

We're all sharing this burden. The whole world's going to share it.

So, yeah.

It's big.

It's big.

I can't think about it. I've got to go fix some koalas.

Okay.

Hold on, I'm here.

I heard you had two more. And on cue, another two koalas arrive, delivered by

the army, and the cycle begins again.

So this young one was on its own?

Yes, he was way up on the train by himself, all burned out everywhere.

And there was no registration for him too.

Okay.

Good. I'm glad it's just two because it's been a busy morning already and

we have the new team coming in.

Lizzie! Kimberly!

Oh my God, I'm so glad you're here.

A Taronga vet nurse Liz arrived to take the reins from Kimberly.

All they can do is exactly what they've been doing. Two koalas just arrived.

I'll go in and get started. Just come on in and we'll show you guys around.

And that's treating these animals with the care, dignity and respect they

deserve. Look at how cute.

That's so cute.

What do we have?

That's a little girl that's got a pout.

Okay. It's really hard to even think about it. Like, I've got to go fix these

koalas, so I've got to stay focused.

Oh, it's really hard. I get quite depressed when I think about what's

with the environment, so I'll do what I can.

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