All language subtitles for Taronga s01e02 Red Panda-Monium.eng

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been replaced by a country in crisis.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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