Original subtitles

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 girl and one of our most critically endangered.

We'll take you inside Taronga.

On this episode, the zoo's most ambitious project yet.

This is beautiful.

Bringing the African savannah to Sydney.

As we redefine what a 21st century zoo is all about.

But as the big move begins, Larry and the team receive some tragic news.

She just looks really unwell.

How do you treat the world's largest lizard?

Hey, big fella.

With the world's sorest shoulder.

This is something we hadn't done with reptiles before.

And... What otter nonsense.

They're like a three -year -old child on Red Quarter all the time. The tricky

business of teaching a distracted student.

That's it.

That's it.

Taronga Zoo is always investing in ways to improve how they care for their

animals.

And this year...

Taronga is finishing one of their most ambitious undertakings ever,

recreating a savannah watering hole for the African

animal.

This is one of the most exciting projects that we've worked on. As we

what a 21st century zoo is all about, it's actually a multi -species exhibit.

We've got giraffe, ostrich, zebra, and then tiny species like meerkats. And

you'll experience them just the way they live in the savannah. And they interact

with each other. The lions at the western end will look across and see

species, and I'm sure that'll stimulate them, of course.

This project has been in the pipeline for almost six years.

The grand opening now just months away.

Quite a logistical exercise and the hat's off to all the team that are

on it.

As the construction phase draws to a close, the next challenge is organising

transportation of the animals to their new home.

Some, like the lions and ostriches, will be relocating from Taronga's Western

Plain Zoo in Dubbo and others...

will have it a little easier and only need to travel a few hundred metres.

But one of the trickiest animals to move are at the opposite end of the zoo.

And the months and months of training needed to prepare them falls on the

shoulders of Jimmy and the giraffe team.

So we have three giraffes, two females and a male. This one here, he's our

youngest. His name's Jimmy Yu.

He's only just turned 13 years of age. He's our biggest, so he's quite an

impressive male. So this is Nyota. She's the second eldest giraffe in

Australasia. She's 27.

So she's quite an achievement to still be working with such a magnificent

at her age.

With her advanced age, Nyota has not been in the best of health, so that's

much at the front of mind for everyone.

Good.

As are all the other challenges.

Moving a five -and -a -half -metre animal is a lot more problematic than

might think.

Focus, buddy.

Giraffe, as a rule, can be quite temperamental. They are quite flighty

Tug it.

Good. Tug it.

Good. Hold. Hold.

Hold. Tug it.

Good boy!

Very nice.

We often get told, can't you just put them in the trailer and walk them up?

look, that all sounds great in theory, but they're not pet dogs.

They are still wild animals, and here at the zoo we try and keep them all as

wild as they can. We would like them to display their own natural wild

behaviour, so we don't treat anything here like a pet.

Giraffes are easily spooked.

So the first step in training the giraffes is getting them used to the

they'll be transported in.

Today's just a first visual for us to see the trailer and for the giraffes to

start getting used to the trailer. And what we'll do for the next couple of

days, we're going to start driving the trailer in and out every morning, and

they'll just get used to the paddock having activity in it.

But one thing, anything that sounds this easy never is.

Ah, the pole.

The pole's given us nightmares because the way the fence is built on a curve.

Your arm goes straight, because that's sticking out. That's what's hitting the

pole. I'm worried about backing up. We're going to get more wedged into this

corner.

Yeah, we're stuck against the pole.

So now we've got to try and figure out how to get it out.

Can you imagine doing this if we had a giraffe in there with the world

I wouldn't be happy.

Jimmy wouldn't be happy.

No pressure.

Breathe, boys, breathe.

Let's all stay together as a team. Let's breathe.

Taronga Zoo is home to a unique educational space, the Institute of

Learning. So she has to come to where my hand is, straight up onto the rock.

We've got these incredible immersive classrooms, different laboratories like

science labs. We teach university degrees out of it.

So it's a whole space that, you know, science and education is really brought

together. But out the back... Off display is its greatest asset.

It's pretty much a mini zoo within a zoo. We have a mix of around 40

species, around 200 animals.

It's a very unique space.

Every day is different and that's what I love about my job.

But today is extra special as one of the Institute's residents is moving out.

Hi little one.

Wednesday, the short -beaked echidna.

You ready?

Along with the platypus.

Echidnas are one of only two egg -laying mammals in the world.

And just like the platypus, they are notoriously hard to breed.

They're so elusive that not a lot is known about their breeding behaviour.

They also are very selective with their mates. You can't just pair two.

They have to choose their own.

For 29 years, there were no echidnas born at Taronga Zoo.

But three years ago, Wednesday changed all that.

And now that he's matured, Wednesday will soon leave the only home he's ever

known to bunk in with the mother echidna for his own chance to breed.

Got a date with the doctor.

But before he can start breeding, he needs to get a clean bill of health from

the vet.

Should we go and see them?

What do you reckon?

While all keepers at Taronga are passionate about the animals they care

it's hard to go past Reptile Keeper Stu's infectious love of all things

So here at Taronga, we're at the back of the reptile house, and we're going to

show you guys a range of different lizards, because we keep all different

lizards here, and our lizards range from the smallest little dragons and skinks

to the biggest iguanas, monitor lizards, chameleons, gila monster.

So we've got the whole range, from the smallest to the biggest.

The first one I want to show you is our little shingleback lizard.

Here we go.

This one is actually a subspecies from Western Australia, known as the

shingleback. And look at the colouration on his head, that beautiful gold or

orange sort of colouring. And he's 100 % herbivore. The next one I want to show

you is an insectivore, or an animal that loves to eat insects.

So this is our eastern spiny -tailed skink.

And I mean, look at the face on that animal.

Again, found from Western Australia. We're seeing a bit of a theme, aren't

The ones from Western Australia have a bit of orange on them. This is one of

more unusual lizards that you'll see.

Spiky tail, spikes all over his head. This is a defence.

This is to stop an animal trying to grab a hold of him. Any predator that bites

that is going to get a mouthful of these spines, spit him out and go, I want

nothing to do with that. I want to find something that's juicier and softer to

eat. They're not dangerous to us. I can pick him up. I can pat them.

They're not razor sharp, but they're definitely a defence against a predator

that wants to chew on him.

So if we come over here, we've got our red barred dragon, and these are

the fastest moving little guys we've got in the reptile house.

So we feed this guy insects.

Only insects. They don't eat salad.

They don't eat worms. They're an insectivorous dragon.

They're not dangerous to humans. They're so small, even if he was to give a

little chew on my finger, I'd probably just have a bit of a smile and go, oh,

aren't you cute? Look at you trying to be a big lizard.

As much as he loves them, Stu wouldn't offer his finger to just any lizard.

This is a Gila monster.

These guys are found in the southern and northern Mexico, and they're one of the

only true venomous lizards in the entire world, hence me wearing this protective

glove. It's not known to be a fatal bite, but it would definitely ruin my

These guys have great camouflage on them. They live in the desert, so this

colouration helps blend into the sand, and these black markings actually make

them cryptic.

Even though you think black would stand out against the red, it's when they're

moving, it just breaks up their body shape so a predator can't see them.

Now, these guys, they've got a very interesting diet. They tend to find the

burrow of a ground nesting bird or a small mammal, go into that burrow, eat

whatever's in there, eat whatever babies or eggs are in there, and then take

that burrow on as their own.

But Stu's all -time number one lizard won't be found lazing around here.

So even though he has the name Monster in his name, he's not the biggest one

here. We do have the big guy.

His favourite lizard takes centre stage.

Naga, our Komodo dragon, the world's biggest lizard. Biggest lizard in the

world. I spend almost every day with some form of interaction with him, so I

really do have a very close affiliation to Naga. And it's because of this

closeness that Stu has noticed that Naga may need some medical help.

Coming up. Good. As the team works frantically to have the animals ready

their big move.

Good. Larry receives a call that stops it in its tracks.

Okay, we'll hit that now.

And if at first you don't succeed trying to anesthetize an otter,

try and try again.

Might have to end it.

The grand opening for one of the biggest projects in Taronga's history, the

African savannah, is now only months away.

And the first animal going in is also one of the trickiest.

Giraffes, it's a big animal to move, you know. You want to make sure

everything's right, so we're doing trial runs on this in and out, so when the

day comes with us and the boys, it's all smooth.

Great.

It's only day one of training and already they've hit a snag.

The pole's given us nightmares because the way the fence is built on a curve

and I think that pole will have to be removed for us to get it out.

But keepers know, despite these early difficulties, they can't let on to the

giraffe that there may be some hiccups.

Good. It's nerve -wracking for us, it's nerve -wracking for them, it's nerve

-wracking for everyone involved really. But the thing is, around animals, they

pick up on your behaviour.

So if we're nervous, they'll be nervous. So it's sort of an acting game. We've

got to come in here and act as confident as we can to get them to be as

confident as they can.

Am I hooked out of the way of the poles?

While the giraffe look on curiously, the first test run...

comes to an anticlimactic end.

Good. But unfortunately for the team, they're about to be blindsided by

something that will put a halt to their training.

Good.

Naga, the Komodo dragon, has an injured shoulder.

We noticed Naga's right shoulder. He seemed a bit sore, a bit lame. He wasn't

lifting it all the way.

Whether he fell on it, he might have hyperextended the shoulder behind his

one day. We don't exactly know how it happened. So we got our vets in. We have

team of amazing vets. And they came down to assess it. And the vets decided to

go ahead with a laser treatment.

So we've got a specialised laser here that we have to treat him with.

And our very fashionable safety device.

It's quite a small device. It emits different coloured...

Lasers, the laser we're going to be using is a red laser, and you'll see red

light emitting out of this laser. The way that it helps to treat Naga's issues

is it repairs individual cells as we run it over Naga's body. This is something

we hadn't done with reptiles before, but it's a great non -invasive way of

treating it.

Even with 10 years of experience, Stu is well aware of the risks of dealing with

a wild animal.

Naga is a dangerous animal, so whenever we go in to do anything in his

enclosure, whether it be cleaning his exhibit in the morning, to treating him,

to feeding him, we always have to go off his behaviour to dictate how we will

work around him.

Stuart to Chris Driver.

Chris, I'm just going into Naga's exhibit to do his laser treatment this

morning. He's in a good spot, he doesn't seem too active, so I'll let you know

when I'm finished with that procedure.

Copy that.

Some days we walk in there and he is completely oblivious to us. He doesn't

raise an eyelid.

Other days I'll walk in through that door and he's straight on to me, look

straight at me. I know that he's stimulated. So we just have to be a

more careful working around him. It doesn't mean that he wants to attack us.

means that he's in a heightened state of awareness.

So we just enter the exhibit, get Naga into position, and then start the

therapy.

Hey, big fella.

I mean, we are always precautious, but, yeah, definitely we go off his behaviour

to dictate what sort of a mood he's in.

The first step is getting him into a good position.

And like all animals at the zoo, Naga is trained to follow his keeper's signal.

Here we go.

Now that we've got Naga up in the right position to commence the laser therapy,

we're going to start doing that on his right shoulder.

Now, the laser therapy was decided to be used because it's a very non -invasive

way of treating it.

We have to move the laser very slowly. We move it at about one centimetre per

second.

What the laser does, I'm not a vet, but it was explained that it repairs any

damaged cell in the area that is being treated.

It doesn't seem to be really producing any pain for him. The vet told us that

would just feel a little bit of an increase in temperature, a little bit of

warmth, and that's all he feels.

Good on you, mate.

The laser treatment with Naga went fantastic today.

Not over it yet, are you? No.

You're nice and comfy in here.

He was quite relaxed and he stayed in position for the entire treatment.

Since we've started the treatment, we've seen a great improvement in his

mobility in the shoulder.

I hope that with the laser therapy for Naga, by the end of it, we have

completely healed any issue that he had with his shoulder and he uses it at 100

% effectiveness like he did from the beginning.

Taronga Zoo's wildlife hospital is one busy place.

They had tongue coming out.

With thousands of animals to attend to and emergencies that often crop up.

It has to be run with a military -like precision.

Just hang on to him and keep calm.

So when an animal is booked in for a check -up, the keepers have to make sure

that the animal will make their appointment.

And that includes even the most difficult to train.

Hey, otters. How you going?

How you going?

Hello.

Talk otters?

Cool. Let's talk otters. So the Asian small -clawed otters are the species we

have here at Taronga. Come down here. Come down here.

And they're the smallest of the 13 species found around the world. They

live in family groups.

So you've got intern and Saatchi. Saatchi's the young one on the right.

got intern on the left. And one right at the back is mum.

And you've got dad saying, all right, let's go out. And mum and dad actually

bond for life.

Everybody ready? Ready to go outside?

And otters are very playful, very social carnivores.

They're very, very hyperactive, always going 100 miles an hour. They have

feet, which is perfect for swimming and diving into the water.

And they actually are called small clawed because they literally have very

claws. They're very, very small, kind of fingernails. Almost looks like if

someone chewed their fingernails a lot, it's that tiny.

While they may be amongst the smallest animals at the zoo, they do hold one of

the biggest records.

Yeah, so otters are known to have probably the worst smelling poo here at

zoo. So we're going to grab the essential oils.

What do we have today?

Peppermint and beth. Awesome.

Every time a guest was a walk past on the rainforest trail and walking past

otter exhibit, they do get that unique otter smell.

Yeah, they are notorious for their food.

But even the smelliest animals need to have a regular health check.

Katoot is due for his health check -up and previously we just used to go in

there with nets and we had to kind of restrain them and obviously very

for that otter, also stressful for that family and also for the keepers as well.

Hello. You alright, Katoot?

So we are trying something that is quite revolutionary for Taronga. Not quite

sure. Good boy.

We're going to voluntarily hand inject an otter. But to do that, you need the

otter to stay still long enough to receive an anaesthetic injection.

What we are looking for in terms of the behaviour is for Kutut to voluntarily go

into a pipe.

and to accept a needle that I'll be administering.

When we first started stationing, he was probably in there for a second and out

he goes.

So it's a condition for him to stay in that pipe for quite some time just to

him prepared and then obviously take little steps of that needle coming in.

That's it.

Good boy. Understood?

A few things that we have to condition, particularly our otters, is to kind of

calm down and relax.

I love to kind of put in context they're like a three -year -old child on Red

Quarter all the time. So they're always active, very energetic.

Their attention focus is very, very quick. They have to keep up to them all

time.

Katut is living up to his hyperactive reputation and is not interested in the

training. Training itself, you know, like us, we have our ups and downs and

do our older family as well.

You know, some days he's great and he's really motivated in training and other

days he doesn't.

And that's fine. We just kind of take it day by day and just prepare him for his

general anaesthetic.

Yeah, he's a bit nervous at the moment.

So he's giving me an indicator that he wants to go out, so I'll let him back

out.

So, while today can only be described as an otter failure, for Keeper Mads, it's

always tomorrow.

It's all good. We could try again.

As 18 months' worth of construction for Taronga's ambitious new African savannah

draws to a close... The guests can just look out and see an uninterrupted view

of our beautiful savannah exhibit.

This is beautiful.

The giraffe, who will be the first to move in, continue with their painfully

slow training in preparation for the move.

Jim. Hello, buddy. Station.

That's a boy. Nice work.

It's monotonous work.

Nice work. Months of intensive daily training.

Good.

Very good.

And the giraffe are no longer bothered by the trailer as the final dry runs

before the big day are being conducted.

We're trying to do this as often as we can. On the day, there'll be three

giraffes we're moving. They'll be going one at a time.

So what we want to do is get them used to the trailer driving in and out as

as possible. So on the day, nothing's out of ordinary for them.

The trailer's about to leave the exhibit at the moment and head to a new

savannah. Every day that we move this trailer or we work these giraffe, it

like we're getting closer and closer to the end goal. So the end goal shouldn't

be far away now.

As you can see, he doesn't really care.

So this is perfect.

But in saying that, you cannot judge what's going to happen on the day.

going to be a giraffe in here on the day.

They might react totally different. And when they lose a member of their herd,

even if it's only for a couple of minutes, they're still going to start to

think, what's that trailer? You go in that trailer.

Where do you go?

Until they get reunited at the other end, then they're all happy.

We're not just looking at where the trailer's going. You've got to count

couple of feet on top of that trailer when their head's up there. So we're not

just worrying that the trees are hitting the trailer, we're worrying that

there's another two -footed giraffe on top of that as well.

But while the front of house moves are running smoothly for Jimmy and the

giraffe team... Oh, yes.

..early the next day, senior vet Larry receives a call about Nyota that could

put the whole move in jeopardy.

For all of our older animals, we monitor their quality of life and their welfare

very, very closely as they get older.

Arthritis, dental disease, other degenerative processes are happening and

you see when you're looking at the animal doesn't indicate how bad the

are actually.

And unfortunately for Nyota, the sad reality is her health.

is now in rapid decline.

Sadly, Nyota, our 28 -year -old giraffe, which is pretty old for a giraffe, has

deteriorated suddenly.

Yesterday afternoon, she was very unwell.

We've been monitoring her very closely.

That's it, darling.

Come on.

But yesterday afternoon, she really took her turn for the worse. She's really

slowed down. She's very vague. Her nostrils are flared. She just looks

unwell.

Given Nyota's advancing years, And this dramatic development, it's very clear

some tough decisions need to be made.

And quickly.

Catoot, the short -clawed otter, needs a health check. And it's up to Keeper

Mads to make sure he's ready.

All right, otters. By training this hyperactive animal to sit still long

to receive an anaesthetic injection.

Catoot. But it's been a frustrating few weeks.

As each day, Mads has tried. That's it.

And tried.

And tried again.

That's it. To get Katut to stay still.

Might have to end it.

Yeah, they're not that happy.

Well, I'll just let him out and we can just regroup and then try again.

All right, guys.

And with the vet, and operating theatre book.

Finally, Maz has a breakthrough.

OK. Ka -toot. Because Ka -toot is finally listening.

Alright, can you feed them?

Ka -toot. Ka -toot.

Ka -toot.

Ka -toot. Ta -toot. Da -ka -toot.

Nice.

Him allowing me to touch his body, it is great to see he does trust me and

obviously I trust him as well at the same time.

All right, finished.

And we're done.

So with everything in place, vet Kimberly arrived with the anaesthetic

We've been working very, very hard to get to this stage.

But yeah, it is awesome for his welfare and for the group as well. So we don't

have to physically restrain an animal or put him under any pressure or stress.

That's Tamir for Zach.

Do you want a small syringe with 0 .4 in it or a thicker syringe? I don't know

what you've been practicing with.

Yeah, a small syringe is fine. One of these?

All right. Loaded, ready to go?

Good to go. Cool, perfect.

And now it's all up to Mad and Katoot.

Still to come... Are you guys ready?

as the team braces itself for one of their toughest days.

This is going to have a big impact on us moving the animals up to their new

exhibit.

There's some much -needed happy news for Wednesday the echidna.

We might get a bit of a surprise.

Wednesday, the short -beaked echidna is about to join the rest of the echidnas

in the breeding pool.

All right, Liz, it's a little Wednesday.

Before he can join the females, He needs the all -clear from Vet Larry, who is

being assisted by U .S. Vet Meredith.

We have porcupines that exist in the United States and North America with

quills, somewhat similar, but nothing quite like the echidna's body size or

their little protective abilities.

But this feisty little animal isn't too keen on being a model patient.

We're just putting a little mask over his beak so that we can induce the

anesthetic. A little bit shy.

A little Wednesday.

When they're threatened by a predator, or even when people try and pick them

they curl up into this ball and they're almost impenetrable.

You got it?

I don't think it was. It wasn't on.

No bugger.

Okay, now we're on.

They're very, very powerful little animals.

They've got powerful claws and limbs to break down and burrow and dig.

And obviously this shield of spines is for protection.

So we're going to take some x -rays of Wednesday because we're also doing a

little study looking at the development of their skeleton because they're also

quite unusual.

They have a very, you know, unique sort of anatomy and physiology that's, again,

a mixture of mammals, birds and reptiles. Their skeleton is pretty

crazy. Their bones are all sorts of weird and wonderful shapes.

So very, very unique and very cool animal.

But since he will hopefully be breeding, the focus of this check is on his

ability to perform.

Just a depth, Liz, just reduce the depth a little.

Yeah, so we can see his bladder perfectly on the image, but of course,

platypus, echidnas have internal testicles.

They're called testicons, and we've got a magnificent image of his testicle. You

might be able to see this bulge here.

So when we start fiddling around here, we might get a bit of a surprise.

Oh, he's not going to disappoint us, is he?

Hello.

So this is an echidna's penis.

So a very, very bizarre structure.

You can see it's got four little heads there, almost look like little suckers.

And it doesn't actually work like a penis in other mammal species in that

doesn't come through it. So it's just a reproductive.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But it's crazy, isn't it?

Remarkable in its size.

Okay,

we can wake him up.

It's good news for Wednesday as he's cleared his exam and is off to join the

rest of the echidna breeding pool.

Wednesday is in perfect health. He's got the all clear and good luck to him with

his future breeding.

And hopefully in the near future, Wednesday can produce a little echidna

of his own.

Otter Keeper Mads has been training hyperactive dad, Katut, to receive an

anaesthetic injection.

After only one successful training run,

and with vet Kimberley waiting patiently outside, he's hoping that today, Katut

will play ball.

Otters, inside!

And Kutut did not disappoint.

Good job, buddy.

Great job. I'm so glad you got that anesthetic because, like you said, we

have to delay it to another day.

The anesthetic we just did with Kutut went perfectly.

Maz, the keeper, was able to do the anesthesia. The anesthesia was very

So with Kutut well and truly under.

It's over to Kimberly and her team for his health check.

So essentially we're just looking at Kutut to make sure everything is working

okay. We'll get some blood, make sure systemically he's looking fine.

We just have a good feel of the liver, try to feel the kidneys, feel for any

abdominal masses.

We don't have too many problems in our otters. Sometimes they have dental

problems, so we want to make sure the teeth are okay.

So while we have them under anesthesia, it's a good opportunity just to get that

off. So it doesn't develop into something more.

He's a little cold, so we'll warm him up a bit.

Good timing, actually. We're just finishing.

He looks perfect.

He did have a bit of tartar, so Liz did a great job cleaning his teeth.

Everything looks good.

3 .8, Kayla.

3 .8. 3 .8. Yeah.

I'm really happy with him. He's had his vaccination.

So I think we're all set. Yeah.

Kutut is an otter that I do work closely with. Him and I have a good

relationship and rapport.

So seeing him on the table and seeing him training up to this point is a great

success. This is quite a historic moment for us here at Taronga Zoo. First time

we ever voluntarily hand -injected an otter. So this is an awesome day and I'm

very proud of Kutut and our otters here. So yeah, couldn't have been a better

outcome.

Coming up, the Taronga team make the hardest decision of all.

Gabe, we're good to come down now. Are you guys ready?

The oldest giraffe at Taronga, Nyota, has had a slow decline of health over

past few months.

But yesterday, she took a dramatic turn for the worse, leaving Taronga Vet in an

unthinkable position.

Given that sudden deterioration in her health, her advanced age...

We've decided we're going to euthanise her this morning.

It's always a hard decision to euthanise any animal.

We always prefer to euthanise an animal before they're actually really

suffering.

We'll fire a little dart into her and she'll go to sleep and then we'll

euthanise her.

Giraffe anaesthesia is always challenging, that's for sure.

A very large, lanky animal. She weighs about 900 kilos. So, you know, there's

always a risk that Naya is going to fall awkwardly or injure herself on her way

down, and we don't want that to happen, regardless of what the outcome's going

to be.

It's obvious from the emotion in Larry's normally calm voice just how much this

is affecting everyone at Taronga.

Larry to Gabe, we're going to... Go ahead, Larry.

Gabe, we're good to come down now. Are you guys ready?

Yeah, we can be ready. We're just waiting to hear before we lock the other

away, just so she's not on her own as long.

OK, we'll head down now.

There's so much shared history between Nyota and Taronga staff.

I mean, it's sad.

Nyada's a pretty special animal. I've been here 30 years, and she was born

in 1992, so I've known her her whole life.

Her parents were a wonderful giraffe, a male called Charity, and her mother was

called Hope.

So Hope and Charity were her parents, and I knew them well as well.

She made the decision for us.

It's hard for everybody when you lose any animal in the zoo. It was an animal

that's been here for such a long time and is quite iconic, like a giraffe.

Yeah, it's a really hard day.

The other two are locked away.

So she's at the back pool fence.

OK, I'll just get the gun.

We're just about to start the procedure for Noida. Are you able to please put

over an all -radios announcement?

I've worked with her closely for the last three years.

These long -lived, iconic animals have touched so many people, and because we

work so closely with them, there's so many rich connections.

She's going to miss her.

Yeah, very much so. She's going to miss her. She's a beautiful animal, and we're

going to miss her a lot.

It's a tough day. It's a hard day for everyone.

I mean, she was loved by not just us, but the rest of the zoo and the public.

it's a massive loss for us, but we're definitely going to a second place.

Follow me.

I'll just load the dart in here.

The reality is...

If Taronga did not take this course of action, Nyota would have no future

quality of life.

Sorry guys, we have to head away now.

So as heartbreaking as this is for everyone, sadly, there's no other

At the minute path, more and more of her devastated Taronga family arrive to say

their goodbye.

I've worked with Nyota now for probably 13 years.

I have a photo on my locker of her when she was born here.

She's such a strong character. She really, really made her presence felt.

It is always very hard when you lose someone.

Because that's what they are to us. They are someone that you love.

But you have to recognise the signs when it is time. Of course, in a wild

situation, there will be a wild end to their life. And so at least here they're

going out with the people who love them around them. And I think that she does

take comfort from our presence.

But I miss my friend Nyota very much.

We darted Nyota about 15 minutes ago now, actually, and

we're still waiting for the drug to take effect. I think she is affected, but

she hasn't moved at all since she was darted, and she's very drowsy, but the

drug hasn't reached a level in her system that it's enough to knock her

I suspect that maybe her circulation, because she's not moving around, her

circulation's a bit sluggish, and it's just not taking effect.

as quickly as you'd expect.

Just come around the back of her in case she... Do you have another towel, guys?

Yep. Andy?

It was a very peaceful ending for her life and this is part of working in a

Animals are born, animals die, animals get very old in zoos and, you know, it's

a circle of life in a zoo and, you know, she was a very healthy animal and I

think this was just her time.

So everyone, we've still got Jimmy and Giraffa over there to take into

consideration. So we'll try and be as quiet as possible.

Alright. The euthanasia of Nyota here is going to have a big impact on us moving

the animals up to their new exhibit.

So we're going to have to put the move on hold for a little bit. It's important

that we keep the welfare of the other giraffe in mind.

They're really going to feel the loss of Nyota from the herd.

Beautiful giraffe. And she was always feisty, happy, naughty giraffe when she

was young.

So 28 years later.

She died today.

Sorry.

Next, after a harrowing 24 hours.

A very sad day for them.

It's a new day for Taronga.

Trying to do the best that we can for these animals.

The effects of the last few days will be felt throughout Taronga for a long time

to come.

Events like this are always very hard for the vet team, but particularly the

keepers. I mean, they spend a lot of time with these animals.

There will be a bit of grieving time for the other giraffe, the giraffe team, of

course. They have to regroup and just get that training happening again. So a

very sad day for them.

But you can't have death without life.

and there are still 5 ,000 more animals at Taronga to care for.

That's all to touch.

As the African savannah sits waiting for the animals to move in, the rest of the

zoo will continue to move forward.

And although Taronga may have lost several animals this year, they've

whole lot more.

There is the pregnant endangered black rhino out at Taronga's western plain

in Dubbo.

We are the only institution in Australia that's breeding black rhinos. We're

currently one of two institutions that have had the most success breeding this

species in the world.

And a few paddocks over, some young giraffe calves are finding their way in

herd.

The baby bongo was a cause for great celebration, shining a spotlight on one

of Taronga's many successful breeding programs for critically endangered

animals. We are doing our best to increase their numbers. Their numbers

really, really low in the wild. So what we can do here is increase them,

increase the breeding program, start to disperse them, get their genetics out

there and just create a bigger, bigger bongo population.

And that's what we're doing.

And a whole host of baby primates are adding critical numbers to declining

species.

I've never seen them in the wild. I would love to go and see them.

Then there are the 1 ,400 wild animals brought in by the public.

that get rehabilitated at Taronga each year.

We certainly have saved animals that actually even look sicker than this, so

we'll definitely give it a go.

Injured animals that are treated, cared for, and then released back into the

wild, all given a second chance by Taronga's vets and nurses.

There he goes!

There are species that were once on the brink of extinction.

We don't have any of these naturally breeding in the wild. Now back in the

and thriving.

Look at him, he's so happy.

And with a team of dedicated pathologists and scientists, they are

crusade to bring a halt to animal smuggling.

And what we're doing is developing a non -invasive test that can tell you with

100 % accuracy, has that animal been bred in a captive environment or has it

been poached from the wild?

But all this hasn't happened overnight.

It's been 100 years in the making.

Being here at the zoo for over 70 years, I think Esmeralda would have met more

people than any other animal here at the zoo.

From the wildlife hospital to saving lives in the wild.

Just like a little human baby, I'm making a huge mess of you, aren't I?

They are much more than a zoo.

Hey, it's Kimberly.

I'm currently down in Bairnsdale, Victoria.

Helping out with wildlife rescue groups.

Yeah, we're both actually usually quite stoic.

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

we're exhausted.

We're exhausted.

We just have to remember that we're trying to do the best that we can for

animals.

And every single day, Their staff show their commitment to secure a shared

future for wildlife and people.