Original subtitles

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

Everyone stand as far apart as possible.

But never before... Make sure you've got your mask on.

...has it faced a year with its many monumental challenges.

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

Atta boy, Jim. Nearly home, mate.

The teams across both of Taronga's zoos... Open. ...meet every challenge

on.

And our cameras are there to bring you every magic moment.

On this episode, one small step for Jimmy Yu. Good boy, Jim.

Nearly there, bud.

One giant step for Taronga. It's the beginning of the migration, bringing all

the animals in to the African savannah. Giraffes are going to be here soon. The

giraffes are on the move.

That's a boy.

Huntsman's favourite.

I'm not going to hold it.

But new keeper Dan is a very reluctant student.

There we go. We're locked in.

Yuck. Yuck. And Kimberley and Libby do everything they can.

Let's check out the wing.

We're looking in here in the stomach area for hooks and there are no hooks.

That's great.

But is it enough to save this injured pelican?

This doesn't look good.

Zoos are always looking at ways to enhance how they exhibit and care for

animal.

After five long years of planning and construction,

The curtain will soon be lifted on Taronga's African Savannah precinct,

featuring multi -species exhibits designed to be a little slice of Kenya

Sydney Harbour.

It's set to redefine what a 21st century zoo is all about.

But there's much more to a new exhibit than just the build.

It's the beginning of the migration, bringing all the animals in to the

savannah. We've got zebra coming and ostrich and meerkat and fennec fox and

lions.

This is just the beginning of what's going to be absolutely wonderful.

Good. Very good.

In order to move into their new enclosure, Taronga's giraffe have been

for well over a year.

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

that all sounds great in theory, but they're wild animals, and here at the

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.

But everything was suddenly put on hold when the elder female 28 -year -old

Nyota became unwell and sadly needed to be euthanised.

Definitely going all the way.

After three months grieving for Nyota, the giraffe team have regrouped and are

now ready to move the two remaining giraffe, Jimmy Yu and Zarafa, into their

enclosure.

Everyone stand as far apart as possible so we can have a meeting.

I thought you were doing the version of the hug.

So take two.

We don't want to rush anything and it'll be better for the giraffe in the end.

if we're all calm and relaxed and just doing things methodically and

efficiently.

We've been training for this for probably the last 18 months, so it's

be a big relief today when we finally get them up there.

I'll be taking the lead in terms of instructing people where to go.

In charge of the move is Head of Ungulate, Gabe.

He's counting on the months of training finally paying off. You guys are all

amazing and trained the hearts out of it.

So we've got this. All right, let's do it.

Okay, and away we go.

The giraffe need to be moved before the zoo opens, so there's no room for error.

Hey, we're just heading down to the giraffe barn to get started.

Good luck.

Thank you so much.

But it's crucial they remain calm.

Okay, deep breath, everyone.

If the giraffes suspect anything, the whole operation is in jeopardy.

So giraffes are excited and anxious as we all are. We have to calm that energy

right down and get back to normal. So they think it's normal routine all

Taronga is home to 350 animal species.

But the best represented among them are the birds.

A staggering 2 ,000 of our feathered friends live at the zoo, two

of whom are Australian pelicans.

Morning, boys.

Hi, Eora.

Hi, Mum.

We've got two pelicans at Taronga Zoo. We have Marnie and Eora, and they're

12 years old.

We love working with our pelicans. We're working on building up their

confidence. Hi.

Hi, handsome.

Go for a walk?

Our main goal is to enrich them. So every day we like to do something a

bit different with them.

Very good.

Come on, buddy.

Probably the most fun things we get to do with them is take them out for walks.

Because they get so much out of it.

Do you want to go for a run too?

You ready? Go, go, go.

Great to see them get a bit of a run up and get those wings flapping.

Yeah, it's a great time for them to just have some new experiences.

Good boy.

Good boy!

So what you're seeing now is called a pouch wobble, and it's during breeding

season. They get their real pink colours going on.

It just signifies to females that they're ready for breeding.

But that's not the main use for their distinctive pouch.

That pouch is very elastic, so it's really soft skin and quite flexible, so

allows them to scoop up lots of water, lots of fish, because they're quite

opportunistic feeders. Basically, they'll be flying around. If they see a

of fish or anything near the surface, then they can dive down and just take a

massive scoop, and that is a really great way to get a lot of food nice and

quickly to fill them up.

All along the top there is really hard and on the edge of his bill is sort of

quite sharp.

They've got the hook on the end of their bill as well.

And that, again, is really useful when they are trying to catch their food and

also for defending themselves. So it is really sharp and can do a fair bit of

damage when they're fighting amongst themselves or defending themselves from

predators.

Hey, buddy.

Unfortunately, the damage done to pelicans by encounters with humans is

more common.

Here at Taronga, our wildlife hospital will see quite a few pelicans come in

each year with different injuries to them. It's pretty much always due to

interactions, like hooks into their bills and damage to that beautiful pout.

Also sometimes fishing line wrapped around, either closing their bill up or

around their feet.

So awful stuff like that, and that's because they are interacting with humans

quite a bit.

With an average of 40 pelicans a year coming into the hospital, it doesn't

long for another bird to be admitted.

This is a new pelican. It's a big bird, very light.

Today, an injured and underweight wild pelican has been brought in for some

medical attention.

Came in from Como boat ramp.

And it was really easily picked up at the boat ramp. And it had a hook in the

box, and the carer just rang before to say she found another hook.

So she regurgitated two hooks and transported them here.

Yep. But the most important thing, I suppose, is the left wing drooping

really badly.

Okay. Let's check out the wing.

Two hooks, a sore wing, and dangerously underweight.

This pelican needs urgent help.

See? Oh, yeah.

Slide.

Giraffe are tall animals, and we've got two to move.

Giraffe, she's only about four and a half metres tall.

And then we've got... Our big boy, Jimmy Yu, is 5 .7 metres tall.

Good boy, Jim.

Nearly there, bud.

Jimmy Yu is up first, and he's making it look easy.

All the months of training are finally paying off.

As we're transporting, we're keeping a very close eye on the animal's

and we pick that up by their overall body language, how flared their nostrils

are, the posture of their ears.

Just give us an idea of how comfortable he is in that situation.

Settle. That's a boy.

Good boy.

That's a boy.

Having me on the back of the trailer, even though he wasn't 100 % focused on

just knowing that familiar sound and that familiar voice was a big comfort

him. Nearly home, mate.

With Taronga Tallit Giraffe on board.

Jim, Jim. Jim, Jim.

It's crucial that Jimmy Yu's weight is evenly distributed in the trailer. So

thing from the back of our head, giraffe falling down in awkward positions.

Attaboy, Jim.

Truck's not going to have to drive up the hill properly because the wheels are

spinning.

Boy, Jimmy Yu, you're doing well, son.

You're all right, mate.

Coming up a hill with 1 .2 tonne of giraffe in a trailer is always going to

the laws of physics.

I don't want anyone behind him.

Coming up... We'll start the move back there.

...how the shortest drive turned into the longest wait. Hello, beautiful.

The five -minute move that took 36 hours. We have to wait them out, pretty

Plus, meet Danielle, the spider keeper with a fear of spiders.

We've lost Dan.

Yuck! Yuck!

You're all right, Jim Jim.

This morning, the long -awaited move to the new giraffe enclosure has begun.

Jim, Jim. Jim, Jim. And Jimmy Yu, the tallest giraffe, is on the road.

This is the first time we've locked a giraffe in this trailer, but it's

good now.

Good boy, Jim.

Watch his head, watch his head, Clint.

Jimmy Yu really seemed to push that trailer to its limits.

There's a little bit of flex in the walls, a few creaks and cracks that put

on edge.

This is the steepest bit.

But that actually turned out to be a slow, steady move up the hill.

You're right, buddy. You're nearly home.

They may be on the home stretch, but it's not over by a long shot.

As soon as I drove into this yard here and we backed up... You recognise this

place?

The relief was...

It was amazing.

It was a pressure off my shoulders. I haven't slept in about two days leading

to this.

I'm free.

Perfect. That went like clockwork.

You were right, mate.

Off to Savannah.

You ready to go?

Yep. Jim, slide.

Hey, Jim.

That a boy.

Good boy, buddy. Good boy.

Good boy. You're all right. Here, mate. No problem.

You're all right.

But getting Jimmy Yu into the new enclosure is another matter.

As a herd animal, he's not used to being alone.

Jimmy Yu's come off the trailer, which is fantastic, and he's just paused on

unloading ramp and checking things out, essentially.

Here, bud.

Here, here. So although he used to live up here...

There's lots of new things, and he wants to make sure this is safe before he

explores further.

Here he's coming.

Good boy.

That a boy.

Ultimately, we want him to go into his new barn.

I'm right here with you, dude. Don't worry. It's all right.

The old saying, two steps forward, one step back. This giraffe is doing that.

He's going two steps forward to the barn and investigating, realising it's a

safe zone. Then he's taking two steps back, taking the pressure off himself.

Then he's going three steps towards the barn.

We're not in a hurry.

You might notice that when you see a giraffe sort of lift up its neck and

its head around, that head throwing is a little bit of stress.

That's it. You're alright.

You're alright.

Besides the stress, he's happy and healthy.

We're not in any hurry to get him in that barn, but my emotions aren't

yet because we've still got one to go.

This is the large den of the casseroles. This is where we put out their morning

food. Learning how to care for Taronga's 5 ,000 residents can take years of

training. So here comes Maka.

She's our female.

And if you'll notice, he's a lot larger than the male. So is that how you tell

the difference between them? Absolutely.

So come on in, Mac.

But when it comes to working in the backyard to bush precinct, keepers need

learn to overcome one of the most common fears on the planet.

Arachnophobia, it's the most common fear that we know of.

But as to why people are afraid of them, everyone's got their own different

reasons. Yeah. Sometimes the look, sometimes the way they move, sometimes

because they've been brainwashed and thinking that way.

There's no real sort of one reason.

Hey, Daniel. Hi.

Today, what we're going to be doing is working with two of our staff members

here at the zoo, Parni and Daniel, and we're going to just make them a little

bit more comfortable with working with our spiders.

I've probably had a fear of spiders for as long as I can remember. It's the

legs. I don't like the legs.

I've always wanted to overcome my fear of spiders, especially now that I've got

small children. I feel like that I'm instilling that fear in them.

Yeah, a little bit nervous.

I can feel my heart pounding.

My usual role here is actually working with the farm animals, so I work with

goats and alpacas and chickens and ducks, so all the cute, fluffy little

guess. But we also have a lot of invertebrates on this section, and I'm

be able to start working with some of those, including spiders.

Oh, goodness, what am I doing?

Huntsman's favourite.

Check out this one. Is it in there?

It's in there.

I can't see it.

Oh!

But don't worry, we'll build you up to it.

We're going to start off, first of all, with a little golden orb weaver. Okay,

they're alright.

They just hang in the corner and... Yeah, more or less. I cannot guarantee

spiders are not going to bite you.

Okay. You've worked with animals long enough, you know there's no guarantee.

but it is highly unlikely.

Yeah. Okay?

Also, if you were to get bitten by either of these flies today, at worst,

going to feel like a bee sting.

I'm not going to hold it.

At no point am I going to force you to do anything, but I'm going to suggest

try some things.

Okay?

So this is our female golden oil weaver.

And for an adult female, she's quite small.

We've lost Dan.

Yuck. Yuck.

So grey.

I can barely feel her. She's so light and so gentle.

So she can definitely travel a lot quicker.

Sorry, Paul. That's okay.

I promise I won't let her get anywhere near you. I know, just hang here. Okay.

That's it, Zarafa.

Taronga's giraffes are on the move.

And Zarafa has never been separated from Jimmy Yu before.

You're quite worked up. We need to keep it quieter.

She's a little bit older. She's a little bit more challenging.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, Biddle.

Hi, beautiful girl.

What's Jimmy here doing?

That's it, Zarafa.

That's the girl.

Well done. Slowly.

Is that her moving around a bit in there, Guy?

Yep.

Good job, sweetie.

Hi.

But lucky for the giraffe team, after a feisty start...

The Rafa's move goes off without a hitch. That's it.

That's it.

Okay. And unlike Jimmy Yu... Slide.

She can't wait to check out her brand new home.

You're right, sweetie.

When I first saw her coming out of that trailer, it was just amazing.

Slowly, sweetheart.

That's a girl.

Oh, that was perfect.

Textbook. She walked out so confidently and with such purpose. Like, she knew

exactly where she was going, even though it was a new exhibit. And it was just

the biggest sense of accomplishment. So, yeah, one of the best days of my

career. Awesome.

Champion. They're locked in. We did it.

Well done, everyone.

That's it.

But the team can't relax too much.

In the coming weeks... Two more giraffe will be joining Jimmy Yu and Zarafa.

Bottomless pits, that's what you are. Bottomless pits, aren't you, hey?

And out at Dubbo, it's a move they've never attempted before.

D -Day is arriving very shortly, and I'm excited, but I'm also a little bit

nervous. It is the first mum and calf move together, which is a really big

thing. Good girl.

Sydney Harbour is home to many wild animals.

And this morning, an injured pelican has been brought into the zoo's hospital

for treatment.

It's a big bird. Big bird, but very light. It's already regurgitated to

hook and has a drooping wing.

Let's check out the wing.

Vet Kimberley and hospital manager Libby need to take a closer look.

Yeah, look at that.

Do you want to grab him and we'll have a feel of that wing. And I suspect we

might anesthetise him today and take some radiographs.

I've got the wing.

So his wing is actually drooping from the carpet, which would be equivalent to

our wrist.

Okay, I'm going to lift it up.

This area, it feels thickened compared to the other side. The

fact that it's thickened, it may mean that he's had an injury there and it's

scarring up or he's had just some kind of trauma that's caused it to swell.

I think we should probably x -ray him, so we'll take him next door. All right,

think we need to anesthetize him because he's vomited up the two hooks, and that

left wing is a little thickened. Okay, ready, Lib? Yep, I'm ready.

Kimberly sedates the pelican before she can intubate it for the procedure.

He's already relaxing. Is he? That might be enough.

Here he goes.

See you on the other side.

Beautiful.

Okay, I need one of you to open the mouth.

So I'm intubating the pelican so we can give him some gas anesthesia to get him

fully anesthetized, or her.

Yeah, can you? Thanks.

I'm just going to change the size of his tube.

That's better.

It's hard to intubate them.

There's a little piece of cartilage that's right inside the glottis of

so it's hard to get around the side of that sometimes.

And as soon as she's asleep, we can start taking the x -rays.

Is that a bit better?

That's better.

We can start with the right lateral.

While vet Kimberly sets up to take some x -rays, Libby takes a closer look at

the sleeping bird.

Have you seen its feet, Kimberly?

Yes, feet are kind of gross.

She's got some scabs on her legs as well.

There's a bit of a laceration here, so I'm wondering if that could be from a

hook or something as well.

You can see all these marks here, so she hasn't been flying.

indication that she's been struggling for a while, walking around on her feet.

But this bird may have more problems than just sore feet and wing.

I might even move her down a little bit towards me, Deb. Yep.

First, I'm going to take x -rays of her body to see if there are any hooks

inside her stomach. If there's hooks inside her stomach, that's an indication

that we'll probably need to take her to surgery.

Can everybody step out while we take the x -ray, please?

We're looking in here in the stomach area for a hook, and there are no hooks

there. So that's great. We don't need to do surgery to retrieve hooks. I'm

really happy. Thank goodness.

Thank you for vomiting up those two hooks.

Yay, no hooks. So now I'm going to focus on the left wing.

While no more hooks is great news.

Take another one.

It's the next X -ray that has Kimberly concerned.

Yeah.

So... This doesn't look good.

What?

Every animal at Taronga gets excellent care, including the spiders.

I can barely feel her. She's so light and so gentle.

Down in the backyard to Bush Precinct... Keeper Paul is helping Danielle and

Pani overcome their arachnophobia.

Is that a little bit of web?

There is a bit of web there, yeah. As she goes everywhere, she leaves a bit of

trail web behind.

It's okay if you fall, you're not going to plummet to the ground. Right.

Oh, there we go. Got her.

That's why she lets the web behind.

Well done.

You okay, Dan?

No.

Okay, I'm right.

You're right. Why don't you come and touch my arm?

There you go.

What about those big, bad seals you work with? You put that on that hand.

What was the difference between that hand and that hand? Because it's closer.

Try it again. I'm just not standing at all.

Try it again.

There you go.

Okay. You see, it's quite relaxed. It's not biting at all.

Okay. It's definitely not jumping over to try and get you.

But can it jump?

No, it actually can't jump.

It can fall off my hand. If there's a breeze blowing in my direction, it

could... It'd have to be a gale.

Okay.

Party's turn.

Okay, Pani's turn. At this point, I just want you to get your hand on my arm,

Daniel, the wrist.

Okay. Yep, just there.

And let's just wait.

Oh my goodness.

Okay, you've got her now. I've got her.

I've got her.

Now what you can do is with your other hand, give her somewhere to go to.

Okay.

That's it.

Oh my goodness.

Just remind me again, she can bite. She can bite. I can bite. Doesn't mean I'm

going to. Okay.

Okay.

There you go. Oh, my goodness.

I can't believe it. Way to go.

Oh, wow. That's amazing. She's so light.

Yeah. Oh, far out.

How far is your heart going?

Pounding. I can't believe I just did that, actually. I'm really surprised

just did that.

Wow.

Now, this is where the real fun begins.

Okay. Okay.

Huntsman's favorite.

Oh.

With Jimmy Yu and Zarafa now settled in to their new enclosure.

Giraffes are going to be here soon.

Keepers are preparing to welcome two more giraffe from the breeding herd at

Taronga's Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo.

Oh, what have I got?

Num, num, num.

Out here at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, we have our breeding herd of giraffes.

It's a herd of 11 animals, so there's 10 females total out here.

The two giraffes found for Sydney are mum Keto and her calf, Ebo.

We have done quite a few giraffe moves here at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, but

it is the first mum and calf move together as well, which is a really big

Like the Sydney giraffe, Keto and Ebo have had months of intensive crate

training.

But with Sydney's new savannah exhibit about to be open, the move's been fast

-tracked. So this is our giraffe transport crate that we have here. We've

kitted out, especially with some nice soft bedding for them to lay down and

stand around in. We've also got all their tasty treats hanging up, like

and a few pellets as well.

While keepers have been crate training for months, the zoo's animal transfer

team... Oh, how good are we with the giraffe transport arrangements at the

moment? have been planning every facet of this move for just as long.

Oh yes, the giraffe are one of the hardest species to transport.

They're so high!

You need a specifically designed crate to be able to do it. It's engineered so

that the crate can get higher or lower on the road. You can actually

heighten the crate so the animal may be a bit more comfortable for its long

journey.

Today is a really big day. It's D -Day for Keto and Evo. They are going to make

their big move off to Sydney this morning.

Mum Keto has come in very easily. She's often trying to encourage Evo to want to

come in herself.

He's been a little bit more on the cautious side.

Both giraffes are now safely in the trailer.

Very good.

Very good.

But keepers know that was the easy part.

While they're comfortable going into the crate and being locked in, the process

of lifting the crate can give them a bit of an uneasy, seasick sort of feeling.

That's our main worry, is how they're going to react to the crane lifting the

crate.

With the crate now on the truck, Keto and Ivo's long journey to Sydney begins.

It's a really big step for these guys.

They're going to have a little bit of adjusting to do, but I think they'll

settle in really well.

How do you think they'll go?

They're not going to come out of the crate.

Because I've done such a good job.

Do you want to grab him and we'll have a feel of that wing?

This morning, an underweight and injured pelican was admitted after it had

regurgitated two fishing hooks.

We're looking in here in the stomach area for hooks, and there are no hooks

there. So that's great. We don't need to do surgery to retrieve hooks. I'm

really happy. Thank goodness.

With more hooks ruled out, Vet Kimberly turns her attention to the drooping

wing.

Yeah, there's definitely a problem with the left wing.

This doesn't look good.

There's obviously been a previous injury, and it's healing in an abnormal

position.

So this is the normal one over here.

You can see the different bones really distinctly, but if you look at the left

side, you see a big white mass, and that's bone trying to heal.

And it looks like this bone, which is one of the metacarpal bones, was broken

and has healed in a bit of an angle.

So that's the area where the bird's wing is drooping.

It may have already frozen in that position, and if that's how it's healed,

the bird's unable to use the wing, it may not be releasable.

So let's have a look at some other views.

The team will do everything they can for injured wildlife that have a chance of

survival in the wild.

So Kimberly wants to take a few more x -rays just to be sure.

And maybe if this bird's not doing well in the wild, maybe that's why it's

trying to eat fish off of lines.

And why it's faking quite bad.

Getting hooked. Did they say this bird could fly?

No, no. No, it was easy to pick up.

Oh, hello.

She's dreaming.

Hospital manager Libby has a real fondness for seabirds. And although the

pelican is in a bad way... There's definitely a lot of scab in here.

She's looking for any signs that this bird still has a fighting chance.

She's got new feathers.

Yeah, that's good.

So these are all brand new.

It takes a lot of energy to grow all those feathers.

You can see this one still has the shaft on it. Okay, everybody step out again.

Despite the positive, the next X -ray confirms Kimberley's worst fears for

thick pelican.

That's not going to improve.

The giraffe have just arrived and we're just starting to move.

After seven long hours on the road from Dubbo, giraffes Keto and Ebo have

finally arrived at Taronga to join Jimmy Yu and Zarafa in the African savannah.

They're in there together, they're super calm, and we're about to take them to

the new savannah and unload them.

We've got to hook all of the crates up to cranes. They need to be lifted and

lowered into position before they can actually be let out into the exhibit.

So that's always very nerve -wracking. They're tall animals, the tallest land

mammals. They can kick out.

It's an anxious few minutes as the crate hangs in mid -air.

Well, that affects us at the other end. We'll get in through the gates.

To fit through the zoo, the crate will need to be moved off the semi -trailer

and onto a smaller truck.

We have to get this pretty much spot on on the tray so that we can get through

the gates in the exhibit at the other end.

With the team so close to the finish line, they can't afford any mistakes.

It'll be alright.

Woohoo, they're on their way.

This box with the giraffe in it weighs five tonne.

That's a big load to deal with. And they're tall, and they're moving around

there. So it's a lot to take into consideration.

Well, they're starting to move back there.

And the giraffes stay struck and don't come a knocking.

This is the exciting bit.

Keep it coming.

How am I looking, Gabe?

You might need to swing it.

Because you've got plenty of room on that side, don't you?

The size of the crate.

is really pushing the limits of what the zoo can handle.

How's that?

Yeah, keep going.

All right.

Set that chain link.

You're clear on that side?

Woo, yeah, you're going all right now, brother. We're in.

Thank you.

After a close shave through the gate, Kito and Ibo are just one final crane

away from their new home.

We're very excited to have these two giraffes here. It's a very different

setting. They'll be able to smell the salt breeze off the harbour and see the

city in the background and hopefully they'll love it here.

With the crate now in place at the unloading ramp, It's important the

unload at their own pace.

Hello.

How are you doing?

Yeah, she's at the door, which is good.

That's a girl.

In you go.

Good girl.

You're a jumpy little thing, aren't you?

That's it. You're all right, little man.

They are very comfortable in that box.

Hello, beautiful.

You're heading out?

The Taronga Dubbo keepers have had the crate in the yard for a long time, and

the young calf, that crate has made up a huge proportion of his overall life,

and I think Mum wants to stay where she knows that he's safe.

Because the Sydney keepers don't have a relationship with these giraffes,

there's no training they can fall back on to tempt them out.

We have to wait them out, pretty much.

I was hoping to make it home for my son's birthday dinner. Looks like that's

the cards. Might have to celebrate tomorrow night instead.

I honestly forgot how stubborn they were.

She's so light and so gentle.

Keepers Danielle and Parni are learning how to overcome their arachnophobia.

OK. That's it. Oh, my goodness.

..to varying degrees of success.

I physically cannot stay still when she's like that. Like, I have to leave.

So far, they've started small with a golden orb spider.

OK. But Paul is keen to move on to bigger things.

Unfortunately, we don't have any small huntsmen today.

OK. And I would have preferred to use a small one to get you into it. Me too.

But we do have...

Our big girl here.

She's more of a scurrier, isn't she? Yes. She can definitely travel a bit

quicker.

Oh.

She's got hairy legs. She does.

I'm going to see if I can get her onto my hand.

Well, you know, she's not going to be really keen to get onto my hand. No.

Look at the feet. See how she's touching?

Yes, but she's preferring the wood.

Now, the interesting thing here is that takes through their feet. So for her, my

hand. It tastes very different to what you're used to. It tastes through their

feet. Yes.

Wow, I didn't know that.

So why don't we try the same as we did with the golden orb? Okay. And you just

put your hand just here. Yep. Okay.

Oh, my goodness.

There you go.

Okay.

Okay,

look at that.

Okay.

How's the heart going?

Oh, my goodness.

How are you going out there, Daddy? I'm good. Is she under control?

Yeah, she's under control. All right.

Yeah, I can't even articulate it.

It's the way that she moves. It's all her long legs.

It's just the fear if when she's not where she's meant to be and then she

lost that she'll just turn up somewhere near me.

Good girl. Yeah, I think it's about baby steps, although that didn't feel very

baby, like a big step. But I think, yeah, just keep on practising, keep on

exposing myself to holding the spiders and just building up my confidence.

You're doing well.

I'm serious. You are. You may not feel it.

She's not moving.

It's when she moves that I'll move.

Don't make her move.

There you go.

Under the circumstances of the limited time we had, I think you did really,

really well. That's the closest I've ever been voluntarily.

That's amazing.

I've worked with you. I've seen you around spiders.

For me, that was a win.

I would like to get a little bit further, but seriously, that was a win.

was really good.

And Parni, wow.

I'm just going to borrow your hat for a minute.

Just give me this.

I'll take my hat off to you.

At the Wildlife Hospital, Vet Kimberly has thoroughly examined

an injured and underweight wild pelican.

Yeah, there's definitely a problem with the left wing.

This doesn't look good.

And has had to make a difficult decision.

We can't release her to the wild because she's not going to be able to feed

herself and fend for herself.

It's probably why she's been eating fish off of fishermen's hooks.

It's also probably why she's quite lean.

If this was a new injury, we might be able to put it in place and fix it, but

it's old and it's permanently fixed in an abnormal position.

The team are left with no alternatives.

Unfortunately, we're going to need to euthanize her because she's not going to

survive on her own in the wild properly.

And that's probably why her feet are also in such bad shape.

She's been spending a lot of time on her feet, I suspect.

All right.

Euthanising animals is so difficult for all of us.

Unfortunately, we do see animals at the end of their lives sometimes, but the

time someone actually gets hold of the animal, then the injuries are really

awful.

And so our job then is to ease the suffering of those animals. And the best

thing we can do for this animal is to put her out of that suffering so she

be in pain anymore.

It's very sad.

It's very sad.

We do a lot of crying.

We do a lot of crying.

So this is the euthanasia solution.

Got it? Thanks.

Yeah, it's very quick.

She doesn't have a heartbeat anymore.

All right.

Yeah.

The team show great care and respect to the very end.

We're very lucky in this profession to have this as an option for animal

welfare. I can't imagine not having that option for animals that are really

suffering.

Now you're going to be really going to cry. Stop it.

We'll do a full post -mortem on her. We'll actually look at how bad that wing

was to see if we can learn anything and see what might have been a cause.

Yeah.

Research on this pelican, along with the study of animals in Taronga Care,

will help to preserve the species in the wild.

And as a conservation zoo, That's what Taronga's all about.

Next. You're heading out?

Taronga's stubborn new giraffe still refused to budge.

Five years in the making at a cost of nearly $60 million and Taronga's new

savannah will soon be open.

Designed as a multi -species precinct, it aims to bring a little slice of

to Sydney.

Its very first residents, Jimmy Yu and Zarafa, have settled in nicely.

And after seven hours on the road, plus a few crane lifts, the Dubbo giraffe

Keto and her calf Ebo have arrived to join them.

This is a huge milestone for everyone here at Taronga Zoo, but especially for

giraffe keepers. We've been working for probably the last two years to get this

to come together and it's nearly where we want it to be.

That's it. Out you go.

But working with animals means things don't always go according to plan.

You're a jumpy little thing, aren't you?

While the long journey from Dubbo to Sydney went off without a hitch...

beautiful. You heading out?

...when it came to unloading the giraffe...

Dubbo Keeper Simone's prediction was spot on. They're not going to come out

the crate.

Why do you predict they mightn't come out? Because I've done such a good job.

Sydney Keepers had to wait a full 36 hours for Keto and Ebo to emerge from

crate. It was two days before we were able to lock Keto and Ebo out of the

crate and into the barn.

The Dubbo keepers did an awesome job of conditioning those two giraffes to the

crate. They loved it.

Giraffes are normally pretty good with introductions. They're a herd animal and

they like being with other giraffes. This is Keto and she has settled in

well with our two giraffes, Zarafa and Jimmy Yu.

Ebo is a very independent calf so he's happy to be off on his own.

The last giraffe calf that we had here was the dear old Nyota, who passed away

recently. So it was 29 years ago.

Having something that small come into their world, it rocked them. They were

like, whoa, what is that?

But they've been fantastic with him.

He is just adorable.

His coat is still that baby velvety calf coat, unlike the coarse hairs of

his mum.

And his ossicones, those horns on his head, there's still soft baby hair and

so adorable.

With this giraffe herd now complete, it's a new beginning for the African

savannah exhibit, which is starting to come to life.

Having four giraffe in here now is like, wow, this is going to be fantastic.

And there's more still to come. So we've got zebra arriving next week, which

we're gearing up for. I think it's just getting better and better.

To complete the migration, many other African animals are on their way.

They'll be the quick and curious, the fast and feathered, and

returning to the zoo after an absence of five long years, the regal.

It's an exciting new chapter for all these animals.

And also for Taronga Zoo.

In the new season, go behind the theme.

When a bit of monkey business.

Moving miles for monkeys can be very aggressive.

Goes too far.

To do anything surgically would be extremely difficult.

Having him in this situation is a little bit scary.

How do you give a wild horse.

A manicure. They will kick, and you do not want to be in the way.

Taronga. Who's who in the zoo?

Next Friday, 7 .30 on 9.

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