All language subtitles for Taronga s03e07 Tree Roo.eng

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

Stretching from the shores of Sydney's
famous harbour. Hello, everybody.

To the vast western plain zoo in Dubbo.
Come on, girls.

But in a world that's ever -changing.

Every single birth we have is vitally
important.

One thing always stays the same.

There comes a time when you just have to
let go.

The love these teens have.

Two little lion cubs.

For the thousands of animals in their
care. Good boy.

On this episode, the weird and wacky
world of Taronga. Check out this little

beauty.

Dogs that look like hyenas. It's
actually more closely related to the

And kangaroos that live in trees.

It's all right. It's all right, mate.

Up close with some of the zoo's quirkier
residents.

Are you worried about the birds?

Libby's midnight mission.

Dust is a very busy time in the bird
world.

As this owl gets the all clear for
takeoff. Perfect.

Got no bruising on it. See you later,
buddy.

And staff say a final goodbye to one of
their most loved family members.

Rest in peace, Hobbs.

One of the busiest places at Taronga Zoo
isn't actually open to the public.

It's the Taronga Wildlife Hospital.

And throughout the year, approximately 1
,500 animals come through their doors.

And the majority of these are our
feathered friends.

We do see a whole array of different
species of Australian birds.

And today is no exception, with three
birds being brought in by the public.

Let's have a look.

A cockatoo. He's quite skinny, so we
have been giving him quite a bit of

Yeah, yeah. A kookaburra. The history
with this bird was that he was actually

found in the water in the harbour and
being attacked by seagulls. We're just

monitoring him and giving him some rest
and hopefully the bird will recover.

And perhaps most concerning of all, this
barn owl that was found unconscious on

a busy road.

So I'm just giving a quick exam
conscious before we give an anaesthetic.

It's very important to look at their
eyes, and I'll examine their eyes a

bit more when it's asleep because eye
injuries are pretty common in owls

particularly, and particularly if
they've flown into something or been hit

car. So I think let's give it an
anaesthetic.

It can fit over its face, little nose,
yep, little beak.

The whole anatomy of the head is geared
towards channeling sound into the ear.

You can see how big that opening is.

Obviously with the history of being
found unconscious on a road we're very

suspicious that it's flown into a car.

There is a little bit of blood on its
head here which could suggest that it

Got some head trauma.

Owls, being hunting birds, rely on their
excellent vision, so any signs of

further trauma could be life
-threatening.

Kangaroos are iconically Australian,
from burly big reds

to their marsupial cousin, the wallaby.

But there's one roo you've probably
never heard of that's native to Papua

Guinea and lives in the tree.

Chilla.

Come on.

Better come up here.

Oh, yeah, I got food.

Here at Taronga, we've got Goodfellow's
tree kangaroos.

Tree kangaroos are pretty different from
the ground -dwelling kangaroos that

most people know quite well.

Most kangaroos that get around on the
ground have very long feet.

Those long feet come in very handy when
it comes to hopping, but a long foot

would make it very difficult when it
comes to climbing.

Tree kangaroos are fantastic climbers.

In order to live up in the trees,
they've evolved to have very well

upper body, big paws and big claws to
help them get a firm grip and pull

themselves up and down. And those
features combined with the long tail,

acts as a counterbalance, means that
they're sort of perfectly equipped for

living up in the trees.

Kangaroos like this one can jump nine
metres from tree to tree and up to 18

metres down to the ground.

What evolved to live in the trees in the
first place was the availability of

food. So kangaroos and wallabies that
live on the ground, they're mainly

on grasses and shrubs, but up in the
trees there's more foods available.

They can make the most of leaves, vines,
fruits, flowers, and they're also known

to eat the occasional bird's egg as
well.

Living amongst the treetops helps these
curious roos avoid some of their

predators. And their chestnut -coloured
fur also helps them remain hidden.

Most people would think red and yellow
would stand out a little bit in the

but it actually helps them to camouflage
amongst the red and yellow coloured

mosses in the tops of the trees in the
forest where they're found.

While their fur helps them blend in...
Their tails help them stand out.

The markings that they have on their
tail is actually their version of a

fingerprint. So if we had three or four
Goodfellas tree kangaroos all sitting

side by side, we can actually tell them
apart instantly just by the markings on

their tail.

But these unique animals are in trouble.

They're an endangered species and that's
due to a number of reasons.

Not only are they suffering from habitat
loss, but also overhunting on the

populations as well.

Goodfellas tree kangaroos are a part of
a global breeding program, which means

we work cooperatively with zoos around
the world.

Ultimately, the goal is to see the tree
kangaroo population increase throughout

zoos.

At Taronga, there are two tree
kangaroos.

A breeding female, Kwakila, and her
young son, Terembe.

Hey there, buddy.

Kwekili is 13 years old.

She came to us all the way from Belfast
back in 2013, and she was actually born

in France.

Right now, she's pretty calm and
relaxed.

Tree roos spend about 60 % of their time
sleeping, and they're mostly nocturnal.

When she's sitting up the top of the
tree, she can often be observed doing a

of cleaning, keeping that coat in ideal
condition, and also cleaning inside of

the pouch.

This here is Terembi.

Terembi's a pretty curious young tree
kangaroo, and curiosity is a great way

explore new things.

You know, got quite a personality to
him.

But a big change is coming.

Due to the problems tree roots face in
the wild, this family are about to go

their separate ways.

Back at the wildlife hospital, Larry is
checking on the X -rays of the barn owl

that was brought in with head injuries.

OK, let's look at these.

Look at those eyes.

Just see how massive these eyes are.

Pretty spectacular.

This area here is very important to look
at. Common to get fractures in what we

call the pectoral girdle. So there's
three important bones there, the

the coracoid, and what we call the
furcula or clavicle.

They all look good.

It's always hard to really assess
fractures on the head.

It does look like it's a little funny
little defect there.

There's a bit of a blip there in the
bone of the skull, but there's no major

fractures. I think there's a bit of sort
of thickening of the skin here.

But, yeah, no major fractures that I can
see on the skull.

So, have the fluids? Yep.

Okay, but I do want to just have a close
look at these eyes and what we might

do.

Just a very superficial ulcer on the
cornea. So obviously during the

event that this bird has been through,
there must have been some abrasion to

cornea.

The main findings here are there's sort
of trauma to its eyes and then it's

evidence of trauma to the head based on
a bit of blood on the feathers and some

scabs. There could be more significant
sort of trauma beneath the skull,

the skin as well. It may have
substantial brain damage, which would

bird's prognosis for recovery.

So, yeah, I hope this little guy makes
it.

The next sort of 48 hours will really be
telling for him.

Coming up, Taronga staff rally around an
ailing zoo favourite.

I'm always thinking about how can I make
sure that he's living the best life

that he can with us.

And has feeding time at the zoo gone to
the dog?

A lot of people think that they are
hyenas when they come and visit them at

zoo.

Animals face many of the same problems
we humans do, like putting on weight.

He now weighs about 80 to 90 kilos, so
he's doubled his size already.

Pregnancy hiccups. I don't see anything.

So a negative result.

And getting older, like Malaysian sun
bear Mr Hob.

I've been at the zoo for almost as long
as Mr Hob, maybe about a little bit

longer.

I think everyone's fallen in love with
Hobbsy, including our guests and our

supporters and particularly his keepers
and our vets because he's just so

charismatic. He's a really sweet bear.
He's very responsive.

He's very interactive.

He's a real character and he's just
always been that way. And Mr Hobbs has

always been a favourite of the carnivore
team.

since he arrived at Taronga over 23
years ago.

Mr Hobbs was found in a tiny little cage
behind a restaurant in Cambodia, ready

to be made into bear paw soup.

It was really tough for him. He was
taken from his mother as a tiny little

and then Free the Bears found him and
rescued him. So he actually arrived here

when he was two.

But lately...

Keepers have noticed that Mr Hobbs is
starting to slow down.

So Mr Hobbs is an old bear now. He's 25.
So he's pretty much reached what we

would sort of call the maximum lifespan
for a sun bear.

He has got a little bit of arthritis.

We've seen a few changes with his teeth,
a few changes with his appetite.

So we have noticed that he's a bit
slower and he's found it a little bit

now to navigate every aspect of his
habitat here.

So looking after our old animals, it
takes some extra effort and some extra

monitoring and some extra support.

Luckily, there's no shortage of helpers.
And today, keepers Rebecca and Ellen

are helping Mr Hobbs relieve some of the
discomfort in his weary joints.

Hi, Mr.

How you doing, Hobbsy Bear?

Hobbsy! Good morning.

You're okay.

Good job.

All right, Ellen, should we start with
the front left elbow?

Yep. Sounds good. I'm going to do your
laser. Hobbs, let's go.

Over this way.

Got it. The laser treatment promotes
muscular repair, which is perfect for Mr

Hobbs' sore elbows and back.

Are you comfortable?

Okay, Hobbs.

Other side, buddy.

This way.

Good man.

Over we come.

Good job.

And sit. There we go.

Over the years, Mr Hobbs has become
accustomed to this routine.

Turn. But like all of us, a little added
encouragement is always welcome.

Keep an eye on Hobbs.

So he does love his honey water, but he
only gets that for the elbows.

Now we're just going to use a portion of
his daily diet.

So the reinforcers today are rock melon
and sweet potato, so that that way I'm

not giving him too many calories, extra
sugar, anything like that.

Good man.

And this is where we work in conjunction
with not only our veterinary team to

make sure that he's not in pain, but
also with the nutritionist to make sure

that we keep him at an optimum weight.

because we don't want to put any extra
pressure on these kind of little old man

bones of his.

So Ellen's going to step away from that.

Good man.

I'm going to continue reinforcing him
just for staying.

Good boy.

Finish, Tobsy.

So he's got a little finish cue, and
then I also back it up with a few of

favorite treats because he did a great
job.

That was a nice one, Ellen.

Oh, he's such a good man.

While short -term pain relief is
essential, it's the day -to -day life of

ageing sun bear that's causing Mr Hobbs
to struggle.

He looked a bit stiff before.

Put a bit of time up there, up on the
top.

I'm always thinking about how can I make
sure that he's kind of living the best

life that he can with us in the time
that he's now left with us.

With wild populations on the endangered
list, the race is on to increase tree

kangaroo populations around the world.

In order to do that, Terembe has been
sent to another zoo for his chance to

become a dad.

And Keeper Sam is arriving back at
Taronga with their new breeding male,

But before he can settle into his new
leafy home, Macaulay will need to spend

some time in quarantine.

Whenever we're getting animals in from
other facilities, quarantine plays a

really important role in us being able
to be assured that we're not bringing

anything in and that the animals have
time to get used to our environment.

Hopefully, let's get a weight.

of him i think his name is mckinley is
that right mccarley mccarley 16 .4 with

the pet pack okay we want to make sure
that they adapt well to our area we

want to make sure that they transition
onto our diet without any problem and we

want to make sure that they're really
really healthy before we send them out

meet with our animals

We're just going to let him slowly out
of his transport box.

And we're just going to be very quiet
and let him take his time coming out and

see how it goes.

He's a fairly young male.

I want to make sure that he comes out of
the box well, that he's able to move

around okay, that he's managed the
journey well.

We never get sick of seeing these new
animals come in.

It's always an exciting time to meet a
new animal.

Flea, our quarantine vet nurse, will
take over, so she's going to make sure

he starts eating well and she'll monitor
his behaviour very closely over the

next few days.

While staff are happy to finally have
Makali at the zoo... He's a beautiful,

beautiful animal.

..the big question remains whether he
and Kwakila... will be compatible.

An injured barn owl has been admitted to
Taronga's Wildlife Hospital.

We're suspicious that it's flown into a
car.

There's a little bit of blood on its
head here.

After a week of observation, it's been
cleared of any serious brain injuries.

So hospital staff have moved it into a
purpose -built rehabilitation aviary.

where Larry and Sarah have been keeping
a watchful eye on its recovery.

Because they're wild animals, we've got
to be mindful that they're scared of us.

And, of course, there's also a risk that
the bird might damage itself just by

flying around.

It looks really good. Yeah. It's very
flighty. Yeah, yeah. This one here is in

larger holding enclosure, which is
specifically designed for birds of prey,

it's quite a dark environment. There's
sort of slats on the walls so they don't

damage their feathers.

It's flying really, really well, it's
eating really well, and it's behaving in

normal owl -type behaviour, so to speak.

So hopefully we can ban this guy and get
him out ASAP.

But that call ultimately lies with
Libby.

Oh, looks so good.

Every bird that comes in is very
special.

Some animals may stay for a couple of
days, and in cases like this owl, it

take quite a few weeks before they're
ready to be released back into the wild.

The good news is Libby's also happy with
what she's seeing.

I'm really thrilled with this bird's
progress considering how it was when it

came in.

Oh wow, flying so well.

It's really great when a bird progresses
really, really well and through the

process and so let's cross our fingers
and see how it goes in the next few

and then we might be able to release it
back into the wild.

That's what we always want to do.

Out at the Taronga Western Plain Zoo in
Dubbo, there's a small pack of rare and

often misunderstood African animals.

There they are. Hi, girls.

Ready?

Ready for a feed?

We have a pack of four female African
wild dogs.

They're all sisters.

Sago, Mambo, Spot and Bayana.

They are classified as endangered.

There's only about...

of them left.

Around a century ago, it is thought that
they ranged up to 500 ,000.

Probably the most common misconception
about African wild dogs is that they are

related to hyenas. A lot of people think
that they are hyenas when they come and

visit them at the zoo. And there's
actually a really big difference between

two. So African wild dogs are part of
the canine family, whereas hyenas are

actually part of their own family. It's
actually more closely related to the

mongoose.

Even though they're half the size of a
wolf, these wild dogs are one of the

successful pack hunters in the world.

So when they are out on the hunt, it's
really going to depend on the pack size

and how many of them have actually gone
out on the hunt as to what prey they're

going after.

They're usually successful at catching
something around 80 to 90 % of the time,

whereas other predators in Africa, such
as cheetah or lions, they're actually

only successful about 30 % of the time.

And encouraging that pack behaviour at
feeding time is crucial to the wild

care. We've got some kangaroo carcass
here, a bit of spine and a little bit of

fur as well.

And we're going to be feeding our four
African wild dog females.

So they get kangaroo carcass throughout
the week. Anything that's nice and lean,

sometimes they'll get chickens,
sometimes they might get rabbits.

And it's really important that they do
actually get a regular.

big carcass feed.

This is a really important part of their
day, is their feed time. It really

helps them to sort out their social
structure and who is top dog in the

So they're right onto that carcass feed,
working together to pull it apart.

You'll see that the more dominant dogs
usually get the bigger part and they'll

run away with it as fast as what they
can.

When they are fighting and squabbling
amongst themselves like this, it can

quite full -on, but it really is just
them communicating to each other and

begging for food. You'll hear that high
-pitched squealing.

That's just them communicating to each
other that I want that bit or please

don't steal this piece away from me.

As much as they do...

bite and squabble amongst each other in
the initial stages. They do tend to look

after each other as well. So they will
always make sure that everybody gets a

good feed. And in fact, out in the wild,
if they do leave anyone behind at the

den site, they'll come back. And if
there's any puppies, they'll regurgitate

hot meal for them.

And if there's any sick or injured,
they'll do that for them as well.

Can you see that girl over there?

But even with the kindest of canines,
there's always one.

that gets away with the pry.

Awesome fade.

Yes.

While aging sun bear Mr Hobbs gets a lot
of attention back of house, keepers are

always looking for new ways to ensure
his exhibit is also fit for a bear of

stature.

Hobsy actually has a 31 -day enrichment
schedule, so every day he gets something

different. Today it's going to be balls,
so inside here we've got some beautiful

fly pupae that he's going to hold and
kick around and get that out of.

But one of the more challenging items
for him would be something like a muesli

log. On here we've got a lovely sun bear
meat mix, and I'm going to put a little

bit of his favourite, which happens to
be honey.

but he can get to it from different
angles. So he decides what angle is best

him. If I was to only give him that one
option and hang it too high, then he

just may not achieve that.

This exhibit has been built for sun
bears, but as Hobbsy has progressed,

had to make some adjustments to certain
platforms, whether it be that we now

needed to kind of decrease the incline
of a ramp for him to make it a bit

easier.

I'm always thinking about how can I make
sure that he's kind of living the best

life that he can with us in the time
that he's now left with us.

And there's definitely a lot of heart
invested into that.

But the carnivore team can't watch Mr
Hobbs 24 -7.

So to ensure he gets the correct level
of care, they enlist an army of helpers.

We're trying to watch Hobbs as often as
possible.

We have behavioural watch teams that
help us out.

because obviously I can't be here every
moment of the day.

Hey, Corey. How's it been going?

It's been going back. Yeah, it came all
right.

He exited out. He looked a bit stiff
before.

Took a bit of time upstairs, up on the
top. Yep. Around near his nest. Had a

of a sniff.

Then once eventually made his way down,
went straight for that log. I don't know

what's in it. Seems really interesting.

I put a few of his favorites in there.

We have volunteers, we have people that
love coming in and collecting that data

for us so that we can kind of put it all
together, make sure he has a good range

of mobility.

And if he is having days where he's
struggling or he's not kind of being

get to different levels, different
platforms, then I as the keeper need to

of know that so that I can go back to
our kind of veterinary team, discuss

them, maybe things might need to be
adjusted. So can I have a look at the

that you've collected today?

Thank you.

Everything is analysed so that we can
make sure that we're always looking at

best welfare for Hobbs.

Yeah, he's not wanting to do as much
reaching up today.

Yeah.

And I can see he's resting over there at
the moment.

Even though he can live a really long
time, which is what he's proving right

now, we need to make sure it's good
times that he has with us, and I'm going

do my best to make sure that happens.

When the day comes that we have to make
the decision, as hard as it's going to

be, that we have all the information,
that we are doing the best we can for

Hobbs, and we're making the decision
when it's the best time for him.

Still to come, good news for the injured
barn owl. So really happy to get this

bird out.

But catching it is a real hoot.

And calling back the bad reputation of a
misunderstood arachnid. The more you

learn about them, the more interesting
they become.

Taronga is home to a massive range of
animals.

But Keeper Paul is more interested in
the ones that have developed what he

call an unfair reputation.

What we have here is a rainforest
scorpion. And they're one of a few

species of scorpion that we have here in
Australia.

But unlike other scorpions around the
world, none of them that we have here in

Australia are actually deadly.

One thing that definitely puts scorpions
apart from any other animals, of

course, is the tail with the stinger on
the end.

They also have these pincers, very much
like a crab has.

But one of the general rules that you
can use when you're looking at a

to work out how dangerous it is is you
look at the size of its pincers in

comparison to its body size. The bigger
the pincers, the less potent the venom

is. The smaller, the stronger it is,
because they can actually use those

to both catch and kill their prey,
rather than rely upon the venom, and to

defend themselves.

But if you've got small pincers, you
then need a much stronger venom.

But this scorpion is small fry when it
comes to the size of its claws.

And now we have our Flinders range
scorpion, which are one of the larger

that we have here in Australia.

Check out this little beauty. This one's
actually female.

And the way they can tell it's female is
because of the length of its tail. Now,

from an evolutionary perspective, they
are quite interesting in that they

haven't changed much in a very, very
long time.

And that's because they've evolved to do
what they do so well.

But what hasn't evolved and what
frustrates Paul is all the

comes with them.

They're not aggressive.

And one of the problems I've definitely
found over the years with a lot of the

animals I've dealt with here, and that
is people seem to refer to a lot of

animals as being aggressive.

There are snakes that are aggressive,
there are spies that are aggressive.

And I would argue that. I would say that
they're not aggressive, they're

defensive.

With the scorpion here, as I move it
around, you might notice that not once

it tried to sing my fours.

It tries to get away, it might have a
little bit of a nip.

with the pincers there, but it's not
coming over trying to get me. If

it just wants to get away.

So the big thing I always say to people
is they're not aggressive, they are

defensive. You leave them alone, you're
going to be fine.

I haven't been stung by one yet.

I've been working in the zoo here for 30
years now, and for a lot of that time I

was working with our seals.

But people ask me, how do I go from
looking after seals to looking after our

invertebrates and things like our
scorpions here? And I know it sounds a

bit corny, but I say because they're
cool.

The more you learn about them, the more
interesting they become.

And the biggest thing is getting rid of
the myth. Because as interesting as

those myths might be, the truth is quite
often far more interesting.

At Taronga, it's a well -known fact that
Libby loved her owl.

They're very special birds.

Barn owls in particular are magnificent.

You know, they're beautiful colours.
They hunt mice.

Spectacular birds, really.

And that makes today just that extra bit
special.

We have had quite a few barn owls come
in because rising mice populations in

wild mean lots of owls. And so we're
very happy that this one managed to

survive. And it's done amazingly well in
rehab. So really happy to get this

bird. out and it's going home.

We're just about to put a metal band on
the barn owl's leg to identify it so we

can do some post -release monitoring to
see if the bird survives or not.

Yep. One, three, eight, six, nine.

Sarah's going to go in and catch the
owl, then we'll put the band on the leg

then we'll put it in this cardboard box
till it's dark and then release it.

So when I go in there, I want to try and
catch him as fast as possible, for one.

And then when I do catch him, I do
really need to be very wary of his sharp

talons.

Because they're very lightweight owls,
but they'll jump out at you with their

feet, so you've really got to actually
grab the feet first and then contain the

animal with a towel to be able to hold
it and do what you need to do.

With the barn owl safely in Sarah's
hands, it's Libby's last chance to have

close look at this highly efficient bird
of prey.

It looks great. It's got beaks, perfect,
got no bruising on it.

Looks beautiful.

All the feathers are nice and gorgeous.

Look at this beautiful face.

This facial disc allows the sound to go
in so they can hear extremely well and

see well but it's mainly the hearing for
Barnell.

Perfect. And now we're just going to pop
her in the box.

See you later buddy.

We can catch some mice tonight.

And with the final formalities taken
care of... So it's going to be a

night to release a bar now.

It's time to take it home.

So next stop are Sydney's northern
beaches.

It's been a month since Tree Room
Macaulay arrived at Taronga.

It's fantastic to finally have Macaulay
out.

He cleared quarantine without any issues
whatsoever.

Breakfast time. Let's go.

But he's still taking a little bit of
time getting used to his new home.

Come on, buddy.

And it's a thwarted inhabitant.

Are you worried about the birds?

Hey, buddy.

Come on, buddy.

Boy, look at you.

Turn around a bit.

Macaulay and I have got a pretty great
working relationship now. He's been

pretty amazing so far.

You know, he's got a pretty calm
temperament. He also knows that, you

we're the ones that have lunch.

He's eaten all the eggplant.

Eggplant's actually become one of his
absolute favourite foods here.

It's all right. It's all right, mate.
This is a pair of turkeys.

A bit funny. It's all right, pal.

Okay. That's good.

Wow, this man.

It's been really fascinating watching
him explore his new environment and

getting way up to the top of the tallest
trees.

He doesn't know his pathways very well
yet. He doesn't know, you know, how high

he can go. And he actually has to really
think about how he, you know, might

have to get down from the top of a tree
at times. And that's all a part of, you

know, being in a new space.

Everything's new. Everything's exciting.

Lots of new smells, new sights, new
sounds.

And a new special friend.

After all, that's why Macaulay has been
brought here.

And he's next door to our female.

So getting to see each other and smell
each other, interact at the fence, and

it's hoped in the future that when we do
put them together that they will be a

successful breeding pair.

As a keeper, you have some incredible
highlights in your career. The birth of

animals.

successful releases into the wild.

But then you know, you always know as a
keeper you're going to have those really

dark days, those really, really tough
days.

And today is one of those days where
Taronga staff made the heartbreaking

decision to let Mr Hobbs go.

Mr Hobbs was so, so deeply loved by
everyone

here at Taronga.

Rest in peace, Hobbs.

Hobbs lived with us until his recent
passing.

He was 25.

He had such a long life.

Doesn't make it any easier, though.

to have lost him today.

Such a hard day.

It's such a huge loss.

But we will never, ever forget him.

Open.

Touch.

You don't want to anthropomorphize the
animals in our care. You don't want to

put those sort of people characteristics
on them but he was just a

joy to work with just it's so hard to
put it in words we

get through it and then you move

on actually you don't move on it's
always there it's always in in your

you will think about that animal or one
day you might enter the corridor and

just

have that moment of, oh, he's gone.

And if it gets really, really tough,
then you just go visit one of the other

animals you care for and you sit and
watch them for a while or you work with

them and it will bring a smile to your
face.

Hobbits was an incredible ambassador for
his species, for sun bears, and

after such a tough start, he did have
the most amazing life and touch.

So many people and will never be
forgotten.

At Taronga Farewell, a much -loved
member of their family, they're about to

welcome a new one.

On the rare occasions where we would see
him out of Mum's pouch, he would

quickly take a piece of sweet potato and
go back in.

Tree kangaroo Makali was brought to
Taronga to breed with Kwakila.

And before long... Taro!

..the two tree roots became three.

Hey there, buddy.

Up here we've got Kwakila and her joey
taro.

Taro is a type of sweet potato.

When we were first expecting him to make
an emergence from the pouch, he was a

bit of a pouch potato.

On the rare occasions where we would see
him out of mum's pouch, he would

quickly take a piece of sweet potato and
go back into the pouch. If it wasn't

fitting particularly well, there was
usually a foot, a leg, a tail sticking

all at once. It reached a point where
she, you know, kicked him out because he

was getting a little bit too large.

Good boy.

Whenever we have a tree kangaroo joey,
it's always incredibly exciting. They

incredibly cute.

Now Taro is out of his mother's pouch,
there's a lot for him to learn,

getting on with everyone in his new
home.

Watching their milestones as they start
to develop and become more confident is

always very interesting to observe.

They quickly learn that jumping can
sometimes be a quick away from A to B.

Occasionally that can go a little wrong
as well. So it's not uncommon to see

tree roo joeys with little grazes or
bumps on their noses from where they've

perhaps jumped a little too hard into
the tree or perhaps missed their mark.

Sorry, I moved my hand there, buddy.

For a tree kangaroo, that's where some
training will be coming into play for

him.

Our exhibit is the first thing that
people will see when they enter the zoo

it's really helped to raise the overall
profile.

The majority of guests that come through
the gate have never actually heard of a

tree kangaroo before.

Along with his parents Kwakila and
Makali, Taro will help Taronga educate

public about critically endangered tree
kangaroos.

Can you hold the door?

In this barn owl's relatively short
life, today is a good day.

This is what we call the owl burrito.

See you later, buddy.

We'll catch some life tonight.

See you.

And for Libby, it's definitely up there
as well.

This is the great part at the end where
we can release this owl back into the

wild again.

It's been quite a long journey for this
owl. It was found on the road, had quite

significant injuries and for quite a few
weeks we didn't think this bird would

make it back out.

Taking it back to where it was
encountered, which is a beautiful part

northern beaches of Sydney,

dusk is a very busy time in the bird
world.

So I have to wait until all the other
birds go to bed and then it's owl time.

So this is the area where the owl was
found and these beautiful big pine

trees make perfect perches for barn
owls. So they can get right up the top

they can see around the whole area.

We'll use this one so it can fly up into
that tree.

It's a great spot for a leaf.

But Libby isn't the only one who can't
wait for this relief.

There she is.

There you go.

She went straight past me.

So she's flown over this way.

Where is she?

She must be here somewhere.

It's great that she can fly so well, but
it's wonderful to see her sitting up

there calmly, sitting in the tree. She
looks kind of small up there.

It's such a big tree.

My job is done.

She's home again now.

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