All language subtitles for Taronga s03e09 Whos Poo In The ZOO.eng

VIRGINIA GAY (NARRATES):
You don't get named

one of the best zoos
in the world by accident.

And a view as magical as this one

is only gets you so far.

Good boy.

No, this last year, Team Taronga
have been busier than ever...

Boom!
Whoo!

..with their two zoos
now bigger than ever.

Come on, handsome man. Let's go.

So, this season,
we're taking you closer than ever.

(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)

And as their colourful residents
get ready to make some noise...

(TIGER ROARS)

Oh, my goodness.

..let us show you
exactly who's who in this zoo.

Just always be watching who's who,
who's where.

(SEA LION BARKS)

On this episode...

(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)

..who knew...

Baths are essentially
the foundation of our relationship

with elephants.

..there's a science...

We're checking the foot pad.
We're checking the nail.

..to bath time?

We check the mouth.
We ask for their trunk up.

Well, an elephant's
bath time anyway.

The bath itself is not,
sort of, you know, a bubble bath

and a...and a rubber ducky.

I love him.
The clock's ticking...

The nurses have got a hospital worth
of gear packed into the van.

..as Taronga gets mobile...

Back to Tammy.

Injection at 08:43.

..for baby Mwamba.

Be prepared.

And silent but deadly...

Male ring-tailed lemurs
will engage in stink bites.

..just what causes a lemur...

We can't smell it.

..to deploy their secret weapon.

It's definitely very pungent.

(THEME MUSIC)

Gorillas
are one of our closest relatives

in the animal world.

She doesn't like the rain at all.

And for primate keeper Bec,

her bond with Taronga's gorilla
community runs pretty deep.

One of the highlights of my career

still to this day was, um,

that I watched the birth of Mwamba.

Mwamba is the baby of our group.

We have seven western lowland
gorillas here at the zoo.

Our troop is led by Kibali,
our silverback male.

We have three adult females

and then we also have
Mwamba's two elder brothers

who are nine years old
and eight years old.

Taronga's thriving gorilla group

are part of an international
conservation program

to protect
this species against extinction.

Western lowland gorillas are found

in the Congo area in Africa.

They are classified as critically
endangered due to a few reasons

but habitat loss is a big one.

They are taken for bushmeat trade
as well as poaching,

especially the young ones.

It's one of Taronga's young ones
that Bec has her eye on today.

So, this morning,
I'm just doing a bit of a throw

over feed of some chicory.

Chicory is really high value,

so, it's, you know,
it's a favourite of theirs.

Little Mwamba,
he's just walking up the back there.

Because Mwamba
is the baby of the group,

he still gets away with a lot.

You know, he's six years old.

He might go up and steal some food
from mum or dad

or one of the others
and they kind of let it slide.

He gets away with a lot.

Bec and the other primate keepers

have noticed Mwamba has been
behaving a little bit differently

after a recent illness.

So, for me, what I can see is, yes,
he's running around

but he is very tentative
on that left leg.

So, instead of jumping straight down
with both feet,

he's kinda holding his weight
on his arms

and scooting himself down.

He's just a little bit
more tentative

when he steps over that rock there
as well.

So, it's Mwamba gorilla.

You'll hand inject him
in the gorilla house

and then we'll do
our usual safety procedures.

Vet Frances knows
there's only one way

to truly understand what's wrong
with Mwamba

and that's a trip to the hospital.

So, in terms
of his actual procedure,

because there's quite
a lot of X-rays,

you know, we're investigating
his lameness...

Yeah.

..his, you know,
his couple of swollen joints

that he's had over
the last few months.

We do have specialists coming in
to assist with this.

Emma's going to help
with the anaesthetic.

Yep.

And Andrew is going to do
all the ultrasounds and X-rays

and so on for Mwamba.

Bec has also noticed an unusual lump
in Mwamba's belly.

The other thing I wanted
to chat about,

when we check-in
that hernia that he has,

you can see sometimes it pops out.

Yeah, you can see it.
Absolutely.

An ultrasound in that will tell us
exactly what it is.

OK.

And whether-whether we need
to do anything or not.

Yeah.

There are always considerable risks

involved with separating
a gorilla group.

They are fiercely protective
of their own and incredibly strong,

even six-year-old, Mwamba.

The goal is to have gorillas
well away from that area.

Yeah.

But, obviously,
it's an unpredictable environment

so we'll do our best.

Be prepared that there could be
strong reactions on the day.

Yeah.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

Hi, buddy.
Mealtime.

It always gives the keepers
an opportunity

for a much closer look
at the animals.

Hey, Rosie.

But it works both ways.

Good.

It also allows all the animals

to get a much closer look
at their keepers.

Perip is a young western quoll,

also known as the chuditch.

He is a carnivorous marsupial.

They are related
to Tasmanian devils,

so, very sharp teeth,
a lot of personality

and very, very curious.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

When he first arrived,
we would see little glimpses of him

as he was very new to people

and a little bit more nervous

and cautious about
what was going on around him.

The species are considered
near threatened,

estimated around 10,000 individuals
at the moment.

Taronga is determined
to increase those numbers

and has thus far bred
and reintroduced 30 chuditch

into the West Australian outback.

What do you reckon about this spot?

I reckon he's got a good line
to that nice hollow there.

There are more releases also planned
in New South Wales,

where these cute marsupials
are currently extinct.

OK. Excellent.

And, yes, I did just say cute

but it does pay to stay on your toes

around these inquisitive
little carnivores.

So, there are some risks to working
with that species.

Curiosity is fantastic
but like I said, he is a carnivore,

so they-they sort of, like,

you do have that little bit
of caution, you know,

we still need to have as well.

At this stage,
he's only showing curiosity

but we also do have that challenge
of not knowing

where he might be in this exhibit.

So, he has shown a lot of interest
in the keeper entry door.

We do find him waiting at that door
because quite often

that door does signal,

"Oh, there's food coming
into my exhibit right now,

"that's where I wanna be."

Problem is it's not where Laura

and the other keepers
want him to be.

So, this is an undesirable
behaviour.

We want him active in the exhibit.

We want him moving around
and not pre-empting

where things are going to happen
in that exhibit.

We want his day to be unpredictable
because when we have predictability,

things can get pretty boring
pretty quickly.

He's just watching.

So, the big question is

how do you feed
a carnivorous chuditch

without opening the door
at the same time?

What we've trialled is a feeder
that's within his exhibit

but it's actually triggered
from outside the glass.

So, we don't necessarily need
a keeper to go into the enclosure

for him to have a reward.

It's remote controlled.

We use a laser pointer,

so, we can load those up
in the morning,

so, it's nice and safe.

And then, at any point of the day,

we can go out front of the exhibit

and trigger them
with that laser pointer.

The idea is just to get them
to a point

where that exciting stuff
is happening

without any interaction
with the door.

Alright. He's coming down.

He's just curious.

Is he alright?

Yeah, he's good.

From the safety
of her position outside,

Keeper Laura also uses a shaker
to signal to Perip

that food is on the way.

(SHAKER RATTLES)

He got it. You work so hard.

As soon as you did that shaker...

Hmm, straight away.
Yeah.

It turned around,
came straight towards us.

It's great
that we can do it remotely.

Mm-hmm.

So, we should be able to set up
a few of these.

We can even do it for his insects
as well so he can release

it all over the exhibit.

Mm-hmm.

Give him something
to do during the day

and keep him really busy.

Mm.

We can look
at changing up his schedule.

Mm.
Make it less predictable for him.

Keeper's safety aside,
it's keeping things less predictable

that keeps a chudich stimulated.

He's really getting
into the mice today.

He certainly never
has a poor appetite.

He's always ready for his snacks.

Whether that snack is just
a couple of mice

or something a little bigger.

Hey, girl.

At mealtime,
an animal's natural curiosity

is usually partnered
with a healthy dose of caution.

She's not sure
if she needs to eat this

or if this is going to eat her.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

TB two, TB one.

So, grey, green, yellow, third...

Over at the wildlife hospital,

the veterinary team
are preparing for a big day

with a relatively small
but very strong gorilla.

Got no oxygen cylinders out yet.

We've got our youngest male gorilla,
Mwamba,

who's gonna have an anaesthetic

and a full exam today.

He's had some issues
being a bit lame

and sort of having
the odd swelling in his joints

and so we want to investigate that.

The nurses have got a hospital worth
of gear packed into the van.

This time in the morning,

it's like putting together
a Rubik's cube.

It's a lot of work getting
everything prepared.

And we are done.

Keeper Bec has been rehearsing
Mwamba's hand injection for months.

From practising the moves...

(TENSE MUSIC)

..to using a blunted syringe
against Mwamba's arm.

Touch.

Good.

Bec has also brought along
a secret treat,

a favourite of Mwamba's,
to help seal the deal.

Gorillas don't really get honey
like this.

They're not allowed a lot of food
before the procedure.

So, we put, um, some PPE on

and that's more just to protect
the gorillas.

They're so closely related to us,

so any sickness that we can get,
they can also get.

So, it's really important that

when we're in really close proximity
to gorillas,

we're wearing masks and gloves.

So, I think I'm ready.

So, Mwamba is gonna be
hand injected by Bec.

Here.

Good boy.

Do you want us to wait in here
until it's done?

Absolutely.

We're using Zoletil
and Medetomidine.

Touch.

Good!

08:43.

Back to Tammy.
Injection at 08:43.

Oh, amazing.

Good work. Thanks.

Just six minutes later,
Mwamba is sleeping peacefully.

And just as importantly, the rest
of the gorilla group are also calm.

He will have
all the usual restraints and so on.

I need extra hands.

I'll go back and do that.

Alrighty. Oxygen on.

I can feel him breathing.

It's really hard to see
when the van juggles.

So, just his jaw tone ticked up
a bit when we moved him.

His rate went up a little bit too.

His respiratory rate.

Still only lightly anaesthetised,

the movement of the van
is causing some movement

in this 55kg gorilla.

It's been about half an hour
since that injection.

Frances' experience
is telling her she needs backup.

Do you wanna go and grab
some proper foam

just in case we need it in there?

Coming up, a supersized bird...

Although she's really large...

..gets a supersized meal.

..she's one
of our more cautious animals.

And we've all been warned
never to smile at a crocodile.

If they're smiling,
it can indicate stress

and-and a threat.

But a chimp?
(CHIMPANZEE HOOTS)

The smile is quite
a threatening display.

(LIVELY MUSIC)

As day breaks over Dubbo,

Taronga Western Plains Zoo
is already long awake

and in the thick of the action.

Good.

In the elephant barn,
even though it's morning,

a very important daily ritual
is in progress,

bath time.

Well, the bath is not necessarily

about getting an elephant all clean
and shiny.

These baths are essentially
the foundation of our relationship

with elephants, you know,

whose lifespan spans 50, 60 years.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

Asian elephants
are endangered in the wild.

There are seven
at Taronga Western Plains Zoo,

so, they're pretty special

and that's why
every single one of them

gets this pretty special treatment.

They're a social animal
and you can see

she's, obviously,
enjoying the attention.

She's enjoying being rewarded
for the cooperation and you can see

when we put the feet up like this,

we're checking the footpad,
we're checking the nails,

making sure there's no cracks
in the nail

that may require attention.

And, essentially, the bath
is a practice

of a number of different activities

that we need to do with the elephant
from time to time.

Who knew so much could be achieved
with one bath?

Alright. Trunk.

Good. Alright.

Just like we check the feet
and-and all this sort of stuff,

we ask for their trunk up.

We check the mouth,
make sure the colour of the mouth,

the tongue
is a nice soft pink colour.

There's no issues with her teeth.

There's no cracks or breakages
in her tushes.

Asian elephants can eat up to 150kg

of food a day,

so, dental hygiene
is also vitally important

for the health of an elephant.

So, some female elephants

have very small tush like
appendages there.

You can see with Kanlaya. She's...

Very good.

..broken that one
on the right side previously.

That's starting
to re-grow through now.

So, they're not a true tusk
with Asian elephants.

It's only males that grow the tusks.

Very good.

So, the bath itself is not,
sort of, you know, a bubble bath

and a...and a rubber ducky

but it's essentially a-a daily
once over to ensure

that everything's in running order.

All the elephants
are-are moving well,

feeling well and making sure
that on a daily basis,

we're constantly building
and maintaining strong relationships

that allow us to work
in such close proximity.

Alright, Tong D. Let's go.

While Tong D and her herd finish
off their bath time inside,

outside their paddocks
are being spruced up,

ready for a brand new day.

Look at that lot.

It's fair to say
it's a pretty exciting time

for everyone.

Perched high on the slopes
overlooking Sydney Harbour

is one of Taronga's more curious
but wary animals.

She's big, isn't she?

With a wingspan
of up to three metres

and weighing in at around 12kg,

the Andean condor
is one of the largest flying birds

in the world.

And Konira uses every bit
of that immense size

to be the undisputed star
of Taronga's Free Flight Birds.

I see it!

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

Vultures are facing enormous
pressures all around the world.

Some species have declined
by as much as 99.9%

just in the last 15 years alone.

Konira is one of the Andean condors,

that was bred here at Taronga

and I've been around her
for her entire, almost 13 years.

And although, she's really large,

we find she's one
of our more cautious animals.

Unlike most birds

that rely only on keen sight
to find their food,

Konira has a very keen sense
of smell,

which can help these
cautious carnivores

find food
from up to two kilometres away.

In the wild,
they are a top-order scavenger.

They're nature's cleanup crew.

They clean carcasses extremely well

so there's very little left
to decay.

Her diet is obviously, it's animals.
It's meat based diet.

A lot of that is small things
like mice, stale chicks,

kangaroo mince that we can turn
into little rissoles.

But today, meal time

will look a little different.

So, today, she's getting
a nice large meal.

It's a chunk of kangaroo.

This is probably at the bigger end
of the meals that she's received.

And it'll be nice to give her
a chance to, you know,

really pick that clean.

This supersized meal deal
will encourage Konira

to express her natural instincts.

And looking after this particular
fine dining feast is Keeper Chris.

This here is the torso
of an eastern grey kangaroo.

So, our full-time butcher at the zoo

has been able
to sustainably source kangaroos,

a protein
that we use throughout the zoo

for most of our animals as well

because it's readily available.

So, we have the arms,
we have the ribcage

that's been cracked open
and the organs have been removed.

For a bird that really needs
to shape her beak on bone,

this is gonna be really good
for her healthwise

but also really enriching

because her beak is designed to tear
all the skin and the flesh

and the hair off those bones

and then getting
into all that nice sinew

and all the different rib bones.

There'll be bones in her forearms
here and here

and there's still a lot of meat,
which is good.

So, she'll get some nice
delicious kangaroo meat,

a very rare steak.

Alright.
Let's go have some breakfast.

Hopefully, that is a good enticing
breakfast for her.

Um, not so fast.

So, she's a little tentative
of this.

Wings are out. She's ready to go.

With seven Asian elephants residing
at Taronga Western Plains Zoo...

Steady.

What a good girl.

..it takes a lot of planning
and preparation

to keep their paddocks neat
and tidy.

This is one of our larger paddocks
out here in Dubbo

and every morning
we have to come out

and-and set that paddock up
for the day.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

And so, it involves
breaking up a bit of, sort of,

old hay and then, you know,
it's hanging up hay bags,

putting our browse scattering,
some fruits and vegetables,

things like carrots that we scatter
around to encourage movement

around the entire exhibit.

And it really wouldn't be a day
in an elephant habitat

without one unmissable,

unmistakable
ever present ingredient.

You can see, obviously,

there's a lot of undigested material
in here.

So, elephants only eat...

Um, elephants only digest 40%
of-of what they eat.

So, a lot comes out
the other end undigested,

and that's one of,
sort of ecological functions

for-for elephants.

They are, you know,
nature's ultimate gardeners.

Incredibly, elephants
are instrumental in keeping

their forest rangelands healthy,

eating and dispersing seeds
up to 65km

from their original tree.

By the time we finish today,
this trailer will be,

um, yeah, very full.

Yeah, look at that.
Look at that lot. Yeah.

Keeper Bradd clearly knows his...

Should know "nose" his stuff.

And who wouldn't
when you're shovelling

a few hundred kilos of it every day?

But enough about what comes out.

Let's talk about what goes in.

The elephants here only eat
about half the volume

of what a wild elephant would.

The...the...the food that we have,
you know, commercially,

you know, derived hay
and-and things like that

are-are much higher,
you know, nutritionally,

than, you know, wild branches
and grasses and sticks

and so forth, so, we need
to come up with novel ways

of getting the elephants
to spend more time eating less food.

And one of the hardest things
to do with elephants

is to find things that we can use
that they can't destroy.

And so, we need something
a little bit more robust

for the boys.

The boys can destroy the hay bags,
um, with their tusks,

um, and so, this poly pipe
does the trick

and then the elephants can access it
through the-the holes.

And, obviously,
by containing it in there,

it takes these elephants
a little bit longer to-to eat

that portion of hay

than what it would just putting it
on the ground.

So, in addition to the hay
and the other enrichment activities,

we also use these
as a pineapple plant,

so, we source these
from Southern Queensland.

They'll rip this off and then put it
into their mouth

and it's a good source
of-of roughage

in their diet and for their teeth,
good for their digestive tract

and then, yeah, we pick up the rest
as it comes out the other end.

Well, I guess
we were bound to get back

to the other end, eventually.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Taronga's Sydney vet team

is transporting
six-year-old gorilla, Mwamba,

to the wildlife hospital.

We're investigating
this couple of swollen joints

that he's had over
the last few months.

But the movement of the van
is starting to make Mwamba move too.

His rate went up a little bit too.

He's respiratory rate.
Yeah. Yeah.

And that's the last thing
anyone wants to happen

inside this confined space.

Could we have the lifters, please?

Any movement, we'll come
in straight back in here.

Yep. Go.
Yep.

So, we're going straight...

The team need to get Mwamba,
the baby of the gorilla community,

intubated and under
full anaesthetic immediately.

Alright.

So, we're gonna bring him in

and we're gonna put him head
in towards me.

Ready? One, two, three.

OK, let's get him attached
because now's the time

where he's gonna wake up.

That-that should be the right place.

Mwamba's up at the hospital.

We're getting all his monitoring
equipment on him.

There's a lot of hassle
and bustle and so on.

We want to get him stable
on the anaesthetic.

With that, Emma, I think he's fine.
Yep.

Andrew, a specialist
at reading X-rays and ultrasounds,

has been called in to help
with the examination.

So, we're gonna start going
through this procedure now

that he's stable on the table.

He has...

I'm pretty sure
he's had a slightly swollen knee...

OK.
..and a swollen elbow.

But his abdominal hernia
is where Andrew wants to start.

So, Andrew is gonna have a look
at Mwamba's belly button.

You can see his belly button
just there.

He's gonna have a look
with the ultrasound.

Sometimes the keepers
are seeing a bulge in that area

and we're investigating
whether he's got a hernia or not.

The hernia is, really,
just a gap in the muscle

where there shouldn't be one.

If that gap is too large,

Mwamba's intestines
could push through

and potentially get trapped
by the muscle wall.

We wanna make sure
it's not something

that he needs any treatment for.

(TENSE MUSIC)

So, this is the abdominal wall.

Yeah.

And there's just, like, a tiny bit
of fat that kind of pulls up a...

Yeah.
..very small gap, like 1.2mm.

It's very small. Yeah.
Oh, yeah.

So, now, loops the intestine around.

So, no, there's...

So, this is intestine right here
so then that's the fat around it.

So, it doesn't come anywhere
near the wall.

It doesn't extend to it
which is great.

With the hernia
now ruled out as a problem,

Frances and Andrew turn
their attention to Mwamba's legs.

What do you reckon of that one?

I think these ones are also...

It's a bit swollen compared
to the other side

so that may indicate

that there could be some degree
of arthritis.

So, that would be like his...

Big toe.
..base of his big toe.

Yeah.
Yeah.

Base of the big toe
and there's more fluid

in that than expected.

Yep. We might start with him
on his back.

Uh-huh. Yeah.

And just take all the pictures.
Yes.

And then we'll have to turn him
over to get ready...

OK. Yep. I like it.
..for naturals.

Everyone, out. X-ray.

So, I think
that was inspiratory but...

I think still there's probably

a little bit more increased
soft tissue capacity...

Yeah.

..compared to there,
which is what you see

when there's more infusion.

Thankfully, Mwamba's bones
are fine...

X-ray. Everyone, clear.

..but it appears there might be
some fluid in his joints.

We're gonna be X-raying everything.

And as for this young
gorilla's feet...

Yeah.
It's not amazing, is it?

..no-one has the answer yet

as to what is causing the swelling
and tenderness.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

It's meal time at Taronga,

and today, Konira, the Andean condor

is being served up a gourmet
breakfast to remember.

There she is. She's watching.

A specially sourced
kangaroo carcass,

painstakingly prepared
by her keeper, Chris.

I think she'll mostly be interested

because it's a new
and different thing

in the environment.

Most of our animals
or most wild animals

are overly cautious of new things
in the environment

because they're not sure
if they're safe or not,

so, she'll probably pick
at it a little bit

and then I think
she'll get pretty excited.

Hey, girl!

Konira usually eats,

well, like a bird,
just small portions.

So, today's carcass feed
is a real treat,

specifically designed to get
those carnivorous juices flowing.

There she is.

(LIVELY MUSIC)

So, we decided
that we're gonna put it up here

on one of her
top higher perching options,

mostly so that
she can use more of her habitat

than just walking on the ground.

They do like
to walk around but she...

When we arrived this morning,
she was perching up high.

So, it's not uncommon for her
to be up in the air

but yeah, she doesn't often get fed
like this up here.

So, hopefully,
that is a good enticing breakfast

for her.

They do say
when it comes to fine dining

that presentation is everything.

Now, releasing!

It's a curious but cautious start.

Because she's not interacted
with this food item before,

she might not be aware
that it even is a food item.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

OK.

Maybe presentation isn't everything.

The cautious animal
gets to live another day.

When her wings are out,
that was her showing

that she's a little tentative
of this.

Wings are out, ready to escape.

She's ready to go.

But as we see, the more time

that she spends interacting
with her,

the more brave she gets with that

and you can see
that she's going back

for some more now.

So, this here is what
we were really hoping to see,

that out in the wild
with a full carcass,

she'll be getting
that head deep inside

to get all to the juicy bits
that are in there.

Yeah.

Konira's really using her head now.

So, she's finally figured out
that if she sticks her head in,

it's a little bit easier
to get all to that meat.

In the wild, they would gorge feed

and then they might not eat
for another day or two

while they're roosting
up on the mountain.

I'm really happy with
how this has gone

as it's the first time
that we've done this for her

but she's figured it out.

So, yeah, I couldn't be happier.

I reckon
she's feeling pretty good too.

Well, we could ask her but really,

one shouldn't talk
with one's mouthful.

Come on, Kobes.
Here you go.

And speaking of mouthfuls...

Well done, buddy.

..over in the
Great Southern Ocean's habitat,

there's another first on the cards

for another curious creature
called Kobe.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

It only takes a minute inside
either of Taronga's two zoos

to be mesmerised by the sights,

smells and sounds
of the zoo's many residents.

(LION ROARS)

(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)

Yes, they can be a shock
to the senses...

(GIBBON WHOOPS)

..but they're also
the most fascinating forms

of communication.

While we're not
at the Dr Dolittle stage

of being able to talk
to all the animals,

we've done a lot of research

into how different
animals communicate.

(LEOPARD ROARS)

(BIRDS CHIRP)

Dr Ben is Taronga's resident
animal interpreter.

Animal communication
has a huge bearing

on-on their life.

It's-it's about
how they do everything

from raise their young, find a mate,

defend their territory

and it's quite often used
to build affiliation

between individuals
and we see in the chimps

where they groom each other,

there'll be quite a hierarchy
of who grooms whom,

in order to establish
those sorts of bonds

and relationships
between individuals.

The great apes,
the gorillas and chimps

are our closest animal relatives.

In fact, we share 98% of our DNA

with chimpanzees.

So, we share a lot of traits.

But smiling isn't one of them.

Even amongst other primates,

the signals can be quite different
too in humans.

The smile is-is quite
a threatening display

with them as well that
if they're...if they're smiling,

it-it can indicate stress
and-and a threat

at an individual
rather than a happy,

"Let's come and play."

These visual cues
are used by the primates

to avoid things
getting more physical.

(CHIMPS HOOT)

In the animal kingdom,
fighting is really costly

and most animals
don't wanna get into a fight,

and so, all these ways of displaying

and establishing dominance,

particularly amongst males
that we see,

is a way to get
the information across

without having to get into a fight.

And one of the great examples
that we can see here

in the zoo is our-our lemurs.

Ring-tailed lemurs
are from the island of Madagascar.

They lived in small multi-male,

female groups
and the females are the boss.

During breeding season,
male ring-tailed lemurs

will engage in stink fights.

For us, we can't smell it
but for another lemur,

it's definitely very pungent.

What they do is, actually,

they bring their tail forward
in front of them

and they'll use these
scent glands here

on their wrists to embed
the scent onto their tail.

They flick it around over their head

and then they start waving
it at another lemur.

Their scent is like a very complex
bouquet of-of smells

and it tells a lot about that lemur
in particular.

So, they wanna be the best smelling,

so, they can attract those females

because females will only choose

the highest ranking or the male

that has the best genetics.

All this communication,
whether it's sights,

sounds or smells,

doesn't just happen between animals
of the same family either.

You might see a bird listening
into a primate, for instance.

So, they're actually gathering
information

beyond their own species, actually,
about the environment in general.

There's all these different
adaptations

that animals have found
to be able to get information

across to each other
and get information

from the world as well.

Unfortunately, some
of the information being gathered

is not always music to our ears.

(ECHO MIMICS BABY CRIES)

Oh! So peaceful.

Anyway, more about that later.

At the wildlife hospital,

Taronga's youngest gorilla

has been undergoing
a series of X-rays

to try and find the cause
of his badly swollen joints.

We're gonna be X-raying everything.

But the X-rays haven't revealed
any obvious issues.

No.
It's not amazing, is it?

There's no, like,
significant osseous change,

like, you know,
I'm not seeing, like, a lot of...

Yeah.
..changes with arthritis.

OK.

But overall, it looks really good.

What's not really good
is that there's still no answer

as to what's causing
Mwamba's swelling.

Andrew, we haven't done
the medial of the left stifle...

Uh-huh.

..but do you think
it's worth doing that?

You've ultra-sounded it.

Yeah, I don't... I think
it's fair that we could hold off.

Yeah.
OK.

So, visiting specialist Andrew
moves on to the ultrasound.

This is mostly fat

so I'm not seeing
a lot of significant

amount of joint infusion.

Again, no obvious problems
with Mwamba's knees...

Looks like
everything's pretty smooth.

..or his feet,
which means no nasty surprises

for Mwamba's keeper, Bec.

There's no horrible radiographic
changes in his joints.

OK.

So, like, what then causes,
like, his limp and stuff? Like...

Although, he could still
have soft tissue changes.

Yeah, right.

So, it would still be painful.

But he doesn't have
to have bony changes.

Yeah, OK. Well, that's good then.

Yeah.
There's no...

Yeah.
OK.

Everything is good news.

The verdict?

Like so many other six-year-olds,

Mwamba might just be
experiencing growing pains.

Mwamba's our youngest male gorilla

at the moment.

He's only six.
He's got a lot of growing to do.

He's still immature
in his body size.

Prepare the stretchers.

We will consult
with the immunologist again

and just say,
"Hey, here are all of blood results.

"Got any other suggestions?"

Yeah.
You know?

"Where do we go from here
if it gets worse?"

So, we'll just have to track
how he goes.

Everything looks great.

He's gonna be a little bit groggy,

a little bit sleepy
for a little while

but otherwise, he's looking good.

Now, get that in as far as you can.

One, two, three.

I'm happy he's back in the house.

The family's happy.

And like,
none of this ever happened,

Mwamba is soon back living
his best life.

Are you guys good?

So, Mwamba
is just up the back there.

It's been about a week
since his general anaesthetic

and his visit to the hospital.

He's doing a lot better.

He's much improved,
walking around well,

running around with the boys
like nothing had happened.

He's definitely far better
this week.

He's big and he's beefy

and yeah, it's...it's...it's cool
to see.

He's a beautiful little boy.

He is. I love him.

He's so cheeky and yeah, he's cool.

He's a cool gorilla.

(LIVELY MUSIC)

For Taronga's keepers,
it's always a big occasion

when their newbies
try something new.

Come on, Kobes. Here you go.

Well done, buddy.

Oh, so cute. (CHUCKLES)

Alright. Come on, little man.

And today, one little fur seal pup

is preparing
to take a big life step.

So, this is Kobe
and he's just turned one

and he's just starting
to learn the ropes.

Kobe had just been weaned
from his mum.

He's had to learn what it's like
to eat fish which sounds silly

with a seal
but he'd had milk his whole life.

So, it was a bit of a transition
for him but he's now eating well.

There you go, buds.

At the moment,
his favourite fish is whiting.

And he's also starting to learn
that the whistle

means that he's going to get fish,

so that's some of the basic training

that we've started with him

and that's a really effective tool
for us

when we're teaching him new things.

(WHISTLES) Little bit full?

Fur seals by nature
are really quite inquisitive.

So, as Kobe grows up,
the marine keepers like Ange

are always looking for fun new ways
to keep them stimulated.

We really wanna get Kobe comfortable

because he has to be prepared
to see new people,

new colours of clothes
and different size groups.

He's getting to the point

where we think he should be OK

to come out and just spend
a bit of time

with his trainer.

We'll try to make it
a fun experience for him,

maybe with some toys and some food

and we'll keep it really brief

so that it's really positive
for him.

Kobe is about to make
his first public appearance

where he will experience
a whole heap

of new sights and sounds.

That's it. Good boy!

I'm a little bit nervous.

It's his first time
and any new situation

with an animal
can be a little bit-bit nervous

for us too but sometimes
that's a good thing as well.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

(APPLAUSE)

But he won't be going at alone.

He'll be joining another
family favourite, his dad.

And a nice big good morning
from Bondi as well.

Bondi is one
of the zoo's many success stories.

Bondi was one of our rescued seals.

He was found washed up
on the iconic Bondi Beach

with some pretty severe
shark injuries all over his body.

Luckily for Bondi, though,
he does have a second chance

at life and also has contributed

to our very special
breeding program.

Nice work, mate.

And it's that breeding program
that has brought Kobe here,

following
in his dad's flipper steps.

One of our most recent additions
is Kobe.

Good job, little man.

Then, what we're going
to be doing today,

something very special,
is Kobe's first time coming out here

in front of all of you.

Shall we go in the big pool?

Now, let's put our hands together
for the beautiful Kobe.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

For a first appearance,

you could forgive
a little stage fright.

Kobe, water. Water.

They're here for you, buddy.

That's awesome. Kobe.

Dunks. He's like "Who has the fish?"

(CHUCKLES) Kobe.

Not me.
You start.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, there you go.

But Kobe's debut goes swimmingly.

Oh, you're so brave, buddy.

So brave. That's awesome.

Experiencing
these new sights and sounds

feeds a seal's natural curiosity

and this little pup
is taking it all in his stride.

So, I think keeper Ange
and Kobe are heading out the back.

Now, let's put our hands together
for Kobe.

Didn't he do a great job
out here this morning?

(APPLAUSE)
Debut done.

Come on, Kobe, stop.

It's fair to say
Kobe has made a real splash.

Little seal coming through.

He was fantastic.
I'm so proud of him.

He's done everything
that we were looking for and now,

we can just continue
to build on that

and build his confidence out there
even more.

Next...
(LION ROARS)

(ECHO MIMICS)

..the symphony of sound...

It's quite uncanny.

(CHIMP PANT-HOOTS)

..that is Taronga.

That's one of the ways
they show how clever

and attractive
they are to a potential mate.

(LIONS ROARS)

Whether it's lions roaring...

(LIONS ROARS)

..or snoring or gibbons singing...

(GIBBON WHOOPS)

..all of the many animal behaviours
on display

at Taronga are, actually,
complex forms of communication.

And when it comes
to verbal communication...

(PEACOCK SQUAWKS)

..there's one particular animal
at Taronga

that might sound very familiar.

Birds are perhaps
one of the best known vocal groups

in the entire animal kingdom.

Because of the competition between
individuals to attract mates,

we can see the development
of incredibly elaborate songs

in-in some species.

Possibly one
of our most iconic residents here

in Taronga is Echo, the lyrebird.

(MIMICS) Come on!

(CLICKS TONGUE) Echo!

(WHISTLES) Echo!

Echo! Echo!

Lyrebirds, uh, mimics.

(MIMICS) Echo!

And so, they listen
to sounds in their environment

and incorporate them
into their own song.

(ECHO MIMICS)

By the sounds of it,
this one's been playing

a little too much Space Invaders.

And that's one of the ways
they show how clever

and attractive they are
to a potential mate.

The more different bits
that they can incorporate in

and the more complex
they make their song,

the more attractive they are.

(ECHO MIMICS)

Here in-in Sydney,

where Echo gets to listen
to a lot of human noises as well,

he's incorporated
some really incredible

and what we would think
quite complex sounds.

(ECHO MIMICS BABY CRIES)

It's quite a...quite
a realistic baby cry

that he gives.

(ECHO MIMICS BABY CRIES)

But also amazing things
like the sound of our fire alarm,

it's quite uncanny.

(ECHO MIMICS FIRE ALARM)

Relax.

Everyone, please stay where you are.

This isn't even a drill.

It's just Echo.

He's trying to build complexity
in his song

and so, he's-he's bringing
in these novel sounds

and-and trying
to sound interesting and...

Yeah, like anybody,
you wanna be a bit interesting

and dashing
and that's-that's exactly

what he's trying to do.

(CHUCKLES)

(ECHO MIMICS)

Wow! Mission accomplished.

You've won me, Echo.

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