Original subtitles

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.

(ELEPHANTS TRUMPET)

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.

(OTTER SOUNDS)

On this episode.

We have a dangerous animal procedure in progress.

Here's something you don't see every day.

Please leave radio chatter to a minimum.

Emergency surgery...

Just earmark an escape route.

..on a hippopotamus. OK.

Everybody, that doesn't need to be in,

get out, please.

They kill people doing that.

History in the making...

It's a really momentous occasion for the zoo.

..as Mackenzie makes his big move.

He's settling in really well.

And Annii reveals...

They may. .. Close your ears.

..all of her little secrets.

I'm the treats girl. He is the mean one.

(CHUCKLES)

(THEME MUSIC)

At Taronga's two zoos, the humans work hard

to keep the animals in the very best of health.

X-rays.

Regular visits from the vets

are all part and parcel of life here.

With the eye. I only noticed it this morning.

So, it's his right eye.

But when a patient weighs more than a car

and can bite harder than a crocodile,

things need to be done just a little differently.

Nile is our eldest hippo out of our hippo pod here.

She is 25 years of age. She was born here as well.

I was a zoo friend volunteer and I happened to turn up the day

she was born.

Seeing a tiny little hippo with her mum

was quite spectacular and a moment

I've never forgotten and never had a clue that

I would be working her later.

So, it's-it's quite a special thing as she will have that

piece of my heart, I guess, forever.

Good girl.

After caring for Nile for a quarter of a century now,

not even the smallest change escapes keeper Carolene's eagle eye.

Nile had perfect clarity with her eyes

but as she started to progress through life,

we noticed it was getting a little bit cloudy.

Her clinical symptom is that bluish tinge that

she would get predominantly in her left eye

but now we've also noticed it sort of creeping in on her right eye.

So, it's time to really work out what's going on in there.

So, today,

'Operation Hippopotamus' is underway.

Inside the wildlife hospital,

vet nurse Jane is planning for every contingency.

For something like a hippo anaesthetic,

we wanna make sure that we have everything

that we could possibly need

because we-we won't have the luxury of running back to the hospital

to grab something if we haven't got it.

Working on such an enormous animal

requires an enormous team.

Morning, everybody.

And team hippo includes local Taronga vet, Benn and four...

Is this us?

Yes, four specialist eye surgeons,

all making the trip from Sydney.

Naturally, we're very concerned and worried

but everybody will be concentrating a lot

to make sure we get the best outcome.

With their patient weighing well over a tonne,

she's way too heavy to bring inside, so the hospital is going mobile.

We'll be administering the anaesthetic induction

drugs by dart.

Any anaesthetic event in a wild animal is-is, um,

you know, brings its own challenges.

Hippos are potentially one of the most

dangerous African animals.

I believe the stats are that hippos account

for a lot of human fatalities in the wild.

You know, I mean, all wildlife have a very,

um, highly tuned fight or flight response to the perceived threat.

And with hippos, a lot of the time, they'll...

They like to fight and, um, you know,

they-they-they-they kill people doing that.

One of the contingencies is the possibility that

particularly early in the anaesthesia

before the animal is properly stabilised,

that she could stand up and move forward.

And if that's the case, then obviously,

keep your wits about you and probably the most important

thing is just earmark an escape route from the yard

and just have that in the back of your mind and-and-and know that,

you know, if-if you do need to get out in a hurry,

that's where you'll go.

We basically just remind everybody that when push comes to shove,

we all need to be ready to get out of that space really quickly.

OK. Cheers. Thank you.

Taronga has a proud history in animal conservation and breeding.

You look cute.

And part of that history involves moving animals.

Alright. Be ready. Over here.

Whether they're big...

Right up. Good boy.

..bigger...

Hi, sweetie.

..or biggest.

Good boy. You're alright, mate.

I think we're OK on the flat but when we go up the hill,

I don't want anyone behind him.

So, just how hard could it be when your passenger is small,

furry and sleeps a lot?

Plats are just great little animals.

Enter keeper Rob.

They're weird but they're fun.

And one of his favourite Taronga residents, Mackenzie.

Oh, Mackenzie is one of our older plats.

She's 20 odd years old, maybe a little bit more.

I'm not sure offhand exactly.

Plats are found in fresh rivers all down the east coast of Australia

from up in Queensland all the way down to Tasmania.

Um, they prefer cooler water where they can find it

but wherever you've got a freshwater river

that's not too polluted,

you're likely to find plats if you're lucky.

Let's face it.

You look at it, it looks like someone's got all the bits

and spares and just stitched them together.

You've got a mammal that lays eggs.

The males are venomous and they just look weird.

Taronga has four platypuses in Sydney, including Matilda,

who lives in the zoo's night country.

She's just hanging out, having a chew back there.

And old mate Mackenzie.

While there's no doubt he's enjoyed his time in the Harbour City,

today is a big day.

He's heading west.

400km away in Dubbo,

keeper James is putting the final touches

on Mackenzie's flash new habitat.

Platypus Rescue HQ is a facility that's only

just opened at Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

It's unique in the world.

As well as having a research centre, we also have a refuge facility,

which is set up to house two breeding pairs of platypus.

And we wanna study reproductive biology in platypus

so that we can try to unlock a little bit more of the mystery

of how platypus interact with each other

and what a unique species they are.

It's the largest platypus rehabilitation

and holding facility that we know of.

There's nothing else that we can compare it to.

And if a natural disaster strikes.

And let's face it, Australia has had its fair share,

Mackenzie could end up with quite a few neighbours.

This is a unique space where we can house up to 65 platypus

during any kind of natural emergency.

Our teams will go out in conjunction with national parks

and with WIRES volunteers to collect platypus

from these areas that are under threat

and bring them back here to a safe haven

until those habitats are restored enough

that they can be released back to the wild.

Taronga and its partners have had great success

with their platypus conservation programs.

This is phase two.

(CHUCKLES) Yeah.

But for all James's enthusiasm and hard work,

there's just one thing missing

from this world first facility, a platypus.

Hey, mate. How are you going?

Hey, Rob. How are you, mate? Good.

Coming here to go with Mackenzie.

Here after Mac.

Yep. Yep.

Fun little... I'm just gonna say it.

Right about now,

the words 'Handle with Care' spring to mind.

Being spurred by platypus

is really not something you want to happen.

Like, you're looking at intense pain for up to 48 hours,

residual pain for months afterwards.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Back at Taronga's Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo,

a massive operation is under way.

Can we please leave radio chatter to a minimum

as we have a dangerous animal procedure in progress?

The time has come to sedate a huge hippo

for some critical eye surgery.

Benn has gone around with Carolene and a vet nurse,

so it's only essential staff to dart Nile.

Hippos can be really sensitive animals.

So, when something abnormal is going on in their environment,

we like to keep things nice and quiet.

She will notice anything that's out of the ordinary

and today is very out of routine for her.

Copy that.

We just heard that you got the first darting.

Well done. We'll stand by for the second dart.

Now, that Benn has injected a second dart,

it's safe for the maintenance team to enter the pen.

We're about the second people in.

We'll get her in the right position for the vets

and then they'll basically take over after that.

That's it and now, let's...

Now, if we all just try and give her a bit of a shove.

It is very dangerous sometimes cause they, as I said,

they can get up and we understand that, yeah, get out.

Safety is the first thing. A bit further.

That might do.

Good on you, team.

While Nile is hooked up to an anaesthetic gas,

her team of eye specialists prepare to move in.

But this hippo needs to be sleeping very deeply

before they can get anywhere near her.

The idea today is that we're going to

do some diagnostics of the eye, both eyes.

So, we've got two teams.

So, we got team left eye, team right eye

and we need to be as swift as we possibly

can to get ourselves an answer.

Can we just... we haven't seen a breath for a bit.

Ideally, the anaesthetist has asked us

to try to be around the one-hour mark,

so the pressure's on.

Hippos don't do fantastically under lengthy anaesthetics.

Is the capnograph telling you anything about her breath?

No.

Hasn't had breath yet to be able to get a reading.

Hippos are notorious for holding their breath.

But if Nile holds hers for too long,

she won't be inhaling the anaesthetic gas,

which means she wakes up.

She's lifting her head up a little bit.

Yeah. She's lifting her head.

Righto. And right on cue.

OK. Yep.

Just watch her. Just watch her.

She's breathing now.

Aw. We had her in a good position.

Damn.

Coming up.

Can we just keep it down a bit, people?

Big Nile surgery...

We've got about ten minutes.

Ten minutes? Alright. ..hits a snag.

We gotta move.

Caring for animals at Taronga is far more involved

than just ensuring they're in good health day to day.

I'm just gonna see if we can't make her

feel a little bit better.

It also involves extensive planning for their future.

They enjoy getting wet and getting muddy.

Just like humans, the older an animal gets,

the more likely it is to have health issues.

At Taronga, what we like to keep

on top of is our aging population.

So, we wanna make sure that they have dignity

and that we're respectful of anything that they might

be experiencing and that we can be on top of that.

So, this morning,

it's time for a very important check-up

for one of the zoo's tiniest yet most senior residents.

Today, we're having Diego, our cotton-top tamarin

coming up for a geriatric health exam.

He's actually almost 17 years old

and that's actually quite old for a tamarin.

Diego is about to begin an aged animal assessment or AAA

so the Taronga team can better understand

how he's coping in his older years.

Diego is the dominant male in this group

and he's the father of our infants.

And his partner is Esmeralda, so he's top of the group.

He is nearing life expectancy.

So, if Diego is experiencing a lot of discomfort,

if there's any joint inflammation or anything like that,

we do have to make decisions that are in his best interests.

Tamarins are really interesting little animals.

They are found in Colombia.

They live in little family groups with a dominant male

and a dominant female and then their offspring.

Hello, little ones.

Uh, they have a sagittal crest, and so when the males

are excited or if there's a threat,

they flick it up and it becomes really big and really puffy.

Can we get the pet pack?

OK. We've got Diego. Happy to open up?

Yep.

He was feisty.

Alex to Taronga Wildlife Hospital?

(ON RADIO) Yes, please. We're on our way up with Diego.

Copy that.

Hey. Hey. How're you going?

Good. And you?

So, one Diego cotton-top tamarin.

In here? Yeah.

Or in there? In here. How was he?

He was actually a lot easier.

Chill. OK. A lot quicker.

He was quite worked up still. Yeah.

He was a little bit easier. OK.

Going into the health check side of our AAA,

there is a bit of nervousness and trepidation.

So, will Annii come in to gas down?

Yeah. She's just here. Great.

She'll come through.

We get to know them so well

and we do have that bond with them.

Hi.

He's feisty, just so you know.

Hi, Squeaker. Oh. (TAMARIN SQUEAKS)

There could be something under the surface that

we don't know about that might contribute to decisions

made to help that animal as it approaches end of life

and that's never an easy decision

but we always like to do what's right for the animal.

I know, bubba.

K. Good to go, Annii?

Yep.

At Taronga Western Plains Zoo,

vets are trying to sedate female hippo Nile,

so they can examine and hopefully treat

her increasingly cloudy eyes.

She's lifting her head off a little bit.

Yeah. She's lifting her head.

But this 1,000-kilo patient is not going down easy.

So, what are you giving her?

That was 50 milligrams of midazolam.

Just in a muscle, mate.

As the extra sedative kicks in,

the team needs to haul this enormous hippo

into the correct position so the surgeons

can get to work on her eyes.

Try that, guys.

Just do your best to lift her and pull her.

What, dude? How's that? That's alright. No. That'll do us.

Positioning is everything.

You just need the eyes is all. That's it.

Alright.

Are we ready for the ophthalmologist?

Alright, ophthalmologist can come in.

Yeah. Come in, guys, and...

Just be a little bit... And just, yeah, just be aware.

That's all.

Finally, the team can start what they came here to do.

Look. Today's a little scary for sure.

Um, she's a very big, intimidating, dangerous animal,

so it's all about speed and accuracy today.

You put the stain in

and then I'll pass you the saline.

So, we're just battling with the third eyelid on this eye

but I can pull this across for you.

Diffuse non-ulcerative keratitis. Here you go.

So, blood vessels, fibrosis, pigmentation.

Yeah. A lot more Chemosis.

And then oedema as well.

The specialists can see that Nile's eyes are seriously irritated.

I need to look at the anterior chamber

on this side really quickly.

But they need to work out whether the problem runs deeper.

So, we've got bilateral non-ulcerative keratitis,

thickened corneas.

Can everybody's... Pressures.

Can I do another pressure over here, mate?

Can we just keep it down a bit, people?

Vet nurse Jane is monitoring Nile's

level of sedation and she knows that too much noise,

say from a bunch of surgeons working right next to her head,

could wake the hippo up.

Can we grab the oxygen now?

Awesome. Yeah.

It's we just have to set it up.

So, we're gonna ultrasound this eye, both eyes.

We're gonna start with the left one.

And her respiratory rate still steady?

Yeah. It's 12.

Basically, the potential implication

for anaesthesia is that

some of their physiological adaptations

that allow them to hold their breath can work against us

when we anaesthetise them.

So, we've just ultra-sounded the left anterior segment

and we've got a very thick cornea as we had predicted.

Go on.

So, what we found

is she's got quite a bit of surface inflammation.

So, we've been treating her with topical medications,

um, for that, but unfortunately, it doesn't look like

it's- it's been strong enough.

So, what we're gonna do is implant a drug in,

into her eye that will slowly secrete over 24 hours a day

rather than just a couple of times a day

that we've been able to dose her.

The anaesthetic team only want Nile asleep for an hour.

She's not far off that already.

I'm flushing all the debris out.

To insert antibiotic implants into her eyes,

the team will not only have to work precisely but quickly.

Could I get 6. 5 gloves, please?

Seven? Perfect. I just need a cap and a mask.

We'll be operating on both eyes at the same time.

Now, it's all hands on deck for teams left and right eye.

While one teammate holds the eye open,

the other will insert the implant.

Adjust the speculum then.

We've got about ten minutes.

Ten minutes? Alright, guys. We got ten. We gotta move.

Speculum. Uh, two per each side.

But with time slipping away, there's a problem.

No. Not big enough ones.

This isn't working very well.

I might try one of the other speculums.

We're just having trouble accessing the eye.

These speculums are for horses.

They're not very useful for this guy.

It's been two minutes without a breath,

so it's either gonna breathe or it's gonna stand up.

Out at Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo,

it's a big day for the brand-new Platypus Rescue HQ.

This research area is integral to the work we wanna do.

Keeper James is getting set to welcome a very special visitor

from Taronga in Sydney.

Mackenzie may not know it yet but he's about to make history

as Western Plains' first ever resident platypus.

Meanwhile, back in Sydney...

Hey, Mac. You ready to go out to Dubbo today?

..keepers Rob and Greg

are also prepping for Mackenzie's big move.

How old is he?

Oh, he's about 20 but you'll still find that

he can get up to mischief.

Lovely. There he is.

Good day, little fella.

Granted, having venomous spurs on your tail

and being called mischievous is not ideal.

So, keeper Greg is all ears for any last-minute tips.

You know the theory, same always,

on the bottom of the tail

because the last thing you want spurs in you.

No. Thank you.

Being spurred by a platypus

is really not something you want to happen.

Like, you're looking at intense pain for up to 48 hours,

residual pain for months afterwards.

So, always gotta be careful doing this.

You can see those spurs there. Yeah. Sure can.

That's what you're looking out for.

Yep. Yep.

You wanna have a go? Sure.

OK. I'm gonna move out of your way.

OK. You're now calling the shots.

Hopefully.

(CHUCKLES) Hello, Mr Mate.

So, out at Dubbo, they haven't had a platypus exhibit,

so they've only been sort of handling the odd one

that comes in through the wildlife clinic.

And even though people out there have the experience,

it's always good to just have that little bit of a brush up.

Yep. Other way around. That's it.

Oh, slippery.

He's very slippery like you said.

Well, slippery does sound better than mischievous.

OK. Got him?

Here we go, little fella. OK.

In he goes.

Beautiful. And I've got the bag.

All yours, sir.

And you are on your way to a new home.

Yeah. It went pretty well.

It did.

They can be tricky little things

when they really choose not to cooperate.

Seatbelt him in so he's not gonna bounce around anywhere.

Well, safe trip back, and hopefully,

I'll get out to see you and him again shortly.

Safe trip. Cheers, mate.

Oh, it's always sad to see when any of your animals go

but we know he's going to a good home.

He's got a brand-new place to live in

and he'll be well looked after.

Dubbo, Mackenzie is incoming.

Hey. Good to go, Annii?

Yep.

On the other side of the zoo at the wildlife hospital,

Vet Kresen is about to start an aged

animal assessment on 16-year-old Diego,

a cotton-top tamarin.

We got this one opportunity to do a health check,

so we're gonna try to do as many tests as we can.

Every tiny detail will be considered

after this assessment when the welfare team

come together to discuss Diego's quality of life.

So, you just get a blood sample quickly

before their blood pressure drops.

Really small veins and it's a small animal,

so we're trying to get a blood sample from him.

And the area that we're going in is in the femoral region,

so, it's just in the inner thigh.

So, I'm just making sure we can see that vein

and then we can get a-a blood sample from him.

We can safely draw 5mls.

So, we did about half of that just because he's an older animal.

The team are taking this opportunity

to examine Diego from his cotton-top to tail.

We're just giving him a physical exam.

So, just looking at his coat, his joints, at his skin,

making sure he's got no lumps or bumps or signs of arthritis.

We want them to be really free,

moving and comfortable in their habitat.

It's always good to get whole body radiographs.

You look at his spine to make sure there's no changes there

that might cause him mobility issues.

X-ray.

He's an older animal, so just wanna make sure that

there's no signs of arthritis

and that he's not gonna have any difficulty moving around.

OK. Got stuck already.

At his advanced age, Diego's teeth have seen better days.

So, the big question is, are they causing him any discomfort?

They have really tiny teeth, so we're gonna make sure

we can try to get a good look in there.

But looking in his mouth means

they can't use the mask to keep him sedated.

So, a tube will need to be inserted into his airway.

Intubating animals is always the most stressful part

of the procedure.

It's a tube that opens up the airways.

And so, they're inhaling the anaesthesia gas

that we use to keep them asleep.

Yeah.

You've got more regulation on their breathing.

If they were to stop breathing, you can breathe for them.

That whole fight of keeping them

at a level that's not gonna stress them

when you are intubating.

And, yeah, obviously,

don't want them too deep or too light.

But, yeah, it's like microsurgery.

Everything's so itty bitty, teeny tiny.

I'm just gonna do a quick spray.

First.

Yeah, you can come back on the gas.

The spray helps numb Diego's throat

before the tube is put in.

A little bit too high.

It's bringing up some fluid.

But unexpectedly, Diego has regurgitated

some fluid from his stomach.

Put him on...3.5.

What we're gonna do is turn this up just towards me.

Yep.

Kresen now has to move quickly to make sure no fluids

pass down into Diego's lungs.

At Taronga Western Plains Zoo, this is the situation.

We've got about ten minutes. Ten minutes?

Alright, guys. We got ten. We gotta move here.

15 staff, including four surgeons,

are racing against time to perform much needed

eye surgery on Nile the hippo.

I'm flushing all the debris out.

I should add their patient

is one of the most dangerous animals in the world

and weighs well over a ton.

We're just having trouble accessing the eye.

And they've hit a major bump.

So, these eyes are very different to a horse's

in which these speculums are made.

The speculums designed to keep the eyelids open,

are too small, so it's on to plan B,

manually holding the eyes open so antibiotic implants

can be inserted.

So, we're just creating a pocket for the...to place the implant in.

Not our conventional method

for this but not a conventional animal.

Do you have a scissor with a short tip on it,

(INDISTINCT)?

Compounding the problem,

hippos have not one but three eyelids,

which makes accessing the eye extremely challenging.

Can you bring those mitts and mounts back as well?

We're doing interior third eyelid.

Oh, yeah? Yeah.

Just so you know, it's very exposed for us.

Here's your first one, Kelly.

Thank you. You're welcome.

So, our first one's going in.

Oh, I just need you to retract more, please.

With nearly an hour almost up, it's one down, one to go.

Hey.

Halfway there? Halfway there.

I reckon you'll be able to suture it so it covers.

Yeah, I think so too.

I'll grab this one. So, stick the second one in.

Yep. Yep.

So, we're just getting ready to slip the second implant in.

We got second implant.

Got it.

And voila.

I'll get a suture for you.

All the implants are now in, but she still needs some stitches.

I am happy to sit right here and you get my suture.

It's holding its breath again.

The original time limit has now passed.

No. (ALARM BEEPS)

Breath holding is a sign that the hippo

is likely to wake up.

What's happening down this end?

We put him up...

We can't get any readings now and the heart rate's gone up.

Yeah.

We're-we're just a couple of minutes away.

I have to place a couple of stitches.

How long since we first started, Jane?

Um, it's been an hour and 15.

Nile has been under sedation 15 minutes

longer than the vet team had hoped when they began the operation.

We're good at five minutes.

But this is delicate surgery and can't be rushed.

It's definitely jumping and it's chewing,

so it's getting light.

Um, yeah, drop the suture.

We need to get it... start wrapping it up.

OK.

She's lifting her head. Yeah, I know.

So, do you... OK.

Everybody that doesn't need to be in get out, please.

At the wildlife hospital in Sydney,

16-year-old tamarin monkey, Diego,

is having an aged animal assessment, a AAA.

But he's regurgitated some fluid while under anaesthetic.

He's bringing up some fluid.

You. ..do you need any suction?

If his airways fill with fluid, it could compromise his breathing.

He's just trying to bring up but he's not bringing up anything.

To prevent large amounts of food coming up,

every animal is fasted by their keepers

before a general anaesthetic.

But it appears an ingenious monkey will always find a stray morsel.

When they fast them before a GA, there's still gonna be things

in the exhibit that they can probably get access to,

so that was probably just some remnants of food

that he found in the morning maybe.

Diego's airway is now good to go

and the breathing tube is finally in.

I'm just trying to give him some extra breaths

even though he's breathing on his own

just to get that iso gas into him.

With that crisis averted,

attention moves back to Diego's troublesome teeth.

Let's do his dental chart.

OK. We're in the left bottom jaw.

This incisor is gonna come out.

So, he's already had quite a few teeth taken out previously,

and we're just adding to that list.

But it's important to get them out now,

while he's under anaesthetic so that they don't cause him pain.

He does have four teeth that need to be removed.

Every tooth that is extracted

is one less tooth to help Diego chew and digest his food,

a crucial factor when considering his advanced age

and his future.

Quite finicky to work in the mouth cause they're so small.

Hold it still around 180.

His whole top right side has no more teeth left.

As they get older, just like people, they start losing teeth.

I mean, that's how a lot of older people

who end up having dentures.

You're not gonna be able to do that for this little guy.

Oh, sweet boy.

So, if you wanna give his injections.

Yep. Then we can wake up.

They get a little bit spoiled when they wake up

from anaesthetics from me, these little kids,

because they can get hyperglycaemic very easy.

So, when they're fully awake, they may...

Close your ears.

(LAUGHS)

OK. He's starting to wake up.

We're gonna pull out tube.

There's your Tina Turner.

Yes. 'Beyond Thunderdome'.

It totally is.

Hi. Hi.

You're having more control?

Oh, sweet boy.

Even if he does bite me, he doesn't have any teeth left.

Oh, that's right.

Now, we'll just let him recover in a nice, warm area.

And then Annii, you can give him some treats.

I didn't pull your teeth out. Don't look at me like that.

I'm just a mere observer. I'm the treats girl.

He's the mean one.

Just give him comfort for the rest of his years.

While Diego recovers and enjoys a small snack,

Vet Kresen takes a closer look at his X-rays.

Annii, you can just write down

mild spondylosis in thoracic spine.

The X-ray has revealed some changes in Diego's spine.

See that little lipping?

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Usually, you'll see it in this junction in here

but that's starting there.

Like, it should be that smooth there.

Unfortunately for Diego, it's not great news

and yet another issue that will determine

this aged animal's future.

Oh, Diego.

Four hours west of Sydney, a VIP, that's P for platypus, Oh, Diego.

is just a few short kilometres from his new home.

Mackenzie is very special for us at Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

As he makes the move from Sydney to Dubbo,

he's also making history.

So, just quietly, he's a pretty big deal.

So, this is where Mackenzie sleeps. So, the bachelor suite.

Mackenzie is the first ever guest at the world's first ever

platypus refuge and research facility.

Though facility does kinda undersell it.

It's more like a five-star motel for mammals.

He's the first platypus

we've ever had on display at the zoo,

so it's a really momentous occasion for the zoo to display

such a unique Australian icon.

They are a unique species but a species that not everyone

knows that much about.

We don't even know how many there are in the wild.

So, for us, we're quite concerned that they could silently

become a species that vanishes overnight.

So, we really wanna understand them better

and be able to offer a really unique way

to care for platypus.

I think this place has got the unique part

well and truly covered.

And as for Mackenzie, looks like he's been here forever.

Um, massive journey for Mackenzie.

Such a long drive from Sydney to Dubbo.

I'm- I'm sure he's really anxious

to get out there and to get in the pool

for a nice long swim and a-a good feed

of yabbies and mealworms too.

Mackenzie is a great ambassador.

He's enjoying the-the beautiful cool water.

He's been foraging.

He's showing all those normal behaviours

we'd expect to see, so it's a clear indicator

that he's settling in really well.

He even gets to keep this whole habitat all to himself.

Well, for now, anyway.

For Mackenzie,

it's very normal for him to be by himself.

It's only short periods of the year that they'll try to find a female

and that's when you see interaction.

The remainder of the year, they spend time by themselves.

And I reckon it's a pretty safe bet

that's exactly how Mackenzie likes it.

He's got two speeds, stop and go.

Over at the hippo habitat,

Nile's eye operation is now running 15 minutes

over time.

We need to get it... Start wrapping it up. OK.

She's lifting her head. Yeah, I know.

Suture, you...

OK, everybody that doesn't need to be in, get out, please.

Nile's breath holding means she's starting to stir.

It's too late in the procedure to increase the anaesthetic gas,

so the pressure is on to get her stitched up

before she stands up.

Always remember where that exit is.

And Benn's words are no doubt ringing in everyone's ears.

She's one of the largest land mammals

and probably one of the more dangerous ones

as well, so we have to work quickly.

I'm gonna let go. Yeah.

Can you hold the conch where I've got it?

Yeah. Sure.

I can't see the whole hole.

The hole's just dorsal at-at 12.

Yeah? There you go. Yeah.

It goes straight there and then down.

Beautiful, mate. Good job. It's good suture. Great work.

Pass the scissors.

Just so you guys know,

team left is kicking team right's bottom.

Though the stitches are nearly in place,

they're not done yet.

A pain relief would be pretty good if it,

you know, whatever you guys think.

Could we get cefazolin as well drawn up, please?

Yeah. Great idea.

Tying off.

So, we're close to waking up apparently.

Yep.

If Nile wakes up, the last place anyone should be

is at the business end.

Those huge powerful jaws.

She's a bit light. Three minutes?

Three minutes? No breaths.

So, it's either gonna breathe or jump up.

She's blinking. Just be ready. Yeah.

This is the last thing, so. Yeah.

Anybody that doesn't need to be here can go.

Where's those scissors, boys?

You guys have some antibiotic already?

We're wrapping up. Yeah.

And I need 0.2 mils with 1 mil syringe.

They simply can't keep Nile sedated any longer.

Well, OK, guys.

No. No. We're waking up. We're waking up.

OK, everybody out that doesn't need to be here, please.

So, that was an adrenaline rush, for sure.

Fast and furious but very effective.

We don't think she's got glaucoma

or inherent inflammation inside the eye

or anything that is potentially

gonna lead to worsening of vision.

Although Nile has woken up, she's a little slow to get going.

There will inevitably be a tiny bit of residual sedation.

She did have an additional sedative drug that

that we did not reverse, so it should only be mild, though.

She-she might just have a lovely snoozy morning in the sun.

The-the procedure went very well.

We achieved our aims and the animal was safe

throughout and recovered nicely and is currently standing

and-and waiting in her night yard

for access to the big pond and a feed.

We know that-that she's comfortable, so that's great.

But, you know, her vision will be

perfectly adequate for her to enjoy a-a comfortable

and a...and a long, safe and-and productive life in the zoo.

And one month later, Nile is a vision of health.

We're really happy with the recovery.

And as you can see, there's been some improvement

in the cloudiness in both her eyes.

She's still participating in a twice daily eye treatments

where we administer two topical gels.

These will help reduce inflammation and pressure

and they also work alongside the implants

that we put in during surgery.

Next.

How did he go?

The results that will determine Diego's future.

We've put a three out of five. That's pretty significant.

Diego, the 16-year-old tamarin,

is recovering from his veterinary aged

animal assessment at the Taronga Wildlife Hospital.

Oh, Diego, you're adorable.

Your hair is like mine

when I get up at 5:30 in the morning.

But a closer look at the X-rays

has revealed some changes to the little monkey's spine.

Like, it should be that smooth there.

That's typical.

As it get older, it gets a bit unstable.

The spinal changes and the four tooth extractions

will be discussed during the next step of his assessment

in a few days' time, when a team of Taronga experts

evaluate Diego's quality of life based on what's been found.

Hello. Hello.

Hello. How did he go? Hello.

So, he does have quite severe dental issues.

He needed four teeth removed. Ooh.

But his whole body rads look pretty OK.

Yeah, I'm surprised.

Like, his joints, like his elbows, hips, knees,

everything there look fine.

He does have some minor changes along his spine.

OK. So, let's keep an eye on that.

Like, he's quite alert. He's doing well.

I don't think he's missing his teeth.

I don't think he likes Alex and I right now.

Alright. Bye.

Prefer him to...

With his veterinary assessment now over,

Diego can finally return to his family.

Put in a sultana or something.

Yeah. Alright.

I'll get the gate? Sure.

And soon after,

representatives from various departments

assemble to commence the next stage of assessment.

Part of our aged animal assessment

also involves our observations as keepers,

which is to do with his mobility, his appetite,

his interactions with the other tamarins.

And we also have curators

and behavioural biologists that come in.

And if the animal has experienced

a lot of discomfort or deterioration,

then it is a decision made between the keepers,

the vets and the behavioural biologists

to put that animal to sleep.

The team assess every part of Diego's life.

We work in free contact with him.

We can be relatively hands-on with him.

Including his weight.

He'd be more like a 2.5 to a three.

He's not too lean.

He's smaller than his sons

but they're quite large animals, actually.

His eyesight.

He's not sort of missing branches.

He's not, sort of, bumping into things.

And even his hair.

I noticed a lot more greasiness in the cooler months.

Yeah.

Slimmed out a little bit and you saw the hair

kinda clumping a bit more.

And the two main concerns, his spinal and his dental issues,

are next on the list.

Abnormal posture, deformity and swelling of joints,

we have not noticed that.

Interestingly, though, you'd picked up

some changes, spinal changes.

Is that right? Yeah.

Degenerative Spondyloarthritis.

So, would. .. what score out of five?

Out of five, I'd put it out to one.

OK. Same.

Like, this is...this is quite mild. It's pretty mild.

So, far, so good. Diego's spinal changes are minor.

We've put a three for broken or worn teeth.

It's out of five but again, we need to get your input on that.

So, I've got him at marked severe dental wear...

OK.

..because his teeth are pretty worn out.

And realistically, what he's got is basically his right side.

All these are gone.

That's pretty significant. Yes, I agree.

But what does that mean for Diego?

So, his ability to eat hard food currently...

Yeah.

Like, is there any modifications that we should be making?

This little monkey doesn't know it

but he's got a large team of experts

dedicated to doing whatever they can to support his quality of life

but who are also prepared to make those tough decisions

when required.

Overall, he did really well.

So, he will be scheduled

to have the same procedure done again in six months

to ensure that we're catching anything that might pop up.

So, our ongoing plan for him is to weigh him monthly

just to ensure that those teeth that have been removed

are not impacting him eating and maintaining his weight.

And the spinal changes, we're going to monitor

by just getting him to do some behaviours like stretch out.

Hi. Hello. Oh, nice.

Stretching up nicely. Good boy. Here's a good one.

Look at that.

So, that just gives us an indication of his mobility.

Good boy. Look at that long spine.

It's nice to see him eating really well

even after the dental work that he had.

Yeah, he doesn't look like he's in any pain at all.

No. Not at all. He's chewing normally.

The Aged Animal Assessment gives us a picture

of what that animal is experiencing.

We do it because we want to make sure when an animal

gets to the last sort of 20% of their natural lifespan,

we give them a dignified life and end of life as well.

Jump.

Go, Diego. Doing well for an old guy.

17 years young.

Yes.

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