Original subtitles

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

VIRGINIA GAY (NARRATES): They say don't ever work

with babies or animals...

(MONKEYS COO)

..but what if they're baby animals?

Oh, no.

It was only born this morning.

On this all new season... (ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)

..welcome back to the ever changing world of Taronga...

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

..where you'll witness things you never thought possible.

You can actually hear her breathe.

And meet new faces...

Oh, hi, buddy.

..you'll never forget.

So good.

It's time to discover...

Oh, my god.

..exactly who's who in this zoo.

(TIGER ROARS)

On this episode,

they say there's a first time for everything.

We'll probably do both front together,

both back together.

Yeah. But Chelsea...

A little bit nervous.

..seriously, girl?

Adrenaline kicking in. It's a bit more than I expected.

Did you have to pick this?

Chels. Just be mindful.

You're on danger side of the animal.

Round two!

The brush turkeys managed to get it off the tree.

It basically just fell apart.

As Taronga's A Team...

I promise Fred and John know what they're doing.

..step back into the ring with an old foe.

It's gonna have to go higher than that.

And if you're a Galapagos tortoise...

She's 100 next year. Yee-haw.

We'll see what her ovaries are doing. Yeah?

..seems you're never too old.

Hopefully before too long, you'll see some eggs

and, you know, hatchlings at the end of all that.

Yeah.

(THEME MUSIC)

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

In Taronga's African Savannah...

(HUMS MUSIC)

..as a keeper, it's Tamara's job to keep a close watch

over an iconic carnivore family.

Oh, dusty!

But make no mistake, they're also closely watching her.

So, we have a family group of seven lions.

Mum, Maya, dad, Ato, and their five offspring.

Maya has a really great relationship with Ato.

They're quite bonded.

So, Maya's 13 now.

She's already had three litters, and she may be coming into season.

We don't want the males fighting,

and the males may want to mate with her,

which obviously we do-do not want.

When Maya is in season,

all the males find her pretty irresistible.

There's a little bit of management that we have to implement.

So, to avoid any fights or an unplanned pregnancy,

the Taronga team have been using a contraceptive implant on Maya.

It's been about 14 months since her last implant,

and Maya's actually shown some signs

that her contraceptive implant is wearing off.

(TENSE MUSIC)

The implant stops Maya from coming into season,

which also stops the males

from showing too much interest in her.

As soon as we saw Ato starting to guard her...

we were like, there's gonna be issues in the group here.

The fear is if one of the younger boys gets too close,

it could lead to a violent clash.

So, for all the lions' safety,

Maya needs to be separated from the rest of the pride.

We need to spring into action.

She needs an implant, and she needs an implant really soon.

Cue the team at the Taronga Wildlife Hospital.

I haven't done a lion in a while.

Vet Frances will be leading the procedure.

Today, we're gonna do an anaesthetic on Maya,

um, our lion.

And this time,

the animal hospital is venturing inside the lion's den.

The implant, it's behind the left ear.

It'll be shaved down, surgical scrub.

Drugs from SAFE.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Lions are dangerous animals.

When we're doing a procedure like this,

we're always very conscious of safety.

Have we got the darts?

We're hopefully not going to need darts at all.

But if we don't have them ready then...

While Maya is sleeping,

Frances is also going to take this rare opportunity

to squeeze in some additional procedures.

We need to get some blood from her

and hopefully some urine and do a full physical exam.

She has had some dental work done earlier on in the year,

so, we'll have a look at those too.

And if necessary, I might take some dental X-rays.

Um...

And will the keepers do the hobbling and the chaining,

or am I expected to be doing that?

Um, that will be you and Frances. Probably.

OK. Cool.

So, we've got Chelsea working with us today.

Chelsea's a highly experienced nurse but this is gonna be her first time

doing a procedure like this on a dangerous animal.

It'll be as tight as it possibly can be...

Yep. ..on the lion.

So, she'll be working closely with me and helping me

do what I need to do.

We'll probably do both front together, both back together.

Yeah.

And more than likely, the back one to the wall.

OK. But could go either way.

OK. Cool.

My background is primarily in vet nursing in a general practice,

so, mostly cats and dogs, much smaller cats.

But I'm really excited for,

yeah, the first experience with a big cat today.

For Chelsea, this is the calm before the storm,

and the storm is coming.

For a dangerous animal procedure, it's important that we focus.

Once the procedure starts,

I want everybody paying attention to the animal,

listening out for each other, and focusing on what we're doing,

and, you know, that's the way that we work.

(TENSE MUSIC) (UPBEAT MUSIC)

Each and every habitat in Taronga is designed

to cater precisely to the species that calls it home.

From African savannahs... (LION ROARS)

..to lush forests,

the perfect habitat for Taronga's family of red pandas.

So, our red pandas,

they're actually struggling out in the wild.

They're listed as endangered.

They could be anywhere, as little as 10,000 of them left in the wild,

which is pretty scary.

But try as Taronga might to keep this home exclusive

to these little rare pandas.

This particular habitat

is also home to another uninvited red and black critter.

You guessed it.

It's time to welcome back the brush turkey.

The brush turkeys are actually an Australian native,

so, you will find them all around our homes here

and here at Taronga Zoo.

Yep. Keep an eye on those turkeys, buddy.

For some time now,

those brush turkeys have been stealing our red panda food.

Now, they're on a speciality diet.

We need to make sure they're getting all of their nutritional needs met.

If I've got these turkeys coming along

and sometimes stealing half of their breakfast,

that's a real issue.

It is indeed and that's why several months ago,

Taronga's carnivore keepers turned to the A Team,

two intrepid gents to help quell this brush turkey rebellion.

Fred and John, they're our enrichment volunteers,

and they help us build different items

such as these amazing feeders.

When Fred and John were first recruited...

We know why it doesn't work.

(LAUGHS)

..they studied their adversary.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Plotted.

These are no good 'cause the brush turkeys are just

feeding themselves.

Uh, plotted again.

We think this one will work better.

And voila,

the brush turkey proof red panda feeder in all its glory.

Um, straight up. Yes.

Easy. Easy-peasy.

She can get in there and the brush turkeys can't.

But six short months later.

This is what I've got left. (CHUCKLES) I know.

(CHUCKLES) We're gonna get some more made.

Yep. The brushed turkeys strike back.

And we're back at square one.

But these boys aren't going down without a fight.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's get ready to rumble.

In the green corner, it's Fred and John.

And in the red and black corner, the brush turkey.

Round two. (BELL DINGS)

Look what the brush turkeys have done to our feeder.

So, we're gonna have to scrap that completely.

The major challenge is to outsmart the brush turkeys.

So, what cunning plan

have you got in mind this time, lads?

New design. Well, similar design.

Oh, right.

Well, the lid's good,

so, we don't have to think about that.

No. Lid's good. Lid's good.

They can't get into the feeder. We know that.

The lid worked fine.

Yeah. The lid's good. Got it.

What we're gonna have to do is stop the brush turkeys

taking the feeder off the tree.

Ah. Now, we're talking.

(TENSE MUSIC) This is what we do.

(TENSE MUSIC)

We do a prototype.

(SAWING SOUNDS)

More robust,

stronger onto the tree so that it can't be manipulated off.

(DRILLING SOUNDS)

It has to be panda-friendly.

So, that goes that way.

Easy for the panda to use...

but very difficult for the brush turkey to use.

You're definitely onto something, lads.

One food tray.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Yep. Looks good. It's a lot stronger.

It should be really successful.

We try it out.

(TENSE MUSIC)

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Back at the Taronga Wildlife Hospital.

Gonna load up shortly.

Just getting a few more things. OK.

The team are preparing to head straight into the lion's den.

So, today, Maya will be having an anaesthetic

to be re-implanted with a contraceptive implant.

Are the keepers out there yet?

Whenever we do a procedure like this in the animal's den,

we bring the hospital to them.

So, it's a lot of gear that we have to bring with us.

You're gonna work with me? Mm-hm.

I need gloves. Yep.

Today is the first time vet nurse, Chelsea, will be up close

and personal with a rather large 140kg lion.

What size glove is Frances?

My role today will be to be helping Frances out

with whatever she asks for her needs.

Put the ice brick inside that calico bag.

Mm-hm.

All this stuff has to come in the van.

We've got emergency drugs. .. Mm.

..in the red bag.

Yep. It's a whole different ballpark doing it down there.

Obviously, there's an element of control that you lose.

You just don't want any unexpected complications.

Welcome, everyone.

It's a dangerous animal GA today for Maya.

She's getting an implant. (LIONESS ROAR)

Frances is running the GA,

guiding us through the steps of the procedures.

It's my responsibility to make sure that she's appropriately

chemically restrained during the procedure.

A chemical restraint is basically vet speak for a general anaesthetic.

Flee and Rea are gonna do the anaesthetic,

and Chelsea is the nurse helping me.

I'm going to be injecting her with a pole.

Once she's injected,

we're happy for you to come into the building and monitor her.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Whenever we do these procedures, we plan for what could go wrong.

I'm going to be assessing when she's safe before we all go in.

Once the procedure starts,

I want everybody paying attention to the animal,

listening out for each other.

If anything happens or if I'm concerned,

I might say, "Everybody get out of the den."

(BIRDS CHIRP)

Alright. Everyone ready?

It's all good.

Thank you. (SIGHS)

Hopefully, Maya looks super stable throughout the anaesthetic,

and we don't need to intervene in any other way

but, yeah, that's the plan.

40mg per ml.

It's literally ready to go. Fab.

As soon as she's injected, we'll let you know.

The team can see that Maya is already agitated.

(HUMS A SONG)

So, only two keepers are entering the den

to try and keep the lion as calm as possible.

Maya. Hey, darling. (MAYA ROARS)

And it looks like Khari, one of Maya's sons,

is also well aware that this isn't a normal day.

He's very curious. (CHUCKLES)

Drop. Touch.

A bit nerve wracking. Good.

Inside the den, Tamara has hit her mark.

The sedative is in. OK.

The team move into position.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Chelsea, just watch out because I'm gonna poke her.

Can we have everybody quiet?

(TENSE MUSIC)

I can't reach her head. I still can't see her eyes.

Which leaves vet Frances with only one option.

So, what I might do is just me go in.

Yep. So, give me a clear exit.

Yep. (TENSE MUSIC)

Still to come, no room for error.

Chelsea, if I say "everyone out", you get out first.

Tension is building in the lion's den.

We do not wanna be inside that den if the lion wakes up.

Judgment day.

Lid's the same but much more solid.

As Taronga's dynamic duo try to outsmart some real turkeys.

Let's head in.

And just what's made Nala this happy?

(LAUGHTER) Oh, sweetheart.

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

Yes.

It's the season for babies at Taronga.

Good job.

And in this race to bring all these new faces into the world,

for one particular species,

slow and steady is the only way to go.

This is Molly Mabel, who is in her mid-50s, um,

which is pretty young for a Galapagos tortoise.

They hit maturity around 30

and they should live well past 150 years,

so, she's just in that prime of her life.

But Molly from Taronga Western Plains Zoo isn't the winner

when it comes to being the oldest resident.

That title goes to 99-year-old Audrey.

Audrey's just come over to me,

so, I'm just gonna give her a little scratch.

And in response, she's gonna go into what we call a finch pose,

which is where the tortoise stands up nice and tall

and very still.

They almost go in a little trance. Good girl, mama.

So, we utilise finch pose, um, as a conditioning tool,

so, when our vets come down,

they can take bloods from the tortoise,

do ultrasounds, take X-rays. The tortoise are really happy.

They're focusing on the sensation that pat is creating

rather than their vet procedure that's happening.

This finch pose is about to be tested as Kaitlin has noticed

something unusual with both Molly Mabel and Audrey.

Over the past couple weeks,

we have seen our females deposit unshelled eggs or yolks

that don't look very healthy.

Um, so, we've notified our vet team,

and they're gonna do a routine ultrasound.

It could take a while

to get these two tortoises to the vet clinic.

So, today, the entire clinic, well, Vet Ben, is coming to them.

We'll scan them both and see if we can get some more information

as to...as to what's going on reproductively for them.

Perfect. Thanks, Ben.

And mid-50s Molly is patient number one.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Just pop some coupling gel on just to help the ultrasound.

Ben is using a portable ultrasound machine

to find Molly's ovaries.

You're alright, my girl.

Located deep in her abdomen.

So, you can see the spheres, see the...

see this the moons sort of popping up?

They're all follicles.

What we really look for is follicles that reach a threshold size

because when they get to a certain size,

we know that they're going to ovulate.

Both ovaries will grow a number of follicles,

which are destined to become eggs after a tortoise ovulates.

(TENSE MUSIC)

In giant tortoises,

the eggs are supported by a large yellow yolk.

It's fertilised by-by sperm,

and then a shell is laid down over that,

and then that's subsequently laid.

But the egg won't survive if the shell isn't hard and healthy.

Let's see, there, there's a sphere

and it's got an irregular kind of hazy outline

and then in the middle of it, it's dark.

So, that tells me that it's yolk

that is being degraded and taken away.

(TENSE MUSIC)

So, that's a follicle that will not ovulate.

And that's not good news for Molly.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Deep in the lion's den at Taronga.

Give me a clear exit. Yep.

Lioness Maya has been injected with an anaesthetic

to prepare her for a contraceptive implant.

The adrenaline kicking in. It's a bit more than I expected.

The team are on edge,

while Vet Frances checks to see if this large cat is sleeping.

These are dangerous animals.

It is a dangerous animal procedure,

and it's always very important to make sure

that the lion is absolutely asleep before anyone enters or approaches.

Let's put the cargo net on her.

Overall, I think that went really well.

Her anaesthetic was fine, so, Tamara did a great job.

I'm gonna pull her over to here.

(TENSE MUSIC)

So, be aware of what's going on. Gonna get the mask on her.

The mask will deliver an anaesthetic gas

to help keep Maya asleep during the procedures.

Possibly if we use the smaller mask if it'll fit.

Vet nurse Chelsea, a new recruit to the team,

has been assigned to assist Vet Frances.

But you guys all need to know where your exit is.

It's really important that nurses and vets work well together.

I-STATs running.

As vets, we're very reliant on the nurses,

and Chelsea has skills I don't have.

But this is the first time Chelsea has worked so close

to such a large and dangerous predator.

Chelsea, shave a patch behind her ear.

Working with a lion is very different.

They're such big animals and such powerful animals.

The size of the feet, the size of the teeth is pretty spectacular.

Chels, just be mindful.

You're on danger side of the animal.

It's OK but just be quick there.

(SHAVE BUZZES)

Just learning what the normal is for a lion

when it comes to heart rate, blood pressure,

all that sort of stuff,

having to learn the entire spectrum is-is pretty crazy.

I'm gonna get in there to put my implant in.

Yep. There's your tray.

Get ready to give me a drape.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Scalpel blade.

The contraceptive capsule will be implanted

under the skin behind the lion's ear.

Whenever we do these procedures,

we're very conscious of the time that it takes to do things.

We always want to do things as quickly as possible

to reduce the risk of,

you know, the animal waking up as its drugs wear off.

(TENSE MUSIC) A blink reflex.

She has? Yep.

A blink reflex suggests that the lion is gradually becoming

more aware and alert.

(TENSE MUSIC) Her heart rate is 160.

It went from 169 and now, it's jumping up to 179.

That's quite high.

The elevated heart rate confirms that Maya isn't sleeping

deeply enough for Frances to continue the procedure.

Turn it about to 1.5.

Yep. Rest rate still 20.

With the anaesthetic gas adjusted,

Maya should now begin sleeping much more deeply.

So, I need my implants. Quite a bit of blink there.

But Frances still needs to implant a capsule

directly behind the blinking lion's ear.

So, just monitor her, everyone paying attention.

We do not wanna be inside that den if the lion wakes up.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Just watch it while I stick this in. Yep.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

Over in what I like to call red panda land...

Is it juicy?

..Taronga's Volunteer gurus, John and Fred,

have learned that their original turkey proof panda feeders

aren't so turkey proof.

The brush turkeys managed to get it off the tree,

uh, and it dropped to the ground.

It basically just fell apart.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

These brazen brush turkeys have adapted and overcome.

It seems nothing can slow them down.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

But now, the wait is over.

The new improved brush turkey proof panda feeder

2.0.2.1.

The new feeder? Explain it to me.

Similar to the existing one except now, it has a box around it.

Yeah.

Lid's the same but this is much more solid.

Well, I gotta say it doesn't look much different

but some early testing did reveal a very uninterested brush turkey.

I guess that's something.

Let's head in.

(TENSE MUSIC)

This would be a nice spot here. Right.

(TENSE MUSIC)

What's happening at the back here?

Are we thinking a new mounting system as well?

Yeah.

They cannot get it off the tree.

Fingers crossed. (CHUCKLES)

Yeah, it's gonna have to go a little bit higher than that.

(DRILL WHIRS)

I promise Fred and John know what they're doing.

While the team are focused

on installing the new mounting system,

their cunning adversary moves in.

Oh. That was close. (CHUCKLES)

Too close.

You try it out.

Let's see how he goes.

Keisho, can you come over here?

The moment of truth. Hopefully, the turkeys can't get in.

But Houston, we have a problem if the red pandas can't either.

Enter Keisho.

So, even though it looks quite similar,

he hasn't seen this particular prototype.

(CALM MUSIC)

Good work. Well done. Good work.

Good boy.

Uh, Houston, there is no problem.

He's using his paw, doing a good job.

Good work.

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

He seemed to put his head in there

and get the pear out really easily.

I think the prototype's great. I think we should run with it.

Those turkeys don't stand a chance with getting those feeders off.

Anyway, that's the plan. (LAUGHS)

(CHUCKLES) Hopefully, it works.

Fred, John, I think you've done a great job.

Yeah. Thank you. Yes, lads.

On behalf of the Taronga Red Panda Clan,

we salute you.

But hold on. Don't go anywhere, gents.

Here comes your next mission should you choose to accept it.

BEN: She absolutely loves toys.

One of the biggest challenges with Nala

is we're trying to think of some new enrichment items

somehow mixing her love for toys

with some of those natural behaviours.

Nala the sea lion is one smart cookie.

Which is why the enrichment that we make for them

needs to be challenging for them because they're...

they can work things out pretty quickly.

This time, have Fred and John finally met their match?

You're very clever, aren't you?

(TENSE MUSIC)

Meanwhile, back in the lion's den.

Oxygen back on.

Vet Frances is about to implant a contraceptive behind Maya's ear.

Everyone paying attention.

But it appears that the lion is a light sleeper,

despite the anaesthetic gas.

The blink reflex again.

Just watch it while I stick this in. OK.

Uh, can I have some glue? Yep.

The implant is finally in.

OK, so that's in there. I can feel it.

Let me just have a look at her. So, she's breathing OK.

But the implant is just the beginning.

There's still plenty more to do before Maya is woken up.

So, right now, I'm just taking the opportunity

of doing a physical exam on her.

She's got pretty amazing claws, very strong.

Look at that.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Chelsea, let's try and get some blood.

Yep. (TENSE MUSIC)

There are multiple signs that an animal might be,

you know, waking up from its anaesthetic a little bit,

like ears twitching or blinking or movement, um,

increase in heart rate, breath, anything like that.

No jaw tone, no blink.

OK. Let's go for it.

There's a good vein, so, just...

Oh, it's good. OK.

So, just don't-don't move. Yep.

Has her character of her breathing changed at all?

Respiration's increasing.

Where's my syringe?

The sensation on the lion's leg

could be enough to start waking her up.

And what about everything else? Is she blinking?

Yes.

She has a significant blink reflex.

OK. Let's see if we can get her urine.

Moz, can you help Chels get the ultrasound, please?

Yes.

Vet Frances will need to insert a long catheter

into the lion's bladder.

We're gonna have to sort of tip her onto her back a bit.

So, let's just watch her really carefully.

You're in a dangerous position.

(TENSE MUSIC)

(MACHINE WHIRS)

A little bit nervous

but obviously you just have to have faith that the animal's asleep.

It's fair to say that inserting a long tube

into the lion's bladder

probably isn't the most comfortable of procedures.

Chelsea? Yep.

If I say "everyone out", you get out first.

(TENSE MUSIC)

At Taronga Western Plain Zoo.

You're alright, my girl.

Vet Ben is doing a reproductive ultrasound on 55-year-old Molly,

the Galapagos tortoise.

It's got an irregular kind of hazy outline

and then in the middle of it, it's dark.

So, that tells me that it's yoke that is being degraded

and taken away, so that's a follicle that will not ovulate.

So far, sadly Ben hasn't found a viable follicle

that's likely to become a healthy hard shelled egg.

But we'll have another look on the other side

and see what we can see.

I can see that this follicle's diameter is over 4cm,

so that tells me that that follicle is earmarked to continue to develop

and then to eventually ovulate and then transport those eggs down

to the...to the back end of the tortoise where they're laid.

Well, that's good news.

While some of Molly's eggs aren't viable,

there are still some that are.

As for the unshelled eggs Molly has been laying

and Keeper Kaitlin has been finding...

It's not unusual for them to lay the occasional abnormal egg,

and so, I think that's what we've seen with Molly.

There are no shelled eggs there ready to go but it looks like

her reproductive processes are starting to-to kinda activate,

and she's on the way.

That's Molly in the clear.

But what about the much older Audrey?

She's 100 next year.

Yee-haw. OK.

We'll see what her ovaries are doing, yeah?

Cool. (CHUCKLES)

So, this is where non-invasive imaging technology

is fantastic for zoo work.

(CALM MUSIC)

I can see that the oviduct is thicker,

and it's been infiltrated by fluid,

so, it suggests that her reproductive processes

are-are in motion for this season.

So, despite a few small hiccups,

both of these golden oldies are still primed

for laying plenty of healthy eggs.

Alright, my girl.

And doing their bit,

albeit a bit slower, for Taronga's baby boom.

Keep an eye out.

Hopefully, before too long,

you'll see some nesting behaviour and some eggs and-and...

Nice.

..you know, hatchlings at the end of all that.

Cool. Thanks so much, Ben.

No problem. Our pleasure.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

Over at the Great Southern Oceans Habitat,

Keeper Ben is loading up on treats

for a slick and smart Taronga resident.

BEN: Nala. Hey, lovely.

Nala was, um, born here at Taronga as a part of the breeding program

that we have for this species.

She's about 16 years old at the moment.

It's a bit rainy.

And during her time at Taronga, she's also been a mum twice,

which is really good for that breeding program

that we have here, having that insurance population

for that... for this beautiful species.

It's a keeper's job to care for an animal's physical

and mental health.

BEN: Australian sea lions are known to be really intelligent.

You're very clever, aren't you? Yes.

She's really interactive. She loves chewing on things.

Go get it. And she absolutely loves toys.

And one of the biggest challenges with Nala is trying to think

of some new enrichment items and create new enrichment items,

somehow mixing her love for toys

with some of those natural behaviours.

Did someone say enrichment?

OK. Rock and roll.

Well, that can only mean one thing.

So, that goes on there.

Tight fit.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Eventually.

By now, you should know that Fred and John

are Taronga's enrichment volunteers.

Though I like to think of them as Taronga's chief trouble-shooters.

The keepers come up with ideas.

They'll see something and say, "Can you guys make this?"

Then we just screw that and bolt it together.

They're making Nala's new toy.

It's a sea lion feeding fish spinner.

Hang on. It's a spinning fish sea lion feeder.

No. It's a speedy fish... it's a fish feeding sea lion spinner?

We're just assembling this feeder for the seals.

Well, Nala is technically a sea lion but, yeah.

Yeah. Let's just call it a seal feeder, please.

It's not just a case of giving the seal food.

The seal has got to work for it.

Seals are incredibly intelligent.

Sea lion.

Which is why the enrichment that we make for them

needs to be challenging for them because they're...

they can work things out pretty quickly.

So, just how does this contraption work?

This is our pretend fish.

The idea is the keeper's to put a fish in,

and then it's up to the seal to spin it and get the fish out.

It's sea lion... Mm, forget it.

Alright. Ready to go?

Yeah. Ready to go. Yeah.

Yeah. Good.

We know it's gonna work.

It's just how well it works is-is the problem.

And there's only one way to find out.

BEN: Alright. It's looking good. I'll go get Nala.

We never know with new enrichment devices.

Sometimes we think seals are gonna be bad at enrichment devices

and they end up smashing it.

Sometimes we think seals are gonna smash the enrichment device,

and then they struggle a little bit more.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

She's sussing it out already, as we can see. (CHUCKLES)

Aren't you clever, Nals?

She knows exactly what she's doing.

Nala cracked it pretty quickly.

In fact, Nala cracked it a bit too quickly.

Good job.

But there's definitely some improvements that can be made on it.

Looks like Fred and John are, yet again,

heading back to that drawing board.

So, that'll be plan B?

But you can bet they won't be beaten.

Hopefully, they can come up with something a little bit

more challenging for her.

How are we gonna get this to do that?

It doesn't always work.

Sometimes we make really great failures

but, uh, occasionally, we get everything right.

Let's see what the seals say.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

In the carnivore section at Taronga...

So, let's just watch her really carefully.

Vet Frances is delicately drawing urine

from a sleeping lion's bladder for some routine testing.

It's a very little bladder.

Nice.

The lion, Maya, is anaesthetised

but her levels of consciousness appear to rise and fall

with each additional procedure.

How are you doing there, Flee?

Respiration's increased but there's no other reflexes.

And there's still one particular exam

that Frances wants to perform inside the lion's mouth.

She has had dental work done earlier on in the year.

Some root canals done on her big canine teeth.

So, we'll have a look at those too

and make sure that everything's going OK.

So, the dental X-ray machine's... how long will that take to set up?

I-I can do that now.

(TENSE MUSIC)

I'll have a quick look at her teeth.

(TENSE MUSIC)

How long since her induction dose?

8:58 it was, so, bang on one hour.

Passing the one hour mark indicates the sedative's effects

will soon be wearing off.

(TENSE MUSIC)

I have to take this off.

To make things even trickier, in order to check Maya's teeth,

the anaesthetic gas mask

used to help keep Maya asleep has to be removed.

But she does have a blink.

So, removing the gas mask definitely can contribute

to the animal getting lighter during the anaesthetic.

Obviously, sometimes it's unavoidable

if we need to look at things like the teeth and the eyes.

So, both of her upper canines and this lower one.

Frances will X-ray the lion's mouth

to inspect the three root canals.

Lions have incredible teeth. They're huge, sharp.

Let's see how this goes.

They use their teeth to help bring down prey

and obviously then to eat their prey.

We're ready to go.

You watch that rest rate for me please, Rea.

Everyone out the way.

Every minute the gas mask is off,

the more likely it is Maya will start waking up again.

Chelsea?

Yeah. I'm just processing the five now.

(BEEPING SOUNDS)

Frances, that first tooth,

you've just missed the very, very tip of the root.

(TENSE MUSIC)

The roots are so long. It's ridiculous.

If Frances wants a clearer X-ray,

she'll have to remove the gas mask yet again.

Somebody watching her for me?

Over at the Great Southern Ocean's habitat,

a battle of wits is taking place between Nala,

the sea lion, and Taronga's enrichment A Team.

We've challenged John and Fred to create us a new enrichment item

for our Australian sea lions.

Their first fish dispensing prototype

was put to the test with mixed results.

It worked but it's not the success that we were hoping for.

Yay. Good girl. (CHUCKLES)

We can probably come up with a better design

that'd be more challenging.

Yeah. But challenging for who?

Sea lion, Nala?

How are we gonna get this to do that?

Or our dynamic duo?

Research and development, it's always really exciting

to be given a-a problem, a project.

Our-our job is to attempt to make them.

(DRILL WHIRS)

Attempt.

Can you hold that... Yep.

..that screw and I'll put him in.

Well, that-that seems to work. Yeah. (CHUCKLES)

Seems to work alright. Yeah.

And in pretty impressive time,

Fred and John have engineered a radical new vertical feeder.

So, here's the new feeder.

Oh, wow. Hello Michelle.

Look at that. What do you reckon, eh?

That's amazing. OK.

So, activate it by pulling the kongs.

Oh, yeah? Yep. Fish in the top.

Oh, cool. Wow.

Alright. So, now, we're gonna hang it up.

We're gonna have it over the middle of the pool.

This is an ambitious new design.

Nala must work out

that she needs to pull on one of the cords

if she wants to retrieve a fish.

Looks good. Nala, let's do it. We're going out here.

There she is.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

Good girl.

While John and Fred have designed it to be hard,

it's not a success unless Nala actually figures out

how to dispense the hidden fish.

Hi. Nala, what's that?

Go look. Nala, look.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

That's it.

She can... Yeah.

..smell the fish... Yeah.

She got, yeah. ..that is in there.

That's the one there. That's the one.

That's it. That's it. Oh, yeah. Oh, yes.

Well done. (CHUCKLES) Yay. Good job, Nala.

Outstanding.

Try a different Kong.

Retracting.

Oh. Hey. Yeah.

Yeah. Good work.

To see it working is the best thing.

That one. Let's do it again.

Oh, there's one more.

Nala's a very clever seal. She worked it out pretty quickly.

They're just gorgeous, you know.

They're just gorgeous. They're so intelligent.

Well, Nala...

That's it. That's it.

That's it. That's it. Pull it.

..and John and Fred,

I gotta say, I'm pretty impressed.

She got it right. She got... I think you got all the fish out.

In this battle of wits, everyone is a winner.

Well, thank you so much, guys.

Thanks, Michelle. Thank you from me and Nala.

I think she.. . Did you like it? (SEO LION GROANS)

Oh, Nala. No. No. No. No. No. In the water. In the water.

Oh, thank you. (LAUGHTER)

Oh, sweetheart.

Is somebody watching her for me?

With time fast running out...

Final jab. ..Chelsea's given one last job.

Pretty crazy.

(LION ROARS) Blood pressure, 168 over 28.

In Maya's den,

the Taronga vet team are fighting the clock.

Somebody watching her for me?

Yep.

Maya's exposure to the anaesthetic gas has been reduced,

while Vet Frances X-rays her teeth to check some recent dental work.

(BEEPING SOUNDS)

That first tooth you've just missed the very, very tip of the root.

To get the full picture, Frances has to do the X-ray again.

Just let her have a couple of breaths.

So, she tops up Maya's anaesthetic

one more time.

(TENSE MUSIC)

(BEEPING SOUNDS)

Flee, will you just go and monitor while I quickly look at the X-rays?

Of course.

So, just monitor her, everyone paying attention.

This is their last chance. It's time for Maya to be woken up.

I'm quite happy with her teeth.

There's no fresh fractures or anything like that.

They all look OK. They're all in place.

I'm happy with that. Cool.

OK.

And with that final OK, Maya's check-up is complete.

She's in really good shape.

We got through all the things that I wanted to do,

so, she's had her contraceptive implant.

Yeah. Everything went really well.

I think the procedure went really smoothly, which is great.

When it's your first time, you want everything to go according to plan.

It definitely exceeded my expectations, being in there.

They're watching her now. That's right.

Chelsea did such a fantastic job, such a fantastic opportunity for her

to see how it goes and see how busy it is.

You alright? Yep.

Chelsea, do you wanna grab yourself a alcohol swab?

Yep.

And you can do the honours with the Atipamezole.

(GASPS) Amazing.

In another first for Chelsea today,

she's now been tasked with waking Maya up with a drug

that reverses the effects of the anaesthesia.

Final-final jab.

Stab it all the way in.

Yep. And draw back.

All the way in. Draw back.

Inject the whole thing nice and slow and steady.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

Good work. Thank you.

It's pretty cool getting to do the reversal injection

for the first dangerous animal procedure

I've done is-is pretty crazy.

(RELAXING MUSIC)

Alright. Locking up. Yep.

We're closely watching the respiration

that it stays consistent.

Mm-hm.

And standing watch is Khari again, looking out for his mum.

And he's wondering what is going on?

Checking us out as well as his mum, I think.

Blinking is increasing.

Yep.

The contraceptive implant may take a few weeks to really work,

so, once that settles,

hopefully we'll be able to get the whole pride back together again.

The procedure went perfectly. Couldn't have gone better. Yeah.

(THEME MUSIC)

Captioned by AI-Media ai-media.tv

Repair and Synchronization by Easy Subtitles Synchronizer 1.0.0.0