- 1 day ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Hi, I'm Forrest Galante, wildlife expert and conservationist.
00:30And I'm here to take you on a journey, to a place you've probably never heard of, because
00:39until now, it has been kept a secret, it is unmatched by any other place on earth.
00:49For those lucky enough to make it, it is a refuge, a sanctuary, a place to live their
00:56lives in safety and peace.
01:03In a world that has forgotten the importance of nature, a new Eden has been born, a place
01:12for animals to thrive, because this isn't a zoo, this is an ark, this is Bantara.
01:28This is the world's largest animal rescue center.
01:50This is the world's largest animal rescue center.
01:563,500 acres and still growing.
01:59It's the next best thing to nature.
02:04With expansive habitats that provide free range and enrichment.
02:11So if there's an animal in need, anywhere in the world, at any time, they will find a home
02:20at Ventara.
02:25There's more to rescuing animals than just providing them food and shelter.
02:31In order for them to truly thrive, you need to help keep them physically and mentally active.
02:37No one knows that better than Ayushman, one of the head keepers here at Ventara.
02:42Oh, look at you.
02:55Uh oh, I'm surrounded.
02:56I'm outnumbered.
02:57I'm outnumbered.
02:58Just let them smell.
02:59Yep.
03:00Easy.
03:01Oh, look, you're like a scratching poke.
03:06Yeah.
03:07These Eurasian bear cubs have come from the Middle East.
03:11They did not have a mother with them, they were around two months old.
03:15These guys have become that big that we need to start exercising their muscles properly.
03:20So we've made an enclosure where we've given them a little bit of climbing areas.
03:24We will be feeding them today and we'll be trying to get them accustomed to the paddock.
03:28Oh my goodness, look at this.
03:31The butt wiggles too much.
03:33Good girl.
03:36In time, these young bears will only eat with their own species to avoid associating humans
03:41with food.
03:42But today, in an effort to acclimatize them to the new enclosure, I'm joining Ayushman
03:47in the pen.
03:48Oh, some mealworms.
03:50Give them small, small taste.
03:52Okay.
03:53Come, sweetie.
03:54Come on, you silly bears.
03:57Here, who wants?
03:59So generally what we do with this is we kind of spread it around the paddock and they spend
04:03a lot of time searching, smelling, yeah.
04:05It's funny how food motivated bears are.
04:08It's literally in their biology as an animal that hibernates.
04:10When they can get calories, they must get calories.
04:15Easy.
04:16Oh, here come the milk bottles.
04:19Oh yeah, look at that.
04:22She's like, I've got to drink this as fast as I can so that I can go get theirs.
04:26That's what she's thinking.
04:28Easy.
04:29Easy.
04:30Easy.
04:31Come, come, come.
04:32Me and the keepers have been like a mother to them.
04:35We have held them.
04:36We have, you know, like fed them.
04:38And we've given them that kind of emotional comfort that they need at this particular age.
04:42Slowly, slowly, we will be retracting.
04:44But the thing is, at this particular junction with them, we are the center of their gravity.
04:49This is important, right?
04:51Yeah.
04:52Very important.
04:53This is social bonding that they have to have.
04:54These are animals that have a family dynamic.
04:56Exactly.
04:57This kind of bond they have either with their caregivers or mothers or with their siblings.
05:01Yeah.
05:02And this is also very much important for the psychological growth.
05:07You have to understand that these are very, very creative creatures.
05:11They are used to using their paws.
05:13They are used to digging.
05:14They are used to, you know, be curious about everything around them.
05:19If we do not give them these avenues, it will start frustrating them internally, leading
05:24on to bad behavior, aggression.
05:27Generally, the animal would not be comfortable and happy at all.
05:31Look.
05:32It's empty.
05:33Look.
05:34Empty.
05:35Empty.
05:36Look.
05:37You guys need to understand.
05:38Empty.
05:39Done.
05:40It's gone.
05:41It's empty.
05:42Look.
05:43I know.
05:44At Ventara, even something as simple as the way an animal is fed can provide valuable
05:46enrichment.
05:47Hey, guys.
05:48Oh.
05:49Look.
05:50Watermelons.
05:51Oh.
05:52That's fun.
05:53Look.
05:54There's another one.
05:55Here.
05:56You want a watermelon?
05:57Who wants a watermelon?
05:58There you go.
05:59Have they had melons before?
06:00No.
06:01Oh.
06:02That's cool.
06:03It's not very coordinated.
06:04Yeah.
06:09Nom, nom, nom, nom.
06:10Bye, you silly bear.
06:11Bye, you silly, bully bear.
06:14Oh, my goodness.
06:15That's a cute little thing.
06:20Anyone who has spent time with animals knows that they are not only emotional creatures,
06:25but often more intelligent than we give them credit for.
06:29Confining an animal to a cage or enclosure can have severe consequences on their physical
06:34and mental health.
06:36So it's important to keep the animals' brains busy.
06:37Even if you have to use some unconventional feeding methods.
06:45You know, I've dedicated my life to conservation and animals.
06:50And today, I'm putting that life on the line.
06:53It's all about behavioral enrichment here, and I want to make sure that these animals are
06:57as enriched as they can get.
07:00Might not be the safest thing we've ever done.
07:03If it's good for the animals, it's good for everybody.
07:06Kyle, come on in here.
07:08Mitch, you too.
07:09Here's what I need you guys to do.
07:11Take this honey, smear it all over the shirt, and then take those nuts, stick it on.
07:18Wow.
07:19Okay.
07:22You sure you want to do this, too?
07:23We're going to try it.
07:27Okay.
07:30Okay, that's got to be good.
07:32All right.
07:33Here we go.
07:35You guys clear?
07:36You in a safe spot?
07:37Yep.
07:38Clear.
07:39Okay, my Tosh.
07:40Release the beasts.
07:53Whoa, look at these.
07:54The raisins.
07:55You like the raisins.
07:56Here.
08:02Here you go.
08:03No.
08:04No, you're being too greedy.
08:05Look, raisins.
08:06Raisins.
08:08These are ring-tailed lemurs.
08:10They're one of the most beautiful creatures in the world, and they're native to Madagascar.
08:16They make absolutely terrible pets.
08:19They get smuggled out of Madagascar.
08:20They get captively bred.
08:22And right here, they've created a rescue troop of animals from across the planet.
08:27And we thought, because most of them have been hand-raised, it would be fun to make ourselves a little bit of behavioral enrichment and let them come and jump all over us, lick some honey, eat some raisins, and have fun.
08:37Because sadly, these animals can never go back into the wild.
08:41This is their life, and they are used to human contact, and they love it.
08:46And they're just one of nature's truly most beautiful and incredible little creatures.
08:50Look how adorable these guys are.
08:52Hi.
08:53You want what?
08:54Here, you want a nut?
08:55Oh, no, yuck.
08:56He says, give me a raisin.
08:57You want a raisin, for sure.
08:58There you go.
08:59I am so sticky.
09:10Recreating an animal's natural habitat as closely as possible might seem a bit over the top.
09:16But here, it is considered a very important part of who and what the animal is.
09:22Good boy.
09:23Their landscape is, weirdly, part of their identity.
09:27It is the land they are built for.
09:29So, cheetahs are not endurance athletes.
09:32They're sprint athletes.
09:33Exactly, yes.
09:34And that's why you've built this big pen, right?
09:36Yeah.
09:37They can accelerate from zero to 70 kilometres per hour in just two seconds.
09:41Yeah.
09:42It's really important for us to not only maintain their minds and keep them mentally stable and fit,
09:48but also to exercise their bodies and keep them physically fit.
09:52Today, we have one of our cheetahs to run inside this enclosure.
09:56When he arrived here, he was overweight.
09:59So, our first big thing was to get him on a proper diet.
10:02And we found that he really enjoys the running.
10:05The running is really good for his physique and also his gastrointestinal health.
10:10So, what is this contraption you have laid out here?
10:13Yeah.
10:14So, this over here is our lure system.
10:16That's the only one that can sort of keep up with a cheetah.
10:19This is his first time.
10:20Yep.
10:21So, we're hoping that he's actually going to chase the lure.
10:23And, yeah, don't blink because you'll miss it.
10:26Let's give it a try.
10:27All right.
10:28Are you ready?
10:29Ready for a run?
10:32There it goes.
10:33What's that?
10:34What's that?
10:35Oh, it's moving.
10:36Hissing at it.
10:39He's very unsure of it.
10:41We pride ourselves in the fact that we don't force our animals to do anything.
10:54That's our ethos here at Vantara.
10:56You know, if they're not really entirely motivated, then they're not going to chase the lure.
11:00Last night, they had a nice meal as well.
11:02So, you could be a little bit lazy this morning.
11:04It's always a roller coaster ride working with animals.
11:07Nope.
11:08No interest.
11:10Well, we gave him the opportunity.
11:11We did?
11:12Yeah.
11:13Yeah.
11:14We do have a king cheetah, though, that loves running.
11:16We can bring him out and see if he wants some exercise this morning.
11:19Let's put him back and try again.
11:23So, Xander is a king cheetah.
11:25He's a little less lazy, so he's going to be excited to chase our decoy today.
11:30I hope you're right.
11:31I really hope so, too.
11:33Xander has come from a facility in South Africa.
11:37He's nine years of age, and yet he's our most avid runner.
11:42He's got a very sweet personality as well, very friendly.
11:45Hey, buddy.
11:46Xander, what's up, buddy?
11:48There he goes.
11:49There he goes.
11:50Oh, yeah.
11:51Oh, look at him go.
11:57Good boy.
11:59Was that fun?
12:01Was that fun?
12:02Good boy.
12:03So, what position did you play?
12:08I believe you played some rugby in your time?
12:10I did.
12:11I was a flanker and a fly half.
12:12Oh, okay.
12:13All right.
12:14You need to be pretty fast for those positions.
12:15I was quick in my day.
12:16Quick enough, yeah.
12:17I think we should give it a bit of a test and see how you can compete against Xander.
12:22To race him?
12:23Yeah.
12:24Yeah, let's give it a go.
12:25Oh, wow.
12:26Okay, let's do it.
12:27I'm keen.
12:28I'll give you a countdown, both of you, and then we see how it goes.
12:39Oh, boy.
12:40Okay.
12:41Oh, no.
12:42Xander, you're going to embarrass me so hard, aren't you, my boy?
12:46I'm already embarrassed.
12:47I haven't even done it yet.
12:51Okay, you guys ready?
12:53On the count of five, four, three, two, one.
13:04On the count of five, four, three, two, one.
13:11Oh, that was cheating.
13:14I think he got a head start.
13:20He's a cheater.
13:21He's a cheater.
13:22He's a cheater?
13:23Yeah.
13:24What can you say?
13:27It might look like fun and games, and it is fun, but running, racing, and play hunting
13:33are all valuable enrichment activities that ensure a healthy animal population.
13:38But before I can catch my breath, I get called to an emergency at the wildebeest enclosure.
13:46We have a population of surplus miles over here.
13:49So we're going to move them to a bachelor group area.
13:52So if you don't do this, you end up having a lot of stress in the population.
13:57So the males will fight for the females, and they probably can be very aggressive towards
14:02the females as well.
14:03So that stress probably creates a lower reproduction in the herd.
14:08We remove them just to avoid all these problems.
14:19Nice shot.
14:23Any animal under anesthesia is a concern.
14:30So we need to make sure that the animal is breathing, that the heart is going well.
14:35There is also the possibility that the animal regurgitate.
14:38So positioning the animal is absolutely fundamental.
14:41I mean, any anesthesia is life-threatening for humans, for any animal.
14:46So we try to make the anesthesia as short as possible.
14:50One, two, three.
14:52I'm going to grab his horns here.
14:56Ready?
14:57One, two, three.
15:02One more.
15:03One more.
15:04Is that a male?
15:05Yeah.
15:06Is this a male?
15:07No, this is a female.
15:08Female.
15:09Female.
15:10You see, things like that happen.
15:12Sometimes when you go to these herds and these animals that just come to age, they look
15:18like a female, yeah?
15:20So sometimes it's particularly difficult.
15:22You need to take your time.
15:24But it's also a good opportunity to take a good blood sample, to see the health status
15:30of that animal.
15:31So it's never a lost opportunity.
15:40She'll pop up pretty quick, right?
15:42Yeah.
15:47Okay, here we go.
15:51All right.
15:53While the female recovers from the sedative in an isolated paddock, the clock is still
15:58ticking on our three males, which have to be relocated to their new habitat.
16:03Smells like a bunch of wildebeest in here.
16:06They've been down for a while already, huh, George?
16:0936 minutes.
16:10Already 36 minutes, which is longer than they should really be down for.
16:13So we're racing them over to the transport, to the larger paddock, the safari area.
16:18Then we'll be waking them up there.
16:20But it's getting to the point of touch and go with the time now.
16:23Here, let me help you.
16:26What's the temperature?
16:27This one is still pretty warm, so they've now covered in water to try to bring the temperature down.
16:34We're going to give it an intramuscular wake-up drug.
16:37Now they're weighing the other one over here.
16:38You can see it's like a conveyor belt that's processed.
16:40This one's starting to get some strength.
16:42Here you go.
16:43Good.
16:44Here we go.
16:45All right.
16:46Success.
16:47There we go.
16:48There we go.
16:49Watch out.
16:50There you go.
16:51There you go.
16:52All right.
16:53There you go.
16:54All right.
16:55There we go.
16:56All right.
16:57There we go.
16:59There we go.
17:00Here we go.
17:07Here we go.
17:11All right, success.
17:16There we go, watch out.
17:19There you go, all right, there we go.
17:24Nice work everybody.
17:27And there they are, our little herd of three,
17:29heading out, as you can see there are other wildebeest,
17:31all kinds of other animals on the horizon,
17:3350 acres, they're running on grass,
17:36they're getting to live a wildebeest life.
17:43Many of the animals at Ventara are rescued from dire situations.
17:47In this massive enclosure live dozens of mugger crocodiles,
17:51all saved from a single cramped cage.
17:54While some still bear the scars of captivity,
18:00they now live out their days with plenty of space.
18:04They're very relaxed, aren't they?
18:07All of these animals are basically captive,
18:09bred at a farm in the south of India.
18:11So they're pretty used to people, so they're not worried about us.
18:14Or trying to eat us.
18:15Most of the time they're not trying to eat us either.
18:17Yeah.
18:19So I notice on a lot of these crocs there's missing limbs,
18:22missing bits of the tail,
18:23one over there is even missing half his jaw.
18:25So once crocodiles are kept in really high densities,
18:28there's just intense competition during feeding.
18:31They pile one on top of the other and they grab
18:33and swallow whatever they can grab,
18:35which oftentimes includes their friends' toes, arms,
18:38and what have you.
18:42Even right now it looks like there's a lot of crocs
18:44in the same place,
18:45it's only because it's winter
18:46and they're catching spots of sunlight together.
18:49In warmer weather,
18:50you'd be lucky to see even five crocs together in the same place
18:52because the enclosure is just so massive.
18:56This particular species, the marsh crocodile,
18:58is a fairly social animal.
18:59So keeping them in groups is beneficial
19:01for their long-term well-being.
19:03Mugger tend to like it like this.
19:08Generally speaking, with crocodiles
19:10or any other dangerous animals,
19:12people work in teams of two at the very least.
19:15And I think we're going to have Forrest
19:17give us a hand to feed them
19:18because the more muscle we can get on board
19:20for that job, the better.
19:22Around 200 muggers in here, right?
19:23Yes.
19:24And this is about 400 kilograms of food.
19:26No wonder we can't lift the damn thing.
19:28Okay.
19:29Here we go.
19:31I'm very excited.
19:32You see they all line up.
19:33They have their feeding stations in place.
19:39This guy.
19:40Coming in.
19:41Ready?
19:42Here you go, big guy.
19:43Nope.
19:45In the mouth.
19:46Nope.
19:48This guy right here.
19:49Catch.
19:50Nope.
19:51Oh, that wasn't bad?
19:52Yeah, not bad at all.
19:54Look at that pile of dinosaurs.
19:58Look at Stumpy over here.
19:59He's missing half his upper jaw there.
20:01That's probably from the overcrowding, right?
20:03This one, yeah, it lost its upper jaw when it came to us.
20:06So those kind of animals are the reason we have to sort out,
20:08make sure even the injured ones or the disadvantaged ones
20:11get as much food as possible.
20:13Here you go, ugly.
20:14Nope.
20:15Oh, almost lost more of his jaw.
20:17These particular group of animals we have are not ideal
20:20candidates for rewilding.
20:22Most of them are over 40 years old and captive-raised,
20:25if not captive-bred.
20:26They're not scared of people at all.
20:28And that sort of an animal being reintroduced into the wild
20:30can have potentially dangerous consequences.
20:33So these guys are all here for lifetime care at Mantara.
20:36All right.
20:37First one to get the meat.
20:39Oh, never mind.
20:41Never mind.
20:42You win.
20:43I'm not sure what the crocodiles think,
20:45but I'd like to think I have a pretty good bond with them.
20:48Many of these animals I've literally known for 15 years
20:51at this point.
20:52So, yeah, they're very intrinsically linked to me in many ways,
20:55I'd say.
20:56All right.
20:57One more competition.
20:58Ready?
20:59Quick one.
21:00You win.
21:01Ah!
21:02I love crocodiles.
21:03They're so much fun.
21:07For some rescue animals, not all scars are physical.
21:10Some struggle to socialize, even after arriving at Mantara.
21:15For endangered species that are part of the breeding program,
21:18like the Persian leopard, that shyness can be a problem.
21:23Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
21:25This beautiful cat is Pebbles, the only Persian leopard rescued here at Mantara.
21:36And as beautiful as she is, she's got these sort of psychological issues
21:39because she's imprinted on humans and not on other leopards.
21:42And in order for her to become a normal leopard,
21:45she needs some socialization.
21:47It's a big problem, and the keepers have had a hard time coming up with a solution.
21:51So I'm going to try something really, really weird and see if it works for her.
21:55Huh, Pebbles.
21:56We'll find you some friends.
21:57Yes, we will.
21:58Yes, we will.
21:59Yes, we will.
22:03Persian leopards are solitary by nature, except when they seek out a mate.
22:08Which is why Mantara has built a massive sky bridge connecting leopard enclosures together.
22:15I'm hoping I can coax Pebbles out onto the bridge and introduce her to a mate.
22:23As you can see as you come in here, up this rock wall,
22:28that gives us access to the sky bridge.
22:31Now, Pebbles has no problem coming up on these rocks.
22:35As we've observed, she likes to crawl up here,
22:38and then even when this is open,
22:40she just won't take a step out into the sky bridge.
22:44So, what's crazy is cats love this Kelvin Klein obsession for men cologne.
22:50So, what I'm going to do is I'm going to take this,
22:52about a $100 cologne,
22:53and just start spritzing it around the outside here,
22:56and hope that it acts as a scent attractant,
23:00to bring her out into these tunnels.
23:02This is a derivative of civetone.
23:06Civetone is something that comes out of the scent glands in cats known as civets,
23:11but it drives other cats wild.
23:13Whether that's competitive, whether that's for mating,
23:16whether that's for territorial marking, very hard to say,
23:19but the civetone in this cologne, I think,
23:22is going to work to lure out a cat that otherwise refuses to come into these tunnels
23:27and go make a boyfriend.
23:39Hey, big guy.
23:40Hi.
23:43Hello.
23:44If I can get Pebbles to follow our cologne to here,
23:53then she can have a soft socialization.
23:55She can get underneath these other cats, start to interact with them.
23:59And if that's successful, then we'll lure Pebbles up into the higher tube,
24:03and she can meet this cat.
24:05Hi, you smell this? What do you think of that?
24:08Smells good, huh?
24:09All right, buddy.
24:10Let's see if your future girlfriend gets as excited about this as you do it.
24:16Hey, Pebbs.
24:18Hey, Pebbs.
24:19I'll give you a sneak peek.
24:20What do you think of this?
24:24Pebbles?
24:25What's this smell like?
24:26You like it?
24:27Oh, you like it.
24:28Look at that.
24:30Oh, ho, ho, ho.
24:31This might just work.
24:34All right, come on, Pebbs.
24:39Not every animal species here at Ventara is as shy as Pebbles, though.
24:45Across the park, in a massive open-air enclosure,
24:48feeding time is a big party.
24:50All right, so what do we have here?
24:52Squirrel monkeys.
24:53Yeah, squirrel monkeys.
25:00We have 81 squirrel monkeys here.
25:03How many?
25:0481.
25:0581 squirrel monkeys?
25:06Yes.
25:07Where do squirrel monkeys come from?
25:08That's a lot of rescues.
25:09Yeah, yeah, a lot of rescues.
25:10Mainly there's primates there trading, so for the different pet trades or for bushmeats.
25:18With their small size and playful demeanor, squirrel monkeys often end up in people's homes as pets.
25:24The problem is, they're wild animals.
25:26They're also highly social primates, with at least 25 different vocalizations they use to communicate within their group.
25:34Which means, they quickly grow bored and eventually destructive when confined alone.
25:39So, primate experts at Ventara, like Chetan, work hard to make sure these little guys never run out of things to do.
25:47So, we have some paper bags today.
25:50Yeah?
25:51So, we are putting some pellets.
25:52What's in these?
25:53These are all leaf eater pellets, so we get all the nutrition of the leaf.
25:59And we use the insects also.
26:01Okay.
26:02We have live mealworms.
26:04They love these.
26:05Yeah, mealworms are the best, because while this is giving them their fiber and their starches, that's giving them their fat and their protein.
26:11Yeah, that's great.
26:13So, before they came to Ventara, they are fed with different artificial foods, like bread, biscuits.
26:19It's not good for the animal.
26:21It's a very high sugary content for the animals.
26:24It's not natural.
26:26You can see he's coming here.
26:28Oh, hi, buddy!
26:29Look here.
26:30Don't tell your dad.
26:31Look, I got you one.
26:32Look.
26:33What are these contraptions that you've made?
26:40So, we have some of these cognitive enrichment for them.
26:44Cognitive enrichment.
26:45So, this is for them to become sharper, basically.
26:48We'll put the mealworms inside these holes, so inside the bamboos.
26:52How do they get them out of this?
26:54They have to use their minds to rotate them, so it will fall from these holes.
26:59I think it would take me longer than the monkeys to get these out.
27:02Generally, in the wild, they'll forage, and they'll be active in different times of the day.
27:07So, when we're hiding these foods in the paperbacks and bamboos and these things, it will increase their mental health.
27:13So, it's very important for the animals.
27:16Oh, my goodness. Look at them.
27:19Come on!
27:21That'll give them some good enrichment way the heck up here, huh?
27:34Yeah.
27:36They're inspecting now.
27:38Wow, that's great. Look at them. They're bobbing that thing.
27:41One thing I have to constantly remind myself about when I'm here at Ventara is this is not open to the public.
27:48So, the fact that these animals have a literal lake and a waterfall is simply for the enrichment of the squirrel monkeys.
27:55It's to make them feel like they're at home somewhere in the Amazon where there's moving water.
28:00This is not for anybody to see. Nobody comes here. It's such a crazy thing.
28:04When we rescued these animals, we saw a lot of stereotypic behaviors.
28:10So, they were sitting in one corner and they were very scared and they were over-grooming.
28:15And you can see now they are showing normal behaviors.
28:18They are happily, they are roaming and they are doing all their monkey businesses.
28:28Here at Ventara, no expense is spared when it comes to recreating an animal's life.
28:33From the arboreal home of the squirrel monkeys to the high-speed hunting grounds of the cheetah.
28:42But Ventara's most iconic species, the Bengal tiger, can travel up to 12 miles on a single hunt.
28:49So, how do you recreate that in a preserve?
28:53These tigers do have come from a very bad past.
28:57Maybe torture, starvation, small confined spaces, concrete flooring.
29:03Then we realized that wherever they were, they were only hand-fed.
29:07So, in this whole paddock also, we tried to do the same thing.
29:11So, these animals are fed in the paddock.
29:13So, you just get these animals out of that human dependency that, you know, they can be in the wild.
29:18They can be tigers.
29:19They can be tigers.
29:20Just run around, play around, and eat to survive.
29:24And so, this is our...
29:27Look at this thing.
29:29Oh, my goodness.
29:31Behind us is a customized 4x4 vehicle that helps us and the team to be in the paddock with us being in the cage and the animals just around.
29:40So, this truck helps the caretakers and the animals to be safe at both ends.
29:45So, it's like conditioning them to get used to being tigers.
29:49Tigers, yes.
29:50So, I'm going to go in here and feed them?
29:51Yeah, yeah, surely.
29:53Oh, this is going to be fun.
29:55All right.
29:57All the best.
29:58Wish me luck.
30:01Here we go.
30:02This is my first time ever going in a cage to visit wildlife as opposed to seeing wildlife in a captive facility.
30:09through a cage.
30:11Then, before you know it, we're going to be swarmed by tigers.
30:14Or at least I hope so.
30:24All right.
30:26Here, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty!
30:30I don't know if that's how you call tigers or not.
30:34I feel like bait.
30:36Come on, tigers!
30:38Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!
30:41Oh, God!
30:42Hi, bud.
30:43Come up here.
30:44Come on.
30:45Come up here.
30:46Up here is where the meaty is.
30:48Whoa.
30:49He can get his whole paw through there.
30:50Look at that.
30:51Ah!
30:53Whoa, God!
30:54This guy came out of nowhere.
30:57Oh, man.
30:58Oh, God.
31:00Oh, God!
31:01There are tigers all around.
31:02Oh, here comes a fourth.
31:03There are four tigers.
31:04Hey.
31:05What's this?
31:06Look what I got.
31:07Hi.
31:08Hello, big kitties.
31:10Wow.
31:11Psst, psst, psst, psst.
31:12Hello.
31:13Oh, my God.
31:14Hi, buddy.
31:15Look at you.
31:16Wow.
31:17This is definitely the closest I've ever been to a tiger, and I'm the worst perspective.
31:34I feel like prey.
31:35Oh, my God.
31:36Oh, my God.
31:37Oh, my God.
31:38Oh, my God.
31:39Psst.
31:40Oh.
31:42Here we go.
31:43Wow, look at this.
31:46, yeah.
31:54This is awesome.
31:57Want this?
32:00Whoa.
32:01That is so cool.
32:02Well, this has been so unbelievably amazing to see these big, magnificent animals out here
32:07Getting to learn to be tigers while also enjoying a little bit of enrichment that I got to be a part of truly an amazing experience
32:15Look he's chilling out now
32:19Unfortunately since they were raised being fed by humans the tigers I met today can never be reintroduced to the wild
32:26But since they're at Ventara, they'll live a life with wide open spaces
32:31Stimulating enrichment and most importantly dignity
32:37An important part of animal enrichment is being in control of their own life to be free to browse to feed and to walk on their own time
32:54Obviously in a facility like this it's not possible, but it is recognized as an important part of life for the animals
33:00So in the elephant kingdom every morning at dawn the elephants are let out of the night enclosures and encouraged out into the forest to walk
33:10explore and socialize
33:13The elephants enjoying their morning stroll come from a variety of backgrounds
33:18Some from overwhelmed zoos some from lumber camps others from circuses
33:23The use of elephants in circuses is now banned in India and 50% of all the circus elephants that remain alive today now live here
33:34So this big beautiful girl is Lila Vati and her Mahut Raj here now Lila Vati as stunning as she is
33:42She's had a pretty
33:44Troubled time in her life
33:46So if you look on her back and her hind legs, you'll see some crazy crazy pink coloration and that pink coloration is
33:54Scarring because Lila Vati was like one of over 200 elephants here a circus elephant and she was forced to perform in a life of slavery her whole life
34:03Now one day sadly that circus caught fire and as everybody evicted the circus
34:09She was chained to the pole and as the tent caught fire it fell down around her covering her entire body in third-degree burns
34:18Leaving her for dead now they heard about this here at Bantara and Anad and Bonnie sent his team down there immediately
34:24She still had a heartbeat and they brought her back here in critical condition
34:29With Raj her Mahut and this big beautiful girl now gets daily laser therapy
34:34Gets a hyperbaric chamber with oxygen and even after close to two years
34:40She still has these sores and the scabbing that are slowly healing up from how bad this giant burn was
34:46But imagine being in a tent like that and the whole thing catches fire and it drapes down over your body
34:51Literally melting your skin away and here she gets to live in a life of luxuries
35:00Hi big girl
35:04In order to promote healing and recovery they're pumping in a hundred percent pure oxygen into the burn area which obviously helps
35:31Condition the healing and oxygenate the skin and help revitalize it and she just gets to hang out here and eat fruit
35:39And when she's done with her oxygen therapy, she'll get a little laser treatment on the skin as well
35:44But just such an unbelievably beautiful and sad story
35:48But knowing that she gets to live out the rest of her days here in such happiness is just so beautiful
36:01Meanwhile, the
36:19Meanwhile, back at the leopard habitat, my friend Pebbles is working up the courage to leave her enclosure.
36:40Hi, sweetie.
36:42Hi.
36:43You smell all that?
36:45You smell good?
36:47Oh, here we go.
36:48She sees it.
36:49She sees the door open.
36:51See, she's starting to get the scent.
36:52She's lifting her nose up now.
36:54Oh, good girl, Pebbles.
36:55Yeah, what's that?
36:56See, the problem is this is what she's been doing.
36:59She comes up, she looks out, and then she doesn't have the gusto to go out there.
37:04But look, look, look.
37:05She's locked onto the scent.
37:07She's locked onto the scent.
37:08Come this way.
37:09Here she comes.
37:14See, she's sniffing around.
37:15She's getting all that scent.
37:16Here she goes.
37:18Here she goes.
37:19She's coming out.
37:22Look at this.
37:23She's sniffing.
37:24She's rubbing on all the scent.
37:26And she's slowly making her way towards the male here.
37:28The male is glued onto her.
37:30So they're just starting to get that bond, that sight of each other.
37:33And it's all happening from the silly perfume.
37:35But it's given her enough of a motivation, enough confidence to move towards the male.
37:40But this is the first step in her socializing.
37:43Hi, Pebbles.
37:44Look up.
37:45Look, look, look, look.
37:46There's your boyfriend for you.
37:48See, she's smelling it.
37:49She's smelling the scents.
37:51That's it.
37:51They're connected.
37:52They're seeing each other.
37:54And later, we'll move her up into the upper tunnel.
37:58And the two can come together for the first time.
38:01Enrichment is a complex science.
38:23And it varies from species to species, day to day.
38:27It takes the form of carefully regimented mental stimulation, high-tech treatments, and physical
38:34conditioning.
38:35But it can also take the form of fun, which is why the staff is throwing a birthday party
38:41for Shady.
38:45It is Shady the orangutan's sweet 16 birthday party.
38:49And Chef Wilfred has made him a beautiful fruitcake.
38:53In addition to that, we put on the best of the best TV because we know that he loves TV.
38:57We decorated his enclosure.
38:59And now what we're going to do, let Shady out from his night cell and let him come enjoy
39:03his birthday party.
39:05Let's go.
39:05Bring him in.
39:13Wow, he is big.
39:18There you go, Shady boy.
39:20Look what you got there.
39:23Oh, yeah.
39:26Of course you're going for the pineapple and not the cake.
39:30I think he's on a diet.
39:32When Shady first arrived, he was very destructive and very timid.
39:36He kept to himself.
39:37And now he explores and he approaches our keepers and has bonds with all of us.
39:42He's a happy boy, yeah.
39:44Oh, there goes that one.
39:45It's really amazing to watch these animals come out of their shells and allow us to become
39:52part of their lives daily and interact with us and just trust us overall.
39:59Oh, oh.
40:00Oh, no.
40:03If he doesn't eat that, I swear I'll eat it.
40:09Even the smallest enrichment activities, such as a birthday party for an ape, make a world
40:18of difference.
40:19It's these careful considerations that mean the difference between surviving and thriving.
40:26Well, I do this because of them, you know.
40:29I think I understood from a very young age that they haven't always got the capacity to help
40:35themselves.
40:36And that was the big driver behind my passion to work with animals.
40:41The way that I can communicate with them, I'm not sure that I can with humans or anybody
40:46else.
40:47So it's a very special thing.
40:48I can't even explain it to you.
40:50It's like a feeling that just overwhelms you.
40:52We are not the dominant here in this world.
40:56So animals, plants and everything, we are lived together.
40:59So it's a responsibility and duty of each and everyone to take care of these speechless
41:03animals.
41:05If you are born in this beautiful planet and you share this space with these beautiful
41:10creatures, you have a purpose in life.
41:13And here at Vantara, this is a basic calling for everyone.
41:17It's a calling that comes from within.
41:19And I'm very grateful to be in this mission with Vantara.
Be the first to comment