- 8 minutes ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Forrest Galante
00:20Hi, I'm Forrest Galante
00:25Wildlife expert and conservationist
00:30And I'm here to take you on a journey
00:34To a place you've probably never heard of
00:38Because until now, it has been kept a secret
00:43It is unmatched by any other place on earth
00:48For those lucky enough to make it
00:51It is a refuge, a sanctuary
00:55A place to live their lives in safety and peace
01:00In a world that has forgotten the importance of nature
01:06A new Eden has been born
01:09A place for animals to thrive
01:14Because this isn't a zoo
01:18This isn't a zoo
01:22This is an ark
01:25This...
01:27Is Bantara
01:28This is the world's largest animal rescue center
01:38This is the world's largest animal rescue center
01:563500 acres and still growing
01:58It has several thousand animals
02:02And hundreds of species
02:05The policy here, if there's an animal in need
02:11Is never say no
02:13So Bantara is growing everyday
02:17Not just to provide a place for these animals without a home
02:19But to provide a home for the future of our planet
02:25Vantara hosts a wide variety of rescues
02:29From those with flippers
02:31To those with fur
02:33And those with neither
02:34And this diverse population requires diverse habitats
02:53But Vantara's youngest arrivals also require multiple habitats that evolve as they grow up
02:57A perfect example of this need
03:00Prince, the sun bear
03:03Oh look at him
03:05Hey buddy
03:07What's that?
03:08That's a camera
03:10Oh, he's gonna eat it
03:13He's gonna eat it
03:15Come on, buddy
03:17Don't eat it
03:18Don't eat it
03:20Don't eat it
03:22His youngest arrivals also require multiple habitats that evolve as they grow up
03:23Come on, buddy.
03:25Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall.
03:27Easy, buddy.
03:28Don't fall.
03:29There you go, pal.
03:31Look at you.
03:33You're so cute.
03:35Yes, you are.
03:36Look at you.
03:37Bite the glove.
03:38Bite the glove.
03:39He's really a devilish little bugger, isn't he?
03:40He's like a little gremlin.
03:41He loves to play with the glove.
03:42Prince came to us without a mother.
03:44He was pretty angry at me, and he was very confused when he came in.
03:48So like any human child will be angry, confused at adults.
03:52I understood that from the get-go, and I sat with him,
03:55and I let him vent out his frustration to a point that he understood
03:59that he doesn't need to be angry anymore.
04:01And now he knows that if he's with me, nothing can happen to him.
04:05So they're kind of genetically tuned to start doing this when they come in.
04:08So if they have company, like if they have other siblings,
04:11they're going to be playing like this.
04:13Or if they don't have siblings, they kind of play the same way with their mothers.
04:18Okay.
04:19And that's what prepares them to face, you know, like dangers or threats,
04:23you know, like in the wild.
04:26It's okay, it's okay, it's okay.
04:28Come here, baby, come.
04:29Easy, easy, easy, easy, easy.
04:32Oh, shh, shh, shh.
04:33Come, baby.
04:34Come, baby.
04:36Hey, sweetie.
04:37What's this?
04:38Oh, shit.
04:39Rawr.
04:40Rawr.
04:41Rawr.
04:42He went for the camera again.
04:43bears are scared of heights. So as they learn from their elders, I have to kind
04:47of teach him how to climb and how to get down, get those fears out.
04:52There he comes. Hey buddy, what's this? He went for the camera again.
05:02Strong, huh? Yeah, yeah. So right there you can see the sun bear marking right
05:12there. That is exactly why they call sun bears is when they get up in that aggressive
05:16pose. Yeah. You see like orangish, you know, like white patch. Sure. And that is that
05:21represents the rising sun. Ayushman has been side by side with Prince ever since
05:27the day the sun bear arrived at Pantara. But today is a big day for Prince. He's
05:33finally leaving quarantine and experiencing the great outdoors. Come on, let's get you
05:39going. Come on. Prince has finished his quarantine. So I'm going to let him
05:43explore. I'm going to let him set the pace and use his, you know, hands, use his legs
05:48to, you know, climb, develop those muscles. Like there are some things that he's going
05:52to pick up like this and there are some things that he might take some time and
05:55I'm just going to give him that, you know, like push he needs.
05:59Come on. Hi. Prince, come here, baby.
06:04It's okay, guys. Give him a second. Come, baby. Easy boy. Hey, you. What's out here?
06:12Hey, monster. Monster bear. Monster bear. Come on. Watch out here. There we go. There we go.
06:20Look at that little gremlin face.
06:28See, he's trying to grab the leaves. He wants the leaves, the fresh green leaves.
06:32Cubs specifically love to tear everything apart. And it's the curious face. It is something
06:38like they want to touch. They want to, you know, like, you know, bite into everything just
06:43to see. Come on, baby. I don't know how you're going to stop him, though.
06:48Nothing. I'm going to let him figure out how to come down. Come. Prince, you crazy boy.
06:52Come, baby. Come on. Good boy. Good boy. Good boy.
06:58What a good climber. Good boy. Very good. Wow. That is so agile.
07:05This is a very crucial time where I have to let him kind of do a little bit of mischief
07:10also so that he understands, you know, like what not to do, what to do.
07:13You made it down, silly boy. Very unique personality, though.
07:16Yeah. Very adventurous, very independent.
07:19There he goes. He goes back inside. Oh, he's ready for a nap now.
07:21So initially when he came in, he didn't trust us because the way that he was before, he's
07:28not really taking care of that much. And now we're all in this together.
07:33He seems pretty happy. Yeah.
07:35Hey, buddy. Hey, sweetie pie.
07:37Hey, baby.
07:43Oh, here comes the milk. Milk time.
07:46Look at him. Look at him.
07:49Listen to him.
07:53Oh, he's angry now.
07:55He says, give me my milk. He's attacking.
07:59Easy. There, there, there. Easy.
08:01There. Look there.
08:03Full attack mode.
08:08Given more time with us, he's going to calm down.
08:13It's a pleasure to, you know, kind of to be able to do this.
08:16Yes, absolutely. It's an absolute pleasure.
08:18Oh, he's so cute.
08:20As I see him grow, I see that, you know, my need in his life is diminishing.
08:24Slowly, slowly, he's getting more confident.
08:26So he doesn't need me to push him or to, you know, like introduce new things to him.
08:30He's doing it on his own.
08:31So I have to take a step back and it's always heartbreaking,
08:34but you have to always look what is good for that animal.
08:38And right now, me taking that step back is the, you know, like best thing for that animal.
08:43And that is what needs to get done.
08:48As Prince grows up, he'll need less time with his keepers and more space to roam on his own.
08:54It's this attention to an animal's individual needs that makes Ventara work.
08:58And there's no greater example of this ethos than the care given to one of the rarest mammals on the planet, the okapi.
09:08An elusive animal only found in the dense rainforests of Central Africa.
09:13This female okapi arrived to Ventara, suffering from a foot condition that could prove fatal if not treated.
09:23Look at this absolutely incredible creature.
09:27And these unbelievable animals are, to me, one of the most incredible and mythological creatures ever to be discovered.
09:34And only discovered in the early 1900s.
09:37They're one of the newest known large animals.
09:40Look at how incredible this creature is.
09:41To me, this is like something that a child would draw.
09:44It's like a fabricated animal.
09:46It's some kind of cross between a horse and a zebra and a donkey and a giraffe.
09:51I mean, they're just magnificent animals.
09:53Really, truly one of the most incredible angulates on the planet.
09:57It's a very extraordinarily unique animal.
10:01In the sense that they are available in a very, very small section of the globe in a Congo forest.
10:07They are also called the forest giraffe.
10:09I've been working with this okapi since the day she arrived.
10:14She came with a very bad feet and laminitic in all the forelegs, leading to disfigured hooves, constant pain, and irregular hoof growth.
10:27The laminitis affects the foot of hoofed animals.
10:31How is it caused?
10:32Nutrition.
10:32And it is very painful because this area of the foot is extremely sensitive to pressure, touch, feel.
10:41Everything that we have in our palm is represented here in terms of neuronal inputs.
10:48Okay.
10:48So when that is inflamed, it's very painful.
10:51Sure.
10:51And the worst part is there's always a crooked hoof.
10:56It's like somebody twisting both the fingers away from each other.
10:59Sure.
11:00If we don't attend to this on a routine basis, the infection goes in and it forms a bunch of pool of pus here.
11:08Oh.
11:08So I'm going to start trimming her this feet and this overgrown stuff here.
11:15Okay.
11:15So what I'm going to do is to let her get used to my presence here because she cannot be anesthetized or sedated for this.
11:23Yeah.
11:24The past her life, three or four instances they have done that and she has had a cardiac arrest.
11:30Easy, big girl.
11:31And okapi, being one of the rarest mammal, was discovered only in the 1905.
11:39So very little knowledge or database is available about how much they can get laminitis, if they get what to do.
11:48So it is something, a path breaking every time you take a step.
11:53If I want to cut here, I try and give a mark over here, over here, over here.
11:59And then she would know what I'm going to do and they go for it.
12:05Oh yeah.
12:06Whenever I get time, I just try and be here, spend time with her because it's the one-on-one contact that gives the confidence to both of us.
12:16Sure.
12:17To accomplish because very few okapis you can pick at the feet.
12:20Very few okapis you can touch.
12:22You can feel and touch.
12:23They're such shy animals.
12:24They're such shy animals.
12:24Yeah.
12:27It's impossible to know what an animal is thinking.
12:29But in a short time, it has become clear to me there is a deep, mutual understanding and respect between this okapi and Dr. Ramanathan.
12:39That's a good girl.
12:41And it seems possible this additional attention is why several months ago, the okapi that arrived suffering from laminitis gave birth to a miracle.
12:52They're the only pair of twin okapis that have ever been birthed in captivity, that have been reared by the mother to sub-adulthood, that's never been successful before in any facility in the world.
13:12But here at Ventara, they managed to succeed with the mama they rescued, whose feet we're working on.
13:17Look how beautiful they are.
13:19The circle of life is in constant motion here.
13:28So the Ventara staff always have newborns to care for.
13:32But one species has proven harder to breed in captivity than any other.
13:42Cheetah are famous for being the fastest land animal in the entire world.
13:47But did you know that until recently, they were widespread across India.
13:51The last one was shot in 1948.
13:53Now, Ventara is working to breed these animals in the hopes of one day reintroducing the species to the wild.
14:01However, cheetah are incredibly difficult to breed in captivity.
14:06Fortunately, one team has figured out just how to do it.
14:09Isn't that right, sweetie?
14:11Leading that team is Dr. Adrian Tortiff.
14:14Dr. Tortiff is a world-renowned cheetah veterinarian who has come to Ventara from South Africa to support and advise the team here.
14:23Today, he's doing a checkup on the cheetah cubs that were born here in Ventara.
14:27And he's invited me along to assist.
14:29Once mom is contained in her enclosure...
14:32She's inside.
14:33Okay, there you go.
14:35...we're off to find the cubs.
14:39I'm going to be hiding in the long grass.
14:49I think they're here.
14:50I'm going to go look over here.
14:51Okay, you have a look at that side.
14:52Let me just see.
14:53Just don't stand on them.
14:54I won't.
14:55Putting the mother in a separate enclosure is the only way to do a medical
14:59checkup on the cubs.
15:01But with mom away, their first instinct is to play hide and seek.
15:06Here they are.
15:12Oh my god, look at that.
15:15Oh, hello.
15:17Guys.
15:17Hi.
15:18I actually want to do...
15:18I know you're going to quickly have a look.
15:22Yeah.
15:22Yeah.
15:23Yeah.
15:23Yeah.
15:23Somewhere in here.
15:24Oh, they're getting quite faster out here.
15:26That's the problem, yeah.
15:31Hi.
15:31Here we go.
15:32Hello.
15:33Hello, look at you.
15:35Look at you.
15:36So we're going to sex you, I believe.
15:37Yeah, let's just have a quick look.
15:39Yeah.
15:39Female.
15:39A little girl.
15:40Yeah.
15:41They're all three little girls.
15:42Good lord, she's beautiful now.
15:44This generation may be the next generation to go back into the wild here in India.
15:48It's possible, yeah.
15:49Yeah.
15:49So she is a wild mom, so if she gets, if she keeps her distance from us when she gets
15:55released into the wild, that's a good thing.
15:56Right.
15:57We don't want her to be totally terrified, but we don't want her to become so familiar with
16:01people that she walks up to people in the wild and gets herself into trouble.
16:05So it's just a little bit of interaction.
16:06Yes.
16:07Yeah.
16:07All right.
16:07There we go.
16:08You'll find your siblings.
16:09Go on.
16:09She peed all over me.
16:11Look at that.
16:11Covered, covered in baby cheetah pee.
16:14I'll take it.
16:15Okay.
16:16Let's let them reunite with the mom.
16:17Yeah, yeah, yeah.
16:23Hi, mama.
16:24She's calling to her babies.
16:25That's what that sound is.
16:31She's going to take her food with her.
16:33Excellent.
16:33Yeah, take it to the babies.
16:35Yeah, here we go.
16:36What a good mama, huh?
16:38Amazing.
16:39Professor Adrian and his team just might have solved the challenge of breeding cheetahs
16:47in captivity.
16:48But the work doesn't end when the new generation is born.
16:52New animals require new homes.
16:55And building these massive habitats requires substantial resources, construction materials,
17:02and millions of gallons of water.
17:06But the most finite resource of all is time.
17:09It's a resource some of these animal species, like the sphix macaw, have almost run out of.
17:15And if I seem distracted, it's because I am.
17:21It's because I'm around sphix macaws, which are one of the most rare, most incredible species of bird on planet earth.
17:27Perfectly understandable.
17:29Ow!
17:30And you see, in only 15 years, you know, you can actually save a species to the point that you
17:38released them just recently in the wild, yeah?
17:40The sphix macaw was first documented in the early 1500s in Brazil.
17:46Now, sphix already had it hard enough.
17:48It's a very harsh environment.
17:49But then all of a sudden, farmers come.
17:51They bring goats.
17:52The goats eat all the seedlings, which doesn't allow for as many trees to grow.
17:56Now, food is more scarce.
17:57Nesting sites are more rare.
17:59All of a sudden, there's nowhere left for the birds to reproduce.
18:03Thus, their population crashes.
18:06In addition to all of these environmental factors and human encroachment factors at play that were
18:11driving the birds towards extinction, they're stunningly beautiful.
18:14So guess what?
18:15People collected them.
18:17And that was the nail in the coffin for the sphix macaw in the wild.
18:20All hope has lost.
18:21The species has now gone extinct.
18:24Well, turns out because of how beautiful they are and because of how rare they are,
18:27there were still three captive populations.
18:31So the species declined to 19 individuals.
18:34Yeah.
18:34At that time, only one female was capable of reproducing offspring.
18:39But then all of a sudden, a whole bunch of organizations come together
18:43and they push to make sure that this species continues to exist.
18:47And now, the species is thriving and flourishing and even being reintroduced back into the wild.
18:55Oh, is that good, buddy?
18:57What is it that Ventara is doing to support the ongoing survival of these species at this point?
19:03So the most important part of the project at the moment is the successful reintroduction
19:09of these birds and making sure that all the little pieces of the ecosystem have been restored
19:15and there is no pet trafficking.
19:19This is not their forever home?
19:20No, no, no.
19:21I mean, they are here just temporarily until there is the possibility to reintroduce them in the wild.
19:27So the reintroduction is something that you cannot simply go there and release birds.
19:32Right.
19:33You need to make sure that the environment has the capacity to absorb the quantity of animals that you plan to release.
19:39And the good thing about this is that when you save a spix macaw, you save the entire ecosystem
19:46and obviously all the species that that ecosystem provides a shelter for because they are actually
19:52spreading the seeds around different parts and they actually are the biggest contributors
19:59of the renovation of that forest.
20:01In my lifetime, and this is a magical thing to say, hi, in my lifetime, these animals,
20:10which were extinct in the wild when I was a kid, will flourish again in the wild.
20:15And it's thanks to people that have the resources, caring and putting in the efforts.
20:20Yes.
20:20That's a beautiful thing.
20:21It is, yes.
20:22Dr. Soares manages a wide variety of animals at Ventara.
20:32So it's no surprise when he is called to help out with an emergency.
20:36And in what's appearing to be a mistake, I've offered to lend him a hand.
20:43Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this?
20:46Because you are the bravest about this.
20:48Dr. Soares has me entering the enclosure of a northern cassowary,
20:55also known as the most dangerous bird on the planet.
21:02Let's go. Here we go. Come on, Mitch. You better stay close.
21:06This cassowary shares an enrichment enclosure with several jungle fowl,
21:11small chicken-like birds that live on the forest floor.
21:14Unfortunately, a female jungle fowl decided to lay her eggs here,
21:19where they could be easily smashed by the cassowary's massive claws.
21:23So we're going to try and get them out.
21:25Oh boy, this shield's heavy too.
21:27Yes. As long as we start showing some aggression.
21:31Back up. Come on. Come on. Back up.
21:35Back, back, back, back, back, back. Come on, Mitch.
21:38Stay with me now. Back, back, back, back.
21:40Back, back, back, back. Come on. Back up. Back. Back, back, back.
21:46Back, you go. You in, Mitch?
21:47Yeah. Stay nice and tight behind me, okay?
21:49Yep, I got it. We're going to keep moving towards the eggs.
21:51Back up. Back up. Look at those claws.
21:54At any moment, he can kick, Mitch.
21:55If he jumps, you get behind me, okay?
21:58And I'll lift the shield. Back up, back up.
22:01There we go. Back up, bird. You don't want this.
22:03Come on. Let's go.
22:13He's looking at me. Oh, God. Oh, God.
22:18He's starting to run. What are we doing here?
22:20What do I do here? I'm dead serious.
22:22What do we do here?
22:24He's coming to attack. Mitch, you okay there?
22:28This is the most dangerous thing I've ever done.
22:33Where are the eggs? Over there?
22:37Yeah, by the end of this log.
22:39Okay. Okay.
22:41So this is a northern cassowary.
22:44Beautiful bird.
22:46But it's also literally the most dangerous bird in the entire world,
22:49responsible for killing more people than any other bird on the planet.
22:53As you can see, it is literally a living velociraptor.
22:56Don't be fooled. Those claws will kill you in a heartbeat.
22:59They will gut you like a fish.
23:00And in addition to those crazy claws,
23:02he's got a helmet that he can headbutt you with and knock you straight out.
23:05So we have to get through him.
23:08Stay behind me, Mitch, because I've got the shield.
23:13Stay behind me, Mitch.
23:13I'm moving in.
23:21Now, this is a rescue northern cassowary.
23:26And the reason he's here is because he killed his last keeper.
23:28So doing this is literally crazy.
23:31Oh, I see the eggs.
23:32Oh, I see the eggs.
23:33Okay.
23:47So look at this.
23:48He's totally cued in on me.
23:50I have to watch him at all times.
23:51I'll put one in this hand and one there.
23:58Look at that beautiful leg.
23:59So now that we've got those, let's start to back out.
24:10Backing out.
24:10Don't break eye contact with him, Mitch.
24:12Back up, Mitch.
24:18Back up.
24:25Keep going.
24:27Starting to come over.
24:28Okay, so let's go out.
24:35Oh, here he comes.
24:36Let's go.
24:37Back up, back up, back up.
24:41There we go.
24:46That was surprisingly terrifying being in there.
24:50But look at that.
24:52Two big, beautiful jungle fall eggs.
24:55So now these can go into an incubation.
24:56They can get ready to be hatched.
24:58And luckily nothing happened.
25:00Because that dinosaur, that cassowary,
25:03was glued to us the whole time.
25:04But there you go.
25:06We got our beautiful prizes and nobody got hurt.
25:09But of everything I've done at Ventara,
25:12that was definitely the scariest.
25:19It might seem foolish to dance with a cassowary
25:21to save a couple of eggs.
25:24But eggs are just the beginning
25:26of an amazing life cycle that's on full display here at Ventara.
25:32A perfect example, the palm cockatoo.
25:36Look at this.
25:38This is something that no one in the world gets to see.
25:41So this is every single life stage
25:43of the critically endangered palm cockatoo.
25:51So starting over here with this amazing little hatchling,
25:55which is mere days old.
25:56These infant palm cockatoos are hatched from a singular egg in a nest
26:01that is made during monsoon season.
26:03Which is why it's born completely naked with no feathers at all.
26:07Because if it were to have feathers in the monsoons, it would get soaking wet and it would quickly die.
26:12Now, as they develop into these funny little noisy critters over here with these spiky little hairs,
26:18they're capable of eating an amazing diet unlike almost any other parrot species in the world.
26:23They require whole nuts very, very early on.
26:26So as you come from about three weeks old to around five weeks old, they begin to develop feathers.
26:31Their face becomes that brilliant red color.
26:34Their feathers start to develop and they start to build musculature by flapping their wings and getting ready to leave the nest.
26:40Then, as you get to a nearly fully formed sub-adult, you can see they remain a featherless bird on the feet and on the cheeks.
26:49Unlike any other cockatoo in the entire world.
26:52So because these guys live in an area that is so dense with flies in far northern Australia,
26:58they're constantly shaking their heads and they've evolved that to keep flies from bothering them around the eyes.
27:04In addition to that, they have these red cheeks that will turn brilliant red during mating or courtship or even battle.
27:10And in order to make that mating or that battle, they wiggle their tongues from treetop to treetop with their brilliant sight
27:17to communicate to each other while looking around.
27:19From this stage, they move on and they become adult birds that go out into the aviaries where Vantara can study
27:25how their relationship with other animals from their environment works and why they're in such severe decline.
27:33But this is an absolutely incredible thing to see where you have every single life stage of a bird
27:40on the verge of extinction. And without this diversity, without this strive to combat genetic bottlenecking,
27:46this species could very easily be driven towards extinction.
27:56Many of the animals that arrive at Vantara haven't known a peaceful life for a very,
28:02very long time. Especially if they were rescued from the smuggling trade.
28:07The wild animal trade is pervasive around the globe and notoriously hard to stamp out.
28:14This is partially due to the fact that there's a lot of money to be made. Up to $10 billion per year.
28:22Smuggling can also greatly reduce the wild population. Unfortunately, that's exactly what's going on with the
28:29critically endangered red-shanked duk. This story is one that's truly, truly incredible.
28:45They were captured from the wild somewhere in the Mekong River basin that they're from.
28:51Illegally transported to the Middle East and then found by smugglers in the Middle East trying to
28:57sell them for a very low price because nobody even knew what species of monkey they were.
29:01They were confiscated and brought here to Vantara. And now they live this amazing life right here in
29:08this enclosure where they pick all the leaves away. Right, Vinod?
29:13For me, this is a real dream come true. I've always thought that these are the most beautiful monkey
29:17species on earth. And here we are interacting with them. And you can see that they've been around people for
29:22so long from being captured from the wild that they're this habituated, this friendly. But boy,
29:28look at that face. Look at the coloring. I mean, truly a spectacular species of primate.
29:32Okay. Watch out, Vinod. There we go. That's perfect, Vinod. That's great. Take a look at this
29:58enclosure here. Look at all these fully barren sticks. Hello, you beautiful little creature.
30:04And that's because they are big time leaf eaters. So they have picked every single leaf off of these
30:10tree tops. So Vinod over here. Yes. And myself, we brought them fresh trees. And this is something
30:15they're doing daily here. So these are fresh mulberry trees. And you can see how quickly this beautiful
30:21little queen of the primates, as they call the red shank duck, has got into eating the mulberry leaves.
30:28Now, how many trees per day are you bringing in? Ten. Ten. Ten mulberry trees grown in these hessian
30:34sacks and brought in daily, you naughty little monkey, for these naughty little buggers to come and eat
30:40the foliage. It's amazing.
30:56Just like nature itself, Ventara is always changing and evolving. So after being away for some time,
31:03I'm excited to come back and check on a few friends. The first on my list, the family of cheetah cubs.
31:09They're growing healthy and strong. But today, they're due for a checkup.
31:14So mom is on the carcass with the little ones now. And we're going to move in and try and get as
31:24close as we can. Obviously, Adrian has built a relationship and a bond with these ones.
31:28So mom trusts them.
31:29It's a good girl.
31:34But it's still a mother. She has motherly instincts. So it's going to bring me in as much
31:39as he can. But just to be in here with these little puffballs is truly an honor.
31:43Okay. Good girl. Good girl. She seems pretty relaxed, which is awesome.
31:51Okay. So if you can just come around this side. Let's just see how she responds.
31:58And once you get down, just get down because they don't like you standing over them.
32:02Hovering over them. Yeah.
32:03Okay. Look at that. So how cool is it to think that these babies right here
32:10could be the future of cheetahs, reintroduced into India, fixing that hole in the ecosystem?
32:16Yeah, absolutely. They're looking really great at the moment. All nice and healthy and fit.
32:21I mean, it's really important that they, if they're eating goats here, they will get exposed to the
32:26same kinds of parasites that they would get exposed to if they were hunting wild,
32:31antelope in the wild. And it's very important that they develop the immunity against those range
32:35of parasites as well. So do you vaccinate for those things or not?
32:38No, we're vaccinating mainly against viruses like rabies and leukopenia,
32:42calisivirus, herpes virus. These are things that they will be exposed to,
32:46especially by domestic dogs and domestic cats.
32:49So Adrian, how were you able to reproduce this female?
32:53Biggest problem in cheetahs in captivity is that they get this condition called gastritis,
32:57which is an inflammatory condition of the stomach lining. What we've discovered really that diet
33:01probably plays the most important role. And of that, the amount of collagen that they eat,
33:06so very important that they get skin and bone and the whole carcass, not just the muscle meat.
33:11But over the last few years, we found that it's really important that they don't get fed more
33:16than two or three times at most per week. So we give them these really large meals. So they gorge,
33:23and then they fast. And that is not only beneficial in terms of the gastrointestinal health,
33:28but it also seems to have a psychological benefit to them.
33:32And of course, that's what would happen in the wild. They'd make a kill.
33:34Exactly.
33:35They wouldn't waste an ounce of it because they just put in all of this energy to make that kill.
33:39Yeah.
33:40And then they'd eat everything they could physically tolerate and move on.
33:44But that must be a revolutionary thing that you guys have found here.
33:47Well, we've seen it certainly change the way in which we can maintain these cheetah in perfect health.
33:51You know, before, you're constantly struggling with gastritis in, you know, multiple animals.
33:57But I think, you know, with these cubs, we start feeding them correctly from day one.
34:01Yeah.
34:02And the chances that they're ever going to develop gastritis, I think, are close to zero.
34:06And hopefully, we'll be able to demonstrate that.
34:07That's incredible. I mean, you've solved the largest issue in cheetah husbandry the globe over
34:13just by doing what they do naturally.
34:15Yeah.
34:17But she doesn't like the boom.
34:18She doesn't like the boom.
34:18Pull that back.
34:19It's okay. It's okay.
34:21Just roll on everything here.
34:22No, no, no.
34:22Okay.
34:24Damn it. Sorry.
34:25It's not the first time that's happened this month.
34:31Based on their checkup with Dr. Tortiff, these cheetah cubs are healthy and well on their way
34:37to adulthood. But they're not the only animals at Ventara growing up fast.
34:42Prince the Sun Bear is also on his way to adulthood.
34:46So it's been how long since we last saw Prince?
34:48Since I last saw Prince.
34:49About one month now.
34:50Has he been out in this yet?
34:51No, no, no.
34:51This is literally the first time.
34:52This is the first time.
34:53Oh, that's lovely.
34:54So that is why we are prepping it so that, you know, like we can interest him to explore the
34:58right way.
34:59Yeah.
34:59Yeah.
34:59We've seen a very rapid, you know, like change in Prince.
35:03He started growing muscles.
35:04He started climbing up.
35:06Suddenly, you see his legs, you know, like are taller.
35:09His body is growing.
35:10His weight is increasing.
35:11His personality is now becoming more independent.
35:14And we're going to slowly release him here.
35:17We're going to monitor him very closely.
35:19Whoa!
35:21This whole thing is for Prince?
35:23Yeah.
35:23This is crazy, Ayushman.
35:25So because these sun bears are arboreal and they like to hide, they're very shy animals.
35:29Yeah.
35:30So I made him very exclusive treehouse over there.
35:32I gave him very nice, you know, connections of real wood.
35:35Oh, this is awesome.
35:39Oh my goodness.
35:40He's going to love this.
35:41And then I've made a small perching area for him down also.
35:44I see that.
35:45Now, these guys like to bust the sun.
35:47Uh-huh.
35:47And when they sleep, they like to hide.
35:49So I've given him enough platforms where he can, you know, like just lounge around.
35:54Yeah.
35:54Enjoy his day.
35:55And in the night, I've given him enough obstacles to kind of keep him busy.
35:59Imagine coming from his life and then he gets opened up to this.
36:03So the thing is now, it can be too stimulating for him also.
36:06He might take a little bit of time to adjust to this.
36:09I'm actually, you know, like waiting to see his reaction, how he reacts to this particular place.
36:14Sometimes we have to understand the psychology of the animal and how that animal was housed before.
36:20For certain animals that come through the rescues, they've been cramped into a very small space
36:26for such a long time that their value of space gets distorted.
36:30So when you leave them into such a large enclosure, it panics them because they don't know how to
36:36process that information that quickly.
36:38That is why these gradual steps are taken.
36:40And that is why during the quarantine time, we slowly, slowly increase their space so that they
36:45are okay with it.
36:47Okay.
36:47So we're going to take the honey and the fruit and we're just going to put it around.
36:50Yeah.
36:52Is this a bittersweet thing for you?
36:54Because today is your last day touching him and feeling him.
36:57This is it.
36:57Once he's out in here, that's big boy life now.
37:00Yes, that's it.
37:01You might look at it one way that it's being sad, but for me, he's growing up.
37:05He'll be responsible soon enough.
37:08I only want to be close to that animal to the point that the animal needs me.
37:13I don't want to, you know, like encroach on their area and to, you know, like add my existence
37:18in their life unnecessarily.
37:20And I just want to take them on that journey and then let them be bears.
37:24Well, he's going to love this.
37:25It's exciting.
37:26I'm excited.
37:27Very curious to see how he reacts to it though.
37:31Prince.
37:31I mean, it's a big day.
37:32Yeah.
37:33Oh, look at him.
37:34He's coming.
37:35Oh, that worked.
37:39Oh, he says, but that's, that's the place I know.
37:43It's okay, bud.
37:44It's going to be great out here.
37:45You're going to love it.
37:47Dad's here.
37:48So that's comforting.
37:49I come crazy.
37:49Hi.
37:49Remember me?
37:50You do remember me.
37:51Come on.
37:53He's just getting his bearings.
37:54Yeah.
37:55His bearings.
37:55Yeah.
38:00Princey, look, tree house is up here.
38:03Oh, you found the honey trail.
38:05That's it.
38:05That's exciting.
38:07It's a good day for a bear.
38:09It's a good day for a little bear, huh, buddy?
38:11This is going to be such a great life here.
38:15There you go.
38:16Go all the way up to your tree house.
38:18Look at that.
38:19He's figuring it out.
38:20Yeah.
38:27Let him climb up.
38:29Come, sweetie, bud.
38:31Come, come.
38:32Come, come.
38:33Come on, Princey.
38:34Look up here, bud.
38:37Look, there's a whole honey trail up here, pal.
38:39Look.
38:40Look, Prince.
38:42Oh, Dad, it's scary up here.
38:44I've never climbed a tree before.
38:46Uh-oh, look.
38:47He's like, what am I going to do?
38:48That's OK.
38:48Let him figure it out.
38:49Let him figure it out.
38:51Oh, man.
38:52A bear doesn't know how to be a bear yet.
38:54Yeah, that's what we are here for, right?
38:56Thanks.
38:57No, no, no, no.
38:58Look at him.
38:58He's like, get me out of here.
38:59No, no, no, no.
39:04Oh, man, that's really funny.
39:05You have to come here.
39:06Come.
39:07Prince, come.
39:10He's got this, like, terror in his eyes when he's like, ah.
39:13I don't know what's happening.
39:15That's how you get off.
39:16Yeah, there you go.
39:18That's how you get off.
39:25He said, that's it.
39:26I'm going back.
39:27All right, well, there he goes.
39:28He headed back into his cell.
39:29But that's one of the cool things.
39:31He's allowed to go back into his nighttime room.
39:33And that's his comfort place.
39:35Once I see Prince having control of his life,
39:37knowing now he's free, now he's independent,
39:41and now he's going to make something of himself.
39:43It's just a very warm glow in the heart.
39:45He's going to be so happy.
39:46I love it.
39:47Good job, man.
39:48That's great.
39:48So much honey.
39:52Prince isn't the only animal that has found a new home.
39:576,000 miles away, a group of Spix macaw raised in Ventara
40:02are headed to their ancestral homeland,
40:04the Katinga forests of Brazil.
40:08These birds will be winged pioneers,
40:11reclaiming the home they were once wiped out from.
40:14Their mental state affects their physical health, like in humans.
40:19What we eat is what we think, and what we think is what we do.
40:23And what we do is what we are.
40:26If you are in a comfortable environment,
40:28if you do not have extra stress factors,
40:31you'll feel very comfortable and you'll enjoy that life a little bit.
40:34So it's the same concept here with the animals.
40:36We want to provide things that they are built to do.
40:40Even if they do not choose to do it,
40:42they should have that option to do it.
40:45It's not just about keeping animals.
40:47It's about how you keep animals.
40:53Every day, a thousand tiny steps are taken
40:57towards the conservation of the planet.
41:01A new generation is prepped for the wild.
41:07An orphan finds a family.
41:11And a species returns from the brink.
41:16It's all in a day's work here at Ventara.
Be the first to comment