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00:00They say don't ever work with babies or animals, but what if they're baby animals?
00:11It was only born this morning.
00:14On this all-new season, welcome back to the ever-changing world of Taronga.
00:22Where you'll witness things you never thought possible.
00:28You can actually hear her breathe.
00:30And meet new faces.
00:32Oh, hi, buddy.
00:33You'll never forget.
00:35So good.
00:36It's time to discover.
00:38Oh, my God.
00:40Exactly who's who in this zoo.
00:49On this episode.
00:51Their talons can just pop straight through skin like butter.
00:54This eagle has landed.
00:56There's a big swelling here.
00:58Now the race is on.
00:59He's on a knife edge.
01:00To see if this majestic bird will ever fly again.
01:04We may have to make a really difficult decision.
01:07All aboard.
01:09Really, really special.
01:11Destination, Spider Monkey Island.
01:13Not many people can do this.
01:15Woo!
01:16And...
01:17Incoming!
01:19Now that's what you call making an entrance.
01:24When the calves are born, it's about a two-metre drop to the ground to the start of their life.
01:29There isn't a day goes by that Taronga's two wildlife hospitals don't have some kind of weird...
01:43The hook is halfway down the animal's neck.
01:45Wonderful...
01:46Upper left canine has got a fracture.
01:49Or wild patient admitted through their doors.
01:52Bit of a wriggle up.
01:53And today in Sydney, they really don't come much wilder.
01:59We have a white-bellied sea eagle who was found by a member of the public with a drooping wing.
02:05It was found about six weeks ago now.
02:08The eagle was being treated at another vet hospital before coming to Taronga for specialist care.
02:15They found the fracture.
02:17And unfortunately, by that stage, there had been some healing of the wing and it was a bit late for surgery.
02:24The bone fracture had already started setting at an unusual angle.
02:29So, the big question is, will this sea eagle be able to fly again and return to the wild?
02:37Today, we're going to reassess the fracture and assess whether we think with the degree of healing,
02:42it's likely that he will be able to fly.
02:45Alright, let's just go down and catch it and see.
02:47I'm just going to have a little peek and see.
02:50So, he is holding his left wing a little bit unusually.
02:53That's his injured wing.
02:56Transporting a bird of prey like this to the treatment room for some x-rays does come with certain challenges.
03:04I'm not going to worry about anything else.
03:06except for the feet.
03:08The beak is nasty, but I can handle a bite from the beak.
03:11It's the feet I don't want on me.
03:14When they do clamp down on you, the strength is phenomenal.
03:18Their talons can just pop straight through skin like butter.
03:22We're going to need to probably close the door.
03:29Alright.
03:30Alright.
03:31Alright, alright, alright.
03:32Alright, sweetie.
03:33Okay.
03:34Let's keep a little snappy.
03:35Alright.
03:36Alright.
03:37Alright, alright, sweetie.
03:38Okay.
03:39Let's keep a little snappy.
03:41Alright.
03:42Okay.
03:43Right here.
03:44Hi, darling.
03:45Okay.
03:46Are you happy with how the wings are?
03:47Yeah.
03:48I'll support this and carry this.
03:49We'll go this way.
03:50Yes.
03:51She's here.
03:52Without a healthy wing that can handle the aerial manoeuvres required for hunting prey,
03:58it's unlikely this bird can survive in the wild.
03:59Today's assessment will help determine what its future is.
04:05Just keep his little nostrils covered so that he breathes in the ground.
04:12It's really important with birds that their bones heal almost perfectly so that they're
04:35then able to fly nice and asleep.
04:38Okay.
04:39Okay.
04:40138.
04:4198%.
04:42Based on this eagle's injuries, the chances of us finding that the fractures healed well
04:51enough for release to the wild are quite slim.
04:54In the worst case scenario, if we find that the bird is unlikely to fly, we may have to make
05:01a really difficult decision.
05:03We would be looking at euthanasia.
05:06It's a beautiful spring morning on Sydney Harbour.
05:15And as Taronga's residents wake and welcome the day, Taronga driver Paul is already up,
05:27up and away.
05:28I work as a truck driver for the backyard crew here at Taronga Zoo.
05:34It's a very diverse job.
05:35There's no two days the same.
05:37Every day offers something a little different and today is, well, no different.
05:44Rarity is supplying, you know, in excess of probably two and a half thousand different
05:50animals food every day.
05:52Whether you're a senior vet here or a truck driver or whatever role you are here, we all
06:01work for one mission.
06:02The animals are number one and we all have a great passion for them.
06:07This morning we're heading out to the markets across the Harbour Bridge.
06:11In a new world full of fast food delivery, Paul's mission today is to collect one of the strangest
06:18drive-through orders from the Sydney fruit markets.
06:22How are you, my friend?
06:23How are you?
06:24Come back to pick out the pineapple tops.
06:27All good?
06:28Yep.
06:29I will take the pallets off first.
06:30Yep.
06:31Yep.
06:32Thanks, mate.
06:33My job is to pick out four pallets of what we call pineapple tops.
06:39Which is considered a bit of a delicacy for our elephants.
06:43While these pineapple offcuts might sit well on these pallets, they don't sit too well on the pallet.
06:51If you know what I mean.
06:53Unless, of course, you're a two-ton elephant with a sweet tooth.
06:58Cool.
06:59Thank you, my friend.
07:00See you next week.
07:01Me and the elephants will appreciate that.
07:02We'll see you next week, eh?
07:03Yeah, see you next week.
07:05Meanwhile, back at Taronga.
07:07Alright, so some nice big chunks for Day U.
07:10Keepers Beck and Molly are also preparing to pander to some smaller, but no less hungry residents.
07:19Red panda cubs, Kiana and Kisho.
07:22So we'll just be weighing Kiana today?
07:24Yeah, yeah.
07:25And then we can slot it into our grafts.
07:28But little do these cubs know.
07:31Prep some breakfast.
07:33This meal time is going to come with some rather unexpected activities.
07:40Cubbies!
07:41Station!
07:42Let's go, cubbies!
07:46When spring is sprung, it's not just the season for flowers.
07:51It's also baby time.
07:54And I do mean baby time.
07:57Hi!
07:58And while the keepers at Taronga's Western Plains Zoo let their newest additions get to know their mums.
08:05Hey mum, just a quick peek.
08:07There are still plenty of these little bundles of joy that require that extra special attention.
08:16Definitely the highlight of my job is getting to be able to come on the island with these black-handed spider monkeys.
08:20Hi everyone!
08:21We've got 15 spider monkeys on the island right now.
08:26Your cousin's desperate for attention, right?
08:29Stop!
08:30We have our four baby spider monkeys.
08:33So yeah, big baby boom happening.
08:36Oh my god!
08:37She's doing it!
08:39Right now we're just playing with the two-year-olds.
08:42We have four two-year-old females right now.
08:44And we're just building rapport with them.
08:49So their mums actually are very happy letting us play with them.
08:53It kind of gives them a break.
08:55While it is called playtime, this important interaction is actually all about building trust.
09:03And it began when these babies were close to one year old.
09:08We're able to play with all the two-year-olds very well.
09:11They're very keen to do it.
09:13Hi baby!
09:14How's the queen?
09:15How's the queen?
09:16You can even see some of the older young ones.
09:18The older young ones also still like playing with us as well.
09:22So they get quite playful up until a certain age.
09:28So I've been here for about half of the baby's life.
09:31But when I came in, these guys were still very much on mum's back.
09:34But since I've been here, they've just gotten more and more playful.
09:37You can see that they're very happy to get away from mum now and be on their own.
09:43The two oldest are even now being able to go across on the ropes to join the island.
09:49So that's really exciting.
09:50The very first time that we see them get big enough that they can take themselves over without having to be with mum.
09:55The spider monkey babies, their favourite game is probably mostly climbing you.
10:00We do try and discourage this as they get a bit older.
10:03As babies, we kind of let them get away with it a little bit more.
10:06Surfing!
10:08Yeah, swinging them.
10:09When we do play with them, we don't like to hold their tail or their hands.
10:13We kind of let them have the choice to wrap it around us.
10:16And then we swing them with our palms open.
10:18Yeah, I'm getting dizzy.
10:20It's really, really special to be able to spend time with these critically endangered animals.
10:24Not many people can do this.
10:26Stop biting her tail!
10:27It's so rough.
10:28So yeah, it's definitely a highlight of my day every day to get to play with these guys.
10:33While these spider monkey mums are clearly happy to leave the child minding to the keepers.
10:40Touch.
10:41Across the zoo, there are some other mums that aren't quite so keen.
10:46Pouch checking a cocker is pretty tricky.
10:49If I do it wrong, our cockers are known for throwing their joeys out of the pouch and abandoning them.
10:58Still to come.
10:59Our elephants heat these pineapple tops a lot.
11:02We feed the elephants about eight times a day here.
11:05Have you ever wondered what an elephant's favourite meal is?
11:08This is the best part you want to see as a keeper.
11:11And...
11:12X-ray!
11:13All hands on deck.
11:14The radius is a bit displaced.
11:16To try and save this eagle's life.
11:19I don't want her to be in pain.
11:23In Sydney, driver Paul is still heading back to Taronga with a truck stacked full of elephant treats.
11:31When you see the elephants eat the pineapple tops, it's almost like a kid eating ice cream.
11:36So the elephants, you know, certainly enjoy that.
11:40And while they're going to have to wait just a little bit longer, breakfast has arrived for Taronga's red panda family.
11:48Come in!
11:49Good morning!
11:50So first thing, we're going to ask both cubs and Dayu, who's mum, to come down to a particular station.
12:01So we've got Dayu here, which is mum, so normally she's second to come down, so she's made it a little bit different this morning.
12:08What I might do is just give her one piece to say thank you for coming.
12:12And then I'm going to ask Kisho down here.
12:17Kisho, come on buddy!
12:19You're late!
12:21Good morning!
12:24Kisho and Kayana don't know it yet.
12:27Just going to move some of this bamboo, lovely lady.
12:30But there is an ulterior motive for today's fruity feast, though we'll need a bit of background first.
12:38Our red pandas you would find in our Himalayan regions, so Nepal, even like India.
12:44Out in the wild they're actually listed as endangered.
12:47They could be anywhere as little as 10,000 of them left in the wild, which is pretty scary.
12:53Every red panda that's born is pretty much a little miracle.
12:58Want to show us your tummies? Ready? Up nice and high! Good job guys!
13:02Red panda breeding, there's pretty much one day of the year that our female is receptive to the male and is actually in estrus and ovulates.
13:10That means an adult female can only get pregnant one day in the entire year, which is why this brother and sister team are so special.
13:21Toronto actually part of a global red panda breeding program, so it would be really cool to see these guys go up and participate in that breeding program and do all of the important jobs for those wild populations.
13:32Keisho and Kyana could be transferred to another zoo at any time to do that important job with two other red pandas.
13:43I'll hold Keisho here if you want to, Molly, take Kyana over for her weigh-in this morning. Good.
13:48But first, they'll need to pass a series of tests and it's study time.
13:55Good.
13:59Over at the Wildlife Hospital, Vet Adelaide has sedated a wild, white-bellied sea eagle that was brought in after being found unable to fly.
14:09He's intubated.
14:10The large bird of prey has a fractured wing, but no one knows how it happened.
14:16Today's assessment will help to determine what its future is, whether it will potentially be released if the fracture's healed extremely well or whether it's more likely to stay in care.
14:27But if he can't fly even a short distance, the zoo won't be able to continue caring for the eagle.
14:34I'm having a feel at the moment of the injured wing. The fracture is quite close to the elbow. I can feel where a fracture callus has formed.
14:48It is quite a big fracture callus.
14:51A callus is where the bone thickens around the break to try and stabilise the fracture.
14:57There is a little bit of crepitus.
15:02Crepitus is where you can feel almost like a crackling sensation, where those bone ends haven't met perfectly, which may just be if the fracture ends haven't completely healed yet.
15:15We'll see what it looks like on the x-rays.
15:18We'll now take an x-ray of the damaged wing.
15:23X-ray.
15:25And we'll see how well it's healing, if it's affecting the elbow at all.
15:31So this is our normal wing, our undamaged wing.
15:35And on the other wing, that's where we have the fracture.
15:40There's a fragment that looks like it's not even within the fracture callus, which is a worry.
15:51We can see on our x-rays that the bone ends haven't healed together perfectly, and that will likely impact flight.
15:58I think the chances of him flying well are fairly slim, just because it has healed quite poorly.
16:07Based on the x-rays, this bird is definitely not appropriate for release to the wild.
16:13Wow. Shame. Shame.
16:23We need that fracture to have healed well enough for his flight to be appropriate.
16:27While options are running out for this eagle, no one wants to give up on him yet.
16:33So vet Adelaide asks senior vet Kimberley for a second opinion.
16:37So this piece that's been broken off, it's a bit mobile. Whether that will come good or not, it's hard to say.
16:44What do you think, Adelaide? Should we give it some more time to see?
16:49I'm happy to explore those chances, and then we can be 100% sure that he can't fly.
16:56For now, the majestic bird lives to fight and hopefully fly another day.
17:03But we need to be realistic that this bird may not come back to flight.
17:08Yeah. Mm-hmm. Okay.
17:10At Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, Keeper Lou is bringing flowers to a couple of somewhat nervous new mums.
17:25Come on, girlies.
17:27Here we are. Hi.
17:30You could say some Australian natives for some Australian natives.
17:36Our quokkas over in Western Australia are classed as vulnerable.
17:40And that's why these two little cuties are so important.
17:45Hi. Miss Jinda.
17:48This is Jinda. This is one of our female quokkas.
17:51She's actually got a special little secret for us today.
17:54She has a little joey in the pouch.
17:59Now, over here, we have Murua, who has come to join us.
18:03And Murua actually also has a little joey in her pouch as well.
18:06Quokkas carry their joeys deep in the pouch for around eight months.
18:11Can we see our baby?
18:12And while Keeper Lou needs to keep track of each of them, it's easier said than done.
18:18Pouch-checking a quokka is pretty tricky.
18:20It's a vulnerable position for our mums to be in.
18:24If I do it wrong, our quokkas are known for throwing their joeys out of the pouch and abandoning them.
18:30Just going to encourage this little bubba.
18:33So they need to fully trust that I am not going to put them in a dangerous position.
18:40Quokkas, as cute as they are, will sacrifice their babies so the mum can escape a predator.
18:49Touch.
18:50There we go. Good girl.
18:52So his head is on this side and his bum is on this side.
18:56So we've got one of his legs right there.
19:00I know my hands are a bit cold.
19:02And if mum does push its joey out too soon, even in a calm setting like this,
19:08it's unlikely to allow the baby back into the pouch.
19:12I've been working on pouch-checking with our quokkas for approximately eight months or so.
19:19So we started very slowly in just getting them comfortable with my presence.
19:26Good job.
19:27And just getting comfortable with me feeling their bodies and being in their space.
19:33Are we still drinking?
19:35Good girl.
19:37Touch.
19:38And then we slowly worked towards feeling their bellies and then touching their pouches.
19:45That is his tail. Good girl.
19:50Once we start to see them popping out and discovering the world and learning new things every day.
19:57Oh my gosh, your baby. Your baby is so cute.
20:00There's no greater feeling being able to see that and know that we've done a good job.
20:06And mums have trusted us enough to watch their progress and watch their development from inside the couch.
20:15While it looks like these two little joeys will soon make their way out of the pouch on their own terms,
20:22there are some baby animals at Taronga that come into the world a little more abruptly.
20:33At Taronga's two zoos, all the animals are given every opportunity to express their natural instincts.
20:41They're getting their faces right in there. They're sticking their fingers in there.
20:44Including one of the zoo's, quite surprisingly, smartest species.
20:52Birds.
20:55Hey Uma. Hey little one.
20:59So this is Uma. This is our bushstone curlew.
21:04Bushstone curlews are found in all states of mainland Australia.
21:08They're not found down in Tasmania.
21:10You often will hear these birds before you see them.
21:20They were often referred to as wailing woman bird by some of the early colonialists that came.
21:29Yeah, it would be quite disconcerting to hear that for the first time.
21:33While singing does come easy for bushstone curlews,
21:37that's not all they're good at.
21:39Hi.
21:41Birds like Uma are some of the world's most intelligent animals.
21:45And they thrive best when given plenty of mental stimulation.
21:50This morning we are going to do some training with her,
21:53acclimatising to transportation boxes,
21:57and hopefully have her in our free flight presentation.
22:00Taronga's free flight section is just another way the zoo caters
22:04to its animals' natural behaviours.
22:08Giving its birds, like Uma, the chance to interact with the world.
22:14That's if Keeper Chris can get her there.
22:18You know what they say about never teaching an old dog new tricks is completely flipped on its head.
22:24This bird, she's very quick to pick everything up that we seem to be asking her,
22:28which is really quite cool.
22:29So here what I'm doing is asking Uma to leave the box and saying thank you.
22:36And coming back to the box.
22:39Perfect.
22:48Perfect.
22:49The free flight section doesn't just cater to feathered residents like Uma.
22:56It's also where a wildlife rescue, like the injured sea eagle, might find a new home.
23:04If it's strong enough.
23:06The fracture is quite close to the elbow.
23:08Eleven weeks ago, the vet team had little hope the bird could be released or even fly again.
23:14That's where we have the fracture.
23:17But they wanted to give it every chance.
23:20Give it some more time to see.
23:22And now, with so much time passed for the wing to heal, it'll be vet Gabby assessing the eagle's progress.
23:29We'll just put some lignocaine on his glotus, so then we'll intubate it.
23:33Great.
23:35It's been in our rehabilitation facility for a few weeks.
23:38I'll just get up the old radiographs.
23:40Mm-hmm.
23:41We're just trying to see today how well it's healing.
23:44If Taronga's team of vets believes the sea eagle could fly even short distances, then it may have a home in the free flight section.
23:53His elbow feels thickened, but it's got good flexion and extension.
23:57Oh!
23:59I just felt something then.
24:01On the way back, yeah.
24:03There's a big swelling on the outside here.
24:06All right, let's get some radiographs.
24:08Okay.
24:09Three, two, one.
24:10These new x-rays will reveal how well the fracture has healed and whether to continue the bird's rehabilitation.
24:19He's on a knife edge.
24:20X-ray.
24:23Everyone's really rooting for him to do well.
24:31The thought that we may have to euthanize him today, you know, no one likes that.
24:35It's awful.
24:36When breakfast is over, you'll find most of Taronga's residents chilling in the warm springtime sun.
24:51I think she's living her best life today.
24:52But not all.
24:53There is one certain species with a rather large belly to fill.
24:59And to fill that belly, it takes a rather large delivery.
25:03So, we feed the elephants about eight times a day here.
25:07This is their second feed of the day.
25:10And for every second feed, they get pineapple tops.
25:13These pineapple offcuts have travelled a long way to get to Taronga.
25:21And the final leg of that journey is now up to trainee keeper Bailey.
25:26So, these pineapple tops come from far north Queensland.
25:29So, they're pretty much a byproduct of pineapples that you buy in the supermarket.
25:33So, those pineapples grow on top and this is the byproduct of the plant underneath.
25:37And it's a great way to reduce the waste of these from out on the farms.
25:40Hey, Bailey, what would you like me to do?
25:41So, if you can head up the hay nets, I'll head up the pineapples.
25:44All right, perfect.
25:45So, we're just going to set them up now.
25:48Our elephants here, they came from Thailand.
25:50And over in Thailand, they used to eat these pineapple tops a lot.
25:55Just going to pop one here, going to pop one.
25:58So, we're pretty much doing that now and keeping that tradition going for them.
26:02And going, and going, and going for them.
26:06Because Asian elephants eat around 150 kilos of food every single day.
26:13Because elephants are such an intellectual and cognitive species,
26:16it's really important for us to keep them enriched.
26:18So, just by simply putting them in these hay nets,
26:20it's just going to make it that much harder for them to really work and dig them out.
26:24So, it's going to really get them to stretch their trunks out
26:26using all those muscles pulling apart these pineapples.
26:29To make it that little bit much harder for them,
26:31we're going to hang them up really nice and high.
26:34Let's send them out.
26:35Let's do it.
26:37It doesn't take Tang Mo and Pak Boon too long
26:41to sniff out their giant goodie bags.
26:45Here she goes.
26:49That's it.
26:50This is the best part you want to see as a keeper.
26:52The animal is actually coming out and using the enrichment.
26:56You can see the elephants, it's such an effort for them
26:58to actually get those pineapple tops out of the nets.
27:00using their trunks to really stretch out and rip them apart.
27:09So, just putting those pineapples in that net
27:11is why it might seem simple.
27:12It makes such a difference for the elephants here.
27:17It's such a great way to see them challenged
27:19and using their minds to really do different things.
27:21Definitely means everything to me to be able to put in the work
27:26and to set these things up, bring in new ideas and think of new stuff
27:29and then to go out and execute it.
27:31Like it's just such a buzz to see all your work come together.
27:35And while the elephants enjoy the fruits of Bailey's labour.
27:40Good job guys.
27:42Taronga's red panda cubs have polished off their breakfast.
27:46I'll hold Kisho here if you want to Molly take Kayana over for her weighing this morning.
27:51And are about to start some practice in preparation for a very important call
27:57that could come at any time.
28:00Our red pandas are actually a part of our global breeding program.
28:04If we do get that call up that they need to go and help out
28:07then we'll definitely have them as ready as they can be.
28:10Now that Kisho and Kayana have both turned one,
28:13they could be transferred to another zoo
28:16to breed with another pair of red pandas.
28:20Which means they'll both need to be well practiced
28:23at assisting their keepers with some crucial health checks.
28:27Very inquisitive, our pandas.
28:30And we all know how easy that is with a one-year-old.
28:34Right?
28:36Were you wanting to work on some of Kayana's ultrasound training this morning?
28:39Yeah, we'll do a quick session.
28:41Yeah.
28:42When she joins a breeding program,
28:44female cub Kayana will be asked to present her belly for an ultrasound
28:49to check on her pregnancy.
28:51Anything new is always exciting.
28:53Good girl!
28:55Our cubbies, they love to climb.
28:57They love new things, as you can see.
28:59So, introducing novel items like this which will then be used in their training
29:03is perfect timing.
29:05Tug it!
29:06There's lots of focus on food, the belly presentation, not so much.
29:11So, while these sessions are almost just like play for these guys,
29:15it's good timing for us to introduce these behaviors so that once they're older
29:19and we want to do ultrasounds on her, she'll be ready to go.
29:22Good girl!
29:23Well, Kayana, if eating was part of the training, you'd pass with flying colors.
29:29Not so sure about the ultrasound practice though.
29:32So, I'm just going to measure Kisho's kind of nose to the base of his tail length.
29:38I put his food in there just so it has his nose down that way so it gives me the full length of his spine.
29:45I go right to the base of his tail, right to the tip of your nose.
29:50Good boy!
29:52Stop!
29:54You've grown three centimeters since we did that last semester.
29:57Good job!
29:58An adult red panda's body can grow up to around 63 centimeters long.
30:04So, little Kisho, hmm, not so little Kisho, has almost reached his full size.
30:11We've got the length and then we also work on the girth.
30:15Beautiful. Okay.
30:17There we go.
30:19And 39 centimeters.
30:20So, that's the same.
30:21Awesome.
30:22That's the same.
30:23He's kind of grown in length but hasn't put on any kind of extra fat deposits or anything like that around those rib cage areas.
30:30So, that's perfectly fine.
30:32Well, Kisho's looking pretty trim.
30:34So, that's a plus in his breeding book.
30:37And what about Kayana?
30:39So, it's really important when we're weighing to make sure that tail is getting weighed too.
30:44There's a lot of weight in that tail.
30:47So, we have a nice little cue.
30:49Touch!
30:50Just to let them know that we're touching them.
30:54So, now we're looking at 3.82, which looks pretty good.
30:58I think we've got our weight.
30:59So, I'm giving a nice big reward.
31:02And that's her done.
31:04Even at just a year old, Kayana has almost reached her adult weight.
31:09Come on, lady.
31:10Kisho, over here, buddy.
31:12Not surprising, considering how much she loves those treats.
31:17You stay there.
31:18So, with practice over, albeit with some admittedly mixed results, just how did our dynamic panda duo do?
31:27If at any point, we do get that call to say that they need to go and help out with that breeding program.
31:33We've got the diet down pat, that's for sure.
31:36Alrighty, miss.
31:38I'm allowed a treat.
31:40Coming up.
31:41Hey, girls.
31:42How are you going?
31:43Taronga's baby boom.
31:44We come to say hello.
31:46Is in full swing.
31:48Giraffe calves rely on their mums for pretty much everything.
31:51At the Taronga Wildlife Hospital in Sydney, a sea eagle's future hangs in the balance.
32:02We're going into this with a degree of trepidation.
32:06The bird's broken wing hasn't healed well enough for the eagle to be released.
32:11He's still very much a touch and go animal.
32:14And 11 weeks into its treatment, the team are deciding whether to continue what has been a very long rehabilitation.
32:24X-ray.
32:26If we find that he's got bits of bone that are going to cause problems in the future or if he's ongoing discomfort,
32:34we'll have to probably consider euthanasia.
32:36No.
32:46No.
32:48I don't think he's a goer.
32:50There are some things that have improved and there's some things that don't look great.
32:54The actual fracture is healed.
32:56But he's got changes that I think are not consistent with him living a comfortable life.
33:00I'm worried that the bone is going to rub on that bone.
33:04There's also the risk that he'll develop arthritis in that elbow.
33:08It's the fracture sites like that's just going to be rubbing on that.
33:13Although the fracture has healed, the deformed bone is close enough to the elbow that it might cause more pain in the joint.
33:23Have a feel of it.
33:24I really have a feel of it.
33:25Yeah.
33:26It's not clunky though, yeah?
33:27No, no.
33:28And while the x-rays are the vet team's best tool to assess the fracture, they aren't conclusive.
33:45I think he's got really good extension and it feels pretty solid, except his wing droops.
33:54There's an occasional clunk, which may be that radius.
34:01I don't know.
34:08Even though no one wants to actually euthanize, if you're faced with an animal that's going to have ongoing pain, that's not life and it's poor welfare.
34:23It's now clear the wing will never heal properly.
34:27Let's see.
34:28So it's been 11 and a half weeks.
34:29And a drooping wing is a sign the eagle might be in pain.
34:32But you think if he was really, really painful, he wouldn't be stretching that.
34:37It would be like a flint chopper.
34:38It would be like a, yeah.
34:39Like, that's the thing.
34:40Like, it's just that he's showing other signs that don't match the radiographs.
34:44The big fracture of the ulna is healed.
34:51The radius is a bit displaced.
34:55I think we should just give him another couple of weeks, maybe get him into the big avery.
35:00Yeah.
35:01And have him in pain relief.
35:04A move to a larger avery will encourage the eagle to use its wing more regularly and will help the vet team assess if it actually is in any pain.
35:16He might be a good ambassador and we can use him to educate people about sea eagles and birds in our area if he can fly enough without it being a painful situation.
35:26I am conflicted.
35:29Yeah.
35:30Because I want to give him that chance but also don't want him to be in pain.
35:33No, of course.
35:35I'm sure he'd like to be given a chance.
35:37I think.
35:38If we asked him.
35:39Yeah.
35:40Oh, oh.
35:42Oh.
35:55Meanwhile, there's still plenty to celebrate as Taronga's baby boom is in full swing.
36:02Stop.
36:05And in Dubbo, some exciting news is spreading across the savannah.
36:13A couple of proud mamas have their keepers bursting with pride.
36:18Hey guys.
36:25We're super excited here in Toronto Western Plains Zoo Dubbo that we've just welcomed the
36:28arrival of two brand new giraffe calves into our herd. Hey girls, how are you going?
36:35Hello. Our three-week-old's name is Magoo, which means legs in Swahili.
36:44He's very, very tall for a baby. We were really fortunate enough to be able to see him be born.
36:50His mother, Mavita, actually chose to give birth in our holding facility.
36:58And Magoo made his grand entrance into the world about 2.30 in the afternoon.
37:01And mum delivered that 50 kilo bundle of fun
37:09with all the grace you'd expect from a four and a half meter land mammal.
37:14When the calves are born, it's about a six foot or a two meter drop to the ground to the start of
37:19their life, which is quite abrupt. But it has been shown that that is actually what kickstarts their
37:23cardiovascular system at the beginning of their life, which is super cool.
37:30Hey girls.
37:34Hello, Asmara. What are you doing?
37:39You come to say hello?
37:41The mother of our second calf is Asmara and her little one's only four days old at the moment and is a
37:47girl. Currently she doesn't have a name, but we are working on it. Good girl.
37:53Giraffe calves aren't overly confident when they enter the world. They do rely on their mums for
37:58pretty much everything. But it's not just their mums who take care of these long-limbed little ones.
38:04We are lucky enough here in our herd that we have a matriarch, Thule. She's 27 years old.
38:09And she actually provides a professional babysitting service. So a lot of the times if the mums are
38:14taking a step back, Thule will step in. And Thule's services are set to be in high demand because
38:23more big news has just dropped in Dubbo. I'm super excited to say that overnight we've just had another
38:31calf born into our herd that now makes three calves in just four weeks, which is super exciting.
38:38Our newest calf has only just been standing now for about three hours. So it's still very wobbly,
38:44still realizing how long its legs are. And so yeah, it will just continue to get more confident as the
38:49weeks go on.
38:55Next, it's judgment day for this big bird.
38:59Sometimes it's hard as a vet to make that decision to euthanize.
39:10It's several weeks now since Uma, the bushstone curlew, has been training to leave her aviary.
39:16I'm going to try and open this door, see what she does.
39:19So she can take part in Taronga's free flight experience.
39:24Hey Uma, you ready for your big day?
39:29Oh, two ready. Out she goes.
39:33Today, we're going to have Uma the bushstone curlew in our free flight birds presentation here at Taronga.
39:39So we're hoping that it all goes according to plan.
39:41But of course, when working with animals, you never really know what you're going to get.
39:46All right, you ready? Hey, you ready? All right, let's do it. Come on, Uma.
39:52Hey, Uma.
39:55Hey, Uma.
39:59Taronga's free flight section gives its birds an opportunity to fly and roam.
40:07Welcome aboard, sir.
40:08Outside their own habitats.
40:17And it gives visitors an opportunity to learn a little more about these highly intelligent animals,
40:23including, drum roll please,
40:28Uma.
40:32Uma?
40:35Uma?
40:37Oh, okay. I give up. Over to you, Chris.
40:39Owls aren't the only birds that are out hunting in your backyard.
40:44In fact, one of Australia's lesser known predators is hunting under cover of darkness.
40:49Her name is Uma. She's a bushstone curlew.
40:52And though you might not always get to see these birds, you are quite likely to hear them.
40:56Often seen standing perfectly still, or even lying flat on the ground.
41:05This bird used to be fairly widespread across Australia, but unfortunately,
41:09their numbers have had a massive decline.
41:12And with a perfect appearance, as spectacular as it was brief.
41:16Thank you, Uma. Thank you very much.
41:20This little curlew can call it a day.
41:23Great job, Uma.
41:26Well done, my friend. You did so good today.
41:31Good work.
41:33Oh, I'm so happy. She did really well.
41:36But of course, that's the whole, you know, fun of this job,
41:39where we're always balancing up where the reinforcement is.
41:42What's she going to do again? What's she not going to do again?
41:45So it's all really cool to watch and watch her grow.
41:48While keeper Chris is clearly happy with Uma's progress.
41:52That was perfect. Uma, you're a star.
41:56Another bird's progress and future is about to be decided.
42:06This rescued sea eagle arrived at Taronga several months earlier with a badly fractured wing.
42:12So he is holding his left wing a little bit unusually.
42:15With little chance of surviving in the wild.
42:18I think the chances of him flying well are fairly slim.
42:23The vet team decided to give it time to heal with the hope for a new life at the zoo.
42:30I think we should just give him another couple of weeks, maybe get him into the Big Avery.
42:35And now the time has come for vet Kimberley to decide its fate.
42:40Sometimes it's hard as a vet to make that decision to move forward with a case or to euthanize it.
42:47And with a sea eagle, it's been a very hard one to decide.
42:53We know it's got problems in the wing.
42:57But can it live a comfortable, happy life as an ambassador for its species,
43:02as part of the collection in the free flight?
43:06I've actually just gone down to look at the sea eagle and wanted to assess it.
43:11It looks really good down there. It's flying. It doesn't seem bothered by it.
43:17We're in this business because we care.
43:20We care about the animals.
43:22As soon as it's trained to go to the keeper's glove,
43:27that'll be okay for our free flight presentation.
43:29If the bird is coping and we can manage it, if we can give it a good life here,
43:35I want to try to do that.
43:39The vet team has done it.
43:41After three long months, this majestic sea eagle can now finally call Taronga home.
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