- 18 minutes ago
Vantara: Sanctuary Stories - Season 1 Episode 6 -
The Saviours
The Saviours
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FunTranscript
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
00:41until now, it has been kept a secret.
00:45It is unmatched by any other place on Earth.
00:50For those lucky enough to make it, it is a refuge, a sanctuary, a place to live their
00:58lives in safety and peace.
01:04In a world that has forgotten the importance of nature, a new犬 has been born.
01:13A place for animals to thrive.
01:16Because this isn't a zoo.
01:24This is an ark.
01:28This is Bantara.
01:30This is the world's largest animal rescue center.
01:43This is the world's largest animal rescue center.
01:553,500 acres and still grown.
02:02It has several thousand animals.
02:06Hundreds of species.
02:08The best husbandry.
02:12Access to the best vets and handlers in the world.
02:15And rescue teams that work to help animals in need, anywhere in the world, at any time.
02:28Just after dawn, one of those teams has brought in several truckloads of reptiles rescued from
02:35illegal markets.
02:39Let's see what's in the box over here.
02:41With no time for breakfast or uniforms, it's a race against time to examine each animal,
02:47administer care, and get them sorted into newly built terrariums.
02:51Is this all turtles too?
02:54Are they marsh terrapins?
02:55Which species are they?
02:57Pelusius.
02:57African mud turtle.
02:58Pelusius.
02:59Yeah.
03:00All right, so take a look at this.
03:01Bantara here has just received a big shipment.
03:03And you can see the holes in their shells.
03:06So these have been captured for food markets because those holes indicate a drill in the
03:10hole where they then will rope them up in big piles.
03:13So a lot of these turtles are in really unhealthy condition.
03:15They were all confiscated.
03:17And there are tons of boxes here.
03:20Sid, how many turtles have you got so far?
03:22More than 400 turtles right now.
03:23In this shipment?
03:24In this shipment.
03:24And you haven't even opened these boxes yet?
03:26Whoa.
03:27So these are water turtles.
03:29These are aquatic species.
03:30They need access to both water and land.
03:32But a lot of the times they're kept with no water for, honestly, God knows how long.
03:38That causes a stress response in the animal that messes up their livers.
03:42So everybody will be on hepatic liver medication and just supplements to help them manage the stress.
03:48See how these open wounds from rubbing and scratching.
03:53They started eating each other in the box where they were kept.
03:57Yeah, and what's sad about this is these could have been sitting in a market for months, you know, and they won't feed them or anything.
04:04And let's see what's in the box over here.
04:05What's crazy here is there is not enough space for all these turtles.
04:10Turtles require quite a lot of space.
04:12But part of the never say no policy here is figure it out.
04:15So they're going to a different site now called LC1.
04:18There, there are ponds and tubs getting set up because ingesting this many animals that all need medical attention is a huge mission.
04:25And quite simply, that site was overflowing because freshwater turtles are the most trafficked animal in the world.
04:32So when you send a tiger somewhere, it's a tiger.
04:35When you ship turtles, it's, it's hundreds and hundreds of turtles in one go.
04:39And this is just one quarter of one of the 12 ambulances that came in today with turtles, snakes, lizards, you name it, it's all come in.
04:49And this is just sort of another day in the life of a rescue mission at Ventara.
04:55Look at this.
04:58It's just sort of never ending.
05:01This is the quarantine site.
05:03So the turtles have been set up at their quarantine tubs right now.
05:06We just made sure the water quality is good.
05:08The temps are good.
05:09We're not going to feed them today.
05:11We're just going to let them settle in.
05:12We have some electrolytes and some vitamins in their water.
05:15Hopefully they can just recuperate and just hopefully they know that they're safe now.
05:20For the next several days, this team will continue to provide assessments and care to this massive rescue group.
05:31In the meantime, there are other animals that require less urgent need.
05:35Hello, you little murder chicken.
05:43You are a dangerous creature.
05:46Uh-oh.
05:47Uh-oh.
05:49Ria, come.
05:51No murdering.
05:51This thing is one of the most aggressive and crazy animals in the world.
05:59You wouldn't think that looking at its funny, chubby little complexion.
06:02But even being this close to a pygmy hippo is incredibly dangerous.
06:06So Ramesh has asked me to help by luring Priya into the night cell, giving her some food, and then helping clean her pond.
06:14But we have to do that without getting mauled by this crazy little critter.
06:17Come on, Priya.
06:19Come on!
06:20To night cell.
06:21Come on, Priya.
06:24Oh, sweet.
06:26Look at that.
06:27There are so many giant, large predators here at Ventara.
06:31Things that would absolutely mess you up, like tigers and lions and bears.
06:35And of all of them, this thing is probably scarier than any of them.
06:41Wow.
06:42Oh, you feel like a whale.
06:44Just fat, squishy, slimy.
06:46Look at all that slime.
06:47That's why they said gloves.
06:48And that's because hippos will emit a natural sunscreen through their skin to keep them from burning.
06:55First time I've ever pet one of these funny giant potatoes.
06:58Let's go clean.
07:03Wow.
07:03This water is dirty.
07:05Yes.
07:05Ramesh, how often do you have to clean this tank?
07:08Every day.
07:09You change the water daily?
07:10Every day.
07:11Oh, my goodness.
07:12If you're asking yourself, why would you have to change the water so much?
07:17A hippo, when it poops, it sprays its poop with its tail all around to mark.
07:24Now, adding that to water is literally a recipe for poop soup.
07:27And so if you don't change this water on a daily basis, you end up with this green, brown, toxic sludge that becomes fully anoxic.
07:36Oh, look at that.
07:42I got the hippo keeper jackpot for the day.
07:44Just a nice lot of hippo turd right there.
07:48And what's funny is taking it out of the water and spreading it around the vegetation like this actually acts as a natural fertilizer.
07:57A little win-win.
07:58All right, it's been a few hours.
08:05The pool is now crystal clear.
08:07The whole habitat has been picked up.
08:09So it's time to let Priya come out.
08:11Okay, Ramesh.
08:14Come on.
08:16Here she comes.
08:19Come on, Priya.
08:22Look how clean your pool is.
08:24Look.
08:25Oh, she's locked in on me.
08:27Uh-oh.
08:31Look, I got your watermelon.
08:33Go splash in.
08:38Oh, here we go.
08:40How funny is that?
08:41She's chasing the watermelon in like a dolphin with a ball heading back into this crystal clear pool.
08:47She's got some snacks, some treats.
08:48Everything's cleaned up.
08:50This really changed my perception of how mean and crazy these things are.
08:53She's more food motivated than fear motivated, which is pretty awesome.
09:03Is she pooping already?
09:04Ah, yes.
09:05It's lunchtime all across Ventara.
09:10So while Priya polishes off her watermelon,
09:13Thank you very much.
09:14I'm off to serve some more demanding residents.
09:17Wow, look at all this meat.
09:19Right now, here we have the Asiatic lands.
09:21These are one of the big cats found in India.
09:24There's this great initiative of Antara with the Indian government to have an Asiatic land breeding and conservation center.
09:31So I, with my team, take care of these big cats.
09:39Today, Forrest would spend a day with our team, help them feed, clean, and be around this majestic lands.
09:48Look at the size of that heart.
09:50That's a water buffalo heart, right?
09:52Yes.
09:52I mean, there's a lot of minerals in there.
09:56So right now, we're preparing meat for a specific individual large male Asiatic lion named Tej.
10:02So Tej was human wildlife conflict.
10:04Yes, most of the lions do get into human wildlife conflict.
10:09Especially in gear.
10:10There are incredible videos floating around the internet where you see lions walking through markets
10:15and walking next to busy streets and things like that.
10:19And sometimes, those lions end up in conflict with people.
10:23Now, when you trap one of those lions, it can't go back into the wild.
10:26Why is that?
10:27Because they are used to humans, and humans are not so comfortable with lions roaming around them.
10:32Oh, okay, there he is.
10:33Yeah.
10:37That's intimidating.
10:37That's a hungry kitty.
10:48We're going to feed Tej one piece at a time through the chute here.
10:52There you go, bud.
10:56There we go.
10:58Oh, yeah.
10:59Excited.
11:00Wow, the sounds in here are just incredible.
11:08But watch how excited he is for this piece of meat.
11:11Ready, buddy?
11:17There's something instinctual in us as human beings that when you hear that lion roar,
11:22it makes your skin crawl.
11:24It makes you feel as though you're going to die.
11:26And it's from the fact that human beings originated on the African continent,
11:30we've grown up across the planet with these sounds,
11:34that means to me that there is nothing more instinctually intimidating than listening to that.
11:44That was crazy.
11:45With all the sounds of roaring lions and tearing meat,
11:49you might miss the youngest residents here in the night pens.
11:53But in many ways, they're the most important.
11:55So these cubs were born here at Bantara.
11:59Is this the first generation?
12:00Yes.
12:01That's amazing.
12:02Congratulations.
12:04So because these cubs are eventually going to go into a rewilding program,
12:09it's a no-contact situation.
12:11This first generation with us cannot be sent back to the wild
12:16because they have this human imprint.
12:18The cubs, the second generation, third generation,
12:21we try to remove that human imprint from them.
12:23So if released in the wild,
12:26they would not treat humans as a source of food.
12:29These Asiatic lions are now only found in India.
12:32There may be around 800 left in the wild.
12:35So the numbers itself tells us how endangered these species are
12:38and how and why important it is for us to conserve these species.
12:42With our team's efforts,
12:43we will surely get those numbers to a good level
12:46that our future generations would see the Asiatic lions in the wild.
12:52Keeping these cubs separate from the keepers
12:54is a critical component to reintroducing them back into the wild.
12:59After all,
13:00they'll need to make decisions without a human hand.
13:03In other situations, though,
13:05the human hand becomes critically important.
13:08Oftentimes, rescued animals can arrive at Bantara with a range of ailments.
13:16Some suffer from disease.
13:20Others have endured years of abuse.
13:22This shoebill is a rescue from northern Zambia.
13:28It has refused to eat.
13:31An intake x-ray of the animal's stomach reveals an all-too-common cause.
13:36Three metal fishhooks likely left in a shoebill's lunch by a negligent fisherman.
13:41If they're not removed,
13:42they can cause a perforation and eventually kill the shoebill.
13:46So, Dr. George and I have had many discussions
13:50about what to do with the shoebill here.
13:54So, he's up on his rock there.
13:55It appears to be one of his favorite spots.
13:57Every time we look at him, he's up there.
14:08Late last night, you really had an idea.
14:11Yeah.
14:12So, the idea is simple.
14:13What we're going to do is we're going to take these tilapia,
14:15which is a favorite food of the shoebill.
14:19And then what are we going to do, Dr. George?
14:20We're just going to put some cotton inside.
14:23So, a small quantity just to go around the tip of the hooks.
14:27Right.
14:28It's very unconventional,
14:29but the idea is as this goes through the digestive tract,
14:33because it has so many fibrous bits to it,
14:36maybe, maybe the hook will go in,
14:38and as the digestion aids, it'll tangle in this
14:41and then just pass through.
14:43And the bird won't digest this.
14:45Is that right?
14:45I will not.
14:46We're just going to take the cotton,
14:47and have a little bit more.
14:49We're going to absolutely shove it in the internal area,
14:53like the gut cavity of the tilapia.
14:55I'll even put a little in the mouth here.
14:57And the good thing about cotton is it won't create a blockage.
15:01Even if this doesn't grab the hook,
15:03it'll still get passed through.
15:04So, there we go.
15:05Okay.
15:05So, there we go.
15:10This technique has shown success in some marine mammals,
15:13but this will be the first time it's tried on a bird like a shoebill.
15:17Why don't you go this way?
15:18I'll go around this way.
15:20Unfortunately, shoebills seem to hate the smell of latex gloves,
15:23so we're going to get a little fishy.
15:26It's coming this way.
15:27It's coming this way.
15:27You can see he just does not want to take the fish down.
15:57And all we need is for him to digest this
16:00and try and get that cotton down and see if it works.
16:03Come here, buddy.
16:08All right, we're going to try one more time.
16:11Maybe we just force-feed him, huh?
16:13Yeah.
16:15Sometimes with these wild animals,
16:17you need to restrain and you need to force-feed us
16:20because they will not do it voluntarily.
16:22Obviously, in a way that it's not harmful for the animal
16:26and it's not harmful for you
16:28because that beale beak can actually damage you a lot.
16:33There we go.
16:36Okay.
16:40Okay.
16:41All right, buddy.
16:42You got to do it.
16:43You got to do it.
16:44Yep.
16:44I will.
16:45All right.
16:46There we go.
16:46There we go.
16:47We'll just hold the beak for a second.
16:51Massage it down a little bit.
16:52So sad that it had to come to this,
16:55but he was not going to take the fish,
16:57so we're doing a little bit of a force-feed.
16:59And just look at, while we're doing this,
17:01as he's closed his eyes,
17:02look at where that unbelievable shoebill name comes from.
17:05They sound like machine guns when they make that call.
17:09They're an ancient species of bird.
17:11There you go.
17:12There's a good birdie.
17:13Yeah.
17:14There he goes.
17:15Good birdie.
17:17Good job.
17:18That was the best.
17:18Sorry, I'm fishing.
17:20It was the best we could do, though.
17:21Hopefully that works.
17:23Yeah, yeah.
17:23Hopefully it goes in.
17:24I did not know when we woke up today
17:26we'd end up force-feeding a shoebill
17:28a fish full of cotton.
17:29So let's see.
17:32All we can do now
17:34for the malnourish shoebill is wait.
17:35There's no shortage of work here at Ventara.
17:48And the team processing the rescue shipment
17:50from the market have a fresh delivery.
17:55Dwarves?
17:55West African dwarf.
17:56Yeah, little West African dwarf crocodile.
18:05Their numbers are declining very rapidly in the wild.
18:09These guys, of everything that's been shipped
18:11they can spend the longest amount of time without care.
18:13Yeah, so what happens a lot of the times
18:15is they've fed this acid meat
18:17or not fed at all
18:18and crocodiles, as sturdy as they are
18:20they're very susceptible to stress as well.
18:23That's the main killer of crocodiles
18:24is stress, for sure.
18:26The dwarf crocodiles have come from these rescue centers
18:29where they confiscate a lot of dwarf crocodiles
18:32being smuggled.
18:34Most of the times the poachers
18:35they escape.
18:36They cannot catch them.
18:38And they end up caring for those crocodiles there
18:40in their facility, unable to manage them.
18:43They came in in a very bad condition
18:47with absolutely no tail fat
18:49with shrunken stomachs.
18:52So where are these guys going, Michelle?
18:53Right now we are putting them in
18:55the periphery cages for observation.
18:57Okay.
18:58Make sure that everybody is feeding,
19:00everybody is well, everybody is clean
19:01and they go into the permanent big water planet.
19:04You want me to open this one?
19:05This one is much smaller.
19:11Is this one partially leucistic?
19:13Yeah.
19:14Wow, that's kind of cool.
19:16A lack of pigmentation, known as leucism,
19:19is extraordinarily rare in the wild,
19:22especially among a vulnerable species
19:24like the dwarf crocodile.
19:26Jesus, that's a lot of animals.
19:28Oh, this one is tiny, small.
19:30Let's go, I'll take some to the pond with you guys.
19:33So this is all crocs in these two.
19:35What about that one, crocs too?
19:36Oh my God.
19:37Water is important to almost every animal,
19:42but dwarf crocodiles do need the water to cool off,
19:45to hunt, and also to mate.
19:47So we already have outdoor enclosures with land and water,
19:51access to direct sunlight.
19:53And once they become good enough
19:54to go into a larger water body
19:56with a larger group of animals,
19:57we will shift them to their holding enclosures.
20:00This is an aquatic creature
20:01that hasn't seen water in probably a month, you know?
20:05So this is going to be a very relieving moment
20:08for these little guys.
20:10Go on.
20:11Look at that.
20:12Isn't that nice?
20:13It's almost like they don't even know what to do anymore.
20:17Let's get some more.
20:19It's been quite a journey for these dwarf crocodiles.
20:22From the meat market to a wooden crate
20:25to the first bath they've had in weeks.
20:28Oh, that must feel so good.
20:31It can be overwhelming to see the sheer volume
20:34of rescued animals arriving at Ventara.
20:37But at least for these crocs,
20:39today is a very good day.
20:42It feels fantastic to be able to take in
20:45these animals that were suffering,
20:48that are in very poor condition,
20:49and knowing that we have the infrastructure
20:53and the skill sets to get these animals
20:55back to their health.
21:08Human intervention in a place like Ventara
21:11usually means medical care or even surgery.
21:14But the little jobs serve an important role, too.
21:34Here we have all of the rescued meerkats,
21:38and these guys are very inquisitive animals
21:41that get bored very, very quickly.
21:44So we went out, found some logs that smell good,
21:52have all kinds of little nooks and crannies
21:54for them to investigate.
21:55And to make it even more fun,
21:57we put some mealworms for them to come get new smells,
22:00dig at the rotting wood, look for some termites,
22:02and let these rescue meerkats be meerkats.
22:05There they all go, panic mode.
22:22Meerkats have such a unique and interesting social dynamic.
22:25They have one sentinel that stands out that's usually a male,
22:29and he watches for any threats of danger in their native habitat.
22:32That can be an eagle, that can be a jackal, that can be a snake,
22:35and he'll communicate to tell the others if it's safe or if it's dangerous.
22:39And right now, hear that little frog sound?
22:44That's the male saying,
22:46the threat is still here, don't go out right now.
22:48And you can see they're sticking their little noses out to look at me
22:51to see if I am a threat.
22:53They're not going to come out while I sit here,
22:54so let's head out.
22:55So we attached the phone to a stick and turned it on to selfie mode
23:07and flipped it around, and now the meerkats are operating the phone
23:12and staring at themselves.
23:25There you go, they're exploring their new log.
23:40They love it.
23:41And in this whole giant enclosure,
23:43the thing that they've queued in on
23:44is the brand new scents, smells, and sounds
23:47of this log getting chewed on, crunched on,
23:50and the little worms in it.
23:51It's great to see them getting a little bit of enrichment.
23:52I think we've got to give them a camera operator credit.
24:14Never in my life have I been anywhere
24:16where the enclosures are so spotlessly clean,
24:18which you would think is for us as humans, but it's not.
24:21Every enclosure is designed
24:23with the utmost animal welfare in mind.
24:28And that includes this massive tank
24:30built for a cousin of the crocodile, the gharial.
24:33What's up with this?
24:39Why is it so filthy?
24:40Boss is not going to like that.
24:42Oh, you think it's filthy?
24:43Look at it.
24:43There's smudges up top.
24:45There's algae down below.
24:47You go and clean it.
24:48I go and clean it?
24:49You better be careful.
24:50The gharials are getting cheeky.
24:51Are they?
24:51Yeah.
24:52Is that why you're draining the pond?
24:53Exactly.
24:53That's why we drain the pond.
24:54Oh, because they come and bite the boys?
24:56Yeah.
24:56I bet you I could clean this for you
24:59without draining the pond.
25:00Without draining?
25:01I think so.
25:01Let's take the challenge then.
25:02Okay, let's go.
25:03Bring it on.
25:04I'll clean your tank for you.
25:11Oh, God.
25:19I don't know if I'm a huge fan of this idea anymore.
25:21They're a lot bigger when you're in here.
25:31Okay.
25:33Oh, God.
25:34Oh, God.
25:35Oh, God.
25:36Oh, my feet.
25:38Oh, boy.
25:39Oh, boy.
25:40Oh, boy.
25:40Oh, boy.
25:41Oh, boy.
25:41Oh, boy.
25:42Oh, boy.
25:42Oh, God.
25:46I feel like I'm very likely to lose a toe.
25:51Are there any between us?
26:00Oh, man.
26:06They look a lot more fearsome than I thought they were going.
26:08Oh, man.
26:21You missed it.
26:28Oh, yeah?
26:29You think I missed a spot?
26:30The monster giving me from the outside.
26:34I should have kept my mouth shut.
26:42Before heading home for the day,
26:44I want to check in on the reptile habitat.
26:46The team continues to divide up the rescues,
26:49and they're now unpacking the most dangerous cargo yet.
26:53Oh, my God.
26:54That's a lot of snakes.
26:58We are unpacking bushwipers.
27:00They are venomous.
27:01A bite from these to a young or an elderly person
27:04might be quite serious.
27:06So, there is a huge demand
27:08for African venomous snakes for hobbyists.
27:11That's why they ended up in a rescue center.
27:13So, we'll just first eyeball a few.
27:16Okay.
27:16And we'll put them again into quarantine.
27:19They might be dehydrated as well.
27:22Oh, this is that bright orange variable bushfire.
27:25Variable bushfire.
27:26Wow, look at that color, like a fire pattern.
27:37Beautiful.
27:40So, as you can see, this is a quarantine setup.
27:43There's no substrate.
27:44There's very limited water dishes.
27:45Nothing that can spread disease or sickness.
27:47So, these snakes will go in here,
27:4910 apiece in each of these 100-plus tanks
27:51so that they can monitor them and begin to treat them.
27:54Do you go straight into an antibiotics course?
27:56Yes.
27:56Yeah.
27:57It's funny, you don't, like,
27:58it's hard to get emotional about a venomous snake,
28:00but when you see 1,200 of them coming in,
28:04look at the malnourishment on that one.
28:06I mean, that thing probably hasn't eaten in months.
28:09Maybe, maybe a year.
28:11It's just, like, horrific to see.
28:13I don't know what the upshot for these animals would be
28:16if there wasn't a facility like Ventara.
28:19These are a tropical rainforest snake.
28:21They are used to rain or at least to heavy misting daily,
28:25and for probably a month, they've seen no moisture at all.
28:28So, this is going to feel very good for them.
28:33Oh, can you imagine the relief that would be?
28:36Now, most snakes don't drink,
28:38but I bet you if you come look,
28:39yeah, look right here.
28:40Look, look, look.
28:41As I said that,
28:42most snakes will not typically drink like that,
28:44but look at how thirsty that snake is.
28:46It's going straight to drinking moisture off of the paper.
28:48It can be overwhelming to see so many animals in need,
28:54but even in such dire circumstances,
28:57miracles can still occur.
28:59How many babies?
29:00A ton?
29:03They're opening a bag with babies in it.
29:05How many babies?
29:06A ton?
29:08It appears one of the snakes Ventara rescued was pregnant.
29:11Birth in the bag?
29:12And despite the odds, she gave birth in transit.
29:16Wow, look at that.
29:18They're even born with that variation of color, huh?
29:24Jeez, and that was in the bag when you opened it?
29:26Yeah.
29:27Is that, that's not common, is it?
29:29That's not common.
29:29No, that's insane.
29:32Finding a baby inside the bag
29:33that the mother has delivered during the transport
29:36makes you understand how resilient these animals are.
29:41We'll keep the babies with the mother for now in that same box.
29:44You'll have to force feed these.
29:45Yes.
29:46Yeah.
29:48There's well over a thousand snakes here.
29:54Shouldn't they be going back into the wild?
29:59Hopefully long term, that could be the plan,
30:01but right now in these conditions,
30:02where are they to make it in the wild?
30:04I really don't know.
30:06What does someone do with this many snakes?
30:09It's crazy.
30:10I think how many mice this requires everything.
30:14The Vantara team will work through the night
30:26to make sure every one of these rescued reptiles,
30:29including some newly hatched bush vipers, has a home.
30:33Because here, whether it's a venomous snake, stubborn crocodiles, or endangered turtles,
30:38each life counts.
30:40And that's the heart of it.
30:42Whether it's a thousand animals or just one, every life matters.
30:47Which is why Vantara's ultimate goal is to set up field stations around the world
30:52so they can treat and rewild rescued animals within their home country.
30:56But no matter how many lives they save,
30:59sometimes it all comes down to one animal and one very strange solution.
31:04This shoebill was found with three metal hooks in its stomach,
31:09a death sentence in the wild.
31:11But Dr. George and I have a truly inspired plan.
31:17Hey, Forrest.
31:19Let's see, he's there.
31:21So maybe the first place to look is there, huh?
31:24Let's go.
31:29So it's been about a day and a half since we gave the shoebill his cotton-stuffed tilapia.
31:34And as you can see, this is his preferred pooping rock.
31:39So let's see if we can find anything.
31:44I came prepared.
31:46I came prepared to dig and poop.
31:52So here I found this, like, little twiggly stick,
31:56and I got excited straight away that there's plenty of poop here.
32:02But they do definitely like to poop up on this rock.
32:12Find anything?
32:14Not yet.
32:15Oh, look, George.
32:20Look at that.
32:21Oh, man.
32:22Right there in one of the poops is one of the hooks.
32:26Just one, not all three.
32:27But look at that, George.
32:28Look at that.
32:29Oh.
32:30Oh, my God.
32:33It's certainly a hook there, huh?
32:35Oh, there is a bit of...
32:36Oh, there is cotton right there.
32:37Yeah, there is cotton here.
32:38So it worked.
32:38It grabbed onto the hook.
32:39Oh, my God.
32:40Fantastic, huh?
32:41All the way through.
32:42Oh, my God, huh?
32:43Great.
32:44Let's see if the other ones are around.
32:45Yep.
32:46Oh, my God, forrest.
32:58You got them?
32:59Yes.
33:00Yeah, yeah.
33:00The other ones are here.
33:02Oh, I stepped right over that.
33:03Oh, look at that.
33:05Oh, my God.
33:05All three hooks are stuck in the cotton.
33:09It did exactly what we wanted it to do.
33:10I mean, George said it might, and it did.
33:12Look at that.
33:13It grabbed onto the cotton in the bird's stomach.
33:16Look, there it comes.
33:18Are now out.
33:19So that's it.
33:19Amazing.
33:20My God.
33:24I am so unbelievably thrilled that this big, beautiful bird has been saved with a little
33:31bit of innovation.
33:33He didn't have to go under.
33:34He didn't have to have a risky surgery.
33:35He literally just ate some fish stuffed with cotton wool, had no blockage, and has passed
33:40these things that were inevitably leading to the end of his life.
33:43And now he can return to having a happy, healthy life, because this is just awesome.
33:48I thought the shoebill was the strangest and rarest rescue animal I would see today here
34:02at Ventara, but I was mistaken.
34:05Keeper Gaurav Sankar is introducing me to a creature I've never seen before in person
34:10from the remote foothills of the Himalayas.
34:13These are takin?
34:14Yeah, it's the mishmi takin.
34:16Oh my goodness.
34:22Look at the size of this animal.
34:25Mishmi takin is probably the most elusive goat species on earth.
34:29Yes.
34:30I have worked in the wild since six years, but I didn't get the chance to see them in the
34:35wild.
34:36And I suddenly came here and I have seen the tapis.
34:39It is like my dreams come true.
34:41Hi, look at you.
34:43I'm glad you're behind these parts.
34:45See, he's getting comfortable with you.
34:47Oof.
34:48Nobody really knows what their population is, what their full range is.
34:53I mean, nobody knows much about them.
34:55The captivity management is very lesser known.
34:57So we are trying different, different things.
34:59Whatever they like, we are repeating those kind of engagements and the habitat.
35:03What we have got to know that the tree bark help in the digestion.
35:07So there are kind of anti-inflammatory components they can help for their good gut health condition.
35:15It is kind of medicinal property.
35:16That's why the taste is a little bit bitter.
35:19Let's let him in.
35:20Yeah.
35:20Yeah.
35:25Lucky come.
35:26Lucky.
35:28Hi, Lucky.
35:29So they can get all their nutrients.
35:56Yeah.
35:56And then maybe Lucky won't be such a jerk.
35:58Yeah, definitely.
36:00You think?
36:00I think she'll still be a jerk.
36:04Despite their formidable horns and temper, Mishmitakhin populations are under constant threat by poachers and habitat loss.
36:20So the information Gaurav and his crew are learning about this rare and incredible animal is critically important.
36:28Every animal in Ventara serves a purpose in its natural habitat, but no animal has a dirtier job than the king vulture, one of the largest scavenging birds in South America.
36:48While they're not the most conventionally attractive birds, senior veterinarian, Dr. Stacy Gallus sees their beauty inside and out.
37:01Just look at this.
37:03Just look at this.
37:06Looking him up close.
37:07How beautiful is that?
37:08Just in any perceived ugliness, there's beauty.
37:12And it's the best exemplified by looking at these guys up close.
37:16Just look at the beautiful colours on the neck and the waddle on top of the beak, and even those eyes, just crystal clear looking straight at you.
37:26Just a magnificent animal.
37:27The neck is quite bare, and there's a reason for that, it's when you're feeding inside a carcass, you don't want feathers, which can get soiled and are a lot harder to clean.
37:37It's much easier to clean skin, and the very short hairs on top of the head mean that when he goes for a bath, he can remove most of the blood stains and off from his head.
37:47So today we're entering the king enclosure.
37:54We've got a really good treat.
37:56All right, open the gate.
37:57Yes.
37:58We're going to feed these guys a whole goat carcass.
38:02Dr. Stacy Gallus has practiced veterinary medicine for over 30 years.
38:08Now we'll get back and let them do their thing.
38:11He's come to Ventara from Australia to support and advise the avian teams here.
38:17Over the course of just a few hours, this committee of vultures,
38:47picks the goat carcass apart.
38:51It's messy work, but one of the most important jobs in the food lab.
39:01Let's see what they've done here.
39:03Wow.
39:08You can see how they've actually gone for the soft areas and more vulnerable areas, so they managed to cut through the skin here and go straight for the viscera, straight inside the belly, the soft part of the animal.
39:18And the same at the hind end.
39:20They've come in from the back end and started eating forwards.
39:23They're pretty amazing birds.
39:25And the role in the ecology of life in the wild is critical because they will remove deceased and diseased animals and, therefore, get rid of the bodies quickly so the whole process of decomposition occurs more quickly.
39:43And that also decreases the presence of pathogens in the environment because they get rid of the carcass before other animals get a chance to consume them.
39:50The king vulture is a reminder that as beautiful as nature can be, there's a cold efficiency in the natural order of things.
40:00But even as the vultures tend to the end of life in the enclosure, all across Ventara, new lives are just beginning.
40:10Some new to this world.
40:14Others new to freedom.
40:17But all these new chapters are made possible through dedication, hard work, and care.
40:23The planet where we live is changing dramatically, and we're going to suffer.
40:31We are already suffering the consequences of that.
40:34Things are disappearing very quickly, and I think it's our responsibility to take care of the very few that last.
40:42Right now in the planet, we are facing so much problem with the pollution, with the deforestation, and we really need to care about the biodiversity of the planet.
40:49Because if one species is missing, other species will suffer in the future.
40:55There is so much in this world, there is so much good you can do for animals, for honestly creatures that, you know, are voiceless and that need our help.
41:06These are people who just want to leave this world a better place than it started off for us.
41:10If nobody is bothered about these animals, Vantara is bothered about these animals.
41:16If nobody cares about this animal, we care for this animal.
41:20We are the voice for the voiceless.
41:22Theeps who's in existence.
41:23The UNITEDunts of Yeti
41:26The Peacilee
41:28The Peac Gibbs
41:30The Peacross Weak
41:33The Queen
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