- 2 days ago
Secrets of the Zoo: Down Under - Season 6 Episode 7 -
Chatty Cheetah
Chatty Cheetah
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00babies or animals but what if they're baby animals it was only born this
00:08morning on this all-new season welcome back to the ever-changing world of
00:16Taronga where you'll witness things you never thought possible you can actually
00:24hear her breathe and meet new faces oh hi buddy you'll never forget so good it's
00:32time to discover oh my god exactly who's who in this zoo on this episode you can
00:45even hear him purr every now and then who knew this cheetah is a real pussycat
00:52hey handsome boy but a trip to the dentist can I have a look in your mouth can
00:58change everything hopefully it's a straightforward thing let's get him tubes
01:02and then we can get him on the gas a rookie keeper holy moly how am I going to
01:07do that feeds a ravenous python for the first time my mum's gonna love hearing
01:12about this hmm I wouldn't be so sure Kayla and you've heard of a pain in the neck
01:17it wasn't what I was expecting amazing to witness but what about a baby in the neck
01:23one of the most exciting moments of my career today
01:29Taronga Western Plains Zoo lays claim to some of the animal kingdom's most impressive record holders
01:41there's the tallest land mammal the heaviest land mammal and keeper Caitlin has just spotted another
01:50the fastest land mammal in this is one of our more talkative cheetah he is always making noises
02:03currently we can hear him what we would call a chirp or a chirrup which sometimes sounds like a bird and
02:10and if you listen real carefully you can even hear him purr every now and then
02:14he is a hand-raised cheetah so this doesn't happen with all of our cheetah but Innes is very used
02:27to humans being around him he hands on boy
02:30cheetah are renowned for their speed 113 kilometres per hour so very impressive and they can get to
02:40that within seconds of taking off so they can cover up to several meters of distance with every
02:45stride that they take so every part of that body is crucial to them being our fastest land mammal
02:51and there is one particular thing that will get chatty cheetah Innes up and running breakfast
02:59come on Innes hello big boy how are you feeling Innes is 11 years of age for us that is considered an older age for our cheetah Innes hello handsome
03:17hey can I have a look in your mouth over the past couple of weeks we've just seen that he starts
03:26to be extending his tongue from his mouth or he's shaking his head in an odd way oh boy and we're
03:34wondering if maybe something is lodged in his mouth or if one of his teeth aren't right or something's going
03:41on in there so at the moment I'm trying to feed him in a way that I can maybe get a little bit of a
03:48glimpse in his mouth so I can see if there's anything in there but it's quite hard keeper Caitlin suspects Innes
03:55might just need a date with the dentist we do need to find out if something is going on that we can't see
04:03that's causing him grief we'd really like to get to the bottom of it go hands a minute now we're
04:13finished yeah everyone at Taronga is wild with excitement over the birth of a new baby
04:23pygmy hippopotamus Kambiri is a proud new mum to her five-week-old calf it's just thrilling
04:32watching the baby splash around in deeper water that's it good girl and no one is more excited
04:39about the zoo's newest bundle of joy than her devoted keeper Tracy well I've known Kambiri since
04:47she was born I looked after Kambiri's mother she is an amazing individual she is the best mother I've
04:55ever known in pygmy hippos she adores her babies she will stand guard over them day and night she will
05:03leave food if her baby needs her and she is so protective the pygmy hippo is critically endangered in
05:11the wild so every new baby is precious they found in Western Africa it's estimated only around 3,000 are left in
05:21the wild and they are not to be confused with their bigger cousins the common hippopotamus a
05:27pygmy hippo is obviously the smaller of the two species hence the name pygmy hippo they're only about
05:33a fifth of the size of the common hippo they are solitary the female and the male have adjoining
05:39territories and they only come together to breed which means the new baby hasn't met her dad Taronga's
05:47male pygmy hippo Fergus Fergus is a very interesting boy well we only put them together when Kambiri is an
05:54estrus which had happened on the 5th of July last year and immediately she led him to the water and
06:01they started mating early October we decided to do an ultrasound on her and straightaway the vets could
06:10spot a little backbone we were absolutely blown away by this we were very happy and then the very
06:19special day arrived does seem to be in labor there we go there's the sack it's very close now and she's
06:33straining she's pushing while this particular baby was born in what you might call the conventional manner
06:40there we go we have a baby we have a calf and it's moving so that's always good not all of
06:48Taronga's new additions arrive in such a regular fashion it was pretty crazy the first time I saw
06:55the Norfolk Island snails being born the babies are born out of their neck the whole baby shell and all
07:02pretty much just crawls on out we'll come back to that one later at Taronga's two zoos there are more
07:15than 200 keepers caring for the resident animals good boy and every single one of them had to start
07:23somewhere I'm a trainee keeper here at Taronga and I have been here for three years now the majority
07:31of my work involves cleaning and feeding of the animals as well as some of the training aspects
07:36here that we have with some of the reptiles you hungry Kayla is training on the job to become a
07:42fully qualified zookeeper hello rattlesnake and that means learning how to feed the reptiles all the
07:51reptiles so what we have in here is a corn snake so they're a North American species of rat snake
07:57completely non-venomous so they are harmless and they move and act like a python but they're not
08:02considered a python with reptiles they can be quite unpredictable here at Taronga we have a
08:10classification system for all of our animals but things like a small carpet python they are harmless
08:15an anaconda or a freshwater crocodile they are listed as hazardous but Rachel she is listed as
08:26dangerous Rachel is a reticulated python which is the biggest snake in the world an injury from Rachel
08:33could potentially lead to death and I'm working towards feeding her we're on as a reptile keeper there's
08:43lots of steps that we have to take towards working with dangerous animals oh do you want to grab
08:47the shield I'm going through a sign-off process I have to watch a senior keeper work with the animal
08:53ten times she's keen feeding her she might launch here servicing the exhibit around her I have to then
09:02do those things ten times so then my final sign-off is feeding her one senior keeper in particular who
09:10is leading me is Chris he really is a wealth of experience for junior keepers like us and he's taught
09:16me pretty much everything that I know about reptiles up to now so we've only just pulled it out of the
09:22freezer this morning and Kayla's next lesson not how but what to feed Rachel the python
09:30some people might find it confronting when we feed the whole animal particularly rabbits because people might
09:36have them as pets it's no different to us eating beef or lamb hey exactly right yeah so you can see
09:41it's still covered in fur and it's got its head and all the organs snakes do need all the stuff that
09:47we as picky humans scrape off our plate so what do we do with it now we'll just let it come to
09:52temperature slowly in the fridge three days perfect so in three days Kayla will watch Chris feed this
10:02five-meter-long reptile then soon after it's her turn are you nervous a little we do of course need
10:11to have some pretty solid safety precautions working with a dangerous animal like Rachel it's important
10:16to continually train up new keepers to maintain staff safety we'll bring this in here with us to Kayla
10:22make sure they're comfortable with the snake make sure that they're interacting with the snake in all the
10:26right methods and then we eventually hand the tongs and the bunny over to Kayla and she's then going to be
10:33doing the feeds I'm definitely feeling very nervous working towards that I've seen her get a little bit
10:39excited about food and I've definitely been like holy moly how am I going to do that
10:43better you than me Kayla at Taronga Western Plains Zoo this rather large predator is not happy
10:56which is making his keepers worried for cheetah in us over the past couple of weeks we've just seen
11:03that he starts to be fiddling in his mouth he's extending his tongue from his mouth or he's shaking his head
11:09around picky boy so we're just interested to see if there is anything lodged in his jaw or all of his
11:18teeth are nice and healthy anything in the throat so we're bringing in the vet team to have a better
11:25look and a closer look so today we're gonna see you know what's going on so one of you will will hand
11:30inject him then we'll we'll come in we'll pop a catheter in and actually just look in his mouth
11:34cool thanks guys all right good luck the team are hopeful in us will take a hand injection
11:41otherwise they will have to resort to darting him you're gonna be a good boy you're gonna be a good
11:48boy yeah we don't like to have to dart animals because it's stressful for them and it's stressful
11:53for us and if we can do a calm hand injection it's just much nicer for everybody really while the keepers
12:00might be calm in us also gets a say and no one can predict just how a cheetah with a sore mouth
12:07will react to a sharp needle okay happy happy
12:11going
12:14and he's had all of that well done you are such a tough boy good boy in this you are a little legend
12:23he's had that full injection we'll be there in a few minutes
12:28hopefully in this has a gunner stuck on his tooth
12:34it's a straightforward thing and not a big dental extraction
12:38yes sometimes we'll find the cheetah might have chewed on a gun nut or have a little piece of bone
12:44or something wedged in his mouth but we're also keeping in mind that it could be something
12:47a bit more sinister good boy in us you're okay buddy keeper caitlin is keeping watch
12:54waiting for the sedation to take its effect
12:57don't yell at night he's down if you guys want to start coming
13:01the injection went really well he was a um such a champion um didn't react at all so really happy
13:10with with that he's breathing nicely all right so i might just roll him over
13:15on top of side
13:19we'll go back to that one
13:21you guys are good to come in we might just um
13:31get that iv line in and get a towel on his eyes
13:34if you want to do catheter i'll just cover his eyes up
13:39you're doing the anaesthetic yep
13:40a bit more yep
13:44i'll just lay this down under his legs and then we'll just slide it under him and we can bring
13:50him out from the fence ready one two three
13:54okay and now we can check in his mouth and see if we can see anything
13:59just hold it up for me and it's vet jelena who gets the honors
14:04up the pointy end
14:06so we're just having a look to see if there's any obvious reason for this
14:10funny chewing that we've been seeing
14:13well there's no gum nut
14:15no gum nut also means there's no simple solution
14:20if we don't see an obvious cause we'll probably
14:26pack him up and take him up to the hospital
14:29every once in a while something so mysterious so miraculous happens it has to be seen to be believed
14:46oh that's awesome and this is that once in a while look at home taronga is home to some of the most critically
14:56endangered animals on the planet good boy but the rarest of them all the norfolk island snail
15:05the norfolk island land snail it's definitely not one of the most well-known animals we have here at taronga
15:12however it is incredibly special it's only a couple of years ago that it was actually thought to be completely extinct
15:18sure it's rare
15:19really rare
15:21they're um
15:22they're quite elusive
15:24but that's not the miraculous part
15:26this is
15:28this adult snail
15:30on the brink of extinction
15:32has just given birth
15:34but not how you'd expect
15:37and in a world first
15:40taronga's keepers have caught it all on camera
15:44it wasn't what i was expecting it was pretty amazing to witness
15:47but before we look at that little gem
15:51how on earth did this once thought extinct animal end up at taronga
15:57go on here we go
15:58to answer that we need to go back
16:02to an island around three million years in the making
16:07norfolk island is found off the east coast of australia about a thousand kilometers away
16:12it's basically what's left of a volcano that was active about two to three million years ago
16:17the fertile soil and rainforest are perfect habitat to this little snail
16:21however unfortunately it was declared extinct by the year 2000
16:26but then a team of scientists stumbled across some live snails
16:30and so the hunt was on taronga teamed up with the australian museum
16:36on a rescue mission to locate this tiny elusive land snail
16:42but when this snail mail arrived back in sydney the breeding didn't go as well as hoped
16:57of course when we started we really didn't know anything about them
17:00we spoke to lots of different snail programs around the world
17:04we got a lot of good advice
17:06but unfortunately comparing one species of snail with another species of snail
17:11it's pretty much like comparing the care for a fish versus a bird
17:15they're all so very different
17:16and these particular snails proved to be very very different
17:22that was quite a stressful period
17:23while the original adult snails were breeding
17:26none of their babies were going on to breed themselves
17:30but every day we checked those tanks and there were no babies
17:32it was always a bit of a punch in the guts
17:35keeper Taryn is very invested in keeping these slimy little snails alive
17:42they are really remarkable animals
17:44their eyes are actually at the end of those two long tentacles
17:48that come out the top of their head
17:50they also have two other tentacles that sit lower than the eye stalks
17:55they're actually used for olfactory orientation
17:57so more or less it's a sense of smell
18:00which is really important
18:02it's how they find their way to food sources
18:04we believe it's also how for the most part they find their mates as well
18:10but for whatever reason there wasn't much mate finding going on
18:15every single day we would go into those tanks hoping
18:18hoping to see a baby born
18:20I remember very very clearly that first day of peeling back the glad wrap
18:23and seeing that very first bub born from adults
18:26that had been born in the program here
18:28it was a really significant moment and probably one of the most exciting moments of my career today
18:32and just how those babies arrived
18:35well that's the miraculous bit
18:38but we'll get to that later
18:42we're just having a look to see if there's any obvious reason for this funny chewing that we've been seeing
18:48at Taronga Wildlife Hospital in Dubbo
18:52it's a nervous wait for the carnivore keepers
18:55if we don't see an obvious cause
18:57we'll probably pack him up and take him up to the hospital
19:01Cheetah Innes has a sore mouth
19:04so Taronga's vet team have sedated him
19:07to try and work out why
19:09it could be that he might have something stuck in the back of his mouth
19:12or he might have a dental problem
19:14yeah I think he's probably going to need to go back
19:17nothing obvious in the mouth
19:19so we're going to take him up to the hospital and see what we need to do
19:23take some x-rays etc
19:25alright let's get him tubed
19:27and then we can get him on the gas
19:29at the moment we're just going to put a tube down his throat
19:32so we can intubate
19:33so we can put him onto anaesthetic gas
19:35while we're transporting him
19:36and then we'll be able to transition straight onto the gas in the hospital
19:39once we get up there
19:40good job
19:41Innes has just turned 11
19:45that is considered an older age for our cheetah
19:48turn three
19:49but his mother lived till she was 17
19:53so we do hope for a lot longer
19:55one, two, three
19:57given Innes' advanced age
20:00the vet team will want to keep the cheetah sedated
20:04for the shortest time possible
20:06yep
20:07okay
20:08if you guys are out to slide him
20:10yep
20:11one, two, three
20:13alright just watch that pulse off
20:16so I'm just going to pop him on some fluids
20:18we've just connected up a drip
20:20okay he's on
20:21thank you
20:22he's on
20:22yep
20:23we want to just make sure
20:24particularly being an older cat
20:25that we're protecting his kippies
20:27we're also just going to run some electrolytes
20:29and just make sure that the potassium is staying normal
20:32it can be a complication for these guys
20:35if they're under anaesthetic for a long time
20:37yep
20:38cool
20:39they can have some effects on their heart
20:43with their heart rhythm
20:44so we just want to make sure that
20:45if those levels are getting high
20:47we know that
20:48and we can
20:48there are things that we can put in place
20:50to prevent any problems
20:52vet Yelena
20:54is back at the pointy end
20:56he's got a little pocket
20:57um
20:59do you want to come and have a look?
21:01so
21:02see that
21:03oh yeah yeah yeah
21:04but this time
21:05she'll hopefully be able to get to the root of the problem
21:09that's pretty confronting hey
21:10back at Taronga in Sydney
21:16it's game day
21:16I'm so nervous
21:19you're going to be okay
21:20trainee keeper Kayla
21:21is joining reptile keeper Chris
21:24for a python feeding lesson
21:26but next time
21:28she'll be in charge
21:30you are nervous
21:31look how sweaty your palms are
21:32I'm sweaty because I'm in a John Park
21:35and whole rabbit
21:37is the one
21:38and only
21:39dish of the day
21:41we've brought it up to room temperature
21:42yep
21:43cool
21:43you okay with that?
21:45yeah
21:45I'm a bit nervous
21:46but I'm good
21:46let's go
21:47so I think it's been about a month or so
21:52since she's been fed
21:53yeah cool
21:54so we should expect a decent response today
21:56it's actually been six weeks
21:59three days
22:00and
22:01a couple of hours
22:02since this python had a meal
22:04so a decent response
22:07is pretty likely
22:08Rachel
22:09she's classified here as a dangerous animal
22:12that means that we have to be very careful
22:13with how we interact with her
22:15so we'll bring this acrylic shield in with us too Kayla
22:18it's a bit of a sturdy little barrier for us to protect ourselves from the snake
22:22in case the snake comes towards us
22:24do you want to take that
22:25sure
22:26bring that in with us
22:27come on in
22:29this is Kayla's first time up so close to the five metre snake
22:37it looks like she's sitting right at the end there
22:39so we can
22:40come and
22:41approach her
22:43and the hungry python
22:46knows they're coming
22:49she looks like she's
22:51in a pretty good little ambush position there
22:53reticulated pythons as a species
22:55can be very very snappy
22:56so she can sit
22:57in the same patch of forest
22:58for months on end
22:59waiting for prey to come to her
23:01and when it does
23:02she'll bite
23:03lightning fast
23:04we could
23:06put some food in front
23:07and probably draw her a little closer towards us
23:09I expect she'll grab it quite quickly
23:12she'll still try to apprehend it as if it's live prey
23:15being a python she's totally non-venomous
23:18but her ability to constrict prey
23:22is probably our biggest danger at the moment
23:25the species has certainly been known to kill people before
23:28she's just over five metres in length
23:30probably up around 60 kilos
23:32she has a lot of muscular power
23:36she wouldn't bite and let go
23:38and that's the danger to us
23:39so we'll just grab the bunny
23:41we'll offer it
23:44to the snake hole
23:45in one piece
23:47head first
23:47do you want me to get ahead of you
23:51with this shield?
23:52yeah
23:52the snake will ideally grab the head
23:56wrap it up
23:57and won't take long to do the rest
23:59push up a little Kayla
24:02yep
24:02and just protect yourself with that, hey?
24:07yep
24:07yep
24:08and she'll be smelling it now
24:10she's going to strike out quite quickly
24:12I think she's just going to shoot from that position
24:15she's tongue flicking a little
24:18there she goes
24:25back up Kayla
24:26every habitat at Taronga
24:31is lovingly cared for
24:33just as much
24:35as the animals themselves
24:36hi there you
24:37that's yours
24:39thank you
24:39like the western plains savannah
24:42roughly half in each
24:43just pouring
24:44yep
24:44or the great southern oceans
24:48but not every habitat
24:50is quite so
24:51obvious
24:52I'm obviously
24:53surrounded by different palms
24:56here in Taronga
24:57we're very lucky to have
24:58this kind of habitat here
25:00and yet here I am
25:01on the ground
25:01with an old
25:02decaying palm frond here
25:03but that's exactly
25:05what we're looking for
25:05these palm fronds
25:07are soon to be homes
25:09for Taronga's clutch
25:10of critically endangered
25:12Norfolk Island snails
25:14so these come from
25:15mature palm
25:16as they get old
25:17this palm base
25:18will really kind of
25:19fold in on itself
25:20and that's where we will
25:21find the adults
25:22out in the wild
25:22but there are actually
25:25very few
25:26adults left
25:27on Norfolk Island
25:28to find
25:28and that's why Taronga
25:31is trying to breed them
25:32so even though
25:34this is just
25:35one big old palm frond
25:36this is actually
25:37a number of habitats
25:38in one
25:39so this is perfect
25:40once the fronds
25:42are collected
25:42keeper Taran
25:44carefully positions them
25:45into the snails' tanks
25:47oh good
25:48okay
25:48think of the fronds
25:49like the snails' home
25:51and the tanks
25:52kind of like
25:53their local neighbourhood
25:54we have some challenges
25:55here in Sydney
25:56because we are
25:57in a quarantine situation
25:58so we sterilise
26:00everything that goes
26:01into the tanks
26:02we have to make up
26:03our own food
26:04for them
26:05it's a lot
26:07of work
26:08for an animal
26:09most of us
26:10would call a pest
26:11I suppose a lot
26:12of people question
26:13why we should care
26:14about the snails
26:15snails are a really
26:18important part
26:18of the ecosystem
26:19so they're our
26:20decomposers
26:21so they hang out
26:21on the forest floor
26:22breaking down
26:23that ecosystem
26:24so that gets nutrients
26:25back into the cycle
26:26and that's really
26:27where the whole
26:27ecosystem starts
26:28that's why it's
26:29really important
26:30that this breeding
26:31program is successful
26:32but to begin with
26:34it wasn't successful
26:35a couple of years
26:38into the breeding
26:38program
26:39and well
26:40not much breeding
26:42of course when we started
26:43we only had eight
26:43to keep track of
26:44and that population
26:46grew to just 14
26:48a sluggish start
26:50when you're trying
26:51to save
26:51an entire species
26:53so we made some
26:54adjustments
26:55to our husbandry
26:55we went from
26:56counting every day
26:57to counting once a week
26:58and really leaving
26:59those adults
27:00to their own devices
27:02to do what they do
27:03making any changes
27:04into a species
27:05like this
27:05that is so fragile
27:08you know
27:08it's a scary thing
27:09to make any change
27:10to their husbandry
27:11because you don't know
27:12one small change
27:13could have a drastic
27:14effect on the whole population
27:16in this situation
27:17it did
27:18luckily
27:19it was a positive
27:21drastic effect
27:22at our most recent count
27:23we now have
27:24over 400 snails
27:2575 of which
27:27are adults
27:28giving birth
27:29to a new baby snail
27:30every four days
27:31our numbers
27:33are increasing
27:34exponentially
27:34we've almost got
27:35more snails
27:36than we know
27:36what to do with now
27:37and that wasn't
27:39the only surprise
27:40yes
27:41yes
27:42we are finally
27:43getting to the
27:43miraculous bit
27:44I mentioned earlier
27:46you know
27:47the birth bit
27:48it was pretty crazy
27:49the first time
27:50I saw the North Oak
27:51Island snails
27:52being born
27:52which
27:54now I think about it
27:55was probably
27:55quite a lucky moment
27:56babies are born
27:58out of their neck
27:59it wasn't what I was
28:01expecting either
28:02there is a genital
28:04paw on the side
28:05of their neck
28:06and the whole baby
28:08shell and all
28:09pretty much just
28:10crawls on out
28:10which looks pretty
28:11crazy
28:12it was pretty
28:14amazing to witness
28:15the genital paw
28:17is basically the snail's
28:19reproductive organ
28:20which just happens
28:22to sit on its neck
28:23now to have so many
28:25that we're actually
28:25looking at
28:26reintroducing them
28:27back home
28:27where they belong
28:28I mean these opportunities
28:29to work in a conservation
28:31program like this
28:32don't always
28:32well they don't come up
28:33readily
28:34so it's a pretty
28:35special opportunity
28:36to be able to work
28:37with a species
28:38like this
28:39no I guess it's not
28:41that often
28:42that you come across
28:42a previously extinct
28:44live baby neck
28:45birthing snail
28:46from a tiny island
28:47in the Pacific
28:47now is it
28:48do you want to come
28:53and have a look
28:54so
28:55see that
28:56yeah
28:57yeah
28:57it's pretty
28:59confronting
28:59hey
29:00at Taronga
29:03Wildlife Hospital
29:04in Dubbo
29:05vet Yelena
29:06has identified
29:07a problem
29:08in Cheetah
29:09Innes' mouth
29:10yeah so he's
29:11actually got a
29:12little hole there
29:13so I wonder
29:14if he's got a
29:14little tooth root
29:15infection
29:15I found a pocket
29:17behind his
29:18carnassial tooth
29:19just on the
29:20top right
29:21yucky
29:24basically
29:25a little hole
29:26there
29:26that was packed
29:27with grass
29:29and other foreign
29:30materials
29:30so we've just
29:31given that a
29:31clean out
29:32there's something
29:34in there
29:34that's kind
29:35of mobile
29:35I think
29:37he might
29:38have
29:38a dental
29:39infection
29:40or a tooth root
29:41abscess
29:41so we're going
29:41to do some
29:42dental x-rays
29:42to investigate
29:43that
29:44all right
29:45ready
29:46and x-ray
29:48because
29:48anaesthetics
29:49are quite risky
29:50for older cats
29:52the vet team
29:53are moving
29:53quickly
29:54to keep
29:55today's procedure
29:55as brief
29:56as possible
29:57oh that root
29:58that's
29:59yeah
29:59it's that one
30:00what we've
30:01just found
30:02on this
30:02dental x-ray
30:03is a big
30:04shearing tooth
30:05in the top
30:05jaw
30:06on that right
30:07side
30:07has got
30:08a tooth root
30:09infection
30:10so basically
30:11the root
30:11of the tooth
30:11we can see
30:12that the bone
30:13has sort of
30:13dissolved away
30:14which is an
30:15indication of
30:15infection
30:16so that's
30:16telling us
30:17where the
30:17problem is
30:18it's the
30:18biggest tooth
30:19in the cat's
30:20mouth
30:20this tooth
30:21has actually
30:21got three
30:22roots
30:22it's one
30:23two
30:23three
30:23sure are
30:24so the
30:25fix for that
30:26is to extract
30:26the whole tooth
30:27and allow that
30:28gum to heal
30:29and that should
30:29hopefully resolve
30:30his problem
30:31and that's his
30:31little papilla
30:32right
30:33yeah
30:33so there was
30:34a little bit
30:34of fluid
30:34that came out
30:35of it
30:35cool
30:36okay
30:36it'll take
30:37two seconds
30:38all right
30:39take the step
30:40and go
30:40okay
30:40this is a bit
30:42of a job
30:42to get it out
30:43just to keep
30:43the anaesthetic
30:44time down
30:44at the moment
30:45that's going to
30:45be causing
30:46him a fair bit
30:46of pain
30:47and just protect
30:53yourself with
30:53that hey
30:54down at
30:55Taronga's
30:56reptile house
30:57she's just
30:58gonna shoot
30:58from that
30:59position
30:59trainee
31:01keeper
31:01Kayla
31:02is learning
31:03how to
31:03feed
31:04a python
31:04a five
31:06metre
31:06long
31:06hungry
31:07deadly
31:08python
31:09so do you
31:10want to
31:10back up
31:10Kayla
31:10yeah
31:11okay
31:16rather than
31:18the rabbit
31:19the snake
31:20has lunged
31:21at Kayla's
31:21shield
31:22instead
31:22I feel
31:23like every
31:23single time
31:24we do a
31:24first feed
31:25with me
31:25they always
31:26come at
31:26my feet
31:26I'm like
31:27am I
31:27a bad
31:28omen
31:28let's hope
31:29not
31:30senior keeper
31:31Chris
31:32still has to
31:33give it
31:33another go
31:34she's coming
31:37at it
31:38she's sniffing
31:38it
31:38she's keen
31:41dinner
31:44dinner is
31:44served
31:45nice
31:46so Kayla
31:51I just
31:51generally
31:51try to give it
31:52a bit of a
31:52wiggle
31:53this will tell
31:54the snake
31:54that the prey
31:56is still alive
31:56it just
31:57it just
31:57it just
31:57elicits
31:58a far
31:58better
31:59feeding
31:59response
31:59you can
32:00see
32:00that she's
32:01rafted
32:01a little
32:01bit more
32:02the intent
32:02you know
32:05a good bite
32:06from one of
32:06these
32:07a well-placed
32:08constriction
32:08can
32:09certainly
32:10kill prey
32:12far quicker
32:12than some
32:13venom
32:13once it's
32:17satisfied
32:17the prey's
32:17dead
32:18she'll
32:18let go
32:19reposition
32:20her head
32:20over the
32:21prey's
32:22face
32:22and start
32:23to consume
32:23it whole
32:24and head
32:24first
32:24she can
32:27certainly
32:27eat
32:27something
32:28four times
32:28this size
32:29yeah wow
32:29that's
32:29impressive
32:30that rabbit's
32:33probably enough
32:33for her to
32:34eat
32:34for the
32:34next
32:35six or
32:35eight
32:35weeks
32:36the
32:37pythons
32:37passed
32:38with
32:38flying
32:39colours
32:39but what
32:40about
32:41the
32:41trainee
32:41keeper
32:42Kayla
32:43went
32:43really
32:43well
32:44she
32:45hung
32:45around
32:45me
32:46with
32:46the
32:46shield
32:47she
32:47didn't
32:48go in
32:48overly
32:48confident
32:49too
32:49which
32:49is
32:49always
32:49a
32:49bit
32:50of
32:50a
32:50red
32:50flag
32:50so
32:52we'll
32:52get her
32:53in for
32:53the next
32:53feed
32:53I
32:54think
32:54and she
32:54can
32:55maybe
32:55conduct
32:55that
32:55herself
32:56you
32:58comfortable
32:58repeating
32:59that
32:59process
32:59next
33:00time
33:00yeah
33:00I
33:00feel
33:01pretty
33:01good
33:01I'll be
33:02nervous
33:02but
33:02yeah
33:02I
33:03think
33:03it's
33:03always
33:04a bit
33:04of a
33:04thrill
33:04when we
33:04do
33:04it
33:05definitely
33:05a first
33:06time
33:06for me
33:06we
33:07just
33:07don't
33:08want
33:08to
33:08see
33:08a bite
33:09on anything
33:10other than
33:10a rabbit
33:10over at
33:16the
33:16wildlife
33:17hospital
33:17in Dubbo
33:18and
33:19x-ray
33:20the
33:22vet
33:22team
33:23have
33:23spotted
33:23a
33:24deep
33:24infection
33:25in
33:25cheetah
33:26Innes's
33:26tooth
33:27so the
33:28tooth
33:28and its
33:29root
33:29have to
33:30come out
33:31so what
33:32you've got
33:33is a
33:33big root
33:33at the
33:34back
33:34that's
33:34probably
33:35like that
33:35and then
33:36at the
33:36front
33:36there's
33:37kind of
33:37two
33:37small
33:37ones
33:38here
33:39and
33:39here
33:39the
33:40difficulty
33:40is
33:41this
33:41particular
33:42tooth
33:43has
33:43three
33:44roots
33:44and
33:45they
33:46all
33:46have
33:47to
33:47be
33:47removed
33:48so it's
33:48a big
33:49job
33:50to take
33:50out
33:51and he
33:51will
33:51end
33:51up
33:51with
33:52a gap
33:54going
33:56on
33:56so you're
33:58going to
33:58do a
33:59maxillary
33:59block
33:59so we're
34:00just doing
34:01a nerve
34:01block
34:01now
34:02a nerve
34:03block
34:03is a
34:03local
34:04anaesthetic
34:04that will
34:05help keep
34:06Innes
34:06pain free
34:07during
34:07and after
34:09the tooth
34:09extraction
34:10problem
34:11is
34:11given
34:12Innes's
34:12advanced
34:13age
34:14it's not
34:14a quick
34:15procedure
34:16just having
34:16a look
34:16at the
34:17next
34:17lot
34:17of blood
34:18so we're
34:18running
34:18a blood
34:18test
34:19every
34:19hour
34:19just to
34:20check
34:20the
34:20electrolytes
34:20one
34:21we're
34:21particularly
34:22worried
34:22about
34:22with
34:22cats
34:23is
34:23potassium
34:23we don't
34:24want to
34:25see
34:25it
34:25rising
34:26to the
34:26point
34:27where
34:27it
34:27could
34:27affect
34:27his
34:28heart
34:28rhythm
34:28but at
34:29the
34:29moment
34:29it's
34:30perfect
34:30this
34:31is
34:32one of
34:33the
34:33biggest
34:33teeth
34:33in
34:33the
34:34mouth
34:34so
34:35it's
34:35going
34:35to
34:35take
34:36quite
34:37a
34:37bit
34:37of
34:38manoeuvring
34:39to
34:39get
34:39it
34:39out
34:39because
34:41this
34:41is
34:41an
34:42oral
34:42surgery
34:47I'm
34:48just
34:48making
34:49a
34:50gum
34:50flap
34:50the
34:51gum
34:51flap
34:52will
34:52be
34:52used
34:52to
34:53cover
34:53up
34:53the
34:53hole
34:54left
34:54by
34:54the
34:55missing
34:55tooth
34:55it's
34:57going to
34:57get
34:57very
34:58bloody
34:58just
34:58so
34:58you
34:58know
34:59I
35:02call
35:03zoo
35:03vetting
35:04it's
35:05like
35:05the
35:05ultimate
35:05GP
35:06because
35:07not
35:07only
35:08do
35:08you
35:08have
35:08every
35:09type
35:09of
35:09illness
35:10injury
35:10disease
35:11you
35:11have
35:11every
35:12type
35:12of
35:12animal
35:12there's
35:13root
35:14one
35:14so
35:15that's
35:16the
35:16back
35:17half
35:17of
35:17the
35:17tooth
35:18so
35:19with
35:19one
35:20root
35:20out
35:21of
35:21the
35:21way
35:21there
35:22are
35:22two
35:22more
35:23to
35:23go
35:23so
35:24she's
35:24made
35:24a
35:24cut
35:24through
35:24here
35:25to
35:26remove
35:26that
35:26root
35:27and
35:27now
35:27we've
35:27got
35:27to
35:28split
35:28those
35:28two
35:28in
35:29half
35:29because
35:29we
35:29don't
35:29want
35:29the
35:30tooth
35:30to
35:30break
35:30so
35:34he's
35:38going to
35:39have
35:39stitches
35:39in
35:40his
35:40mouth
35:40after
35:41this
35:41neat
35:42little
35:42stitches
35:42there
35:42won't
35:42be
35:43a
35:43hole
35:43where
35:44the
35:44tooth
35:44was
35:44so
35:45for
35:45the
35:47we'll
35:47take
35:47all
35:47his
35:48bones
35:48out
35:48of
35:48his
35:48diet
35:48and
35:49we'll
35:49just
35:49have
35:50just
35:50meat
35:51on
35:51its
35:51own
35:51the
35:52final
35:53root
35:53has
35:53been
35:54removed
35:54but
35:55rather than
35:56plugging
35:56that hole
35:57straight
35:57away
35:58vet
35:59Yelena
35:59still
36:00has
36:00some
36:01concerns
36:01I've
36:02taken
36:02the
36:02tooth
36:02out
36:03now
36:03I need
36:04to
36:04take
36:04a
36:04dental
36:04x-ray
36:04I'm
36:05not
36:05convinced
36:06that
36:06there's
36:06not
36:06a
36:06problem
36:07with
36:07the
36:07tooth
36:07in
36:07front
36:08at
36:13Taronga's
36:14reptile
36:15house
36:15in
36:15Sydney
36:16there's
36:17a real
36:17sense
36:18of
36:18anticipation
36:18in
36:19the
36:19air
36:19Krista
36:22Kayla
36:23can
36:23I
36:23meet
36:24you
36:24down
36:24at
36:24food
36:24prep
36:24for
36:25this
36:25retic
36:25feed
36:25this
36:27morning
36:28we're
36:28going to
36:28get
36:29another
36:29feed
36:29into
36:29our
36:30reticulated
36:30python
36:30what
36:31what makes
36:32today
36:32a little
36:32bit
36:33different
36:33is
36:33Kayla
36:34I'm
36:35sweaty
36:35it's
36:36been
36:36six
36:37weeks
36:37since
36:38the
36:38reticulated
36:39python
36:39affectionately
36:40known
36:41as
36:41Rachel
36:41has
36:42been
36:42fed
36:43and
36:44today
36:44Kayla
36:45gets
36:46the
36:46honors
36:46today
36:47will be
36:47her
36:48first
36:48day
36:48feeding
36:48this
36:49snake
36:49which
36:51is
36:51a
36:51good
36:51little
36:51milestone
36:51in
36:51her
36:52career
36:52it's
36:53all
36:54part
36:54of
36:54Kayla's
36:55traineeship
36:56if
36:56she
36:56passes
36:57this
36:57she's
36:58one
36:59step
36:59closer
36:59to
37:00becoming
37:00a
37:01fully
37:01qualified
37:02zoo
37:02keeper
37:02this
37:03is
37:03my
37:04first
37:04time
37:04feeding
37:04the
37:04reticulated
37:05python
37:05it
37:07is
37:07a
37:07little
37:07bit
37:07of
37:07a
37:08nerve
37:08wracking
37:08experience
37:09obviously
37:09because
37:09she's
37:09such
37:09a
37:10large
37:10snake
37:10yeah
37:11she
37:11is
37:11our
37:11biggest
37:11snake
37:12so
37:12she's
37:12up
37:12over
37:1260
37:13kilograms
37:13five
37:14and
37:14a
37:14half
37:14meters
37:14or
37:15so
37:15the
37:16reach
37:16is
37:16further
37:16the
37:22food
37:22you
37:23could
37:24technically
37:24fail
37:24this
37:25if
37:25you
37:26aren't
37:26confident
37:26or
37:27if
37:27you
37:27come
37:27out
37:27of
37:27it
37:28more
37:28scared
37:28or
37:28more
37:29nervous
37:29than
37:29when
37:29you
37:29started
37:30yeah
37:30nah
37:31as far
37:32as exams
37:33go
37:33I
37:33would
37:33much
37:34prefer
37:34any
37:35other
37:35exam
37:36on
37:36any
37:37other
37:37day
37:38they're
37:38pretty
37:38dangerous
37:39the
37:41risk
37:41is
37:41being
37:42bitten
37:42and
37:42constricted
37:43when
37:43Chris
37:44fed
37:44her
37:44all
37:45those
37:45weeks
37:45ago
37:46the
37:46python
37:47lunged
37:47at
37:48Kayla
37:48so
37:48I
37:48have
37:48to
37:49be
37:49really
37:49cautious
37:49with
37:49a
37:50snake
37:50of
37:50her
37:50size
37:51and
37:51I
37:51will
37:51be
37:52luring
37:53her
37:53over
37:53with
37:53the
37:53rabbit
37:54on
37:54the
37:54end
37:54of
37:54the
37:54tongs
37:55we're
37:57on
37:58okay
37:59so
38:02when I
38:02go in
38:02she's
38:02obviously
38:03going to
38:03be
38:03quite
38:03interested
38:04in
38:04the
38:04rabbit
38:04so
38:06I
38:06just
38:06have
38:06to
38:06watch
38:06her
38:06behavior
38:07how
38:07she's
38:08approaching
38:08me
38:08and
38:08making
38:09sure
38:09that
38:09I
38:09keep
38:09a
38:09safe
38:10enough
38:10distance
38:10it's
38:17definitely
38:17become
38:18very
38:18serious
38:18that
38:18I'm
38:18doing
38:19it
38:19you
38:20never
38:20know
38:20how
38:20the
38:20animal
38:21is
38:21going
38:21to
38:21react
38:21might
38:29have
38:29to
38:29just
38:29razz
38:30her
38:30a
38:30little
38:30in
38:30that
38:30leaf
38:31litter
38:31has
38:36she
38:36seen
38:36it
38:36yeah
38:38just
38:38come
38:38in
38:39a
38:39little
38:39higher
38:40just
38:41so
38:41she
38:41can
38:41see
38:41it
38:42there
38:48there
38:48there
38:48you go
38:48there
38:48you go
38:49so
38:49just
38:49stay
38:50behind
38:50the
38:50shield
38:50yeah
38:51let her
38:53keep
38:53coming
38:53to you
38:54that's it
38:57that's it
38:57come on
39:00girl
39:01you want
39:02this
39:02you see it
39:05I think you do
39:05should I
39:11move it around
39:11nice
39:16bullseye
39:18bullseye
39:19yeah it's good that she got it straight on the head so now it should go down nice and easy
39:23my mum's gonna love hearing about this
39:28my mum definitely thinks that I'm a little bit of an adrenaline junkie or a thrill seeker
39:33look at her muscles working it's so impressive hey
39:36yeah
39:36I think that if my mum was to ever see what I was doing in real life she would probably
39:42faint
39:43oh
39:45down the hatch
39:47yeah snake had a great response she followed the cues straight away that kayla was putting out
39:52definitely very exciting and a milestone in my career and giving me a lot more confidence to
39:58work with this species
39:59did I pass?
40:00you passed
40:01so yeah kayla nailed it perfect feed
40:04maybe the apprentice becomes the master
40:07maybe
40:07call me a grasshopper
40:09back at taronga's wildlife hospital in dubbo
40:18I've taken the tooth out
40:19vet Yelena has found and extracted an infected tooth and its three roots from cheetah Innes' mouth
40:28I'm not convinced that there's not a problem with the tooth in front
40:31now there's concern the 11 year old cheetah may need a second tooth extraction
40:38because the tooth roots are quite close together
40:42yeah
40:43we just want to make sure that the next tooth along hasn't been affected so we don't want
40:46to leave anything behind that might cause a problem
40:48x-ray
40:49no I think I've taken it out
41:01right here
41:02all right I'll close it all up
41:04yep
41:05with the neighbouring tooth all clear it's finally time to sew cheetah Innes up
41:12so we've made a flap of gum and bone that means that we can actually close that completely
41:16mouths do heal really quickly usually a couple of weeks the stitches will dissolve
41:20we don't have to take those out and next time we look in his mouth we'll probably find that
41:25that's all completely healed and he'll just have a nice healed gum there
41:29which is welcome news for Innes and his keepers
41:33ready
41:34one, two, three
41:38you've got your ketamine
41:39yep
41:40got him
41:41yep
41:42one, two, three
41:43one, two, three
41:46he's going to be feeling way better by the time he wakes up so very grateful
41:50yep
41:51all right, that reversal is on
41:53he's starting to
41:56read his little tongue
41:58he's starting to blink
42:01and we're going to leave him in peace to just recover quietly
42:05the next day and keepers Geordie and Caitlin are keen to check on his recovery
42:17hi Innes
42:18hello
42:20now Innes, unfortunately for him he will just be on a no bone diet for the next two weeks
42:26hey, hello
42:28which is just going to ensure that that stitch site and that pocket that's been created from
42:33the tooth being removed stays nice and healthy
42:36don't seem too worried about your missing tooth
42:39he looks great
42:40you wouldn't have guessed that he had surgery yesterday
42:43he's eating really great which is wonderful
42:45it would be quite painful so we're making making sure he's got pain meds on board and really
42:50monitoring him but really happy with how he's looking
42:53and all the proof you need is in Innes'
42:56and making sure that he's got pain meds on it
42:58and the proof...
42:59and all the proof...
43:00lat'is...
43:01lat'is...
43:01lat'is...
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