- 19 minutes ago
Secrets of the Zoo: Down Under - Season 6 Episode 8 -
Emu Rescue
Emu Rescue
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 it's time to
00:33discover oh my god exactly who's who in this zoo on this episode we'll actually
00:45send a signal back to the antenna come out come out wherever you are and we get a
00:51ping oh very very subtle team Taronga goes bush there we go it's up here to
00:58protect an icon it is one of the biggest threats to koala populations in
01:03Australia steady Tangmo steady teaching an elephant we'll ask Tangmo to hold her
01:09trunk up how all right blow to blow its nose all right blow and just why Charlie
01:18the sea lion throughout the day we try to get in at least two and a half a litres
01:23isn't fazed by his drinking problem and I think that's actually saving his life
01:35it gets pretty chilly in the Conangra Boyd National Park in the Blue Mountains two hours west of Sydney
01:54it is beautiful though what a spot but not chilly enough to deter team Taronga look at that song
02:01oh my god that's sunrise it is beautiful a year has passed since they kicked off this vital project a
02:08statewide rescue mission now they're returning to this site for stage two but for clay this is her first
02:17Taronga field trip I have been at Taronga now for around about seven years and I work as a keeper so
02:24I look after all sorts of animals from little insects to small primates and macropods but today
02:29is something altogether different finding and studying the elusive koala so what we're doing
02:37now is we're just driving out to a location that was identified previously as a good spot taking part in
02:43field work that is directly contributing to their conservation is important work when you're talking
02:49about the plight of a species like the koala I'll sit one of you guys down underneath one of those koalas
02:55and then we'll keep moving to the next and keep repeating that koala populations have declined so
03:00much in New South Wales and Queensland they are now endangered depending on location we'll
03:07prioritize which koalas then get caught first incredibly this little Aussie animal
03:12known all around the world is at risk of becoming locally extinct and I guess it's why I do what I
03:20do it's why we work at Taronga while clay is the rookie a veteran of these field studies is vet
03:28Larry table setting up he's come back to the Blue Mountains to recheck the health of these koalas
03:36this program is looking at koala populations across the state the goal is to try and identify
03:42what are the factors that contribute to koala survival in these in these populations a few
03:48months earlier in a different site near Canberra the team uncovered some disturbing findings with
03:55another colony of koalas so she's got cysts associated most likely with her ovaries large cysts yeah so
04:04she's got quite a few and that's very typically seen with chlamydia we've seen a few koalas in this
04:10population that seem to be potentially sterile chlamydia is is a significant threat to koala
04:16populations in Australia and koalas seem to be very susceptible to it and it causes horrible disease
04:22in koalas it affects their their eyes but most importantly it also affects their reproductive
04:28tract and it causes infertility the koala population the team are studying now has always
04:35been chlamydia free so no one wants to see any evidence of the disease during this trip Larry to
04:43Nick Nick will probably be good to go in about 10 minutes how are you guys going at Taronga's great
04:55southern oceans habitat in Sydney keeper Joe is looking for one of their largest residents
05:03Charles where are you all right so we're going to discuss business yep and unsurprisingly sea lion
05:16business is always fishy business Charlie is a male Australian sea lion we call them a bull male
05:24he's 17 years of age good boy he's considered mother in sea lion is quite old good boy they don't last
05:35that long in the wild what for Charlie old age is nothing to laugh at hey you're right buddy a bit tired with old age comes old age issues okay over that's a good boy he has kidney stones and he's been very very sick
06:01we've been giving him ultrasounds now for several months Gabby is one of the vets who has been
06:11treating Charlie what we're looking at on the screen is Charlie's kidneys this is Charlie's left kidney and just
06:18here you can sort of see these circles where it's a bit whiter they are little stones throughout his
06:26kidney Charlie was diagnosed around 10 11 months ago and Charlie was rechecked three months ago and the
06:33stones were bigger kidney stones can be very painful and if one passes out of the kidney it can lead to
06:42some very serious complications we can't get rid of them so all we can do is prevent them getting worse
06:49the main treatment is basically bathing those kidneys in fluid the more the fluid goes through
06:57the kidneys the less likely those crystals are going to keep forming so Charlie needs to drink fresh
07:03water lots and lots of it good boy which sounds pretty straightforward only thing is sea lions don't
07:14actually drink water with our seals they live in a saltwater environment so they don't really have
07:21access to fresh water yeah we we needed to train him to get fresh water into his system on a daily basis so
07:32that was my job as a keeper to help him continue in his good health he needs to have this water Charlie yep
07:41good as far as training it goes initially it was just presenting him with a syringe without any water in it we
07:50would present him he would have a look at it yep and we would say yep good boy that's excellent then we would
07:59put some water in we would ask him to check it good boy and it was good from there we moved on to him actually coming to the
08:09syringe he's very very good at actually ingesting the water throughout the day we try to get in at
08:16least two and a half liters which is around 65 syringes worth this is time-consuming so three months into this
08:29freshwater treatment it's time for another scan to see if Charlie's kidney stones are still growing you
08:36know if you've got one little crystal there more crystals will just come and add and add and add and
08:42they'll get bigger if one of those stones gets large and blocks his ureter so the tube from the kidney to
08:48the bladder then we're in trouble at Taronga caring for the animals is a labour of love what are you
09:05doing you come to say hello and in the elephant barn the labour and the love doesn't come much larger
09:14that's it ladies we have two female Asian elephants here at Taronga zoo how do you go pack boon all the
09:22way we have pack boon who's 31 years old that's it bonnie good pack one okay and tang mo is 25 years old
09:32yeah she's sweet cutie pie all right shall we yes today's the day for these big ladies annual health
09:39check actually muscle first first up keepers Johnny and Lex are prepping for a rather sticky situation
09:49and they're not at all worried about blowing it you'll see what I mean so this morning we're going
09:56to be screening the girls for TB we're going to screen them by taking samples of their nasal mucus
10:02and then sending that off for testing to see if there's any trace of the TB bacterium in there yep
10:07it's as gross as it sounds this is called a trunk wash TB or tuberculosis is a contagious lung infection
10:16not entirely uncommon in elephants or humans we have in the past had a history of active TB with our
10:24elephant herd pack boon in particular did show signs quite a few years ago of active TB and we
10:29had to treat that with a course of drugs but since then she hasn't had an episode of active TB but we
10:36still routinely screen them to make sure there's no flare-up that we're not aware of and to ensure
10:41their safety and also our safety of staff as well hey more big good girl for the trunk wash process we
10:48start off by just rinsing the tip of her trunk with some warm water just to ensure there's no
10:52contamination and then Lex is going to pour 50 mils of saline down into her trunk okay good we'll
11:05ask Tammo to hold her trunk up and hold the saline in her trunk for 30 seconds and then we'll get a
11:10trunk down and blow that saline along with whatever comes out of her nose into this bag which will then
11:15decant into a container later to be tested hmm if you're eating dinner right now might be a good
11:22time to look away oh no no need to look back just yet and there is the sample we get that's what we've
11:37got a nice sample oh yeah just lovely let's decant that there's saline mixed with some dirt and
11:44material floating at the top there which is normally nasal mucus and that's the stuff that we look
11:50for to be able to get a good sample of the TB in her system so that's one nose down yep ready and one
11:57to blow all right blow very good bunny so our second samples a bit less dirty see that kind of foamy
12:07matter at the top there yeah can't miss it thanks Johnny but there's still enough mucosal material to
12:12get a sample from it nice someone in the lab's gonna figure out what's in there and let us know if
12:18there's any sign of the bacterium still to come there's anything I shouldn't do I should do health
12:26checks don't get much bigger we do only what the keepers say we can do or riskier we go only where
12:33they tell us then this and don't be fooled this is Australia's largest bird e-news are really unique
12:43in the way that the dad does all the work well that does sound unique the dad looks after them
12:50for up to two years only joking fellas at Taronga's Wildlife Hospital in Dubbo a few little newcomers
13:02have just arrived unannounced these are the common emus that we've got here we have three little chicks
13:09at the moment we estimate them to be five to six days of age unfortunately they were orphaned when
13:21their dad got a fright by a bulldozer on a property and made a run for it the chicks were too little to
13:29be able to follow him and he never came back luckily the property owner realized that these chicks weren't
13:36going to survive without his intervention and he called for some help and here we are with three
13:43little chicks vet nurse Jody is one of the foster carers responsible for keeping these extraordinary
13:50native birds alive emus are really unique in the way that the dad does all the work the mum lays anywhere
13:58between 5 and 15 eggs and then the dad takes over he does all the incubation which can be up to
14:05eight weeks of just sitting on the nest at sometimes at his own disadvantage because he might not eat
14:11or drink and then the chicks are hatching and then the dad looks after them for up to two years it's
14:21their dad that would have taught these chicks how and what to eat and how to survive the leaner months
14:28when food is scarce and we'll be putting lots of things in place to make sure that they know how to
14:37identify their natural food source and these chicks need lots of food which is not surprising considering
14:45the adults are Australia's largest bird they're pretty hefty as full-grown adults and they can get up to
14:51two meters in height emus have incredibly long legs and very very powerful toes they can range up to 50
14:59kilos in body weight but at the moment each chick is less than half a kilo and they'll need to get to
15:06their adult weight before they can be released when they're about six months old the plan for the emu
15:13chicks is that they will be released onto a large property where emus naturally occur we will assess them
15:20pretty carefully to make sure they are suitable for release before they go so if they can survive
15:26these first days they'll have a good chance of being returned to the bush but there's a problem
15:34they're in a bit of a bad way in Kanangara Boyd National Park west of Sydney Taronga Zoo and its
15:43partner agencies have returned to study the health of the endangered koala population all right
15:50so you've got everything yeah I'm going that way I've got everything yeah they're using thermal
15:56imaging drones that's like koala thermal on top of the tree there it's really blowing around in the
16:03top of that tree there and also tracking radio collars that were fitted to some koalas during last
16:11year's field trip they are out this way I'm the field logistics coordinator for the program I'm
16:18responsible for getting the ground crew out safely and then locating them identifying koalas and bringing
16:24them safely back to the vet station lost it yeah the koala that has a collar has a VHF signal on it and it'll
16:33actually send a signal back to the antenna and we get a ping oh very very subtle there it's just very faint the
16:42louder the noise is indicates to us that that's the direction that the koala's in it's a little bit like playing a game of hot or colder but with sound
16:50we've gotten to a point now where I'm pointing to the direction that we're headed and it's dropped down to 42 and then when I move around now you know we're getting
16:59something around up here back up to 50 and so on but it's not very strong but it certainly has dropped as we move forward and it
17:09increases through this area so what we'll do is we just spend a little bit of time
17:12using our eyes now actually just scale the area and see if we can find a koala or potentially a collar in the tree
17:19okay well I won't go too far but I'll start walking a perimeter what like 10 20 meters kind of ish it
17:25doesn't take too long to find the day's first and clay's very first koala
17:32there we go it's up here you got it yeah come stand where I am just looking at this eucalypt in front of
17:41us yeah straight up and then out to the right oh yeah that is hard to spot I mean like you know
17:48just using your naked eye that's good very well camouflaged nick to catch team just so you guys
17:56know that we've actually located koala 013 I'll send through coordinates shortly what clay will do now
18:03she'll actually just put some flagging tape on that tree it's nice and bright it means that if she sits
18:08away 20 odd meters away she can at a quick glance know which tree the koala is in and not panic
18:12uh it also helps me relocate her when I come back and so the plan now will be that clay will just sit
18:19and watch this koala um really for we don't really know how long I'll head back now talk to the catch
18:26team about um what koala we've found what tree it's in what the capture is like and then we'll
18:32prioritize um which koalas get caught in an order of degree of difficulty basically um so clay could be
18:38here for 40 minutes or five hours so who knows
18:42at taronga's great southern oceans habitat a 17 year old sea lion named charlie good boy
18:56is being treated for multiple kidney stones a condition that can be managed but can't be cured
19:03oh charles do you want it on the abdomen yeah that's fine yeah today we have a wonderful
19:08veterinary specialist radiologist sarah here to ultrasound charlie's kidneys but she's done them
19:14a few times if he's just lying on his tummy that would be perfect yeah we're ultrasounding charlie's
19:19kidneys about every three to four months and we're monitoring the size of those stones yeah i know
19:26you've got an audience on the first ultrasound we saw the kidney stones on the second ultrasound the
19:33kidney stones had gotten larger yeah i mean the big risk with him is the stone will get stuck in his
19:40ureter and so we're just seeing how big the stones are today the difference with this ultrasound is that
19:46charlie's been on a treatment plan for a few months now his prescription water good boy
19:53so amazingly one of the best things you can do is flush the kidneys to stop the stones from
20:01getting bigger come on mine the whole point of that is just to keep those kidneys nice and hydrated so
20:08no more stones form good boy so it's time to find out is the fresh water treatment working
20:16back up good yeah good boy are those kidney stones the same size as the last scan or are they still
20:26growing touching and just watch that cord on him okay yes yeah so we're doing his left one first
20:34so unfortunately nothing will get rid of the stones that he has okay let's do the other side
20:42sometimes if you have one big stone you can get rid of it but when they've got multiple stones it's
20:49very hard to do that touching we're hoping just to keep things stable for him just to help him stay
20:55comfortable and increase his longevity oh boy very good whoops all done all done that's fine
21:01you came the wrong way buffer perfect that's okay we're done did you get it yeah yeah all great
21:07gabby and sarah review the results
21:11and what did you find that's what i want to know
21:19just look similar yeah oh they look similar just look similar well yeah similar is better than
21:26bigger yes yeah yep charlie's treatment plan is working good boy you did well the daily doses of
21:35fresh water have prevented new kidney stones from forming good boy and the old ones from growing
21:42when i think that's actually saving his life the drinking yeah i think so too exactly his water
21:48is his saving grace yes good boy
21:51oh all over me
21:56in the elephant barn the world's biggest nose has been performing the world's biggest blows
22:07and that's snot the end of taronga's annual elephant health check aren't you cute while tangmo
22:16and pack boone's goodie bags are being tested at the lab that's the way keeper johnny is preparing
22:23the girls for stage two of their health check very good mole a visit from the vets i've been lucky
22:29enough to work with the elephants here at taronga zoo for over eight years they are magnificent animals
22:36ready on seven they're like part of our family
22:41want a drink this type of care and attention wasn't something these elephants were used to
22:48before arriving at taronga
22:50come on
22:55pack boone her name means morning glory flower in thai
23:00she has a background in thailand coming from over there she is a very strong-minded very dominant
23:08individual all right head down head down good steady despite all the love and attention she receives at
23:16at Taronga, Pak Boon has always been wary of change.
23:21Thank you very much.
23:23So it's a big deal when someone new comes along.
23:28Good.
23:30Sometimes Pak Boon doesn't like people doing things to her.
23:34She can be a bit funny.
23:36And today that someone new is Vet Creason.
23:40So today we've got Vet Creason coming down to meet the elephants.
23:43We've got our annual health checks.
23:44OK, so they're expecting us.
23:47With the elephants, it's very true.
23:49If they don't like the way you act around them, your energy,
23:52then they don't trust you.
23:54Hi, Boonie. Back foot.
23:56With Pak Boon, she'll often approach things with a very heavy-handed tactic.
24:01She knows how to use her weight to her effect.
24:05So today will be my first time visiting the elephants at Taronga Zoo.
24:10I'm joining Frances today and she's going to show me
24:12how they do their regular, preventive health care check.
24:15Frances, to elephant keepers.
24:17Go ahead.
24:18Are you happy if we come into the barn?
24:20Yeah, go on it.
24:21Elephants need to feel comfortable in our presence.
24:24But Pak Boon, she's got a good stranger danger mentality.
24:28Pak Boon, steady. Good girl.
24:31And she's not the most patient individual.
24:33Steady.
24:34Trunk down.
24:35Trunk down.
24:36Back Boon.
24:37Whenever we're in the barn, because the elephants can reach out
24:40quite a long way with their trunks, we do only what the keepers say we can do.
24:45Just let me know if there's anything I shouldn't do or should do.
24:48No, she'll want to say hi and so we'll just make sure she does it in a polite manner.
24:54But yeah, she'll just want to check you out a little bit and see who's...
24:57Suss me out.
24:58We'll tell you if there's any issues.
25:00Elephants are amazing in terms of their mental capacity.
25:03You know, they've got such good cognitive ability, they are smart.
25:08And those are things you need to keep in mind when you're treating them,
25:11when you're working with them.
25:13Chris, this is Pak Boon.
25:16Hey, Pak Boon.
25:20Those eyes look through your soul.
25:25In the Kanangra Boyd National Park, there lives a koala.
25:30Well, a few actually.
25:33But underneath this particular koala is keeper Clay, and she's on a mission.
25:39It's actually really hard to find the koala.
25:43They're so well camouflaged.
25:45Koalas can move from tree to tree quite often,
25:48so Clay's not letting it out of her sight until the catch team arrives.
25:53There is a wait time because we've got at least four koalas
25:58that we're going to assess today.
26:00So if I'm the last koala they come and catch today,
26:03that's when I'll be waiting quite a while.
26:05Anywhere from...
26:07Well, I reckon it'll be at least an hour.
26:09Could be up to five, I have been told.
26:12It's probably saying bugger off.
26:14Bugger off, you guys.
26:15Just want to try and not fall asleep, that's the key,
26:17because it'll be very relaxing.
26:19So, must stay awake.
26:21I might have to sit upright a little bit more.
26:25Meanwhile, at Larry's mobile vet station,
26:29the koala conga line has already begun.
26:32Good morning. Good morning.
26:33Danielle, how are you?
26:34Very good, how are you? Good.
26:36Every koala brought in is weighed...
26:396.2 kilos.
26:42..and thoroughly examined for signs of fertility, injury and illness.
26:48Got to feel good.
26:49Hydration's good.
26:50Hydration, excellent.
26:51Even fur samples are collected for DNA analysis.
26:56OK, so we're finished with this little guy.
27:00Back at Clay's tree, she's now finished her nap.
27:04Just kidding.
27:05And the koala catchers have arrived.
27:08Oh, hey, Clay.
27:09Hey.
27:10Hi, Clay.
27:11Oi.
27:12How's it going?
27:13Good, good. How are you?
27:14Good. Thanks for finding me.
27:15No worries.
27:16Yeah, we don't want to leave you out here forever.
27:17It wasn't very long.
27:18No, I was anticipating longer.
27:19Yeah.
27:20But here's our friend.
27:21Oh, there he is.
27:22Fantastic.
27:23I imagine maybe a little too high for your pole.
27:26Yeah, we might have to climb the tree for this one.
27:29What's the plan of attack?
27:30Depending on how the koala's behaving,
27:32I'll either catch it in the tree or I'll send it down to you guys.
27:34So I haven't done this before, so you guys might need to just direct me on,
27:37you know, what you want me to do with the flag and wherever else I can assist you.
27:42OK, shall we get started?
27:43All right.
27:44Yeah, let's get set up.
27:45Excellent.
27:46We've been working with Taronga Zoo on this project for a year now.
27:51We travel all over the state looking at the various populations.
27:55The koala seems pretty relaxed, which is always nice.
27:58This one seems to know that I mean it's no harm, which is good.
28:03Ben is using a catching pole to gently coax the koala down.
28:13Well done, Ben.
28:14And when the koala is close enough, out comes the bag.
28:26OK.
28:27All right, in the bag.
28:28So that's done.
28:29Koala's in the bag.
28:30Two minutes.
28:31Beautiful, Ben.
28:32Well done.
28:33We find that when they go into the sack...
28:35Hey, guys, I'll just keep this one in my harness and come down with it.
28:38Yep, sounds good.
28:39Sounds good.
28:40But they kind of just calm down.
28:41We believe that that's because they're a marsupial
28:43and they might have an affinity for the pouch.
28:45So when they...
28:47You'll notice that they might be a bit reactive when we're conducting a catch
28:50and as soon as they're in the bags, they'll just kind of calm down.
28:55On the koala.
28:56On me.
28:57Appreciate it.
28:58Good job.
28:59Cool.
29:00Same to you.
29:02So my job now is to make sure I carry it nice and safe
29:07back to the vet station so it can be assessed.
29:10And the vet station?
29:12Well, it's just a short but strenuous stroll through the bush.
29:17The most important thing is that we get it back as quickly as possible.
29:22So...
29:25I'm not gonna stop.
29:28Whew.
29:36Over in Dubbo, three hours west of the Blue Mountains...
29:41Careful.
29:42Careful.
29:43He's being a bit calmer than I expected, actually.
29:45It's been a few weeks since Team Taronga began hand-raising three orphaned emu chicks
29:52that came to the wildlife hospital just days after they were born.
29:56And I haven't got pooped on yet, so that's even better.
30:00When they arrived, the chicks were so dehydrated and weak,
30:04they had to be tube-fed by the vet team.
30:07But now, these little native bundles of feathers are looking so much better.
30:14They're doing really well, starting to gain weight and eating on their own
30:18after quite a bit of encouragement from us to get them to eat.
30:21So, let's see how much better.
30:28That was 995.
30:31Yeah, so that's really good.
30:33Nearly a kilo.
30:34They have more than doubled their body weight since they've arrived.
30:41Their weight gain is rapid, and they have to get to about adult weight
30:46by around six months of age.
30:48So, they'll be putting on hundreds and hundreds of grams each week.
30:51So, they're tracking really well.
30:54They'll need to put on at least 30 kilograms in the next six months,
30:59which means a lot of food prep.
31:03In the wild, they'd be eating greens.
31:06They follow Dad a lot, and he shows them what to pick.
31:10That's not an option, unfortunately.
31:13So, Jen is doing Dad's job, albeit with a little more flair.
31:19It's basically a greens mix, lettuce and endive,
31:23with carrot and apple,
31:25and obviously has to be finely chopped,
31:27because these babies aren't very old.
31:29Basically, anything green they're kind of drawn to.
31:33Once I've chopped the greens,
31:35I mix it with a chick starter,
31:38which is a crumble similar to what you give baby chickens.
31:44Hey, babies. Let's go.
31:47But like every parent knows,
31:49the food prep is only half the job.
31:52We do tapping in the bowl because it emulates
31:55the behaviour of a parent, if you like.
31:58When they're pecking at something,
32:01it encourages the juveniles to come over to investigate.
32:04So, obviously, we'd like them to eat this
32:07rather than, you know, pick away its sticks and unnecessary things.
32:18If the chicks continue to follow their foster parents' lead,
32:21all three will be on track to be released back into the wild.
32:25This will happen around five to six months of age,
32:28when they're nearly full grown.
32:30So they'll be pretty big birds.
32:35We are hopeful that they'll do well.
32:37They're a lot stronger, a lot more active.
32:41They're eating on their own now,
32:43and they are doing very, very well.
32:45We're very pleased with their progress.
32:52Coming up...
32:53An animal that could look completely normal from the outside.
32:56Have Larry's worst fears been realised?
32:59We know last time she had a joey on her back.
33:01She doesn't have one this year.
33:03And...
33:04Creason's about to discover the importance of first impressions.
33:10Steady.
33:11Good girl.
33:16In the picturesque Blue Mountains,
33:18two hours west of Sydney,
33:20keeper Clay is transporting some very precious cargo.
33:24OK.
33:26It's been a year since this female koala was last examined,
33:30as part of a state-wide study,
33:32researching the health and wellbeing of this now endangered species.
33:37Having this individual in the bag, it definitely makes it real.
33:40You know, it's a bit different to looking up at it.
33:42High up in the tree, I've now got it down here,
33:44and it's my responsibility to keep it safe.
33:48Hey, Clay.
33:49Hey.
33:50How are you going?
33:51Hey, good. How are you going, Larry?
33:52Larry is the vet in charge of examining all the koalas
33:56for this research project.
33:58Yeah, we've got...
33:59So what have we got, number 13 here?
34:00Number 13 here, female.
34:01No...
34:02No back young right here?
34:03No back young.
34:04Back young is the technical term for an 8 to 12-month-old baby koala.
34:098.5.
34:11So Clay's just delivered a koala that's got a tracker on it.
34:16OK, she's injected.
34:17OK.
34:18And I've just injected it with the anaesthetic drug.
34:21It's sitting there in the bag, going to sleep right now.
34:24Hopefully she'll be nice and sleepy for us.
34:26It looks like she is.
34:28So we've probably got about 45 minutes of procedure to do.
34:32So hopefully she'll be nice and kind to us
34:35and stay asleep for that long.
34:38There you go.
34:39Because she's one of our animals that we collared last year.
34:42She has a collar on, which we're going to remove.
34:45Yep.
34:46We have a bit of background on her already,
34:48which is nice to have that,
34:50and so it'll be really interesting to see how she is this year.
34:54Chlamydia, of course, is one of the most serious diseases of koalas,
34:58and so these swabs are to look for chlamydia.
35:01This population at Conangra Boyd is known to be chlamydia-free,
35:05but one of the biggest threats to koala populations in Australia
35:10is chlamydia disease.
35:11And we know last time she had a joey on her back.
35:14She doesn't have one this year.
35:17It's breeding season.
35:18Larry will need to investigate
35:20why this koala doesn't appear to have a baby.
35:24The last thing he'll want to find are signs of chlamydia.
35:28And one of the things that we're really interested in seeing
35:31is if there's any cysts on the ultrasound.
35:34So in females we look at their reproductive tract,
35:36because obviously that's really important,
35:38particularly with chlamydia.
35:39And an animal could look completely normal from the outside,
35:43but on the ultrasound there can be a lot of pathology there.
35:46And you wouldn't know that without the ultrasound.
35:53In Sydney, a team of keepers and vets
35:56are gathered inside the elephant barn.
35:59Let's go.
36:00Creason, this is Pak Boone.
36:02Pak Boone, Taronga's headstrong,
36:05nearly 4,000 kilo Asian elephant,
36:08is due for her annual health check.
36:11Steady. Good girl.
36:13She's a little wary of strangers.
36:16And for the first time,
36:17she's just laid eyes on vet Creason.
36:20Versus other animals that we work with,
36:22it's a different whole ballgame
36:23that we're working with today.
36:24Creason, do you want to come up and say hi?
36:26Hi, Pak Boone.
36:27She's not nearly as patient as Tang Mo,
36:30so we might have to be a little bit quicker,
36:33and she's not so keen on the touching.
36:36Yeah.
36:37She's more just food motivated
36:38and likes to get things done quickly.
36:41No.
36:43Pak Boone.
36:44Pak Boone has been known to use her trunk
36:46and her weight to make it clear
36:49when she's not in the mood to be handled.
36:51Any concerns with her?
36:53No concerns.
36:54We do...
36:55I mean, she gets...
36:56As you can see,
36:57she gets a lot more discharge from the eyes,
36:59but that's mainly due to weather
37:01and the dirt and the winds.
37:04You think she'll tolerate a torch close to the eye?
37:07Yeah, definitely.
37:08Give it a go.
37:11Good girl.
37:12Good girl.
37:13Good girl.
37:14Good girl.
37:15Howdy, that side.
37:18Good girl.
37:20Can't really see too much.
37:22Very good.
37:23Good, because she usually squints her eye shine.
37:25Yeah, she does.
37:29Part of being a vet in a zoo,
37:30you're often there when animals are sick.
37:33Good girl.
37:34Oh, yes.
37:35This is to you too, darling.
37:37So they can associate you with always that negative thing
37:40of sick,
37:41this person's back here today.
37:43They're here to jab me,
37:44they're here to do this,
37:45giving medication.
37:46Boone foot.
37:47Foot.
37:48Yes, I know.
37:51Boone foot.
37:53Bit more.
37:54Good girl.
37:55She's very clunky.
37:56Yeah, she has a heavy foot too.
37:58Yeah.
37:59Yeah, good girl.
38:00It's amazing how they're designed to take all of the weight
38:03and they can be as quiet as a mouse.
38:05It's important for us to be here
38:06when they're healthy and happy as well.
38:10It gives us a good opportunity to bond with animals
38:12and it helps them be comfortable around us.
38:14She looks like a happy, healthy elephant.
38:17The team's doing a good job on keeping her that way.
38:20And I'm lucky to have met her today, which is great.
38:23And hopefully the next time I meet her,
38:25it's all good as well.
38:26Yeah, absolutely.
38:27Good girl, Pac Boone.
38:30Creason's physical exam of Pac Boone is a success.
38:34Pac Boone, move up.
38:35And the much smaller and friendlier Tang Mo doesn't disappoint either.
38:40We had a look at both elephant girls today.
38:42They cooperated really well,
38:44allowing us to have a good look at everything,
38:46which is great.
38:47It makes these preventative healthcare procedures
38:49so much easier to do
38:50and gives us a good amount of baseline data for us
38:53to know if they do get sick.
38:55We know how they look when they're healthy.
38:57So we had a good look at them from head to toe today
38:59and everything looked really good.
39:01Oh, and what do we knows about those gross tuberculosis tests?
39:08Apparently, it's not a problem.
39:11Sit.
39:12Next.
39:13Nice.
39:14A triumphant return for this koala.
39:16I'm a very small cog in a very big wheel.
39:20After the team get the answers they're searching for.
39:23Oh, she's so pretty.
39:24She is.
39:25Okay.
39:26I'm going to tip her on her back
39:30to have a look at her reproductive tract.
39:33In the Konangaraboid National Park,
39:36a small colony of endangered koalas
39:39have remained chlamydia-free.
39:41So you can see her bladder there very clearly.
39:44Chlamydia is a reproductive disease
39:47that can make koalas infertile.
39:50So she could...
39:52Well, there's a bit of fluid.
39:54Okay.
39:55It's breeding season
39:56and vet Larry is examining this female koala
40:00to try and determine why she isn't carrying a baby.
40:04This would be her uterus.
40:05Mm.
40:06A little bit of fluid in the middle.
40:07Mm-hmm.
40:12It could possibly be pregnant.
40:15Yes, you can see the little embryo.
40:17So definitely no evidence of disease.
40:19It's not only great news for this koala,
40:22but for this entire koala population.
40:25So we are done with her.
40:28It may be that this population here at Konangar
40:32has just been quite isolated
40:34and, you know, chlamydia has never got in here.
40:37We let them recover for a whole full hour
40:40before taking them back for release.
40:42Ah, there she goes.
40:43There you go.
40:44Or maybe there's other factors
40:46which have prevented chlamydia establishing this population.
40:49It might be genetics, for example.
40:52And studying the genetics of these koalas
40:54might help safeguard other koala populations in the future.
41:00Number 52.
41:01Compact, little fella.
41:02Over five days, more than 20 koalas are brought in and examined.
41:10They've all had great teeth so far.
41:11I just remember last time we had a few with quite dodgy teeth.
41:15So he's already got an ear tag,
41:18so one of the ones we captured last year,
41:20so it's good to see him back.
41:21It's interesting coming back
41:22and seeing, you know, the koalas that we worked on 12 months ago.
41:27To look at changes in the health of the animal,
41:30probably more like a three.
41:32It's a big project.
41:33Taronga, of course, is a key player.
41:35He's a bit bigger than the other one.
41:36But there are many other people involved as well.
41:38It's a massive project.
41:39G'day, Larry. How are you going?
41:41G'day, Tim. How are you going, mate?
41:42What can you tell me about this young fella?
41:44Well, first of all, everyone, this is Tim.
41:46G'day, guys.
41:47Tim is the head of the koala science team.
41:50So is it still similar to last year
41:52when we thought the population was pretty healthy?
41:55Oh, yeah, yeah.
41:56Nice, healthy animals.
41:57Oh, that's great.
41:58Lots of babies.
41:59Females have got joeys
42:00and a couple of pregnancies actually,
42:01which is really exciting to see.
42:03That is great.
42:04Some populations are really good
42:05and this is one of these populations.
42:06Yeah, this one's definitely a good, robust population
42:08and, you know, we know already that they chlamydia-free,
42:11so that's a big, big plus.
42:13Yeah.
42:14So there you go.
42:16When you work in a conservation project like such as this is,
42:20it makes you feel really good about the work that you're doing.
42:25And he's woken up.
42:26OK.
42:27And I think everyone, when they come out into the field
42:30and see wild animals and work with wild animals
42:33and make tangible contributions
42:35to the conservation of Australian wildlife
42:37and he's so excited about it.
42:39And what about Clay's koala?
42:41Well, after an hour or so in recovery,
42:44she's safely returned to her tree.
42:47All right, little one.
42:49Field work like this and conservation projects.
42:52This is a huge part of what Taronga does now
42:54and a really important part.
42:55A splash of blue dye, which does wash off in the rain,
42:59ensures that this koala can stay in the tree tops for now
43:03and won't be caught again.
43:05Oh, she's so pretty.
43:06Yeah, she is.
43:07As far as my contribution goes,
43:10I do feel I'm a very small cog in a very big wheel.
43:16She's past that first fork now,
43:19so we can move back pretty comfortably.
43:21While my part is small,
43:23I think every bit helps
43:25and every bit is necessary
43:27when you're talking about the plight of a species like the koala.
43:30So just happy to have been able to help.
43:37She seems completely fine.
43:39It's good to see her back where she belongs.
43:42Yeah.
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