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Secrets of the Zoo: Down Under - Season 6 Episode 9 -
It's Tiger Time
It's Tiger Time
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00They're baby animals.
00:02What the?
00:03It was only born this morning.
00:05On this all-new season.
00:08Welcome back to the ever-changing world of Taronga.
00:14Where you'll witness things you never thought possible.
00:19You can actually hear her breathe.
00:20And meet new faces.
00:22Oh, hi buddy.
00:24You'll never forget.
00:26So good.
00:27It's time to discover.
00:29Oh, my God.
00:31Exactly who's who in this zoo.
00:39On this episode.
00:40Why are you doing that?
00:42After a wee hiccup at the start.
00:44You wouldn't want to lie in urine.
00:46Neither do tigers.
00:47It's all systems go for Mawa the tiger.
00:51One, two, three.
00:53There we go.
00:54And the health check.
00:55If she says, go out, you exit straight away.
00:58That could change her life.
01:00She's a very special cat.
01:01A blind date with a difference.
01:04Meet Spud.
01:05But Australia's smallest bachelor.
01:08We want to introduce him to Penny.
01:09Isn't just playing hard to get.
01:12Spud.
01:13He's playing hard to find.
01:15It's the first time that he would have been introduced to a female other than his mum.
01:20And the race is on.
01:22To find out just what's bugging Molly.
01:25This is not the grossest thing we can do in our day.
01:27It's springtime.
01:40And Taronga's two zoos are bursting with healthy animals.
01:44And brimming with happy keepers.
01:48It's Patty.
01:49Hi Patty.
01:50Hi Patty.
01:51Hey.
01:52For one particular species, these balmy days are all the excuse they need to slip back
02:00into the cool shade of their jungle habitat.
02:03Sumatran tigers come from the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.
02:07In the wild, they actually live amongst this beautiful foliage.
02:12So they need stripes to help hide amongst all the shadows of the forest.
02:17Tiger stripes are all individual on each animal.
02:21Sort of like a thumbprint or a fingerprint for a human.
02:24We actually look at the different stripes on their tails or their faces.
02:28And that's one of the ways that the keepers can actually ID the different tigers
02:32when they're out and they're running around together.
02:34Every day, I thank my lucky stars that I work with Sumatran tigers.
02:39They're actually critically endangered in the wild.
02:42So there's less than 350 individuals left, which is just drastically low.
02:49We have a family group here at Taronga.
02:51We have Katika and her offspring, Pemina and his sister, Mawa.
02:56So now that Mawa and Pemina are five years old,
03:00they have been matched genetically with tigers in the US.
03:05So we're hoping that they can become part of this global breeding program
03:09for Sumatran tigers.
03:11That's right.
03:12These feline siblings have a date with genetic destiny.
03:17They'll be on the move, travelling over 14,000 kilometres,
03:22to spread their love across a couple of zoos in the US of A.
03:27But there's a catch.
03:29They actually depend on each other to get passed
03:33and to be able to be shipped overseas
03:35because the US zoos are actually sharing the cost of the flight
03:39and they will actually be sharing quarantine facilities
03:42once they're over in the US.
03:44So we're hoping that after they both have health check,
03:47that they both pass.
03:48If one doesn't pass, the other one may not go.
03:53Pemina's already had his health check.
03:56And while keeper Tamara waits for his results,
03:59it's his sister Mawa's turn,
04:02which means Mawa will need a general anaesthetic,
04:07which means a sharp needle,
04:10which means, you guessed it, a training session.
04:14So Molly and I are about to do a training session for Mawa.
04:17We've got the pole that we'll actually be using on the day
04:20with a blunt needle on it.
04:23In the past, when we had to anaesthetise a dangerous animal like a tiger,
04:27the vets would actually come in with a dart gun
04:29and they would dart the tigers.
04:31It was very, very stressful.
04:33It took them a really long time to fall asleep
04:35because that adrenaline was coursing through them.
04:37So now we use cooperative care
04:39where it's the animal's choice to come up
04:41and participate in a training session.
04:43If they don't want to, they won't.
04:45Hey, Mawa.
04:46Good morning.
04:47Good morning.
04:48You ready for your session?
04:52Oh, you're a good girl.
04:53You ready?
04:54Mawa.
04:56Hello?
04:57On command,
04:58Mawa has been trained to drop close to the keepers.
05:02Well, that's very far away.
05:04Can we try again?
05:06Come on.
05:07Up you get.
05:08Mawa.
05:09Up you get.
05:10Let's try again, love.
05:11Her head and her hips are supposed to both be near the mesh.
05:16Ready?
05:17Move from here.
05:18There we go.
05:19But just one day before her critically important health check,
05:25Mawa is choosing not to participate.
05:31This is her first ever GA and it's a lot of stress for us as keepers.
05:37We want it to go to plan.
05:40We want it to be smooth.
05:46Come on, Mawa.
05:49Drop.
05:50Why are you doing that?
05:53Mawa, Mawa, Mawa.
05:55You have never done this in a training session ever.
05:58The day before an anaesthetic is not ideal.
06:01At Taronga.
06:06Are you with your girlfriend?
06:08The keepers sometimes have to give mother nature a little.
06:13There we go.
06:14Nudge.
06:15Oh, how cute.
06:16And offer the animals the occasional helping hand.
06:21Whether they're big or small.
06:26Long-nosed podaroos are really fascinating.
06:30They're a gorgeous little marsupial.
06:32Tiny.
06:33They only weigh up to, you know, one and a half to two kilos.
06:39They're classified as a vulnerable species.
06:43The reason for that, habitat loss.
06:45They're the perfect weight and size as a snack for feral cats and foxes.
06:51So they do get predated on a lot.
06:53Their numbers are declining and they are basically a threat of extinction in the future.
07:02And it's that threat that has Taronga working hard to help its own potaroo population get busy and produce more little potaroos.
07:13Meet Spud.
07:20He was born here in our breeding program.
07:23He's now just turned two years old.
07:26He's a single male potaroo.
07:30Spud is our little bachelor.
07:32And he's quite the catch.
07:35He's a gorgeous little male.
07:39Full of energy.
07:40Loves bouncing around.
07:41He's very charismatic.
07:44And he actually really enjoys a scratch.
07:50And we want to find him a female so that he can breed.
07:53And pass on his genetics, which are really valuable.
07:56Keeper Susie is playing marsupial matchmaker.
08:02Good morning, Penny.
08:05And she's got high hopes.
08:07I'm going to move into your new home today.
08:09That a certain little bachelorette will steal Spud's heart.
08:14Penny's maid role is she's hopefully going to breed with Spud so we can have some little potaroos to increase the population.
08:25No pressure then, Penny.
08:27She's a female that came to us from Tidbimbilla Nature Reserve.
08:32She's got a bit of a wild upbringing.
08:35Let's hope not too wild for Spud.
08:39So let's take you into woodlands and see if Spud is up.
08:44You'll do your first introduction.
08:48Back over in the tiger's den.
08:51I'm going to try one more time.
08:53Mawa, the Sumatran tiger, is supposed to be practicing for tomorrow's pole injection.
08:58Why are you doing that?
09:00We have not done that since you were tiny.
09:03But she isn't cooperating.
09:06Mawa has never ever not come sideways to the mesh.
09:10So she was landing with her bottom towards the back wall.
09:14So, yeah, this is a great training session the day before an anaesthetic.
09:19Hopefully we can reset and she actually does what we need her to do.
09:24Try again, Mawa.
09:30Nah.
09:32Meanwhile, over at the wildlife hospital, vet nurse Annie has got a list and she's checking it twice.
09:40I'm just getting some things organised for Mawa's anaesthesia.
09:46So as you can see, my little checklist has so many things on it.
09:50She's having a pre-shipment transport general anaesthetic.
09:54So I'm just getting a few bits and pieces together.
09:58This is probably one of the most unusual ones.
10:00It's not a bin.
10:02It's actually a face mask.
10:03Because Mawa's not had an anaesthetic before, I'm not quite sure what size she is.
10:08So that's going to be the face mask.
10:13It's been a while since I've done a tiger anaesthetic.
10:15Probably about a year.
10:16So I'm just making sure that everything's in working order.
10:19Because I don't want to get down there and find things not working.
10:23It makes Annie very cranky.
10:25And when it comes to things not working, Mawa's final training session is a prime example.
10:32You want to quickly go in and squeegee it.
10:36Quick hose and squeegee.
10:38Keeper Danielle suspects she knows the wee problem.
10:42There's some urine on the floor.
10:44So tigers are quite particular like us.
10:46You wouldn't want to lie in urine.
10:47Neither do tigers.
10:49So we're just going to do a quick clean.
10:50So hopefully we can have a successful training session.
11:03That should be enough there.
11:05What do you think Mawa?
11:07Are we doing a good job?
11:10Look at that.
11:11Nice and dry.
11:12Nice and clean.
11:14Okay.
11:15What do you reckon?
11:16You've inspected.
11:17Did we do a good enough job?
11:19There we go, Princess Mawa.
11:21And with the all clear from this Sumatran...
11:25Princess.
11:27Yeah, see, it's much better.
11:29Pole injection practice can resume.
11:32Can I try again?
11:33I can come down.
11:34Drop.
11:35Touch.
11:36Touch.
11:42So far, so good.
11:45Hey.
11:47You've never done that either.
11:48She's never done that.
11:50Looks like it's just one of those days.
11:57Still to come.
11:58Oh, look at all these.
12:00She resisted at first.
12:02If you asked a keeper what their favourite animal would be, they would say they don't have one.
12:07But then Molly couldn't help herself.
12:10She is just my favourite animal in the whole wide world.
12:13And a really big day.
12:15Pretty exciting having my first procedure being for a critically endangered species like the Sumatran tiger.
12:21For newbie Jess.
12:22Go my little, little protege.
12:31In the deepest, darkest depths of Taronga's wild bushland...
12:36All right.
12:38Keeper Molly is off the beaten track.
12:43And on the hunt for...
12:46Oh, look at all these.
12:48Bugs?
12:49So these are all perfect logs.
12:52You can hear how rotten they are.
12:56And the more rotten means the more room for bugs.
12:58I'm one of the carnivore keepers here at the zoo.
13:00We've got the smallest carnivores, the meerkats.
13:04And the red pandas.
13:06And the otters as well.
13:08And then some of the largest.
13:09So Mary, our sun bear.
13:12And then even the lions and tigers.
13:17These are all perfect for meerkats and sun bear.
13:20I can see a few ants, a few centipedes.
13:23If there's some spiders and grubs, that would be even better.
13:27Rotten logs are kind of the perfect example of that phrase,
13:30one man's trash is another one's treasure.
13:33So I guess most people would see an old log on the side of the road
13:36and think it's in the way or remove it.
13:38But for us, that's actually like gold.
13:40We go searching for the most rotten and the ones with the most insects.
13:43And it's like treasure for our meerkats.
13:46Ooh, so many bugs.
13:48With the logs collected,
13:50it's time to distribute them amongst Taronga's residents.
13:53Here at Taronga we currently have a group of nine meerkats
13:58and they're actually all sisters as well, which is a bit unique.
14:04Sentry duty is the most essential meerkat behaviour in the wild.
14:08This behaviour is actually an entire meerkat mob's responsibility.
14:13And if you look closely,
14:14you'll see they actually all take turns in this behaviour.
14:17So it's almost like shift work for meerkats.
14:19Basically one meerkat will find the highest point of their habitat
14:23because there are a lot of birds of prey in areas
14:25where they would live in Southern Africa,
14:27which means meerkats have to be constantly looking up
14:29and being aware of when the predators may pass.
14:33Meerkats love insects.
14:34They predominantly eat these in the wild.
14:36So any opportunity for them to get into some insects,
14:39they will be straight onto.
14:41The whole mob has to work together
14:43to get all of the insects out as a team.
14:45So something as simple as a log can encourage
14:48some pretty amazing behaviours.
14:51But as amazing as the meerkats are,
14:54there's just something about Mary.
14:57And keeper Molly has saved some of the juiciest logs just for her.
15:03I think if you asked a keeper what their favourite animal would be,
15:06they would say they don't have one.
15:08But if you ask them a second time, it'll always come out.
15:11Mine has to be some bears as a species.
15:14But in particular, Mary, she is just my favourite animal
15:17in the whole wide world.
15:22All right.
15:24So this delicious log was from our meerkat exhibit.
15:27So it won't only have a lot of bugs,
15:30but it's also going to have that meerkat smell for her as well.
15:33So this is like prime rotten log.
15:37You can see it's literally crumbling away as I touch it.
15:40Oh, look at that.
15:42In the wild, some bears would be using their long claws
15:44to break into trees and termite mounds
15:46to get out all of the insects.
15:48So it's a great way for them to source food,
15:50but it also means they keep their claws nice and short
15:53and not too long and sharp.
15:55So Mary's going to love that one.
16:05Over in the tiger's den,
16:07it's the day before Mawa's first ever
16:10general anaesthetic and health check.
16:13Touch.
16:14And ideal is not how you'd describe this final practice session.
16:23For the first time ever,
16:24she decided to bite the end of the tube
16:26that the milk was coming out.
16:28Can you let that go, please?
16:30Nope.
16:31And pulled the whole entire thing out.
16:34She's never done that before either.
16:36Give her some milk.
16:38Oh, that's tricky.
16:40Yeah.
16:41There you go.
16:46No, it's not going to...
16:48Oh!
16:49..come through this gap.
16:52I win.
16:53I've trained Mawa since about one week hold
16:58and that training session was probably
17:00the worst training session she's ever had.
17:02Mawa, Mawa, Mawa.
17:04Try again, Mawa.
17:07It's now crunch time.
17:09With a new day comes new hope.
17:12It's time to see if Mawa can put her worst ever
17:16pole injection training session behind her
17:19and get the job done.
17:21Do you want to take out the blue blood pressure cuff?
17:24Yeah.
17:25And whack it on the bench with all the others?
17:26It's the same size.
17:27So...
17:28In the wildlife hospital, vet nurse Annie
17:31will not only be helping administer Mawa's anaesthetic gas.
17:36Make sure the bag fills up.
17:38You've done it before, Annie.
17:40Anyone would think.
17:41She's also supervising the wildlife hospital's newest recruit.
17:46That's all connected.
17:47So if we do need to take it into the den...
17:49Yep.
17:50..and you're getting people to help,
17:52obviously that just needs to come together.
17:54Yep.
17:55Because that's connected to that.
17:56I do get very excited when we're doing lions and tigers
17:59and then that excitement then turns into a little bit
18:01of anxiousness and fear.
18:03But we do have our wonderful new trainee, Jess,
18:06that's going to be shadowing both myself and Tammy.
18:09Do you want me to get the orange box too?
18:11Yeah.
18:12If I'm excited, her head's going to be exploding,
18:15I can only imagine.
18:16Put the arm runners on now so they're ready or no?
18:18Um, we don't have to because we won't know
18:22what side they want to lay her.
18:23Sure.
18:24So I've come from being a zookeeper to a trainee vet nurse.
18:27And any other one from here for the tail?
18:29No.
18:30I've been at Taronga for about three weeks now
18:33and this is my first time helping out
18:35with the procedure.
18:36So this gets attached to this
18:39and then that goes to the back of the restaurants.
18:42Pretty exciting having my first procedure
18:44being for a critically endangered species
18:46like the Sumatran tiger.
18:48Go my little, little protege.
18:50You taught me so well.
18:52Go my little protege.
18:53Vet Frances will be overseeing Mawar's examination
18:57once the tiger is brought into the hospital.
19:00How about you three go in the van
19:03and us three are going to walk down the back road.
19:05Easy.
19:06Okay.
19:07Sumatran tigers are just beautiful.
19:09It's quite a privilege to be able to work with them.
19:11She's a really important animal because she's one of a small number.
19:14There are not that many of them left.
19:16Do you want to drive Gabs?
19:18So she's going to go to the United States to breed
19:22and we're doing a thorough health check before she goes overseas.
19:26All right.
19:27So thank you everyone for joining us this morning.
19:30My name's Georgia.
19:31I'm one of the carnivore keepers here.
19:33We're here for Mawar's anaesthetic.
19:36That'll be run by Frances, our vet today, and Gabby.
19:40So just from the vet side, Gabby's running the anaesthetics,
19:44so she's going to be the one that calls for when she's happy to have the door open.
19:48Yep.
19:49We want only people who have a designated job to be in,
19:54and that's under Gabby's direction.
19:56If Gabby is unhappy and wants people out, if she says go out, you exit straight away.
20:02But before anyone can enter Mawar's den, Keeper Danielle has to successfully pole inject this strong sedative into the 87 kilo tiger.
20:14We're going to use the short pole needle.
20:17It all hinges on her.
20:20I'm just going to, like, gently just rest it on.
20:23Okay.
20:24I am so nervous right now.
20:26I've put a lot of pressure on myself to get this done.
20:29You've got this, gal.
20:30Thanks.
20:31With Mawar it is.
20:32Because if this isn't successful, then Mawar will need to be darted,
20:37which is very stressful for her and very stressful for all of us.
20:41We're on.
20:42It's just a normal training session.
20:44Yeah.
20:49Back at the Taronga Institute of Science and Learning.
20:53Okay, enough already.
20:55Let's just call it the Potteroo Bachelor Pad.
20:59Here we are.
21:00Keeper Susie is matchmaker Susie.
21:05Beautiful new home.
21:06Hello, Miss Penny.
21:08And today, Potteroo Penny is going on a blind date.
21:12Come on, Penny.
21:13With Spud.
21:14With Spud.
21:17Spud.
21:18So, yeah, Spud's our little male long-nosed Potteroo.
21:22He was born here at Taronga Zoo.
21:24Then he's just over two years old now.
21:26He's ready for breeding.
21:28And that's why we want to introduce him to Penny.
21:31Spud does not know what's coming.
21:35It's the first time that he would have been introduced to a female other than his mum.
21:41I don't think he's really got the scent or anything of Penny yet.
21:49But I reckon as soon as I let her out, he'll be pretty interested.
21:55Come on, Spud.
21:56Come on, buddy.
22:00Penny's ready.
22:01Spud's not only playing hard to get, he's playing hard to find.
22:08I mean, you wouldn't describe it as the best first impression.
22:12Spud.
22:13Oh, hang on.
22:15Is that...
22:18Nope.
22:19Not our guy.
22:22Come on, bud.
22:24Ah, gotcha.
22:26Oh, hi, buddy.
22:27You can see this beautiful nest that he's built down here.
22:32So you can see him peering out there of his nest.
22:34And it's why a lot of Australians have probably never seen a long-nosed potteroo
22:38because they are so well adapted to the Australian environment and camouflaging.
22:47Spud.
22:48Come here.
22:50I'm just going to put a scatter of food out for him and for Penny
22:54because food is, you know, always a great way to meet on a first date.
23:00It just takes a bit of the pressure off meeting each other for the first time.
23:11Now for the moment of truth.
23:18Oh, I'm not sure about her, Spud.
23:20I'm going to step back and just watch and see what happens.
23:45Over at Taronga's carnivore section...
23:47A critically endangered Sumatran tiger is about to receive its first ever pole injection
23:58ahead of a very important health check.
24:01We're on.
24:03Well, at least that's the idea.
24:05I love the enthusiasm.
24:07Drop.
24:08Why are you doing that?
24:10Yesterday's practice didn't quite go to plan.
24:12Hey!
24:13Oh!
24:14You've never done that either.
24:15She's never done that.
24:17And today, Keeper Danielle is giving it another crack.
24:21Yeah?
24:22But this time, it's the real deal.
24:25If this isn't successful, then Mal will need to be darted,
24:29which is very stressful for her and very stressful for all of us.
24:32OK.
24:33So, we're going to get her down, a couple of touches with this.
24:38Yeah.
24:39Oh, good girl!
24:40She was like ready before I was ready.
24:42Today, they're keeping that milk bottle well away from Mawa.
24:46OK.
24:47And Mawa is now lying much closer to the Keepers.
24:53Touch!
24:55Good girl!
24:57What a difference a day makes.
25:00The sedative is in.
25:02Now that's what you'd call a prrrrfect pole injection.
25:06We can go till them.
25:10Well done, Princess.
25:11Once the anaesthetic goes in, then they have to communicate with the vet
25:17because the vet is the one that's running the procedure.
25:21You're OK.
25:27Good girl.
25:29Are you happy for us to come in?
25:31Yep.
25:33Yep, we'll go in.
25:34And I believe Molly has just given the word
25:37and so the vets and vet nurses and myself
25:40are going to go in and see how she's going.
25:44Mawa might be down, but is she out?
25:48Mawa's a dangerous animal.
25:50Tigers are absolutely capable of, you know, hurting people.
25:54So, Gabby's just going to check how deeply sedated she is
25:57to make sure it's safe for us to actually open the door
25:59and go in with her.
26:00She's looking for any signs that she's moving or twitching
26:03or moving her whiskers or blinking an eye.
26:05Any movement?
26:09I think she's pretty good.
26:11On Gabby's signal, the team prepare to enter Mawa's den.
26:20We're all being quiet because loud noises are a stimulus
26:24and we don't want her to start moving around.
26:30Push her that way.
26:31Push her that way.
26:32Can that stay out there and I'll just put the mask?
26:35Give me a second.
26:37Was that you?
26:38Any little reflex is an indication to us
26:40that Mawa's perhaps not sufficiently anaesthetised.
26:44Yeah, it was me.
26:45It just slipped.
26:47It's not happening.
26:48Let's just take her up.
26:49Ready?
26:50One, two, three.
26:51There we go.
26:52Okay.
26:53Okay, you need to pull that out.
26:54I'm stretching this.
26:55It's going further.
26:56We want to get her up to the hospital in a timely fashion
26:59so that we keep her anaesthetic as short as we can.
27:02And don't slam the door, please.
27:04It makes the whole process safer for her.
27:07The plan is we're going to take her straight through
27:12and put her on the floor and we'll connect her up.
27:14Ground.
27:15Down on the ground, please.
27:16Yep.
27:17Slowly down, everyone.
27:18She's got a little blink.
27:19So Mawa's just got a little bit of a blink there.
27:25She's just got a little blink.
27:27At Taronga Zoo in Sydney, keepers Molly and Tamara
27:40are preparing a particularly tasty gourmet banquet
27:44for some of the zoo's resident carnivores.
27:47Oh, my gosh.
27:48Look at all the bugs.
27:50Oh, so exciting.
27:52And what's the one thing that can make a rotten log full of bugs
27:56even better meal?
27:58More bugs.
27:59This is the fun part for us,
28:00where we get to scatter all these delicious bugs
28:03without trying to get them on us.
28:05And I'll put some roaches in this big one here.
28:08So good.
28:09They're actually all climbing inside.
28:11But wait, there's more.
28:13We deal with a lot of poo,
28:15so handling bugs like maggots
28:17is not the grossest thing we can do in our day.
28:23All right, one last spot.
28:25This looks like a goodie.
28:30All right, Moz, what do we think?
28:32Looks good.
28:33She's going to love it.
28:34She's going to be occupied for ages.
28:35I can't wait to see her.
28:36Can't wait to see her.
28:37She is Mary the Sun Bear.
28:41And it doesn't take long to find that first delicious log.
28:49It's about to be ripped apart.
28:53Any second now.
28:55Right.
28:56OK.
28:57Well, how about this one?
29:06OK, then.
29:07In the wild, most of a Sun Bear's day is actually spent foraging for insects.
29:14That long tongue, it is so precise.
29:18She can target that exact insect she's looking for.
29:22She won't pick up a leaf or dirt.
29:24It's pretty impressive.
29:26Oh, my gosh.
29:27Look at her go.
29:29That's more like it, Mary.
29:31Oh, my gosh.
29:32Those claws are getting a workout.
29:34She's shredding right into them.
29:35So, this is exactly what she'd be doing in the wild.
29:38Exactly what we wanted from those logs.
29:40I love when she gets, like, all frantic, because, like, it's like a way of showing sort of excitement.
29:44Yeah.
29:45Yeah.
29:46Flipping them all over.
29:47Yeah.
29:48All those natural bear behaviours.
29:49So good.
29:50Oh, she just pushed it over the edge.
29:54We're seeing some behaviours that we don't get to see from her every day.
29:59So happy and playful.
30:01I think she's living her best life today.
30:04You know, it can feel like a silly job to search for logs, but to actually see the impact it's having on her
30:09and to be able to watch her now all afternoon having fun and ripping into them is so rewarding.
30:15OK, it's official, folks.
30:18Mary the sun bear is now Mary the fun bear.
30:22Oh, so good.
30:23She's going to be busy for hours.
30:26Down on the ground, please.
30:27Yep.
30:28Back at the wildlife hospital.
30:30OK, she's connected.
30:31OK, she's on one.
30:33Mawar the Sumatran tiger has been sedated for an important health check.
30:37She's got a little blink.
30:38Let's turn her up.
30:39But she isn't sleeping soundly.
30:41So Mawar's just got a little bit of a blink there.
30:44A blink reflex is an indication to us that Mawar's not sufficiently anaesthetised.
30:51It's really important that we keep people safe and Mawar safe.
30:54I'm not going to move her until her blink goes away.
30:57Are we going to roll?
30:59No, no.
31:00So what we're going to do, guys, she's got a little blink.
31:02So we're just going to sit here for a second before we move her.
31:08Moving is the thing that will stimulate her the most.
31:11So let's just get her a little bit deeper.
31:16Her respiratory rate's gone up as well.
31:19An elevated respiratory rate confirms that Mawar isn't sleeping deeply enough.
31:25Okay, she's lost the blink reflex.
31:30She's taking nice breaths.
31:31I'm happy to lift her up.
31:34Can I hop in here and I want to catch that leg?
31:38So if we go one, two, three.
31:42That's it.
31:43Thanks, guys.
31:45No blink.
31:46Okay, we're going to spray her and then intubate.
31:49So Mawar's just going to have a little bit of a spray on the back of her throat.
31:53It's a local anaesthetic and it makes it much easier to pass the tube into her airway that we need to give her the anaesthetic gas.
32:00And it's going to protect her airway.
32:03Pull the thing out.
32:04Yeah.
32:06Yeah, pull, pull, pull, pull.
32:07Yep, that's it.
32:08Happy?
32:09Now that Mawar is intubated and stable.
32:16If you just give her regular breaths, Annie.
32:18Vet Frances can finally start today's procedures.
32:22I'm just going to take the swab first.
32:24This is Mawar's first anaesthetic.
32:26This will be the first time since she was a tiny little cub that we've actually been able to do a physical examination.
32:34Occasionally, the animal can look healthy, but blood tests might show something,
32:38like maybe the kidneys aren't working very well or maybe the liver's not working very well.
32:43So we'll do a series of blood tests.
32:45I'm going to do 12 mils in this syringe.
32:48The results of these tests will determine if this critically endangered tiger
32:53can be transferred to the USA to join a selective breeding program.
32:59Once I've got this blood, I'm going to aim to do the x-rays and we'll do the lateral x-rays first, Tammy.
33:05Yep.
33:06It's an exclusive club and not every tiger that's selected will pass.
33:12On my count of three, she's going towards Tammy and Jess by about 15 centimetres.
33:17One, two, three.
33:20OK, now we're going to lift her up onto her back.
33:23It's difficult moving her around for those different x-ray views and so on.
33:28She's a big tiger.
33:31Everyone out.
33:34X-ray.
33:36OK.
33:39Line on.
33:45OK.
33:46Over at the Taronga Institute of Love.
33:57At the moment, Penny's over here exploring.
34:04And Spud is over in this area.
34:07Keeper Susie has arranged a blind date for two of Australia's most vulnerable marsupials.
34:14So far, it's not going so great.
34:22For Penny, this is going to be exciting on a number of levels,
34:26because it's a new environment for her.
34:29And she's probably going to be more focused on checking out her surroundings,
34:33finding good places for her to hide, to set up her nest.
34:37For Spud, this is the first time he's ever been in with a female other than his mum.
34:42You know, the new exciting thing in the room is Penny.
34:45He might be sort of sniffing where Penny has already been.
34:58He might be a little bit overexcited.
35:01You know, the first smell of a female pheromone.
35:04He's got to, yeah, figure out the logistics.
35:06I'm just going to go grab some peanuts.
35:13Come.
35:14Look, I've got a very special treat for you both.
35:20Lovely peanut butter smears.
35:23Maybe a little snack will do the trick.
35:25I want to have a close look and see what they're actually doing.
35:31They're right now having a drink together at the back, going between eating food,
35:37but also then checking in on each other and having a sniff.
35:41She's actually being really receptive to him.
35:47She's lifting her tail up so that he can actually mount her.
35:51He's actually on top of her.
35:55Happy days!
35:57He's giving it his best shot.
36:01Almost, buddy.
36:04Might take him a few goes to figure out how it all works.
36:09He might be a little bit overexcited.
36:12I think he's trying.
36:14Yeah, maybe we should give them a bit of privacy.
36:17Next door in the wildlife hospital.
36:23Everyone out.
36:25Now are the Sumatran Tigers chances of travelling with her twin to America
36:32to join an exclusive breeding program.
36:35X-ray.
36:37Okay.
36:39All depend on her passing today's health check.
36:41So we want to make sure that she's grown up with everything in the right place.
36:43We need to know that she's in tip-top shape.
36:46With her stomach with a bit of gas in it.
36:48We need to know that she doesn't have anything sub-clinical,
36:51which means from the outside she looks okay,
36:53but on the inside there's something going on underneath.
36:57I don't see anything there that's abnormal.
37:01I'm going to put an IV into a cephalic.
37:03Sure.
37:04Yep, so she's clipped.
37:06For trainee vet nurse Jess, this is a pretty special way to kick off her new career.
37:12It's just really exciting.
37:14My first day doing a vet nursing traineeship and we're doing a tiger.
37:18Have another listen because you can actually hear her breathe and hear her heart.
37:22Who would have thought?
37:24It's blowing my mind.
37:25Yeah.
37:26So have a listen there and you'll see what I mean by all the chitter chatter in the room and this.
37:34That's so much harder to hear than with an esophageal.
37:37Yeah.
37:38So cool.
37:41What we're doing right now is her physical examination.
37:45So we want to make sure we know if she's got any wounds or injuries or anything like that.
37:53There's nothing Tamara, nothing in particular that you guys are concerned about with her.
37:59No, we'd like to just do a little body score.
38:01Yeah.
38:02While she's under.
38:03Yes.
38:04I'd give her probably a two and a half.
38:06She's pretty good.
38:07Two and a half to three body condition score out of five.
38:10Today's really special because it's so rare to get an opportunity to get up close to these animals in our care.
38:16If time permits, we take the opportunity to get a little paw print.
38:22It's a way for the keepers that take care of these animals to sort of have a little memento of them and it's really special.
38:35It's really special.
38:37It means a lot to us and sometimes we just put them up in our office so that the whole team can, you know, enjoy them.
38:45And it's especially animals like Malwa that may be moving to another zoo, you know, it's a nice little memory of her.
38:53She's a very special cat.
39:01Next.
39:02We have been waiting patiently.
39:05Judgment Day has arrived.
39:07We just received news.
39:09Time to see if these big cats really can fly.
39:13It's been two weeks since Spud met Penny in a potteroo blind date.
39:20And the first couple of days, it was a bit touch and go.
39:23But after sort of getting to know each other and calming down a little bit, we actually have seen a lot of mating from Spud.
39:30And just recently, keeper Susie has noticed even more changes.
39:36Spud in the past sort of week isn't mounting her as much.
39:40Great signs that potentially there was a successful mating.
39:43Fingers crossed, in around three or four months, we're going to have some little potteroo joeys.
39:49Well, turns out our little Spud really is a stud.
39:55At the Taronga Wildlife Hospital.
40:00One, two, three.
40:02Today's health check on Mawa the Sumatran tiger is done.
40:06Head first.
40:09All her x-rays look great.
40:11There's nothing to see on those.
40:13You ready ladies?
40:14Yeah.
40:15Her physical exam was all fine.
40:18She doesn't have any abnormalities that we can see like that.
40:21We do now have all the blood tests that we need to wait for the results.
40:24So we'll get those back over the next couple of days.
40:27And if they're all clear, then she'll be ready to depart.
40:30Mawa and her brother Pemina are set to be transported to America to join an exclusive Sumatran tiger breeding program.
40:40Okay, ready?
40:41One, two, three.
40:43One, two, three.
40:46As long as all their test results come back clear.
40:51So Mawa is back in her den now.
40:56She's had her reversal drug and she's waking up from that.
41:00She's actually doing really well.
41:03Her eyes come right up.
41:06Blinking.
41:08Ear twitching.
41:10She's waking up.
41:11What we do is try and stay away from her as much as possible.
41:14So that she can have a nice smooth recovery without seeing all of us there.
41:21You're okay darling.
41:23You're okay my mum.
41:24A few days later, and while the tigers are blissfully unaware of their future, their keepers haven't been quite so chilled.
41:37We have been waiting patiently for the test results for our two tigers Pemina and Mawa and we just received news the vets have given them both a full bill of health.
41:51They absolutely passed all their tests with flying colours.
42:05It's really wonderful for Mawa and Pem to take this journey to the US and become a part of this global breeding program.
42:09As sad as it is for us, the keepers that have worked with both of them since the day they were born, it's for the greater good.
42:20It's for the genetic diversity worldwide for these beautiful endangered animals.
42:24Endangered animals.
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