All language subtitles for Taronga s03e02 Gorrila

Australia is home to one of the world's
most iconic zoos, Taronga.

Stretching from the shores of Sydney's
famous harbour... Hello, everybody!

..to the vast western plain zoo in
Dubbo.

Come on, girls!

But in a world that's ever -changing...
Every single birth we have is vitally

important. ..one thing always stays the
same.

There comes a time when you just have to
let go.

The love these teams have.

Two little lion cubs.

For the thousands of animals in their
care.

Good boy.

On this episode, a family check -up.
We'll actually be doing a general

anaesthetic procedure on two of our
western lowland gorillas.

The hospital's entire staff are called
in. We've got two teams. We'll be in

separate rooms. As vets separate a mum
and her daughter for the very first

It's a very, very stressful day for us
this morning.

The highs. Good boy.

And lows.

Rush.

Of caring for giraffe.

We have to be very mindful of our own
safety.

Release.

And permission to land.

Nice. As Taronga's most exotic... It's
really great to see them so close up.

...stretch their wings.

Easy.

Just like gorilla groups in the wild,
Taronga Zoo's troop of western lowland

gorillas has a clear hierarchy, led by a
male silverback.

These tight -knit family members are
ambassadors for their critically

species.

All of our gorillas serve an amazing
purpose here at the zoo.

Their numbers aren't particularly great
out in the wild and we have an amazing

conservation program here to really look
after them.

But caring for these dangerous animals
is not for the faint -hearted.

Just to have a health check, they need
to be put to sleep.

And believe it or not, that's done by
hand.

So today's a huge day for us here at the
zoo. We'll actually be doing a general

anaesthetic procedure on two of our
western lowland gorillas.

We're going to be bringing our aging
female gorilla, Frala, up to the

She's about 40 years old, which is very,
very old for a gorilla.

Their life expectancy is only about 30
to 40 in the wild, so this is an

incredible age to get to.

Being an older animal, we know that
things are starting to deteriorate a

bit, so we really want to be able to
pick up on them as fast as we can.

We know that she's got a few bad teeth
in her mouth.

She's trained to do a mouth open for us
so that we can have a quick look in

there. And we obviously can't do any
dental work without a procedure like

So at the same time, we're going to make
the process a whole lot more difficult

for us. And we're going to bring her
youngest child, Fikiri, up.

Fikiri's only two years old. So very,
very young, still very dependent on mum.

So we don't want to leave her down with
the rest of the group without her mum.

So they're going to come up together and
Fikiri's going to have her first basic

health check.

The nerves are high, but we've got a
really, really good team that's spent a

of time working on this.

In fact, this

procedure is so big, it will require
almost all of the hospital staff.

That Frances will take care of mum,
Frala.

We're getting everything ready for the
procedure, making sure we've got all the

equipment that we need.

And vet Gabby will look after little
Fikiri.

We're also going to be drawing up the
drugs. And gorillas are very, very

sensitive. The keepers have worked for a
long, long time to get Ferala

accustomed to a hand injection.

And so I'm going to be drawing up
Ferala's drugs and handing the syringe

loaded to Tim to administer.

Is that how you want to do it?

Yeah, perfect. Thank you.

And Gabby's going to be drawing up in a
pole syringe the medication for Fikiri.

It's quite a big doe with the one meg
per mil, so I'm just trying to work out

how much ends up in the needle. Just go
with that.

It's a very, very stressful day for us
this morning. We have put months of

training into it, but you never know
what the animals are going to do.

With Tim on his way with both
anaesthetic injections, the vet team is

get down to the gorillas.

So we should go very soon, guys.

Yeah, we're just all getting into our
vehicles and we're heading down now.

Okay, let's go guys.

High above Sydney Harbour, rehabilitated
birds are given a new lease on life.

It has three metres worth of wings.

To showcase the beauty and behaviour of
the birds, keepers need expert training.

Last one up it goes. Well done.

And today, Bridget from Taronga Sister
Zoo in Dubbo is about to start learning

the ropes.

Give her a round of applause.

Brendan hosts to Matthew Kettle. We are

ready and waiting.

Senior keeper Brendan and supervisor
Matt are kicking off her tuition with

help of a rescued owl.

All right.

So, Bridge, what we've got here is
Francis.

Francis is roughly a two -year -old
barking owl.

Coming here, it's completely different
to anything I've done out in Dubbo.

We're going to have Francis fly over to
you in a second, Bridge. So you're going

to go through and call the bird by
raising your...

Left arm up with the glove and your
right arm behind it. Cool.

I'm learning the handling of large birds
such as parrots and owls.

You raising the glove is the cue. Right.
Just waiting for the bird to look.

There you go.

Nice. There's so much to learn because
I've actually never done any of the

training and conditioning.

I've never had a bird fly at me and land
on my hand before.

It's really great to see them so close
up and...

Yeah, learning how to catch them on your
hand.

Feeling a bit of nerves as well?

Always a little bit of nerves,
especially getting your hands close to

face, I suppose, feeding them. But, no,
it's just, yeah, so incredible.

Just going to chill with you for a bit.
We want him to be calm in the area.

Then when he's ready, Matt will call
Francis back to him.

Whenever we're teaching someone how to
handle birds initially, it's all about

how we're using our body.

We always use our left hand. It just
keeps everything really consistent. We

a predictable environment because there
are certain things that we do with our

body that communicates information to
our animals.

So you can bring your arm out just
slightly to your side just so it's going

give the bird a better flight path. Back
to Matt. All right.

So Bridget needs to learn how she holds
her body properly to give the bird a

smooth ride, but it also allows the
animal to come in with force without

getting anything come towards her too
quickly.

Whenever she's looking, she's yours.

All right.

There you go.

No.

You can see he's just checking out the
world, so that's normal. We want them to

be able to check things out.

It's always about reading their
behaviour, their energy level, how much

looking around, how they're holding
their feathers.

You can hear that vocalisation.

That means she's a little bit excited.

Bridget's going to start to be able to
bring all these things together and be

able to provide Francis a good
experience in whatever it is that he's

What you're doing quite well at the
moment is the bird's coming towards you.

You're moving your hand, so tracking it
to make sure that's going to land on

your thumb. It just sets the bird up to
be able to perch nicely on your glove.

There's that impressive wingspan there.

But it's not only the presentation of
the birds that Bridget needs to master.

As we expand our towns and our cities,
we are making changes to the landscape.

In just three weeks, her own performance
skills will be put to the test in front

of a live audience.

Coming up, a difficult procedure... And
just gently down. OK. ..will tag

Taronga's vet.

She's vomited.

Get Larry to come in and help.

And a giraffe pedicure gives keepers a
real tick. That keeper who is working

around its feet is at serious risk.

Whoa.

Every animal at Taronga with a hoof,
whether it's an African zebra, bongo

antelope, or wild Mongolian turkey, is
given regular hoof care.

Go on, Jim Jim.

Good boy.

But there's one animal with hooves that
needs so much care, they're checked

every week.

So Jimmy here, he's weighing about 1
,200 kilograms, so he's just over a ton.

Their hooves are about the size of a
dinner plate. So you think a dinner

holding up just over a ton of an animal
has got to do a lot, a lot of work. So

that's why hoof care and hoof
maintenance is so important with

Much like our toenail.

Hooves are made from keratin, so Jimmy
Yu is carrying all that weight on what

are essentially giant toenails.

It's really, really important for us to
make sure that the hooves aren't

overgrowing and that the shape is in
configuration to their legs.

If the configuration of the hoof's not
right, their legs tend to bow in and

going to cause a lot of stress on their
joints. So you don't really think when

you see an animal's hooves how much
their hooves can affect the rest of

body, but having bad hoof conformation
can affect the whole conformation of the

animal.

In past times, we would actually look at
the hoof from above.

Now we've realised having a look at the
underneath of the hoof, we can find out

so much more about what's going on in
the actual hoof.

But that's something easier said than
done.

Getting a giraffe to show the underside
of its hoof takes years of innovation

and training.

This hoof block is fairly new to our
giraffe. What we want our male to do, we

want him to come in, present their hoof
onto here, then they'll roll their ankle

onto here, allowing us to have a good
look at the underside of the hoof.

Station.

That's the way. Good. Good boy.

Training a giraffe can be a very drawn
-out process.

Foot. Good.

Touch. Roll.

No, you can't roll.

So keepers are prepared for the long
haul.

Station. Do one more on this one. Good.
Foot. Good.

It's all right. Good learning.

Taronga's bird precinct highlights the
plight of vulnerable bird species.

Andy and condors are one of the largest
flying birds in the world.

To get that message across, Bridget
needs to engage the audience.

So Bridget, do you want to get in
position?

Yep. And after one week of training,
she's starting to get the hang of it.

Bridget's learning how to be a public
speaker.

And not many birds can adapt to this
impact.

She's going through at the moment and
meeting birds for the first time and

establishing those relationships.

Nicely done.

The number one thing is Bridget's going
to learn how to read bird behaviour,

which will then feed into everything
else that we do with pre -flight birds.

Behind the scenes, there's an extremely
important animal care component as well.

And I think you're familiar with Gary.
Yeah, I've heard about Gary. He used to

live in Dubbo.

Yeah. Like me.

Good job, champ.

Bring him out.

He knows what he's doing.

We weigh the birds every day for a
couple of reasons.

One, we're going to use this information
to determine their diet. But we also

want to make sure that we've got a bird
that's in good condition as well.

They're essentially athletes.

Yeah. When we've weighed a bird... We'll
consult with our vets and

nutritionists. But it's quite a
specialised way of ensuring that these

get their best welfare.

We're going to move on to Dixie, our
whistling kite.

Hey, Dixie.

Can you see what weight, sir?

About 608?

Yeah. Next up, a quick check on a major
Mitchell cockatoo. We can also have her

reach up a little bit so we can get a
better look of any other parts of the

body, which may be harder to see.

It's a lot to take in and the learning
curve is steep, but there's no slowing

down with only a week and a half until
Bridget's first big test.

Training giraffe is not an easy feat.

Jimmy, you right?

Good. Good boy, good.

It's been 18 months since Jimmy Yu first
tried some simple hoof care commands.

Jim Jim, station buddy.

And now Jimmy Yu knows exactly what to
do when it's his turn at the hoof salon.

Good boy.

Keep coming, mate. It's just a matter of
reaching for the stars.

And this red one is called station.

That's like gold for him. So when he
sees that and he touches his nose on

he gets a big reward.

Nice work.

Good boy. Very good.

Just hang back there.

But when you're about to cut the nails
of a 1 ,200 -kilogram wild animal, it's

not only the giraffe you need to keep
focused.

Good boy.

Gabe and Emma, you may come into
position.

Station. Good.

We have to be very mindful of our own
safety.

It can only take one little mishap, and,
I mean, a mishap would be looking the

wrong direction, and Jimmy, who goes to
kick, the power behind that leg, that

keeper who is working around his feet is
at serious risk.

We're going to go right.

Here, Jim, stay with me, bud.

He's moving his weight. Release.

Even though Taronga's family of western
lowland

gorillas can be very caring toward each
other, they are still extremely

dangerous animals.

So today, when Frala has a broken tooth
looked at, it will be done under full

anesthesia.

And because that provides an opportunity
to give her daughter Fakiri a health

check, she'll be put under as well.

Two gorillas is a lot to really look out
for.

One gorilla is massive, two gorillas is
just the stress levels are high.

Go ahead now, we're just about there.

OK, we're going to start.

OK.

As part of the safety protocol, vets
Gabby and Francis must keep their

Gorillas sense the different people and
Ferala may not present her arm for an

injection. So as vets we have to stay
well away. That's making us feel a

bit anxious.

Ferala won't come out unless she's fully
asleep and if needs be we bring the

machine in and mask her down.

Finally. The call the vet have been
waiting on. Go ahead, Mel.

I think you better come in to check
Frala's position.

Coming.

Mel to Liz. Go ahead.

The kiwi just got pole injected.

Excellent, that's great. Can I come in
now?

Yep, no worries, I'm at the door.

He'll land on my gloved hand.

Then from there, I'll give him a reward.

I'm just going to ask him to come up
here, Bridget, so he'll be on this

Senior keeper Brendan is helping Bridget
find her mark during her final training

session. She's getting used to being
able to read bird body language. That's

good. And she's also preparing herself
to be able to do the shows.

As we expand our towns and our cities,
we are making changes to the landscape,

and not all birds can adapt to this
impact.

Easy. Bridget needs to understand the
blocking, so where she needs to stand,

because the animal has already learnt,
oh, I go here, and then I go over there.

So we've already talked through how to
work. You know what you're doing, but in

case anything happens that we don't
expect, which could always happen, we're

outside and we're working with birds,
Erin's going to be there to provide you

the support.

Right. You're sweet. Cool.

Taronga free -flight birds can, at
times, fly off course.

So to ensure they're returned home,
Bridget needs to learn how to locate the

birds using GPS.

Okay, so Bridge, get your antenna all
set.

We'll give you a moving target today
rather than just me hiding this in a

So I'll turn this transmitter on, it's
405, and I'll try and avoid you and you

try and find me. Just give me a five
-minute head start and then do your

Okay, cool.

You can go in, Gab.

Both gorillas have been put to sleep
behind closed doors in the gorilla

Do you want me to reverse in a little
bit? Yes, I will.

Now the pressure is on to get them to
the hospital before they wake up.

Little Fikiri is transported first.

At just two years old, she's easy to
move.

But it's a different story for her 90
-kilogram mum, Frala.

She's a dangerous animal. We want to
make sure that she's stable and she's

putting anybody's life at risk.

She's going to have a big cargo net over
the top of her.

She's going to have an intravenous line
in so that we can make sure that...

She stays asleep.

Straight on the table.

Just gently down.

We've got two teams. We'll be in
separate rooms.

Gabby and Liz and Deb, the nurses, are
going to do security.

And I'm going to do Frala. I've also got
Liz and Tammy, vet nurses, working with

me. All right, so fluids have started
running, 100 mils an hour.

All right, well, let's just get her
intubated.

She's gorgeous.

Just stabilising her by getting

her IV cannula in with fluids, getting
her intubated, getting a blood pressure.

We're trying to warm her up.

Oh, my gosh, you're suffering from an
overdose of cute?

She's too much.

Do you want me to turn her over?

Yes. In the theatre next door, Fikiri's
mum needs to be intubated for dental

work. And we're going to slide her this
way. Ready? One, two, three.

OK, stop there.

Watch her don't sit up. Can I have this
light turned over?

Yes.

Yes? I don't know.

She's vomited.

If Frances can't clear the vomit
quickly, it could damage Fraulein's

Can you ask Larry to come in and give us
a hand?

Get Larry to come in and help.

Larry, can you come in?

Jim, Jim.

Station, buddy.

That's the boy.

1 ,200 -kilogram giraffe Jimmy Yu is
about to get a pedicure. Good boy.

Gabe and Emma, you may come into
position.

It's a routine procedure with an unusual
degree of risk.

We have to be very mindful of our own
safety.

It can only take one little mishap, and
I mean a mishap would be looking the

wrong direction, and Jimmy who goes to
kick, the power behind that leg, that

keeper who is working around his feet is
at serious risk.

When I'm happy with the way his foot is
in position, I'll start the actual

training. The gym.

Right?

Good boy.

Today's exercise will be a combination
of training and treatment. Very nice.

Emma will do T and R.

Touch.

Roll.

Good boy.

Very good.

Is he relaxed into that M? Yeah, he's
pretty good. No worries. So, Gabe, you

ready? Yep. Brush.

Good. It might look like Jimmy Yu has
learnt one long and very complex

behaviour, but it's actually a list of
single linked commands.

That's a boy.

One increment M. Touch.

Roll. Good boy.

Very good. The foot up is one behaviour.
The roll is another behaviour.

The rasping is another behaviour.

We'll make these short increments, Gabe.

Ras.

And over time, we've been able to put
all those behaviours together and get

smooth behaviour.

He can come in, present his hoof, roll
his hoof and allow us to trim.

But that's taken many, many, many steps
to be able to get to the actual point.

Release.

Knife.

There's a few little stones in here
today.

No worries. It's not too bad.

It's looking good.

Good. All the work that we do with the
trimming, with the moisturizing and

everything is preventative care.

Spray. Just to prevent any wrongdoings
happening with their hooves. Good.

You can go one more if you want. No,
that's good. Beautiful.

So we want to make sure they're nicely
shaped. They're not over -crossing.

They're not overgrown.

Same as you would with your fingernails.
We have to take that sort of care with

these guys' hooves. Nice work.

Release.

Good boy.

Perfect session.

How did it look? Good.

So with Jimmy, we took off at probably
about half an inch. See, Jim?

But in a giraffe foot, that's a fair bit
of hoop. So he's done really, really

well today. Back.

Good boy.

We couldn't be happier with the way he
worked.

Keep going. Back.

One more. Back. Great outcome for
giraffe in general and great outcome for

Jimmy. Good boy.

It's a tremendous result.

that will help make the next few hundred
hoof treatments this year just that

little bit easier on both giraffe and
keeper.

The oldest female of the

western lowland gorilla group, Frala,
and her daughter, Fikiri, are about to

have important health checks.

Prahla has been given a general
anaesthetic for a dental procedure.

But there's a problem.

She's come down here to the hospital and
regurgitated as she was on the table.

So we don't want her vomiting. Get her
head down.

Just don't let it fall off.

Can you ask Larry to come in?

Give us a hand. We need to manage that
and manage it very quickly so she's not

at risk of any damage from that.

She's vomiting, Larry. Francis wants a
bit of a hand. Okay.

Just when I was trying to intubate her.

Okay. I'm just really worried that some
of it's gone down her trachea. Can we

have some suction?

A little suction?

It's not too bad.

Thanks to the vet team's swift
intervention, Frawless Airways are

Is she breathing okay now? Yeah.

That's all right.

So Larry, if you can help me get her
stuff done.

Absolutely. I've asked Larry to give me
a hand purely because we want to make

sure we get through all the procedures
that we have to do so that we can

the whole anaesthetic time for her.

She's a big animal and we want to make
sure that we can get her woken up in a

timely fashion.

Do you want to give her a big breath
first?

First on the agenda is a chest X -ray.

The X -ray is part of her clinical exam.
We want to assess her heart shape and

what her lungs are doing from a health
perspective.

So Frala's 42.

That's reasonably old for a gorilla.

She's had multiple babies during her
life and we're also examining part of

reproductive tract. Can I get the warm
blanket on her? Okay.

And then I'd really like to get this
dental X -ray done.

With Frala, we can see from photos the
keepers have taken that she has a broken

tooth.

She's got a little bit of pus here.

Can you see that? Yeah, it's fractured
all the way.

Teeth problems can cause quite
significant pain, and we don't want her

any pain. So we're going to assess the
tooth that we can see is broken and make

a plan for that tooth.

Yeah. Definitely needs to come out.

It's hardly any root there.

Yeah.

That front bit.

Let's try and dig it out quickly.

Gorillas have really big heads and their
mouths are huge and their teeth are way

bigger than ours.

But taking teeth out is not always an
easy task.

Larry, if I do her dental, do you want
to ultrasound her uterus? Sure.

Just so we get through things.

Next door, there's a very different list
of procedures for young Fikiri.

Her depth, please.

So this is our chance to give her a good
physical exam, put a microchip in her,

vaccinate her, get some blood and X -ray
her.

Very cute.

She's adorable.

OK, we're going to get a blood pressure
once everybody stops touching her. So

it's going to get a blood pressure on
her.

But under an anaesthetic...

Ready? Yep.

Even the simplest of procedures have
challenges.

I can tell we're pumping up now.

No, that's not good.

Let's put the other one on her and just
see what we get because it's just not

reading. Okay.

Have we got any more of those sized
cuffs? Blood pressure is one of the most

important things you can measure in an
anaesthetic.

Because if her blood pressure is really
low, then it runs the issue of

potentially damaging her kidneys or
other things like that.

I'm just doing another blood pressure.

Ready? Yep.

See what happens.

Gab, the blood pressure's still reading
low.

That's not right.

Let's get this blood pressure sorted.

Louder that way.

New free flight bird team member Bridget
is honing her skills with a tracking

device.

This is one of the most important tools
we have to make sure we get our birds

back safely because often when we're
looking at these recoveries a quick

decision is better than a delayed one.

Bridget needs to show she can track a
wayward bird or in this training drill a

moving keeper it's a very loud signal
change to my medium setting

see if it's closer and it goes higher

so

i know that he might be maybe up that
hill because i can hear a louder beep

And not much that way.

If she's doing the right thing, she
should be on top of me soon,

for the amount of time I gave her. So if
she keeps following the tracking gear

rather than what she knows, then she'll
find me sure enough pretty soon, I'd

reckon.

And fortunately, Matt's right.

There you are.

Well done, Bridge.

How did it go?

Yeah, good. That was fun.

Yeah, good exercise.

Yeah. Obviously, I move more than the
tree, but nowhere near as much as the

birds. But if it does happen, you'll be
more equipped now.

Just a lot of fun moving around the zoo
and trying to find where he was.

So with that... Bridget's training is
now complete, but her next step will be

the hardest.

Hello, everybody.

Gab, the blood pressure's still reading
low.

At the Taronga Wildlife Hospital,
Fikiri's low blood pressure is causing

concern.

So we're giving her an extra lot of
fluids.

And we're turning down her gas that we
anaesthetise her with.

Because all those things, the gas can
lower her blood pressure.

And then what we're going to do is we're
going to turn her on her back and move

her around to get an X -ray.

But decreasing the anaesthetic gas
hasn't helped.

So her jaw tone, very loose.

She's got no reflex.

She's too deep.

You don't want to do a partial reversal?

A bag of Panadol? Yeah, I might need
two.

So I have to try to reverse some to see
if it improves.

Okay, I'm giving her at IM.

Yep.

How much was that?

0 .2 of a mil.

Okay. Okay, and with her arm? Yep.

Extra. Inside.

Hey, puppy.

While Fakiri remains in a very deep
sleep...

Pulling teeth is having the opposite
effect on Frala. Her heart rate's really

climbing with me digging around.

Taking teeth out of gorillas is
basically the same procedure that a

might use on a person, but a much
bigger, firmly seated tooth.

So I've loosened this tooth and then
wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.

It takes a little bit of, you know, I
guess, muscle work to get the tooth

enough to be able to take it out.

I think because part of the root had
started to wear away, it came out quite

well. I'm very happy with it.

I think she'll be much more comfortable
without that tooth.

With a quick test for joint mobility,

Frala is almost good to go.

I'm actually really pleased with her. I
think she looks great.

Gabby? Yes. We would like to take her
back first. Okay, sure.

We're done.

Okay. Oh, you got your tooth out?

Yeah.

Way you!

Woo!

Legend! Gabby and I have been planning
this procedure, you know, for quite some

time, and it's a procedure that was
certainly with a lot of inherent

and so we were both highly engaged in
making sure it went well.

The physical exam on young Fakiri is
also going well.

It's been great to actually be able to
do a full health check on her. So, yeah,

it's wonderful and all the keepers are
outside, of course, really liking our

position here of being able to hold her
hand.

Clearly related to her.

Shakira is adorable.

I mean, everyone was desperate to get
this procedure done just so we could get

up close and, you know, see how cute she
is. We know that she's adorable and her

personality is everything.

Doing a blood pressure? Yep.

So we're just confirming her blood
pressure because I don't want it to be

Ready? Yep.

Blood pressure? Yes, it's done.

It's done. Oh, that's improved?

Yes. Hey, who?

Hello, mate.

The best you've got.

I suggested the partial vessel.

Can't just say that.

I suggested that.

And the vet agrees.

Liz saved the day again.

Are we all ready to go?

With Mum Friar's medical finished,
Frances wants to get both gorillas home

quickly as possible.

We don't want her to wake up at this
moment.

Hobble? Yes, please.

We want to get them back up to the
gorilla house and try and wake them up

similar times.

Swing around.

And that means there's now a real
pressure to get Fakiri back before her

wakes up to find her missing.

Yeah.

As soon as I've got the blood, we'll
vaccinate.

And then we're done.

OK, here's the blood.

Vaccine.

Oh, are you going to have a sore arm, my
darling? No, you're too sore arm.

OK.

I'm going to carry her. She's going to
sit on my lap.

This is the fastest way to transport for
Curie while she's still under the

effects of the anaesthetic.

Finally.

After months of planning and three hours
under anaesthesia, both gorillas are

home.

Next. I feel like I've blanked already.
I've said my name. Will Bridget's career

change really take off?

I'm just worried about blanking on my
lines.

Go for it, Bridget.

Good start.

Erin's here as... your moral support to
figuratively hold your hand.

After just three weeks of training with
the bird team... Whoops, got my finger

in that one.

Bridget is about to take centre stage.

A place to nest and thrive.

Hey, Bridget.

So what we're going to do is we're going
to get our mics on. So if you want to

come around and grab mic two.

I'm not expected to know everything from
the beginning. The team have been so

good at helping me.

have confidence in myself and feeling
comfortable to be out there presenting

the public.

But even with that newfound
confidence... And I'm Bridget.

..Bridget's nerves are starting to show.

I feel like I've blanked already. I've
said my name.

It doesn't matter where you're from or
where you live, every day there's an

opportunity to connect with and see
remarkable birds, which are really all

around us.

I have done some Keeper Talks out in
Dubbo, but never so much in a theatre

a lot of people surrounded looking
directly at you.

But there's no time left for practice.

When you see me coming out, mic on, meet
me in the middle. Yes. And we'll go

from there.

Yep, going to be good.

See you out there, Bridget. See you out
there.

You'll do great.

Good luck, Bridget.

Thank you. Bye.

This is a big day for Bridget.

because we're a team and we rely on one
another.

You nervous?

Very. No, well, a little bit. I'm just
worried about blanking on my lines.

Just try to remember my lines and get
them across confidently.

But, yeah, I'm mostly excited.

Everything that we do down at Free
Flight Birds is hopefully sharing these

amazing birds with people and getting
them to feel something.

And the best way that we can get someone
to feel something is by sharing our

passion with them.

So a new presenter coming through and
getting to experience that for the first

time, from my experience, best thing in
the world.

This is where it all starts.

Georgia, I'm in position.

And that means it's time.

Hello, everybody.

And

with

the occasional minor stumble.

Go for it, Bridget.

All right. Good start.

And it doesn't matter where you're from
or where you live. And surprise take

off. We are making changes. There we go,
Gary, to our landscape.

Bridget's first attempt is a huge
success.

And it really is with your support that
we see a bright future where the skies

and your backyards are filled with
birds. And it all starts by looking up.

I'm happy with how it all went and feel
confident for my next one.

I hope to get better and better.

Two weeks after Frala and her daughter
were reunited, primate keeper Tim is

checking on their progress.

Frala and Fikiri essentially were
separated for the first time during this

procedure, ever, ever.

They actually really surprised us. They
settled straight back in like nothing

had happened. It was actually the other
gorillas that really surprised us quite

a lot.

The other gorillas were here, missing
two members of their family for half the

day.

It was probably Kabali that was the most
nervous while they were gone.

That's exactly what we would expect in
this situation as a silverback. It's his

job to look after his family.

So when one of his wives and one of his
daughters goes missing for a little

while, he's obviously a little bit on
edge and wants to make sure that they're

okay.

When Father Fakiri actually returned
from the hospital, it was probably

that was the most excited to see them
back.

Definitely settled him down a lot.

The vets have been able to go through
all of their results, and we know that

they're both in pretty tip -top shape
right now, so we're very, very happy.

We were super thrilled to be able to
find out that Fraulein is doing so well

going into her older age.

She's a really, really important member
of this group as well. So knowing that

she is in that really good health means
that we can continue planning for the

group forward into the future.

Little Fakiri, it was her first big
procedure. You can see she's in tip -top

shape as well. She came back out. She
was wrestling her big brother the same

that she woke back up. So it's really,
really cool to see that nice big

shining through in her as well.

We are very happy to see the tail end of
all of this.

Massive relief.

Yeah, it's awesome to kind of just see
them back out here, being gorillas,

what they do best. And yeah, couldn't be
happier with how it went.