All language subtitles for Taronga s05e05 Platypus Emergency.eng

NARRATOR: You don't get named
one of the best zoos in the world

by accident.

And a view as magical as this
one is only gets you so far.

MAN: Good boy.

No. This last year, Team Taronga
have been busier than ever.

Boom!
Woo!

With their two zoos
now bigger than ever.

Come on, handsome man.
Let's go.

So this season,
we're taking you closer than ever.

(ELEPHANTS TRUMPET)

And as their colourful residents
get ready to make some noise.

(TIGER ROARS)

Oh my goodness.

Let us show you
exactly who's who in this zoo.

It's just always be watching
who's who, who's where.

(SEAL BARKS)

On this episode...

(TORTOISE GROANS)

Just heard some noises
we like hearing.

If the walls are rocking...

Bit of naughty noises.

..you'd better be knocking.

She
had a mating 11 days ago.

As Taronga prepares
to welcome new life.

He started barking,
she's been rolling.

So the signs are looking
really good.

They're also locked in a battle...

He
desperately needs food.

..to save it.

Every hour counts
at the moment.

And could this be...
Hi chimps.

..the happiest place?

Oh, Diego.
Hey, buddy.

..on Earth?

Hello, elephants.

(ELEPHANT TRUMPET)

Some of the world's
most vulnerable species

called Taronga home.

Come on, let's go.

And Taronga's two zoos in Sydney
and on the western plains in Dubbo

have just one goal to save them.

The importance of our back of house
work and conservation programs

are a huge part of Taronga's core
and goals at the end of the day.

We're here to help species
and give them a fighting chance.

And a surefire way to help give
them that fighting chance.

Babies.

There you go.

So today, unit Supervisor
Jake is doing the rounds

at Taronga Western Plains Zoo

to see if everyone's, well,
doing their job.

So on our run arounds today
and we're going down to see

one of our more quirky animals,
they're pretty special.

Very charismatic.

You'll find them naturally
on the Galapagos Islands.

The only place in
the world you'll see them.

First up for Jake is an animal
that might be a bit slow in speed,

but is strangely
never far from the action.

We've just heard 00:02:47,119
Um,
a bit of naughty noises.

So as breeding
behaviours is going on,

so we're just going to have
a little stickybeak

and
see how they're getting on.

(SEDUCTIVE MUSIC)

So I just got
the Galapagos tortoise

doing what nature
intends them to do. Uhm...

(TORTOISE GROANS)

So this behaviour happens
pretty frequently

over
the warmer months.

Uhm, to the point of sometimes
we need to give the girls a break,

so we'll
give them separate yards.

Let the boys have a rest.
Let the girls have a rest.

But
this season's been good.

We haven't had to give them
too much time apart.

And we've just let them
do what they need to do.

Living proof that slow
and steady really does

win the race.

They're actually only
young in their mid 50s.

They're not sexually mature
until late 30s into their 40s.

And that's when all
the action starts.

So they're pretty
new at the game.

Not bad for a couple of rookies.

This
behaviour is great

because our program's been going
since the early 80s.

We've
had three offspring now.

Going forward, I hope
to see many more.

They've been good sports,
so that's what we like to see.

(TORTOISE GROANS)

And this is where
all that hard work pays off.

Hey, Caitlin.
Hey, Jake.

I've just come down
to see what we can do

weighing
these little guys.

Oh, perfect. I've
just got the little scales out.

Let's start weighing.
OK.

Meet Pena.

Pena has just turned
ten in January.

Our smallest one last month
when we did our weigh in.

So we're
just going to put Pena

on this little container
I've prepared.

All right, Jake.

By regularly tracking their weight,

they can also track their health.

3.
458 kilos for Pena.

Put
on 100g, which is good.

That's good.
Righto.

Should
we go get Turbo?

Yeah. Let's go.

Galapagos tortoise are pretty
unique for such a huge animal.

They're
born at only about 80g.

And then it will take
anywhere from 25-30 years

to reach adult size.

So when the females reach
their full size,

they're
around 150 kilos.

The boys, though,
they're double that.

They're anywhere from 280 to 300
kilos in size, once fully grown.

So
I've got Turbo here.

Pena's sibling.

What did we have last
time? 4.168.

So turbo usually is that 500g
heavier than Pena.

All right. 00:05:32,959
..keeps that going.

All right.
You're good and ready?

Yep. All is good.

4.298 for turbo.

So 100g
since last time roughly.

Which again is great.
That's what we're looking for.

All right. 00:05:50,519
But, I can hear something
in the background,

so we might go see
what's going on there.

Too easy.
I'll put him away.

I think we all know
what's going on there.

For the keepers at Taronga,

providing animals
with a variety of experiences

is always front of mind.

And if the animals
can also do their part

to help achieve this, even better.

Chook chook chook chook chooks.
Come on.

How many?

I'll take the lot.
Thank you.

Beautiful. Thanks, guys.
(GIGGLES)

Appreciate it.
That's all good.

No worries. See you later.
Bye.

For keeper Brook,
nothing warms her heart more...

Hi, chimps.

..than a basket
full of enriching goodies.

Hello, elephants.

(ELEPHANT TRUMPET)

Oh, Diego.
Hey, buddy.

Today, Brooke is preparing
a special treat

for a special species.

Bilbies are opportunistic feeders,
so they're going to have a go

at anything they come across in
their natural habitat.

So they might eat some small
amphibians, small mammals,

as well as reptile and bird
eggs and insects as well.

So providing them some eggs
gives them the opportunity

to have a little bit of
variety in their diet

and
in their environment.

Mhm. Peanut butter and egg
with a side of bugs.

Delightful.

The main threat for Bilbies
is actually,

believe it or not,
rabbits.

So rabbits are an introduced
species here in Australia.

And they actually eat a lot
of the grasses that bilbies

rely on to find their
insects and their food.

Bilbies
are super inquisitive.

They're always busy foraging
for ants and digging.

They have really complex
burrowing structures as well.

They actually burrow in
a spiral fashion as well.

So really intelligent,
really busy.

But you don't have to be
a rocket scientist

to notice something pretty
exciting has just arrived.

So we can definitely see them
using their noses,

which is one of their main sensors,
to sniff around and find out

where the treats are
and to investigate those eggs.

I definitely think it's
the first time the Bilbies

have come across an ostrich egg
and by the looks of things,

big thumbs up or paws up,
they're approving it for sure.

Oh,
they're really cute.

So here in Australia, bilbies
are extremely important to us,

and especially
here at Taronga Zoo.

They are one of our legacy
species here at Taronga Zoo,

which means that we are actively
making an effort to understand

them in the wild and contribute
to their conservation

and spread
that education message.

Unfortunately, this species
is doing it pretty tough

out
there in the wild.

Bilbies are locally
extinct in New South Wales

and classified as vulnerable
in the rest of Australia.

The enrichment went amazing
so it was super exciting

to see they were very
engaged, very interested.

Um, so I'll have to report
back to the ostriches

and the chickens to let them
know that they did a great job

at
enriching our bilbies.

Every year,
Taronga's wildlife hospitals

care for over 1500 animals.

Hi, I'm Liz,
I'm from Act wildlife.

We rang up about a baby
platypus for you.

Thank you so much.

Many are brought in
from far and wide

by concerned members of the public.

This little guy was found
in a park down at Yarralumla.

It's
a children's playground,

so it has all these water
features in it.

Don't
come out, buddy.

It has inlets actually coming
in off Lake Burley Griffin.

So this little guy, they think,
has come in off one of those inlets

and then contained itself
in a little area

that
it can't get out of.

That
active little thing.

All right. Let's... do you
want to pop him in?

I'm
just going to have a listen.

Quite pale.
Yeah.

This platypus may be little,
but he's full of energy.

Bit of a wriggler.

Despite him seeming
quite feisty.

I suspect 00:10:16,719
to try
and pretend he's normal.

He certainly is
an immature animal.

Not about to spur me.
That spur...

See, the sheath is down
just a little bit.

Yep.

A female has tiny little
nubbins rather than spurs,

whereas the males have
the more well-developed spurs.

And when they're really
young, they have this sheath

covering
over the spur.

He's
a very young male platypus.

He's probably on that
six month mark.

Deary me. 00:10:48,160
The fact that Francis
can fold the platypus tail so easily

suggests that he is
incredibly malnourished.

The question is why?

See all those little
ticks around there?

There's
loads of them.

He's got an awful lot
of ticks on him.

Those ticks do feed on blood
from the platypus,

and you know, that's going to be
draining on him as well.

There's a special platypus tick,
and we see them very commonly

and around that area,
around the hind legs

where the spurs are.

It's also got them
on the end of his tail.

He's not grooming himself
so well because he's debilitated.

A healthy platypus
would be able to remove

most of these ticks on its own.

You have to check
up on here too.

Under his forearm.

Save some of these.

Just the big ones.

Pretty horrible.

So this is a really emaciated
little platypus.

He's
incredibly thin.

We need to give him
a light anaesthetic

so he
can't feel what's going on.

We're going to take
some whole body x-rays.

We're
going to collect some blood.

It looks like he's keeping
that left eye closed.

Mhm.

It might
be a little tick in there.

Oh, in the eye?
Yeah.

Wow. It's the most emaciated
little creature.

Hopefully we can provide him
with the best chance.

Coming up.

It is very tiny.

A critical time...

He's gonna be taking
it day by day.

..at the wildlife hospital.

He's
really emaciated.

And no need to adjust your sets.

They're not known
for their speed.

Yes.
Franklin is actually moving.

You gotta have
a lot of patience.

As Taronga's Galapagos tortoises
have already shown us,

albeit in their own time,

in the animal kingdom,
love makes the world go round.

From the feline

to the feathered,

at Taronga Western Plains Zoo
in Dubbo,

everyone is keen to find out

if one very fast cat
is doing her part.

Hello, Liberty.

I've
got something for you.

Hey, you definitely
know this bucket.

Cheetah are classified
as vulnerable

to
extinction in the wild.

The
last time they did a census,

they only found about 7000 of them,
which is a really low number.

So we really need
a self-sustaining

population in zoos.

We
need to crack the code.

How
do we better breed cheetah

to make sure 00:13:25,479
almost like a Noah's Ark,
I suppose, of a population.

And today, Taronga's code
cracker is senior vet Alisa.

Today, we're here to take some
blood from a five year old

female
cheetah named Liberty.

She
had a mating 11 days ago,

and we want to see
if she's ovulated.

So far, Liberty has been a bit
unfortunate starting a family so

vet Alisa and keeper Jordy
are keeping a close watch on her

during mating season.

Liberty has had a couple
of pseudo pregnancies.

She's
also had a miscarriage,

but we do have all our
fingers and toes crossed

that
this year will be her year.

Is she hungry?

She's hungry.

She's impatient
and she's hungry.

Unlike other big cats,

cheetahs don't have
regular oestrus cycles.

Cheetah are induced ovulators,
so often the act of mating

will
stimulate ovulation.

If liberty has ovulated
since her last mating,

she might fall pregnant.

You all ready, Alisa?
Yep.

OK. Needle's
ready to go .

Clip is ready.
Alcohol swabs ready.

I'll
just come behind you.

I'll open the gate, and then
I'll come round with her food.

Mhm.
All right.

OK, sweet girl.

All right.
Are you ready, miss?

OK, Berty. Steady.

Good girl.

Although Liberty has been
trained with food and a clicker

to sit for veterinary tests,
she has the option to back out

at any time.

OK, are you good
if I touch a tail?

Yes.
You are all good.

She is happy.

We would love for Liberty
to be confirmed pregnant.

She is a very genetically
valuable animal.

She recently came to
Dubbo from South Africa.

So she brings in a whole
new genetic bloodline.

And with all 00:15:12,439
that she's had so far,
she really deserves a break.

I'm just going to do
a bit of clipping.

Alisa must first shave Liberty

to find a suitable vein
to draw blood from.

But there's a slight problem.

Uh
oh, my clippers are dying.

That's
a very sad clipper sound.

With a hold up like this,
Liberty could become agitated

and back out of the test.

OK. Hold fire.

While Alisa grabs
another set of clippers,

keeper Jordy works hard to
keep Liberty calm and focused.

Just feed you slowly
for a minute.

They sound better.

Are
you going alright for meat?

I'll
slow down a little bit.

But with the food and Liberty's
patience running low,

Alisa must now work quickly.

All right. 00:16:07,420
No worries.

It is very tiny.

At Taronga's Wildlife Hospital,
the vet team

are trying to save
a critically ill platypus

found stranded
in a children's playground.

So this is quite
a juvenile animal.

It's a male.

He's got an awful lot
of ticks on him,

so it's going to be taking
it stage by stage

because
he's very thin animal.

Still
wriggling a bit.

Ready?

With the baby
platypus now sleeping.

This is the eye that
he was holding close.

It's so tiny.

Francis can commence a more
thorough examination.

I am concerned about that eye
and we'll have to watch it.

I might put a little bit
of fluorescein in there.

Yep.

He's tending to hold that
eye shut when he's awake.

I've put a little bit of
a special stain in there,

which can help to tell me
whether the surface of

the
eyeball is abraded or not.

I don't think it is, but it's so
tiny, it's really hard to see.

Ruth
can take some blood.

It's very watery.

Heart rate's 180.

All right, I'm
going to come out.

I would have liked to have
got more than that, but what

we'll
see is quite anaemic.

An anaemic animal struggles
to carry vital oxygen to

its organs and body tissue.

Respiration 24.

I'm
going to take some x-rays.

It's
like hugging the...

It's pretty cute.

It is really cute.

He's a little dinky.

OK, let's try that.

Everyone out.

Gosh,
there's not much of him.

He's
really emaciated.

So it's going to be
taking it day by day.

Love is in the air

and back at the Galapagos...

Uhm...love shack
at Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

Two not too tiny tortoises,
Albert and Audrey,

are still in the middle of trying
to save their species.

So this behaviour we'll
see pretty frequently.

Uhm,
almost on a daily basis.

They just feel the need 00:18:41,839
as they need to.

While these two continue to get
busy in this corner of the zoo,

Jake also needs to get busy
with some weightier matters.

So I've got Franklin,
our big boy, and Molly,

one of our females.

Um, they're
both in their mid 50s,

so they're still young at heart
and body for a Galapagos tortoise.

So, going to need to call in
some extra reinforcement

for
weighing these guys.

Uh, you're going to
need a bigger scale.

Well, thanks for coming
down helping Jordy.

Oh no worries.

Got the extender to
make them fit on it.

This set of scales is
a platform that we've got to

weigh
our tortoise adults with.

Um, gives us more area to
work with and to get them up.

They are a big animal, so
we want to be able to

make sure we can give these guys
the easiest chance to get on.

So we're getting
Molly's weight now.

Um,
so she's a bit smaller.

So she's being very cooperative
at the moment, which is good.

Game of patience
with these guys.

One
more foot on in a minute.

There you go.
She's all on now.

So Molly's weighing
in at 149.5 kilos.

So that's good.

That's what we want.

So I'm going to help 00:20:16,879
and then once he 00:20:22,710
Caitlin's in position,
ready to take the weight.

So working with these guys, you
got to have a lot of patience.

They're not known
for their speed.

It's a bit of a process and we just
let them take their time.

So he's going to go a
bit adventurous

through his water trough,
but we'll get him there.

All right.

Uh, maybe we'll come
back a bit later.

I thought we'd just
leave him there

to let
him get out on his own.

Three days ago,
this adventurous

but badly malnourished
baby platypus

was delivered to the carers at

the Taronga Wildlife Hospital.

It's so skinny.

This morning, vet Francis

is hoping he'll be feeling well
enough for a good early feed.

For such
a small platypus like this,

we need him to eat, 00:21:23,199
and we've put a whole load
of food in there.

So these big bloodworms
that they like to eat.

So we're trying to be 00:21:31,799
possible environment that,
you know, makes you feel

comfortable to eat.

Don't lean on the rubber duckie.
(GIGGLES)

It's not a pillow.

The platypus is so young,

he may not have a lot of
experience eating solid food.

Come on, buddy.

But luckily, Taronga's own
platypus whisperer Rob

is here to lend a hand.

Can you show me how
you're doing the...

You're squeezing of the...
You're just squeezing the tails?

Aw,
that's too mushy.

He's had mealworms.

He
just keeps grooming.

Rob has years of experience
nursing platypuses

back from the brink.

Certainly a good reaction,
at least.

He knows the signs to look for.

He's
just done a big fart.

Oh that's wonderful.

You just had a tummy
full of gas.

So you're
going back to sleep?

Maybe if he's not going
to have a lot now,

he
might eat better at nine.

Yeah, he tends to eat better
at those late scenes. Doesn't he?

We
better go down then.

OK.
I'll see you soon.

So with just a small meal in
his belly, the little platypus

can leave the feeding bath...

I'll
get a nice warm towel.

..and rest up for his next feed.

Three hours later, Francis
arrives for the platypus

mid-morning check-up.

So he's been in here
since after his 6:00?

Since about 7:00 or
10 to 7 this morning.

OK.

Libby, a wildlife rehabilitation
expert has joined the care team,

bringing decades
of experience with her.

We've treated a lot of young
platypus over the years.

Every single time we
learn and we get better.

We're really hoping that we can
get this little guy through.

Have
you noticed that before?

I mean, that looks quite
different to me.

He's so wet.

And
he's very dehydrated.

It's clear to the team
his condition

is now quickly deteriorating.

His respiratory rate in
character is different

to
how it was last week.

So we'd
get some warmed fluids.

Yeah.

I don't want to put
him in the water.

So it's critical that he
doesn't get any colder.

We could even turn
that up to 27.

Emergency fluids are
vital right now.

But Francis has more concerns
for this tiny Monotreme.

He's got high burden of
coccidia, which of course

could be contributing
to his ill thrift.

I'm just going to
stabilise him first.

Now, I think this animal is
in really critical condition.

So back at Davos
Galapagos habitat.

How's Franklin going
with his weigh in?

We've
almost got him here.

So now it's all about getting
him at the right angle.

Right.

Clearly some more
work to do here.

We might come back when
you're ready, Franklin.

No rush.

Meanwhile, over on
the other side of the zoo.

All right. 00:24:59,300
No worries.

You're OK, Berty.

She
doesn't like that.

Vet Alisa is trying to take blood
from Liberty,

a five-year-old cheetah,

so she can work out if she's
ovulated.

Liberty's had a few difficulties
with pregnancy,

so this is quite an important
day today

to
find out whether this,

we're on the right track, and
we're hoping to have some results

back tomorrow to find
out whether she has ovulated.

But it's been difficult finding
a suitable vein to draw blood.

Now Liberty is losing
focus and patience.

She is
getting a bit full as well.

Is she? OK, I'll give it one stab
in the dark where I think it is.

OK. No worries.

It's just not standing
up really nicely for me.

The veins on each side
can be a little bit different

and depending on the warmth
of the day, sometimes they stand up

a little
bit better than others.

OK, needle.

Go for it.

Oh, Berty.
Berty.

No,
she's not going to do it.

As Liberty calls time,
the team respect her wishes.

They won't get any
answers today.

Are you going 00:26:01,159
Back out.

You're nearly there.
Back out.

One more step.

It's
a big step, isn't it?

There you go.
Good girl.

Good girl.

You know, she's quite
reactive to the needle today.

Don't want to play.

Try again, Berty.

Hey,
try again another day.

It's
all on her terms.

She doesn't want to, 00:26:26,310
First thing
the following morning,

Alisa and Jordy
are back in action.

OK,
are you guys happy?

Are you guys happy?
All right.

OK, Berty.

But this time they've
brought some backup.

OK. Steady.

While another keeper
distracts Liberty with food,

Jordy moves around to help Alisa.

I
might just clip first.

Yep. No worries.

Good to clip?
Yep. Clippers.

OK.
Now a little wet.

Yep. All right.

Alcohol swab.

That's good.

This time,
Alisa is trying the other side

of Liberty's tail.

Hoping the vein will
be easier to find.

See if we can bring
a tail around.

We
might need to go...

Think her tail is just that
little bit too long.

Oh, there we go.

Well done. Lovely.

Good girl, Bert.

Now, do you want to see
if you can hold up?

Yeah.

Good girl, Berty.

It's not, it's not the greatest
angle, is it?

No.
It's hard, isn't it?

If Alisa can manage
to draw blood,

the team will be one step closer
to finding out whether Liberty

is going to fall pregnant.

All right. Going for the.
.. ..needle.

Going for the poke.
Good girl, Bert.

Good girl.

Good girl, Berty.

OK, blood's coming.

Good girl, Berty.

Could I get you to hold off
a bit for me, Jordy?

No problemo.

OK. Ready?
Yep.

And needles out.

Well done.

Good girl.

That was excellent.

It was excellent.
Well done.

Good girl, Berty!

Back out.
That's it.

That's it. Back out.
Good job.

With today's blood test
now in the bag,

the team have a nervous few days
ahead waiting for the results.

And back at the Galapagos
weigh in.

That corner is just 00:28:30,160
Franklin the tortoise is so close.

One more foot.

OK. He is.

This foot could come
forward a little more, but...

Yeah.
There's perfect.

Well, that's a relief.

Righto,
hold him there, Caitlin.

So Franklin's tipping
the scales at 258kg.

So here's where we
like to have him at.

Good size.
So, big boy.

We're happy with the tourists
that we got today.

They're all trending
as we like to see.

We'll leave the two
lovebirds alone now.

So we're a bit different to
probably your standard zoo

that might have just one species
they have to manage.

Here, we have to be across
all those different species

because it really does
broaden our experience,

our
skill set and knowledge.

Yeah, it really mixes up the day
and gives us a good variety.

Next stop on Jake's rounds is
three year old black rhino Sabi.

She's one of 30 black rhinos at
Taronga, and in a year or so,

she'll also be ready to breed.

Hey Sabi girl.

Hey, Sabi. So
we're coming down to Sabi now.

Black Rhino's currently
have a status of

critically
endangered.

Their numbers are around
5500 to 6000.

So
we are doing our part.

And
we've had 16 calves now.

Um, hopefully to
continue that success.

Jake and the team are training
Sabi for a...

..a rectal ultrasound,

which she'll need once she becomes
fertile.

With black rhino conditioning
in particular,

very nervous animal.

They're not wired up
to trust or forgive.

So we
put a lot of groundwork,

months to years of working
to a behaviour.

Sabi.

So another thing with our shoot
here, it's designed in such

a way that she has a choice
to leave if she wants.

We never force her
to do anything.

The ultrasound will determine if Sabi
is pregnant

after she starts mating.

During an ultrasound
conditioning session,

we'll have the main keeper up
the front feeding and then

the middle keeper will be doing
tactile on the belly,

and there will usually be a keeper
assisting the vet as well

for
their ultrasound machines.

So I'm just going to step in
behind, gauge her behaviour.

Good girl, Sabi.

Good girl.

So this is the position the vet
will be in during the session.

This position for her is
a very vulnerable position.

We have to be very calm,
patient and consistent

with
what we ask her.

So
she's doing it very well.

So I'm not going to ask
anything more of her.

I'm just going to
remove myself here.

She's going to get her
jackpot up the front

for
being such a good girl.

The team will do hundreds
of short sessions like this

over the years before
they try the real thing.

All right, guys. 00:31:48,760
And only then will they
learn if all their hard work,

theirs and Sabi's...

Finished.
Good girl.

..has paid off.

Coming up.

He's tired. 00:32:03,480
Team Taronga, answer the call.

We'll be checking this
animal constantly now.

And finally Dare to dream.

Really
improved in two hours.

At Taronga's Wildlife
Hospital in Sydney.

A critically ill baby platypus
is now receiving intensive care.

Its skin and bones.

Its condition has
dramatically worsened

over the last couple of hours.

Really sad to see a little
plat in this situation.

Dehydrated and not dry,
which is a really important

thing
for an aquatic animal.

Once the animal isn't dry,
that means it can't go

into the water for feeding,
so it creates a knock on effect.

If the platypus can't
repel water from its coat

and stay dry, then it won't
be able to stay warm.

It's given 20ml.

Yeah.

At the moment, 00:33:03,079
warmth and fluids.

And just try and get
him through every hour.

In any other animal,

we might consider giving this
intravenously, but in a platypus

their
access is difficult.

Every hour counts.

At the moment, we're just
monitoring temperature.

Let's give him a few minutes
back in the hot box.

We'll be checking this
animal constantly now.

Especially today.

We need to monitor him
very, very closely.

We're going to let him absorb
some of those fluids

for
the next 10 or 15 minutes.

We can then try and feed
him if he's awake.

He desperately needs food,
but he also desperately

needs to be in a reasonable
position to be able to eat.

Otherwise, he's just in the
water, not eating.

Yeah.

And and, you know, that
doesn't sort of really help.

All right.
Thanks, Francis.

Wake up.

It's now a little after
midday, and the whole team

have gathered again to
check on the tiny platypus.

He's a lot better than when
we checked him at 9:00.

He certainly responded to
the fluids and the heat

from this morning.

He's
had seven little worms.

He's chomping and he's putting
them in his cheek pouches,

which
is the most important thing.

Really
improved in two hours.

I
love it when they do that.

With the combined effort
of the Taronga team,

this platypus,
critically ill only hours ago,

finally seems
to have turned the corner.

He's tired, 00:34:55,800
And his relieved keepers
are already eyeing off

their next move.

OK, I'm going to
leave you to it.

So in three hours time,
we need to feed him again.

Hopefully
he'll sleep now.

Really
solidly, little man.

But
you never know, you know?

Ups and downs.

We'll see how we go.

Take
each feed as it comes.

Recently in Dubbo, the team
blood tested Liberty the Cheetah,

to see if she's any closer
to falling pregnant.

Liberty had a mating
about 12 days ago now,

so we took some blood from her
a couple of days ago,

which was just to analyse
her hormones

to
see if she had ovulated.

For cheetahs,
ovulation occurs after mating,

and if Liberty's tests are positive,
pregnancy could well be on the cards.

Unfortunately, Liberty
didn't ovulate,

which
was a shame, but that's OK.

We're
ready to go again.

We suspect that she's going
to be in oestrus today, so

we're going to go investigate
that and see if we can

pop
her in with Ines again.

And they can have hopefully
another introduction.

Ines.

Come on.

Good boy.

Berty. What's he
doing? Hey?

Oh,
she spotted him already.

I guess it's really good
that she kind of ran

straight
over to him.

As soon as the gates
open, she bolted straight

over
in his direction.

So
that's a good sign.

The potential partners won't
share a space straight away.

Jordy will want to see signs
of feline friskiness

before the last gate is opened.

They obviously wanting
to hang out together.

They're very interested in
one another and obviously

he's
started barking now,

which is always a good sign
from the male.

They're
obviously interested.

A
couple cute vocals.

So the signs are looking really
good with Liberty and Innes.

They're doing all
the textbook signs.

He's started barking.

She's been rolling.

So we're pretty confident
that we're in for a go today.

All right.
You guys are happy.

All right.

Here he comes.

Innes may be an energetic
partner,

but his technique probably won't
win him any awards.

It doesn't look like he's
in a great position,

but
hopefully he'll readjust.

So typically,
once he jumps off,

they'll sometimes have a little
slap at one another

and they'll have a little shuffle,
kind of tell him off.

Good girl, sweetie.

Good girl.

You're all right.
You tell him.

So now she's rolling,
which is great.

So immediately after
the mating,

Liberty started rolling,
which is always a good sign.

It typically means
that hopefully you had

a successful mating.

And as you can see,
he's hanging way back.

He's
a very respectful male.

He's very reliable when it comes
to introducing to the females.

He really reads their cues
and he's never been any trouble.

Who said chivalry was dead?

Liberty.

You might want to
keep this one around.

Happy days.

The next step for Liberty will be in
another ten days from today.

We will
take some blood again.

The vets can analyse
the hormones

and the progesterone to
see if she's ovulated

and hopefully fingers crossed
this time she is actually pregnant

because we do think 00:38:21,360
Ten days later and sadly,
the blood tests were negative again.

But no one's giving up.

So
Jordy will be on standby

to look
for any oestrone signs

and we will definitely be trying
again with another mating.

Despite the news, Liberty
and Innes continue to show

interest in one another
and the team remain

hopeful that they'll soon
become proud parents.

Coming up.

Platypus
take a team of people

all
working around the clock.

A perfect example...

Come on, buddy.

..of the Circle of Life.

This puggle represents
the next generation.

At the Taronga Wildlife
Hospital in Sydney.

A rescued six month old platypus

has been in the fight
of his short life.

Gosh,
there's not much of him.

It's very little.

Hopefully we can provide
him with the best chance.

Sick, emaciated
and covered in parasites...

It might be a little
tick in there.

..the vet staff have given
him constant medical care.

I think this animal is in
really critical condition.

While every few hours,
the keepers hand feed

this tiny, tenacious baby.

He's a lot better than when
we checked him at 9:00.

You
never know, you know?

Ups and downs.

We'll see how we go.

Take
each feed as it comes.

We're
down to the basics now.

And just try and get
him through every hour.

Sorry to say 00:39:58,079
Uhm, just found the little plat
dead in the hot box. So...

Yeah. 00:40:07,599
Especially with platypus,
because they take a team of people

all
working around the clock.

Come on, buddy.

Yeah. You think I'd be used to it
by now, but unfortunately, no.

It's
every animal is...

You get emotionally invested,
you, you know, look after them.

And it's just
heartbreaking, really.

But, you know, the next one
comes along, we'll try again.

We've
just got to keep trying.

The Taronga staff work tirelessly
to protect our native animals.

Respiration 24.

We're
going to take some x-rays.

But while not every sick
or injured platypus can be saved...

Quite pale.
Yeah.

..the zoo's conservation
team are also working hard

to ensure their numbers
in the wild are growing.

Last year, we reintroduced
platypus

back into the Royal National Park,
and this was the first time

platypus have been seen
there for over 50 years.

A year on from that
translocation, the Taronga team

and their partners have returned
to check on the population.

(LAUGHS)

And what they discover...

We got a platypus.

It is a puggle.

It is a first born animal
in the Royal National Park

from
this translocation.

(CHEERS)

For the first time in over 50
years, a platypus population

is breeding here again.

This puggle represents
the next generation

for that population.

For now, seeing it
viable and sustainable.

I'm really looking forward to
seeing where it goes

and there's lots of work
ahead for us.

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