All language subtitles for Taronga s06e04 Gorilla Warfare.eng

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

VIRGINIA GAY (NARRATES):
They say don't ever work

with babies or animals...

(MONKEYS COO)

..but what if they're baby animals?

Oh, no.

It was
only born this morning.

On this all new season...

(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)

..welcome back

to the ever changing world
of Taronga...

(UPLIFTS MUSIC)

..where you'll witness things
you never thought possible.

You can
actually hear her breathe.

And meet new faces...

Oh, hi, buddy.

..you'll never forget.

So good.

It's time to discover...

Oh, my god.

..exactly who's who in this zoo.

(TIGER ROARS)

On this episode...

He's really
trying to intimidate...

..silverback in waiting, MJ...

..staring her down.

..flexes his muscles...

(GORILLA THUMPS)

..but dad Kibali
is having none of it.

So,
Kibali's now come out.

He's
not happy at all.

As one favourite face returns...

Hello, big fella.

..it's time to say goodbye
to another.

I'm gonna miss him.

Oh.
Hey, we'll look after him.

(LAUGHS)
Thank you.

And the Australian Navy delivers...

Oh, wow.
..big time...

They're gonna love them.
(LAUGHS)

..for Taronga's biggest residents.

Oh, it's gonna pop.
It's like Christmas.

(THEME MUSIC)

(CALM MUSIC)

At the dawn of a new day in Sydney,

one of Taronga's largest families
is waking up.

(GORILLA THUMPS)

Hello.

These seven western lowland gorillas

are crucial to Taronga's
ongoing effort

to protect this critically
endangered species.

Just doing a scatter feed
at the moment for the gorillas,

just something to keep them foraging
through the morning.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

Western lowland gorillas
are found in forested areas

in
the Congo area in Africa.

They live in groups
referred to as troops,

a
singular adult male

living with multiple females
and their offspring.

A gorilla troop is a family,

peacefully living together

with every member falling
into a rank structure or hierarchy.

And at the very top
of that hierarchy sits Kibali.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Kibali, our silverback male,
23 years of age.

He's
got a lot of power.

He's
very, very strong.

He weighs just under 200kg
at the moment.

The
silverback's role

is the most important
in a gorilla troop.

They're the ones that lead
and protect that family,

always on the watch
in his environment,

making
sure that his family is safe.

Kibali's family consists
of three growing boys

and three adult females.

And Mbeli is the highest
ranking female in our group.

Frala is our eldest
adult female in the group.

She's 43 this year.

She's
more low ranking than Mbeli,

and Johari is our lowest
ranking female in the group.

Mbeli has produced
the most offspring, two boys,

and that combined
with her confidence,

puts her near the top
of the social group,

while Johari,
who currently has no offspring,

is destined to sit at the bottom.

And then there's the boys.
(GORILLAS GRUNT)

So, we have Mwamba
who's a six-year-old,

Fabumi
who's nine years of age,

and we have MJ
who is ten years of age.

So, we're really interested
in the ten-year-old.

He's just beating his chest
at the moment.

He's
a bit frustrated.

As the boys,
and in particular MJ grow older,

they're getting bolder.

And while they can beat
their chests all they like,

200kg Kibali is still the boss.

The
boys can be quite rowdy.

They're getting very boisterous
and challenging the family.

At the moment,

they're nowhere near
as strong as Kibali,

so, that's why they tend to
pick on the females a little bit

to see
how far they can push it.

When it comes to rank,

the boys aren't keeping
to the rules.

One of those boys 00:05:11,359
if
they don't back down.

And Kibali is very protective
of his three female companions...

(GORILLAS THUMP)

..which means drastic action
might be required.

We may have to move
our boys out soon.

This
could affect the troop.

It's gonna change
the dynamics a lot.

Trouble is brewing in paradise.

(TENSE MUSIC)

There are many occasions at Taronga

when an animal or animals
are transferred into...

There's a good girl.

..or out of the zoo.

It's
always a big operation.

They
are a dangerous animal,

so, we do a lot of preparation
around safety.

Hello.

When an animal leaves,
it's a difficult time for everyone.

It's bittersweet,
but it's just sad for us.

But that's always tempered
by those times

when an old resident returns.

Good boy.
Very good job.

Yes, Taronga favourite,

the Australian sea lion Moby,
is coming home.

So, Australian sea lions
are one of the endangered species

that we
have endemic to Australia.

Unfortunately,
for the species,

it's only 10,000 of them
left in the wild.

(WATER SPLASHES)

So, there's a strong focus
on managing the species

and making sure that we don't get
to a really problematic number.

So,
every Australian sea lion

that is in care at the moment
is part of a breeding program.

That breeding program
involved Moby transferring

to a partner zoo 18 months ago
for a sea lion swap.

We had
our Australian sea lion male,

Moby, go up to Coffs Harbour
for breeding.

Hey, buddy. 00:07:01,320
You're
gonna come back so big.

It was goodbye, Moby.

Hello, Storm.

Storm, good job.

Fast forward to today,
and while Storm is still in Sydney,

a much bigger Moby

has finished
his stud duties up north.

And wildlife sanctuary keepers
Tiga and Stacy

are delivering him
back home to Taronga.

We're
almost there, Moby.

He's been such a trooper
this whole time, actually.

He
has been an amazing boy.

Taronga keeper Jose
is clearly excited

to be reunited with his old mate.

So, we're down here waiting,
um, for Moby's arrival.

It's been about 18 months
since he's seen me,

but I was there 00:07:57,559
We're
officially back in Taronga.

Back in the city.
We're back in the city.

The
city boys back in the city.

I'm hoping
having that much history,

he knows and remembers
who I am, I hope.

But maybe he spent 00:08:12,279
while
he's been up in Coffs Harbour,

so,
you know, I can understand

if he doesn't remember
me straight away.

(LIVELY MUSIC)

Mobs.
It's your old mate, Jose.

Yeah. Look.

We might
try and go straight in,

and then the forklift's
gonna come up,

and then we'll unload from here
and then drive in.

At
the time that he left,

he was actually going through
a bit of a maturity change.

Good boy, Moby.

Young males start to turn brown
at the age of about five or six.

Good?

Uh, yes. Alright.

Well, we haven't seen him
in, like, 18 months,

so, we don't know
what we're gonna get.

(CHUCKLES)

Just up the hill from the sea lions

live seven western lowland gorillas,

23-year-old silverback dad, Kibali,

three adult females and three boys

also known as blackbacks, Mwamba,

Fabumi and the eldest boy, MJ.

(GORILLA THUMPS)

So, we're really interested
in the 10-year-old MJ.

He's got the long arms,
and he's just a bit stockier.

He's got prominent wrinkles
under his eyes.

He's
a very confident gorilla,

always has been
even since a youngster.

MJ's adolescent confidence

is starting to challenge
the silverback Kibali's status...

Kibali is gonna always be
stronger than those boys.

..and that could spell trouble.

A few months back,

MJ was really pushing the boundaries
and seeing what he could get,

and the response
from Kibali was that

he was gonna 00:09:54,600
Keeper Bec recorded
the tense faceoff

between father and son

after MJ challenged
one of the females.

So, Kibali,

he's
hovering over MJ

who's kinda cowering
in the moat here,

just
intimidating MJ,

cornering MJ in a portion of
the shallow waters telling him,

"Hey,
what you've done is not OK."

(GORILLA GRUNTS)

Kibali's
just had a swipe at him,

and this is really the first time
we've ever seen Kibali,

you
know, intimidate MJ.

MJ's behaviour
raises a difficult question

for the keepers.

How do they know
when it's time to remove these

highly spirited boys to another zoo?

At the moment, 00:10:42,599
these blackback males 00:10:45,999
So, we really wanna know
what those behaviours are

before
we make any decisions.

Thanks for coming in today.
Please.

So, we've employed
a uni student, Stefi,

to track these behaviours
that we are seeing.

The boys this morning
have been really high energy,

running back and forth, playing,
sort of been picking up the straw,

and kind of throwing it
around and being,

you
know, a bit boisterous.

So,
there's a-a lot of energy

that they're looking to,
you know, expend.

Are you all set up on the
iPad, ready to go?

Yep. All set up. Ready to go.
Great.

(GORILLA THUMPS)

For the next few months,

every gorilla interaction

will be monitored
by both keeper Bec...

Keep
a close eye on MJ.

..and conservation student, Stefi.

MJ...

The behaviour that's concerning
with the young males

is where they're
kind of threatening,

showing aggression
towards the females,

staring them down,
trying to pick a fight.

And right now,

it's the lowest ranked
female, Johari,

who is the focus of MJ's
unwanted attention.

He can be a little bit more
dominant over Johari.

He's got
a very stiff body language.

He's really trying to, you know,
force himself to look bigger

so,
he can intimidate Johari.

And it's exactly
this kind of intimidation

that the silverback
Kibali won't allow.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Still to come.

Here comes MJ.

MJ takes things to another level...

Doing these displays
to intimidate Johari.

..but Kibali's had enough.

He will step in 00:12:33,999
Oh,
you're so handsome!

What a difference 18 months makes!

I
said I wouldn't cry.

And the true meaning
of big boys' toys.

Get it, Boons.

Yeah. (CHUCKLES)
Yes.

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

In Sydney,

while the city
is still mostly sleeping,

Brendan is on an
early morning mission

across the Harbour Bridge.

I am the Behavioural 00:13:07,079
which means I oversee the training
and enrichment programs.

Kep Kep is licking
a massive snowball.

(CHUCKLES) Yeah.

Yeah,
they're going at it again.

He's getting... He's getting there.
(CHUCKLES)

Brendan's job is to make sure
all the animals at Taronga

are living their best lives.

You could say Brendan
is the good time guy.

Oh, look at that.

We have
gotten up nice and early

to make our way off 00:13:37,959
to speak to some personnel
from the navy

that are gonna help us out
with some enrichment for elephants.

It's actually a really exciting
day because the navy,

they
are partnering with us

to provide some fenders
to our elephants.

(GROOVY MUSIC)

Yeah. Yeah.

A fender is an electric guitar,

but I don't think we're talking
that kind of fender.

Hey, friends.
Good to see you.

Hey,
Jess, lovely to see you.

You're helping us out 00:14:08,319
Yes, so, we've got
two of our old tyres

and three
older pneumatic fenders.

We're talking these kind of fenders.

We have a disposal system
with any navy equipment.

Equipment can't be utilised
for anything else

besides
usually navy use.

But probably
about six months ago,

Taronga Zoo reached out and asked
if we had anything to donate.

So, rather than throw them
into general waste,

we'll
recycle them with you guys.

I know. We love that.
Thank you so much.

When they reached out,
I-I knew it was an opportunity

that I really wanted to follow up
and see what I could do.

So, these are 00:14:37,999
that we-
we got for the pneumatics.

Oh, wow!

They're awesome.
Yeah.

And these ones 00:14:44,319
Yeah.
That's awesome.

(CHUCKLES) Love it.

Are they gonna love
them? Yeah.

I hope so. 00:14:50,439
Yeah. .
.before they destroy them.

They
should be able to withstand

the bulk of the elephants
for a while

'cause they can withstand the...
withstand the bulk of a ship

landing on them, so.

Yep. Yep.
Yeah.

No, these are amazing.
Thank you.

Alright, well, let's give
these a wipe down,

bit
more of a blow up and...

Yep.
..we'll get going.

Awesome. Thank you.

Aye-aye, Captain.

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

So, anyway,

while you probably won't find
too many fenders in the wild...

Beautiful.

..these giant airbags are perfect
for providing stimulation

for Taronga's two Asian elephants,
Pak Boon and Tang Mo.

When we look at an animal
like our elephants,

there are so many
different behaviours

that they're
capable of expressing.

So, we give them strategies
to meet that.

For foraging, 00:15:35,999
and that's great 00:15:37,759
but they've potentially got
to use their trunk

to
sort through things.

It uses their mind.

They're mud wallow, big pit, boggy.
The elephants like to get in that.

They'll
roll around in it.

And coating themselves in that,
not only is it fun

but it also serves an important
maintenance behaviour.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

Good.

Yes.

One of the elephants apparently
is very, very playful,

and we're hoping that
they'll interact with them

in a
really fun and positive way.

It's like Christmas.

Yeah. (CHUCKLES)

Obviously, 00:16:16,639
so at the end of the day,
we just wanna see them have fun

and-and do what they need to
do with them, so yeah.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

(GORILLAS GRUNT)

Back at the gorilla habitat...

(GORILLA THUMPS)

..keeper Bec
and conservation student Stefi

have been monitoring the ape family

to determine just how dominant
the young males,

in particular, MJ, are becoming.

He's just testing to see
where he lies in this hierarchy.

The Taronga team want to know

whether the time has come

to move MJ or any of the boys
to another zoo.

MJ
loves to approach Johari.

He loves to make himself look
bigger in front of her,

really stiff posture,
outstretched arms,

fluffing himself up,
staring her down.

Johari
is low ranking

and those boys inherit
the rank of their mum.

So, MJ has inherited
a really high rank from Mbeli,

which means that 00:17:32,759
knowing
that she's low ranking

and he might get a reaction
from her.

MJ might be higher ranking,

but the silverback Kibali
won't tolerate

any misbehaviour towards
the quiet Johari.

Johari really loves the hay
and the wood wool.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

She
loves to rub it on her head

and, you know, 00:17:59,399
She really gets into
making her nest.

Gorillas are nest builders,
which surprises most people.

You don't think that a big gorilla
is gonna build a beautiful nest,

but they do.

While Johari enjoys her nest,

the young male, MJ,
tries his luck again.

MJ is just kinda testing
the waters a little bit.

He's
really trying to intimidate.

"Is she gonna submit and run away?
Is she gonna fight back?"

And she
is getting annoyed with it.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

Johari has had enough,

and MJ has made his point.

But now, little brother Mwamba
enters the scene.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

He's
putting pressure on Johari

'cause he sees 00:18:52,400
(INTENSE MUSIC)

Oh, my god.

And if one wasn't bad enough,

two of the three young males
are now intimidating Johari.

Moby the Australian sea lion

is being delivered home to Taronga
by wildlife sanctuary keepers,

Tiga and Stacy,

after participating
in a breeding program

in Coffs Harbour

on the New South Wales
Mid North Coast.

Mobs,
your old mate, Jose.

It's been 18 months

since keeper Jose
last saw the sea lion.

I'm sure he's gonna be 00:19:38,959
just there's probably been
a bit of growth in his stature.

(CHUCKLES)

Hello, big fella.

Look at you.
Wow. Golden boy.

He's a real man now.
A real man now. (CHUCKLES)

When
you think 18 months ago,

he left
us as a mottled grey seal.

Good boy.
Very good job.

Maybe about 60kg less.
(CHUCKLES)

Look at him, he's just
a completely different seal.

Go on.

Yeah.

Basically, 00:20:19,599
that has occurred in 18 months
is quite staggering, really.

When
you think about it,

he's left a teenager
and he came back a man.

Hey, bud.
You know, where we are.

Like any doting keeper would,
Jose has prepared Moby's pool,

ready and waiting for his return.

It's probably all flooding
back, I guess.

Moby has a very, very strong place
in our heart here at Taronga.

Here he is.

There's
a huge emotional connection.

Look at you.
(LAUGHS)

That's
our Taronga seal.

Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)

You
do your waving there.

(LAUGHS)

Although he's helping out
the Australian sea lion species,

we're extremely happy
that he's back.

Look at him.

Keeper Jose and the Taronga team

aren't the only ones
who love this suave sea lion.

Good job.

During his 18-month stay
in Coffs Harbour,

keeper Stacy has also formed
a very close bond with Moby.

Since
he's been at the sanctuary,

he's had three
different girlfriends,

Adelaide,
Athena and Mary.

Seems Stacy's not the only one
to take a shine to Moby.

Boy.

So, we're crossing all of our
fingers, toes, and flippers

that Moby has left us
with a few pups.

Now, that he's returned to Taronga,

keeper Stacy
will have to say her goodbyes.

It's
bittersweet to see him go.

Hey, Mo.

The staff at the Coffs
Coast Wildlife Sanctuary

really just fell in love
with Moby's personality.

He's
a real goofball.

I see a nosey nose.

Good boy.

And over
the last year and a half,

he's become a really special
part of my heart.

Good boy.

So, I'm gonna be so heartbroken
to say goodbye.

But Stacy won't be leaving
empty-handed.

I'm gonna miss you.

After all, this is a sea lion swap,

which means it's time

for another big boy,
Storm, to leave.

Alright. You ready?

That's a yes.

He's like, "Yes.
I am".

"Yes, I am ready".

Well, that's if they can get him
into his travel crate.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

Good boy.

Don't...

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Up at the gorilla habitat,

keeper Bec
and conservation student Stefi

are monitoring two young males,

Mwamba and MJ,

as they try to intimidate
a female, Johari.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

Oh, my god!

Gorillas
assert themselves

through a behaviour
we call posturing.

That really stiff body language,
they might fluff themselves,

showing dominance.

Johari's coughing in response,
so she's moving up and down.

So, that's that, "Hey, like,
leave me alone" behaviour.

The low ranked Johari
won't retaliate,

and the head of the troop,
silverback Kibali,

is inside the den,

unaware the young males
are misbehaving.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

If Johari moves away 00:24:00,599
her doing that, 00:24:03,239
It's like, "Hey, you know,
we've got what we want.

"We're more dominant. 00:24:09,120
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Johari
is sitting there.

She's
not reacting too much.

It's a stalemate.

As the headstrong boys
finally retreat,

female Johari takes the opportunity
to do the same.

She's
moving away from those boys.

I think she was waiting for MJ
to kind of leave her alone.

But when Johari eventually settles
on the other side of the habitat...

Johari's
sitting back just eating.

..you know who makes
another appearance.

Here comes MJ doing these displays
to intimidate Johari.

(GORILLA THUMPS)

Another female, Mbeli,
now emerges from the cave.

She is also paying close attention

to her son's unwelcome displays
of dominance.

(GORILLA THUMPS)

MJ's
beating his chest again.

It's this sort of behaviour
with the females

and those young boys that Kibali
doesn't particularly like.

And right on cue...

(INTENSE MUSIC)

So,
Kibali has now come out.

..the 200kg silverback returns.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

If
he feels challenged

or his females
are getting challenged,

Kibali will intervene.
That is his role.

He will step in 00:25:44,159
(UPBEAT MUSIC)
(BOAT HOOTS)

It's bright and early

around Sydney Harbour,

and a donated shipment
of old tyres and fenders

is being transported
from Garden Island Naval Base

to Taronga Zoo.

A fender is those 00:26:03,239
that protect the boats
from each other or the wharf.

This retired naval equipment
is destined for a second life

to entertain Taronga's
two Asian elephants.

(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)

It's awesome to
provide them something like this

because it's novel,
so it's different.

And
when something is different,

especially when 00:26:24,279
Alrighty.

..animals gonna respond
to it differently.

An elephant's gonna use his head
to push into that item.

It's
a natural behaviour,

and this is one way
we can see that expressed.

And keeper Koray

is pretty stoked the elephants
are about to try out

some brand new toys.

Nice.

You good?
Yeah.

Elephants are very
intelligent animals,

so, we have to always think
of different ways

to
kinda keep them engaged.

Where
are they going?

So, Johnny, do
we want one at the front there

and then one here?

Yeah, I reckon one here,
one on the apron.

We're expecting these elephants
to smash them about,

chase
them up and down the hills,

stomp
on them, squash them,

do the best they can
to try and pop them.

Quite
often, elephants are generally

the largest thing
in their environment.

So, any large sort of thing
that you put in there,

they
get very engaged with

because suddenly it's like,
"What's going on here?"

Pak
Boon loves to smash things.

Tang Mo, which is a bit more dainty
when it comes to that sort of thing.

Dainty?

Not a word you'd normally associate
with a couple of Asian elephants.

Oh, get it, Boons.

Whoo! Get it, Boony.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Go. Go. Yes!

First
thing they go to that. Mate!

(LAUGHTER)

Yeah.
Yeah. See that?

The hope is that they last a while
before they destroy them.

(CHUCKLES)

But they're 4 tonne.
Right, Koray?

Yeah. Pak Boon is 3,900.
Tang Mo is 3,700.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

The behaviours we're seeing
today are quite varied,

and
that is a good thing.

You see the elephants
coming with their head

and
pushing down with things,

which, um, I'm led to believe
from other elephant experts

is a very, very cathartic thing
for these individuals to do.

(LIVELY MUSIC)

Oh, hello.
(LAUGHS)

I guess it really impressed them.
Yeah. Yeah.

Get it moving.

You can even see, like, 00:28:24,599
"How what if I do this?
What if I do that?"

(LAUGHTER)

This is amazing.

They're kicking it.

They're both into it too.
This is awesome.

You'll see that the elephants
are also manoeuvring their body,

and they're pressing down
on these fenders.

They're
actually so playful with it.

Oh, it's gonna pop.
Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

You're essentially seeing
them do elephant yoga

with these things,

and then it gets them to activate
all different types of their body.

Yeah.

She's like, "I'm
gonna test the limits here."

I'm so scared she's gonna go bang.
(LAUGHS)

I mean,
even if that happens, I...

It's just the joy that
that's brought them.

It's
worthwhile to me

but I'm-I'm really hoping
it lasts longer.

It's
a good massage as well.

(ELEPHANT SQUEAKS)

You can hear her squeaking?
Yeah.

What does
the squeaking mean, Koray?

So, that's just
Pak Boon communicating.

She's
really excited.

When
she gets worked up,

she lets out these little squeaks
in particular.

Tang Mo is a much more
of a trumpeter.

(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)

Oh! Yes!

Made my whole day.
Oh!

Today has been 00:29:28,319
for
the elephants as well.

She's having a blast.
Yeah. (CHUCKLES)

See
the girls happy, excited,

being all vocal,
being amazing in that way,

just displaying all these
different natural behaviours.

At
the end of the day,

like, we're doing it all
for the animals,

so, I'm really happy
that we're able to, uh,

yeah,
to make this happen.

(CHUCKLES)

One of those days 00:29:49,520
(LIVELY MUSIC)

Down at the marine habitat...

Alright, Storm.

..keeper Jose
is preparing sea lion Storm

for a six-hour road trip

to the Coffs Coast
Wildlife Sanctuary

on the Mid North Coast
of New South Wales.

You
ready, buddy? Let's go.

Storm is part 00:30:15,519
We had
our Australian sea lion male,

Moby, go up for-for breeding
up to Coffs Harbour,

and
Storm has come down to us.

Storm has spent a very busy
18 months at Taronga

doing his duty and hanging
with the lady lions.

And now, he's heading home,

courtesy of his chauffeur
and biggest fan, Tiga.

Ready
to meet your oldest friend?

(SEA LION BARKS)

About six years ago,
I watched him be born.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

It's been hard not seeing him
for the last 18 months.

I really missed him,

but I'm
so excited to see him today

and see how much
he's grown and developed.

Oh! (CHUCKLES)

Oh,
you're so handsome, Storm!

(LAUGHS)

Oh,
my goodness! (SOBS)

I
said I wouldn't cry.

(LAUGHS)

Oh,
Storm! You're a big boy!

Do you remember me?

Oh... Yeah.
Yeah. Give him a pat.

..buddy.
Jump in.

Good job.

Oh, look at him. He's a real man.
Yeah.

You've
grown up to be a big boy.

All the ladies
are gonna love you now.

(LAUGHS) They-
they got a lot to grab onto.

Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)

Well, even 00:31:36,679
All the
grey to the brown as well.

Yep, Oh, you've done
all this work...

Ah.
..I have to hug you.

(LAUGHS)
Oh, no worries.

But Storm won't be going anywhere

unless he agrees
to enter the travel crate.

Hold it.
Yep. We'll leave it there.

So, this is pretty much
the most important thing

Storm's going to be doing,
um, the next couple of days.

So, making sure that Storm's
comfortable in the crate.

Making sure that he really wants
to go into the crate.

Is this lock open?

Just hang on there, Storm,
for a second.

(CHUCKLES)

Yeah.

Well, he is hoping the team

can figure out the whole
complicated door thingy first.

Gently. Yes.
Yeah.

Yep. 00:32:24,040
Oh! Never doubted you.

Nice. Alright.

So, two reps of him going in.
.. Yep.

..and I'll just pay him in there,
get him to hold.

I'll probably come around the front,
make sure he stays.

Good job. 00:32:40,159
I'll send you back to the pool,
um, and then we'll do that...

Yep.
..hold it up.

You just tell...
Make sure it works well.

..us when.
Cool.

Good boy.
(CHUCKLES)

You ready?
(WATER SPLASHES)

Yes.
That's a yes.

(CHUCKLES) 00:32:49,759
"Yes. I am ready."

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

Hey, big man.

Box.

Good boy.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

It smells like Moby.
Storm!

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

Oh,
careful of your head.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

Good boy.

Excellent.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

He's very brave.
Do you wanna try it again?

Yeah.
Alright. Ready? Go.

Box.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)
Mmm.

Maybe he's not quite ready
to leave just yet.

That's MJ.

Simmering tension...

Kibali's
out there too.

..becomes guerrilla warfare.

(GORILLAS GRUNT)

Things are heating up
inside Taronga's gorilla habitat.

(GORILLA THUMPS)

Primate keeper Bec
and conservation student Stefi

are monitoring
the headstrong young male MJ

as he continues to intimidate
the female gorillas

while the silverback Kibali
isn't watching.

Kibali's come out.

If his females
are getting challenged,

Kibali
will intervene,

and he
will discipline those boys.

In that silverback role,
he's always gotta be on his toes,

making sure that, 00:34:28,399
He knows what's happening
in the environment.

He's
in control of everything.

(GORILLA THUMPS)

MJ's
beating his chest again.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

As MJ moves closer to the females...

(GORILLAS GRUNT)

..it's on.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(GORILLAS GRUNT)

Silverback Kibali
is quick to intervene.

This is his role, though.
He has to mediate this.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Kibali has done his job.

But while this scuffle
was resolved quickly enough,

MJ's behaviour continues
to test the silverback's patience.

Kibali's
relationship with the boys

is in a transitional phase
at the moment.

Some
days, they'll play,

and then other days,
it's purely, like, discipline.

As they get older,
that wrestling and testing,

that is a huge amount of stress
for the silverback.

That's the whole reason
for the study,

to track these behaviours
that we are seeing,

so, we can make 00:35:56,719
when it's time
for those boys to leave.

And it's that question
conservation student Stefi

will be hoping to answer next.

Here in the results, you can see
incidents divided into, like...

Mm-hm.

..positive
and negative behaviours.

Do all the boys stay,
or will some of them have to leave?

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

Meanwhile, in the marine habitat...

Alright. Ready? Go.

..it would be a stretch to say
that Australian sea lion Storm

is loving his crate
training session.

All the way in.
Storm.

There
is a bit of pressure

to make sure that Storm
gets into this crate.

Good boy.

Until he feels comfortable
entering the crate,

he can't be transported
back to his home

in Coffs Harbour.

Do you
want to try it again? Box.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

Yeah. Good boy.

So, Storm, probably 00:36:56,719
um,
we were expecting.

(SEA LION CLICKS)
Good boy.

He's thinking 00:37:04,999
whereas normally we would expect him
just to jump straight in.

So, an extra hurdle.

Alright.
You wanna try it again?

Box.

(LIVELY MUSIC)

Good boy.

Now, I just want to apologise
before I say this next line.

Crate job, Storm. Crate job.

Alright. The
main part is that he got in.

Oh,
oh, oh, good boy.

And,
hopefully, that's exactly

what's gonna happen
tomorrow morning.

Straight.

But it all comes down
to his motivation

and-and how he's feeling
at the time,

so,
we're hoping for the best.

And as another spectacular sunrise
breaks over Sydney...

I think
they're about 5 away.

..a large storm
is about to hit Coffs Harbour.

I'm hoping Storm thinks 00:37:56,919
Yeah.

And we just happen 00:38:01,480
(CHUCKLES)

Hey, Storm.
You ready?

Just another day.

Not quite.
It should be Storm's final farewell.

Even the Taronga marine team

have all come in
to say their goodbyes.

Hopefully, 00:38:20,799
rather than anything
to be concerned about.

Well...
Good boy.

..here's hoping
it goes better than yesterday.

Same as yesterday.

Here.
Yeah. Good boy. Here.

And, of course, like you'd expect
from any headstrong sea lion,

today, Storm decides to, well,
storm it in...

It
was always gonna work...

(SOMBRE MUSIC)

..which means he's going home.

(SOMBRE MUSIC)

Storm,
since arriving 18 months ago,

he's
basically been the one seal

that I've worked with
from start to now, really.

I've really developed
a strong bond with Storm.

He has
been an amazing animal.

Yeah, we're going on
another big adventure.

Loves cuddles, 00:39:11,959
Yeah.
So, obviously, saying goodbye.

I'm gonna be shedding
a tear or three.

(SOMBRE MUSIC)

Yeah.
It's-it's hard.

I'm gonna miss him.

Oh,
we're gonna look after him.

(CHUCKLES)
Thank you.

You can come see him anytime.
(CHUCKLES)

(SOMBRE MUSIC)

(SEA LION SQUEALS)

You can visit him.
I know.

(SOMBRE MUSIC)
See you soon.

(LAUGHS)

(SOMBRE MUSIC)

We'll
look after him.

There's
just a lot of emotion,

but, um, couldn't have asked
for a better transfer

because Moby and Storm
have done amazing work

for the Australian sea lion
breeding program.

Alright.
See you, guys.

We've
helped the species

by helping with
the genetic diversity

and-
and at the same time,

um, trying to get more
of these guys out there.

Everyone is happy,
although emotional.

We're
always gonna be sad every time

one of our...one of our
individuals leave.

(SOMBRE MUSIC)

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

Next...

It's finally time to decide...

That's
a really big sign.

..if MJ will be leaving Taronga.

The data that we've got
suggests that...

For several months now,

conservation student Stefi

has been studying the behaviour
of Taronga's gorilla troop,

paying close attention
to how aggressive the young males,

Mwamba, Fabumi and MJ are becoming.

That's MJ.
Kibali's out there too.

I started focusing
on the three young boys,

looking for certain behaviours
that may signal that

they would want 00:40:58,770
(GORILLAS GRUNT)

..if they're trying
to push the boundaries

a
little bit with Kibali.

The time has come
to hear the results.

Stefi is actually doing
a big presentation to our team

on what
her findings have been.

So,
we have more of an idea

of where we're sitting
with those boys

and
their behaviours.

Here in the results, you can see
incidents divided into, like...

Mm-hm.

..positive
and negative behaviours.

Can I just ask what you define
as a negative interaction?

From
Mwamba and Fabumi,

it was mostly active
avoidance of others,

while MJ actually
involved displacement...

Mm-hm.

..and threatening posture
towards another individual.

MJ's displacement
is when he takes himself away

from the rest of the gorilla troop.

Majority 00:41:45,679
are observed between the adolescents
and the free females,

which is about 37% 00:41:51,760
But it's the negative interactions

that will help decide
whether any of the boys,

yes, MJ, I'm looking at you,

are destined to leave Taronga
sooner rather than later.

MJ
loves to tease Johari

because he does get
a rise out of her,

but the type of annoyances
always goes away quickly.

It's not damaging 00:42:15,680
Stefi's research shows

that while MJ had a few negative
interactions with Johari...

(GORILLAS GRUNT)

..he clashed far more frequently
with his dad, Kibali,

clocking up 13
negative interactions.

That's pretty high.

Signs that we're seeing
at the moment

is that MJ is spending a lot of time
distancing himself from the troop.

He doesn't want to be
around Kibali that much.

When those boys really start
separating themselves

from
that group naturally

and they want to be
further away from them,

that's a really big sign that,
you know, they're ready to-to go.

While MJ is clearly showing
more independence,

is Kibali displaying any signs

that he's actually
feeling threatened

by MJ's behaviour?

The negative interactions
were just around, like, 8%.

Kibali is seriously exerting
his dominance over MJ,

only 8% of all the times
that they interact.

So, overall,
the data that we've got

suggests that the negative
interactions are low.

Yeah.
Yeah.

It is interesting.

There's
nothing obvious from Kibali

that would indicate to us
that we're in a situation

where we would need
to plan immediately...

Yeah.

..for the removal
of MJ or any of them.

Yeah.
Seems Kibali is doing his job.

He's controlling the boys
without too much aggression.

This
is really helpful.

It's a baseline for us to.
.. Yeah.

.
.continue this as well.

And
it just helps us progress...

Yeah. .
.as this progresses...

Yeah.
..as well.

Yeah.

So, all in all,
what we have is a large family

with that one slightly annoying,

slightly moody kid

that basically likes to pester
everyone else.

(GORILLA THUMPS)

Sounds pretty normal, really.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

We've got about a year
to two years up our sleeve

before we have to make
any big decisions, I think.

But, yeah, 00:44:25,000
Captioned by AI-Media
ai-media.tv

Repair and Synchronization by
Easy Subtitles Synchronizer 1.0.0.0