Original subtitles

Jennifer: (gasps) oh, my gosh.

Hey, bear!

Man: What's up, dude?

♪ ♪

(barking)

Howie: Awcc is a sanctuary dedicated to giving homes

To wildlife that are injured and orphaned.

And this year, we have two orphan moose calves.

We've got pip, short for pippi longstocking.

Our second moose calf arrived a couple days later, josephine.

We call her jo for short, after little women.

Sonia: Hi, cuties.

Howie: Hi, guys. I know.

Sonia: It's not scary. It's not.

Jamie: They were with mom, got separated, ended up with us.

Howie: Pip's from seward, alaska.

She was found kind of wandering through the town.

Thankfully, fish and game went in there

And they picked up the calf and gave us a call.

And that's why pip's here.

And jo, on the other hand, she's a completely different story.

Her and her mom were walking on a trail in south anchorage.

You know, they're large animals

And they're very protective of their young.

To protect human life, jo's mom was shot.

You get these animals that come in,

They need rescuing, they need the sanctuary.

And that's, you know, that's the goal

Is being able to make her comfortable

And let her know that she could trust me and my staff.

This is the kind of stuff we live for,

To care for the animals that need us.

This is pip right now.

I like to think she really loves me,

But she really loves this bottle.

Pip's really rambunctious.

She likes to run up to everybody as soon as you come in the pen.

Jo is pretty easy to distinguish.

She's a little bit bigger and she also has both her ear tags.

Jo is also a little more skeptical of people.

Sonia: They're both so funny and so cute to work with.

They definitely have very different personalities.

Pip is like, "where's the party?"

Jamie: Pip is bananas.

Howie: So raising moose can be challenging.

And so it's really important to make sure

They're, they're gaining weight, like 10 to 15 pounds a week.

Pip just hops right on,

And we're thankful for that, because it really helps.

There we go.

We got to make sure the moose is getting enough calories to grow.

But they also need to start transitioning onto solids.

Jo jo.

It's like herding cats.

Come here.

Here you go, sweet.

Jo is just a little more skeptical.

So, she always does the two feet on, two feet off.

Come on, sweetie.

Which I just can relate to.

She's a lady, she doesn't like everybody to know her numbers.

Come on.

Crazy pants.

Sonia: Yeah.

Howie: The thing with moose, when you're bottle raising them,

It's really hard to gauge, are you giving them enough?

And that's just gonna be something

We're gonna have to figure out.

Jamie: You're alright, pip.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Lisa: We are on baby watch here at the alaska sealife center.

Mara, our resident steller sea lion, is pregnant.

She has been pregnant for over a year.

Hoping that in the next few days,

We have a little sea lion pup.

Dr. Carrie: Mara is very, definitely very pregnant.

She is very large.

Julie: Let's go, mara! Good!

Right now, she's just looking a little uncomfortable.

Her motivation is kind of off and on right now

Because of her pregnancy,

So sometimes she's just not into it.

Lisa: Did she eat at all yesterday? She never did?

Jamie: She ate one capelin. Lisa: Okay.

Jamie: Mara is a first-time mom,

And so we're never really resting easy

Until we hear that baby come out and make that first sound.

Lisa: She hasn't eaten for the past couple days,

So she, we do want to give, give her the opportunity to eat

If she's interested.

(bellowing)

We are happy to see that she took a little bit of food,

But she definitely wasn't really too terribly interested.

Yay! (clapping)

If you've ever been pregnant,

You know by this stage in it, you're very uncomfortable,

And all you want to do is give birth and have that baby.

Jamie: Hey.

These are all really good signs so far.

Julie: Mara came to us from mystic aquarium.

She came to the sealife center

To be a part of a steller sea lion research project

That we've been doing here for over a decade.

There's a rookery 30 miles offshore,

And it's monitored by live cameras.

And so those need maintenance.

It is prime pupping season,

So we're gonna go out there and change out the batteries.

Lisa: We are so unique that we have rehab,

We have public education, and we have science.

There's not another aquarium in the world

That provides this environment and atmosphere to work in.

Julie: What's so valuable about being able to come out here

In the wild is trying to learn about

What a normal steller sea lion birth looks like.

But sometimes, just getting on and off the island

Is the most thrilling part.

John: So really getting off here,

It's gonna be extremely, extremely slippery.

Julie: It's cold, it's windy.

We're in alaska.

There's sea lions in this extreme habitat.

So, it's pretty intense.

We have to take these really heavy batteries off the boat,

Onto the island.

It's super slippy.

The bow of the boat is scraping on the island.

If you were to slip and fall,

You'd get smashed against the rocks, you could die basically.

Kara: You do have to commit. You have to, like, alright.

Woman: Wait, wait, wait! Kara: You have to jump.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

John: Steller sea lions, they are one of the top predators

Around here, and they're such a big component of the ecosystem.

And into the 1990s, they declined dramatically,

By about 80% in this area.

They breed here, they give birth here.

And that's why we're doing this research here.

Yeah, so we're here, we're going to replace

The 12-volt batteries.

Okay, I'm in, looking at sea lions.

We can get live imagery in real time.

Back at the sealife center, we can keep track

Of these individuals day after day, year after year.

Julie: It is so exciting to see these pups with their moms.

It's just really more of a buildup

For, you know, what mara's about to go through.

John: Alright.

Hey, jamie, just wanted to do a radio check with you

And let you know we're all good here.

Jamie: Yup. Don't worry about it.

John: We're wrapping things up and heading down.

Julie: It is so amazing to be out here.

I mean, that's every person's dream

That is in love with marine mammals.

And I can't wait for mara to give birth to her first pup.

♪ ♪

(screech)

Jennifer: The alaska raptor center is an avian hospital

And a sanctuary for birds that are permanently injured.

Do you want some of this?

As the director here, I am a desk jockey, you could say.

But today, I'm going to be doing something a little different.

Oh, goodness. Umm...

I'm going to learn how to properly rescue

An injured eagle...

Yeah. Feels good.

...By none other than dr. Victoria.

Really the best in the business,

When it comes to raptor rehabilitation and rescue.

Class one, bird psychology.

Dr. Victoria: Alright, so we've got--come here, come here.

We've got three birds up there.

Jennifer: Oh, yes.

Dr. Victoria: Alright, so we're stressing them out.

And I know that by how they're frantically looking around,

Making a plan for what they're going to do.

Jen cross, technically she's a canadian,

But she is a true alaska woman.

She's tough. She's brave.

She is ready to rescue eagles.

Part of the reason they're stressed

Is we're staring at them.

Jennifer: Oh.

Dr. Victoria: What I'll be doing is pointing out

The stress behaviors,

Which include slicking down their feathers, slicing,

Pooping, lightening the load, getting ready to fly.

Jennifer: There he goes. Yup.

Dr. Victoria: They are sensing that you are looking at them,

And that there's, something bad's gonna happen.

(laughs)

Jennifer: This is a skill that I should have as the director

To really understand what the bird staff are going through.

Dr. Victoria: So let's set this guy down.

So this would be a dream situation for an injured eagle.

Jennifer: I think I'm ready.

Dr. Victoria: Sometimes, I will walk up to the eagle like this.

Yup, so it doesn't know...

Jennifer: Oh, okay.

Dr. Victoria: ...I'm coming after it.

We're gonna work as a team.

Together, we're forming this wall.

Alright, on three, get the eagle.

One, two, three.

Good job.

Making sure that the talons are secure

Is the number one priority.

They are what put people in the hospital.

Jennifer: She showed me this foot management kind of dance,

Where one person finds the foot

And hands it to the person holding the bird,

And then finds the other foot,

And hands it to that person holding the bird.

So then the person holding the bird has both feet safely.

Dr. Victoria: On three. One, two, three.

Jennifer: I'm learning a lot of really good tricks of the trade.

Dr. Victoria: You got to hold the net down.

Jennifer: I know that I have the tools I need now

And the knowledge to handle it.

Ready to rescue some eagles.

Julie: It's about 3:30 in the morning.

I've been here since 7:00 am yesterday.

Mara has been quite restless all night,

A little more amped and intense.

Maybe she's about to go more in intense labor.

It seems like she keeps trying to relax and rest in the corner,

But it doesn't last very long as she just can't get comfortable,

And then she gets up.

This is the fourth night that she hasn't gotten any rest,

So I'm sure she wants to sleep so bad, you know.

A few years ago, mara was pregnant for her first time.

She came to full term, but she unfortunately had a stillbirth.

We're really excited for her to have the pup.

Still there's a lot of things that are risky.

Alright, so these are some of the sea lions that we have

Out on chiswell island.

So this behavior where she's licking her back end,

She's lifting up her back flipper,

Just really focusing on what's going on back there

Really kind of identical

To what we were seeing from mara earlier.

(bellows)

There she goes.

This animal, you'll see her take her front flipper here

And she just kind of rubs it on the ground.

And that's one thing we saw mara do earlier today.

She took her flipper,

And she kind of was rubbing it on her side,

Which is an indicator that she may be going into labor.

The hardest part is the waiting game.

It's gonna be hard to have a shift change and want to go home

Knowing that, you know, it hasn't happened yet

And it could happen any minute.

I really want to be here for it.

So, it's kind of a battle of sleep.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Kim: Here you go, bud.

Austin: A little high maintenance.

Howie: So jo and pip are doing really well with the bottle.

But because they're getting older,

Their gut is starting to change.

They also need to start transitioning onto solids.

So, we're trying to introduce pellets right now.

Calves typically are weaned from mom by August,

And they're on a very strict solid diet

From that point forwards.

Now they're hitting that two-month-old range

Where they should really transition onto hard food

A lot quicker than they are.

The trick I've learned over the years is cheerios.

(laughs)

They really do like the cereal,

But they really hate the pellets still.

So we're still working on that.

Have you ever tried this stuff?

Austin: No. Have you?

Howie: You should always, you know,

Make sure what you're feeding is good.

Austin: Okay.

Howie: That's a moose ration, I think.

But that one I think is missouri.

Austin: I don't know what.

♪ ♪

It's not bad, but I see why they don't like it.

Howie: I feel like a rabbit.

Well, and then when you eat all that together,

Of course they like the cereal.

Austin: Yeah.

Howie: Who doesn't like honey cereal?

Hi, pip.

Like any youngster, it's not hard to encourage them

To eat the things that they love.

Hi, silly. I'll take pip.

And for these girls, it's the bottle.

Austin: Psycho sally.

Howie: Psycho sally!

Oh, my gosh.

Oh, my goodness.

You are such a crazy.

Austin: Good job, jo.

Howie: Oh, pip.

You are a special case.

How much you got left?

Austin: Jo's done.

Howie: Pip's almost done.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Ooh.

Dang it.

That is a runny poop.

So is that.

Austin: Yup. Howie: Right there.

Howie: Well, I'm not stoked for that poop.

That means they're getting too much formula

And not enough solids.

Not what you want to see

When you're, when you're caring for moose calves.

We would joke around here that the biggest thing in the summer

Is just to watch everybody's poops.

Because the poop is the first thing that's gonna let us know

Something's going wrong.

But I think, after trying the grain,

I guess in their, in their defense,

I could see it being really crummy grain.

We'll try new stuff.

Yeah, we'll try new stuff.

Hi, jo jo.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Julie: Alright, we're gonna go see how mara's doing

This morning and check up on her.

Hey, mara. Good morning.

Still no pup.

If we were to come in here and she gave birth,

She'd most likely be up on deck and attending to her pup

And not swimming around, so.

Mara! Good, up!

Dr. Carrie: It's a lot of anxious waiting,

And we're all anxious about enough things

In our lives right now.

It would be nice for this to just happen.

Julie: Still looking very large and in charge.

Good girl. Let's go!

Lisa: We have a lot of nervous energy as we wait.

Julie: Atta girl.

Lisa: For her first birth,

She unfortunately delivered a stillborn pup.

This time, we're really, really hopeful

That she gets to experience motherhood.

Woman: Good, roll. Good girl!

Dr. Carrie: And we've been monitoring

Her current pregnancy.

We do the ultrasounds, just try and confirm

That the pup is still with us.

Julie: Atta girl, mara. Good girl.

Dr. Carrie: We need her to at least lay out

And be still for me.

Otherwise, I really can't get any information.

Woman: Nice job, mara.

Good.

Dr. Carrie: Okay, yeah, I'm seeing the ribs shadowing.

I'm seeing the heart right there.

You can see peeking through the shadows, the heartbeat.

And it's nice and even.

One of the most rewarding things with ultrasound

Is to see that fetus heart.

And I mean it's moving back and forth with all of her breaths,

And it's being very active, so it's moving a lot.

Oh.

Oh, wow.

I just felt a really big baby kick.

We just need to give it a little more time.

Alright.

Success.

(laughs)

Julie: We want this pup to come out as soon as possible.

Water!

Lisa: So, steller sea lions are endangered,

And so the birth of this pup will be a huge win for us here.

Just, oh, my god, it better be a girl!

(laughs)

We currently have quite a surplus of boy sea lions

In our collection.

You know, as they get bigger and bigger,

They become more difficult from a space standpoint to manage.

Shelby: So we have two younger males, forrest and kuliak.

And then pilot, who's the big daddy of mara's pup.

Good!

Pilot is definitely one of my favorite animals to work with.

Good boy.

So he's definitely a showstopper and he knows it,

But he's a super handsome guy, so I guess I can't blame him.

These guys don't participate too much in paternal investment.

So once he's done his mating,

He's pretty much off for the rest of the year.

So although he is a steller sea lion,

He is not exactly a stellar dad.

(laughs)

♪ ♪

Kara: Come on, sunny. (screeching)

Come on.

Good boys. Good boys.

Jennifer: I've got these, so I'm good.

Jen: Okay.

Jennifer: Well, we got a eagle call,

An injured eagle on a nearby island

That we're gonna go try to rescue.

The best way for me to learn is hands-on experience,

So I'm thinking, oh, my god, I think this is it.

We're here at sealing cove,

And we're gonna be meeting the gentleman

That called in the rescue,

And he's gonna actually drive us out to a nearby island.

To be honest, the main thing that was going through my mind

Was huge relief that victoria was there right next to me.

(laughs)

It felt really good to know that I was with the best.

Dr. Victoria: And is it a big female or a small male?

The males are smaller.

Brian: Okay. This is a smaller bird.

Dr. Victoria: So it's probably a male.

Oh, I see him. He's there.

Brian: Yeah.

Jennifer: We see the eagle on the deck,

The upper deck of this man's house.

Dr. Victoria: I think one of us is gonna go one way,

One of us is gonna go the other.

Jennifer: Okay.

Dr. Victoria: So if I get to net it,

Then your job will be to cover it with the blanket.

Jennifer: Okay. Cool.

Dr. Victoria: So, brian, don't look at the eagle.

I want him to think we're ignoring it.

Jennifer: So the game plan is victoria's going to go

Around the backside, and I'm going to direct the eagle

Into her net essentially.

The thing we want to avoid is the eagle getting spooked

And jumping up on the railing and either falling or...

Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait.

...Or gliding to another area.

Dr. Victoria: I'm gonna try to get it to go

That way a little bit.

So nobody look at the eagle.

Jennifer: He's got-- oh, wait, wait. Okay.

Back off. Back off.

Dr. Victoria: Oh, damn, it saw me.

Where are you, jen?

Jennifer: I'm out of sight.

Dr. Victoria: Push him towards me.

Jennifer: Okay. I'm pushing.

Dr. Victoria: Warn me when it's getting close.

Jennifer: Okay, he's walking. He's coming. He's coming.

Dr. Victoria: Push him towards me.

Jennifer: Okay. I'm pushing.

We're trying to catch this eagle

That is on the deck of this man's house.

Dr. Victoria: Warn me when it's getting close.

Jennifer: Okay, he's walking. He's coming. He's coming.

Dr. Victoria: Don't move. Nobody move.

Jennifer: Yes!

♪ ♪

This is tricky stuff.

I'm definitely glad I had a lesson.

Dr. Victoria: You are gonna have to get it out of the net.

Jennifer: Okay.

Dr. Victoria: Then I'm gonna lay the bird on its shoulders,

Then you're going to cover it with the blanket.

Jennifer: Okay. Dr. Victoria: You good?

Jennifer: Yeah.

Dr. Victoria: One, two, three.

Alright. Okay.

Okay.

Jennifer: Okay. I got... Brian: I'll get the blanket.

Dr. Victoria: Jen did amazing on her first rescue.

Now we've got to get this bird back to the clinic.

Kim: Muskox!

Muskox!

Come on, everybody get on up.

Austin: We are getting ready to move our bison herd

Into a new pasture.

Howie: The bison have been in this middle pen for a hot bit,

So it's time to get them into the large field

To allow this pen that they're currently in

To regrow and regenerate.

Austin needs to learn how to do this

In case I'm not here, but, boy.

Kind of like when your parents give you the key to their car

For the first time, you know, they kind of hand it over,

Like, please don't wreck my car.

We're passing the torch today.

Austin's gonna get to drive the four-wheeler.

Austin: Uhh. So, okay. We're gonna open it.

Howie: Oh, god.

Austin: No, I know what we do.

So open it.

Call them.

Howie: Leisurely drive across.

You don't have to do this, I just know you really wanted to,

And so I thought this would be a fun thing

For austin to do today.

Brittany: Are you okay with this?

Are you okay letting it go?

Howie: I don't know.

They're my babies.

Howie: You got this? Austin: Yeah.

Howie: Don't mess it up.

Austin: I won't.

Howie: Go for it.

We're dealing with 1,800, 2,000-pound animals,

But even though this is just a quick jaunt across the street,

It's a big jaunt across the street.

♪ ♪

We got a little panic there for a second.

A couple of young cows decided to go left

When they should have just gone straight.

You got 'em.

Do a little bit of a wave and encouragement,

They turn around and follow their moms.

Well done.

Austin: Thanks. I'm sure howie will take it right back.

It's her favorite thing to do,

And I don't want to take that from her.

But if she ever needs me to fill in, I can.

♪ ♪

Jennifer: He's got everything all set up. Nice.

Dr. Victoria: This really was an amazing rescue today.

It was just jen and I, and this was her first rescue.

So it was a training rescue.

Jen: First eagle! I'm so proud of you.

Dr. Victoria: She did great.

Thank goodness, because this rescue was tough.

Jen: Alright.

Let's get this bird taken care of.

So I'm just gonna put a hood on it.

Jennifer: Yeah.

Jen: He's gonna be feisty.

Jennifer: Oh, yeah, the lice are crawling on me.

I can feel them.

It's all over my face, under my mask.

Dr. Victoria: Alright, so what I'm really doing

Is just a super--oh, darn it.

Yeah. Alright.

There's a lump around the elbow which really makes me worried.

So I'd like to take an x-ray.

I'd like an x-ray.

See what's going on.

Jen: Okay. So now what's gonna happen

Is you're gonna keep both feet in one hand.

Jennifer: Uh-huh.

Jen: I'd let get it go, but it's really stiff.

Dr. Victoria: I'm amazed he was flying as well as he was.

Jen: I know. Really.

Dr. Victoria: When you're ready...

Jennifer: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Victoria: ...Let go of his feet.

Jennifer: Okay. Jen: Okay. I'm going.

(beep)

Dr. Victoria: So I'm looking at this bald eagle's elbows.

Jen: Two, three.

Dr. Victoria: This is a normal, healthy elbow.

This is a joint abscess.

Here you can see the incredible swelling,

And that abscess has absolutely damaged the bone permanently.

Jennifer: Oh, buddy.

Basically a death sentence.

Dr. Victoria: Tragically, this bird is a euthanasia.

Jennifer: This bird is suffering.

Jen: Yeah, yeah.

Dr. Victoria: This bird would never be able to fly.

Jennifer: This is disappointing news, but this is part of it.

This is what our bird staff have to deal with on a regular basis.

It's, it's an, it can be emotionally draining,

Especially after such a thrill

Of capturing and rescuing a bird,

Only to find out that it is clearly suffering

And the kindest thing to do is to end that.

Jen: Oh, poor little buddy.

Jennifer: You know, I understand that this happens.

It's just, it was really sad that it happened in my arms.

Dr. Victoria: Yeah, I don't hear a heartbeat.

♪ ♪

(screeching)

(birds screeching)

(birds screeching)

(bellowing)

Jamie: Right now, what you're hearing is mara.

We've been on tenterhooks waiting for the last four days,

That she might go into labor.

But then nothing happens.

Mara is in a area we call "the run."

So this is the very back of the run, she's hanging out here.

Right here.

Lisa: So she's sitting, she looks like she's sitting up now.

Jamie: Yeah, I think so.

She didn't really get any sleep last night.

Lisa: Not settling for sure.

Jamie: She's very interested in what pilot was doing.

Pilot's right on the other side.

So she's definitely checking him out earlier.

(bellowing)

That's her vocalizing.

She's probably vocalizing at pilot through that hole.

(grunt)

What was that?

You hear that?

Lisa: Yes.

(grunt)

Jamie: I think that's the baby.

(bellowing)

(bellowing)

Lisa: We've been waiting for days for mara to have this pup.

And then she started to show some signs of labor again.

And jamie and I were watching on the camera and...

(grunt)

Jamie: What was that?

Jamie: You hear that? Lisa: Yes.

Lisa: We actually heard the vocalization of the pup...

(grunt)

...And immediately went out to assess what was going on.

(bellowing)

(bellowing)

Jamie: I think it's a baby.

Lisa: Did she just squeeze that thing out?

(bellowing)

Jamie: Oh. Binoculars.

Lisa: Oh, my god, it's out!

She's bleeding. It's out.

Jamie: Oh, my god. Lisa: Code seven.

Lisa: It's out. Oh, my god. Jamie: That is nuts.

Lisa: Oh, my god. What the...

Holy crap.

(pup grunts)

It vocalized, right?

Jamie: That's a baby. Look, check it out.

Yup, it's moving.

Lisa: How did that happen?!

(jamie laughs)

Oh, my god.

Jamie: Oh, my god.

Lisa: Oh, my, oh, my god!

Oh, my god. Way to go, mama!

Come on, it's alive, it's alive.

(bellowing)

Sure enough, she had, she had pupped in that very short time

That we had been checking on her, and...

Oh, my god.

Oh, my god, intense, intense relief.

Oh, my god. Yeah, I think that's a baby sound.

Jamie: Yeah. I was like, "that's a dragon baby sound."

Lisa: That is nuts.

Jamie: Oh, that's crazy.

Lisa: Oh, my god.

Oh, my god, I cannot believe how fast that happened.

Jamie: That's a baby sound.

Yeah, I was like, "that's a dragon baby sound."

Oh, that's crazy.

Lisa: Oh, my god.

It's here, it's here.

Yeah. It's alive, it's alive.

(bellowing)

(bellowing)

(bellowing)

Mara delivered a live pup.

There was a lot of joy and a lot of relief.

Julie: We couldn't be happier with what we're seeing.

The pup is healthy, it's very active.

It's rolling around and being amazing.

(pup grunts)

It's really cool to see her so cute

And just be open to a whole new world.

And it's just a really big milestone

And moment that, you know, that you just don't forget.

(pup grunts)

(bellowing)

(pup grunts)

(bellows)

Kara: Good, baby. Good. Good job, girl.

♪ ♪

Jen: Today, victoria and I are going into main flight

To check on how some of the birds

That we've gotten are doing.

Who do we need to look at?

Dr. Victoria: Freedom, jerky.

I like to look at them in a mew so I can see them fly

And confirm that they are able to survive in the wild

Before we release them.

Jen: You see ahab?

Can you pick him out?

Which one's jerky?

Dr. Victoria: The two birds in the middle,

He's the one on the left.

Jennifer: It was pretty tough when the first eagle

I had a hand in rescuing didn't make it.

Jen: Oh, my god. I love you, jerky.

You're just so cute!

Jennifer: But we think maybe today we do have a success story

On our hands with an eagle that is ready for release.

Jen: Sven.

Oh, I wonder if that's sven.

Sven has a yellow band on, and he is flying really well.

Jennifer: He is an utterly gorgeous juvenile bald eagle.

Dr. Victoria: Alright, there's the yellow band

On the right foot.

Oh, look at that tail.

That's a great-looking tail.

Jen: Sven was in pretty bad shape when we got him.

Besides just being a baby, he was thin.

He had some nutritional deficiencies,

And because of that, when his feathers were growing in,

The feathers didn't form correctly.

His feathers were very damaged.

He basically didn't have a tail.

Jennifer: He started off like he knew he didn't have a tail

And seemed a little, maybe a little insecure.

And it was up to him to just eat,

Get healthy and regrow feathers.

Dr. Victoria: I think the tail looks great.

We just need to do his exit exam and then he can be released.

Jen: I'm so happy for him.

♪ ♪

Austin: Good morning!

Sonia: I'll keep eyes on him.

Go ahead. Oh, springsteen. No, it's there.

Jamie: Pip-pip.

Howie: Pip and jo are new orphans this year

At the wildlife center,

So like any good mom, we got to keep an eye on the poop.

That helps us know that we have a good balanced diet.

Poop patrol.

Poops are the game.

It's really important to look at the fecals.

Austin: There are some pretty good fresh pellets right here.

Howie: Oh, I just stepped in it.

There's like a perfect pellet pile.

Cool. Alright. Well, poops look really good.

Here's what I think.

Someone should go get like 10 sticks for them

To munch on in the morning.

At noon, it's just bottles and grain.

And then in the afternoon,

They need to get their large browse load.

But it's good they still really love their bottles,

Because we need them for moose moving day.

When these guys came in, they were 30, 35 pounds.

They were half the size they are now, if not smaller.

No, ma'am.

Um...

I know, you were getting a little grumpy there.

Something different about little pip.

(laughs)

So they're getting to the point where they're about to graduate

From the baby pen,

And we're going to take them across the road over here,

And they'll get to go in a much bigger space,

Kind of the teenager pen.

So they can really run around

And stretch their legs if they want to.

And that's where they'll be probably for the next year

As they grow up before they get moved into the big moose pen.

We could just walk them over, it'd be really sweet.

Just follow the bottle over.

I see pip doing it just fine,

And I see jo getting like halfway panicking

And being like, "I don't know what to do!"

Woman: Yeah.

Howie: Literally a month ago

They were wild moose with their moms.

Their moms were teaching them things,

That two-legged beings were bad

And they should avoid those things at all costs.

To now, they're, they've accepted us as their new moms.

Jamie: Moving them to a new enclosure

Is an entirely new world to them.

Howie: So just go from that gate straight across.

Jamie: Honestly, I'm trying to go in and stay calm

And believe that it's going to go well.

Just go in with a positive vibe.

Howie: We'll try it with the bottles first,

And then I've got this.

Woman: Okay.

Jamie: We can easily just walk them straight across the alley.

So you just want to really make sure you're keeping them calm,

They're not getting stressed out.

That it's just, "hey, this is another day in the life."

Howie: That's the hope. You ready, jamie?

Sonia: Are we ready?

Howie: But when they come out here,

That's when it might get cray-cray.

Howie: Time to move the moose calves.

Sonia: Are we ready?

Howie: You ready, jamie?

Jamie: So we're gonna be moving pip and jo to a new yard.

They're very motivated for the bottles.

Jamie: Ready to go? Sonia: Yeah.

Jamie: Pip-pip.

Just another day in the life.

Sonia: Little miss scaredy jo.

Jamie: I'm right behind you, sonia.

Sonia: Yup.

♪ ♪

You did so good.

Jamie: Let your sister go.

Oh, I know, I know.

You got to get all the milk immediately.

♪ ♪

It's all gone.

Howie: Well, that went pretty smooth.

Normally, nothing works that way.

So that was exciting.

Pip's completely content eating food and eating leaves already.

While jo is also content eating flowers,

But I think once we walk away, then they'll get to explore

And really get to know their new, their new digs.

Jamie: Let's check out your new home.

Keeper: So all staff knows, the two moose calves

Are in the middle pen now.

(laughs)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Kristen: Hey, sweetie. Do you want to come feed your chick?

You going to feed your chick?

No, you're just going to eat it instead, huh.

Not feed your chick?

You're not doing a very good job there, dad.

They just haven't figured out

That they're supposed to actually feed their chick.

This is the last one I have.

Alright, we're going to have to take your chick out instead.

If we didn't intervene, that puffin wouldn't get fed

And it would probably starve.

Want another one? Oh, yes, delicious. Good job.

(bellowing)

Lisa: You know, we got through one hurdle.

We got through the birth.

We have yet seen any nursing still.

Ideally, you like to see nursing pretty quickly.

You know, it's like every step, there's a hurdle to get over.

(bellowing)

We will always intervene if we have to,

But when we don't have to, that is the ideal situation.

Julie: We're seeing the right behaviors

From the pup looking to nurse.

And we see mara being very attentive to the pup

And protective and wanting to be near it.

But we haven't seen a connection yet.

(bellowing)

When an animal has their first pup,

It can be very nerve-racking.

She is a first-time mom trying to nurse,

So we knew this could be a difficult task for her.

Lisa: What are we learning? Patience. (laughs)

I have been here at the sealife center

For each of the four successful viable pups we've had.

So we, we are a little concerned.

(bellows)

Like she's not sure what the pup's trying to do.

Looking at it more of as it might be a nuisance to her.

Lisa: Go that way, go that way, go that way.

It's hard to watch sometimes.

It's vocalizing when it's trying to suck,

Like, it's like, he was like, "I'm hungry!"

(bellowing)

Julie: There's only two facilities in the united states

That have steller sea lions,

So the collection is pretty small right now.

Now that, you know, that we do have this pup,

And since our local population is an endangered population,

There is so much riding on this being a success.

Lisa: Come on, mama, let her nurse,

Let her nurse, let her nurse.

(mom bellows) (pup cries)

It's been 48 hours, we still haven't seen nursing.

Julie: And this is where we start

To get a little bit worried.

Lisa: So we've made the decision to go in

And, and try to get our hands on the pup.

Dr. Carrie: We do feel that given the lack of any indication

That we do want to get a closer look at pup

And make sure there's nothing that we can't easily help with.

Lisa: We'll tube it some fluids

Just because it hasn't had any fluids since birth.

The first step will be getting mara separated from the pup.

Julie: Let's go, mara! Good girl!

Good.

Let's go, mara.

Nice job, mar!

Good girl.

Yes.

Alright, let's move.

Lisa: Everybody knows they need to move quickly.

Lisa: It's been 48 hours, and this newborn pup has not eaten.

We want to get some fluids on board.

And we're going to move as quickly as we can,

Super quick, pull it out.

We're still very optimistic that nursing will take place,

But we just want to take the opportunity

To get some, some critical fluids on board.

Mara was vocalizing, really, really loud vocalizations,

Constantly, some pacing.

Julie: Yup.

Lisa: We're really excited to find out the sex of this animal.

We're all really, really hoping it's a girl,

Because we have so many boys! (laughs)

(pup cries)

Dr. Carrie: It's a girl.

(cheering)

Dr. Carrie: Right? Yeah. Julie: Yeah, it is.

Lisa: Like I say, we just really want to keep it short

And just put the pup back with mara as quick as possible,

So mara knows that everything's okay.

(cries)

I was actually quite surprised at how hefty the pup was.

Julie: The exam only took about five minutes,

And then we were able to reunite them back right away.

The pup is healthy, it's very active, it's got a personality.

(bellowing)

Mara handled it great.

She has really strong instincts as a mother.

We still have really high hopes

That they're going to make the connection

And she's going to be nursing within the next day or so.

And it's a girl!

Dr. Carrie: It's a girl!

Lisa: Yeah.

Jen: Sven's been here since 2018

And had some damage to his feathers.

Basically didn't have a tail.

And looking at him now, his feathers are almost,

There's still a few that are growing,

But I think he's ready to go.

And he should do great out there.

So we're going to release him.

Jennifer: So this is, this is

Our personal protective equipment here.

We have a lot of people in our community

That have been really supportive of our work,

And it's great to be able to show our appreciation

By allowing them to let an eagle go.

It's a way for them to connect

With just the pure majesty of these creatures,

And how absolutely thrilling it is

To hold a bald eagle in your arms.

Woman: And just be careful of his little tail.

Kara: It gets really emotional

Because they're a symbol of america.

And, you know, to be able to see america's symbol

Fly back into the wild is very, very patriotic.

One.

All: Two, three!

Woman: Oh, my god, look at that.

♪ ♪

Jennifer: It was amazing to see him fully feathered

And majestically flying away powerfully.

It was, it was awesome.

Woman: Excited about the... Kara: Me, too. I know. Yay.

Kara: It's just so incredible to see them fly back in the wild

And just be free again.

So it's, it's a good feeling.

Woman: Look at him go.

(grunting)

Lisa: The pup is very ready to eat

And it's, it's been actively trying,

But just hasn't had success yet.

I've been watching mara and the pup all day,

And I look up and I see mara roll onto her side.

And I was like, "julie, are you watching the cameras?"

Julie: And she's like, "I think the pup is nursing."

We sneak out there to get some eyes on her.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

And so that moment when we see it finally happen,

That was one of the best moments,

Other than seeing that pup come out alive.

Lisa: It was, we were ecstatic.

♪ ♪

Julie: Nature did its thing.

It's been pretty, pretty perfect.

Lisa: She's like, "ooh, how do I get that?"

(laughs)

(grunting)

Julie: I can't wait to be able to see mara's pup going through

These same milestones that we see out on chiswell.

You know, learning how to haul out, learning how to swim,

And hold their breath, and all these milestones.

It's amazing to know that her life will be involved

In research and science to help her wild counterparts out here.

Captioned by side door media services