Original subtitles

VIRGINIA GAY (NARRATES): Looking out across Taronga,

you can't help feeling time stands still.

What are you doing, my beautiful boy?

But that's about the only thing.

Because here, there's always something happening.

(CHUCKLES) I love this.

So, as you join this latest Taronga adventure...

Everyone out. Everyone out.

Buckle up and try to keep up

as the animals move in and out of the zoo.

You're OK.

And the staff move mountains...

Oh! Frala!

..to save species...

Hey. Here we go.

..and provide love and care.

So small.

Come with us... Who's that there?

..as we discover exactly who's-who in this zoo.

(TIGER ROARS)

On this episode...

Good boy, angel. ..meet Hari.

You've been such a good little boy.

Now, apart from weighing 1700kg...

You know, who's got the snacks.

..he's just like any other four-year-old.

He does just love attention.

He has a mind of his own.

Hari, come on. Move up. Hari, move up.

He's easily distracted.

Come on. We're not done yet.

But just be careful when you tickle him.

(RHINOCEROS SNORTS)

Well, I did warn you.

A hospital emergency...

He's quite a feisty little one.

..for this prickly customer.

And never get in the way of Perup...

I know he looks like a small little cute animal.

..and his food.

He definitely can bite through bone.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

(INTENSE MUSIC)

At Taronga Zoo,

the keepers are based full time in either Sydney

or a five-hour drive north in Dubbo.

Hello, handsome.

But there are times when they will swap locations,

usually to gain experience with a certain animal.

Always be watching who's...who...who's where.

Yeah.

Things can sneak up out of nowhere. Sure. Yeah.

And on this occasion,

Sydney keeper Lex has been in Dubbo for a few weeks now,

working with a certain herd.

Hey, buddy.

Hi.

We have seven buffalo here, and I think the name gives it away

with being a water buffalo.

They love to spend

a lot of time in the water.

Often you'll see them submerged in the pond,

having a bit of a relaxed session or a spa session.

The spa treatment doesn't end there.

When they're not in the water,

this herd also enjoys a bit of grooming.

Touch.

Boy.

Hi.

Good boys. Hello.

And some of them actually do enjoy us to touch them.

Don't be silly. Don't be silly.

And that's just a great way to bond,

and they're very inquisitive animals.

I'll come to you later soon, OK?

Because they are still so young, close to a year,

and they live up to around 25 years,

we can kind of consider them as young bulls

who just wanna tussle with each other.

They still like to spar.

So, we just try and make sure that we don't encourage those

competitive head butting behaviours.

They'll often test boundaries,

so, that's why we try and touch on the side rather than the head

where they might think it's a competition.

I feel like the mother of buffalo.

The reason keeper Lex

has travelled to Dubbo is to get to know these buffalo

because a few of them will soon be heading her way.

So, three will come to Taronga, Sydney, the older ones,

which are gonna be slightly more mature,

but they're also bigger in size.

And that's what we want because we want a-a confident

but also larger bull, um, that has manners.

That's it. Come on. (BELL DINGS)

I'm ringing the bell. Hey.

Just as a recall, just to let them know that

I want them to come to the front.

You're alright, buddy.

And we give them something to reward them

from coming all the way over here.

You're alright.

They're getting carrots attention 'cause they do like attention.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

We've got seven.

I'm just gonna head down and close them off.

All this hands on time...

Yes, I know you're getting jealous.

..helps condition the water buffalo

to be relatively relaxed around people.

Yes. You can have scratches too.

Vital when transporting large animals this strong willed.

Good boy. Alright. See you later.

And speaking of large, strong-willed animals...

Oh, feels good.

..one much larger lad is also preparing

for an imminent move to Sydney in a couple of months.

Hello, Hari. Good boy.

Hari, move up.

But moving a 1.7-tonne rhinoceros...

Steady.

..that's only happening if he decides it is.

Come on, buddy. You're alright.

Oh, buddy.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

Ring-tail possum and brushtail possum, mum and bub.

It's another busy day at Taronga Zoo's Wildlife Hospital.

You're OK, bubba.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

A bunch of wild, spiky visitors

or rescues brought into the zoo...

They're not the most compliant to the patients, are they?

..have been busy stirring up plenty of chaos.

(CHUCKLES)

We just seem to have

had an abundance of echidnas of late

'cause they're sort of on the move at the moment.

Oh, they are lovely animals.

Don't take half of your debris with you.

But these guys are super hard to house.

Excuse me. Have you flipped over all your furniture again?

You're trouble.

Look at the mess you've made.

No.

He's going in his house,

getting ready to flip it again, I reckon.

Try and escape, that's what he's gonna do.

They're very good escape artists.

Do the big Houdini on me.

So, that's the last thing you want

running around your emergency hospital is an echidna.

Hi.

But while the vet team do love these prickly patients...

Your room service is here, sir.

..they're always focused on their mission,

to rehabilitate and return these native critters

back into the wild.

So, today we're having a look at our little short-beaked echidna

that was admitted to the Taronga Wildlife Hospital

about two weeks ago.

There he is. He's done a crapola.

And it came in with some abrasions to the beak.

It was bleeding quite a bit.

It's likely that the echidna's wounds

were caused by a passing car.

And unfortunately, this kind of injury

doesn't get more serious.

It's the part that they breathe through.

It's the part that they eat.

They use that to dig and to forage and to look through for food.

So, the team's first job was to assess the damage.

These are the X-rays we did on the little echidna

when he was admitted to the hospital

and the main thing is we were looking

for any signs of fractures in his beak.

We confirmed that he did have quite a severe laceration

under the bottom surface of his beak.

Echidna beak injuries are very difficult to treat

and also very slow to heal.

It's awkward 'cause where his abrasions are,

we literally had to do a complete hands off for this guy.

We don't need to weigh him here.

We'll weigh him... Yeah.

..when he's asleep.

Incy- Wincy's in there.

Every time you go to get an echidna,

if you see they tuck themselves into a ball.

Oh,

so, every time he'd do that, he would reopen his wound.

Become quite the ninja of the old, um...

(CHUCKLES) . .short beak echidna captures.

He's quite a pokey and feisty little one.

He-he is. He's got such an attitude.

Today, the team are sedating this feisty echidna

so, they can have a closer look at the wound.

Let me see your leg.

But even handling him for his injection

risks opening up the wound again.

If he's got any bleeding there,

there's a high chance that he has reinjured that area,

which wouldn't be good for him.

(DELIGHTFUL MUSIC)

At Taronga Western Plains Zoo...

Hari. Good boy.

..it's morning tea time

for one of Dubbo's most intriguing residents.

Hi, buddy.

Little snack?

Good boy.

Hari is four years old.

He's a very sweet young man.

He's got his own special personality,

and he does just love attention.

Oh- oh, good scratches.

You've got all the spots you can't reach, baby boy.

Hari is a Greater One-Horned Rhino.

Wanna move up?

A species with a distinctive profile.

The coolest thing about these guys is that incredible

armoured plating makes him look very unique

compared to other species of rhino.

These guys look like they're ready for battle.

Now, you know, who's got the snacks.

The reason for those plates

is these guys have very large incisor teeth

at the front of their mouth,

and those teeth are what they use to fight each other.

So, being a solitary species,

sometimes they need to defend their territory.

So, those plates keep them nice and safe

when they are sparring with one another.

Good boy. You've been such a good little boy.

The other really noticeable thing about these guys

is they only have one horn.

They're known as rhinoceros unicornis,

so, one horn unicorn.

They are a real life unicorn.

Maybe not what you're expecting to see.

And, unfortunately, that is what made them so, desirable

for poaching 'cause there is only one.

But you're doing good, buddy.

Only 4,000 Greater One-Horned Rhinos

remain in the wild.

And Hari's birth four years ago

was a major milestone for Taronga's breeding program.

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

Being able to bring Hari into the world

gives us the opportunity to really contribute

to the conservation of the species.

They grow up with their mum for about two to three years,

but after that point in time,

the young sub adults separate off from mum,

especially your bull males.

Hari and his parents

are the only Greater One-Horned Rhinos

in Australia.

He's well and truly separated from his mum,

and now he's about to embark on an important new chapter.

Hari is soon to be in Sydney,

so, there will be two groups across-across the state.

So, he's going down to be an ambassador for the species

and really get people involved and excited

and want the animals to stay on earth

because they care about the animals we can show them.

You'll get a scratch-scratch.

Oh, feels good.

(CHUCKLES) We affectionately kind of know him as the baby.

We all do spend a lot of time with him,

and he is our little project at the moment

to make sure that he has

the smoothest possible transition to Sydney.

His sea change to Sydney will be a huge undertaking...

but the Taronga team does know a thing or two

about moving large animals.

That's the way.

Very good, Mo.

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

Since long standing residents,

Pak Boon and Tang Mo, moved to South Australia,

their old home has been vacant,

but now, it's being renovated just for Hari,

and eventually, a few water buffalo too.

And while it is set to be a spectacular new habitat,

the change in location does pose some potential challenges.

We are here on the beautiful Sydney Harbour,

but there's a lot of activity around this harbour.

Noises like fireworks, the flyovers, even speedboats.

And, obviously, being in Dubbo,

he doesn't ever see a seagull.

So, being out here,

he's gonna see lots of seagulls.

(SEAGULLS SQUAWK)

This rhino species is somewhat nervous.

Sydney is going to be a big change for this 1.7-tonne cutie.

The worst thing for us would be to rush this process.

We want him to be the most confident animal as possible,

to get him as rock solid to people

and to everything we can before he actually arrives.

There's an endless amount of things to condition him to.

Still to come, on guard...

They are classified

as a hazardous animal here at the zoo.

..Perup's bite is actually much worse than his bark.

If we wanna go in and clean, we have to have the shovel with us.

And after the elephant relocation...

We're actually pouring the walls for the structure today.

..it's now, a full blown rhino renovation.

It's really a big milestone that we've reached.

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

Deep in the heart of Nocturnal Country,

one wild little carnivore

is keeping his keepers

well and surely on their toes.

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

Can you see him? No? I think he's still in bed.

That's good. We like when he stays in bed.

Yeah. Alright.

Here at Taronga Zoo in Sydney,

we have one male chuditch,

which is also known as a western quoll.

His name is Perup.

So, they are a nocturnal species.

They are carnivorous marsupial.

They're actually related to the Tasmanian devil,

and they have a very strong bite force.

Out in the wild, unfortunately, they had a lot of habitat loss.

Their numbers decreased massively.

Taronga is helping change that, breeding and releasing

more than 50 in recent years.

They're doing great.

Perup is an ambassador species for that program,

but caring for this fierce little hunter comes with real risks.

I know he looks like a small little cute animal,

but they are actually classified as a hazardous animal

here at the zoo.

He definitely can bite through bone.

The keepers have even installed an automatic feeder

activated with an infrared beam

so, they can feed Perup without entering his habitat.

Yummy.

But that doesn't solve every problem.

So, at the moment, if we wanna go in and clean,

we have to have the shovel with us as a barrier between.

But it also means that we can't do big substrate changes

or change up his habitat, make it exciting and new for him.

So, what we started doing is we started pet-pack training him.

Look at that.

So, we got him comfortable

with voluntarily entering a pet-pack, accepting food...

but we don't want him sitting in that pet-pack

for a long period of time.

It's not a big enough space walking in.

We don't want him to start becoming stressed.

Perup's pet-pack isn't a great long-term solution

for containing this curious chuditch

while the keepers work in his habitat.

We came up with a solution

to give him access to our holding spaces.

This holding space is directly behind Perup's enclosure

and the solution is this spotty box

which connects Perup's habitat to this holding space.

The box is the right size for him.

It's got the spaces

that we can allow food to go through.

So, the plan is encourage Perup into the box...

and then eventually out of the box and into the holding space.

What do you think should I try first?

Give him some chick first and then roaches in the middle?

Yep. OK.

Alright. Ready when you are.

Slide.

The box is ready.

Keeper Freya is ready.

But where is Perup?

I cannot see him.

In Dubbo, the peace and tranquillity

of Taronga Western Plains Zoo

is about to be shattered by one rather relaxed rhinoceros.

Hari. Your feetsies.

Tickle. ..tickle...tickle.

(RHINOCEROS SNORTS)

(CHUCKLES)

You're ridiculous, dude.

With the wind well and truly in his sails,

Hari will soon move to the big smoke in Sydney,

where at least at the moment,

the pace isn't quite so chill.

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

(MACHINE WHIRRS)

Yeah, back a bit, yeah.

In anticipation of Hari's arrival, the former elephant habitat

is undergoing a full rhino renovation...

Yeah, go up...go up. Let them all.

..and today, project manager Danielle is watching closely

as the moat's reshaped to suit this semi-aquatic species.

So, elephants are obviously

a lot bigger than Hari,

and they are quite confident swimmers in the water,

whereas Hari really likes to make sure

that he can touch the bottom at some point at all times.

We're actually pouring the walls for the structure today,

which is gonna help assist spreading the load

of the overall concrete floor

that we're gonna pour later in the week.

(MACHINE WHIRRS)

Yeah. Come back a tiny bit.

These renovations are expected to finish

just before Hari is due to arrive in a couple of months.

It's a massive job and a tight schedule.

I'm actually really excited

for the progress that we're seeing today.

It's-it's really a big milestone that we've reached.

(MACHINE WHIRRS)

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

Meanwhile, back in Dubbo...

Hari, come on.

..things are moving at a more leisurely pace.

Alright.

Jen, he's coming up through Dora's night yard area.

But with only two months until Hari heads to Sydney...

Hello, Hari.

..there isn't much time to waste.

Move up.

Hari, move up.

The purpose of the training we're doing this morning

is to get him nice and comfortable, confident in the crate

in which he'll be transported to Sydney,

just getting him used to the idea of being

in a slightly more enclosed space

and to make that space really positive

so, on the day,

it's not suddenly a shock that this is happening.

Good boy.

Steady.

I've got Jen, Brendan, and Lex with me to help as eyes and ears

to see how he goes moving in.

Move up.

Good.

So, we're going to take it nice and slowly,

give him really high-value treats

and rewards for coming into the crate,

and hopefully,

he's gonna be a really confident boy in going through that process.

(GENTLE MUSIC)

Where are you off to?

It's a delicate process.

Even the faintest movement or noise

could spook this wary rhino for good.

(MAGPIE WARBLES)

I can hear it too. You're alright.

Oh, buddy.

Just needs little moment.

That's alright. He's allowed a moment.

Being a solitary species,

you're much more on edge in terms of your listening.

We don't want Hari to spook and set him back.

His eyes is the biggest tell

when his eyes are bulging out and buggy.

Yep.

That's when you know he's not sure.

Move up.

Look how many carrots are waiting for you.

Let's go.

Hari alone will decide if he enters the crate.

I know, overwhelming sometimes.

It's just the magpie moving around.

That's fine. Yeah, to your left. Yeah.

And if he refuses...

Come on.

We're not done yet.

..Sydney is going to have a brand-new rhino habitat

without a rhino.

Come on, buddy. You're alright.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

Two weeks ago,

this wild echidna was brought

into the wildlife hospital

with a serious beak wound

after being hit by a car.

Nighty-night.

The wound hasn't been healing,

so, today the vet team are going to sedate him

and check whether there's any improvement.

There's always a chance that he has reinjured that area.

It's been injected.

Wonderful.

He's looking pretty active there still.

Vet Kresen uses a gas mask to anaesthetise the echidna,

but it's not straightforward.

So, with echidnas,

we try to use an injectable anaesthetic combo these days.

We don't have to mask them down for as long.

They also need less gas and they're more stable,

but it doesn't always knock them out.

OK. We're starting at 2%.

Mm-hm.

If you go a lot higher,

it can cause a bit of breath holding or apnoea.

It's a fine balance.

He's scrunching a little bit.

Sedate this echidna too deeply and he could stop breathing.

I can see his tongue coming out a little bit.

OK.

Don't sedate him enough

and he could wake and risk damaging the wound.

That's why Lev is monitoring him so carefully.

I'm just checking in his breathing.

It's so challenging getting any monitoring.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

That was a breath.

Hello, little one.

There, yeah, he's a lot more relaxed now.

That went really smoothly. Mm-hm.

He's doing about eight breaths a minute.

While the echidna is stable,

the team will need to keep a close watch on his breathing

during the procedure.

What we can do if we are concerned

is that we can reverse one of the drugs

and we'll actually see it'll improve his breathing.

For now, he's actually fine.

Arlene, can I get you to take pictures of his feet?

The echidnas love to dig and explore.

We often need to make sure that they don't get any abrasions.

We don't want them to develop any injuries

while they're going through rehabilitation,

which prevents them from being released.

It looks pretty good.

It's always cool to see their salivary glands.

They have a really long tongue,

and that's what they use to eat insects and termites

and they need a lot of saliva to do that.

It's time for Vet Kresen to have a closer look at that beak...

We're gonna pop him out...

Mm-hm. We're just gonna have a quick look.

..which means removing the mask and the anaesthetic.

Let's get out his tongue.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

It's just a magpie moving around.

That's fine. Yeah, to your left. Yeah.

He needs a minute to regulate.

In Dubbo, Greater One-Horned Rhino Hari

is taking his first tentative steps towards his relocation to Sydney

in two months' time.

Hari.

Come on, buddy.

A big part of the move

is going to be the fact that he's in a crate.

So, we want him feeling as confident and comfortable as possible

with all four feet in the crate.

See, you're alright.

Come on.

Hari, come on.

Move up.

Move up.

Move up.

He's got his back leg up.

Yep. Yeah.

So, keep him going.

Good boy, Hari.

Nice.

Last one's a bit precarious.

It's on the edge.

Almost there. You're so close.

Good boy.

Hello.

Steady.

Just an eating machine.

It just doesn't-doesn't even take a breather.

On game day, we might need plenty...

Those extras.

Yeah. All the treats in the world.

Alrighty. We'll move him up and out.

It's a slow start for this cautious rhino.

But at his soon-to-be new habitat in Sydney...

Up we come, Phil.

Up we come.

Alright.

..it's all systems go.

Keep you cruising at that.

So, today's a really exciting day.

We're bringing in three mature advanced trees.

We have touched down.

Lose a little bit of weight and then lose it on jib.

It was really, really hard to grow trees in the exhibit

when we had elephants in there.

They're really big. They can reach up.

They love tearing the trees apart and getting to those leaves.

This one's going in the planter box.

So, it was an opportunity to source lovely new trees

and provide as much shade as possible.

Keep cruising.

Whenever we're doing tasks like this,

we've just gotta be done and dusted

and out of the way

before we've got guests thrown

flowing through the door.

And stop, stop.

That's pretty bloody good.

And rip, rip, mate, up we go.

So, two trees in, one to go.

Alright. We're good.

With less than 30 minutes until the zoo opens,

the third and final tree is going to be a challenge.

Try that.

As you go back, it'll lift it and...

The last one, we need to take right down to the lower habitat.

Yep, from here, I'm watching this side.

You need to go that way a little bit.

And we have no way of a crane reaching anywhere near that far.

You need to sort of go wide around that log sticking out there.

So, we're sort of wrestling it into position

with a-a Bobcat and an excavator.

So, that should be a little bit interesting.

(MACHINE WHIRRS)

Here you go.

If we wanna grow a nice big tree,

we don't want Hari to wreck it in the first six months

when we're trying to establish it.

Just following up.

(MACHINE WHIRRS)

So, we're putting him up on a mound, putting some rocks around it,

and making it a little bit difficult to get to.

OK. Try and lift it.

(INTENSE MUSIC) (MACHINE WHIRRS)

Nice and steady, mate, that's it.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

Wait, wait, wait.

Just wait, well, come back, come back.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

Yep.

(MACHINE WHIRRS)

Well done, team.

So, it's just ticked over 9:33.

We've got all the trees in.

That actually doesn't look bad.

I'm happy with that.

They're looking really, really nice and perfectly orientated,

so, really, really good result.

The habitat is almost complete,

but the mission's success

rests on a certain rhinoceros, Hari.

You alright, Hari, son?

For two months now, the keepers have been getting creative...

Boy.

..preparing Hari

for the unfamiliar sights and sounds of the much busier Sydney.

Three, two, one.

(BALLOON BURSTS)

And working on his confidence inside the crate.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

But when moving day finally arrives,

Hari, in true rhino fashion, might have other ideas.

Steady. Get him?

Come here.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

In Nocturnal Country at Taronga Zoo,

keeper Freya is working

to encourage Perup the chuditch

into a new holding box installed behind his habitat.

Perup.

It's the first step

in giving Perup a safe, comfortable spot to retreat to

whenever his keepers need to access the enclosure.

But it seems Perup might have other ideas about entering that box.

Do you wanna try the slide cue again maybe?

Slide.

Anytime the door is opened, keeper Laura calls out "slide"

as a cue to encourage Perup into the box.

Slide.

At least that's the plan.

Hold on.

Hi.

Hi.

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

Here we go.

Good boy.

Slide.

So, we're opening and closing the slide several times for now

just so that he gets comfortable with that behaviour.

Slide.

Hopefully he just keeps focusing on the food that we're giving him

and it's just a non-event for him, and that's what we want.

Alright. Let's try a roach.

While keeper Freya distracts Perup...

Greedy, hmm?

Wow.

So grabby.

..keeper Laura can now safely enter his habitat.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

So, I'm just putting some enrichment out for him.

So, today we've got a coconut shell,

which has some insectivore mix sort of put inside

for a bit of scent enrichment,

and then also a little chick body as well

because he's very highly food motivated.

So, really good reward for him coming back into his exhibit.

Can I have the tongs? Thank you.

Once Perup is familiar with this routine,

the next step will be to let him roam in this holding space

while the keepers work in his enclosure.

He's going so well.

He is just the best learner.

He's so switched on.

Alright.

So, now that I've pretty much just finished up here feeding him,

we're gonna open the slide again.

And he's got such a strong recall with the shaker sounds

that you'll hear.

And Laura's just gonna call him out.

And then he'll go to his station.

He'll get his reward for going back out.

And then he'll also find

his fun enrichment out there as well.

Perfect.

That was so good.

(GENTLE MUSIC)

In Dubbo...

Hari, come on.

..the big day has arrived.

Hari is due to be loaded onto a truck

and driven to Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

But first, he needs to agree to enter his transport crate.

And that has to go on before this issue.

Yes.

Today is the day.

All our months of preparation

getting Hari ready

is all upon us now.

Keeper Amy has been taking care of Hari

since he was born.

And today,

that familiar bond will be crucial in ensuring he feels comfortable.

You've got the biggest job. Yep.

But he knows you the best.

Calm. You just call him back.

He's gonna go up and down and just walk in the park.

You've done it a million times.

I've got a whole bunch of fruit. I've got a whole bunch of browse.

You'll be alright. Loosen.

Ready?

Let's go.

For Hari, today should be like every other training session,

but there's one unforeseen event the keepers can't change.

Unfortunately, the weather is working a little bit against us.

The wind is picking up.

Rhinos are naturally a bit of a flighty species,

so, all this, little extra wind gust and noise makes it hard for him.

With this wind,

there is a real chance that Hari may not come into the crate.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

Hari, come on.

Let's go, boof.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

There you go.

Hearing is one of their best sense,

and therefore, because of the wind,

they can't tell where the direction

of perceived dangers are going.

Hi, hon.

Are you ready?

Hey, dude.

It's my little toy.

Hari's in. Amy's got him.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

So far, the months of crate training are paying off.

(BACKGROUND CHATTER)

But this is the first time Hari will be secured in the crate.

Ready?

Vet Tim is standing by with a sedative

to help keep the rhino calm if needed.

(WIND GUSTS)

He's not great with the wind.

(BACKGROUND CHATTER)

Get in.

Come here. No take off.

The realisation for him is that he can't get out,

so, he's-he's responding.

It was expected that he would react.

He's now being given a bit of a sedative,

and we're just at that stage now waiting for that to take effect.

(BACKGROUND CHATTER)

Now that Hari's calm and contained,

his 400km journey to Sydney can begin.

The next step now, the crane will come straight in,

pick up the-the crate and plonk it straight on the truck,

and then we'll hit the road straight away.

Hari's new beginnings in Sydney mean a farewell to Dubbo,

the only home he's ever known.

Sending Hari is a bit of a bittersweet moment.

(GENTLE MUSIC)

I'm going before I cry.

I've built such a bond with him over all those years,

but I know he's gonna be just such an incredible ambassador

down at Taronga, Sydney

for not just Greater One-Horned Rhino,

but for all rhinos.

All five species need our protection.

Hari's gonna send that message

to everyone who visits Taronga, Sydney.

(ENGINE REVS)

Now, safely on the move,

only time will tell how Hari's going to react

when he's unloaded at his new home.

Coming up, a magical day for Annii.

I've been like a vet nurse

and wildlife carer for what seems like forever in a day.

This is a big win.

And the rhino has landed.

He's not out yet, but he's here.

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

That was a breath.

Two weeks ago,

this echidna was brought into the wildlife hospital

with a wound on its beak

after being hit by a car.

Oh, he's so cute.

Today, Vet Kresen wants to recheck the wound

before deciding if this rather prickly animal

can be released back into the wild.

Just gonna have a quick look.

But anaesthetising an echidna isn't an exact science.

Hello. Bit light.

We'll get him deeper.

OK. I'm getting him back on.

Pop him to 1.5.

1.5. OK.

That was a breath.

Heart rate is 64.

The echidna is asleep again, at least for now.

OK. Let's have a look at his beak.

You can see there's still swelling around the cut on the dorsal beak.

It's starting to granulate over.

Now, it's looking so much better.

Yeah.

It is looking a lot better.

The wound is contracting, and it has gotten a lot smaller,

but appears to be healing well.

And there's no signs of infection.

So, very lucky echidna.

Slowly but surely, he's recovering.

OK. We'll quickly inject the reversal.

OK. Hello.

Oh, they're waking up.

Good morning. (CHUCKLES)

(GENTLE MUSIC)

But is he ready to go back into the wild?

Everything's looking well.

The wound is healing quite nicely.

OK. Our equipment is getting caught up in you.

But just to be safe,

what we do is probably give him another week or two

just to make sure that lesion is completely healed.

Alright.

Back to bed.

So, he'll have another two weeks holiday with us.

Cool.

All good.

And two weeks later...

Lucky I did my stretches this morning.

So, this little kid didn't eat for a couple of weeks

which is pretty normal for echidnas.

Weighing in at a whopping 3.78 and topping the scales.

He has been eating well and yes, he's put on a fair whack of weight.

Very, very happy.

So, obviously, this fat camp has done him wonders.

After a month of treatment in the wildlife hospital,

this echidna is collected by Sydney Wildlife Rescue

and returned to the bush.

I've been like a vet nurse

and wildlife carer

for what seems like forever.

And when we have a little echidna,

like the feisty little man being released...

that just makes my heart happy.

And that's, at the end of the day,

all we want is for them to come in the door

and us boot them straight back out to where they should be in the wild.

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

So, this is a big win.

Meanwhile, at Taronga Zoo's new rhino habitat,

it's been a rather busy afternoon...

Do you want a little bit in here, my friend?

Yeah.

..the team are making final preparations

for the arrival of Greater One-Horned Rhino Hari,

who's being transported over 400km by road from Dubbo.

Rhinos love the smell of their own poo.

So, bringing him

a nice comfortable bit of home

from Dubbo to here

might seem a little bit gross,

but for rhinos it's actually really, really important.

So, we're making this space very comfortable for him

when he arrives.

That way he'll settle in a lot more comfortably.

While the red carpet has been rolled out in inside his new barn...

outside as night falls...

If we could just have this road, please,

for the next ten minutes, that would be great.

Thank you.

..it's an anxious wait for the team who are ready to receive him...

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

Here he comes.

He's not out yet, but he's here.

He travelled really, really well.

He was very quiet the whole way.

Couldn't have asked for a better

travelling companion.

Keep coming. Keep coming.

..though unloading Hari into his barn

might not be quite so straightforward.

If we can unload alright.

Prepare for the worst, I guess.

So, he might...he might back out at a million miles an hour,

I don't know.

Left hand down.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

Best-case scenario would be he comes out nice and slow.

He comes to the keepers he's familiar with,

or he could come out really, really hot.

So, hot meaning fast.

So, we have to just accommodate for both things.

Right here. Yep.

Good. Good.

The aim is to open Hari's crate smoothly and quietly.

But the team have an issue that could slow them down.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

This one's gotta come out first 'cause he's bent it.

Right.

So, that one we gotta get out before the rest

in case he decides to freak out.

He's got a bent pole?

Apparently, it's bowed.

Right. And it's the main pole.

So, it's gonna be problematic to get these out.

The pole is one of four helping to contain Hari inside the crate.

But until the panel doors are removed,

it's too hard to know just how bent it actually is.

If he suddenly goes off, I'd rather go,

"They are out. They're out. They're out."

Yeah.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

If he suddenly goes off, I'd rather go,

"They are out. They're out. They're out."

Yeah.

Inside Taronga Zoo's new rhino barn in Sydney...

the team are preparing to release Hari.

Start to choke up a bit.

Alright, mate. It's about to go.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

But they have a problem.

There's an issue with one of the poles

that we've got in the box.

It might have got bent during the transport

or the pin got bent a little bit during the transport.

It's not like a huge bend,

but it's enough that it's not gonna just come out clean.

It's gonna come out on a bit of an angle.

You ready? Yeah.

The plan is to remove the doors and the poles quickly,

calmly, and quietly.

Steady, Hari. Steady.

But if one of the poles gets stuck and slows the team down,

removing it could agitate this huge rhino.

We turn those lights off in the barn.

Lights off in the barn, Wren.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

The lights are turned off to help keep Hari calm

while each pole is removed.

Once the pole's removed,

there's another team that's gonna step in,

and we're gonna just block up some gaps.

Yep.

Good job, Hari.

And the reason for that is so he doesn't see any light.

If he sees any light, he's likely to head for the light.

Move? Yep.

(METAL CLANGS)

(INTENSE MUSIC)

Good boy, Hari.

Good job, Hari.

All the poles, including the bent one, are out.

You're OK, big man.

Now, the team watches the night vision.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

And waits.

Steady, Hari.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

There he is.

Good boy, Hari.

Nice and steady. You're so good.

Well done.

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

Welcome to Sydney.

Good job, Hari.

He's got two of his favourite keepers in there

at the moment with him,

um, just talking to him, keeping him nice and calm.

But, yeah, this is textbook. I couldn't have...

This is three months' worth of hard work,

and we've done it, Jen.

Another piece of the pie, but we're still not there yet.

Alright. Alright.

He unloaded really well. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. He's really calm.

He came out within, I don't know, 30 seconds, a minute,

backed out, went straight in, and within a minute he was eating.

So, it couldn't have been a-a better unloading.

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

And just a few days later...

Hari's settling in quite nicely.

Each day, he's getting more and more confident.

Once he does build up his confidence,

he's gonna explore everything.

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

You know, we're going at a snail's pace for a rhino,

but we're gonna get there.

I think we've done as best as we can

to set him up for a total success

here at Taronga.

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

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