NARRATOR: This time on Magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom...
a blind date for two aardvarks...
Aardvark love, take one!
NARRATOR: ...a black rhino faces his biggest challenge...
KATIE: If he doesn't wanna do something,
he's not afraid to let you know.
NARRATOR: ...and a rescued manatee gets a special squeeze.
-BOTH: Oh! -(SNORTS)
Feel better, buddy?
-(THEME MUSIC PLAYING) -(SQUAWKING)
-(WILDEBEEST GRUNTS) -NARRATOR: More than two hundred species
call Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park home.
(LION GRUNTS)
NARRATOR: All are special... but some are truly one of a kind.
(WOMAN LAUGHING)
FEMALE KEEPER: Let's go. This way, okay. Let's go this way.
Here he comes. You guys are getting a special treat.
NARRATOR: Meet Willie, the aardvark ambassador.
MISSY: Most people have never seen an aardvark.
Maybe in cartoons,
and what you see in cartoons, looks nothing like the real thing.
FEMALE KEEPER: Circle.
MISSY: We've loved working with him, he's an amazing ambassador.
When we bring him out, it's really about the excitement
that all of the guests, and even our keepers, see.
Good job.
MISSY: Willie is a really unique individual
and when you meet something that's unique,
you tend to create a bigger passion with people.
FEMALE KEEPER: Okay. (CHUCKLES)
MISSY: He's been here about five years now.
(FEMALE KEEPER CHUCKLES)
MISSY: Willie and I do have a really good bond...
and the fact that I get to work with him is really, really special for me.
-(FEMALE KEEPER CHUCKLES) -(SNIFFING)
NARRATOR: Willie's most distinctive feature?
A long nose with a very refined sense of smell.
MISSY: Their noses are my favorite thing.
They can suck their nose to the dirt and still breathe.
He does this... I call it snarf blatting. He does a... (SNIFFS)
...with his nose and the way it moves.
There's nothing like it in the world.
-(SNIFFS) -(FEMALE KEEPER CHUCKLING)
NARRATOR: But even Willie's super sensitive nose
may have missed something.
Love is in the air.
MISSY: (SINGING) Pretty, pretty, Peanut.
(SNIFFS)
NARRATOR: Meet Peanut, the park's first ever female aardvark.
We are pairing Willie up with a girlfriend.
Peanut is from Texas,
and she's a female that came from the Species Survival Program.
It's kind of like a dating site. Here at Disney,
this will be our first time breeding with aardvarks
and I'm very, very excited about that.
NARRATOR: But before her big date...
-TRAINER 1: Spa day. -Spa day!
TRAINER 1: Hi, sweet pea.
It's bath time, which means you get you avocado and banana.
TRAINER 2: Time for your spa appointment.
TRAINER 1: Just a little aardvark bath.
Scrub-a-dub-dub.
This is the first time we've seen
what Peanut's going to allow us to do with her.
All right. Gotta put your towel on.
TRAINER 2: All right, so we're gonna use warm water. I promise.
TRAINER 1: She's letting us get tactile with her,
and she's a very laid-back aardvark.
MISSY: It's really great how much Peanut is settling in here
and we hope that all that relaxation just continues
as she gets together with Willie.
TRAINER 2: Towel-dry time.
TRAINER 1: Now, you will even smell pretty.
We will be putting them side by side to maybe make more aardvarks.
NARRATOR: While the lovebirds await their potential match,
a savanna heavyweight gets ready for a big test.
Oh, he's here.
Morning, Badru!
NARRATOR: Weighing in at almost 3,000 pounds
and armed with two horns,
Badru, the black rhino is an intimidating sight.
But appearances can be deceiving.
Badru, at 19, he still has not gotten over being a baby.
He loves attention, he is always looking for somebody to just talk with him,
give him food and treats.
But if you walk away, will start crying for you to come back,
as if we don't love him enough. (CHUCKLES)
And it's normally not something you would hear in an adult rhino,
just Badru.
(BADRU CRIES)
NARRATOR: And when this big sweet boy cries,
it's usually for his beloved keeper, Katie.
KATIE: I like to think that Badru and I have a special bond.
Good boy!
He has a lot of personality and he's not afraid to show it.
He wins over your heart very quickly. Badru is very easy to work with,
although because of that personality, if he doesn't want to do something,
he's not afraid to let you know.
NARRATOR: He may be a big kid at heart, but at nearly two decades old,
his body isn't quite so sprightly anymore.
One of the procedures that we do is we will actually draw blood
because it can give us so much valuable information
about his health.
NARRATOR: That means Katie must convince a one-and-a-half-ton rhino
to stand still during a needle stick.
But she plans to win him over.
KATIE: Badru's actually been training for this,
basically, we've been working with him, building trust
and constantly monitoring his behavior. He loves to train,
especially if he thinks somebody has food for him.
KATIE: Hi, handsome.
Badru likes to eat everything, but I think,
uh, his favorites are probably sweet potato,
he also likes celery and yellow squash. So, he's a healthy guy.
Oh, good boy. (CHUCKLES)
What a good job.
NARRATOR: Katie now has Badru wrapped around her finger.
KATIE: One of the first things we like to train
is that blood draw behavior.
The single finger on the nose is a steady behavior,
and it's what we call a loose steady, meaning that he can chew,
he can move his head around, but he's going to keep his feet planted
and stay with me.
Badru is definitely in a very calm mood,
he's participating in the session
and he's focused on what we're doing training-wise,
which is, for him, basically just standing still.
Badru is just relaxed
and happy to take as much food as I will put in his mouth.
There we go. All right. (CHUCKLES)
NARRATOR: Badru may be acing his training, but his keepers aren't finished yet.
KATIE: Badru, come.
We noticed that Badru had a few extra pounds on him,
so, we figured some exercise, some movement would help with that.
Badru, fetch.
I don't know of anyone else who's playing fetch with black rhinos,
so, I can't say that it's not happening anywhere, but not that I know of.
(CHUCKLES)
Good boy!
Good boy. What a good man.
Badru, fetch.
This is a good way for Badru to get moving.
He doesn't move quite as fast as most dogs that I've seen play fetch,
but he tends to stay a little more motivated,
probably because there's food at the end. (CHUCKLES)
While it started off as business,
it was for his health,
of course, it's a lot of fun for us keepers as well.
Drop. Oh, good boy.
I mean, who doesn't want to play fetch with a black rhino?
NARRATOR: Right now,
big kid Badru, looks ready for his upcoming blood draw,
but there's no guarantee he'll play ball on the day.
This procedure is part of maintaining his health,
so, of course, we would love for this to be successful.
It's something that we take very seriously
and we know how important it can be,
but, really, our goal is just to keep trying.
NARRATOR: Five miles away, at Epcot,
The Seas provides a home for aquatic animals
of all shapes and sizes.
Including rescues, like, nearly 12-foot long West Indian manatee...
Lil Joe.
Lil Joe was found rescued as an underweight newborn.
Nice.
LESLIE: He was believed to be an orphan,
his mother was nowhere in the area so she was presumed deceased,
well, manatees need their mothers to be able to survive.
Typically, a newborn animal is gonna be about 60 pounds,
but he was weighing in at 42.
So, he was given some good nutrients, typically formula,
and he's been here for the past six years.
LISA: Okay, you ready?
He loves pumpkins.
Look at that guy, isn't he great?
NARRATOR: And Lil Joe can really chow down.
LESLIE: During the course of the day, our animals are gonna eat
anywhere between 60 to 150 heads of lettuce, each.
That is a lot, a lot of lettuce.
NARRATOR: Along with close attention to his diet...
Lil Joe gets regular checkups for his physical condition.
And there's one spot near his tail that requires extra special care.
DR. DAN: Lil Joe has had this recurrent abscess for a while now,
and we have been monitoring it and treating it when necessary.
Oh, yeah, it definitely looks bigger.
-It's an astute observation on my part. -MALE VOICE: Yeah. Way to go, yeah.
-That's why you went to vet school. -Yeah, thanks. (LAUGHS)
Even though manatees live in the water
they are mammals, um, which means they breathe air,
and he can tolerate being out of the water.
NARRATOR: The team wears safety helmets, just in case 1,500 pound Lil Joe
decides to flick his massive tail.
DR. DAN: The goal for today is to inspect this lump that he's got.
He seems to be tolerating this pretty well, huh?
As I scan from one side to the other, I can see there's a big black circle,
which is pretty suggestive of a fluid pocket, uh,
which we've identified as likely being an abscess.
Basically, a big balloon of pus.
The abscess is getting bigger
and starting to look a little bit like a volcano.
This isn't all of it, this is like the tip of the iceberg.
-(LIL JOE EXHALES) -DR. DAN: It's unlikely
for it to just pop open on its own,
uh, if left untreated, the infection could go deeper
into his muscle or other areas
and that's what we want to prevent from happening.
Okay.
This spray makes the skin really cold to desensitize the area.
We're gonna basically stick a needle in here to release some of the pressure,
which will feel good.
NARRATOR: But getting up close to a pus-filled lump...
Just have some stuff ready in case we get an eruption.
NARRATOR: ...can be a messy job.
Okay, ready? One, two, three...
Just a tiny flinch.
And this is what I was hoping we would see.
There's a thick, toothpaste consistency pus.
It can be thicker if it's been in there a little bit longer.
You wanna give it a little massage there?
Not too hard, I don't want it to hit my face.
What I'm gonna do is flush it out, so, this is gonna get a little messy.
-Oh! -(CHUCKLES)
-DR. DAN: Like a manatee jet ski. -(LESLIE LAUGHING)
DR. DAN: So we're actually getting some of the debris
to pop right through there.
NARRATOR: Small procedures like this one can bring big results
and that makes for a happy manatee.
We were able to relieve some of the pressure of that abscess,
which probably was a little uncomfortable.
Feel better, buddy?
Everything went well with Joe.
I'm really happy with how much of the material we got out of there.
We achieved our goals for today.
NARRATOR: With Lil Joe on the road to recovery,
he can finally relax and enjoy yet another head of lettuce.
That's the good stuff. Yeah! Hey, good job. Good job.
NARRATOR: Back over at the Harambe Wildlife Reserve...
the waters of the Safi river,
host 21 of the park's most notorious stars...
Nile crocodiles.
(WATER SPLASHES)
NARRATOR: And one reigns above the rest, 34-year-old alpha male, Jabba.
MARCUS: Hey, Jabba, you good-looking boy.
NARRATOR: Keeper, Marcus, knows him well.
So, our Jabba's named after the Star Wars Jabba.
Because he's one of the, uh, larger, as far as, like, looks and size.
I'm a huge croc fan.
These guys are pure muscle.
Not everybody likes to work with Nile crocs, but I certainly love 'em.
You get to see how powerful these animals are and what they can do.
NARRATOR: Jabba and his pals likely get a bad rap...
(WATER SPLASHES)
NARRATOR: ...because they use their mighty jaws...
MARCUS: Ah, little movement over here.
NARRATOR: ...to settle disagreements.
Wow!
That was a really powerful bite.
NARRATOR: This type of behavior is completely natural.
But it can make caring for all of them at once, a real challenge.
So, Marcus and the team have a plan to stay one step ahead
of these cunning crocodiles.
To help reduce some of the conflicts that they might have,
it's a long-term goal to be able to separate them,
so that we can safely work with one croc on its own.
NARRATOR: The plan involves special training.
A lot to ask of these guys.
This color target provides the key to success...
but the crocs need to be willing to go along with it.
He's moving this way.
NARRATOR: Including... Jabba.
MARCUS: Jabba is a super smart animal.
If you stare at Nile crocodiles and look into their eyes,
you can see that the wheels are turning...
they just don't always show it.
-All right, he's secured in B. -MARCUS: Ten-four, he's secured.
NARRATOR: Jabba's first test...
Jabba, target!
NARRATOR: ...follow the red square and get a reward.
MARCUS: Hey, big boy.
(BLOWS WHISTLE)
MARCUS: Good job, Jabba.
Jabba's looking great today, so we're gonna step it up a little bit.
Jabba, target!
NARRATOR: Now, time for a trickier task. A decoy target, this time green.
MARCUS: We want to make sure that he stays with that red target
and doesn't respond to the other target presented.
Jabba, target!
(BLOWS WHISTLE)
Nice response.
Jabba responded to the red target, it's exactly what we're looking for.
MARCUS: Good job, dude.
-Go Jabba. -Yeah, go Jabba. Go you! Good job.
-Thanks, dude. -MARK: Yeah.
NARRATOR: Jabba may be 34 years old,
but it looks like an old croc really can learn new tricks.
One croc down, 20 more to go.
NARRATOR: Just across the park, less than a mile away...
nocturnal aardvark, Willie, has been busy all night long.
But I have it close to this side as possible.
-We're gonna shove it right there. -MALE ZOO KEEPER: All right.
We need to fix that enclosure ASAP, so that Willie is ready to meet Peanut
and have their feng shui mansion and everything going on in that space.
-Right. Okay. -(KEYS JINGLE)
Willie. This is when I have to go in.
It's like mom going into the bedroom.
Hello. It's like he partied the night before.
Yeah, hi. (CHUCKLES)
Good boy.
-You were busy last night, weren't you? -(SNIFFS)
LIZ: All right, sweetie.
-Come. -(SNIFFS)
-(LIZ CHUCKLES) -(SNIFFS)
NARRATOR: Willie needs to relocate while his habitat gets a spring cleaning.
(SNIFFS)
LIZ: But there's always things to check out.
Come.
-(CLICKING) -LIZ: Come. Good boy.
And, yay! You did it, Willie.
(SINGING) Willie, we're movin'!
NARRATOR: So, while he heads off to a temporary home,
at the park's veterinary treatment room...
LIZ: There she is.
NARRATOR: ...female, Peanut, has an appointment,
-for an important exam. -LIZ: Such a beauty.
All right.
DR. NATALIE: Let's do it!
DR. RYAN: Oh, you're rocking the... the 3D.
-Looks like a pig. -(LAUGHS)
You'll like the skull, it'll look awesome.
DR. RYAN: Yeah, by manipulating the image
she's pulling back all the soft tissue and highlighting bone right now.
DR. NATALIE: So far, nothing, everything is looking pretty good.
-Voila! (CHUCKLES) -DR. RYAN: Looks good.
Now, we listen to her heart and her lungs.
NARRATOR: Peanut may be a good genetic match for Willie,
but Dr. Natalie still needs to make sure this girl's in tip-top shape for love.
DR. NATALIE: We're doing all of this just to make sure that she is
super healthy before meeting her paramour. (CHUCKLES)
So... so, we're good. All right, big girl.
NARRATOR: Peanut passes with flying colors,
but there's still one important inspection that must be done.
MISSY: It's the best thing in the world.
It feels like a perfectly toasted marshmallow.
(LAUGHS)
MISSY: I mean, how many people can say they've even seen
or been in the room with an aardvark,
but when you touch their noses it's kind of over the top.
Makes me happy. (LAUGHS)
Yeah, everything's looking pretty good. I think we're good to move her.
MISSY: Mm-hmm.
NARRATOR: With a clean bill of health, she's ready to meet Willie.
So excited.
NARRATOR: But until the anesthetic wears off, Peanut's date night's on hold.
DR. NATALIE: She's in good sleepy time right now. (LAUGHS)
NARRATOR: The park's browsing animals are treated to fresh cut foliage, weekly.
Thanks to this unique 94-acre resource right on the property.
KRISTEN: I think I'm gonna head over here. These are a lot taller.
NARRATOR: Animal manager, Kristen, is here,
because hungry animals need their breakfast.
Take that one...
It's a nice-sized one and, actually, take that tall one over there.
NARRATOR: And today, the pick of the bunch...
goes to black rhino, Badru,
to help get him in the mood for his blood draw.
Keeper Jill doles out the goodies.
JILL: Normally, when we have banana, it's just a leaf portion,
so, having whole trees is really exciting and something he hasn't seen in a while.
So, I'm curious to see how he reacts to them. (CHUCKLES)
It looks like he's discovered one, right there. (CHUCKLES)
And he's trying to figure out,
"How do I get my mouth around this?" (CHUCKLES)
(LEAVES RUSTLE)
It's amazing how much food that he can eat in a short period of time. (CHUCKLES)
NARRATOR: Backstage, at the rhino barn, the vet team arrives for the procedure.
KATIE: Hi, handsome man.
NARRATOR: His beloved keeper, Katie, arrives with plenty of treats.
KATIE: There we go.
(GASPS) Oh, good man.
If he gets uncomfortable at any point, we will end the session.
NARRATOR: To insert the needle safely,
the team needs Badru to stay completely still.
Oh, good boy.
All right (SIGHS)
Just gonna wipe his leg off.
-All right. Can you hold that for me? -Yeah.
KATIE: Who's my best man?
VET: He's reacting a little bit back here.
I'm just redirecting a little bit. (SIGHS)
KATIE: His eye got a little bit wide, his tail is moving.
-Oh, you're okay. -VET: Yeah, you're okay, buddy.
KATIE: There we go.
-VET: We got some blood, Katie. -What a good man. You're the best boy
You're the best boy in the world,
in the whole world, of all the rhinos. Happy little rhino.
-VET: Okay. -KATIE: Beautiful boy.
Yes. That was so good. You did such a great job.
Badru did great today, we overcame a little bit of restlessness
at the beginning, but we had a successful procedure.
NARRATOR: All that's left to do now, is wait for the results.
(WILDEBEEST GRUNTS)
NARRATOR: For Badru, another day, another breakfast.
But for his favorite keeper, Katie, it brings an end to an anxious wait.
We've been able to test his blood and his blood values are very good.
We're lucky that Badru is healthy, so we're not worried.
Badru's doing really well.
NARRATOR: Badru's health is of vital importance to his species.
Black rhinoceroses are critically endangered,
there are around 5,000 in the entire world.
So, Badru is very important to the population,
not just to educate everyone about
what's going on for black rhinos in the wild,
but also to potentially breed and continue the population.
NARRATOR: And with all the exceptional care
he gets from Katie, Badru remains in very good hands.
KATIE: Being able to do this is all because of the trust
that we've built with him as keepers.
He knows that we would never put him in a bad situation. He's a good boy.
(CHUCKLES)
(LEAVES RUSTLE)
NARRATOR: Behind the scenes at the crocodile habitat,
Marcus hangs out with another of his favorite reptiles.
(MARCUS LAUGHING)
Mr. Campbell's a fun crocodile. We really enjoy working with him.
He's one of our more reliable crocodiles.
He just sits there smiling the whole time. It's pretty cool to me.
(MARCUS LAUGHING)
NARRATOR: But Mr. Campbell has gotten into a little trouble.
MARCUS: When he came in it looked like maybe somebody bit
and let go on the base of his tail.
KATIE: Then that's probably what that's from.
-Yeah. -We can take a look at him.
MARCUS: Okay, so we're gonna try the target
for Campbell to come in.
MARK: All right, all right. I'm just gonna keep it open.
MARCUS: Yep. Go for it.
NARRATOR: Time for Mr. Campbell to show how his target training is coming along.
MARCUS: So, we are using Mr. Campbell's target training
to help get him inside the crate. That way we can examine his tail safely.
-MARCUS: Just give him a second. -NARRATOR: The team stands on high alert.
MARCUS: He is a 718 pound crocodile.
So, Nile crocodiles are among the world's most dangerous crocodiles.
All right, croc team, so is everybody
familiar with your positions and what you're gonna be doing?
-Okay. Megan, you ready? -I am so ready.
Katie? If you wanna look at the scutes and stuff.
KATIE: Mm-hmm. Okay. Everybody good? Sounds good.
MEGAN: Opening guillotine.
NARRATOR: First step...
-make some noise... -Go ahead.
(THUDDING)
NARRATOR: ...to get Mr. Campbell's attention.
(THUDDING CONTINUES)
MARCUS: Now we'll just watch him, I wanna try to move Campbell forward,
I think he'll move on his own.
Campbell, target!
Mr. Campbell, target!
(OBJECT RATTLES)
(BLOWS WHISTLE)
-MARCUS: Target! -(BLOWS WHISTLE)
NARRATOR: He's off to a good start.
MARCUS: You're always on knife's edge with Nile crocs,
you just don't always know how these guys are gonna react.
-(MUNCHES) -MARCUS: Katie.
KATIE:
We still have about two inches on the tail.
MARCUS: Go ahead and open.
Hey, Campbell, target.
MARCUS:
All right, we may have a problem. Hey, Campbell! Target.
This is the target that he's trained to respond to,
he should move towards it.
KATIE: Yeah, he's coming forward.
Now you're clear.
MARCUS: Ten-four.
Perfect. He is in.
He wasn't moving forward and so,
it's a little bit of a heart-stopping moment.
But he's in the crate, so the first step is done.
NARRATOR: Now, for the challenge of wrangling
this 718-pound croc's injured tail.
All right.
(FLAMINGOS SQUAWKING)
-MISSY: Willie. -NARRATOR: Back over
at the aardvark habitat,
bachelor Willie returns to his now picture-perfect home.
MISSY: So excited.
This is all brand-new dirt.
Oh, my gosh.
He's like, "I see dirt." (LAUGHS) That's the icing on the cake.
(SINGING) Using the magical nose... (GASPS) Oh, there it is.
For real?
He's already digging to Africa.
Backing it out... (IMITATING TRUCK BEEPING)
Oh, that was me, sorry. It's all good.
(SNIFFS)
MISSY: Yeah, he's, like, seriously working his backpack out.
LIZ: It's just something that comes natural to them,
they have hands that are almost like shovels.
MISSY: Okay, I have to take a picture 'cause this is really exciting.
Ooh, we're losing him, he's going under.
-He's good. -(SNIFFS)
NARRATOR: Willie might not be digging solo for much longer,
because blind date, Peanut, approaches.
(SNIFFS)
NARRATOR: And there are just a few finishing touches left.
Even the manager's getting dirty for her.
Let me help you get some of this done.
I am excited to finally be able to welcome Peanut,
so, getting to write in the dirt... It's exciting. Pixie dusting.
Boo, boo, boo, boo. (LAUGHS)
Let's go get the girlfriend, it's time for Peanut.
NARRATOR: For the first time at Disney's Animal Kingdom,
aardvark affection could be just around the corner.
Oh, this is exactly what I've been waiting for, guys.
(PARROTS SQUAWK)
NARRATOR: Backstage at the Safi river habitat,
Mr. Campbell, the crocodile
has an injury to his tail that requires immediate attention.
MARCUS: Okay, so, if everybody wants to get in position for poles
and then we can start.
All right, go ahead and start.
And if you wanna do one over the shoulders...
(POLES CLATTER)
KATIE: All right, we're tight on the tail, Marcus.
MARCUS: All right, he's in a good spot for us to work the tail.
Put that around the tail. MEGAN: Mm-hmm.
MARCUS: And then thread this through it.
Then we'll get a loop on the tail and that gives us the leverage
to help pull the tail out.
Hold poles.
(POLE THUDS)
MEGAN: We got the tail out, Marcus.
MARCUS: I want to give him food.
He might be tensing up, so just be ready.
MEGAN: Okay, thank you.
MALE KEEPER: That's fine, the tail's secured.
KATIE: Okay, we need to get a good look at that injury.
-He's missing the tip of his tail. -MEGAN: Yeah.
Can you grab a picture of where he got the tip bit, real quick?
MARCUS: Moving again, hold poles.
KATIE: Back here, he had some blood coming from that tip.
NARRATOR: Fortunately, the tail shows no sign of infection.
KATIE: Mr. Campbell looks really good. These guys heal really well.
NARRATOR: With the all clear, Mr. Campbell can head back to his crocodile buddies.
Oh, my little heart's so happy.
MARCUS: Are we cool if I release the rope?
-Yeah. -(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
He's gonna be okay, for sure.
-Ropes off. -MARCUS: Ten-four.
MEGAN: The tail's back in, guillotine door shut.
MARCUS: Awesome.
I'm out of breath.
-Back. -(BLOWS WHISTLE)
MARCUS: I think it's going great. Based off of what we saw today,
I think we achieved exactly what we wanted.
Started off a little bit rocky, but towards the end,
he was able to do what we needed.
You're good?
Nobody else manages a group of 21 Nile crocodiles
the way that Disney does.
-MEGAN: I'm so happy. -That was absolutely amazing.
MARCUS: Today's session was a big success, it's been super rewarding.
We were able to get a very close look at Mr. Campbell's tail
and now, we'll be able to monitor it to make sure it heals properly.
It's very exciting stuff.
LIZ: Okay, everyone ready?
-MISSY: The anticipation. -LIZ: All right, here we go.
Welcome, Peanut.
NARRATOR: The big day finally arrives. Time for Willie and Peanut's blind date.
Oh, my gosh. Look at her.
NARRATOR: Right now, they're separated, but not for long.
(SNIFFS)
LIZ: Her nose is on fire right now.
MISSY: (LAUGHS) And it's so cute.
I'm excited. I think this is a great start.
I've been able to work with some cool animals,
but it's fun to have a brand new cool one.
-(SNIFFS) -MISSY: All right,
we don't know what they're going to do
when they react to each other and when they do come together
what we think is appropriate for humans, is not necessarily the same for aardvarks.
(MUNCHES)
NARRATOR: For Willie and Peanut, the moment of truth.
Liz, I'm gonna have you and Rhonda go in
-to actually open the doors in there. -Okay.
And we'll see if we make love connections. Aardvark love, take one!
ALL: Yay!
LIZ: He is ready.
MISSY: All right, we're gonna open the gates.
LIZ: Okay, here we go.
MISSY: Oh, he's goin'. He's goin'. The threshold has been crossed.
(SNIFFS)
ALL: Aw. MISSY: Oh! There it is.
-(WILLIE SNIFFING) -(PEANUT SNIFFING)
-(MISSY CHUCKLING) -(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
MISSY: This is exactly what I wanted to happen,
I'm actually kinda shaking a little bit.
Oh, my gosh. (SNIFFLES)
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER) -(LAUGHS)
-MISSY: Oh, hey there. (LAUGHING) -(RHONDA CHUCKLING)
-MISSY: Let's dance. -(WILLIE SNIFFING)
(SHRIEKS) I'm excited.
(BOTH SNIFF)
A little weepy and a little sweaty, everything's fine. (LAUGHS)
NARRATOR: It appears to be love at first snout.
Is it the honeymoon suite or the mansion for the lifetime? We don't know.
Oh, my goodness.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
MISSY: What we're really excited about, is for them to dig
and hopefully create a burrow,
where they're gonna be able to sleep together in it.
Because that will get to the baby making process.
LIZ: Synchronized digging, it could be a new Olympic sport.
-Oops, that's what happens. -MISSY: I stepped on your head.
(BOTH LAUGH)
LIZ: Oh, he should have known about that.
(CHUCKLES)
MISSY: I don't think it could've gone any better today,
it's such a unique thing to bring animals together.
When Willie and Peanut get together and the baby making happens,
we will be waiting just seven short months to then have a baby aardvark.
We're gonna make more aardvarks, that is the ultimate thing.
It's gonna be great.