GREY: My name is Grey Fisher.
I'm a senior keeper here at the bird show at Taronga Zoo.
But originally I'm a hillbilly from West Virginia.
My history with birds started when I was really young.
My grandfather raised birds.
As I was growing up I started keeping birds myself.
At one point I had 47 birds in my bedroom,
which my mother wasn't very happy with.
I love being a bird keeper.
When you're ready, Brendan.
Birds are my passion.
There she is.
Birds are my favorite animals, bar none.
Andean condors are one of the largest
flying birds in the world.
They're so amazing, such an incredible diversity of birds.
There are birds that fill pretty much every niche
that any other type of animal can fill.
NARRATOR: Grey may be an expert on all things feathered,
but one Australian bird in particular
has a special place in his heart.
GREY: I absolutely have a favorite bird.
I'm an owl geek. Owls are my favorite.
Griffin is a sooty owl,
he is one of the members of the collection
here at the institute.
His senses are so much more acute than ours are.
His hearing, his eyesight.
He is able to pick up on so many different things
in his environment, because as a wild animal,
he needs to be able to identify those things.
Is this a threat to me?
Do I need to be afraid of this?
And if I don't, is that something I could eat?
Griffin is special to me for a lot of reasons.
One of them is obviously because I love owls,
but another reason is because I actually have
a bit of history with his family.
This is his sister, Dragon, who sadly passed away
just before her fifth birthday.
I raised her from eight days old.
So she was only about that big.
She was an amazing bird to work with
and very, very, very special to me,
and so I wanted to be able to memorialize her
and have her with me for all times.
When you work with animals as closely as we do,
when they do pass away,
you're losing somebody very close to you,
whether it's a friend or a family member,
and we do take it very hard.
I still get emotional thinking about it.
It's probably one of the most difficult parts of what we do.
NARRATOR: As Grey and his team prepare for today's bird show,
a badly injured owl has just been brought to Kimberly
and her team at the animal hospital.
Found on the side of the road by a passing motorist,
the male owl has a broken pelvis
and a badly damaged tail.
KIMBERLY: So we'll just do a physical exam on him,
check him, want to feel his leg.
The pelvis is still going to need some time to heal.
WOMAN: Okay.
KIMBERLY: But hopefully it will do that down below.
WOMAN: Yep.
KIMBERLY: And maybe in about a week or two we can x-ray him
and see how that healing is going.
NARRATOR: If there's no improvement,
he'll never be able to survive in the wild.
The views from every vantage point at Taronga Zoo
are simply breathtaking.
WOMAN: Good boy! Up we go!
NARRATOR: But right at the top of the hill,
one species undoubtedly gets the best view of all.
(shrieking)
The chimpanzees.
(shrieking, whooping)
KATIE: We've got a nice big group of chimps here at Taronga.
We've got 21 chimps in our community all up.
Six different families within that group.
They range in age from 59 years old,
and our youngest is little Safiri
who is almost six months old now.
They're actually one of the largest and most successful
groups of chimpanzees in zoos anywhere in the world.
NARRATOR: And with so many chimpanzees
it's a full-time job just keeping them challenged.
KATIE: So we're just in the chimp kitchen
and we're making some enrichment for the chimps.
This is part of their daily food.
Chimps are incredibly intelligent,
so part of our job is to keep them mentally stimulated
throughout the day.
So by putting their food in the cubes,
they have to work out how to get to it.
And yeah, the chimps, um, are very good at using tools,
so we also give them sticks.
Chimps in the wild will use a stick
to stick into the termite mound,
and the termites latch on to the stick to protect their nest,
and then they pull it out and they eat the termites.
Here we don't want termites running around the enclosure,
obviously, so instead we use some pureed fruit.
(shrieking)
One of the reasons we are so successful with their behavior
is that we actually allow them to manage themselves.
So, chimps naturally sort disputes out using aggression.
That's how it is out in the wild
and that's how it is here at the zoo as well.
So what you see happening in our group here today at Taronga
is very similar to what you would see
if you were lucky enough to be trekking through the forests
in Kibale National Park over in Uganda.
NARRATOR: But unfortunately seeing chimpanzees in Uganda
is becoming increasingly difficult.
So breeding at Taronga Zoo is taken very seriously.
KATIE: They historically have bred really well.
Our oldest chimp is Spinner, she is 59 years old,
and she was one of the first chimps
to be born here at Taronga on the 1st of July 1960.
Over the years we've had a lot of babies grow up
in the community,
and they have been sent to zoos all over the world.
NARRATOR: And as some animals leave,
Taronga also welcomes new chimpanzees in.
KATIE: Naomi is 17 years old.
We imported her a couple years ago from Denmark.
And she came over with her sister Ceres
to bring new genetics into our community.
She currently has a two-year-old niece,
her sister Ceres had a little baby.
She carries her around on her tummy, she gives her food.
She is always looking out for her.
She is very maternal.
NARRATOR: Just like humans,
chimpanzees can have problems conceiving.
KATIE: Naomi hasn't been successful in having a baby yet.
Reproductively she is in her prime at the moment.
She has had two pregnancies.
Unfortunately, both those pregnancies resulted
in a stillborn where they were born pre-term.
Genetically we really want her to reproduce
because she is so valuable.
So we want to take Naomi to the vet block
to investigate what's causing these miscarriages.
We're also going to bring Ceres, Naomi's sister, up,
to have a look at her as well
and examine her reproductive system.
NARRATOR: But you can't separate a chimp from its child,
so vets will also use this time
to conduct the first examination of young Cebele.
It's an ambitious plan.
Three chimpanzees in the wildlife hospital
on the same day.
KATIE: We need to get answers so we can help Naomi.
We need to do everything we can
and get as much information as we can
so that we can help her be successful
at the end of the day.
Not only genetically, but for Naomi as well;
she is very maternal and she has shown a lot of signs
that she really wants to be a mother.
NARRATOR: What the zoo is about to embark on
will require absolute teamwork from all of Taronga's staff.
♪ ♪
One of the cutest animals at Taronga are the red pandas.
MAZ: Red pandas are found in places
near the Himalayan region, so, like Nepal, even parts of China.
NARRATOR: But being cute doesn't mean
they don't face problems in the wild.
MAZ: Unfortunately, they are endangered
just due to population growth,
a lot of logging and deforestation.
NARRATOR: So Taronga launched a red panda breeding program,
and it's been a huge success.
MAZ: Here at Taronga we have a red panda family
that consists of mum, her name is Amawa,
then we have dad, his name is Paboo, and triplets,
yeah, first time we've had triplets here at Taronga Zoo.
So we do call them our treetop trio.
Two boys and one girl.
The two boys' names are Ishwar and Rohan,
and our young girl is called Mishri.
So they all have Nepalese names,
and that's obviously to the origin that they're found from.
NARRATOR: But breeding red pandas is very different
to raising them,
so while dad Paboo needs to be there from birth...
MAZ: He does play an important role
in terms of teaching the young cubs some social behaviors.
NARRATOR: The zoo doesn't have the space
to support any more red pandas.
MAZ: We don't want to have another round of cubs
at this stage.
We are giving mum time to focus on the new cubs,
but potentially next year
he may get the opportunity to breed again.
NARRATOR: So to prevent any unexpected pregnancies,
Paboo is moving next door to a newly renovated bachelor pad.
BEN: So, yeah, so we put the last logs in,
made sure they were all at a good height,
so you guys can get underneath them,
but still gives the pandas good access to all the trees.
MAZ: That's perfect in terms of making Paboo work a bit
on his balance and using all those muscles, so, awesome.
BEN: Definitely.
I think once Paboo gets into the enclosure
with the refurbishment that we did,
I think he is going to be pretty excited.
You can definitely tell it's always fun
when you see the first time that they come back out
into the exhibit, checking out all the new stuff.
You know, getting up to the high points,
getting out to the points
that they're hanging out a little bit further.
You can see that there is just more enjoyment in the animal.
MAZ: This is going to be amazing.
So, I'm even keen to climb around if I could,
but yeah, it's pretty cool.
NARRATOR: Keeper Maz has finished his final inspection.
MAZ: Morning, Paboo.
NARRATOR: And it's time for Paboo to pack his bags
and move to his new home.
NARRATOR: As the sun breaks over Sydney,
across the harbor at Taronga Zoo,
it's the start of what will be a very busy day.
LARRY: Patty, are you good for us to come up?
NARRATOR: Inside the animal hospital
there's excitement and tension in the air.
WOMAN ON RADIO: Larry, can you just give us ten minutes
and I'll radio you?
LARRY: Okay, no worries.
NARRATOR: As the team of vets and handlers prepare
for a procedure that is rarely done at Taronga.
LARRY: We do need to bring our A game today,
and every day in fact
when we're dealing with dangerous animals,
but, yeah, chimps, I think, are a nice challenge for us.
NARRATOR: But nothing is more challenging
than working on three chimpanzees at a time.
LARRY: Two adult females, and then one of the adult females
has a little baby about just over one year old.
Definitely got our A game on and the A team.
(chuckles)
Okay, shall we head off up the hill?
Undo your top button, mate.
MAN: Oh.
LARRY: Unless that's the look you're after.
MAN: No, absolutely not.
LARRY: A big part of today's procedure on Naomi
is to assess her reproductive system,
and then when she falls pregnant again
we manage her through the pregnancy,
ultimately with the goal of having a successful birth.
NARRATOR: Chimpanzees are one of the most dangerous animals
kept at Taronga,
due to a combination of their intelligence and raw strength.
So Senior Vet Larry briefs the team
to ensure this operation goes off without a hitch.
LARRY: So in terms of safety,
obviously the usual sorts of things.
Umm, you know, obviously she'll have the usual
secondary restraints on her, the cargo net,
her feet will be shackled, chained to the table,
the usual sort of situation.
Everyone in the room at least has to wear masks,
but anyone touching the chimps has to wear gloves as well.
So, apart from that, let's go.
Okay, I'll get the dart ready.
NARRATOR: It's been a nervous wait
for Kimberly and her team...
SARAH: Are you ready for me to go in and get him?
KIMBERLY: I am.
NARRATOR: ...as they race to save
a badly injured boobook owl.
KIMBERLY: Have you got him? You got him restrained?
SARAH: Yep, yep, yep.
KIMBERLY: We'll let you out.
SARAH: Okay. I've got the bird.
KIMBERLY: Have you? SARAH: Yep.
KIMBERLY: Alright, come on out.
Oh, good.
Looks very calm.
Was he hard to catch?
SARAH: A bit flighty.
KIMBERLY: A little bit.
Alright.
I think we can take him next door.
See how he fares.
NARRATOR: A week on, there's small signs of improvement,
but he still has a long way to go.
KIMBERLY: We'll get you down there soon.
Alright, we'll have a look at his wings.
He flies okay in there, doesn't he?
SARAH: Yeah. He is missing a few little tail feathers.
KIMBERLY: Oh, that's right. SARAH: Happy to weigh him?
KIMBERLY: I am happy to weigh him.
SARAH: Okay.
He weighs 265, which I think is the weight that he came in on,
which has been good.
KIMBERLY: That's really good.
And you said he's eating well, so.
SARAH: Yep.
Be good to see him in that large den.
Give him some exercise.
KIMBERLY: Well, let's, it's the moment of truth
when we release him, we'll see.
(laughs)
NARRATOR: The end game is to release the owl
back into the wild, but first they need to see how he flies
in a controlled environment.
KIMBERLY: This is one of the wildlife rehabilitation yards.
So we are going to release the boobook into this area
to see how he manipulates the environment.
We want to make sure he can fly okay.
We want to make sure that his lameness doesn't recur.
SARAH: Are you happy for me to...
KIMBERLY: I am happy for you to release him
and we'll see how he goes.
SARAH: Well, he is looking a little bit bedraggled
at the moment, but he has just come out of a bag, so.
KIMBERLY: Oh, there he goes.
Well, he's using his left leg really well.
SARAH: And for only having half a tail,
that's pretty good to be able to get up onto that log.
NARRATOR: It's a great first flight.
KIMBERLY: Alright, well, we'll just let him settle in
for the next day or two,
and then we can start exercising a little more,
as long as his leg is okay.
He looks good.
He's holding his left leg a little bit in,
but we'll see how he goes with that.
NARRATOR: Paboo the red panda is being separated
from his family to stop him breeding anymore.
MAZ: Yeah, so, Paboo is about to go into his new home,
and we are quite nervous but also quite excited for him, too,
to just to ensure that he does like it.
Good boy.
Bringing down Paboo is a challenge.
There you go.
Pandas naturally feel a lot more comfortable being up high.
So having them to come down is quite vulnerable for them.
Good boy.
Do you want to come down?
I've got a lot of apple for you.
Come on down.
They do have natural instincts
of where predators may come about.
Paboo.
So it's always taking little steps to ensure
that Paboo is nice and comfortable.
Here you go. Good boy.
Alright, Pabs, pet pack.
Good boy.
Alright, Paboo, shutting pet pack.
Watch your tail.
Good boy.
Good stuff, buddy.
Hey, Louise, just letting you know Paboo is pet-packed
and he is en route to the panda exhibit.
LOUISE: Brilliant. Well done, Maz.
♪ ♪
LARRY: Chimps, of course, as you can imagine, are very clever
and they know exactly what's happening,
so they know how to avoid the dart as well.
So it's quite a challenge
making sure that we pick the moment
when the chimp's sort of still
and we try and aim for a good muscle group
in the upper arm or in the leg.
So I will just go in on my own to dart her.
So if they are bouncing around,
of course it can take a little while to pick that moment
to make sure we hit the right spot.
♪ ♪
Hey, come on.
Come on, sweetie.
Come on.
Don't follow me.
Ah-ah.
One of the challenges with these guys of course
is there is a sort of a metal mesh,
and the end of the barrel has to be like through the mesh
to be able to avoid hitting the mesh.
Naomi.
Might need a distraction, I think.
But they know that we have got to do that,
so they're continually there putting their fingers through,
and we've had several occasions
where of course the chimp grabs the barrel of the pistol.
So, which doesn't end well usually for the barrel,
because they would break it.
NARRATOR: But there are no such problems today.
LARRY: She's done.
NARRATOR: Naomi is the perfect patient.
LARRY: Come on. Give us the dart.
Come.
Drop the dart.
Oh, good girl, good girl.
Oh, she is so clever.
Unbelievable.
And then she just handed the dart back.
(laughter)
NARRATOR: Now Larry and the team are hoping
that the rest of this procedure goes as smoothly.
LARRY: I mean, she just knew.
Oh, my God.
LIBBY: Oh, it's raining.
NARRATOR: A badly injured boobook owl has spent
the last four weeks at Taronga recovering
after being hit by a car,
and Libby and the team are hoping he'll soon be
well enough to return to the wild.
LIBBY: Hello.
Look at you.
So the rehab period for this bird
would probably be quite extensive.
We need to get it right,
because when the bird goes back out into the wild,
it has to be able to catch food and survive in the wild.
Flying very well today.
Encouraging the bird to move around is an important part
of watching the way that the wings are moving.
You need to be able to see that both wings are moving evenly,
and you need to be able to watch
that the bird is grabbing on to the perch properly as well.
I've just left the enclosure,
because birds behave very differently
when you are actually present.
They will even look sick sometimes
when they think you're not there
and look well when you're looking at them.
Yeah, so today's check-up's been really favorable.
He's landing quite well on the perch, which is really good.
Quite even when he's landing.
Which he wasn't doing before,
and he's a little bit crooked in his pelvis.
He's dropping one wing.
So he's probably still a little bit sore.
Next we need to make sure that both wings
are functioning properly,
that the pelvis is restored to normal,
and then he needs to go on a fitness regime,
making sure that he is as fit as he needs to be
to catch his food in the wild.
(shrieking)
WOMAN: Larry, do you want all these in the car?
LARRY: You got a stethoscope, Liz?
NARRATOR: It's a massive day for Taronga's vets.
LARRY: Okay.
NARRATOR: They're examining three chimpanzees in a morning,
and Naomi is the first to be sedated.
LARRY: Part of the procedure today
is to do an ultrasound examination
of Naomi's reproductive tract,
and we'll do that with Ceres as well.
NURSE: One, two, three.
NARRATOR: Naomi is having trouble carrying
her unborn babies to term,
and the team is desperate to find out why.
LARRY: She is a very important animal
in terms of genetics of our group.
We brought her in specifically from Europe
for genetic management of our group.
So we've got 62.2, okay.
Most of the great apes, as we are great apes as well,
and we are all very similar in our anatomy and physiology.
WOMAN: One, two, three.
LARRY: So we do call on human specialists quite often
to help us out with great apes.
One, two, three, lift.
NARRATOR: Dr. Paul Fowler has been called in
to solve the mystery of Naomi's failed pregnancies.
LARRY: It's as fascinating for them as it is for us.
PAUL: I'm an obstetrician and I deal with humans, obviously.
LARRY: Just slide her down and we're going to slide her down.
Okay.
PAUL: It's a little bit different,
but should be interesting.
Yeah, it will be a new experience, basically.
LARRY: So she may move a little bit, so don't be too alarmed.
PAUL: She's gotten pregnant
and then when she has been close to delivering,
the baby has died.
One of them died a number of weeks before she was due.
Both of them were stillborn and they were small as well.
LARRY: A bit of local anesthetic spray.
PAUL: So what we're trying to do today
is try and investigate why that may have happened.
LARRY: Get her on her back.
PAUL: And we're sort of taking a human slant on it
and we're transferring some of the investigations
that we would perform in a human person
who has a growth-restricted baby
and trying to transfer that in relationship to the chimps.
Vaginal tissue all looks fine.
We're just going to do a high swab, yeah.
NARRATOR: Today they are hoping to get the answers they need
by gathering samples.
PAUL: Cervix as well.
LARRY: Have we got a little sample pot there for the urine?
NARRATOR: And performing an ultrasound.
PETRINA: Do you mind if we just go dark for a moment?
Just so I get my bearings.
NARRATOR: And helping Dr. Fowler is one of his colleagues,
sonographer Petrina Rucell.
PETRINA: Blood vessels. That's the aorta.
You'd think the uterus would just jump out.
LARRY: I mean, in the non-pregnant,
it's only quite small.
PAUL: Yeah.
PETRINA: Oh, beautiful.
That is gorgeous. Look at that.
LARRY: Oh, yeah, that's beautiful, yeah.
NARRATOR: The similarities with the human anatomy
are astounding.
PETRINA: So, cervix, this little area here.
And then this is the uterus here with the little follicles on it.
LARRY: Little follicles, yeah.
PETRINA: Lovely follicles on there, lots of follicles.
LARRY: That's a big follicle. Is that a follicle?
PETRINA: A little bit of fluid around there.
The ovaries were of normal size and texture.
Everything under ultrasound, you couldn't really see a difference
between a human or a chimpanzee.
I found that very, very surprising.
Gosh, she's really lovely.
PAUL: That looks good.
PETRINA: There was nothing under ultrasound
that is causing her miscarriages.
So we can say that she's healthy.
She should be able to fall pregnant again easily.
She has got plenty of follicles on her ovaries,
so she's, you know, perfectly fertile.
NARRATOR: With the ultrasound not showing anything unusual,
the team run a comprehensive series of tests
and take the rare opportunity to conduct a full health check.
LARRY: So this is a vaccine we're giving her
for encephalomyocarditis virus.
Of course with a chimp we have limited opportunity
to do any of that without anesthesia.
Look at that. Full service.
It was a great anesthetic procedure.
And we've got full investigation,
a thorough health check, got all the samples we needed.
One, two, three.
There you go.
That will help us then formulate a plan
to manage her next pregnancy when she falls pregnant.
This is actually probably the trickiest part
is taking her back,
because a lot of the anesthetic drug would have worn off.
But she is nice and fast asleep,
so we'll move swiftly to the chimp house.
NARRATOR: But for the Taronga vets,
Naomi is only the first of three chimps
to be examined today.
LARRY: This is a great opportunity,
because to have Naomi,
who we're investigating her reproductive problems,
and having a normal, healthy animal
that has bred successfully as a comparison,
so it's a perfect opportunity
for the obstetrician/ gynecologist
to examine another chimpanzee as a comparison.
NARRATOR: It's now Ceres's turn.
WOMAN: Ceres and Cebele are in Suzie's den.
LARRY: Okay, so we are going right next to them.
WOMAN: Yeah.
NARRATOR: Hopefully her examination will help explain
what's happening to her sister Naomi.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Red panda Paboo is moving to his new enclosure
right next door to his partner and three cubs.
MAZ: Ready to see your new exhibit?
There is never a dull moment here at the zoo.
We're always moving animals,
and Paboo here is going to his newly renovated exhibit.
Animal transfers and movements is something that happens
throughout the day here at Taronga Zoo.
And that's from our tigers
how we move them around to different exhibits.
It's all part of our enrichment program as well.
NARRATOR: Although he's only moving next door,
a completely new environment offers a world of enrichment
for a curious animal like Paboo.
MAZ: So, yeah, we're just about to place him into the exhibit,
so we'll watch how he goes.
Alright.
Ready, buddy? Here we go.
♪ ♪
There we go.
♪ ♪
(bird calling)
Typical male panda, scent-marking everywhere.
♪ ♪
Maz to Louise Ginman.
LOUISE: Go ahead, Maz.
MAZ: Hey, Louise, just letting you know
Paboo has safely returned to the panda exhibit.
LOUISE: Wonderful.
MAZ: It's pretty cool to see an animal,
like, trying to figure out all the new logs,
and it's like a maze almost.
So he's problem solving, trying to figure out all the routes
of how to, you know, come down or how to cross over.
So, all very stimulating for him, which is amazing to see.
As you can see as well,
he's scent-marking it while he does it,
and that's him just, you know,
establishing his area, which is typical male panda.
There you go, bud.
You want some apple? No?
He's more focused on the scent-marking,
and you can see he is quite busy.
So this is all exciting.
He might actually go and check out that pipe actually
to see next door.
They can sometimes talk to one another.
NARRATOR: Paboo was so prolific at reproducing,
Taronga had to separate him from his partner
because they simply couldn't fit anymore cubs
in the panda pad.
MAZ: We do have a tunnel between the two exhibits
that has kind of a mesh through it,
so that both pandas from either end
can still come in and still interact with one another.
But obviously they can't go through to each side.
So Paboo will sometimes go in there
just to see how the, how the wife and kids are.
♪ ♪
They are still socializing, which is an important part,
particularly with the cubs' development.
So, yeah, so Paboo has now got this amazing,
or what we call a tszuj'd palace.
It's awesome that to see he is very active and enjoying it.
He's walking around,
and you can see a lot of problem solving there as well,
because all those tracks have been changed up for him,
which is great, and that's part of our job here at the zoo
is to ensure that these animals that we have
are always being challenged and also enriched day to day.
♪ ♪
LIBBY: Just brought the owl up to have another x-ray.
This is the owl that we were looking at
with the fractured pelvis.
And I was really impressed with the way it was flying yesterday
and the way it was perching
and maneuvering around the enclosure.
Now Kimberly is going to take another x-ray,
which she took an x-ray earlier, and as we're going to see,
hopefully, some improvement in the owl and the pelvic area.
So one of my concerns is the lack of tail feathers.
There's three tail feathers remaining.
Tails are critical for maneuverability.
So they get the lift and the power from the wings,
but the maneuverability is from the tail.
So when they are snatching at moths or beetles
or coming in to land, they're using their tail feathers.
So that's why they're so important for this owl.
I think they've been pulled out, which is a good thing.
It means they'll grow out
and he'll have a tail before he's released.
KIMBERLY: Are you happy with the anesthesia?
LIBBY: Yep.
KIMBERLY: Alright, let's put her on the plate.
LIBBY: Okay, well, I'm gonna leave you to it. So, see ya.
NARRATOR: As Libby departs, another bird lover, Grey,
drops by to check on the progress of his precious owl.
GREY: Just peek over your shoulder.
KIMBERLY: You can.
GREY: It's always hard to see an animal come in
that's been injured.
Particularly for me the owls, because they're the animal
that I really feel the strongest about.
But it is part of the job,
and the thing that's really great here,
they have such an amazing team of vets and vet nurses
and wildlife carers that really help look after these guys
to make sure that they are going to be able to make it
out into the wild and be successful.
KIMBERLY: Thanks, Grey.
That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me.
(laughs)
GREY: And you've got it on tape.
KIMBERLY: Yeah.
Okay, so let's take that radiograph.
Can everybody step out so we don't expose you?
♪ ♪
So we've just taken a radiograph again
of the boobook owl that had the fracture
of the left side of the pelvis,
and I can see here there is some bony change
in the area of the pelvis,
so it looks like it's healed but it's definitely not straight.
This pelvis is not perfectly symmetrical.
I can see that the bone has healed
in a bit of an irregular pattern.
In such a way that it's not allowing
that leg to fully extend.
NARRATOR: Which is crucial if the owl is to be released
into the wild.
KIMBERLY: We're going to have to see how he can eat
in his rehabilitation yard.
It will probably take another few weeks
just to see how he can get his own food
and if he's going to be suitable
for release to the wild.
I'm hopeful that he'll get back out to the wild,
but I'm not sure.
Yeah, we'll see.
I really don't know.
NARRATOR: At Taronga's wildlife hospital,
vet Larry and his team
have two more female chimps to examine today.
LARRY: So we've just finished Naomi's procedure.
She is back at the chimp house waking up,
and now we're going to anesthetize two other chimps,
a mother and baby actually, Ceres and Cebele.
WOMAN: Come through. Pet pack on the scales quickly.
NARRATOR: To anesthetize three chimps in one day
is extremely rare at the zoo.
LARRY: Cebele is one year and eight months old.
WOMAN: Just bring her in.
LARRY: She's still dependent on Ceres,
so when we anesthetize the mother,
we will have to anesthetize the baby as well.
WOMAN: What does she weigh?
WOMAN: 6.4. WOMAN: 6.4.
LARRY: So, great opportunity to do a full examination
on little Cebele as well.
WOMAN: The little chimps always lose a lot more heat
than the bigger chimps when they're anesthetized.
So we're just trying to keep the Bair Hugger on her
all the time to try and maintain her body temperature
where we want it.
I'm just going to take this x-ray and see how we go.
We want to make sure that we can pretty well do everything
that we need to do to keep her healthy
in the way of vaccinations and things like that
in one go for her.
So this is just a vaccination,
similar to what a child would have, particularly for tetanus.
And then she doesn't have to have anything else done
for quite some time.
But she looks so far like a beautiful healthy little baby.
NARRATOR: In an adjoining theater,
Cebele's mother Ceres is also healthy.
It's hoped the examination of Ceres will help explain why
her sister Naomi has twice fallen pregnant
but both times delivered stillborns.
LARRY: There is a great opportunity,
because to have Naomi, who we are investigating
her reproductive problems, and having a normal, healthy animal
that has bred successfully as a comparison.
So it's a perfect opportunity
for the obstetrician/ gynecologist Dr. Fowler
to examine another chimpanzee as a comparison.
PAUL: So we are going to do the same tests
on the second chimpanzee
to see if there is any differences in them,
because we're still trying to sort out why Naomi's placenta
hasn't worked very well during the pregnancy.
Because we know that the second chimpanzee
has successfully breeded.
PETRINA: So across the tummy.
PAUL: That's what we usually see is the uterus bulging into...
PETRINA: Yes, that's exactly-- it's so human.
Exactly like a human.
It's amazing.
PAUL: It's similar, very similar.
The position of the womb was the same.
The lining of the womb all looked the same.
PETRINA: This is a full bladder, and this is an ovary here,
and the little black dots are the follicles
that contain the eggs.
So, uterus was identical, so was the lining.
I mean, one was, one chimp is actually on the pill,
so her lining's exactly like
what a human's lining is like on the pill.
PAUL: They need a sample of urine anyway, which they've got.
NARRATOR: With no obvious differences
between Ceres and Naomi's reproductive organs,
the team will rely on the extensive tests and samples
collected today for clues
to why Naomi's been unable to carry a baby to full term.
LARRY: That will take a few days to get all those results back.
When we do, we will regroup with Dr. Fowler
and the rest of the team to come up with a plan for Naomi
when she falls pregnant next.
PAUL: You need a bigger gauge, don't you?
LARRY: Yeah, we could easily
probably put a bigger one in there.
PAUL: When I was studying to become an obstetrician,
there is no way I thought I would be working at Taronga Zoo
helping out with the chimps or the apes or the gorillas,
but it's been a great experience.
PETRINA: I'm angling up to her tummy
and I'm angling towards her back there.
It's a bit different to my day job.
There's not so many people in the room
and my patients are always awake.
But, yeah, it was a wonderful experience,
and I wish her all the best for her future pregnancies.
WOMAN: Were we ready to take her up?
Are they almost done? Okay.
LARRY: A huge day, huge morning,
to knock out three chimps in one morning is a big deal.
WOMAN: Look at that face.
She's pretty cute.
LARRY: Everyone did a fantastic job and it's great teamwork,
great to have specialists involved
and all the keepers involved and, yeah, very successful.
NARRATOR: But as successful as the day has been,
Larry and the team won't really be satisfied
until Naomi is cradling a baby in her arms.
LIBBY: So today we're going to band and release a boobook owl.
Sarah, we're just going to catch the owl
and come back out and band it.
This owl came to us with a pelvic injury,
so, quite a severe injury.
And it's been in care at Taronga Wildlife Hospital
for two months,
which is enough time for the injury to heal
and enough time for physiotherapy.
Now we're really happy and the owl is ready to go home.
SARAH: Yeah. LIBBY: Isn't he?
LIBBY: That's fantastic.
SARAH: So I'm just going to wrap him up
in what we call a burrito.
Just so that we can weigh him, so he is contained in the towel.
Pop him in there, so we can get an accurate weight on him.
He weighs 276 grams.
LIBBY: So before release,
the bird needs to be in perfect condition.
Not only has its weight got to be perfect,
for a bird of that age,
it needs to be able to fly very well so it can catch its food.
He looks so cute, Sarah.
It's been a long road to get to the point
where it can go out for release,
but we're happy with his progress.
NARRATOR: As part of a worldwide monitoring system,
a band is placed on the owl's leg.
LIBBY: Just got to tighten it up.
This is stainless steel.
The bird will have that band for the rest of its life.
And it will enable us to monitor its progress
after it's released.
And we have really good success rates.
NARRATOR: The return of this boobook owl to the wild
isn't just a victory for the carers at Taronga Zoo.
LIBBY: It's so important to get them back out into the wild,
but its also a community effort for the people that found him,
the families involved, the rescue group,
the vet that he was taken to, and then us.
It's not just this one little owl.
It is about spreading education
about urban wildlife out into the world.
He's in perfect condition, which is what we want.
Not too fat, not too thin.
Sarah gave him a lovely meal and he's nice and ready to go.
He has got a little bit of feathers missing
just on his forehead here,
which sort of makes him even cuter really.
It's like he's got a bit of beard here, happening here.
(laughs)
He's really cute and, yeah, very happy with his pelvis,
and we're really happy with his flight,
so we're going to put him in the box now,
'cause he's ready to go.
SARAH: Bye-bye, Mr. Boobook.
LIBBY: It's got ventilation holes in it.
As you can see, it's got a stick for it to perch in,
and the reason I like to use cardboard
is because it's very soft,
and that way the bird won't hurt its feathers
while it's being transported.
Because it might jump around,
and there is obviously going to be noise in the car.
It's a very stressful time for animals to be transported
to release, so he will be happy in there,
can hopefully settle down in a minute,
sit on the perch,
and it needs to be after dark that we release the owl.
(rustling)
You can hear him jumping around in there at the moment.
SARAH: Alright. Let's do this.
LIBBY: Let's do this thing.
NARRATOR: The months of rehab have all paid off.
LIBBY: Okay, so finally going home, yeah.
SARAH: I know. Good luck. LIBBY: Yay. Fantastic.
SARAH: Have fun! Bye. LIBBY: Thanks.
NARRATOR: And now there's just one more step
in the owl's journey home.
NARRATOR: Libby has driven to a nearby national park
to finally release the now healthy boobook owl.
LIBBY: So I've just come down to a walk in the bush,
just walking around a little bit
to find the perfect release site for this owl.
For a boobook owl, the best release site is a site
with lots of trees, and this area has lots of trees
and lots of understory as well.
So there will be lots of insects here.
So this is a really good spot here.
The boobook owl was found very close to here,
less than a kilometer up the road.
We don't want to release him near the road,
but he will know this area very well,
'cause this is where he lives.
So he's coming home.
So I'm always anxious transporting animals.
You know, you never know what's going to happen,
in the transport box, they get really nervous,
and then at release you never know what's going to happen.
Perfect, not too much wind and it's very dark.
You want it to be very dark when you release owls.
Not dusk.
Dusk is a very busy time,
and then also the nocturnal animals get up
and they're very hungry, so it needs to be pitch black
and a little bit quieter time, which is perfect now.
It's really dark now and I'm happy with this.
So it might be a good time
to switch to the night vision camera now,
because owls don't like bright lights.
I'm going to put the towel in
and try and grab him just by feel.
Ahh. Ah!
He's biting me.
(laughs)
Okay, I've got him now.
WOMAN: Have you? LIBBY: Yeah.
LIBBY: Oh, sweetie, that was a bit tough, wasn't it?
Oh, look at his feathers.
Oh, sweetheart.
He is looking a bit shocked at the moment.
Just been in a box traveling, wondering where he is,
but pretty soon I'm sure
he's going to be really glad to be home.
How are you?
What's happening?
I'm excited now.
I get so excited when they're just about to be released.
Just the best feeling.
This is what it's all about.
Have to say goodbye now though.
Okay?
Safe travels.
No more cars.
Okay?
He's just trying to focus.
I think it's a bit bright for him at the moment.
Gone.
Just like that.
That was good, though. He flew into the tree.
Oh, there he goes.
There he is, he's up in the tree,
right on the edge of the branch.
So, perfect.
Oh. Cute. Aw, look at that.
Amazing.
So now he's home.
Nursing animals and getting them back out into the wild
is just a great achievement.
And what an amazing veterinary team we have at Taronga.
Yay. (laughs)
I'm happy now.
Captioned by Side Door Media Services