NARRATOR: One of the most popular species at Taronga
is the critically endangered western lowland gorilla.
MEL: So, our western lowland gorillas here at Taronga is a family group.
It consists of eight animals at the moment,
and they range in age from only a few months old
up to 38 years of age.
Gorillas are interesting to watch.
There is a lot of things that you would relate back to yourself.
Things like their mothering skills,
so how much time and investment they put into their youngsters.
And also how important the family unit is to them.
They spend a lot of time with their family,
they support each other,
and I guess watching that whole harem work together
is very similar to how we relate with our own families.
It is headed up by our silverback, Kibali.
He is 18 years of age.
He came to us from France in 2012, and his role is very important.
He's there to oversee the family,
make sure everybody's doing what they should be doing,
and also to protect and support his family unit.
LARRY: He's our silverback.
He's a very important animal in this group and in our zoo.
We brought him in several years ago,
specifically to improve the genetics of our gorilla population.
So, as an individual, he's a very significant animal as well.
AMY: So I'll go the far side if you want to stay this side.
- KEEPER: Sounds good. - AMY: And we'll pop the food out.
NARRATOR: Keeping gorillas active and healthy
requires a large team of dedicated keepers.
KEEPER: So gorillas really like smears.
Especially Kibali, it is one of his favorites.
Especially the Vegemite.
But all of the kids love it,
so they should be pretty excited when they do come out today.
AMY: They've got a good combination of different types of lettuce,
which is one of their favorites.
We've also got some eggplant, or aubergine for me.
We've got some sweet potato and some parsnip.
NARRATOR: Over the last few months, gorilla keeper Amy...
AMY: Stick one of these here.
NARRATOR: ...has noticed some worrying behavior from Kibali.
AMY: Some days eating really well, some days not so much.
He's been drinking a little bit extra as well.
We've seen a few stomach cramps perhaps with him.
It's been a bit of a roller coaster with his health.
So it's about time that we did a bit of a health check on him.
- KEEPER: The fences are on. - AMY: The bucket's in?
KEEPER: Tools are in, and the food is all out,
so we're ready to release them.
AMY: Cool. Let's do it.
NARRATOR: Spring is always a wonderful time of year at Taronga Zoo,
as the results of previous breeding seasons start to bear fruit.
Zookeepers can't wait to meet their new additions
as babies start appearing all over the zoo.
KEEPER (off screen): Can you see where her pouch is,
there is a little bit of black in the middle?
That's the ear of the joey.
It's tucked itself away now.
NARRATOR: But nowhere has a birth been more significant this year
than at Taronga Zoo's sister location, Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo.
Located four hours west of Sydney,
Dubbo Zoo is 320 hectares of open plain habitat,
and home to the white rhino,
which has just had its population increase by one,
thanks to white rhino mum, Mopani.
NICK: Mopani has given birth to a little girl calf,
which is very exciting for our breeding program
and for the future breeding success of the white rhinos in captivity.
The little female calf is approaching two weeks of age.
So she's just been sticking very close to mum off display.
So at the moment, we haven't named our little calf.
We've put it out to the general public to come up with a name for her.
She is such a special critter for us and the breeding program
that we are hoping someone will come up with a cool, nice name
that we can keep forever.
NARRATOR: For the first weeks of a newborn calf's life,
mum is understandably very protective.
NICK: Mum's recovering from a long gestation period, 16 months.
So she's been resting up,
and the calf has just been finding its feet as well.
Mum's made it clear to the other resident white rhinos
that they're not allowed to come too close.
They're allowed to check it out but not come too close to the calf,
and she'll decide when she wants to go out on exhibit with the calf
and explore further.
NARRATOR: Getting the newborn calf to mix with the other rhinos
is important to their development and confidence.
But so far, repeated attempts to introduce her to the herd
have been unsuccessful.
NICK: Come on.
NARRATOR: And it's not because of the weather.
NICK: Come on, girls. Mopey, you coming out?
Mopani, this way.
Come on.
Up until now, mum and calf
have really just been coming to the first gate.
They've sort of been poking their nose through, having a look,
and then mum just turns around and walks off again,
back to their little shelter out the back here.
The calf looks keen to go out,
but mum just gets there and goes, "Ahh, not today."
NARRATOR: But after days of trying, Nick has arrived this morning
and noticed both mum and bub are already near the gate.
NICK (off screen): Good girl.
That a girl, let's go.
Come on.
Well, this looks pretty promising.
So I'm hoping today's the day
that mum might let little bub out on exhibit.
Everyone's life's about to change.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Zookeepers have noticed Kibali has been unwell.
In order to conduct a health check,
they have to rely on years of preplanning.
LARRY: Since he arrived a few years ago,
it's been actually quite difficult to get him separate
from the rest of the gorilla group.
So there's been some intensive training
to be able to separate him, and also for a hand injection
for the anesthetic drug to be injected into him.
NARRATOR: Giving a silverback gorilla an injection
is not as straightforward as it sounds.
MEL: Alright, we have got...
...everyone at their stations. Lovely.
For the last two years, we've been training Kibali
to sit at a station,
and we positively reinforce him with his favorite food.
So things like fruit and also honey water or tea
he's really partial to.
MEL: Are you going to go for a shoulder present now?
And he's been trained to present his shoulder
and push his shoulder up close to me as the trainer,
and we can then slowly get him used to a blunt needle
touching him on the arm.
MEL: One more time, present your shoulder.
We're going to go with the needle.
Excellent. Really nice.
So we do three sessions every day,
and on the day, Larry will give us the anesthetic drug in the syringe,
and we will put that into his arm,
and hopefully it'll all go smoothly and he will go to sleep.
NARRATOR: And after two years of training, that day has finally come.
LARRY: I mean, it's so much better that you guys inject him,
nice and peaceful hand injection,
rather than having to dart him, which is terribly stressful
obviously for him and for us as well, so.
MEL: Yeah, and he doesn't like seeing you, so.
LARRY: Oh, he doesn't mind me.
Yeah, he likes me. The thing is...
MEL: I think out of all the vets, he likes you.
LARRY: We are doing this, too, so that we can maintain
that rapport, you know, that's the thing.
The vets in zoos are in an interesting position,
because obviously our goal is to ensure the animals are healthy
and cure their illnesses and injuries and things like that,
but also it puts us in a situation
where often there's a negative association between us and the animals,
because, you know, especially if we have to dart them,
they see us as the person that causes them discomfort.
So what we've got to do tomorrow is make sure
that until he's hand-injected and actually falling asleep
that I'm not around at all.
MEL: So I might call one of the vet nurses
so that he doesn't hear your voice on the radio either.
'Cause that can sometimes set him off.
LARRY: It's crazy how sensitive they are, isn't it? It's amazing.
- MEL: Vets are pretty scary. - LARRY: No, they're not.
MEL: Keepers are much nicer.
NARRATOR: Sydney's Taronga Zoo and its sister location
Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo
are home to over 300 unique animal species.
(shrieking)
KEEPER: What are we doing?
LIBBY: The zoo itself is not only the zoo with the best view in the world,
but so many fantastic animals as well
that we are lucky enough to look after every day.
KEEPER: Is that sore to touch?
NARRATOR: And they are world leaders in the conservation,
care, and presentation of wildlife.
GREY: When you're ready, Brendan.
I love being a bird keeper. They're so amazing.
I always give the other keepers in the zoo a hard time
because I say ours are better than theirs.
NARRATOR: And keeping all these animals healthy
takes a team of passionate and dedicated staff.
MICHELLE: Nice and steady. Good, strong beat.
KIMBERLY: I'm Kimberly.
I'm one of the veterinary officers here at Taronga Zoo.
I'm originally from New York.
Best part of the job?
Oh, I live in Australia.
I still can't believe it. I pinch myself.
Everyone works together and brilliantly.
We have to face emergencies together.
So I don't want to cry,
but we have to go through highs and lows.
And sometimes that's really hard.
I've had such a long week,
it's going to make me actually a bit emotional.
Um, but everyone's there for each other, which is the beautiful thing.
- WOMAN 1: What's she weigh? - WOMAN 2: 6.4.
KIMBERLY: It's just a big family.
KEEPER 1: Amazing family.
So it's not only teamwork within my division that I work,
but it's teamwork throughout the whole zoo.
KEEPER 2: Best job in the world, hands down.
KEEPER 3: It is the best zoo in the world, no bias.
KEEPER 4: Yeah, look, it's definitely up there
with one of the coolest jobs, I think.
I feel really lucky to be able to work with these incredible animals every day.
KEEPER 1: I pinch myself every morning to think that this is what I'm doing.
NARRATOR: And it's not just the animals on display
that they care about, it's all animals.
A side of Taronga Zoo that's rarely seen by the public
is its rehab center.
They take in sick and injured animals found by the public
and offer them medical care and rehabilitation
until they are well enough to be released back into the wild.
LIBBY: We do get attached to some of the animals that come into care,
especially when they've been here for a long time,
but we know that they're going to go back out into the wild.
So it's one of the greatest joys to release these animals.
NARRATOR: While they care for a lot of common animals
found all over Sydney like possums, turtles and owls,
they're also called on to help wildlife rarely seen in the area.
SARAH: We believe we have a shy albatross here.
He was brought in on the weekend with another albatross.
He's been in intensive care for the past couple of days.
How are you today?
NARRATOR: A wildlife rescue team found two albatrosses
battered on the rocks
after a particularly violent storm forced the birds ashore.
The younger albatross was in good condition
and sent straight to rehabilitation,
but things don't look as good for the older bird.
SARAH: We're not quite sure of the diagnosis
of why he's actually here yet.
We have taken x-rays and he has no foreign bodies inside him.
So that's one good thing that we've seen.
He does look maybe like quite an old bird.
His feathers are quite tatty and not as nice and new
as a juvenile or a sub-adult bird would be.
So, you know, maybe he's just kind of got to the end of his journey,
and he just wasn't strong enough
to, you know, battle the storms that are out there,
and that's how he's ended up coming into us.
NARRATOR: While Sarah keeps a watchful eye on the sick albatross...
KIMBERLY: Hey, girls.
NARRATOR: ...Vet Kimberly is down in rehab checking on the younger bird.
KIMBERLY: So we need to have a look at it today.
Check if it's eating okay,
'cause it had been force-fed for a couple days already, right?
KEEPER: Yes, correct.
KIMBERLY: And is it eating anything on its own yet?
KEEPER: No, not yet.
KIMBERLY: Not yet. Okay, it'll happen. It'll happen.
Oh, he's right here. He's right here.
KEEPER (off screen): Hey, gorgeous. Okay, I'm just going to grab you.
Don't go into the water, please.
KIMBERLY: You can see how he's really gray.
KEEPER: Don't go into the water, darling. Stay there.
KIMBERLY: It's your friend that feeds you.
(albatross groans)
KEEPER: I know, I know. It's okay. It's okay.
(groaning)
KIMBERLY: The reason this albatross came in
was he was found in really high seas during a stormy time.
It's probably a juvenile that just got bashed up a bit in the storm.
NARRATOR: For a bird that spends its life
in the vast and inhospitable Southern Ocean,
making sure he's 100% before release is critical.
KIMBERLY: Okay, let me look at his feet.
Very strong. That's perfect.
This guy should be on the water most of the time,
but because he's on the ground in here,
he's starting to get slight abrasions under that middle toe.
We don't want that to develop into a bumblefoot or infection lesion.
Let's feed him, and then we'll let him down,
because he's starting to get stressed.
So he hasn't eaten on his own for about 24 hours,
so we're giving him some assisted feeding now.
NARRATOR: Life in the Southern Ocean is brutal,
and the fact that this bird isn't feeding on his own
is a real concern.
KIMBERLY (off screen): So, if you see, as she's putting the fish in,
he's swallowing on his own.
So he wants that fish.
Can you see how he's swallowing when the fish goes in?
Look under here. You can see him gulping it.
See, he is swallowing.
Watch this right in here.
Last one.
He's swallowing that nicely. He's gulping it down.
We just need to get him to eat it on his own.
(squawks)
See how the water is just rolling off him?
That's a good indication that he's waterproof.
Sometimes birds that get stuck in oil or have things on them
will lose their waterproofing.
And you can see then the feathers are really wet.
So what they have, they have an oil gland
at the base of their tail, and they use that,
and they get some oil with their beak and then they preen their feathers,
and that puts the oil on the feathers.
That's how they waterproof themselves.
He is so pretty, isn't he?
NARRATOR: An ocean bird needs more space than a zoo can provide,
so the race is on to get him fit for release.
KIMBERLY: He's in good condition. He wasn't skinny when he came in.
He just needs a little bit of rehab, so we want to get him out.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Kibali, Taronga's silverback gorilla, has been sick,
and the only way for vets to work out why
is a full examination under a general anesthetic.
LARRY: Knocking out or anesthetizing a large gorilla
is certainly a pretty significant undertaking.
Just got to draw it out into the syringe.
A very convenient drug because it does come as a powder,
so we have that capacity to make it into a very concentrated form.
So the smaller the volume, the better it is
for the keepers to be able to inject him.
Kibali, you know, he weighs really about 190 kilos.
So, he's a big, heavy animal, a powerful animal,
and if he wakes up during the procedure,
that would be a difficult thing to deal with,
and of course very frightening for everyone.
- You good to go? - AMY: Yes, please.
- LARRY: You pumped? - AMY: Yeah, we're ready.
- LARRY: You want the drugs? - MEL: Drugs, please.
LARRY: Took a bit of effort to concentrate it into the volume.
AMY (off screen): Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, thank you, though.
Kibali will appreciate it.
MEL: All right, thanks, guys.
- LARRY: Okay, we'll see you soon. - AMY: See you soon.
- LARRY: With a sleepy gorilla. - AMY: Hopefully.
NARRATOR: Handling a dangerous animal is extremely risky,
and Taronga Zoo plans all procedures of this nature
outside of zoo opening hours.
LARRY: A large gorilla procedure is fairly significant.
A lot of people are involved.
Obviously, we've got our vet team here, three vet nurses and myself.
Plus a few other staff that are going to be helping out during the morning,
and of course the keeper team.
They have got several people there,
but we're going to need a few people to carry him as well.
So we've recruited some big burly blokes from our works team.
Whenever we do these dangerous procedures,
and particularly if we're transporting the animal through the zoo,
we always have a gun person present.
Thankfully, we've never had to use it,
but it's always important to have it as a backup
just in case something goes wrong.
All right, we good to go?
- NURSE: Yep. - LARRY: Excellent. Let's go.
NARRATOR: A team of 17 vets, hospital and support staff are on standby,
positioned far from the gorilla enclosure,
giving the keepers all the space needed to administer the injection.
LARRY: Basically, we just want to make sure
there's no disturbance in that area, nothing unusual.
You know, they're very sensitive animals,
and, you know, if he senses anything different this morning
to any other morning, it could put the whole thing off.
NARRATOR: Kibali and his family have been moved
from the enclosure into a holding area,
so Head of Primates, Mel Shipway, can administer the anesthetic.
MEL: Kibali...
...come on.
It's always a bit nerve-racking going into a procedure like this.
Obviously, you want it to go so smoothly, you've been planning it for so long.
MEL: Kibali...
...come on.
NARRATOR: As the anxious zookeepers and vets wait outside...
MEL: Kibali...
...come on.
NARRATOR: ...it's only the years of trust Mel has built up with Kibali
that will determine if today will be a success.
It all comes down to this moment.
NARRATOR: Two injured albatrosses have been brought
into Taronga Zoo's wildlife hospital after a large storm washed them ashore.
But unfortunately for the senior of the two birds,
fighting the storm just took too much out of him,
and overnight, he had to be euthanized.
KIMBERLY: Yeah, it's very sad
because we were really hoping to be able to fix it up
and get it back out to the wild.
So, sometimes we're not able to do that, and this can be the result.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: But down in rehab,
it's a different story for the younger albatross.
FRANCES: This bird's actually feeding itself quite well.
- LIBBY: It is, unusually for an albatross. - FRANCES: Yeah.
NARRATOR: Happy with his progress over the last eight days
and keen to get the bird back out in the wild as soon as possible,
seabird expert Libby and Taronga vet Frances
are doing what they hope will be their final exam.
LIBBY: While it's in the wildlife hospital,
it's in the rehab pool, which is a special area
where it has a deep pool to swim in and a very soft, spongy floor
that will help to alleviate pressure sores on its feet.
Wish me luck. (laughs)
FRANCES: Don't get wet. Or not too wet.
LIBBY: So you see the way he's sitting on his feet?
FRANCES (off screen): Yeah, yeah, I do. Sitting back on his hocks a little bit.
LIBBY (off screen): Albatross are probably my favorite species,
and that's saying something,
having worked with so many animals over so many years.
FRANCES: I'll just kind of wait until you have him nice and quiet.
(albatross groaning)
NARRATOR: Albatross have been known to fly thousands of miles,
only landing on the ocean surface to feed before taking off to the skies once more.
FRANCES: The sooner we get him out,
the more comfortable the bird's going to be.
NARRATOR: So, before they'll give this bird the all-clear,
Libby and Frances need to be certain
he will be able to survive and thrive in the harsh Southern Ocean.
FRANCES: Let me see that nostril there.
LIBBY: The bird certainly seems waterproofed.
FRANCES: Waterproofed.
LIBBY: We must be very careful with their feathers
so that we don't damage any of their feathers.
They live in such a cold environment
so they must have perfect feathers on release.
FRANCES: So we've just done a quick check-over of the bird
to make sure that we're happy with his, um, condition
and make sure that it's ready for release.
We want to get it back out into the ocean as soon as possible.
LIBBY: He's come along so well, very happy.
FRANCES: Yeah. Oh, I think it would be fantastic to get him back out there.
LIBBY (off screen): Trying to bite me.
That's a face washing.
He's washing his face and now he's going to start preening,
which is perfect.
But what I want him to do is swim around, and he doesn't.
He's reluctant to swim.
So I am just going to encourage the bird into the water.
NARRATOR: This is an important step in seabird rehabilitation.
LIBBY: Sweetie, are you going to go in the water?
(albatross squawking)
(Libby laughing)
LIBBY: It's a great sound, isn't it?
The best.
The best sound in the world, albatross.
NARRATOR: If he won't swim, then he can't be released.
LIBBY (off screen): I want him swimming and I want him preening in the water.
Obviously, there's not going to be any land where he's going.
He's going to live in the open ocean,
and he needs to preen to make sure all his feathers are in perfect condition.
Otherwise, he'll get very, very cold in the water.
Albatross are endangered. They're in serious trouble.
Their numbers are dropping dramatically, all species.
So, these are special birds, and every one of these birds counts.
(squawking)
NARRATOR: Taronga's silverback gorilla, Kibali, has been unwell.
MEL: He has had a few issues over the last few months,
drinking too much, and his appetite has been up and down.
MEL: Good
NARRATOR: And Kibali needs to be completely anesthetized
to properly examine him.
MEL: Good.
LARRY: We're doing a full health check on him.
MEL: Good.
LARRY: We've got some specialists coming in to examine his heart,
because heart disease is something
that is seen relatively commonly in gorillas.
NARRATOR: But first he needs to be put to sleep.
MEL: Good.
AMY: Whenever you're ready Mel.
MEL: Touch.
MEL: Lovely, done.
AMY: Excellent, good boy. Give him a reward.
MEL: Little taste there. Lovely.
AMY: Oh my God.
MEL: Excellent work guys.
Lex, you can tell them.
He did not even react.
LEX (over radio): Lex to Liz Arthur.
LIZ: Go ahead.
LEX (over radio): He's received his injection at 8:01.
LARRY: Excellent.
MICHELLE: Excellent, that's great. I'll head on down.
MEL: So we're just coming up to six and a half minutes now, guys.
MEL: You're ok...
...good boy.
LARRY (off screen): We're just waiting for the keepers
to get the other gorillas out of the house.
Obviously, they're not with Kibali, because he's been separated from them,
but all the activity in there will disturb the other gorillas.
So it's better that they're just outside
while we are removing Kibali from the gorilla house.
LEX (over radio): You can head on down now.
LARRY: Okay, we'll be there shortly.
All right, let's go.
♪ ♪
WOMAN: Synchronized.
LARRY: Good to come in? Good to come in?
KEEPER: On the count of three, we'll be lifting.
So on the count of three,
one, two, and three, we lift together.
MAN: Yep.
♪ ♪
LARRY: Don't worry about the footpath. Straight out.
NARRATOR: While Kibali may be asleep, the sedative is only temporary.
LARRY: Straight to the stretcher over here.
NARRATOR: So they need to move quickly
to transport this nearly 200-kilogram silverback gorilla to the hospital.
LARRY: Nicely on the stretcher.
Okay.
Okay, cool.
Drop him down.
Now I'm just going to come over here, cover him with the net.
Okay.
Just we need access to his head at all times.
All right, now, in the van. Okay.
WOMAN 1: All right, the shackles are on.
LARRY: Okay. We're good to go.
- WOMAN 1: Close the van. - WOMAN 2: Yep.
NARRATOR: With the zoo opening in less than an hour,
the clock is ticking.
LARRY: Okay, let's get out of here.
NICK: Come on, then, girls.
Hello, little one.
Let's go.
NARRATOR: Out at Taronga's Western Plains Zoo,
a newborn white rhinoceros calf is taking her first steps
to joining the herd on exhibit.
NICK (off screen): Come on, Mopani.
Let's go.
NARRATOR: For two weeks protective mum Mopani
has been keeping her calf in the back of house area.
NICK: Good girls.
NARRATOR: But keeper Nick is hoping the time has come
for mum to bring her calf into the open where everyone can see her.
NICK: They haven't ventured out on exhibit yet.
Hopefully, today is the day.
They look pretty keen.
Come on, Mopani. Let's go.
They will eventually go straight through,
and the lives will change for the girls out on exhibit,
and the calf obviously will grow bigger and stronger and more confident.
Righty-O, girls. Here we go.
♪ ♪
NICK (off screen): Good girls.
Come on, little one.
♪ ♪
NICK: Good girls. This is pretty cool, isn't it?
They are going to go out and explore their exhibit.
A bit of rain out there yesterday,
so a few muddy patches for the little girl to test out her feet in.
She's not going to get too far away from mum.
They're going to be side by side.
White rhinos' calves out in the wild always stay in front of their mums,
so mums always got their eyes firmly fixed on their little calf.
There will be a lot of communication
between mum and the older rhino girls on exhibit,
uh, letting them know their boundaries, where they're allowed to go.
It's very exciting now that mum and calf are out on exhibit.
We've been waiting 16 months, the gestation period for white rhino calf.
It's a great opportunity for us to educate and engage, I guess,
the visiting public about white rhinos
and how we need to help them out in the wild.
So, an exciting day for us.
Relief as well as excitement.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Back in Sydney...
KEEPER: Ready? One, two, three.
NARRATOR: ...Kibali has just arrived at the wildlife hospital.
KEEPER: Get it going.
NARRATOR: A team of vets and specialists are all on hand
for this once-in-a-decade procedure.
- LARRY: Okay, on the scales. - WOMAN: 200.
LARRY: 200 kilos. Okay, so we've got to weigh all that other stuff.
The procedure today, even though it's part of an investigation
of his mild illness over the last few weeks,
it is part of our preventative medicine program.
We're going to give him a full health check,
take samples, you know, routine blood samples,
we're going to vaccinate him.
But particularly I suppose with an animal like a gorilla,
it's an endangered species,
they play a significant role in conservation of the species.
So we want to make sure that they are in peak health at all times.
So, he is likely to move, cough, splutter.
If he does, just hang on to him and keep calm.
Probably the most stressful part of the whole procedure
is knocking him down, getting him up here, and getting a tube into the airway.
Wide open.
He's a massive animal, big head.
You know, we have to prize his jaws open.
Get him on the gas.
Nice of him not to cough and splutter.
(equipment buzzing)
Always scares the hell out of us.
Okay, you guys can relax a little bit.
Now we want him on his back, okay.
So, that good there, guys?
Um...
Maybe bring the whole thing up this way a little bit.
♪ ♪
NURSE: 36.2, Larry.
LARRY: Okay, 36.2, so it's a bit low.
There are a few important diseases of gorillas
that we need to look out for.
Infections, bacterial infections,
parasitic infections in his gastrointestinal tract.
That's actually interesting,
I have just discovered he's got a little injury on this eye.
Something that's happened in the past.
There's a little scar on there.
Must have been quite a deep wound because it's scarred his iris as well.
Heart disease is a well-recognized problem in gorillas.
Similar sorts of problems that people get, in fact, which is interesting
considering that the risk factors for heart disease in people, uh,
such as, you know, obviously smoking, high blood pressure, poor diet,
are not risk factors for gorillas.
Uh, but still they are a species where heart disease is seen.
Hey, mate. How are you? I'll shake your hand after, okay.
NARRATOR: With heart disease such a major concern,
the Taronga vets have called in a cardiac specialist to examine Kibali.
SPECIALIST: So at the moment
what we're doing is looking at the heart with ultrasound.
So we're trying to determine if the heart is normal or abnormal.
And if it is abnormal, what disease is present
and what we need to do about it.
So what I'm looking at here is blood flow.
So this is something called Doppler echocardiography.
But basically it's using ultrasound to look at blood flow through the heart.
LARRY (off screen): They're getting some great images.
So just a couple more things to do after this and then take him back home.
NARRATOR: With the examination coming to an end
and no obvious signs of why Kibali is unwell...
LARRY: Checking his hip joints and his knee joint.
NARRATOR: ...the team now has to rely on the scans and blood work
to find out what's really going on.
LARRY: Okay, we are going to move him out now.
Okay, open the doors.
A procedure like today where you get to touch
and you smell and feel this magnificent creature is mind-blowing,
in fact, and you know, you walk away from it and you go,
"My God, it's just unbelievable
that we have this opportunity to work with such amazing animals."
NARRATOR: The usual sparkling Sydney Harbour
has been replaced with gray skies and rough weather.
Normally people avoid going out on a day like this,
but for seabird expert Libby,
no amount of rain will dampen her mood.
LIBBY: We're all set now.
NARRATOR: After ten days of rehabilitation,
the juvenile albatross is finally swimming on his own,
so the decision has been made to release him back into the wild.
LIBBY: These days are the best days,
because we're getting the bird ready to go out to sea,
which is the best part of my job.
So I'm really happy this morning.
NARRATOR: Surprisingly, the stormy conditions may even help
with the release of the juvenile albatross.
LIBBY: So the ideal conditions for an albatross
are big seas and lots of wind.
Albatross need about 25 knots to fly. That's where they live.
So, for us, it might be rough on the boat, but for the albatross, it'll be perfect.
(squawking)
TAMMY: Just dealing with your sharp bits.
- Okay. -(albatross groans)
LIBBY: Beautiful.
Are you all right?
Don't slip on the poo.
NARRATOR: But before the albatross tastes freedom again,
he needs to be fitted with an identity band
to help scientists learn even more about the life and travels
of these amazing birds.
LIBBY: These are metal bands which we put on the albatross,
and this will stay on the albatross for life.
- You have to check this with me, Tammy. - TAMMY: Yep.
- LIBBY: Four-eight-nine. - TAMMY: Four-eight-nine.
- LIBBY: Six-five. - TAMMY: Six-five. Yep, correct.
LIBBY: So we always check the band.
It's important to enable the birds to be monitored
when they're released into the wild.
This is an Australian band, and, um, globally we understand
what happens with birds around the world through these bands.
(albatross groaning)
LIBBY: Seems feisty, Tammy.
TAMMY: Very strong. (laughing)
LIBBY: Okay, that's perfect.
That's his band on his leg, ready to go.
♪ ♪
(albatross squawking)
LIBBY: Complaining to the end.
Okay.
Just taking him up into the hospital
to put him on the scales to weigh him for the final time.
Special bird, but all animals get weighed, banded, looked at
before they get out into the wild.
Final weight.
3.9.
I don't know.
3.9, which is great.
He's put on 0.9 of a kilo since he's been here,
which is really great.
He's been weighed, he's got his band on him,
he's all ready to go.
He's going into our hospital van,
and then he's going on the water police boat
and out through Sydney Harbour out into the wild.
Okay, loaded and ready to go.
Great.
NARRATOR: Releasing an animal back into the wild
is often a multi-agency event.
LIBBY: The water police have come to pick us up at the wharf
to take the albatross out to sea. So, very kind of them.
They help us out with releases of birds and turtles.
- How are you? - OFFICER: Yeah, good.
LIBBY: Yeah, I'm really excited. It's a really good day.
♪ ♪
So, not long now.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: With Kibali back with his family
and fully recovered from his exam,
Larry and Mel are keen to go over the results of all of his tests.
LARRY: Good, I'm just actually looking at his results now,
and you know, everything checked out normal.
His blood work was normal, all the...
You know, we did some cultures from his gastrointestinal tract,
that was all normal.
The cardiology report was great. No abnormalities found there.
How is he? Has he recovered okay?
MEL: Yeah, he has. Um, he recovered quite well.
His water consumption, that we were concerned about,
has definitely decreased again,
so that seems to have gone back to normal.
So that's good, and we're just keeping a really close eye on his appetite still,
and I guess we'll just stay in touch with you.
LARRY: Yeah, yeah. For sure, for sure.
Obviously, we still got nothing to explain these odd sort of signs
that Kibali's been showing over the last few weeks or so.
So let's hope that, you know, whatever's happening is passing
and, you know, he'll make a full recovery.
MEL: Okay, great. Thank you.
NARRATOR: Despite early concerns,
the keepers will continue to monitor Kibali over the coming months,
hopeful that this very important gorilla
continues to lead and support his family for many years to come.
NARRATOR: It's release day for the juvenile albatross
that has spent the last week in Taronga's rehabilitation center
gaining strength after being forced ashore during a wild storm.
OFFICER: How long has the albatross been with you guys?
- LIBBY: About ten days. - OFFICER: Ten days, okay.
LIBBY: So, short a time as possible for these birds.
NARRATOR: For seabird expert Libby,
today is what makes her job at Taronga Zoo so special.
LIBBY: It's looking good. (laughing)
So he's traveling really well, really calm, just sitting there.
Sure, he doesn't know what's happening, so he is just being still and quiet.
A lot of noise in the boat, so, yeah.
So, not long now.
It's a good day, though. I'm happy with the day.
I don't like those blue days where it's really still.
A bird just... They just sit--
OFFICER: They just sit there and don't want to go.
LIBBY: They just sit in the water.
And then we got to wait for like an hour and a half
till they fly away.
So today we're going about three kilometers offshore.
- Are we 3 - K?
DRIVER (off screen): No, not yet.
LIBBY: Okay, thanks.
NARRATOR: With the boat well off the coast
and an abundance of other seabirds in the area...
LIBBY: So albatross are all around now.
NARRATOR: ...it's finally time for this young albatross
to return to the great Southern Ocean,
where he has at least 50 years of living, hunting and breeding ahead of him.
LIBBY: I'm very excited. We're going to let the bird go.
So I'm just going to get him out of his box and release him into the wind.
It's pretty rough out here, so we get what we get, really.
Hi, beautiful.
(albatross squawking)
LIBBY: Just got to get his beak and then we'll...
I know, I know. What's his wing doing?
So I'm going to let him go.
Very exciting. Whoa.
I know, beautiful.
(squawking)
(Libby laughing)
♪ ♪
LIBBY: Not very graceful, was it? (laughing)
There he goes. Woo-hoo!
Woo! (laughing)
He's running on the water.
Woo!
Yay!
How amazing.
So good, the way he just took off, it was incredible.
How awesome.
Perfect day for an albatross.
Oh, well, where he goes we won't know.
He'll roam the oceans for years and years before he comes ashore again.
Fantastic day.
This is definitely the best part of my job,
and I have an amazing job in the hospital at Taronga.
Being out at sea, releasing an albatross,
doesn't get much better than that.
Captioned by Point.360