01x01 - North Carolina: Chimp Off the Old Block

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Secrets of the Zoo". Aired: July 29, 2018 - present.*
Watch/Buy Amazon


Nat Geo Wild is taking viewers inside the grounds and allowing them to experience what visitors can't: compelling, heartwarming stories, and behind-the-scenes moments and adventures.
Post Reply

01x01 - North Carolina: Chimp Off the Old Block

Post by bunniefuu »

(trumpeting)

(roaring)

woman: Look! I think
there's one up there!

(grunting)

robert: Guys,
we are actually coming up

on one of
the most popular habitats

here at the zoo--

our chimp habitat.

We have one chimp named amy.
She is gonna have a baby.

Sarah: Good morning,
chimpanzee habitat.

Got to make sure
these windows are clean.

Going to have
lots of visitors soon,

coming to look
at that new baby.

Jenni: So excited about this
baby coming, aren't you?

Kristy: Oh, yeah.

Super stoked.

Jenni: I hope
we have another girl.

Kristy: Ah, yeah,
I think I've been team girl

like this entire time.

This morning,
sarah, jenni, and myself,

we need to make sure
that the chimp habitat's

nice and clean for them
to have their breakfast.

Jenni: I'm going to make sure

their food is spread out
far and wide.

Since amy is a low-ranking chimp
and she's pregnant,

I want to make sure that she
has access to plenty of food.

Kristy: Chimps live in troops.

An alpha male
oversees everything.

With amy being low ranking,

a lot of the higher-ranking
chimps will steal her food.

Jodi: Amy, come here, babe.

(screeching)

how are you, baby?

Kristy: Being pregnant,
we want to make sure that she is

gaining the weight
that she needs to gain.

Jenni: Let's release the chimps.

(radio beeping)

keeper campbell to keeper wiley.

(beep) we are ready for chimps.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(screeching)

kristy: The chimps,
they all get really excited

to go out onto the habitat.

Jenni: They have
so many choices.

If they want
to get away from people,

they can disappear
behind a hill.

If they want to be up close
and personal, they can do that.

Woman: How cute!

Jenni: They've got
a climbing structure

so the chimps
can get up really high.

Child: That's so cool.

Jenni: It's wide open
up to the sky,

so they can just look up
and feel like they're free.

(screeches)

so, there's lance,
and there's sokoto.

Jeanie's sitting there
on the tree.

Kristy: Hey, jeanie-bean.

John's way up high.

I see lots of chimps.

Jenni: But I don't
see amy anywhere.

She's missing out on a lot
of breakfast right now.

Jb: This is hospital ,
I'm about to stop by chimp.

Jenni: Alright.

Jb: I'll be there in a second.

Right now,
I'm heading over to see amy,

who's due with a baby
any day now.

It's pretty important that
we get this ultrasound done

to make sure
that the baby's healthy.

One of the things I love
about the north carolina zoo

is there is no normal day.

I may be in the grasslands in
the morning to look at a rhino,

but I can get three or four
calls while I'm out there

to go look at a lame polar bear.

I can be all over this place,
and it's a big park.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

is she ready to go?

Jodi: She is all ready.

Kristy: So, um, amy's been
doing really good so far

with the ultrasound.

Jb: Mm-hmm.

Hopefully we can locate
this baby pretty quickly.

Hi, amy, how are you doing?

Look what I got for you.
I got this for you.

Oh, is that your belly?
Thank you.

You want that? Oh!

Gus, let me see your arm.
Oh, you're a good boy.

Want that?

Kristy: Gus is amy's
five-year-old son.

We're hoping he's going to be
a good big brother.

Jb: What are you doing, huh?
Okay, amy, you ready, dear?

Are you ready
to show me that baby?

Oh, that's a good girl.

She's showing me her belly
already, kristy.

Kristy: She's ready.

I've been working with amy
the past six months

on her ultrasound.

Jb: Okay, let's do this.

Kristy: She has to have
trust in me

and trust that
what I'm doing is okay

and that she's going to get
a really nice reward.

It's a piece of apple.
You got it?

We share percent
of our dna with them,

so you could say that
they're percent human.

She's so patient,
she's so smart.

I feel like I'm looking
at a person.

I'm not supposed to say this,

but she is probably
one of my favorites.

Jb: Okay, amy, you ready, dear?

Kristy: Let's see your belly.

Jb: Oh, it's a good girl.
I know, come here.

Can I do this?

Kristy: Let's see your belly.

Jb: She's obviously feeling
a little bit of anxiety.

Can I put this on you?

Kristy: Belly.

(hoots)

jb: She may not want to do this.

Kristy: I am a little worried.

I want to make sure the baby

is still looking
pretty healthy in there.

Jb: We're gonna potentially
have to come up with a plan b.

I can kind of direct you,

and she may just trust you
a little bit more.

Kristy: We take baby steps, and
she can leave anytime she wants.

Jb: You're just going to
have to get it as close

as much as possible.

Kristy: Okay. Good girl.

Can I see your belly?

Jb: Good girl.

Kristy: Good girl, amy.
There you go. Good girl, amy.

Jb: Angle it
that way a little bit?

Kristy: You're being such
a good girl, ames. Good girl.

Jb: I know.

Aim this way just a touch.

Kristy: Okay.

Good girl, amy. How's that?

Jb: Oh, perfect.

Kristy: Okay.

Jb: We're getting really,
really good images.

Kristy: You're doing
so good, amy.

Jb: Now we can watch
the images that we just took.

Hopefully we have
a healthy baby.

So, the head is this way.

All of this is spine right here.

Kristy: Okay.

Jb: This is an arm.

Kristy: I'm glad you know
what you're looking at.

Jb: There's our heartbeat
right there.

Kristy: Oh, my goodness.

Seeing a baby
that you've been waiting on

for the past seven months,

it's actually
kind of indescribable.

Jb: That is a really strong
chimpanzee heart, that is,

I mean, she is b*ating
really, really nicely,

so she's, she's growing well.

Kristy: Yay!

Jb: So, got a good-sized kid
in there.

Kristy: Yes!

Jb: That baby
is looking awesome.

Kristy: Hearing him
say that makes me feel

like I've accomplished
like this huge goal

that amy and I have both been
working towards for six months.

Jb: Good job.

Kristy: Awesome job.

In human care, chimps tend
to give birth fairly quick

during the nighttime hours.

We have no idea
when it's going to happen.

We're all just waiting to just
come in and there be a baby.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

robert: Guys, this is fall here
at the north carolina zoo.

(squealing)

(grunting)

(howling)

(growls)

oh, the black bears, one thing
I can tell you percent

about the black bears

is how much they

absolutely love honey!

Alexis: I'm going to put some
on this tree over here.

Ashley: Sure.

Alexis: So, I'm just
drizzling some honey.

They love sweet stuff.

A bear in the wild's going to
spend the majority of its time

wandering around
and looking for food,

so we're trying
to recreate that for them.

And we're trying to think like,

what would be
challenging for them?

We want them to work for it.

Ashley: I like to put
some of the produce

out on some of the bushes

so they have to get
their noses up off the ground.

It's like a big jigsaw puzzle
we make for the bears.

Alexis: Alright, that's good.

(door clangs)

ashley: Nova, luna, outside.

Alexis: Today we're going
to be giving the honey

to nova and luna,
they're sisters.

Woman: He's coming,
he's coming.

Alexis: Nova and luna
have different personalities.

They're very smart.

Luna's a little more, you know,
on the crazy side.

She's high energy.

She's always
getting into things.

Ashley: She got it.

Alexis: She's moving that log.

Ashley: Oh, she found
all your honey!

Alexis: Nova is super chill.

She just likes to hang out
and have a good time.

What is nova doing?

Oh, my gosh!

Ashley: Other side.

(laughter)

use those little claws!

Oh! Oh!

Child: Whoa!

Woman: He's eating
off the trees.

(laughter)

alexis: Best day ever!

It's a shame
we can't let holly out.

Ashley: Yeah.

Alexis: Well, I'm going
to go check on her.

Ashley: Alright.
I hope she's alright.

♪ ♪

alexis: We have
three black bears here.

Hey, holly!

Holly is .
She's an older bear.

She is a sweetheart.

We refer to her
as princess bear

because she's very particular
about her food.

We noticed some changes
in her behavior.

We gave her a bone
the other day,

and she didn't really eat it.

She usually tears right into it.

She's also not
opening her mouth.

I started getting
a little worried,

so I've put in a call
to the vet hospital,

and jb's going to come
have a look at her.

(growling)

jb: Hey, guys!

Alexis: Hey.

Jb: How are we doing?

Alexis: We're just
a little concerned.

We offered her a bone in here,
and she didn't touch it,

and that's not normal for her.

Jb: Okay.

What's up?
What are you doing here?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

see how she's got a lot
of saliva right there,

is that normal for her?

Curtis: For, I guess,
the last couple weeks,

it's become normal.

Jb: Okay.

Alexis: She's had a, like a ball
of foam basically forming.

Jb: I'm going to see
if we can swab

some of that saliva
out of her way.

♪ ♪

this is not good.

There's a mass,
like right on the lip.

Alexis: Oh, yeah.

Jb: So, that could be causing
a little bit of the pain.

She has a little growth.

Not sure what it is
at this point.

Probably within
the next four or five days,

we'll get her under anesthesia

and get a really
close look at her.

Okay? Thank you, guys.

Alexis: Yeah.

Jb: Thank you.

Alexis: Thanks, holly.

We're not really sure
what it is,

so it's a little bit concerning.

She's an older bear,
and we care a lot about her.

She's really sweet.

It would be very difficult
to lose her.

It would be pretty
heartbreaking,

so we're hoping for
the best outcome, for sure.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

nancy: Good morning!

Let's go. Over here, big guy.

♪ ♪

(chirping)

♪ ♪

(chimps hooting)

(chimps hooting)

jenni: I'm hearing
some odd noises.

Okay, is somebody fighting?
Is somebody unhappy?

Ooh, ooh, there's a little bit
of blood here on the floor.

What's going on?

♪ ♪

(gasps)

(chimps hooting)

jenni: I just got into work.
I'm hearing some odd noises.

Okay, is somebody fighting?
Is somebody unhappy?

Ooh, ooh, there's a little bit
of blood here on the floor.

What's going on?

(gasps)

oh, my goodness! Oh!

You've got a baby, honey.

♪ ♪

amy just gave birth.

She is about two weeks early,

but these things happen
on their own timeframe.

Oh, what a sweet baby.

(coos)

amy's got the baby in her arms,

and you can tell that
she's just a doting mother.

The two of them are just
so bonded already.

Oh, my goodness.

We'll have to go call the vets

so they can get
a good look at this,

and I have to go tell
all my co-workers.

I'm going to call kristy.

(phone ringing)

oh, my gosh,
she is going to be so excited.

Hello, can you hear me?

Kristy: Yes.

Jenni: We've got some big news.

Kristy: What's up?

Jenni: Amy had a baby!

Kristy: Woo!

(jenni laughs)

jenni: So, oh, my gosh,
she is doing such a great job.

She's got the baby
all cleaned up.

She's a good mama.

Kristy: Tell amy
congratulations.

Jenni: We will.

Kristy: I'm hoping for a girl.
We do have quite a few boys.

Jenni: I got my fingers
crossed for a girl.

Kristy: It'll be a her.

Jenni: Alright, so get on down
here so you can see her or him.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

lane: Hey, nandi,
what a good girl.

Kristi: We've got
some treats over here!

♪ ♪

lane: You see
who's watching us, don't ya?

Stacey: Yeah.

Lane: The oryx
are coming immediately.

They're just beautiful
impressive animals.

I take care of these animals
all the time,

so I really
am attached to them.

They are threatened in the wild

because of the habitat loss
and the poaching.

Stacey: They are
on a species survival plan

to ensure that their population
grows to a healthy number.

Lane: See the tight
little group down there?

The one standing out kinda
in front, I think, is briggs.

Briggs is our male
breeding oryx.

We need to move him to another
zoo so he can continue to breed.

It could be vital
to the survival of the species.

I'll miss briggs.
He's been a good guy.

Capturing briggs
will be difficult

because these oryx are nervous

and they will run
if you get too close to them.

The only way we're going to get
that oryx off of the habitat

is to anesthetize him
with a dart g*n.

We're cutting material
to camouflage an area

for the vet to hide behind.

If they see movement,
they'll bolt.

Could be anything,
could be a veterinarian,

could be lion,
could be a leopard.

Stacey: Are you ready
for another one?

Lane: Yep.

Alright.

Stacey: Ooh!

Lane: When he takes a sh*t,
he will lay flat on the ground

and sh**t out through there.

Let me go ahead
and add these last pieces.

Stacey: This looks real good.

Lane: Yeah.

Stacey: If I was a vet, I would
be really happy with this.

♪ ♪

jb: We're going to prep here?

We're just outside
of the grasslands habitat.

The oryx are about several
hundred yards away from us,

but they got really,
really good hearing.

That's why we're
keeping our voices down.

Briggs is leaving us,
he's going to another zoo.

I don't like darting animals,

but it's the only way we can
get briggs off the habitat.

Lane: (whispering) we have to be
very quiet. Everybody's tense.

Until it's over, we're all
kind of on pins and needles.

Jade: Get your fancy pants on.

Jb: I'm going to put
on a ghillie suit.

It's basically like
a camouflage swamp man outfit.

It's hard to wear.
It's a sweat box.

(quiet laughter)

but the animals can't see me

because I'm the veterinarian,
I'm the bad guy.

I'll have my radio off

while we wait for them
to get closer

and just hope for the best.

Let's do this.

(laughter)

lane: (whispering) jb, the vet,
has headed out there

with the normal morning truck.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

they'll put food out
for the oryx.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

and he'll be getting
into the blind.

Hopefully the oryx won't notice.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

jb: Okay, we're good!

Jade: Alright?

Jb: Yep.

Lane: If he gets
a successful hit,

they'll call us
and we'll rush out there.

Jade: We have
effectively smuggled jb in,

and he should be hiding
like a quiet bush

waiting for the oryx.

Jb: At this point,
I become the surroundings.

I'm quiet.

Try not to breathe too loudly.

Jade: We're trying to keep the
routine as normal as possible

so we don't tip off the oryx.

I'm going to stop back here

and put more hay out
and try to look normal.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(barking)

jb: Ah, son of a--

jade, there's a herd
of greater kudu looking at me.

(barking)

they're barking.

Jade: Every other animal
out there

is going to know
something's going on.

Jb: Jade, you got
to get them out of here.

Jade: - , I'm on it.

Jb: Jade, there's a herd
of greater kudu looking at me.

They're barking.

Jade, you got
to get them out of here.

Jade: - , I'm on it.

The kudu are already
giving him away.

They are kind of like
the guard dogs of the plains.

We need them out of the way

so that they don't
tip off the oryx.

Jb: Jade, they're gonna
blow my cover.

Jade: Try to move
the kudu up here.

Come on, ladies!

♪ ♪

(shaking food bucket)

I think we got here
just in time.

Jb: Oh, good job.

Jade: It's kind of
a mental game.

Vets who pull this off, they
should be good poker players.

Right now, the plan is to move
the oryx towards the north end.

Briggs is just crossing the road
and headed towards the blind.

I can't imagine the pressure
jb's under right now.

We don't want that animal
getting hurt.

There's a lot riding
on his one sh*t.

Jb: There's always
a risk anytime we do this,

that animal can die.

I've picked out briggs.

The only sh*t that I've got
is in the chest,

and there's a lot
of dangerous parts right there.

The lung's there,
the heart's there.

I'm waiting for him
to turn sideways.

He's taking a step.

He's showing me a little bit
of his right shoulder.

This is it,
this is the money sh*t.

(pop)

dart's been fired,
dart hit, he's off!

Jade: We need to get
to that animal very quickly,

make sure he's safe.

You can actually
see him right now.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

alright, he's down.

He's in the vets' care
right now. I trust these guys.

Jb: So, he's down
on the ground right now,

so it means that the dr*gs
are, are taking effect.

I'm going to get out.
Just stay back.

Briggs is a really big animal.

He's probably about pounds.

If he tries to get up,
just get out of the way.

He has three-foot swords
on his head.

If he swings that head,
I'm going to be stabbed.

I don't want that to happen.

I know, buddy, I know.

So, the blindfold is there
to decrease stimulation

so that briggs
stays under anesthesia.

There is a clock ticking.
Those dr*gs only last so long.

Okay, let's get him set up.

We need to stabilize briggs,
get him off the habitat quickly,

before he wakes up, freaks out,

and hurts either himself
or one of my team.

This allows us to give him
oxygen into his lungs.

Okay, give me a breath.

(air releasing)

perfect. He's breathing.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

He's waking up.

Let me see some ketamine!

He's down.
The dr*gs are working.

Okay, let's get him on the move.

One, two, and three.

Okay, take 'em up.

Amy: Going up.

(whirring)

jb: Okay, we're leaving.

Jade: I'm just
really happy we got him.

Now he gets to go
to his new home

and he's starting
a whole new breeding program.

Jb: That's good.
Watch your step.

Right here.

Jade: Okay.

Jb: Within minutes,
he's going to start recovering.

Just pull it, just pull it,
he's coming around.

Hopefully he just
stands right back up.

(whispering) he's standing up.
He's up, guys, he's up.

Great job, guys!

So, for the next two weeks,

briggs is going to be
inside of this stall,

and then we're going to ship him
up to another zoo in ohio

to be a breeder bull.

It's vital
that we got this done

because briggs is going to
be able to help increase

the oryx population
for years to come.

He's going to help
save his species.

♪ ♪

April: Have a nice day
at the zoo, guys.

Woman: Thank you!

Woman: There he goes!

♪ ♪

(barking)

christina: Hi, boys!

I will be working
with diesel today.

(blows whistle) good boy.

Diesel is one
of our five-year-old

male california sea lions.

He is a lot of fun.

(barking)

we wanna make sure
that the animals are staying

mentally stimulated
and physically fit as well.

Child: It's so cool!

Christina: Back-flipping
in the water,

it's one of the ways that
they can actually get away

from their predators
out in the wild.

(whistle blows)

asking him to move
different parts of his body

can build up muscle.

He's a great dance partner,
he really is.

They really enjoy training.

(barks)

good boy! Good job!

Water.

They love spending time with us.
They're very social animals.

Good job, buddy!

♪ ♪

kristy: I got
a really awesome phone call

that amy had her baby.

We have been waiting
on this baby for seven months.

I'm super excited to finally
get to meet this little one.

Amy's doing a great job, because
if we have a healthy population,

we're going to have babies.

♪ ♪

it's time to see this baby.

Sarah: I want to see that baby.

Jb: Good morning, how are you?
Sarah: Good morning.

Kristy: Good, how are you?

Jb: Good.
I heard our little one...

Kristy: Little one, yes.

Jb: ...Has a swollen tush.

Kristy: I guess so, yeah.

Jb: This morning I got a picture
of our newest addition.

I saw the little baby's
swollen butt,

and my first concern
was it might not be pooping.

It could mean that the baby's
a little dehydrated.

The clip that I saw,
the little picture,

it does look a little poofy.

You think she'll let me see it?

Kristy: We can try.

Jb: Okay, let's go take a peek.

Kristy: Alrighty.

Hi, amy.

We've prepped up some juice
bottles and a nutritional shake.

Once she sees that, hopefully
she'll come right over.

Jb: Hey, amy,
what are you doing?

Come here. Come here.
I'll say hello to you.

Kristy: You going to sit
right here?

Alright.

That's good.

I can't really see.

Jb: Amy's got her baby
all wrapped up nice,

like a good mother does.

Kristy: You don't want us
to see it.

(jb laughs)

actually, if you can
get her to come up.

Okay.

Come on, amy,
can you come up here?

Jb: She's allowing us to give
her a little bit of juice,

but what she's not allowing us
to do is see the kid,

so I'm working with kristy here
to shift her around.

Kristy: Can you come up here
real quick?

I promise you can have
the whole thing.

Jb: Every time
we can get amy to move,

I can get a little bit
of a view of the baby.

Kristy: Oh, my gosh!
That baby.

I see some cute ears.
Oh, my god!

This tiny baby in her arms,
it is so darn cute.

Come on up here.

Do you want to come up here?

Alright, alright.

Here, amy.

Jb: I'm just catching
small glimpses of the butt,

but again, the more kristy
gets her to move around for me,

the more I get.

Oh, there it is,
there's the butt.

I think the swelling
is not as bad

as the picture
made it out to be.

Kristy: The baby looks okay?

Jb: The baby's bum
looks pretty good.

It's mildly swollen,
but it's not something

that I'm so worried about.

Kristy: And amy looks okay, too?

Jb: Amy looks awesome.

Kristy: That is a huge relief

to know that both amy and baby
are doing great.

Jb: You hoping for a girl?

Kristy: I'm hoping for a girl.

I was hoping for a girl
the last time.

Jb: Well, we'll know
soon enough. You ready?

Kristy: Yeah.

Jb: Okay,
you can see her rectum?

Kristy: Uh-huh.

Jb: Look right below that.

We definitely
got a little girl.

Kristy: We do?

Jb: If there's a penis in there,
I can't find it!

(kristy laughs)

it's a cute little girl.

Kristy: Oh, yeah!

I am beyond happy.

I don't even know what
other word to use right now.

Jb: There you go, right here.
I'll give you a high five.

Kristy: Good job, amy!

Jb: It was great telling kristy
that it was a girl.

You can see kristy's face
almost light up.

Kristy: Good job, amy.

Jb: She's pretty excited.
She's been wanting a girl

since we've been talking
about having this kid here.

Kristy: It's a girl!

(jb laughs)

jb: But amy looks great,
so at this point,

she's clear to go out
on habitat.

Kristy: I'm proud
to do what I do.

I can't imagine
doing anything else.

The chimps are my life.

(grunting)

kids: Rhinos! Rhinos!

Steve: Whoa!

That's a great spot, by the way.

So, the rhinos love mud!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

stacey: Hey, miss olivia.

Tiffany: Stacey and I
are getting ready

to give olivia a mud bath.

At , she's one of the oldest
rhinos in north america.

Wild rhinos would live
into their s,

so is impressive!

Got some good carolina red clay.

It's a little hard for her

to get in and out
of the wallow on her own.

It's very similar to, you know,
a -year-old grandma

trying to get in and out
of the tub by herself.

They don't teach you this
your first day on the job,

but you just gotta mix it up
just perfect.

It's like making icing
for a cake.

♪ ♪

you ready, old girl?

♪ ♪

sometimes this ends up being
a mud bath for the keepers, too.

It's like being a kid again.

I like playing in mud puddles,
and now I get paid to do it.

Stacey: ♪ working
at the rhino wash ♪

tiffany: It's a pretty good time
for the both of us.

Stacey: Next to eating,
mud is their favorite thing.

Tiffany: Keeps their skin
from drying out,

it kind of acts as a sunscreen,

um, it keeps the insects
off of them.

Stacey: And so this
is just like a big spa day.

Tiffany: Their back
is more exposed,

so it needs to be thicker
and rougher,

but in their armpits
is like baby soft.

Those smooth spots are actually

some of their favorite places
to be touched.

You can tell
that she really likes it

because of her reactions.

(grunts)

aw, that's a good spot.

When you're years old,
you get what you want, huh, liv?

♪ ♪

so, that's it.
Mud bath complete.

You ready?

Come on, we're all done.

Come on, olivia.

(shaking food bucket)

come on, old girl.

Olivia.

(shaking food bucket)

I thought when I got here,

like these animals
don't have any personality,

but you realize
they're all hysterical.

And olivia
makes me laugh the most.

(shaking food bucket)

hello!

That's a good girl.

Are you coming
or just your horn?

There you go. Come on.

I've been working with olivia
for over seven years.

It's a huge bond
that you form with them.

(grunts)

I know, I know.

I want her to be around with me
forever, but she's an old lady.

Whenever that time comes

to where she can't do
olivia things anymore,

then it'll be a tough,
tough conversation to have.

But, I mean,
that's part of this job.

There you go, all painted up
for a couple days.

♪ ♪

woman: There you go.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(growling)

alexis: Open.

(electronic beep)

good girl.

Holly has a mass in her upper
right side of her mouth.

She wasn't eating things
like she normally would be.

We're not really sure
what it is,

so we will be doing
an aesthetic procedure today.

Jb: One, two, and three.

♪ ♪

okay, slide her in.

♪ ♪

alexis: With older animals,

I always have in the back of my
mind the worst possible outcome.

You get a little nervous.

You don't know for sure
what's going on

until we get into the hospital.

But I'll be next to holly
the whole time.

♪ ♪

jb: One, two, three.

Watch your step, on the gurney.

We're just gonna do
a quick assessment.

Perfect.

Check her heart rate,
check her breathing.

Blood pressure hooked up.

Ecg's hooked up.

Heather: , heart rate of .

Jb: Good.

We gotta look at that mouth,

see where the issue is,

because this is what we got
called down to look at.

Emma: Do you want to see?

Jb: Yeah.

It's swollen. That is not right.

It does look like a mass.

Alexis: Jb noticed something
in the back of her mouth.

I'm getting a little worried.

Jb: So, cancer's on the list,
some type of infection.

It could be an old fracture.

It's not good,
not for an animal of this age.

The next step is we're going to
sh**t some x-rays of the skull,

and we're gonna
try to figure out

where exactly
this is coming from

and maybe what's going on.

♪ ♪

heather: Clear.

Jb: Clear.

Heather: Clear.

Jb: Clear.

♪ ♪

this is not good.

If you can look right here,

she definitely has a large mass.

This mass is starting
to eat into bone,

which is preventing her
from opening her mouth.

First thing that comes to mind,
it could be cancer.

It's not good
because she's years old.

That is really, really old
for a black bear.

I want to get all of the people

that are involved
in holly's life together.

Erin the curator is here,
chris, he's here,

alexis is here.

I got to talk to them
about some of the options,

but it's not good.

It's much more extensive
than we really wanted it to be.

Chris: It's a -year-old bear
with a -month-old mass.

There's nothing
we can do to fix it.

Jb: And it's going
to get bigger.

Chris: Bigger.

Jb: Um, so putting her
through intensive treatment

for a couple more months

is really just not
going to be fair to her.

My recommendation
is we euthanize holly today.

Alexis: When jb mentioned
euthanizing her, it hits you,

emotions hit you.

But I trust him.

I know he's doing
what's best for holly.

Jb: She's lived a really,
really good life with us.

My final gift as a veterinarian

is saying I'm going
to help you go peacefully.

Erin: It's nice
that she can go

surrounded by people
that love her.

I'm tearing up because I know

how much she means to
everybody else, and it's hard.

So, it never gets easy,
but it's the right thing to do,

so we just do it.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

alexis: It's nice
that they let us be here

and feel like
we can comfort her.

Jb: So, we'll give you guys
a few minutes.

Right now,
we're giving the keepers

and the animal care staff
just a little bit of time.

We're at the end,

so allowing them just to say
goodbye to their, their friend.

Alexis: You fall in love
with them and having to let go

and say goodbye
is very difficult.

The last few moments
are definitely the hardest.

You kind of just
are in your own bubble.

You're just thinking about
experiences you've had with her.

♪ ♪

all those memories are
flooding through your head.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

you know that
you gave her the best,

and you know
she had a good life.

(beeping)

emma: She's stopped breathing.

Jb: Good girl.

♪ ♪

alexis: She's at peace.
There's no pain.

She's in a better place, so.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

heather: Thanks for letting me
give her honey this morning.

Alexis: Absolutely.

(birds chirping)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

robert: Now, amy
actually had her baby

just a little while ago,

and you will have
the time of your life

watching that baby
play on habitat.

Kristy: Today is
the first day that the baby

is going to be
out on habitat with mom.

I'm really excited
because this'll be

the baby's first time
seeing the world.

Jenni: We're going to go up
by our feeding area,

where we throw them snacks,

and get a really
good look at her.

Kristy: Alright.

Let's go see this baby.

Sarah: Let's go see that baby!

Kristy: With amy being
a low-ranking chimp,

we do worry about the boys
being a little rough with her.

She's going to have to take
extra special care of the baby.

Sarah: Have you seen amy?

Kristy: Where's amy?

Jenni: Right by the window.

(kristy gasps)

woman: Oh, there it is!

Woman: How cute!

Kristy: Today is the first day
that the baby is going to be

out on habitat with mom.

Where's amy?

Sarah: Have you seen amy?

Jenni: I can see amy way
over there, right by the window.

Kristy: Ah! You are so cute!

Sarah: I was not expecting her
to be right up here.

Kristy: Oh, my god.

Sarah: Oh, sweet baby girl.

Kristy: She's even tinier
out here.

It's crazy to me
how just a few weeks ago

it was just this tiny little
heart b*at on an ultrasound,

and now we have a real baby
out here on the habitat.

Jenni: Oh, my gosh, everybody
just wants to be near her.

Kristy: Amy's getting groomed.
That's a really good sign.

It's really great to see
all of the adult males

being so gentle with her
and the baby.

Sarah: She's going to be
such a good mama.

When looking at the baby,
it's hard not to make

a lot of really cute noises

because we're all very excited.

Kristy: Ooh, look
at those little hands!

Jenni: Oh, the little toes!

She's so cute!

Sarah: Welcome to
the chimp habitat, baby girl!

Jenni: I think the public
is surprised and excited

to see the new baby.

They're, like, kinda looking
at it like, "what's going on?"

and then all of a sudden,
it's like, "ah, that's a baby!"

kristy: Hey, guys,
my name is kristy.

I'm one of
the chimp keepers here.

Our youngest is just a few days
old, and it's a baby girl.

She doesn't have a name yet.

Amy is being the mom
we all knew she would be.

Now it's the hard part.

We all have to decide on a name
for the new baby girl.

Sarah: I really like beverly.

(laughter)

kristy: Oh.

Sarah: Fine!

♪ ♪

steve: Do you know
termite mounds in africa

can be the size of this truck?

Nancy: Good girl, sweet pea.

Hey, nick-nack.
Nick-nack does a moonwalk.

Keeper: Go, buddy, go!

♪ ♪

jade: Today's the day briggs
is gonna make his final move,

so we're gonna load him up
and then send him off to ohio.

We're using his instincts
to do this as quick as possible.

It's the safest way
to get him on the trailer.

Chris: Jade,
are you guys ready?

Jade: Ready up here.

Go, go, go, go, go, go!

♪ ♪

adam: You're alright, big boy.

Chris: - ,
nice job, everybody.

Lane: Alright!

That was pretty smooth.

I am sad to see briggs go,
but he is part of a bigger plan.

He will be going
elsewhere to breed

and help save the oryx species.

He'll have more females, so
he'll probably be pretty happy.

There goes briggs.
Have fun in your new home!

Jade: Make some more babies!

Robert: Folks,
one thing that you'll find,

you go through the whole
circle of life here at this zoo.

You'll see animals come and go.

We experience births,
we experience deaths,

it's part of life.

You learn to deal with it.

Alexis: Heather brought by
holly's prints.

Oh, my goodness.

She has tiny little feet,
they're really beautiful.

She was a really sweet bear.

We really miss her.

But you know you've got
other animals to care for,

and you remember the ones
that you lose and you miss them,

but you continue that cycle.

Nova, luna, outside.

(growling)

you just keep doing your job.

Jb: Yeah, I just
finished up at rocky coast.

Can you give me like ten minutes
before I get to you?

At the north carolina zoo,
there are definitely sad days.

Those are hard on my staff,
those are hard on me.

But then there are days
when you get that call

that there was
a baby chimp born.

Those are the days that
make us smile.

Those are the days
that keep us going.

Jenn: The keepers picked a bunch
of really, really good names,

so I'm really excited to see
what they're going to be!

Susi: It is my pleasure
and my honor

to unveil and announce the name

of our newest chimp,

so on behalf of the state
of north carolina,

I give you...

Asha!

(cheering and applause)

yay!

Kristy: It was
a really good feeling

to see my name on the board.

It's swahili for "life."

susi: These are our keepers.

Moriah: Okay, let's do one more.

Kristy: Working in a zoo,
it's moments like this

where it makes
everything worth it.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

asha is just the perfect way
to celebrate life.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪
Post Reply