01x03 - North Carolina: Hiss and Hers

[bunniefuu]

(purr)

(whooping)

(chattering)

child: Mom, look!

Nancy: Look at him! (laughs)

(trumpets)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

stacey: Let's go pick up
some rhino middens.

Tiffany: It's my favorite
day of the week.

(laughs)

a midden is a pile
of rhino poop.

They don't just poop anywhere
like an elephant would,

they poop in
very specific locations,

basically a communal bathroom
for the rhinos.

A little bit this way.

Whoa!

Working on eight rhinos'
worth of poop,

so we're gonna use
the trailer and skid steer

to make it go a little faster.

Off to the grasslands.

Here at the zoo, we have
eight southern white rhinos.

Stormy, he's our bull,
he's extremely energetic.

Olivia is our oldest,
so she's the cranky old lady.

Linda, she's the soccer mom,
the one with all the kids,

and the great news is we have
another rhino on the way.

Linda's pregnant.

The whole zoo gets excited
when a new baby is due.

It makes us happy,

and it's really exciting
for the animals, too.

Will you bring the trailer back
down here? I got to go downhill!

Stacey: Alright.

You missed a bit!

That's one big pile of poop!

Tiffany: Is that all of it?

Stacey: Yeah, that's good!

Do you think the other rhinos
know linda's pregnant?

Tiffany: Yeah, they can
definitely tell in the poop.

The middens are kind of like
the rhino social media platform.

That's how they communicate,
send messages back and forth.

There's pheromones in the poop,
so a bull, for instance,

would be able to detect if
a female is already pregnant,

so it tells a lot.

Linda and nandi are
heading towards the barn.

Stacey: Ok, you want to work
on separation training now?

Tiffany: Yeah, 'cause we've
still got a lot of work

to do with nandi.

Right before linda gives birth,
she'll push nandi away,

and basically say it's time to
grow up and be your own rhino.

Our goal for separation training
is just to prepare nandi

to get a little more
used to being on her own

and not with linda / .

Stacey: Linda, nandi.

Tiffany: Come on, nandi.

Stacey: Nandi is
about months.

Mom and baby are
very, very tight.

They don't even like to be
in different stalls.

What's the matter?

You just checking us out now?

Alright.

(rhino grunts)

tiffany: In six months' time
linda is due to give birth,

and it's really important that
we do an ultrasound with linda.

But it's a little dangerous
if you've got

a one-and-a-half-year-old
toddler bouncing around.

Stacey: Oh, honey.

Leaving mom is
the most stressful time

in a rhino's life.

So, we need to work
on separating them.

Tiffany: It's just gonna take
a lot of communication

between me and stacey;
we haven't tried this yet.

So today is a really big day.

Stacey: Our first step
will be to have them

in two different stalls.

Linda, come.

Tiffany: You stay here with me.

Stacey: And then
closing the door.

Linda, come.

Tiffany: Good girl, nandi.

Stacey: If we manage to get
mom on one side

and baby on the other side
and both stay calm,

that will be
a huge success for us.

Tiffany: Yeah,
you stay here with me.

Stacey: Great job, mama!

Tiffany: We don't want to
push it too far first time,

because then we're probably
gonna have to work a lot harder

and a lot longer to get
back to where want to be.

You focus on me.

See if we can get it up
to like five seconds

with the door being closed.

Stacey: One, two...

Alright, it's been five.

Tiffany: Alright.

Stacey: Good job.

Tiffany: That's a really
promising start.

This training is crucial

for the keepers, animals
and vets' safety.

An ultrasound is going
to take a lot longer,

so we just really need to start
really increasing that time.

This is a pretty big step.

Stacey: You ready, tiff?

Tiffany: Yes!

(rhino whines)

hang in there, nandi,
I'll be with you in a second!

Sometimes baby rhinos will
cry after their moms

just because they need
a little bit of reassurance.

It's ok, nandi, calm down.

I'm having to
constantly make sure

that nandi is just
keeping her focus on me.

Nandi could refuse to be
away from mom and panic.

It could stress linda out
if she does that,

and we're not going to have
a successful ultrasound

if either one of them
get into that situation.

How's linda doing?

Stacey: Linda's cool.

Linda! Good job!

We build a trust with them.

You can kind of comfort them
with rubbing their head

or rubbing under their neck is a
soft spot that they really like.

(whines)

tiffany: You're still here.

Being a good girl.

(whine)

I don't want to push it
any farther.

Open the door back up.

Stacey: Ok.

Tiffany: You gonna
come back over?

Gonna see mom?

Good!

Stacey: Linda and nandi
did amazing.

Tiffany: We probably had that
door closed for a minute,

so that was a big step towards
being able to separate them.

Good job.

Linda and nandi definitely
exceeded my expectations.

We're on the right track.

We'll carry on with
these training sessions,

but the ultrasound
will be the real test.

♪ ♪

(bark)

(snort)

boy: That one's looking at us!

(chirp)

♪ ♪

(lion roars)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

stephanie: Hi, boys,
how are you guys?

You guys ready for some bones?

Vander and boone
are reilly's sons,

the king of the small pride
we have here.

I'm gonna shift vander.

Opening five.

You typically will only have
one male lion in the pride.

So, unfortunately,
being full-grown males,

they can't live with
their father anymore.

So the lion species survival
plan made a recommendation

for us to move these two boys

down to lion country safari
in florida.

Kamisha: Hey, vander.

Stephanie: Oh, that good?

(purring)

they're delicious.

We've recently moved them
to holding rooms,

because we're gonna be doing
a pre-shipment exam today.

We'll anesthetize them with jb,

make sure that
they're all healthy

and then they are gonna get
shipped down to florida

where they're gonna have
an amazing new habitat

with some female lions.

(growl)

kamisha: Yeah!

Stephanie: You gonna
have a girlfriend?

Vander and boone will be great
ambassadors for their species.

They're raising awareness
for lion conservation

and hopefully making babies
of their own one day.

Kamisha: Vander, he is honestly
kind of my favorite.

I tend to gravitate towards
the more snarly animals,

and vander is especially snarly.

(growling)
ohhh, he's so big!

I'm gonna miss him.

Stephanie: These guys
are five years old,

so, kind of like lion teenagers.

Kamisha: Boone!
I put your bone over here.

Go on outside.

They grew up together,

so they're ok together
most of the time.

Good job.

Stephanie: Good job.

Kamisha: But they don't do
so great with each other

when they have something

that they really want
to be possessive over,

like their bone.

(roar)

there he goes,
calling to his brother.

Stephanie: Oh, yeah.

(roar)

kamisha: He's telling him
where he is.

Oh, here he comes, what is that?

Stephanie: Oh!

Kamisha: Boone's
a little bit more curious.

He likes to check
things out more.

Stephanie: Sometimes you'll
see him, like, hunker down,

trying to like jump up
and scare us.

Kamisha: He likes to stalk us.

Stephanie: While we're sad
to see these boys leave,

we're really happy that
reilly and mekita's babies

are now full-grown lions

that can go on and
lead their own prides.

Jb: Vander and boone are pretty
important to the gene pool

here in north america.

They're the only cubs that we
have out of our breeding pair,

mekita and reilly.

So, mom and pop did a fantastic
job raising these boys,

but now it's our responsibility

to make sure that
they're % ready

for their new lives
down in florida.

Today we are doing
pre-ship exams,

to make sure that they are
healthy before they leave.

We're gonna get
some blood from them,

and we're gonna be checking
their organ functions.

We're gonna get radiographs
of the chest and the abdomen.

So this is stephanie
and kamisha's first time

trying to hand-inject a lion.

They've done lots of primates,

so this will be a great
opportunity for them.

You want to go with the cc
syringe, a really large needle.

Instead of like this motion,

actually go like this,
and just be like,

and as soon as you're in
the skin, just start pushing.

Kamisha: Got it.

Stephanie: This is a totally
different level of dangerous,

doing this for our first time
is very kind of like, ahhh.

Kamisha: I'm little nervous,
but I'm very confident in jb,

so I think we'll be fine.
(laughs)

jb: Be quick!

Kamisha: Hi, boone!

Stephanie: Oh, good kitty.

Kamisha: If he goes through

maybe we can get him
to lay down.

Jb: So ideally before
any anesthesia,

we wouldn't feed the animal.

Stephanie has to convince
boone to lay down,

he's gonna think
he's gonna get some meat,

and then hopefully kamisha's
going to be able

to give him that injection.

Kamisha: I'm sorry,
we can't give you any meats.

Stephanie: Come on, bud,
just lay down.

Jb: Today he's not playing ball.

Kamisha: Hey, jb,
I think he knows

we're not giving him the meats.

(purring)

jb: Hey, bud.

I think we're gonna have
to feed you to get this done.

Give him a little bit.

Stephanie: Good job, kitty.

Good job.

Kamisha: Good job, boone.

(roar)

good job, boone, good job!

Stephanie: Way to go,
jb and boone.

High five, good job!

Jb: So, the plan now is we're
gonna give him about minutes,

because that's how long the
dr*gs are gonna take to kick in.

It's still a lion,
so we're going make sure

that we're not gonna go
in there and get hurt.

How long has it been?

Man: Like eight minutes.

Woman: Not yet. Wait.

Jb: There are a few animals
in the park that scare me.

And these guys, if they were to
recover, would probably eat you.

(growl)

typically we like to
keep this real quiet,

but his brother's not
allowing that to happen.

(growl)

he's not happy that we're
all still in this building.

We're gonna just spin him.

Woman: Ok.

Jb: Two and three.

(growling)

woo, he's a big boy!

We'll get him on
the gas anesthetic

and then we'll get
the procedure done.

If you get complacent around
some of the animals

that we deal with
here at the zoo,

you may end up not
going home that day.

Ok, put him on five.

Woman: Uh-oh!

Jb: Heather! He's waking up.

Jb: Put him on five!

Woman: Uh-oh!

Jb: Heather!

He's waking up.

It's milligrams of ketamine.

(growling)

go to sleep, little friend.

(growling)

he was a little light
when we first got in here.

We could hear him growling,

and his eyes were still
blinking a little bit.

(growling)

ok, start moving
through your full exam.

We are doing pre-ship exams

to make sure that they are
healthy before they leave.

Kamisha: Is that bloody?

Jb: Yeah.

My guess is his brother's taken
a bite when they're playing.

Male lions have a spur,

like almost like
a tiny little fingernail

at the tip of their tail.

So I was just trying
to look at it,

to see how big it was,
and then I noticed,

hey, doesn't have
the tip anymore.

We're gonna put a little
antibiotic ointment on it.

It'll heal by itself.

Ok, we're gonna get
some radiographs

of the chest and the abdomen

to make sure everything's
functioning normally.

Try to keep the plate
as still as we can.

Ready?

One, two, and three.

He's a heavy boy.

I mean, he's probably
pounds, just solid muscle.

And you got to get him into
these really exact positions

to get the radiographs
that you want.

Ready, one, two, three.

There you go.

Wow, that's perfect.

Heather: Jb, you ready?

Jb: Yeah.

Clear!

They look pretty good.
He's a healthy lion.

Heather: Beautiful.

Jb: So, what we're gonna do now
is make him a little bed

so that he can wake up
nice and comfortable.

The reversal's in!

The dr*gs have been reversed,

so now we're just waiting
for him to recover

so that we can pull that tube
out of his throat.

You don't want
to pull it too fast,

because we want him to be able
to breathe through that tube,

but we don't want
to pull it too late,

because then he'll be
wide awake.

We're watching lots of things.

When you touch his face,
does he blink?

Is his respiration picking up?

(growling)

and his brother says
the same thing!

He's waking up!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

ok, people, let's see
what mood vander's in.

(growling)

vander's not happy!

He's a little worked up,
so we were hoping

we were gonna be able
to hand-inject him,

but we're probably gonna
have to dart him.

(growling)

I don't like darting animals,
but it's the only way

we can get some of these
animals under anesthesia.

Ok, so I'll go in with you
as a distractor.

You set up for one sh*t.

(growling)

I know.

(growling)

hey!

(taps cage)

(growling)

hey! Hey!

(pop)

good sh*t!

Alissa was able
to get the sh*t off,

and then he pulled it out
and he chewed it a little bit.

There he goes.

Seeing these lions so young
and full of life, it's great,

because they've got
that innate wildness.

Ok, let's open .

Here at the zoo we breed animals
for the survival of the species,

but we also want to put them
in situations

which is similar to the wild,

and breeding is
one of those things.

That's why it's important
that we get them out of here,

get them down to florida.

Get him on gas anesthetic.

So, they need to live that life

that is as close to natural
as possible.

His radiographs
look really good.

And one day,
hopefully both of them

will have cubs of their own.

So, we're done with the exam,
radiographs,

his vaccines and injections.

Hopefully he recovers
as smoothly as his brother did.

And hopefully
by the end of the month

they're in a truck and
they're heading to florida.

♪ ♪

woman: Aw.

Woman: He's a mama's boy.

Woman: She is such a good mama.

♪ ♪

stacey: Linda! Nandi!

Tiffany: Today we're gonna do
something pretty exciting.

We're hoping to get
some good ultrasound views

of linda's new calf.

Stacey: Come here, stinkies!

Tiffany: But to do that safely,

we're gonna have to
separate linda and nandi.

Jb: This calf is due
in the spring,

so it's pretty big already.

And we're just gonna be checking
to see if we can find the heart.

How strong is it?
Is it b*ating well?

Tiffany: Good girl, linda.

Stacey's gonna focus on linda
and the ultrasound.

Stacey: Linda!

Linda, come!

Tiffany: And I'll be
focusing on nandi.

Nandi!

Yeah, you're going nowhere.
That's a good girl.

Just keeping her calm,
keeping her focused on me.

I know, good girl.

We've been working really hard

on getting them separated
and being comfortable with it.

So, I think today
will be the real test.

Jb: Today we've got
dr. Emma houck with us,

she is our second-year
zoological resident.

She's gonna be doing
the ultrasound.

Emma: I've been a veterinarian
for three years.

And I'm in a specialty
training program

where I learn the ins and outs
of being a zoo vet.

I wanted to work at a zoo

because I gained a lot as a kid
from going to zoos.

I wanted to make
animals' lives better

and to make them as healthy
and happy as possible.

Jb: Emma, just make sure
you watch yourself

in case she backs up.

Emma: Yeah.

Jb: She's , pounds of muscle

that's just gonna
smush into you.

I'm basically watching
emma and linda.

Stacey: She's moving
a little bit.

Jb: If things go awry, I can
grab emma and yank her out.

Jb: Into the mix of all of this,
we've got nandi in the back.

If she starts crying,
that's gonna agitate linda.

Tiffany: Everything's fine, be
back with mom in a little bit.

(grunt)

I'm not feeding you, handsome.

(laughs)

he's over there begging!

Stacey: Alright, guys,
we ain't got a lot of time.

Emma: Let's do it.

Jb: Because that calf
is gonna be so big,

you're only gonna see
a small window of it.

So you've just got
to move it around

looking for what you can find.

Emma: Do you think she can take
one more step forward?

Their skin is so thick

and in order to get
a really good image,

you really have to press hard.

Jb: There's ribs.

Emma: Yeah.

Jb: That looks like
spine right there.

(grunting)

stacey: She's huffing.
How much time do you guys want?

Jb: We've found the baby,

we're just seeing
if we can find the heart.

Stacey doesn't want nandi
to start calling for her mom.

So we'd like to end this
sooner rather than later.

(whines)

tiffany: It's ok, nandi,
calm down.

Jb: She's starting
to twitch, emma!

We're gonna lose
the opportunity here.

The heart is what
we're looking for.

We know we're close.

Come on, emma,
a little to the left.

You're getting close.

That's it, right there.

Well done, emma.
Let's get this wrapped up quick.

Stacey: Tiffany, we're finished,

and I'm just gonna
put them back together.

Tiffany: Sounds good.

Stacey: Linda!

Good job!

Who's growing up?

Jb: (laughs) would you like
to see some heartbeats?

Tiffany: Would love
to see some heartbeats.

Jb: That's the spine
right there.

That's a rib.

There's our heartbeat
right there.

That is a really strong heart.

Tiffany: Cool!

Emma: To see the heart b*ating
nice and consistently,

that was really exciting.

Tiffany: The calf
hasn't been born yet,

but we know that it's healthy.

Stacey: We worked really hard
on this training,

and it's led up to this moment.

It was well worth the work.

It's big.

Jb: Yeah, it's big.

(laughs)

they come out real big.

♪ ♪

(grunting)

♪ ♪

(squeaking)

audrey: Alright, munchkin.

These are the eastern
indigo snake babies.

Oh, so feisty.

This is my favorite species,

and I've been working with them
for about years now.

Eastern indigo snakes
are the longest snakes

found in the united states,

and they get their name

from the iridescent color
of their scales.

They are a very important
part of the ecosystem.

They keep the rodent
population down.

Right, we'll get her in there.

You better stay in there.

We weigh all
of the snakes weekly

to make sure that they're
growing the way they should.

. , alright.

I love weighing them.

I get to see their
individual personalities

and their different colorations.

This is so jet black.

Unfortunately, they are
considered threatened,

primarily due to habitat loss.

So here at the zoo we are part

of a conservation
breeding program

to keep the species going.

These guys are gonna be
ambassador animals

at other zoos,

educating the public
on the importance of snakes,

to make sure that these snakes
have a future.

. .

So big and strong.

These babies come
from our main breeding pair,

montoya and his
girlfriend sarracenia.

Last winter they bred,
she laid her eggs,

and then these guys hatched.

They're already looking
really good,

so I'm very excited about that.

We are gonna try to get
montoya and sarracenia

to breed again so we can have
more baby snakes next year.

Hi, handsome, are you
ready for your date?

He's about to see his girlfriend

that he hasn't seen
in almost a year.

They live separated.

We just put them together
for breeding purposes.

Hi, sarracenia.
It's time.

There's a very good reason
why we keep them apart.

Their favorite food
is other snakes,

and so there is the chance
that they could eat each other.

He just saw her!

Let's put her in this side.

Keep your eyes on him.

They also get very defensive

when they're put into an area
with another snake.

♪ ♪

so we try to pick
a neutral location

that doesn't smell
like either snake.

If the female
doesn't want to breed,

she can become very defensive
and att*ck.

Audrey: He's tongue-flicking.

He's picking up her scent.

Today we're introducing
the indigo snake pair

that we have for breeding.

What we really want to see
is montoya get on top of her

and then start wrapping
his tail around hers.

The males can bite the females
when they pin them down,

or they could try
to eat each other.

Stephanie: It's certainly,
it's not every day

that somebody gets eaten
by their date.

Audrey: Come on out, sarracenia.

I think she's
a little bit nervous.

Normally in the past
he's been a shy guy

and hung out in the corner,

while she kind of
checked him out first,

but he may have some
more confidence now.

He's a little bit older.

She's like, ooh, you got
kind of big and confident.

Stephanie: You've changed
in the past year.

Audrey: Yeah, she's like
what happened?

She's clearly not interested,
right now.

So we'll just keep observing
them throughout the day

and make sure they're both safe.

Now it's just a waiting game.

♪ ♪

you just stay close.

♪ ♪

today we're going to be emptying
the entire gator pool.

Leaves and mud have built up
over the fall,

and they can clog the heater.

So, this clean-out is
to make sure that the alligators

stay nice and toasty
over the winter.

We have to drain thousands
of gallons of water out.

It's a very big job.

(hissing)

alright, so, let's just kind of
quietly move over here.

(hissing)

we have to clean every inch of
the pool and refill the water.

Grab a bucket each
to get started.

We have to make sure we get
the alligators out of the way.

(hissing)

alright, I'm going in, dustin.

Dustin: Our alligators
are obviously

very dangerous animals.

If you look at their mouths,

there's almost teeth
in there.

And they have some of the
strongest jaws of any animal.

(hissing)

but if he starts
coming this way,

if I just stand my ground,

he'll turn around and
just go the other way.

They've been around us
long enough to know

that we're not really a thr*at.

Woman: Oh, wow!

Look what I just found.

Audrey: Alligator tooth.
That is a pretty cool one.

Woman: Look at him over there.

Dustin: As long as nobody
does anything crazy

or tries to get too close
to the animals,

nobody's gonna get eaten
or lose any limbs.

Audrey: You got to stay
out here, ok, bud!

(hissing)

ok, everybody out, we're done.

It's time to fill it back up!

♪ ♪

(hooting)

(howling)

♪ ♪

woman: Good morning!

(grumbling)

(warbling)

(grunting)

♪ ♪

(squeaking)

tiffany: Oh, my goodness, lane.

Lane: What is that?

Tiffany: Look,
she's already had it.

Lane: Well, that was unexpected.

Tiffany: These little moments
where you come in

and find a new baby
and it seems to be doing well,

that's one of the joys
of the job.

Lane: You sure that's a rhino?

Tiffany: It kind of looks
like a rhino to me.

Lane: We just had a baby rhino.

I was thinking it was gonna be
another week or two,

but nope, it came today.

Tiffany: We knew that linda
was getting really close,

so we moved nandi out
a couple days ago,

and the separation training
seems to have really paid off.

She's doing really well
out there without her mom,

and now linda's been able
to give birth,

no stress of a toddler
running around under her feet.

Stacey's probably
gonna need a picture.

I've been here eight years

and this is
the fourth calf we've had,

but this calf
is just as exciting

as the first, second, third.

Lane: What have you
gone and done?

Did you have a baby?

Ohhh.

I bet she feels better now!

Tiffany: Probably feels
a lot better.

Lane: Hey, sweetie.

Whoa!

Tiffany:
You spunky little thing!

(squeaking)

you want to get up yet?

Lane: In the wild, all that
blood and afterbirth,

it's like a predator magnet.

Tiffany: So a healthy calf's
natural instinct

should be to stand
as soon as possible.

What do you think, little one?

(squeaking)

you want to get up?

You want your mommy?

There you go.

You can do it.

Yeah, you got it.

Oh.

Tiffany:
Our biggest concern right now

is that the calf stands up
in a decent amount of time.

A healthy calf's
natural instinct

should be to stand
as soon as possible.

You want to get up?

You can do it.

Yeah, you got it.

Ohhh.

There's a lot of things
on the first day of life, huh?

She's trying.

When they're first born,
their feet,

they're just big round balls

and they got little
spaghetti noodle legs.

So it's a little harder
for them to stand.

You're a little bit wobbly.

Oh, man.

You gonna try again?

(grunting)

come on, little thing.

♪ ♪

come on, little one.

(grunting)

you got it!

Lane: Alright!

Tiffany: Look at you
standing on your own.

It looks good and strong to me.

The baby's standing,
it seems happy, healthy,

so it's a big day.

Not completely sure
that it's male or female.

I don't know,
can you tell, lane?

Lane: Nah.
I think it's a girl.

Tiffany:
I think it's a girl, too,

but we'll have to wait
for the vet to tell us.

Lane: It's extremely
exciting to see

something like a baby rhino
born under human care.

It can help contribute
to the population

and people can get to see it

and can connect with rhinos
a little better.

It's just like
a little rubber dog toy.

Tiffany: A rubber dog toy?

Lane: Yeah, it squeaks
like one, too.

Tiffany: Oh, it does squeak
like a rubber dog toy.

(squeak)

first day of life
is very exciting.

That excitement
never completely fades,

like no matter
how many times you do it.

Lane: We get paid for this.

Tiffany:
We do get paid for this.

♪ ♪

(squeak)

♪ ♪

(chirping)

(squawking)

(growling)

♪ ♪

audrey: Hey, munchkin.

We are feeding
the indigo snake babies today.

They eat twice a week.

They're fed fish.

Fishy, fishy.

I love feeding my snakes.

This little guy was
the first to hatch.

He's usually a bit feisty.

Oh, he's eating me,
not the fish!

(laughs)

they're not ever
afraid of anything.

They're pretty awesome
little snakes.

There you go!

Stephanie on radio: Audrey?

Audrey: Go ahead, steph.

Stephanie: You should
get down here,

I just found montoya
and sarracenia mating.

Audrey: That's fantastic,
I'll be right there!

♪ ♪

I'm so excited, I got
butterflies in my stomach.

Where am I gonna put
all these baby snakes?

Stephanie:
No, no, no, don't stop.

Ah, audrey!

You missed it,
they just stopped!

♪ ♪

they were copulating,
and then he actually dislodged.

♪ ♪

audrey: Um, they're
solitary animals,

they're not always comfortable
in breeding situations.

I'm not sure they were
engaged long enough

to guarantee sarracenia
getting pregnant.

It's disappointing that they
separated this early,

but that doesn't mean
that he will not try again.

So, let's leave and
give them some privacy.

Stephanie: Alright, come on,
guys, we're counting on ya!

Audrey: Come on, buddy,
go get her!

♪ ♪

(nickers)

♪ ♪

(snorting)

(warbling)

jb on radio: Hospital one to
grasslands, we are on our way.

We've just received a call
there has been a baby oryx born

out on the grasslands habitat.

So that's great news,
because this species of antelope

is pretty vulnerable
in the wild,

so we've been breeding them
here at the zoo

to keep their numbers up.

Today, we're just gonna do
a neonatal exam.

Which means we're
gonna grab the calf,

we're gonna get some blood,

look it over,
make sure it's healthy

before it returns to the herd.

That looks like it.

There's a calf, it's tucked.

It's a defense mechanism.
Calf can't run that fast.

Out on the plains of africa,
that would be lion food.

So, they leave it tucked away
and then the herd moves off.

The mom, brisket,
is right up here,

she's got a close eye on it.

She's actually probably one
of the most protective mothers

that we have.

This is our opportunity to make
sure that the calf is healthy

because in a week's time,

you will not be able
to catch this calf.

It will be up,
it will be with the herd,

and it will be running.

We got to grab that calf

before brisket guesses
what we're up to!

(calf bleating)

watch out!
Brisket's on to you!

Oryx are strong,
powerful antelope.

They use those horns
on their head

to k*ll lions in self-defense.

So, you don't want to come
between a mother and her calf,

unless you really,
really have to.

(grunting)

everybody this way.

Jade: Go, go, go.
Jb: Come on, come on.

Everybody, you better get
in the back of the truck.

Jb: We got to grab that calf

before brisket guesses
what we're up to!

Watch out!
Brisket's on to you!

Everybody this way.

Come on, come on.

Everybody, you better get
in the back of the truck.

She's circling, guys!

Let's get this done
as quickly as possible.

Watch out, chris!

(bleating)

(groaning)

brisket's coming in,
stay focused.

We're going to do
all these things

that are for the wellbeing
of the calf,

but brisket, to her,

we've basically just
kidnapped her baby.

(bleats)

(grunting)

chris! Watch those horns!

Jade: Those two large horns,
they're like sabers,

and when they get worried,
they'll put their head down

and just run through
whatever's in front of them.

(grunting)

chris: Shh.

(growls)

jade: It makes it
a challenge for us.

Heart starts going
just a little.

Jb: Did you already get blood?
Andrea: Working on it.

Jb: Ok.

We're checking
for any birth abnormalities.

Hmm. Strong heartbeat.

(growling)

she's on the move.

Keep an eye on her!

Andrea: Blood glucose is .

Jb: She's got a pretty high
blood glucose,

which means she's
definitely been nursing,

that's a good sign for us.

Jade: Did you say
boy or a girl yet?

Jb: I haven't.
You want to make a bet?

Jade: Girl.
Chris: Girl.

Jb: You are correct,
a little girl.

Woman: Yay.

Jb: Ok, guys,
we're done with the calf.

Woman: She's done great
for everything.

(bleats)

jb: It's ok, brisket, your baby
will be back in a second.

Tamara, if you come around
the other side of the truck,

we'll hand her to you
outside of the truck.

Right there.

Tamara: Good luck, baby.

♪ ♪

jb: Now we're just
gonna move away.

Jade: She's probably gonna
stand watch for a little while

until we leave.

Jb: Look at her, she's got
evil eyes for all of us.

Quite scary for a second.

Jade: A little adrenaline
in the morning is always good.

Jb: Yeah.

Jade: It is super important that
she's gonna protect her young.

These are definitely
the behaviors

we need her to pass on,
we want this in the population.

It just makes it
a challenge for us,

but it still means that she
is healthy and thriving

and got good, strong calves.

♪ ♪

woman: There you go.

(warbling)

woman: Good.

Woman: Whose is that?

(laughing)

(snorting)

♪ ♪

jb: I am currently heading
down to the rhino barn.

Linda had her calf
a couple of days ago

and I have not had
an opportunity

to go down
and take a look at it.

Rhino calves are super cute,
super adorable,

so I'm hoping now to give it
a clean bill of health

and to find out
if it's a boy or a girl.

How are you, ma'am?

Tiffany: Pretty well,
how are you?

Jb: Here to see that baby.

Tiffany: The baby?

Jb: Yeah.

Not you, you're too old now.

(grunting)

in an ideal world, we're looking
for an animal that's bright,

ears perked,
looking around, alert.

Ah, look at that.

Tiffany: Isn't it cute?

Jb: Yeah.

Tiffany: It's a little nugget.

Jb: I have a fondness
for rhinos,

but a baby rhino
is just adorable.

Hi, linda.

Hi. That's a cute calf.

(grunting)
yes, it is.

Tiffany: So, jb,
the best I can tell,

it looks like a girl.

What are you thinking?

Jb: Well, watching her
move around,

there's a little vulva there,
so, you're correct.

It's an adorable little girl.

Tiffany: It's really great news
for us as a zoo,

it's great news for
the white rhino species.

Hopefully this little lady will
be a mother herself one day.

Jb: She's bright-eyed,
she's got her ears erect

and looking around.

She looks pretty strong.

Tiffany: Yeah, getting
stronger every day.

Jb: Mm-hmm!

Oh, oh, ah, there we go, yeah!

We to see her get up,
go to mom,

we want to see her nurse.

Milk has a lot
of antibodies in it.

That's gonna keep her protected

from all the bacteria
in this barn

for the first six months
of her life.

Jb: She looks like she's
gonna go nurse right now.

She's like, mom,
I've gotten up, stand still.

Tiffany: Linda's got
different ideas, I think.

Jb: Yeah!

Tiffany: She's trying to nurse,

but she just hasn't found the
teat and made a good latch yet.

Jb: Oh, oh, oh!

Ah, there we go, yeah!

Tiffany: She's nursing!

Jb: The fact that y'all
are seeing her nurse

is a great sign.

Obviously she's keeping
her belly full.

She's gonna be growing.

Tiffany: Well, thank you for
coming out and checking on her.

Jb: Yeah, definitely.

So the good thing
for the baby and for us

is we're gonna be coming
down here quite routinely

just to see her,
because she's cute.

Ok, linda, you did a good job.

(grunting)

tiffany: Bye, little one.

Jb: Come here,
you want to come up?

She's like no,
I don't trust you yet.

She's like I'm not
used to being rubbed yet.

(squeak)

♪ ♪

(hissing)

(squeaking)

♪ ♪

audrey: Hey, buddy,
where's your head?

Oh, there it is, I got it.

Alright, today's
gonna be the day.

It's been a week since we
put montoya and sarracenia,

our threatened
eastern indigo snakes,

together to breed.

The last time was kind of short,

so hopefully this time
it's a little bit longer

and we're more confident
that it's been successful.

Hey, montoya,
we're routing for you.

Hopefully third time's a charm.

That's the rule, right,
on the third date?

I'm nervous, we kind of feel
that it's crunch time.

♪ ♪

audrey: We've put montoya and
sarracenia together to breed.

Hopefully third time's a charm.

I'm a little bit anxious,

I'm nervous they could
injure each other.

He's already interested.

Come on, sarra.

She's being
a little standoffish.

Can they hurry up
and do it already?

Oh, there he goes.

This is very good.

He's kind of on top of her.

It's called head pressing.

He'll press her down, so that
he can get her into position.

Sometimes they do this
for hours.

They kind of look
like they're undulating.

The important part

is when they'll wrap their tail
around each other,

that's how we tell
it's been successful.

It's just so close.

♪ ♪

yes! This is very good news.

If you look right there,

the tail looks
so wide and swollen.

They're officially making
snake babies right now.

So, we're seeing snake sex.

I have to text the whole team,

so everybody can
enjoy this with me.

This is definitely one

of the more labor-intensive
snake breeding programs,

because you have to monitor
the snakes so closely.

I already feel relaxed
for the rest of winter.

Then I'll get nervous
in the spring,

because the eggs,

and then I'll get nervous
in the fall,

because of the babies.

And then we'll start all over.

A successful pregnancy could
lead up to new baby snakes.

And that's great for the zoo,
and it's great for the species.

Lane on radio:
Keeper batot to all staff,

if you guys have
a little time to spare,

we got a big surprise
down here at the rhino boma.

Jb: Every new generation
born here at the zoo

is a cause for celebration.

For the staff, it's payback

for all the hard work they put
into the breeding programs.

For our guests,
seeing a baby chimp

or seeing baby rhino
out on habitat,

that can be
a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Most importantly our animals
get to fulfill

that natural instinct to mate,

raise offspring and hopefully
see those offspring thrive.

(whimpering)

tiffany: Big day, guys,
the new rhino baby

is going out onto the habitat
for the first time,

so we're going to make sure

that we've got all of our people
in the right places.

So, nancy, you're gonna
stay down here.

Lane, you're gonna be
up at the top gate.

I'll be down here
at the bottom gate,

and hopefully this will
go smooth and fast.

Lane: Alright!

Tiffany: Alright.
Is everybody ready?

Woman: Let's do it.
Nancy: Go team.

Tiffany: Open the door.

This is a perfect day for it.

Warm weather, which we weren't
expecting this time of year,

so it gives us the opportunity

to get them out
a little bit earlier.

She is ready to go.

Come on, linda.

Good girl. There you go.

The baby is just
under three weeks old,

and it has no idea what kind
of world's out there.

It hasn't seen the grass before,
it hasn't seen mud before,

so I think she's going to be
a little bit hesitant.

Good job, baby girl.

(grunts)

lane: It's a big day.

(chirping)

the birds are singing,
the frogs are croaking,

and it's the first time she's
got to experience any of that.

Uh-oh!

Here she comes.

♪ ♪

cuteness overload.

It's like wow.

Tiffany: It's a whole new world.

Lane: Her little mind's
probably gonna be wore out.

Smelling fresh green grass,

smelling all these
other rhino poopies.

All this stimulation.

Tiffany: Think there's gonna be
lots of napping later.

Go, little one, go,
there you go!

Lane: Little.

Get to see babies born
and grow up

and get to finally come out

and experience life
for the first time ever...

Is absolutely
a wonderful privilege.

Tiffany: Keeping up with mom
looks like it's a bit difficult.

Tiffany: Oh!
Lane: Oh!

Tiffany: Watch the holes!

Lane: Baby has her first wallow,
even though she didn't mean to.

Woman: It's a big wallow
for a little baby.

Tiffany: You getting stuck?

Mom might have to
help you out there.

Uh-oh.

Whoa, oh!

You're doing it,
you're doing it.

There you go, yay!

(laughter)

nancy: Watching a baby rhino
is definitely better

than doing elephant paperwork,
tell you what.

Tiffany: Getting to see
a mom and calf

outside for the first time
and running and wallowing...

It's like one of those
little bits of your career

that makes like
everything worthwhile.

♪ ♪