01x07 - North Carolina: Puffin But Trouble

[bunniefuu]

♪ ♪

sally: Who's a good boy?

(growl)

(whoop)

(squeak)

(snort)

nancy: Ah, there's my big man!

(trumpeting)

(whooping)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

child: Hello.

Visitor: Oh, it's a sand cat!

♪ ♪

kim: We have a ton
of puzzle feeders

for the sand cats' enrichment.

Our sand cats
are cosmo and najma.

Cosmo is six years old,
and najma is four.

Sand cats are one of
the smallest cats in the world

and they're the only cats that
live strictly in the desert.

So najma and cosmo
get enrichment

to elicit natural behaviors,

so we want them to work
for their food

and kinda do things that, that
they would do out in the wild.

In this case
a lot of it is digging,

so they have to either lift up
a flap or pull out a cube.

I'm gonna use some little
pinkie mice to put in there.

We'll see if they can
figure it out.

♪ ♪

najma! Come here, naj!

♪ ♪

come here, naj, come on.
Tch, tch, tch.

♪ ♪

cosmo, come here, buddy.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

najma's really going
at her puzzle feeder.

She's gotten
a few treats already,

and cosmo's tipped
his puzzle feeder over.

He's not the brightest.

Sand cats are nocturnal,
so they're active at night

and sleep during the day
to escape the heat.

They're pretty cute,

but they're definitely not
regular house cats.

These guys are hunters.

They have a really strong
bite force.

They can k*ll venomous snakes.

Cosmo!

♪ ♪

we have been trying to help
cosmo and najma have kittens

for years now,

and finally we saw breeding
six weeks ago!

Are you being frisky?

Rolling on her belly and
looking for attention from him.

This is a good sign.

Right after that,
we saw cosmo breeding her.

It looked like he knew
what he was doing.

It's really cool to see them
almost being a couple.

Oh!

Are you gonna have babies?

Is that a yes or a no, najma?

We're looking for signs
that she's pregnant,

and I think the first thing
that we would notice

is a weight gain.

So today we're gonna weigh her.

Jenn: Kim, we've been
waiting forever

for these guys to get pregnant.

This is the closest we've been.

Najma!

Come here, pumpkin.

Kim: Hi!

Get on the scale.

Oh.

Where are you going?

Jenn: Baby sand cats are
just mind-blowingly adorable.

Kim: Come here, naj.

Jenn: That's not the only reason

why we want to have
baby sand cats here.

Kim: Come here, bud.

Jenn: There are only
about sand cats

in zoos in the united states.

So, it's just really important
for the population overall.

Kim: Her last weight,
six weeks ago,

she was at about . kilograms.

Jenn: Are you gonna
come over, please?

Good girl, thank you.

♪ ♪

kim: . !

Jenn: . .

Oh, so, that's an increase?

Kim: That's good.
That's an increase.

Jenn: That's great.
Kim: Yeah, we like that.

Jenn: That's really exciting.

Kim: I think that's
a pretty good sign.

They don't usually
fluctuate that much.

Jenn: When an animal only
weighs, you know, . kilos,

. kilos is a significant amount
of her body weight.

How ya feeling?
Morning sickness?

I got all my fingers, toes,
everything's crossed.

Maybe, just maybe, there are
some babies in there.

Kim: The next step is
taking her to the hospital.

The radiographs will be
the, the true test.

Jenn: I'm gonna be standing over
the veterinarians' shoulders

to see if I can see
those babies.

♪ ♪

girl: Did you see it?
Yeah, look!

♪ ♪

(laughing)

alexis: Luna!

There she is!

Come on, nova.

This is nova and luna,
they're sisters.

Woman: So cute.

Alexis: Nova's kind of chill.

Luna's much more
active and energetic.

I'm prepping some puzzle balls.

I put all kinds
of treats in these.

This is foraging enrichment.

It's eliciting
that natural behavior

to look around for insects and
use their long, sticky tongues.

(panting)

luna!

♪ ♪

there you go.

Good job, luna.

Black bears are
really intelligent.

They want the food,

they're gonna figure out
how to get to it.

Come on, nova!

They can even figure out,
how to, you know,

break into somebody's car
for food.

Use your tongue, you can do it!

You're such a good bear!

North carolina is home
to over , black bears.

A lot of cubs are orphaned

due to road accidents
and things like that.

We also run a rehabilitation
program for orphaned cubs.

Halley: I am cutting
some browse for our bears.

Past couple of years,

we have been rehabilitating
orphaned black bear cubs.

So, this year
we actually have six.

We've never had
that many before.

Today we're providing
enrichment for the bear cubs.

So, we'll hang this all up
around their enclosure,

and they'll have to pick
their own berries.

The goal with these bears is to
release them back into the wild,

but they need to have
all the skills necessary

to survive on their own.

So we need to make sure
that they're all foraging.

Are we giving them
frozen stuff today

or browse
or a little bit of both?

Taylor: A little bit
of everything.

They like the popsicles.

Halley: Anybody's gonna like
a popsicle in this heat.

I wonder what the s
will do with that!

So the s are three siblings
that came in.

We're not sure really
what happened to the mom.

We think they're
about to months old.

Taylor: We're really
hoping to be able

to release them together.

Halley: a is the big brother.

b is the smallest female,

and then c actually
is the troublemaker.

Are you ready?

Taylor: Yes.

Halley: I'm gonna start tossing.

♪ ♪

ooh, I just made it
into a pickle barrel.

Are we all good?
Taylor: Yep.

Halley: Ok.
I'm stepping out.

We're gonna quietly observe,

because we can't release bears
that are habituated to humans.

Here comes big .

He's got a napoleonic complex.

Taylor: He's the no-share bear.

Halley: We can't have one bear
hoarding all the food.

But it's ok if there's a little
bear fight here and there,

because that's what bears
will do in the wild.

Taylor: Oh, here comes
his sisters.

Halley: See, look!
They're sharing their popsicle.

He's going in the pickle barrel.

He found the last popsicle.

Taylor: Jackpot!

(laughs)

do you think they're
ready for release?

Halley: They're foraging
well on their own.

They have appropriate
fear of humans.

I think the s are
very ready for release.

We can start planning
the next step.

We're hoping we can put
gps collars on them.

The information
we take from that

helps us to do better
by the bears in the future.

Everything we do,

from the moment they arrive
to the day they leave,

is so that they will survive
in the wild without us.

Taylor: Excited for them
to go home.

Halley: Back where they belong!

♪ ♪

(hissing)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

jenn: Did she go in the crate ok
for you guys?

Cat: No, she's a little cranky.

Kim: Today's the day we find out
if najma's pregnant.

We're gonna do some radiographs.

But she's disappointed us
before.

Last time, turns out
she was just fat,

had a little extra feces
in her system,

so I think that's made us
kind of a little cautious.

The suspense is k*lling me.

Jenn: Yeah?
Kim: I need to know.

Jenn: Got upset stomach.
Kim: A little bit.

Jenn: Yeah.

Cat: I'm a little nervous.

Jenn: Alright,
here she is, doctor.

Jb: There's our kitten.

Kim: We are ready!

Jb: Pop her up
on the table for us.

So, she's gained
a little bit of weight,

which is good, but last time
she kind of tricked us.

Cat: Yes.

Jb: She didn't have
a kitten in there,

she had a little bit
of extra poop in there.

There you go.

Gestation for a sand cat
is right around weeks,

najma and cosmo bred
about weeks ago,

so we're hoping by this point,
if she's pregnant,

we're gonna be able
to see this on radiographs.

Jenn: Alright, let's do it.

Kim: We're not getting
too hopeful,

but secretly we're too hopeful.

Jb: Actually,
let's turn her around

so we get more
of the kitten in there.

Andrea: Ok.

Jb: This is our third
breeding season,

and we still haven't had
a kitten.

Sand cats can have
multiple kittens,

average, you're probably
thinking about to .

But any new sand kitten
is gonna be great

for the population as a whole.

Let me go out wide.

If she's pregnant, we don't
want to anesthetize her.

So, we're gonna do
what's called a box radiograph

and sh**t right through the box.

Ok, everybody.

Everybody run away.

Shut that door.

So, the problem
with a box radiograph

is the animal
has to remain still.

She's obviously
a little nervous,

but we only need a split second.

Kim: Might be a bit challenging.

They don't hold still a lot,
sand cats.

Jb: Come on, najma, quit moving.

Kim: Come here, naj, come on.

Jb: Hold on, hold on, hold on.

Take it now.

(beep)

clear!

(laughing)

that was a good one.

If she's got babies in there,
you're gonna be able

to identify each individual
kitten by individual skeleton.

Jenn: Moment of truth.

♪ ♪

kim: The suspense is k*lling me.

Jb: I don't know if that's poop.

Colon, going this way?

It's like what happened
last time.

This is all poop.
I don't see a kitten.

Jenn: Moment of truth.

Kim: Today's the day we find out
if najma's pregnant.

I'm hoping that the radiographs
tell us for sure.

This is a pretty big deal.

Jb: This is all poop.

I don't see a kitten.

Let's get this moved over
to the bigger screen

so that I can get a closer look.

Kim: Oh, my god!
My heart is like...

Jb: I don't think that is one.
I think that's poop.

But that looks like bone.

That looks like skull to me.

There's definitely
a kitten right there.

(cheering)

jb: Well, congratulations.

Kim: We have a kitten!

We've waited a long time.

Jb: First sand kitten
here in north carolina.

We were obviously hoping
for a larger litter,

but it's not uncommon
for a first-time mom

to have one kitten.

Jenn: Now that we know for sure,
we can really start planning.

Kim: Oh, this is,
this is the best news.

My throat hurts from screaming
when we first heard it.

Jenn: Kitty!

Kim: I'm super excited,
but still a little nervous.

I mean, we still don't know
the health of the kitten

and what she's gonna be like
as a mother,

so there's a lot of unknown
still, but we're excited.

♪ ♪

(honking)

♪ ♪

(honking)

sally: Hi, kids.

Oh, my goodness!
There is a lot going on in here.

Melissa:
At the north carolina zoo

we have horned puffins.

Our colony has
several generations,

all the way back
from grandparents

to brand new ones that are
less than a year old.

Peco and littlefoot are two
of our puffin parents this year.

We're really, really
proud of them.

They're running back and forth
feeding their chick really well.

Keep going, keep going.

Feed the baby!

They do a behavior
called stacking,

so they will catch multiple fish

and take back mouth loads
to the chicks.

So, I think the record's
like fish.

Sally: How is the chick doing?

Melissa: Um, we're seeing
a lot more wandering.

As much as I love having chicks,

it's a very stressful process
'cause you have to be so on it.

Our current chick,
he's a little fluff monster.

He is super active and
has gotten pretty adventurous.

The other day he was right
at the entrance of the tunnel.

Sally: Well, that's
a little scary.

I don't want anybody going
for a swim before it's time!

Melissa:
We have a pretty big pool,

it's about feet deep, and
puffins are really good divers.

If a newly hatched chick
were to jump in our pool,

it wouldn't make it.

They can't swim.

Sally: It's definitely time
to take him from mom and dad.

I would like to pull him today.

Melissa: Ok.

(chattering)

hi.

Sally: Oh, my goodness,
you were like

this tiny little fluff ball,
and now you're big.

Melissa: To make sure the chicks
know how to swim properly

before they go in the big pool,

every chick goes through
swimming lessons.

They'll get introduced to water
in our back holding space.

It's just a safer
environment for them.

Sally: Welcome to the big world!

Melissa: I know,
it's so big and scary.

Alright, ready?

First time, right?

It's just water.
It's ok.

Sally: So, we give them
a little tray

that has a little bit
of water in it,

just kind of judge
their reaction

and see how comfortable
they are.

Melissa: The chick really needs
to learn how to swim;

otherwise we're not
gonna be able

to put him back out
with the colony.

It's a little water.

(chirping)

oh, try.

(laughs)

no? Not a fan, huh?

So, up until this point
they haven't seen water.

It's weird, it's cold, it's wet.

It's gonna take a few days

for the chick to learn
that water isn't super scary.

We'll leave it in here for him,

if he wants to come back in,
he can come back in.

Give him a few days,
and if everything goes well,

then we'll move him
to the big pool.

But he's still got a little bit
of work ahead of him.

(chirping)

♪ ♪

robert: I hope you had a blast
today at the north carolina zoo.

Bye, bye!

Sarah: See you tomorrow.

♪ ♪

lane: Grasslands to hospital ,
we have an emergency.

Jb: Hospital to grasslands,
we are on our way.

So, I just got a call that nash,
one of our thomson gazelles,

is not acting right.

So, the zoo is closed right now,
but it's our duty

to make sure that
if an animal is sick,

we don't go home until
those animals are checked out.

You see that one down the hill?

Amy: Yeah.
Jb: Is that him?

Amy: Yeah.
Jb: Ok.

He does not look good.

Nash is one of our younger
thomson gazelles.

He's been hand-raised.

So the keepers know these
animals better than anyone.

Lane: When you work
with these animals every day

and form a bond with them,
you can tell when they're sick.

So, I'm worried about nash,
and I hope he'll be ok.

Jb: He has isolated himself
from the group.

When you've got a herd animal

that's not keeping up
with the rest of the herd,

you know something's
seriously wrong.

Tamara: He's walking
really slow.

Jb: The question is,
what's going on?

This could be a pneumonia.

This could be
some viral infection.

And we're not gonna be able
to tell that

without getting
our hands on him.

Lane: Nash is very skittish.

So, we'll probably have to get
jb to anesthetize him

with a dart g*n.

Jb: You hate darting an animal
that doesn't feel well,

but it's oftentimes the only way
we can get him in hand.

Lane: That's him.
He's right in front of us.

Jb: Can you get
just a touch closer?

I'm sh**ting for his back rump.

About that big of a spot.

So, obviously the farther
that is away,

the harder that becomes.

I'm gonna get out,
just stay back.

I'm gonna use
the dart p*stol here.

This g*n is good
for about to yards.

Come on, stay still, stay still.

I know, bud, I know.

Well, he's moving.

He's acting a little slow,
maybe a little bit lethargic.

He's definitely on edge,

so he's not going to come
up to this truck.

So, we're gonna change
the dart p*stol for the r*fle,

and basically that gives me
a little bit more range.

Tamara: Would it be better
for you to go in lane's?

Jb: Yeah, I'm gonna go
in his truck.

Nash is weary now.

He knows something's not right.

So, I'm gonna try to blend in

to the keepers'
day-to-day routine.

♪ ♪

heather: That's him
walking over there

in front of the oryx.

Jb: Copy. I see him.

♪ ♪

he's a little bit further
than I wanted him to be,

but we've got to take it now,

or we're potentially
gonna lose him.

Heather: Jb, be quick,
the gazelle are scattering.

Jb: I don't like
darting animals.

You could hit them in the wrong
spot, and they could die.

Those are the things
that give us nightmares.

He's taking a step.

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

Jb: Nash, one of our
thomson gazelles,

is looking pretty sick today.

And the only way I'm gonna get
a closer look at him

is to anesthetize him
using the dart g*n.

He's taking a step.

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

(heart b*ating)

(pop)

dart hit, he's off!

Lane: Perfect sh*t!

Heather: The dart is in.

It looked like a good hit.

Jb: He's heading
towards the rhinos.

The concern out here
is the rhinos.

Rhinos can be nosey,
and they weigh , pounds,

so you don't want them
getting into your business.

Heather: Once we get
past these trees here,

it's about three bollards over.

Jb: We're gonna slide him
into the back of the truck,

just because you have
rhinos out here.

Rhinos are big
and they're dangerous

and they may be coming over
to investigate what's going on.

We want to get nash off habitat
as quickly as possible.

(grunting)

somebody grab the head.

There we go.

If we were to spook them, they
could charge right through us.

Ok, you got him?

Just come this way.

Rhino, o'clock.

Hey, that rhino's pretty close.

Let's keep moving.

Take his head from him.

I got this.

That was close.

Honestly, at this point,

I don't have a clue
what's going on with nash,

but first thing we've got to do

is we've got to get him
stabilized.

Ok, let's get him on the move.

We got to get him
somewhere safe.

I need to get to the bottom
of this before it's too late.

We're gonna pull him off
where you're at, lane.

Lane: Ok.

Jb: We've got him
under anesthetic,

so I can get a really good
physical exam.

But there's always
risk associated

with any anesthetic procedure.

We want to get it done
as quickly as possible.

Too long or too deep, he goes!

We're gonna do
a quick assessment of nash

using a portable
blood gas machine.

This machine is gonna give us

the level of minerals
in his blood.

And hopefully this will give us
some kind of clue

of what's going on today.

And his calcium's . .
That's not right.

The amount of calcium
that he has in his body

is really, really low.

He may have not eaten
for the last couple of days.

That could explain a lot

of the clinical signs
that we're seeing.

When you have low calcium,
your muscles just don't work.

We're gonna have to
replace that calcium.

If not, we're gonna continue
to see this animal

just probably fade away.

Amy: Line's ready to go.

Jb: Ok.

We're gonna administer
that calcium

through this jugular vessel.

We gotta administer this calcium
pretty slowly

'cause if we give it
too quickly,

we can cause some changes
in his heart rate

and he could potentially have
a cardiac arrest.

Heather:
So, we hooked up the ecg,

so we can monitor
his heart rate.

♪ ♪

how you holding up?

Lane: I'm worried, of course.

It's scary to watch, but I hope
we got to him in time.

♪ ♪

jb: Ok, calcium is in.

So, what we're gonna do
is let this circulate

for about five minutes.

We still don't know exactly
why the calcium is low

and may never know.

That is just
the name of the game.

Sometimes you can fix a problem

and still not know
what the problem was.

Ok, let's test those
calcium levels again.

. That is not bad.

Overall, physically,
he sounds and looks good.

He's just off, so I'm hoping
this will correct it.

We're going to administer
the reversal dr*gs.

So, everybody start to move out,

because he's gonna want
to wake up on us in a minute.

He doesn't feel good, so he
may not stand directly up,

but as long as he's alert,
I'll be comfortable.

Working at
the north carolina zoo

is not a -to- job.

(whispering)
he's starting to recover.

He's picking his head up
a little bit.

It's our duty to take care
of the animals no matter what.

So if that means I don't get
to get out of here

till o'clock, so be it.

He looks pretty good!

Lane: I'm so relieved
nash is ok,

that was touch and go in there.

Jb: So, we're gonna let him
recover in the barn tonight.

Hopefully we can get him
back with the herd.

Great job, guys.

We're committed
to the animals in our care

and we'll do everything possible
to keep them safe.

♪ ♪

kelly: We got some treats
over here.

♪ ♪

there's some
alfalfa hay in there.

♪ ♪

halley: This is gonna be fun.

This is my first
bear cub release.

The s are showing
the necessary foraging skills

to be released
back into the wild.

So today we're gonna be
fitting gps collars on them.

Nope, nope.

Back up a little.

This is a collaborative effort

with the north carolina
wildlife resources commission.

Colleen: Very good.

Halley: Colleen will be
the lead biologist.

Jb: Are all of these bears
going in the same crate?

Colleen: You got it.

But before that, we're gonna put
a tracking collar on the cubs.

Jb: How much life
does this give you?

Colleen: This gives us
a location every hour.

We know exactly
where that bear is.

Jb: Ok.

Colleen: The tracking collars
we use now have gps technology,

so we can monitor the bears.

Did they stay together?
Did they leave the area?

How long did they survive
in the wild?

I'll have to see
how much they weigh.

They have to be pounds
before I put a collar on.

Jb: Ok.

We don't want to put
a collar on a bear

that's just not
physically capable

of moving around
with a heavy collar.

So, there's a weight cut-off.

Halley: Ideally, we would like
to get two collars

on these bears.

That would help us to get
more information

about what they do post-release

and care for them better while
they're in rehabilitation.

Colleen: Halley, how close have
you been getting to the cubs?

Like this close?

Halley: I usually
don't test it with them.

They need to fear humans.

We can't release bears
that are habituated.

That's a safety issue for the
bear as well as to other humans.

Colleen:
These are wild bear cubs.

They're tornadoes with claws.

So we're going to anesthetize
these cubs with our jab stick,

so that we can
handle them safely.

Let's see how this goes.

Ok, keep eyes on that one.

Jason: Mm-hmm.

Colleen: I got the male.

Watch, watch, watch.

Halley: Just let him go. Yep.

Colleen: He seems to be
completely under the drug.

, , .

Let's put him on the scales.

The magic number today
is pounds.

Come on.

Oh, my gosh!

pounds!

We like fat bears.

The zoo has been
feeding the cub well.

There you go, buddy.

When we fit a collar on a bear,

we have ways to make sure
it's loose enough.

If you can get two hands between
the collar and the bear's neck,

then that's a good fit.

Halley: The collars
will automatically fall off

after five months.

One down, two more to go.

Colleen: Alright, we'll do
like we did before.

Ok.

She got it. She's out.

Halley: Ok.

So now we're gonna weigh b.

The smallest bear cub.

She's .

Colleen: Yep. .

They have to be pounds.

We're not gonna put
a tracking collar on her,

we've got to stick
to that threshold.

Halley: We have
another chance with c.

Alright. You guys are ready?

Colleen: I'll let you go first.

Now that her siblings are gone,

she doesn't have any of
the other cubs to hide with,

so we're not quite sure
how she's gonna react.

(snarling)

ok.

That's a good spot,
if she stays up there.

♪ ♪

halley: Today we're going to be
anesthetizing the bear cubs,

so we can release them
back into the wild.

There's one bear left.

Colleen: She doesn't have any
of the other cubs to hide with,

so we're not quite sure
how she's gonna react.

(snarling)

alright, you can go
stick her there.

♪ ♪

ooh.

As we walked in on her,
she decided no way, no how.

She turned on me.
She's a little fighter.

She's down.

Halley: We're not super worried
about her falling.

She was a climber,
but that's what bears do.

We're more worried
about her overheating,

because of getting
all worked up.

Temp is . .

Colleen: . ?

Halley: Yep.

She's overheated.

That cub's life is in my hands.

If her temperature
continues to elevate,

she could actually suffer
brain damage.

She's at . .

Colleen: Yeah, let's go ahead
and cool her down a little.

Halley: I've got
ice packs on her.

We're moving
as quickly as possible

to get her cooled down.

Colleen: How's the temperature?

Halley: It's . .

Colleen: And it looks
like it's working.

Temperature's holding.

We're in good shape.

Halley: I'm relieved.
I was very worried.

Let's go ahead and weigh c.

If she's heavy enough, we'll be
putting a gps collar on her.

Colleen: pounds.

I'm so happy.
Today's a good day.

Halley: Today is a good day.

Colleen:
Good news with this bear.

She was just over pounds,
and so she meets the threshold

for also wearing
a tracking collar.

Alright, we're good to go
with her.

Good work, everybody.

We have two of the three
siblings collared.

So, we can monitor
these bears remotely.

Halley: That to me is

the most exciting
and amazing opportunity,

because the information
we can take from that

helps us to do better
by the bears in the future.

♪ ♪

(honking)

woman: He's right on the edge.

(honking)

melissa: I'm good
with trying the big pool,

are you good with that?

Sarah: Yeah, let's
give that a try.

See how it goes.

Melissa: We've been doing
our swimming lessons

in shallower bins
for probably about a week now,

and today we are going
to graduate

to our bigger holding room pool.

Oh, it's so cold.

The pool is probably
about feet deep,

definitely too deep for a puffin
to be able to stand in it.

Sarah is gonna be
the land person,

just in case the chick
wanders out.

I will be making sure
the chick is ok in the pool.

What we want to see
from our swim lessons

is a chick that can
float confidently.

We're not gonna put them
in the habitat pool

until they are comfortable
in the water.

Sarah: Ready?

Melissa: Yes.

(chirping)

hello.

I know, he's like wait,
where are we going, guys?

Learning to swim is very much
an individual experience.

It's ok, I promise.

We have some chicks that
take to water like a puffin.

And we have others that want
nothing to do with it.

Ready?

Cool.

Sarah: Oops, there you go.
Use your feetses!

(chirping)

melissa: He's like, sarah,
I didn't like that!

(laughs)

when they're using their wings,
it's a nervous swim.

A ideal form for a puffin
is just floating like a duck,

and they're gonna paddle
with their feet.

Floating is hard.

Sarah: Floating is hard.

You'll get the hang of it.

Melissa: The chicks
never had to float before.

It's a completely
new experience.

Sarah: A little shaky,
little nervous.

Melissa: Yeah.
Definitely nervous.

Sarah: Baby steps.

Melissa: Come here, buddy.

Come to me.

Sarah: There you go.

Melissa: Hello.

We have a piece of pool foam
covered in a green matting.

I know you're looking to climb.

Please don't do that.

We very slowly drop the chick
into the water.

Ideally, we want the chick

to pick up his own feet
and swim off.

He's almost floating.

There you go.

Once they recognize
that they can float,

it's a whole different game.

Sarah: Just use your feets
to paddle.

There you go, there you go.

Oh, look at you now!
You're really swimming!

Melissa: See, it's not that bad.

Land! Land!

(laughing)

sarah: That was a good one!

Melissa: Yeah!

We knew he didn't want to be
in there, we expected that,

but he handled it really well.

At the rate he's going,

he'll probably be out
on habitat pretty soon.

We'll test out our swim skills
with the big birds.

Sarah: Yep.

(laughing)

♪ ♪

cat: Good morning.

♪ ♪

(hiss)

♪ ♪

kim: Alright, it might be
kitten day.

The first thing that we do
every morning

is go in and check on najma.

Alright.

Last night when I left work,

najma was kinda acting
a little different.

She was hanging out
in the back a lot.

She kinda picked
this one little tub.

So, I'm gonna go back and see

if there is any sign of
she's about to go in labor.

Fingers crossed.

♪ ♪

she's getting closer to the end
of her birthing window,

so getting a little nervous.

If it goes on too long, there
could be some complications.

I can't quite see.

Oh, she's all tucked up

like maybe there's something
in there with her.

I can't see anything
apart from her fluff right now!

Come on, najma, shift over.

♪ ♪

(gasps)

♪ ♪

kim: So, I'm gonna go back
and quietly check on najma

and see if there is any sign
of she's about to go in labor.

Oh, she's all tucked up,

like maybe there's something
in there with her.

I can't see anything.

Come on, najma, just shift over.

♪ ♪

there's a kitten!

I can see a kitten by her belly.

My god, it's pretty cute.

This is awesome.

We've been waiting for this
for, for a couple of years,

so this is big news.

I'm so excited.

(hiss)

she hissed at me,
and that's very good.

We want her to be
protective of the kitten.

(hiss)

keeper van spronsen
to keeper clauson.

Cat: Go ahead.

Kim: Can you come back
to sand cat holding, please?

Cat: Clauson clear.

Hey.

Kim: Hi.

(giggling)

cat: Do we have
a little present?

Oh, my god, it's so small.

The kitten's like smaller
than the palm of my hand.

Cutest animal in the world.

Kim: Najma's being a good mommy.

She's a first-time mom, so we
didn't know what to expect,

and she's protecting
the kitten,

she's cleaning it,
and she's nursing.

I'm proud of najma.

She's doing a great job.

Cat: We're just gonna be
very hands off

and let her bond with her kitten
and not disturb her.

Kim: One of the missions
of the zoo

is to give these animals
the best lives possible.

That's what I've wanted to do
for years,

so, their best life
is my best life.

Cat: We got to call everybody!

Yay!

♪ ♪

it's so exciting.

Kim: Oh, I love
this kitten already!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

robert: Welcome
to rocky coast, folks.

We have polar bears,
sea lions and the puffins.

You will absolutely love
watching the puffins

dive under the water.

♪ ♪

if you guys are lucky, you'll
see the little fluffy chick,

absolutely adorable to see.

♪ ♪

sally: How's the chick doing
with swimming lessons?

Melissa: Seems to be more
comfortable in the pool.

Sally: So, that's good.

I'm super excited for him
to go on habitat.

Do you think he'll go
straight into the water?

Melissa: Yeah, I think he's
just gonna go for the pool.

Sally: Today's a really big day.

Our chick goes out on habitat
for the very first time.

He gets to go in
and show off his swimming skills

to mom and dad.

Hi, stinky.

Melissa: You are not
a fan of humans!

Sally: Get ready.

Melissa: Let's go. You're gonna
go with the big kids.

Sally: This is definitely
a huge change for the chick.

It's like moving from
the country into the city.

He's gonna be
a little overwhelmed.

(honking)

melissa:
Oh, where are we going?

Look, that's where
you were hatched.

No matter how well we prepare,
something could still go wrong.

My biggest concern
is if the chick panics,

there is always the chance
that he drowns.

Watch out.

Thank you.

All the hard work we've put in
really leads to this moment.

Alright, hold on,
hold on, hold on!

You don't want to jump away
in here!

Ok, ok!

It's a much bigger space
than he's used to.

Sally: He might be a little bit
overwhelmed at the moment

just with all these adult birds
staring at him.

(chirping)

melissa: What you gonna do?

♪ ♪

oh! He got in the water!

Oh, god, he's panicking!

(chirping)

♪ ♪

calm down,
remember how to float.

Oh, he's floating!
(laughs)

sally: Good job!

Melissa: When they first get
into the big pool,

that's probably the best
response we can ask for.

Sally: The swimming lessons
totally paid off.

Even though he had
a panic moment,

he still was able
to swim and get out.

Melissa: For a bird
that's not super comfortable

in the water yet, he handled it
really, really well.

So now that the chick
has settled onto habitat,

it is time for us
to find out his name!

Sally: We're letting our adults
vote on the names of the chick.

So, there's three
different names,

and each colored egg represents
one of those names.

Melissa: We've never done this,

so this is the first time
we're doing this.

Sally: So, once the eggs
are put out,

whatever the adults go to first,
is the name of the chick.

♪ ♪

melissa: So now that the chick
has settled onto habitat,

it is time for us
to find out his name.

Sally: So, there's
three different names,

and each colored egg represents
one of those names.

So, once the eggs are put out,

whatever the adults go to first
is the name of the chick.

(honking)

melissa: They're coming out
of the nest tunnels.

Nicole: There goes one.

(radio beeps)
melissa: is voting.

She likes yellow.

Debbie: Yellow is anatoli.

Melissa: Anatoli!

Debbie: Good,
I'm glad she likes it!

Melissa: Anatoli's doing great.

This is that graduation
from high school,

now I'm going off to be
an independent young adult.

He is gonna get to live
a totally puffin life,

and that's what we aim for.

That's what we want.

Sally: Anatoli!

Nicole: It sounds italian,
but it's russian!

Sally: Anatoli with an I.

(chirping)

♪ ♪

jb: I am heading over
to the desert.

Today is the big day
for najma's little one.

We're going to go in
and do its first kitten exam.

We've been trying to get najma
pregnant for several years now,

so having a healthy kitten

is gonna be a huge thing
for the zoo family.

♪ ♪

good morning, kim.

Kim: Hey.

Jb: How are they doing?
How's mom?

Kim: Mom's doing a great job.

She's been super caring but also
kind of playful with the kitten.

Jb: Big thing for us today
is find out what the sex is.

Is it gonna be a boy or a girl?

You got a preference?

Kim: I want it to be a girl.

Jb: Me, too, but I'll take
anything that's healthy.

We're gonna do a good once-over.

Kim: Hopefully
everything looks good.

I know, baby.

(meow)

oh, I'm sorry.

Jb: Oh, look at that
fierce little kitten.

Ok, I'm gonna have you
pick it up just a little bit.

I'm gonna try to take
a look in his eyes.

Oh, I know, that's bright.

So far, eyes look good.

So the big thing for me is,
does the heart sound good?

There could be some
underlying things

that we're not seeing
physically from the cat,

which can shorten
this kitten's life expectancy.

The heart sounds really good.
It's strong.

We got a good,
healthy kitten here.

Kim: Yay!

Jb: At six weeks old, I have
no concerns for this cat.

Now to do the moment of truth.

Are y'all ready?

Jenn: Ahh, yes!

Big moment.

Jb: You want to know what it is?
Kim: Yes!

Jb: (laughs)
it's a little girl.

Jenn: It's a girl!

Jb: It's a little girl. Yep.

Kim: It's what we wanted.
Cat: It's what I wanted.

Kim: This is huge
for cosmo and najma,

because now they're
a proven breeding pair,

and najma is successfully
raising a kitten,

and we'll hopefully have
more kittens in the future.

Najma!

Come get your kitty.

She's in there.

Jenn: Good girl, najma.

Kim: She's so chill.

Jb: Ah, look, here she comes!

Jenn: Oh, my goodness.

Kim: I know.

Jb: Oh, look at that.

She's like, yeah, I'll eat that.

Kim: Are you leaving? Bye!

Jb: She's like yep,
and we're done.

Kim: Good exam.
Jb: Good job, guys.

Jenn: That went great.

Jb: It takes a team of people

to deliver the best care
possible for these animals.

I'm really, really proud
of the breeding program.

This kitten has
a brand-new set of genetics.

Kim: (chuckles) aww.

Jb: She's gonna be
a great addition

to the population as a whole.

Whether we're rehabilitating
native wildlife,

saving an animal in distress
or helping a newborn baby,

we always do the best
for the animals in our care.

It's not only our duty
as veterinarians and keepers,

but actually
a privilege and a joy

to watch these animals thrive.

♪ ♪

colleen: Let's get these guys
back in the wild.

Halley: We are on our way
to the mountains

with a crate full of bear cubs.

Colleen: They were orphaned
in the mountain region,

so we'll release them there.

We found a great spot.

It's as remote as we can get
in north carolina.

Halley: I can't even imagine

what's going through
these bears' minds.

This is like the world's
scariest rollercoaster ride.

Colleen: Here we are.

Let's go release some bears.

My guess is they'll go that way.

James: Right.

Collen: But we'll see.
You never know.

All we have to do, really,

is open the door
and let them go out.

Halley: I take one last peek.

Go, bears!

Colleen: Yeah, say goodbye.

But it's not goodbye!

We'll be monitoring them.

Halley: It's those gps collars,
that's exciting for me.

As a bear rehabilitator who's
gonna do this again next year,

to know that we have raised cubs

that survive on their own
in the wild

will be very reassuring.

Colleen: Ready
whenever you are, jason.

Jason: Ok.

♪ ♪

(growl)

♪ ♪

(grunt)

colleen: One stuck its head out.

Halley:
I think we saw each other.

If the first thing they see
is a human,

then they're probably
gonna go back into hiding.

They're not moving out
on their own.

So, we're gonna have to
poke the bear.

(clapping)

colleen: Come on, bears.

Come on!

Clapping's
a really intense noise.

That'll be the encouragement
they need.

It looks like it's working.

(clapping)

come on.

Go back home.

There you go.

Halley: Go, bears!

They literally leapt out
of that crate,

starting with b.

Sometimes the smallest things
are the bravest.

Colleen: That's actually
the perfect release.

When they take off that quick,
that's a sign that, yep,

they don't want to be
around people.

Halley: That was very cool.

Colleen: Thanks for helping
taking care of these cubs,

getting them nice,
big and fat.

Hopefully we're the,
the last people they ever see.

Halley: Yes. Definitely.

I hope that they live
a long, healthy life,

that they find other bears

and never come in contact
with humans again.

We've done everything we can
to help them.

Now the door is open

for the next animals
that need our help.

♪ ♪