02x01 - Down Under: Chimp Change

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: People come to zoos

To marvel at the weird
and wonderful animals

That make up our natural world.

But when you visit
taronga zoo in sydney,

One of the first
exhibits you will see

Is full of animals that are
a lot closer to humans

Than you'd think.

(screeching)

Chimpanzees share
% of our dna,

Making them our
closest living relatives.

Katie: We've got a nice big
group of chimps here at taronga.

We've got chimps
in our community all up.

They're actually
one of the largest

And most successful
groups of chimpanzees

In zoos anywhere in the world.

Over the years,

We've had a lot of babies
grow up in the community,

And they've been sent
to zoos all over the world.

Narrator:
But it's a two-way journey,

With taronga zoo
receiving chimps as well.

♪ ♪

And naomi is one of them.

Katie: She's just come into
our community two years ago.

We brought her over here
from a zoo in denmark.

She's years old,
so she's still quite young.

Females in zoos can live
into their sixties.

Um, so I guess reproductively
she's in her prime.

Narrator: Naomi came to taronga
with her sister ceres,

Who has since given birth
to new baby cebele.

Sadly, naomi
hasn't been as lucky.

Katie: Unfortunately,
naomi has had some struggles.

She has had two births,

But they were both stillborn.

She's showed
a lot of maternal instinct

With those stillborns,

So she seems to
really want to be a mother.

So we're trying to do
as much as we can

To help her along
with the process.

Larry: Liz, can you hold that?

Narrator: Last year the zoo
brought in some specialist help

To see if they could find out

Exactly what was
going on with naomi.

Paul: I'm an obstetrician,
and I deal with humans.

Larry: We're going
to slide her down.

Okay.

Paul: It's a little
bit different,

But it should be interesting.

Yeah. A new experience,
basically.

Narrator: The team
conducted a range of tests

That they would
normally do on humans.

Paul: We're just going
to do a high swab.

Nurse: The swabs are coming.

Narrator: Initially,
everything seemed normal.

Woman: Oh, beautiful look.
That is gorgeous.

Paul: Oh, yeah.
Woman: Look at that.

Larry: Oh, yeah,
that's beautiful, yeah.

Narrator:
But a few weeks later,

The pathology results
came back.

Larry: Just put naomi's
record up here.

Narrator: Naomi's placenta
had an abnormality.

Paul: There was one antibody
that they checked,

Which was positive.

Something that is related
to risk of blood clotting.

Narrator: At last
the team have an answer

As to why naomi has never had
a successful pregnancy.

Paul: And it's thought that
the calcium improves that

And the aspirin improves that.

Narrator: So, armed
with that knowledge,

They set back on the path of
helping naomi to become a mum.

Larry: Ultrasound obviously

Would be a valuable tool
in monitoring her.

So can that be done?

Do you think
we could achieve that?

Katie: I would say

That the scanning that
we're going to be doing

Would be through training.

Larry: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Katie: Yep.

Narrator: Only problem is

The plan they're hatching

Has never been attempted
before at taronga.

(screeching)

♪ ♪

There are two sides
to the worlds

At each of taronga's zoos.

One world faces the public

And is a wonderful way

For visitors to get
up close and personal

With thousands of animals.

The other world

Is hidden behind
the walkways and exhibits.

Here, hundreds of people
work side by side,

Making sure
every animal at taronga

Gets the best care possible.

There's the teams
doing the dirty work

To ensure animal environments
are in pristine condition.

Keeper: So we're just
going to get the paddock

Nice and neat and tidy for them,

And then they're
going to come through

And chop back
all this long grass for us.

Narrator: Teams of keepers
making sure the marine animals

Have only the freshest
water to swim in.

Keeper: Just confirming

We're all good
to fill the penguin exhibit

Whenever you're ready.

Keeper: People think it's all
just playing with animals

And stuff like that.

But, no, unfortunately
it's a messy job as well.

Narrator:
And there are departments

Devoted entirely
to preserving species

Facing extinction in the wild.

Woman: The loss of the devil
from the tasmanian ecosystem

Would have a devastating impact.

Jimmy: You're right, buddy.
You're nearly home.

Narrator: But despite
the massive amount of work

That goes into keeping
taronga running...

Keeper: I think
normal training routine--

People go down the stairs,

And everyone else
stay out of view.

Narrator: ...When it comes

To one of the most
important jobs at the zoo,

It all falls on the shoulders
of just one dedicated woman.

Michelle: I'm michelle.

I'm the zoo wildlife
nutritionist here at taronga,

So I take care
of all of the menus

For the , different animals

That are across taronga zoo
and taronga western plains zoo.

I'll just check our bird basket
while I'm at it.

Narrator: And with more
than species

Represented at taronga,

Michelle is one busy lady.

Michelle: Here at the zoo

We feed so many different
varieties of things.

Some of the things that we get

You might find at
your local grocery store.

You know, some of
the supplements that we use,

Some of the different
products that we get

From even, uh, your
livestock supply stores.

We have hays and fruits
and vegetables.

We feed insects.

Some of those
are grown on site...

Woman: This trolley
is full of beetle larvae.

Most of these
are going to our birds.

Michelle: ...As well
as different plants.

We have a huge
horticulture department

That helps to
collect plants every day

For some of our animals.

And we bring in
different varieties.

Some of them are
native to australia,

And some of them are exotic,

So they're from plants
from all over the world.

Narrator: Michelle is the only
zoo nutritionist in australia,

So not only
does she have to be across

What food comes into the zoo,

But also what animal
needs to eat it.

Michelle: Every animal
at the zoo has different needs.

These, for example,

Are baskets that are going
to our bird department.

Our bird department
has over species,

And they all have
different needs.

Some of them are herbivores,
some of them are carnivores.

Animals with different
digestive systems,

Some animals that might need
to eat multiple times a day,

Like a herbivore who needs
to keep its belly full

In order to have
good digestive function.

But then we have
animals like reptiles

That might not eat for
six months of a year, perhaps,

And we still have to
watch their weight

Because six months
may be too soon,

So we might have to look at them
and check their body condition,

And maybe we wait another month
before we feed that big snake.

And we have to cater
to each and every thing,

Whether it be the biggest
elephant that's five tons,

To the smallest
microgram insect

That we might be
feeding as well.

Narrator: And today

Chef michelle has added
crickets to the menu

That reptile keeper delvena

Will be serving up to
these funky little frogs.

Delvena: Hi.

We're going to feed you again.

Do you want to eat?

So these are a couple of
our white-lipped tree frogs.

As they're
very voracious eaters,

Sometimes they try
and eat each other.

Whoop, there we go.

They're excited
for feeding time.

♪ ♪

They don't actually
swallow properly, like we do.

They use their eyeballs
to push down the food.

See the way he's blinking down?

Narrator: While these crickets
look appetizing,

Sometimes the frogs
can get carried away.

Delvena: No, stop it.

Ha ha ha!

You guys are horrible!

So, anything that
moves in front of them,

They're going to try and eat.

This happens a lot,

And if it's not on my face,
it's usually my fingers.

Doesn't hurt at all.

It just kind of feels...

Can't describe
the feeling actually.

They're very soft
inside, though,

But you can see that he's
trying really, really hard.

Let's get you off gently.

Let go.

Ha ha!

Let go!

They're tough little buggers.

Thank you.

No!

Thank you.

Little bit slimy as well.

♪ ♪

We feed our reptiles
and amphibians

Every Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday.

And that's because
they're not like us,

Like mammals or birds.

They don't need to eat
as much as we do

Because their metabolism is
so much more different to ours.

So for us,
we exert a lot of energy.

That means we need to take
a lot of energy inside as well.

So it's all about input-output.

For these guys,
they're a little bit slow,

Especially reptiles.

They don't need to move as much,

Which means that they don't
need to eat as much either.

Very good.

Narrator:
While these greedy guts

Must wait another two days
before they eat again...

Delvena: Thank you, frogs.

Narrator: ...Our next diner has
already been waiting a week.

Andrew: So today's
a good day for gracie-lou.

Narrator: And she is famished.

Andrew: In that cricket

She gets all the nutrition
she needs for a whole week,

So obviously it's a very
exciting day for her.

Bon appétit, gracie-lou.

♪ ♪

Narrator: After discovering
why chimpanzee naomi

Has only ever given birth
to stillborn babies...

Larry: Let me just get
naomi's record up here.

Narrator: ...Taronga's team has
quickly addressed the problem

With a new medication routine.

Paul: The calcium improves that,
and the aspirin improves that.

Katie: She's showed us that
she really wants to be a mum.

And not only that,

Genetically she's
so important to our group.

We haven't had any genetics
in this community for years.

Woman: Do you mind if we
just go dark for a moment?

Just so I get my bearings.

Narrator:
Ultrasounds are essential

To monitor a baby's health
during any pregnancy.

Woman: You'd think the uterus
would just jump out.

Narrator: With chimpanzees,
this usually involves

Anesthetizing
the expectant mum.

Woman: Oh, beautiful.
That is gorgeous.

Paul: Oh yeah, yeah.
That is nice.

Narrator: But because of
naomi's damaged placenta,

The team want to avoid this

And try a different
approach for her.

A first for taronga.

Katie: By using this rod

And training her to
participate in the ultrasound,

We'll be able to ultrasound her
while she's still conscious.

That means we won't have to give
her a general anesthetic,

Take her out of the group,

Take her all the way down
to the vet hospital.

So it's a lot less stressful
on anyone.

Narrator:
So it's a three-point plan.

Put naomi on the pill,

Train her to allow
an ultrasound while awake,

Katie: If we can do this,

It will be so much better
for naomi, for us,

For the vets, for everyone.

The training is
really challenging.

We don't take naomi
out of the group

For the training at all.

So I've got chimps
wandering round

That might want to get involved.

I really have to read
the behavior of the group

Before I start
a session as well.

Narrator: And because katie
knows the chimps so well...

Katie: Are you getting excited?

Narrator: ...She starts
simply getting naomi used

To the new sensations.

Katie: Touch. Good.

No. Hand up, please.

I train naomi
to put her hands up

So they're completely
away from the probe

So she can't grab it easily.

Hands up, please.

Good girl.

This is an old
ultrasound probe.

It doesn't work anymore.

The team have lent it to me

'cause it doesn't matter
if naomi grabs this off me.

You ready?

Good girl.

I've been getting her used to...

Put your hand up, please.

...Me putting this on her tummy
and applying pressure.

No, hand. Good girl.

And then getting her to let me
hold it there for a while.

I need to be able
to get her to hold her tummy up

For, you know, about minutes,

So that's a really big ask
for a chimp.

Narrator: As each month passes,

Katie introduces new steps
during the sessions.

Katie: Almost.

The other thing I have to
get her used to is this gel.

That, so far,
has been the hardest.

She really doesn't like having
that gel put on her tummy.

You're doing good.
It's okay.

To get her to tolerate the gel,

I needed to use something
that was super yummy.

Naomi has a really
healthy diet normally,

But this is a pretty big ask,
having this put on her,

So I had to pay her accordingly.

So we gave her a biscuit.

♪ ♪

Straight away
she saw the biscuit

And went, "okay, you can do
whatever you want."

Good.

Before we started,

I wouldn't have thought
it was possible,

But she just loves learning.

She loves those
training sessions,

And she picks things up
really quickly.

She's a really
intelligent chimp.

Once I started working
with her a little bit,

I was pretty excited.

I thought, yeah, we can do it.

Narrator: With naomi's
training going so well,

Keepers are thinking about
moving to the last phase--

Taking her off the pill.

But maybe nature
is one step ahead of them.

Katie: She's very popular
with the boys.

And just recently
I've been noticing

Her tummy's
growing a little bit.

Now, we really want
to know what's going on.

We want to know if it's
just her putting on weight

From eating too much food,

Or if there is a baby in there.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Narrator: At taronga,
every animal needs to be fed.

Every elephant...

Every seal...

Every bird...

Andrew: Even a spider.

They all need to be fed.

♪ ♪

Think about it--

Even the tiny, tiny animals,
we need to find food

And make sure we're
giving them the right diet.

Feed day today for gracie-lou.

She only gets fed once a week.

In the wild, huntsmen
are eating or preying upon

Insects and invertebrates.

So gracie-lou
is getting a cricket today.

That's right in that sweet spot.

She's absolutely
going to love that.

It's a big bundle of, you know,

Protein and
carbohydrates and energy,

Really good little meal
for a huntsman spider.

And what I expect to happen
is that it might take a second,

But she should
pretty much pounce,

Almost pounce on the cricket.

Huntsmen are really
active predators.

♪ ♪

She took that from my hand.

That was so fast. Ha ha ha!

So gracie-lou
has got that cricket,

And she's holding it
with pedipalps.

Which are almost like
little arms,

But then she's
actually chewing it

With what's called chelicerae.

It's just a fancy term
for spider teeth,

But spiders don't chew
up and down like we do.

They actually chew side to side.

So she's using the pedipalps

To manipulate
that cricket into place

While those chelicerae

Open and close
from side to side.

Narrator: And while spiders

Have a bad reputation
in australia,

The huntsmen actually perform
a very important role--

One we often take for granted.

Andrew: They eat invertebrates,

So for us they control things

Like flies and mosquitoes
and cockroaches.

You know, the things that in
our house we tend to call pests,

Something like a huntsman,

They control
those population numbers,

So they're really important
for the ecosystem.

Narrator: In fact, huntsmen
are like the perfect roommates.

Not only do they help out
around the house,

But they also clean up
after themselves as well.

Andrew: She's going to eat it

Quite slowly
and quite deliberately.

And then afterwards she will use
those hands to groom herself

And make sure that
she's perfectly clean.

So really clean animals,
huntsman spiders.

Really, really clean.

This is all she eats in a week.

So she's going to eat this,

And then that's enough
nutrition, enough energy

For her to go the week.

She'll probably be
a little bit slower,

A little bit calmer than usual
for the next day or so

While she's
digesting that meal.

Um, and then she's good to go
for another six days.

Bon appétit, gracie-lou.

Narrator: While gracie-lou

Now has another week
before her next feed...

...Our next diner has been
waiting considerably longer.

Stu: Morning, guys.

Keeper: Hey, stu,
how are you going, mate?

Stu: Yeah, good. Thanks.

I've just come up
to grab something for rach.

Keeper: Perfect timing.
Stu: Let's go.

Look, it's warming up now,

So I'm going to want to grab
something pretty big for her.

Keeper: Yeah. We should
have something in here.

Stu: Yep. Great.
Let's have a look.

Narrator: Rachel hasn't eaten
in six months,

So keeper stu has made
a trip to the cold room

To get something extra special
for her next meal,

And it needs to be perfect.

Stu: These here, eh?

Keeper: Yeah.
We've got a few options.

What have we got here?

Stu: Nah, steaks.

Keeper: Steaks, yeah. Too small?

Stu: That's for a crocodile,
alligator, something like that.

Here we go.

That's what we want.
Jackpot, mate.

Yep, I reckon
that's , kilos.

Keeper: Let's go. Here you go.

Stu: Thank you.

Thank you.

Woman: No worries.

Stu: Thanks a lot. See ya.

So we're going to take this

Into the warmest building
we've got in the reptile house.

So that'll defrost nicely,

Get that up to
about room temperature,

And she's absolutely
going to smash that.

♪ ♪

Narrator: Every year,

Taronga zoo rehabilitates
hundreds of wild animals.

Kimberly: If you remember,
the head wound was quite open.

It was a big gashing
open head wound,

And that's healed really nicely.

Narrator: They care for them...

Larry: That's impressive,
isn't it?

That's probably where
the net was caught.

Narrator: ...And treat them
for as long as it takes...

Nurse: Checked her feces,
we've taken blood,

And everything here's a-okay.

Once more.

Keeper: Oh!

Ha ha!

Straight under the boat!

Suzie: Are you ready?

Narrator: But not all animals
that come to taronga

Will be able to leave.

Suzie: On your perch.

This is marley.

He's a sugar glider,

Which is a small marsupial
native to australia.

They love sugar,

So anything sweet that
they can get their hands on.

Think of nectar
and pollen from flowers

And things like grevilleas.

Narrator:
Marley came to the zoo

With his injured mother.

Suzie: Mum unfortunately
did not survive,

And so marley
was brought up to us.

I was very lucky
to be able to take him home,

And I had him at home
for about three months,

And then he came
to live here at the zoo.

He can't go back into the wild,

And that's because
of that rough start

That he had at the beginning.

He doesn't have
the same sort of survival skills

That he would have developed
learning from his family group,

And so he's much safer here

Than he would be
out in the wild.

Hang on, buddy.

Narrator: But marley has to
learn those skills somewhere.

Suzie: Come down here.

Narrator: And that's where
taronga's keepers, like suzie,

Come in.

Suzie: Today with marley
we're working on a new behavior,

And we're actually
teaching him to glide on cue.

Lining up the platform...

It's all about...

Good boy!

It's all about trust for him.

So he's a very good boy,

And it's all about
building that rapport.

We'll try for
another one, buddy.

He has a membrane between
his front and back legs.

When he stretches his arms out,

It's like a square
between all four limbs.

So he's able to use
that surface area

To catch the wind and glide
between different trees.

Sometimes he just needs
to reset his position,

Get a bit of a run-up.

♪ ♪

You know, if they're trying
to evade a predator,

Maybe an owl
or another bird of prey,

They're able to take a big leap
and evade that predator.

Off you get.

Good boy.

Narrator: But small animals

Have equally small
attention spans.

Suzie: What are you looking at?

Are you done, buddy?

You want to go back to bed.

Narrator: While that's enough
training for this lesson...

Suzie: I think that's
all your gliding for today.

Narrator: ...Suzie will be
back with marley

To give it another go tomorrow.

Suzie:
Marley is doing incredible.

I'm so happy.

He's such an awesome animal
to work with.

He's very motivated.

You know, every little
step that we take,

He's just hitting those targets.

Um, he's doing
really, really well.

So, I'm so happy with him.

Nice and warm in your pouch.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Narrator: It's been a year now

Since chimp naomi began
her ultrasound training.

She's learned so well,

The team were about
to stop her contraception,

But now it looks like
there's no need.

Katie: Just recently
I've been noticing

Her tummy is growing
a little bit.

Narrator: Which is concerning,
given naomi's history.

Paul: She's gotten pregnant,

And then when she's been
close to delivering,

The baby has d*ed.

One of them d*ed a number
of weeks before she was due.

Both of them were stillborn,
and they were small as well.

Narrator: For an important
breeding female,

It's not good news.

Katie:
Naomi really wants a baby.

She's shown a lot
of maternal instincts.

She's got a little niece
in here, little cebele,

And she loves looking after her.

So for her to have her own baby
would be amazing.

We actually brought her here to
be part of our breeding program,

So it's really important,

Not only for her
as an individual,

But also for
the bigger picture as well.

Narrator: With naomi looking

More and more pregnant
every day,

It's time to put
all that training to the test.

Katie: It's a big ask of naomi,
but I think she's ready.

Narrator: Today,

Larry is preparing
the ultrasound equipment

To perform
the procedure for real.

Larry: She's been
really well-trained.

We can only use
this quite small one

Because it's got to fit
between the mesh,

And let's hope that she doesn't
grab it and destroy it

Because there's about
$ , worth of equipment

Just here in my hand.

It'd be great news
if she is pregnant,

And obviously just
diagnosing the pregnancy

It doesn't mean necessarily

We're going to have
a successful birth,

But we've managed her a little
bit differently this time

And hopefully, uh, you know,
it will be successful.

Okay.

Hey, sweetie.

Look at all this.

There you are.

You know what's going on.

Narrator:
After a year of training....

Larry: All right.

Katie: Hello, beautiful.

Narrator: ...It's finally time.

Larry: This is an incredible
milestone for us at the zoo

Because never have we previously

Been able to ultrasound
an awake chimp.

(chimps screeching)

Katie: Okay,
are we ready, larry?

Larry: Yep.

(chimps screeching)

Katie: Okay.

Can you put your hand up?

Where is this? Hand up.

Naomi...Hand up.

Good.

Naomi, touch.

Good girl.

This time I had
to be super focused

Because I've got
the real ultrasound probe now.

We've got other chimps
to keep our eyes on as well.

Ust naomi's hands

That can come down
and grab that probe.

There can be hands coming
from all different directions.

Naomi was a little bit
more annoyed than normal.

(scratching)

You're being so tolerant.

Naomi is so clever.

As soon as I turned
my head away,

Her hands, you know, come down

So she can get
really close to that probe.

So I need to stay
% focused,

But I'm always wondering,
hang on, what's larry seeing?

What's going on?

So tempting to turn around
and have a look.

Narrator: Once the probe is on,

The results are clear.

Larry: Wow.

I could see that there was
something in there.

Okay. Just move around
a little bit, katie.

I can see a little heart
b*ating there.

Katie: Oh, wow.
Larry: Wow.

Oh, my god.

That's incredible.

Katie:
It took a while to register

What that actually meant.

Larry: We very quickly
discovered that

There's quite a well-developed
fetus inside there.

So that's a surprise.

Katie: Yeah.
Larry: Yeah.

(laughing)

Katie: Naomi doesn't like to
follow the rule book, does she?

Larry: No, no rules.

And there's the evidence:

Head of the fetus,
got the placenta there.

Narrator: It's been a nice
surprise for the team.

Larry: To be honest,

Much more advanced than
certainly I was expecting.

Narrator: But there's
a bigger one to come.

Susan: Naomi just
crouched down over there,

And before our very eyes,
she had a baby.

♪ ♪

Narrator:
Feeding time at the zoo

Is exciting for the animals.

And today, for the first time
in six months,

It's rachel's turn.

♪ ♪

While her meal thaws,

Reptile keeper stu checks in
on one of his favorite snakes.

Stu: Okay.

So in here we have rachel,
our reticulated python.

The reticulated python
is the world's largest snake,

And rachel has been here
for over years.

She's classed as
a class-one dangerous animal,

And that's why we have
this shield here.

Personal protective equipment.

The old trusty shield.

♪ ♪

Come on, sweetheart.

♪ ♪

All right.

So just give her a bit of a pat.

She's alert 'cause we can
see her tongue going.

This time of the day,

It's nice and warm
in this enclosure.

It's really humid.

So the name "reticulated"

Actually refers to the pattern
that is all along the snake.

So the fact
that it's reticulated

Means that it's
a reoccurring pattern,

It's a similar pattern,

Which goes over itself
again and again and again.

They're a species which is
found in southeast asia.

They love the rainforest,
the high humidity,

Uh, they love water.

One of the main reasons
they like water

Is because there's such
a large heavy-bodied animal,

Spending time in water,
it sort of supports them,

Gives them that
buoyancy in the water.

♪ ♪

So everyone hears
about venomous snakes

And how dangerous
venomous snakes are.

They sort of think,
oh, pythons are non-venomous

So they can't hurt you.

Okay, this snake
doesn't make you sick,

But it may want to eat you.

They can grow to a size

Where they can eat %
of their own body weight.

So if we consider that
this snake is now kilos,

She'll eat kilos
if she wanted to.

Now, I'm only about kilos,

So I reckon I've got
about three or four years

Before she would
start to look at me

As a potential food source.

Narrator: And while rachel
may look big now,

She actually still
has a long way to go

Before she's full-size.

Stu: She's approximately
kilos,

And she's . meters.

So she's still got
a fair bit of growing to do.

And I mean at this size,

She is regarded as
a very dangerous animal.

She has the highest ranking of
dangerous animals in the zoo.

Now, the main reasons are
they're a constricting snake.

They don't use venom.

They use their extremely
muscular, powerful body.

This snake is a backbone,

Hundreds of ribs,

And then just muscle.

So she has probably
close to a hundred teeth.

Each tooth would be
millimeters long,

Maybe even longer,

So it gets a good grip
on an animal.

You get a good grip

On the muscle
and the tissue of the animal,

And then she wraps around
and asphyxiates.

So where these guys
are found out in the wild,

They would be taking on
large animals like pigs,

Even large deer
with large horns

Or large antelopes.

They don't want to waste any
energy on eating small items.

They want to eat that one
big item several times a year,

We will only feed her

Potentially four or five
food items in one year,

But each food item
is a minimum of kilos.

Narrator: No surprise then

That when he works with an
animal as dangerous as rachel,

Stu must be constantly alert

For the slightest sign that
her patience is wearing thin.

Stu: It can be a pupil dilating.

It could be how often
the tongue is flicking.

It might be
the tail is twitching.

Just doesn't like
your presence in its home.

So we're always looking
for those little cues

That the animal will give us
to let us know,

Hey, we should probably
leave this area now

Or finish whatever
job we're doing

And get out of their territory.

Narrator: And considering
she hasn't eaten

In almost half a year,

"get out of my territory"
is exactly what she's thinking.

Stu: So she, um, I'm not exactly
sure what happened there.

She had a closed-mouth lunge.

So there's a couple of things.

She may have
picked up on a smell,

She may have seen
a reflection off the glass,

And just that movement
is what invoked her to go.

But now that
that's happened once,

I think that we should,
we should leave

Because she's, yeah,

She's a potentially,
if she bites one of us,

It's not going to be
a good time.

The last thing I would want to
do is annoy her or stress her.

That's going to be
not great for her,

And it could be potentially
dangerous for me.

Narrator: The final step

Is to make sure
the door is locked

Before he leaves
the python exhibit,

Until he opens it tomorrow

When rachel
will finally eat again.

Larry: So as low as you can go.

Narrator: Naomi's ultrasound
confirmed her pregnancy.

Larry: I can see a little heart
b*ating there.

Katie: Oh, wow.

Larry: Wow. Oh, my gosh.

Narrator: But the zoo
were blindsided by the fact

That she's already been
pregnant for eight months.

Katie: It is really, really
exciting, quite emotional

And quite
nerve-racking as well.

Still worrying about
what if something goes wrong?

You know, because we've seen
what's happened in the past.

Narrator: But naomi
is about to add to that worry

And blindside everyone
for a second time

By giving birth on exhibit.

Larry: I was actually in
the middle of another procedure,

And as soon as I heard, I just
ran up here to have a look.

The baby was still
attached to the placenta.

The umbilical cord was going
from the baby to the placenta,

Which naomi was carrying.

Narrator:
And with no visible movement,

Keepers and vets are fearful

That she may have given birth
to another stillborn.

Larry: We've been very anxious
about this birth.

She actually nursed
those two dead babies

For several days,

And we can see already

She's just protecting
that little baby

Like there's nothing
more important in the world.

So, we're still cautious
about making a prediction

That the baby's going to be
absolutely fine.

The next few days are really
going to be telling.

♪ ♪

Narrator:
Today is a very special day

For reticulated python rachel.

Stu: Okay. Yep.

Nice and defrosted.

It's come up
to room temperature

So it's going to be perfect
to feed out to rach now.

Rachel has smelled
that pig all morning.

Now that she's in her food mode,

She's not really
calm and collected.

She's, "I want to eat,

I'm going to grab a hold
of the first thing

That I see and moves
in my enclosure,"

And hopefully
that's the pig, not me.

So what I was hoping is that
she'd come down into the pond,

Which I don't think
will take much.

Tickle, tickle.

Just watch she doesn't
go to the door.

If she goes to the door,
you can close it.

Ha ha ha! "I will."
don't worry about you.

This is a dangerous animal,
and we take many precautions.

I've got a second zookeeper
here with me

To be as my backup,
as my safety

In case anything goes wrong.

Narrator: And just as well,

Because this is
one hungry snake.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Stu: She thinks that she
has to now k*ll this animal.

She doesn't know
that that pig was dead.

So grab it on the face
or on the head,

Wrap around the chest
and the upper body,

And what you'll see,

These tight constrictions,

And she's squeezing
tighter and tighter,

And that is putting
extreme pressure

On the animal's chest
and upper body.

The last thing she wants
is to grab an animal,

Start swallowing it,

It can scratch her,
it can bite her,

Or it can injure her
in some way.

It's not putting up
any sort of a fight.

So now she just repositions
where her mouth is

To get exactly around the snout,

And that's when she's going
to start to consume it.

They always want to eat it
head first, and that's so...

Shoulders are normally
the broadest part of an animal

Going down.

♪ ♪

So now that she's grabbed
a hold of that head,

You can see
the first part of her neck.

That's only about six or seven
inches in circumference,

That is now going to
extend to over inches

To get around
the chest of that pig.

What you'll
actually notice here,

You might see
a little bit of pink tissue

Sticking out
of the bottom of her jaw.

That's actually her windpipe.

So she will throw her windpipe
external of her throat

So she'll continue to breathe

While that that pig
is going down,

And you'll see,
every now and then,

She's just taking a bit
of a breath, a bit of a breath.

♪ ♪

A big python like this

Can open the top and bottom jaw
degrees.

Pretty much she could
bite this glass pane flat.

The bottom jaw,
they do have rigid bone,

But it's just
connected by the skin.

Two bones on either side,
that opens up,

And they just walk the food
down into their belly.

♪ ♪

Narrator: It's taken rachel
hours to get to this point,

Where all that's left
is one little morsel

That she doesn't even want.

Stu: The only part of that pig
that won't get digested

Are the nail or the hooves
and the hair.

I'll just find clumps of that,
uh, in her excrement

Over the next couple of weeks.

So thank you, rachel.

So this was a great feed.

This was a very successful feed.

Nothing went wrong,
not that it ever does,

But it's always a great feed
when she grabs it straight away,

She doesn't muck around,

And she just starts
swallowing it immediately.

So the whole thing was done
in sort of two and a half hours.

Very, very efficient feed.

It was excellent.

Narrator: Chimp naomi

Has unexpectedly
given birth on exhibit

In the middle of the day.

Mandy: The first thing
we could see

Was naomi being very secretive,

Holding on to the baby,

And, you know, a bit of blood

And the placenta
and the umbilical cord...

You know, the whole works.

Narrator:
In her last two pregnancies,

Giving birth wasn't
the problem for naomi.

It was the fact
they were stillborns.

Larry: She actually nursed
those two dead babies

For several days.

Narrator: So the team are
looking for any glimpse

That this one's alive.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

And there it is.

Larry: It was just so wonderful

To see those
little fingers moving,

Little toes moving,

And confirmed that
it was indeed alive.

Keeper:
Look at its face! Ha ha ha!

Larry: It's gripping
onto naomi's fur

And is looking great.

Confirming that
that baby was alive

Was just a fantastic first step.

Susan: Another baby.

Exciting!

Naomi just
crouched down over there,

And before our very eyes,

She had a baby.

It's just unbelievable.

Unbelievable.

Narrator: And it takes no time

For the news of the birth
to spread across the zoo.

Mandy: We were
in a meeting, actually,

And we got a radio call
from the keepers

Saying she's given birth.

Of course she's given birth in
the middle of school holidays,

With billions of people around,
in the middle of the day.

So a real treat
for our guests today

To see one of our chimps
giving birth.

It's certainly not
an everyday occurrence.

Narrator: And it's not only
visitors and keepers

That are keen to catch
a glimpse of the new arrival.

Mandy: So whenever a baby's
born into the group,

There's always
a lot of interest.

They will follow her around.

They just want to see,

They want to see
what's happening,

They want to have a sniff.

Some of them want
to have a little poke

Narrator: And despite it
being her day off,

Keeper katie,

Who embarked on this journey
with naomi a year ago,

Can't resist coming in
to see the newborn.

Katie: So excited.

Can't wait to see it.

Nervous, as well.

Naomi's a really
special chimp for me.

We're not supposed
to have our favorites,

But we do.

Just like with people,

You get along
really well with some

And not as well with others.

Narrator:
Despite the recent birth,

The team have still
decided to go ahead

With their normal
training session...

Katie: What's going on?
Oh, my goodness.

Narrator: ...In the hope

That keepers can get
their first close-up look

At her baby.

Katie: Well done,
beautiful girl.

Naomi came over for the session.

She's always happy
to come over and get food,

But she didn't want to put
her tummy up to the mesh today

'cause she's being super
protective of that baby.

She hides it well, doesn't she?

From my angle, I could see
the back of its head.

I can see your bubba.

And its little ears.

Uh, so, so cute.

She's cleaned it up perfectly.

You put your hand up.

Good girl.

Good girl.

Baby's clinging
nice and tight to mum,

So it's nice and strong,

And baby's mouth
is nice and pink

And hands and feet
are a nice dark pink color,

Which is exactly what we want.

It looks like it's a good size.

Very emotional for me. Yeah.

Um, yeah.

It means so much for her.

She's wanted a baby
for a long time,

And we can see already
she's being an amazing mother.

Okay, bye.

Narrator:
A week after the birth,

And the newborn is doing well,

And keepers have even
had the opportunity

To find out
if it's a boy or girl.

Katie: The baby's a little girl,

Which is exactly what we wanted.

So that really helps us

To continue those genetics
into our group,

But even better,
the baby is doing really well.

She's thriving.

She's feeding really well.

We've seen lots of suckling.

She's looking really strong,
and she's becoming quite alert.

Naomi's incredibly proud,

And she's just starting to let

Some other members
of the community

Meet the baby
for the first time.

We've seen a few of our boys

Spending a lot of time
with naomi, grooming her,

So that's a social
bonding thing.

And we've got a few
juvenile boys in the group,

So if they're too rough
around naomi,

The big boys will step in
and discipline them

And put them in their place.

(chimps vocalizing)

For her, too, this will help
her position in the group.

It always helps to raise
their status in the community.

This will make her
feel quite important,

Which is really good as well.

To finally have a healthy baby
for her to look after is...

Is just massive.

Narrator: And in a fitting end
to this historic journey

Dr. Paul fowler
has been given the honor

Of choosing a name
for the baby.

♪ ♪

So little niambi,
which is swahili for "melody,"

Is now the latest addition

To taronga's ever-growing
and extremely important

Chimpanzee family.

♪ ♪