01x05 - Tampa: Hungry, Hungry Dragons

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Secrets of the Zoo". Aired: July 29, 2018 - present.*
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01x05 - Tampa: Hungry, Hungry Dragons

Post by bunniefuu »

(elephant trumpets)

Madison: You're such a good boy.

(growl)

Dr. Ray: Every morning
I love to start my day

By getting on my bike and
riding throughout the zoo.

Morning.

I like to immerse myself
in the animals as they wake up.

I'll swing by
and see the wolves,

I'll swing by and
see the painted dogs.

What's up, pups?

I've been a veterinarian
for over years now,

And I simply enjoy being
around the animals.

What's up, big boy?

I want them to like me.

What's up, luce?

One of my favorite stops
is checking on lucy.

(purring)

Hey, pretty girl.

Oh, I know it, I know it, argh.

Argh.

We have this little thing
that we like to do, like this.

She'll roll, she'll act
like a little kitten.

I am a big cat person,
I just love cats.

And this is the great cat
of north america,

The great cat of florida.

A lot of the wild animals
that come to us,

They're dependent on us
for their welfare.

And all the florida panthers
that we have in the zoo

Are rescue cats,

They're cats that aren't able
to go back out into the wild.

It's a huge responsibility,
but it's also a great privilege,

And we're all very honored,
I'm very honored,

To be a part of that.

Jaime: Hey.

Lisa: And that's as high
as it'll go?

Jaime: Yes. He's at the door,
watching.

Lisa: Okay.

Jaime: Mickey is estimated to be

About a five-year-old
florida panther,

And he was found just kind of
wandering around neighborhoods,

And even though they
tried to relocate him,

Kind of just kept going back.

So, for everyone's safety,
including his,

He was brought to live
the remaining of his life

Here at zoo tampa.

He does have a lot of spunk.
(laughs)

He does love to explore, loves
to be outside in his habitat,

He's a great addition
to our family here.

Today we're gonna put out
a boomer ball

That's scented with
a lot of different items.

Lisa: Rat scent on it.

Jaime: This engages both his
physical and mental behaviors.

Couple pieces of meat
on the top.

Panthers have such
a good sense of smell, so.

Alright?

Lisa: Looks good.

Jaime: Hey, mickey.

Panthers do like
things that move,

Just like a domestic house cat,
you know, likes to chase around

A feather or, like,
a laser pointer.

(laughs)

What's that? What is it?

It's amazing to see how large
they are, how massive.

Lisa: Nice and easy food.
(laughs)

Jaime: Then just their sheer
strength of what they can do

With just a bat of their paw,
or just their jaw strength, too.

Oh, he's strong.

Good job, mickey, get it!

Florida panthers
are incredibly smart

And such a pleasure
to work with.

They, every day, remind us that

We have this majestic florida
treasure here in our backyard.

I appreciate my time with them.

It's pretty incredible.

We'll see you in a bit, mickey.

Lisa: Bye.

Jaime: Walter, come!

Walter!

Alongside of lucy and mickey,

Walter was brought here
to zoo tampa

Due to trauma to
one of his front paws.

Lisa: He was caught
in a snare trap,

So he was rescued from the wild.

He's missing some of his toes
on that paw.

Lisa: So, it's
a permanent injury,

He's non-releasable
because of it.

Dr. Ray: Walter, he had
a special place with me

The minute he came in.

He needed us, and
instantly we bonded.

Walter arrived
in pretty bad condition.

He still had a snare
on his one foot.

You okay?

And he was missing
a large part of that foot.

The first thing we did is
restore his hydration,

Iv fluids, antibiotics,

And then started to focus in on
the foot injury from the snares.

Ashley: I can't believe
that toe.

Dr. Ray: Take away
any dead tissue,

Just try to get
a good cleansing on it,

And then get him
used to living with us

And get some nourishment.

If he hadn't have been found,
if he hadn't have been rescued,

He would have d*ed, there's just
no doubt about that.

And we've never had a cat that's
lost part of his foot before.

We just wanna stay on top of it.

Lisa: Walter, come!

Dr. Ray: The staff told me
that he seems to be favoring

That limb a little bit more.

Jaime: He definitely doesn't
put much weight on it.

Dr. Ray: One of my concerns
with walter is,

The snare broke a lot of bones
in his paw,

And when I did the surgery

I didn't remove all
the little bone fragments.

To take 'em out would have
caused a lot more damage.

Now, maybe one of those little
fragments that I left is loose.

So we're gonna bring walter in
tomorrow to the animal hospital

For an exam,
maybe that little bone chip

Is something I need
to take care of now.

Tiffany: Anytime we get
a new species here at zoo tampa,

It's a very exciting time.

We are completely
overhauling a space,

And we are headed to the airport

Because we have two
binturongs coming.

Jane: Binturong, woo!

(laughs)

Tiffany: Binturong is
commonly known as a bearcat.

But they're not actually
related to bears or cats.

They're more closely related
to the fossa from madagascar.

Ashley: Hey, pretty.

She looks pretty good.

Tiffany: Yeah?

We have a male, sully,
from minnesota,

And then our female is melati
from chicago.

They look great; very calm,

Which is exactly
what we want to see,

We wanna see a nice, calm animal
who's relaxed,

And everything so far
has been perfect.

(horn honks)

Ashley: Honk if
you love binturong.

(laughter)

Tiffany: We've heard it
many times,

But until they actually came
and we smelt it for ourselves...

They're here.

They really do smell
like buttered popcorn.

Collin: Oh, my god,
that smells incredible.

(laughter)

Jane: She smells better
than he does.

Ashley: He smells
a little bit musky.

(laughter)

Tiffany: Binturong
smell like popcorn

Because of a component
of the urine

That mixes with bacteria
on their skin.

That's when you get
that popcorn smell.

Let's do him first, he's
definitely a little more active.

We can bring him
straight in the yard.

Collin: Okay.

Tiffany: Binturong
are territorial,

And since sully and melati have
never met one another before,

It's very important that we
keep them in separate spaces

So that we can slowly
get them used to each other.

Everybody ready?

Jane: Thank you. Got it.
Collin: Yep.

(collin chuckles)
tiffany: Check it out.

Collin:
Oh, you're alright, buddy.

Jane: He's so cute.

He's a lot cuter than
I was even expecting.

He's bigger than
I was expecting.

Already in love with them, yeah.

Tiffany: Welcome to florida,
buddy.

Oh, shall we get her settled?

Alright.

Collin: Hey, honey.
Tiffany: Hi.

Tiffany: Binturong are arboreal,
which means they spend

A lot of the time
up in the trees.

They also have
a prehensile tail,

They're able
to grab on to things

And use that to help get them
around in those trees.

Collin: Alright, so far so good.

Tiffany: They are both
getting settled in nicely.

Both checked out
their surrounding.

The male's definitely
a little bit more active,

Really checking everything out,
scent-marking, making it his.

So that's all good signs.

Park's smelling better already.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Danny: Inca terns!

(chattering)

Hi, guys, good morning.

Breakfast time.

The inca terns are found
near chile and peru,

And they're a coastal bird.

Inca terns!

As soon as I call their name,
they come down.

(chattering)

Every morning is
a snow white moment.

(laughs)

We do have a mario, a peach,
a luigi and a daisy.

How about a toss?

There you go.

I really enjoy their mustaches,

I think that's their most
awesome characteristic

That they have.

Unlike our mustaches,
they are actually feathers.

They don't really groom them,
they can't really get to them

With their beak,
so they're kinda just there.

The males and the females
have them

And they actually represent
reproductive success.

So, the better mustache
you have,

The better chance you have
to breed with another bird.

There you go, bud. (laughs)

(chattering)

Inca terns usually hang out in
nests inside the rock cliffs,

And that's what we're trying
to emulate with our nest boxes,

As something like a cavern
where they can go in

And hopefully have
some babies and chicks.

We have two eggs currently
in that nest box.

And then we have one egg in
the other one, on the left side.

I'm really excited,
it's our first time

That they've been successful
with laying eggs,

So we're keeping
our fingers crossed.

I'm hoping that we'll have
some chicks this year.

(chattering)

(elephant trumpets)

Kristina: What are you doing?

Oh, yeah, you like that?

Brandi: Hey, rex!

(braying)

You're alright, buddy.

(snorts)

So, rex is a little hyper-aware
of new things, new surroundings.

With him being a zebra,
they are a prey animal,

So, they're usually either
the fight or flight method.

Rex usually chooses
the flight method,

He likes to kind of run away
and get a good look from afar.

Alicia: Hey, we just wanna
check out your feets.

Brandi: So, his rear right
definitely looks like

It needs the most work.

The other ones don't
look super bad,

But they're a little bit
overgrown.

Our team is going to get
together with dr. Ray,

And we're actually going
to anesthetize rex.

He's going to be tranquilized
so we can shorten his hooves.

Dr. Ray: You know,
on a regular basis

We need to trim those feet back.

If not, they can get abscesses
that will cr*ck

And cause opportunities
for infections to set in

And things like that.

So, we just wanted to give him
a little extra,

He's been a little challenging
in the past, so.

We have to be very cautious.

This stallion is
easy pounds.

They're full of muscle.

But they're flighty,
they can be dangerous.

There's a lot of coordination
that has to occur

When we're dealing with
a large animal like this.

I have to take my sh*t, get the
dart in, let it do its magic,

And then we can go in and
catch him and help him go down.

Mike: If you can
keep an eye on him,

But stay out of sight a little
bit, he's pretty worked up.

Dr. Ray: It's a bit
of a risky procedure,

There's no doubt about it.

There's some variables
that you just can't control.

Wait for the wind, make sure
your line of sight is clear,

Make sure everyone
is out of the way.

You know, you don't want darts
bouncing off and hitting people,

That would be potentially
catastrophic.

And you don't wanna hit
the animal in a bad place.

You know, I've been doing this
for over years,

And every time I fire a dart
there's a lot of anxiety.

(sh**t)

Mike: Oh, boy.

(sh**t)

Mike: Oh, boy.

Everybody back.

Dart is in,
dart's in his shoulder.

Dr. Ray: We're good.

Madison: Rex just got darted,
so he's pacing, running around.

Dr. Ray: The risk involved
in actually handling

A large and dangerous animal,
like the zebra,

Is always measured against
what's the return?

What is it gonna do
to make him better?

In this case we have
to trim his feet up

So he doesn't get
a foot infection,

Because that can be
life-threatening.

Mike, we're gonna step into
the stall there and be ready.

Mike: Yep.

Dr. Ray: Yeah, come on.

Hello, kid.

Okay, let's go ahead
and blindfold him.

Good job.

Madison: They have
a pretty good hold on him.

Dr. Ray: No, it's fine.
There we go.

We got him, mike.

Mike: That'll work.
Madison, you're good.

I think a good way to
describe us is a pit crew,

We wanna get get in,
get the job done,

Get rex back up and on his feet
as soon as possible.

Dr. Ray: Let me get that dart
out of here.

Everyone's doing something,

Someone's taking
his temperature.

Madison: . .

Dr. Ray: Nice.

Someone's checking
the heart rate.

Heart rate's good.

They're gonna start
cleaning those feet.

There's mud and debris
up in there,

We've gotta scoop that all out
so we can look at it,

And that'll tell us
how much we can trim off.

Mike: He's quivering
a little bit.

Dr. Ray: Samantha, watch
the respirations there for us.

Brandi: When you
anesthetize an animal,

It's really important
to be as quick as possible.

The longer they're under, the
more health concerns can arise.

Dr. Ray:
How are you doing, mike?

Mike: I'm good.

Brandi: Especially with zebra,

We like to keep it
under minutes.

Dr. Ray: I'm happy with that.
Madison: Good? Okay.

Dr. Ray: Yeah. And when we roll
him we'll get those other ones.

Mike, are you good
where we can roll him?

Mike: Yeah.

Let me stand on this side,
yeah, 'cause he's gonna kick.

Dr. Ray: Yeah, he's a big boy.

Zebras have a flight response,
their tendency is just to run,

That's their best defense.

The second defense is
to kick out and then bite.

We don't wanna get
to that phase,

Any of these phases, really.

Mike: One, two, three.

Dr. Ray: You guys good up front?
There we go.

Nice.

You know, these guys are just so
atypical from a domestic horse.

Their feet are solid, we never
have any rotational problems

With these guys,
they tend to just overgrow.

And that means they walk more on
their heels which is not good,

And that's why he's got
a little fraying.

But if I just take this
more flat,

He's gonna be upright more,
like he should be.

Mike: His heart rate's up
to .

Dr. Ray: It's okay, yeah?

Mike: You good?
Madison: Okay.

Dr. Ray: We're good,
and we're good, guys.

Madison: Okay, cool.

Dr. Ray: The hoof trim is done,
there was no signs of infection,

He's good and stable.

Now we need to get him
up on his feet.

So, we give the reversal.

We wanna stay with him
as long as we can,

I don't want him to jump
into that flight response,

So, if I can hang on to him
just a little bit

And let him ease up on his own,

He's gonna have
a much smoother recovery

And is less likely
to hurt himself.

Mike: Okay, here he comes,
he's rolling up now.

Dr. Ray: Close, okay.
I got it, I got it.

Mike: Watch that door, hold it.

Dr. Ray: Let's just go along
the fence line.

Mike: Let's get out of there.

Heads up.

Dr. Ray: He's a crazy bugger.

Madison: That was fast.

Dr. Ray: His recovery was
a bit quicker than normal,

Usually they wanna roll up,
pause, take a big sigh breath,

And then they'll hop up.

And he just kinda went,
you know,

From zero to just like that.

He's in great body condition,

Everything else on him
checks out fantastic,

Give him , minutes
like this

And he'll probably be ready
to go out on habitat.

It's very rewarding, there's
almost a physical satisfaction

You get when the zebra gets
back up, we can stand back,

And, yeah, there's
a sense of pride really,

We've done something that's
actually gonna help that animal.

Katelynn: Ah, thank you.

Tiffany: Come here, sully.

Both binturongs,
sully and melati,

Are getting settled in nicely.

Melati is in our indoor space.

Today we do have a door
that they'll be able

To see each other through,
they can smell each other.

These two are a breeding pair.

The best that we could ask for

Is that they're comfortable
with each other

Before we decide to introduce
the two of them together.

Here he comes.

Jane: Oh, yeah.

Tiffany: Sully, we have
a girlfriend for you.

Jane: There he goes. Alright
tiffany: There you go, good boy.

Katherine: Can you smell her?
She smells very popcorny.

Jane: She does.

(sniffing)

Tiffany: Melati, your
boyfriend's at the door for you.

If we were to put the binturong
together right away,

They probably would fight,

And then it would be
harder in the future

To work on that relationship.

By putting a howdy door
in between them

And letting them take it slow,

They can get to know
one another,

They can smell one another.

Katherine: Has she moved at all?
Or is she just looking?

Tiffany: She's
definitely looking.

But is it enough
to interrupt nap time?

Oh!

(laughs)

Katherine: Did she curl back up?

Tiffany: She got up and she took
a step and then curled back up.

Jane: I don't think she's ready.

Tiffany: I think she's
playing hard to get.

I think he's offended.

Jane: See you later.

Tiffany: Right now they do have
access to one another

Through the howdy door,

At this point we'll just
need to wait on melati.

Once she shows us that
she is interacting with him,

The next step would be to open
that door and allow them

To share the same space and have
those face-to-face interactions.

Dr. Ray: Morning.

Jaime: Walter!

Dr. Ray: Let's go catch a kitty.

Jaime: Today we are
gonna bring walter

Up to the veterinary clinic
to have his paw checked over.

We have been working on training
him for a hand injection,

And we can inject his hip.

Tiffany: As the initial
anesthesia's taking effect

We're just gonna watch his
progression to becoming sleepy.

I think we'll be ready to go
here in just a couple.

Dr. Ray: I'm gonna start
heading your way.

Moving the cats, you have to
treat it with a lot of respect.

Wait, wait, wait, wait. Okay.
Alright, ready? One, two, three.

We have to make sure
he's safely sedated

For himself and for the safety
of all the team.

You guys good?

Walter's original injury,
the snare wound,

Was actually embedded
into his knuckle bones.

Some of those bones
were fractured so much

That I couldn't save them,

So they actually had
to be amputated.

There's a fair degree
of concern right now.

I don't know for sure if there's
something else brewing,

Something else going
to happen to him

That we might need to intervene.

I definitely am nervous.

Dr. Ray: You guys good?
Molly: You're good.

Dr. Ray: That's perfect.

So, this morning
we anesthetized walter

And got him to the hospital.

One, two, three.

Dr. Nico: Hey, big boy.

Temperature is good.

Dr. Ray: Alright. Ketamine,
it's just milligrams.

Dr. Lauren: Okay.

Dr. Ray: My biggest fear
with walter's foot

Is that I'm gonna
find a bone chip

That is gonna make me have
to go in and do some surgery

To correct it.

Go ahead and scan him, see what
it looks like on the inside.

Walter's family, and everyone

Has a vested commitment
to this cat,

They're very concerned about it,

So we still wanna look at that
radiograph with the team.

Yeah. Yeah.

So that's the top view down.

And these two bones are...

Molly: Fusing?

Dr. Ray: They're fusing.

I think he could actually,

I mean, really, really get
to using it a lot more.

Cats are like people, you know,
we have several digits,

Five digits, compared to a horse
that has one.

Walter's digits are gone, but if
they actually fuse together,

I think they're
gonna be stronger.

It's actually like he's turning
a hand into a hoof,

And I think that's gonna
work in his benefit.

It's healed up really nicely.

Walter and a lot of the animals
come to us

Needing help and rehabilitation.

That's a lot of responsibility.

It's actually a fair amount
of pressure,

But it's also a privilege,

And it's a privilege that we're
proud to take on willingly.

Dr. Lauren:
Awesome, thanks, guys.

Dr. Ray: And it's very rewarding

To see these animals
turn around.

Dr. Lauren: Hi, lucy-lu.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Jason: Temperature affects
all reptile appetite.

Spencer: So, we have chicken
and red meat today.

(bellow)

Jason: As we get more and more
into the summer,

Their metabolism will be up.

We need to make sure to be
offering them extra diet.

Spencer: There you go.

Jason: To keep up that
good, healthy body weight.

You guys ready to feed
some komodo dragons?

Jenna: Yeah.
Rachel: Oh, yeah.

Jason: Today we'll be feeding
our two komodo dragons,

Onjai, our female,
and titus, our male.

Titus is six years old,

And then onjai is about eight.

We keep them separated,

Because our female's
a little bigger than the male,

She might potentially
try and eat him.

There we go.

Titus will be outdoors.

So, the meat shanks are actually
going to be secured

To an eyehook from the ceiling,

So that's going to give it like
a wobble, like a pendulum,

So when he bites onto that,

That'll give him
a lot less stability,

So he's going to have to work
a lot harder to eat that.

Alright.

Dan: So, you guys ready
to see these guys eat?

Guests: Yeah.

Jason: Go ahead.

Dan: Release the kraken.

Jason: - .

Boy: I can't see.

Dan: There he comes.

Boy: Ooh!

Jason: Those are meat shanks.

Boy: I would not eat that.

Jason: But that's what they
naturally eat in the wild,

So, they could potentially eat
up to % of their body weight

In one meal, and they eat about
to large meals a year.

Boy: Predator comes to them.

Jason: A komodo dragon
commands respect.

The fact that they can
take down large prey,

Like a water buffalo, using
those sharp, serrated teeth

And sharp claws and
really strong neck muscles

To rip and tear,

You definitely need to
respect one if you see one.

And here goes onjai.

Jason: She rocks her head
back and forth,

She has really sharp, serrated
teeth to slice through the meat.

Jason: They could.

They are the top predator
in the komodo islands.

Girl: Yeah.

Jason: So, the only thing
they have to worry about

Is getting eaten
by other dragons.

It's amazing to watch
the strength and athleticism

Of a komodo dragon.

I love working
with both of them,

They're a great part
of my morning,

Especially on days
that we feed them.

Jennifer: Good girl.

(chimps shrieking)

Collin: You gonna eat?

Oh, wow, cob and all, okay.

(laughs)

Tiffany: Up to this point,
sully and melati

Have only interacted
through the door.

We are hoping that they will
come together here at zoo tampa

As a mating pair,

But so far she seems to be
giving him the cold shoulder.

The true test will be
when we open that door

And they're in the same space
with one another.

He's ready.

We're starting binturong intros.

Keeper: Okay, - .

Jane: They have large teeth and
they can produce nasty bites,

And so, if they really
didn't like each other

I'm pretty sure
it could get pretty nasty.

Once you open the gate,
there's no going back.

Collin: Oh, he's in the chute.

Tiffany: He's ready.
Did she move?

Alison: No. She's looking
that way, though.

Jane: He's smelling.

Alison: I have seen her climb
on that quite a bit,

So I bet he's sniffing
all of that.

Collin: Well,
he's making his way.

Tiffany: Yeah.

(growl)

Tiffany: Anytime
you put two animals

That don't know each other
together

There is a huge risk involved.

We're really anxious.

Binturong can hurt each other,
they can fight.

(growl)

Collin: She's the one making
that strong exhale noise.

Tiffany: He's like,
okay, I'm sorry.

Alison: I wonder if
she wants to go out.

Tiffany: Look at how
he, like, laid down.

Katherine: Uh-huh.

Tiffany: Almost like
a submissive.

Katherine: Uh-huh.
Collin: Yeah.

Tiffany: Melati's trying
to get bigger,

She's trying to show him
that she means business,

That she's serious.

Collin: Both of them
are outside.

Tiffany: Oh.

They say what they need to say,

There are some vocalizations
that are happening,

And then move on, which is
what we're hoping for.

So, all very positive things
for introductions.

Sometimes our jobs are a little
bit like being a matchmaker.

You can find out
different personalities

And try and figure out who's
gonna work well with who.

But at the end of the day,
we have to be patient,

They have to tell us
when they're ready,

And if they're actually gonna
get along with one another.

Jane: I'm sure they haven't
worked everything out,

But it was much less stressful
than a chimp introduction.

(laughter)

(pony whinnies)

Jayme: You're such a good pony.

Ponies were first brought here
at zoo tampa for pony rides.

We slowly got away from that
just because some of our ponies

Are at the age where
they should not be ridden.

Ah, is lily your friend?

(pony nickers)

Lady is our youngest pony,

She's years old, and
she is one of my favorites.

She's a troublemaker.

Oh, so excited.

Lady has been having issues
with a lot of discharge

Out of her right nostril.

It also has a really bad smell,

So we're kind of worried
about what's going on,

And I wanna get
dr. Lauren's feedback.

Dr. Lauren: We are ready
to head over.

Jayme: - , we'll see you
when you get here.

Dr. Lauren: We are going
to head over to see lady.

I'm just gonna check in
and see how she's doing

And try to come up with
a plan to help treat her.

As a young girl I thought,
you know, gosh,

I really want to
take care of animals

And look out for
their health and welfare,

And that I wanted to be
a veterinarian.

I think being that liaison
between people and animals

Is just such an honor, and
I think it's an important job

And one that we always wanna
strive to be better at.

At a zoo, you know,
I never expected

To be working on
horses and ponies.

Alright, let's go check her out.

But I used to ride, and I really
want to provide some relief

For lady, she's
a very special haflinger.

Oh, only one pony
can fit at a time.

Hi, miss lady.

No, I don't have any snacks,
I'm sorry, no snacks.

Ew, gross, phew, it smells bad.

Jayme, how would you describe
the smell of that?

Jayme: I don't know how
you would describe it.

Dr. Lauren: It smells like
necrotic flesh.

Jayme: Yeah, it lingers.

Dr. Lauren: Lady does have
a history of allergies,

And that's very common
in haflinger ponies,

Especially here in florida,
but if it were just allergies,

You wouldn't expect it
to smell like that.

How's it looking lately?
How's the discharge?

Jayme:
It's green and white and...

Dr. Lauren:
Green and mucoid? Yeah.

Does it kind of ebb and flow?

Meaning, like, does it,
when she runs around,

Does it kind of get worked up
more? You see it more?

Jayme: It does. It does.
Dr. Lauren: Okay.

Dr. Lauren: I'm not exactly sure
what's causing

This nasty, foul-odor discharge
from lady's nostril,

So, one thing that's important
is doing some therapy for her.

Maybe if it's a local infection

We can get the medication
to the site.

One of the things that,
you know,

Dr. Ray and I are talking about,

Is the possibility
of nebulizing her.

We'd actually have to have,

Like, kind of like a mask
over her face.

Jayme: Okay.

Dr. Lauren: And then we could
take some medication

So that she can breathe it,

And that local treatment
would help out a little bit.

A nebulizer is basically a way
to get medicine in the air,

So when they breathe it in,

It goes into
their respiratory system.

If you guys can work
with us on coming up

With just some type
of prototype,

And then we can start with
that behavior training.

Our patients come
in all shapes and sizes,

They can be literally
as small as a mouse

Or as large as an elephant.

We're constantly
macgyver-ing equipment,

Have to be innovative,
be creative

In efforts to get treatments
to our animals.

Jayme: I think the hardest part
will be her standing still.

Dr. Lauren: Still?

Jayme: 'cause she is
our feisty youngster.

Dr. Lauren: Yeah, she is feisty.

Jayme: She likes to play.

Dr. Lauren: The animals
here at the zoo,

They're like our children.

So we have to look at
each case holistically,

And in this instance, nebulizing
lady might provide some relief.

(chirping)

Danny: The inca terns
have been really going

In and out of that box,

And they've been eating
almost double the fish

That they've been eating.

Josh: Okay.

Danny: Our inca terns have been
really, really ravenous,

Eating a lot of fish,
a lot more than normal,

And they've been going
in and out of their nest boxes,

Which is a clear sign that they
might have something going on

In there, so, hopefully
we have some chicks from them.

It's our first time that
they've been successful

With laying eggs.

Fingers crossed
they have some babies.

Josh: Something good.

Danny: One of the boxes
has one egg

And the other box has two eggs.

Let's check the one box
with the one egg.

We actually use a selfie stick,

It's a lot less invasive
than us going up on a ladder,

And hopefully we have some
chicks at the end of this.

(birds chattering)

Josh: I know.

(chattering)

Let's see what's going on
inside your nest.

Danny: Ooh, they're being
super protective right now.

That's another good sign.
(laughs)

Josh: Do you see anything?

Danny: I see
a little fluff nugget.

(chattering)

Josh: Do you see anything?

Danny: I see
a little fluff nugget.

Josh: Yeah?

Oh, so cute!

Danny: That is
absolutely adorable.

Josh: Yeah.

Danny: So with the first box
we do have a chick,

It's our first chick
from that pair,

So we're super excited for them.

Fingers crossed for this one.

Josh: Alrighty.
You guys had two eggs.

Do you guys have two babies?
Can you see?

Danny: I can't really
see anything,

Can you move it to the right
a little bit?

Josh: Like that?

Danny: I see something.

I see two!

Josh: Two? Yeah?

Danny: I see two.

We checked the second box

And we do have two chicks
in that one as well.

Oh, they're moving
around all nice.

Josh: Alright, munchkins.

Danny: That's awesome.

Josh: That's so exciting!

Danny: Three chicks, so it's
a lot of mouths to feed,

Hopefully they can really
take care of them properly,

If not, we can always step in
and make sure,

But we're really
excited for them,

And first time
for the zoo as well.

Danny: Cool.
Josh: Can you see them?

Danny: Yeah, I'll show you
the picture that we grabbed.

So this is the second nest.

Josh: Okay.

Danny: There they are.

Josh: I see 'em, yeah.

Danny: It was really adorable
to see the two chicks

Actually cuddled up together.

Josh: (laughs) like the little
stripe on their head.

Danny: Yes.

Josh: And some
crushed up egg there.

Danny: Yeah.

Josh: Where it hatched out.

Danny: That's awesome.

Josh: They look nice
and good and fluffy.

Danny: This is
the best-case scenario.

It's always nice to come in
and hopefully have chicks,

But the fact that
we have three of them

Is like a super plus for us.

Josh: That's so exciting!

Danny: That's awesome.

They're adorable right now,

They look like little salt and
pepper fluff balls right now,

So, hopefully in the next
couple of months

We'll start seeing a little bit
more development from them

And they start growing up.

Super excited, three babies.

(pony grunts)

Jayme: Hi, lady, you ready?

(nickers)

Sue: I got the bucket.
Jayme: Awesome.

Jayme: So, lady's nose
smells really bad.

This right nostril here,
there's a lot of discharge,

Sometimes it's green,
sometimes it's white.

Today it's a little clearer,

But there is that foul odor
pretty much all the time.

It's like having
a really bad sinus infection.

We're modifying a bucket
to be the nebulizer.

We'll train her to hold
her face in the bucket

And then add the saline
afterwards.

Kind of like an asthma mask.

Sue: Are we friends?

Are we friends now?

We don't want any part of this
to be scary,

We want her to be comfortable
with all pieces and parts

So this becomes
a successful treatment.

(whistle tweets)

Good job, that was awesome.

Jayme:
That was really good, huh?

Sue: I can take the bucket
if you wanna play with her,

Since she did so good.

Jayme: Lady did an awesome job.

Sue: Yeah, you did.
Jayme: Did I find your spot?

Sue: You did.
Jayme: Oh, I found your spot.

Jayme: She's probably one of my
favorite ponies I've worked with

Because she's energetic and
she likes lots of scratches.

(laughs)

Sue: We can get her
some medicine,

Hopefully you'll feel better.

Will you feel better,
little friend? Yeah?

Jayme: Hopefully medicine
will help the issue

With the runny nose.

So, I radioed dr. Lauren to come
down so that we can show her

What we've been up to and start
the process of adding saline.

Dr. Lauren: Hello,
how is it going?

Sue: Hey, good, how are you?

Dr. Lauren: Good, good.
How's lady been?

Sue: She's been doing really
great with the training.

We're just getting ready.

Dr. Lauren: Okay.

Sue: Just getting a little bit
of saline in there.

Dr. Lauren: Perfect, okay.
(nebulizer whirring)

She looks like she's ready
to participate.

Sue: Yes.

Dr. Lauren: The treatment for
lady's problem might be surgical

And there's definitely a risk
associated with it.

One thing that's important
is trying to find

The underlying cause, but also
doing some therapy for her,

So that's why we're
doing some nebulizer

To stop that runny nose.

It's pretty amazing that
she'll tolerate that.

Jayme: There you go.

(nebulizer whirring)

Dr. Lauren: That's excellent.

What a good girl!

Lady, I've never seen you
so well behaved.

Aw, she says,
"more. More treats."

(laughs) you see her
upper lip come up?

Where's the apples?

I'm so excited to see
lady so focused,

I think that's just
the cutest thing.

So, the hope is that we can get
this behavior solidified

And get some medication
into that nebulizer

And resolve that runny nose.

Bye, lady, see you guys.

Jayme: Bye.

(growl)

Amanda: The asian gardens is one
of the older areas of the zoo.

It looks really lush,

And so the animals look like
they're out in the wild,

Where they're supposed to be.

We have two greater one-horned
rhinos, jamie and johnny.

Katelynn:
Oh, he's taking a bath.

Amanda: We have two sri lankan
sloth bears, ken and anne,

And they're silly and fun.

Katelynn: Do you wanna say hi?

Lets go this way!

You're so excited!

Amanda: And then we have two
malayan tigers, bzui and mata.

I think guests really enjoy
the asia section of the zoo

Because we have a lot of animals

That no one has ever heard of
or seen before.

We have malayan tapir, which no
one has any idea what they are,

And they look ridiculous.

And we have muntjac deer,
which usually zoos don't have.

Katelynn: Hi, guys!

Hmm, am I hungry?

Am I not hungry?

Amanda: We have three reeves'
muntjac from southern china.

They weigh like pounds.

Obviously they're super cute.
Have you seen them?

Each of the muntjac definitely
have a distinct personality.

Even though teagan's the male,

He tends to be
the most skittish.

Katelynn: Hi, teagan!

Amanda: He definitely lets the
girls investigate anything new.

Harriet is super friendly
with people,

But she can be
a little skittish as well.

Our third muntjac is amelia,
she's a treasure.

She is the best, bravest, most
curious out of all the muntjac.

Hi, little one.

Lately amelia has been having
some issues with her back legs,

Which is something we've been
monitoring for quite a while,

So she will be transported
to the animal clinic

For a health check today.

Dr. Lauren: I have a lot
of concerns about amelia,

Quite frankly.

She's had a long history
of medical issues.

Today I've got
even more concerns.

Her right back leg is very,
very swollen within the joint.

I think she's got a really nasty
infection in there.

It's been there for a long time

And we just have not been able
to clear it with medication.

Oh, and that feels so warm.

What I would like to do today
is get some x-rays

And kind of see how
extensive it is.

If it's an abscess, then
I'm gonna try to flush it out.

So, that's her chronic foot.

See all these bony projections

Kind of coming off all the edges
here, that's severely abnormal,

And part of that bone
is eroding.

Amanda: That's crazy.

Dr. Lauren: Yeah.

And then looking at
her right back leg,

The soft tissue surrounding it
is very inflamed.

It's been tough, because
it seems that, you know,

The moment we get one problem
under control,

She erupts with another one.

I'm afraid that we might be
at the end of our rope.

Dr. Lauren:
In her right back hock,

There's a huge abscess in there,

So I'm gonna try
to flush it out.

I'm not gonna dig too much
into this today.

My concern is that she's not
gonna be able to use

Either one of her back legs.

We've been working with amelia
for a good part of the year

For some of her medical issues.

And I'm noticing new problems,
and it's got me concerned,

Because, you know, this all
started off with one issue

And it's just kinda compounding.

I'm afraid that we might be
at the end of our rope.

Kaela: Are we pretty much
just delaying now?

Kaela: I don't want her
to be uncomfortable

Longer than she needs to be.

Dr. Lauren: Yeah. Yeah.

She's getting these abscesses
in multiple joints.

She's never gonna be normal.

Amanda: And she's only
gonna get worse.

Dr. Lauren: Yeah, I think so.

We have had her on
long-term antibiotics,

And the infection has spread
even more into the bone.

When we perceive an animal
is no longer having

A good quality of life,

We have to make the tough
decision with the staff.

Keepers see these animals
on a daily basis,

We have to come together.

It's a decision that
I feel very strongly

Needs to be made
by the entire group.

Amanda: The team is all on board
with her not suffering.

Dr. Lauren: Yeah.

I think the hardest part
of my job, absolutely,

Is the decision of euthanasia.

I think animals teach us
so much about death.

And although it's a really tough
decision to make,

Letting an animal go
that is in a lot of pain,

And in a lot of discomfort
is one of the kindest,

Most unselfish things
that you can do,

In spite of how difficult
it is for us.

Amanda: So we're just gonna get
a little hoof print.

(crying)
kind of a memorial to her.

It's something
we have to deal with.

We accept that responsibility
as zookeepers,

We come in knowing those things
are gonna happen.

Unfortunately sometimes
the animals who do have

Medical issues are the ones
that you get closest to.

♪ ♪

It's never easy
to lose an animal.

We need to give ourselves
time to mourn.

But we have a responsibility to
every other animal in our care.

So, I think that's what gets
most people through.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Dr. Lauren: Oh, my gosh,
I love it.

Dr. Ray: Ah, ah, hang on.

Jane: That was a good job,
twiggy, good girl.

How cute are you?

Collin: Very.
So give me the grapes.

(laughs)

Tiffany: Sully's great,
sully is very interactive,

He's very curious.

Melati is a little
more reserved.

So, at first,
melati and sully were off

To a little bit
of a rocky start,

They didn't seem to really care
about one another.

But, recently, we have seen
some mating behavior,

They've been hanging out
next to one another,

They've been doing
their swooshing sounds

And all of their mating rituals.

(swoosh)

So it's very exciting.

A change in their behavior
for sure.

Next steps will be
to watch the time frame,

And look for either her
to go through estrus again

Or have babies.

Jane: Come on, melati!

You're watching me, I see you.

Tiffany: We're excited
to have babies,

They have these really
cute, adorable faces.

When they're first born, they
like to hide under mom's fur.

One again melati has us waiting,
she's doing things on her terms,

But, however long it takes,

Having animals come
together and breed,

It's really great to be here
and be a part of that,

And we look forward
to little baby binturong.

(sniffing)

♪ ♪

Lisa: Walter!

Dr. Ray: Morning, guys.

Lisa: He's hiding far away.

Dr. Ray: Walter is hiding?
Of course he's hiding.

Molly: Do you see him?
He's straight out.

Dr. Ray: Oh, there he is.
Molly: Yeah.

Dr. Ray: How's he been doing?

Molly: Good, he's having like
good days and bad days.

Dr. Ray: Do you think the use
is changing on that foot?

Molly: When he's walking,
I think it,

He's putting more
pressure on it,

So it causes more discomfort.

Dr. Ray: Yeah.

Molly: Whereas when he's like
just playing and stuff,

He's not necessarily...

Dr. Ray: Doesn't bother him.

Molly: It's a different
pressure point potentially.

Dr. Ray: It just may
take him more time,

Like we've talked about,
you know, for that foot

To totally remodel so he can
bear some better weight on it.

Molly: Yeah.

Dr. Ray: I take a lot of pride
in the fact

That I've had a role
in walter's life.

This traumatic amputation
is very unique,

I've never dealt with this,

And we don't always know
what to expect long-term.

So, we're gonna watch him and
we're gonna do what he needs.

I wouldn't be surprised
as we go along

That the use of that foot
I think should get better,

And we saw on his x-rays, those
bones are starting to fuse,

And now he's gonna have
a solid, solid foot.

Molly: Okay.

Dr. Ray: It's gotta be
a great thing for him.

Molly: Yeah. Okay.

Dr. Ray: You see something
you don't like,

Just give us a shout.

Molly: Okay.
Dr. Ray: Cool, thank you, guys.

Molly: Thank you.
Lisa: Thanks.

Dr. Ray: See ya!

Walter's story is
not only a good story

That it has a good,
positive outcome,

But it's a great example
of the florida panther

And its struggle to survive.

All the zoo animals are
important ambassadors

To raise awareness
for what we do here.

It's about florida,
it's about animals,

It's about rescue, rehab.

And our job is to help
the ambassadors

Translate that story.

And there's a tremendous amount
of satisfaction

That comes from that.
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