S1 • E1
Tatiana and Tonghua, Siberian tigers, are introduced to each other for the first time. Tatiana has never been introduced to a male before. Simon is a tamandua, a South American anteater. He's being moved into a new home because he wrecked the last pen he was in. Patsy is the matriarch of the zoo's African elephant herd. Lately she's been acting out of sorts. Today Barb Luciano, the young elephant keeper, has to get the crafty old matriarch to sit still for a blood test that could help the zoo figure out why she's not been herself.
S1 • E2
Today's a big day for the gorillas. Their old exhibit is being torn down in preparation for a new gorilla rainforest and they have to move into a temporary home. It will be up to the keepers, Vanessa Phelan and Dianne Devison, to convince them that their new home is safe -- and gorillas hate change. Now that the Siberian tigers, Tonghua and Tatiana, are acquainted, it is time to make tiger babies. Today Tatiana is in heat and Tonghua is re-introduced to her. The keepers must still be on alert just in case Tonghua, a very powerful 500 pound Siberian tiger, decides he would rather make war than love. Carter is a mandrill, a forest baboon. Poor Carter is stuck in the health centre because he is due to be shipped to the Detroit Zoo and has to be kept in quarantine until his papers come in from the U.S. government. For his keeper, Eric Cole, this poses a problem. How do you keep a bored primate busy?
S1 • E3
Karen Hamilton has transferred from the tigers to the birds of prey. Today she gets to work with Wambli, the bald eagle, for the first time. Wambli will need a lot of work to trust her new keeper and Karen will need a lot of time to trust Wambli. Today, they get acquainted. Patsy the elephant is still not behaving, and Barb Luciano, her keeper, decides it's time to go back to basics with their training. It's important to create a positive atmosphere between Patsy and Barb again. Charles, the zoo's biggest animal attraction and the patriarch of the gorillas, has been in a fight and has a very large canine hanging by a thread. The keepers are worried. This shouldn't happen to the dominant male. Is he sick? Is he getting old?
S1 • E4
The troubles with Patsy have come to a head. Patsy is refusing to come in at night and she's not letting any of the other elephants come in either. Barb Luciano, the young elephant keeper, has to solve the problem. Zoo vet, Dr. Graham Crawshaw, has been called to look at Charles the silverback gorilla. He will have to decide whether to operate on the great gorilla's tooth. He also must determine whether it is safe to put anesthetize Charles -- considering his weight and age. Today Karen Hamilton is taking the next step with Wambli, the bald eagle. Karen is weighing her -- and this requires a lot of delicate handling. It is the next step in building trust between the keeper and the animal.
S1 • E5
Today's the big day for Charles. He is having his operation and it is a huge production. Charles is too large to move to the health centre, so they build an operating room in the gorilla house and bring in a team of medical experts to operate on the ailing gorilla. Tahra Collins is a summer worker at the zoo who wants to eventually work here full-time. Today she is learning how to catch and weigh the Tasmanian devils. At the zoo summer camp a young camper named Eric has learned the mating call of the male Indian rhino. Today he will try it out on the female rhino Indira... with surprising results.
S1 • E6
Twiga, one of two adult female giraffes at the zoo, is about to give birth. When the keepers arrive in the morning, the dramatic delivery has already begun. Now all the keepers can do is wait and let nature take its course as they watch the drama unfold. Jaffar is normally a placid and friendly Bactrian camel. But today he has two problems: he has a scrape on his leg and is limping and worse, his least favorite people at the zoo are coming to see him, the vets. Jaffar is spitting mad and the vets are his target. It has been several days since Charles the gorilla had his operation. He has not only survived, but thrived. Today the keepers, Vanessa and Dianne, give the great silverback a shower -- and he in turn rewards them with a sparkling display of his good health.
S1 • E7
Today, Karen gets to work with Wambli in the birds of prey show on her own for the first time. Diane Morrison has passed the test that allows her to work with dangerous animals. Today she is introduced to the tigers. It is her job to feed and pen these majestic beasts. The baby giraffe is only one day old, and today Dr. Graham Crawshaw has to separate him from his mother so that he can give the baby his shots and take some blood. That's more difficult than it sounds when you're dealing with a baby that's over six feet tall.
S1 • E8
John Armstrong is the keeper for the Indian rhinos. Today, he is conducting a tour for a group of blind children. John loves to let these young children touch and play with his friendly rhinos. Lydia Attard is the zoo's bug keeper. She manages all the insects that are kept at the zoo, her special love being ants. Today, she is trying to breed tarantulas. A new litter of Arctic wolf pups have been born but they have been hiding from the vets. Today the keeper, Ken Greig, will try to lure them into a pen so that the vet, Dr. Graham Crawshaw, can give them their anti-worm medicine and shots.
S1 • E9
Hobo is the oldest wolf at the zoo and his health is failing. Dr. Graham Crawshaw and Hobo's keeper, Ken Greig, catch him up and bring him to the health centre for tests. Unfortunately, he has several large tumors, and a tough decision needs to be made - whether to put him down. Today Karen Hamilton has come to collect feces from Tatiana the Siberian tiger. The zoo will test the feces to see whether Tatiana is pregnant. Dave Rickwood, a reproductive technician, does the testing and with his supervisor, Dr. Karen Goodrow, they confirm that Tatiana is pregnant. The biggest snake in the zoo, a massive 200 pound reticulated python, is due for his regular weighing. Rick Vos and a team of keepers have to catch him up, box him and weigh him.
S1 • E10
It is not getting better for Patsy the African elephant. In fact it is getting worse. Today Barb Luciano, her young keeper, will try a new strategy to entice her into the elephant house. A trumpeter swan is acting crazy. It has flown to one of the zoo restaurants and is squawking at anyone who tries to enter the washroom area. Dianne Devison has to catch him and take him to the health centre to find out what's wrong with him. A one day old baby Tahr, a Himalayan mountain goat, needs his shots. The keepers have to catch him up and the vets have to give him a needle without upsetting the zoo visitors watching over the process.
S1 • E11
Garth, a huge soft shell turtle, is experiencing some medical problems. Garth has ballooned in weight and has developed gas bubbles under his shell. The zoo vets are called in to deal with Garth's girth. Indira and Patrick are the adult Indian rhinos. It has been more than two years since they mated and keeper John Armstrong is certain Indira is in heat. The trouble is, Patrick won't be coaxed by Indira. After many hours of foreplay, Patrick finally gets the message. The zoo summer campers are off on another adventure. Today they have made pinatas and filled them with food, t-shirts and brushes for the orangutans. They toss them to the orangs and then the fun begins, for the campers as well as the primates.
S1 • E12
Tatiana, the Siberian tiger, has given birth prematurely and the cub is in trouble. In an effort to bite the umbilical chord, the first time mother has bitten off the baby's hind leg. Keeper Ollie Claffey and the veterinary staff have no choice but to euthanize the cub. John Armstrong is taking Aasha, a super friendly hornbill, for a walk to meet the zoo visitors. Aasha lives in the health centre because she's blind. John and Aasha have a strong bond and John likes to take her out for an occasional walk. A young cheetah named Zoey is due for an exam. Heather Tomaso, the cheetah keeper, helps Dr. Graham Crawshaw sedate and work on Zoey. Cheetahs are extremely endangered and Zoey is part of an international breeding program to save the species.
S1 • E13
Three cheetahs have been cleared to move to zoos in the United States. This morning, Heather Tomaso enlists the help of half a dozen keepers to catch up and crate the big cats. The keepers from the Columbus Zoo are on hand to pick up the cheetahs -- but they have a deadline. All the work has to be done in 30 minutes. It's been a long hard summer for Patsy the elephant and Barb Luciano, her keeper. Today, Barb finally seems to get control. Patsy doesn't come in perfectly, but she does come in... and at last, obeys Barb. A red panda, Chao Nao, has been sick for close to a year and the zoo has been frustrated. Today Dr. Graham Crawshaw and his assistant, Cathy Shilton, get a pleasant surprise: Chao Nao is doing great and has a clean bill of health.
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