Episode 5

Chimpanzees are social animals that live in communities of 5-50 chimps.

Episode 5

Sub-Antarctic Fur Seals

Click here for Photos and Keeper profiles.

Unusually, three of these beautiful seals that normally live on the cold Southern Ocean and haul up at Macquarie Island were swept away in wild storms and eventually found washed up on NSW beaches. Zoo staff worked devotedly to try to save the seals, but they were severely malnourished and had been wounded by shark attacks.

One of the seals, 'Miles' (so-named for the thousands of miles he must have swum) was able to be saved. He recovered beautifully and was offered a new home at the Sydney Aquarium. Under Antarctic treaties, animals like Miles cannot be returned to the Antarctic due to the possibility that they could carry diseases to the vulnerable wild populations. Sun-Antarctic Fur Seals are listed as Vulnerable in the wild.

Fennec Fox baby, 'Tziga'

The Fennec Fox kit "Tziga' was successfully hand-reared by his keeper, Deb Olsen, who spent many nights waking to an alarm to give him his nightly feeds. Once he was healthy and mobile, he was very gradually re-introduced back to his parents. This was done through gradually increasing his sensory contact with them, through smell, sound and finally visual and physical contact. Keepers remained on-hand throughout the many stages of the re-introduction to make sure that Tziga and his parents Tokar and Libya would form a harmonious family unit. Tziga now lives full-time with his family.

Jimyu Giraffe comes to Town

The 18 month old Giraffe Jimyu made the transition from country to city with ease. After travelling from Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, Jimyu's crate was carefully moved from the truck and he was put in a giraffe night house to settle in and take in his new surrounds. Keepers initially kept Taronga's four resident female Giraffes separate from Jimyu in order to carefully assess their reactions and how Jimyu responded to his changing circumstances.

The females all craned their necks over the fence line, taking a keen interest in the new addition. Eventually keepers were confident that all would be well and the females were able to greet Jimyu with wet licks to his face. Jimyu has settled in beautifully and socialises with all the females. Andara, a female relative is particularly fond of him.

Powerful Owl released into the night.

After five months of intensive care and rehabilitation, Loretta the Powerful Owl was finally healthy to be returned to the wild.

Powerful Owls are listed as Endangered and when Loretta was first brought to the zoo's Wildlife Clinic as a downy chick, she needed close veterinary supervision. Without this care, she would have died in the wild as she was found as a very young chick on the ground, unable to fly or defend herself.

The zoo's Veterinary Hospital Manager Libby Hall spent months nursing her and eventually made the decision that Loretta had fully fledged and was strong and healthy to be released back into the national park where she'd originally been found. Loretta immediately took to the air and landed high in a eucalypt tree. Filming of her release was undertaken entirely using infrared cameras so that her night vision would not be affected by bright lights.