Episode overview
In the fifth episode of the season, you’ll meet one very adorable wombat. From the moment he emerged from his mum’s pouch, Waru has held a special place in all of our hearts. Following the sad passing of his mum, he was adopted by two of Taronga’s keepers, and they have been devoted surrogate parents ever since. You’ll get to follow them at work and at home to see what it takes to raise a wombat joey. We’ll also pay a visit to the Taronga Wildlife Hospital as Waru undergoes a check-up and out vets discover that something isn’t quite right…
Also in this episode, you’ll meet Jimmy Sanders, a member of our Ungulate keeping team, who cares for the ‘hoofed’ animals at Taronga Zoo Sydney, including Giraffe and Bongo.
You’ll also travel to Taronga Western Plains Zoo Dubbo to meet a very expectant Bongo mother-to-be and her keepers as they anxiously await the new arrival.
Plus, you’ll meet Leslie, an Andean Condor that won’t fly! Join her keepers as they investigate what’s troubling this striking bird.
Air date - Saturday 14 March 2020 at 7pm on Channel 9.
An update on Waru
Episode five introduced the adorable wombat joey, Waru. Unfortunately, Waru sustained fractures in his back legs as a result of the condition diagnosed by out vets and he needed surgery. Since his operation, his keepers and surrogate parents Andrew and Suzie have been giving him lots of extra care and are working with a specialist physiotherapist from SASH, a small animal specialist hospital, to help get Waru back on his feet.
An update on Jabali
On Episode five you would have also seen the much celebrated birth of our beautiful Eastern Bongo calf, Jabali.
Sadly, in the past week, Jabali contracted an aggressive gastrointestinal infection and as a result his health deteriorated rapidly over the course of a few days. Despite the efforts of our veterinary team to treat this infection, it spread quickly throughout his body causing failure of multiple organs. The difficult decision was made to put Jabali to sleep to end his pain.
We are all saddened by the shock loss of Jabali. He had such a pleasant nature and our keepers enjoyed watching him interact with his older brother and parents.
