Bindi the Jungle Girl - Prince Rajah (2007)
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00:00From our beautiful endangered tigers living at Australia Zoo, to a mystery injury of a
00:11limping lion in Denver, Colorado, on this episode, we're entering the world of big cats.
00:24Welcome to my treehouse.
00:31Hi, Gazza.
00:36On this show, we're all about big cats.
00:54And when tiger cubs are born, they're nearly as big as this full-grown cat.
01:00When our first tigers arrived, they were eight weeks old and as cute as a button.
01:06It was the start of a new way to teach people all about tiger conservation.
01:12Australia Zoo is going to set a new example for the world where you can actually have a cat experience outside the enclosure.
01:20That's what we're going to do.
01:22Playing with a baby tiger is so much fun, and we will keep playing with them even when they are fully grown.
01:29It makes them feel happy to have people around them all the time, even outside their enclosure.
01:38It was my first time ever to feed a baby tiger.
01:41What a great time they're going to have in Australia Zoo's brand new tiger habitat.
01:50At Australia Zoo, we want to make sure that the big cats and the keepers get along with each other.
01:55Like you can see behind us, they really have a bond, and that's what we need.
02:00So they grow up together, really.
02:03Tigers and keepers stay together as a permanent team.
02:07So they've got Juma, one of the Sumatrans, out for a run, and I'm not sure who gets the most amount of fun.
02:14You know, here at Australia Zoo, it's all about loving on your animals.
02:18They get out of line what you put into them.
02:21Juma has come a long way since we saw him arrive.
02:24He's grown up now, but he still loves a cuddle.
02:28You can see the bond that the cats have with the keeper.
02:31They just love on each other.
02:33Lisa is a trainee big cat handler.
02:36She was lucky enough to arrive at the same time as our first little tiger cubs.
02:43Have a go at this.
02:45It's all about the bond that the big cat handlers have with their cats.
02:50You know, they've been best of mates since they were tiny little kittens,
02:55and they can get away with anything.
02:57They treat each other like brother and sister.
02:59It's beautiful.
03:00This is all a part of the daily routine.
03:02Bruce is getting in there, giving him a bit of rough house, just like you do with your cat at home.
03:07It's the same deal here.
03:09You just have a bit of a wrestle and a roll around,
03:11then they get into some more serious routine work.
03:15Crikey!
03:16Crikey!
03:17Crikey!
03:18Crikey!
03:19Did you know that white tigers are not albinos?
03:23They carry a special gene making them white Bengal tigers.
03:31Isn't this fantastic to put him on and off leash at their leisure?
03:35He's not bothered by it, and they work with the cat.
03:39So if Juma here wants to go for a walk and go somewhere, then that's quite okay.
03:44Did you notice how he focused on me then?
03:46That's why it's really good to have these guys standing here,
03:49because they're his friends and I'm kind of not.
03:52So they kind of run a little barrier so he doesn't get too carried away,
03:56doesn't get too excited about me being in here.
04:00The ability to take him on and off leash is fantastic.
04:03It means that people, visitors to Australia Zoo,
04:06can actually have a fantastic experience with these big cats.
04:11So what the big cat team's done here is they've put a scent onto a log,
04:16and it's a mixture of herbs and coffee and stuff that he's not used to,
04:20and he's going crazy on it, like catnip I guess.
04:23He's got his back legs going.
04:28He's like right into it.
04:31How come that gets him so stimulated?
04:33It's something that he's not used to.
04:35Enrichment's important for any animal, it really is.
04:38It keeps them stimulated, keeps their mind active.
04:41You can have a really healthy animal physically and keep them in a box,
04:45but then mentally they're out there and no one wants that,
04:49particularly the big cats.
04:51They need to be happy and healthy just like we do.
04:53We're always trying new adventures to keep life interesting.
04:57Have a go at the size of those claws.
05:01Have a go at this.
05:03Tigers love a bit of rough stuff and those teeth,
05:06they're fair dinkum, they're fully loaded, mate.
05:08Those teeth are huge, great big teeth.
05:11And the tiger knows just how much pressure it's putting on.
05:14These cats have been doing this since they were kittens,
05:17so they know exactly how much pressure they can or can't put on there,
05:21which is very important for the longevity of the cat and the keeper.
05:25You don't want them biting down too hard,
05:27so they set the standards when they're little kittens.
05:30As soon as our tigers get used to something,
05:33we give them a new toy or a game to play.
05:37When you're a tiger, it's all about toys, it really is.
05:40So Geoff's in there having a bit of fun with the toys.
05:43Watch this, they get really excited about toys.
05:46Have a go at that tongue, it's like sandpaper.
05:49And they use it, you know, to lick themselves, groom themselves
05:52and the handlers and their toys, of course.
05:55Great tongue, good for cleaning.
05:57These sock toys are great.
05:59The tigers always love it when they get a new one.
06:02But for real fun, how about a ball?
06:05This is a game that never gets boring.
06:07Come on, Geoff.
06:09In the wild, they would be hunting and moving all the time.
06:13We make up for that with games.
06:15The tigers end up getting the same exercise they get in the wild.
06:19Low-budget toys here at Australia Zoo, but they love them.
06:23Anything that rolls and moves captivates big cats.
06:26They always make their days different.
06:28We put scents on the ball.
06:30And sometimes we hide food inside.
06:33Isn't that great to see a...
06:36..rat something up and go in?
06:39That's exactly how they take a gill in the wild.
06:46Caitlin from Michigan has asked me what the biggest cat species is.
06:51Tigers are the biggest cats and they're great.
06:56Tigers are the only cat species that actually love the water
07:00and they can swim very well.
07:02They like to hunt in it.
07:04They use it to keep cool on a hot day.
07:06But most of all, tigers love to play in the water.
07:11The big cat's own private swimming pool
07:13is part of Australia Zoo's Tiger Temple.
07:17This amazing pool has see-through sides.
07:20It's designed to be fun for the tigers
07:23and easy viewing for the guests.
07:26That means visitors can watch everything,
07:29all the action above and below the surface.
07:37Tigers don't sweat like us to cool their bodies,
07:40so on a hot day they hang out in the shade.
07:43Or better still, they jump in and get wet.
07:49When tigers are nice and cool, they get really active and excited.
07:53They sometimes play rough, but they don't mean any harm.
07:56It's all a big game.
07:58And when you take a close look at their claws,
08:01it's just as well they're only playing.
08:04The tiger handlers come up with some great ideas
08:07to keep them interested,
08:09like wearing a bucket on their head just to see what happens.
08:14When people see our tigers,
08:16they can't help loving them just as much as we do.
08:19That makes them great ambassadors
08:21for the few remaining tigers in the wild.
08:24Tigers are critically endangered,
08:26so it's up to all of us to make sure
08:29we don't buy any tiger products or any other wildlife products.
08:35We have to stop destroying the habitat where they live.
08:38With so few living in the wild,
08:40it's important we do everything we can to save them.
08:44This is what the bond between tiger and handler is all about.
08:49If you're on the bottom of a tight puddle,
08:51it can be a struggle to get your head above the water.
08:56This action is just like your pet cat when it gets wet.
08:59They shake themselves dry exactly the same way as a tiger.
09:09Hi, Jeffa.
09:11My dad, the crocodile hunter, went to Colorado
09:14to help a poor lion named Shane who had a limp.
09:19Denver, Colorado, is the newest big city
09:22to the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Conservation Center.
09:25It's a private sanctuary for exotic animals
09:28rescued across the USA.
09:31The lions live in an open-range paddock in family groups.
09:35They play lots of games and have mock fights.
09:38These two are brothers, Shane and Samson,
09:41and inevitably they have to argue about who's a boss and who's not,
09:45and Samson bit Shane's paw,
09:47Those are normal little injuries that we get,
09:49but he must have dislodged a piece of bone or something.
09:51Pat Craig takes care of hundreds of animals
09:54in his wildlife sanctuary.
09:57They include lions, tigers, bears, jaguars and leopards.
10:01Pat does it for the love of animals,
10:03but he counts on donations just to keep going.
10:10My dad wanted to help this poor limping lion,
10:14so he is reviewing footage of Shane
10:16with some of the top vets at Colorado State University.
10:23Every second one goes wide.
10:25Wider though, doesn't it?
10:26One goes really wide, the other one goes a little less wide.
10:31Man, that's where I don't want to be,
10:33on the other side of that cow.
10:36And he drags it on the back of his paw, up front.
10:39When he's on his back, that leg is stiff up in the air.
10:43Dr. Pat and Dr. Carl are convinced
10:46the problem is not in the paw that Shane drags along the ground.
10:50See, yeah, that's a good example.
10:52He just pivots it at the shoulder.
10:55I don't know, I keep focusing back in on the elbow.
10:58I definitely am going to want to look closely.
11:00Shoulder or elbow.
11:02I think...
11:03We won't know until we get our hands on the animal.
11:06The sanctuary cannot afford the cost,
11:08so my dad and the CSU are going to cover
11:11the cost of the lion's medical treatment.
11:16Crikey!
11:17Crikey!
11:18Crikey!
11:19Crikey!
11:20Did you know that the South China tiger is the rarest in the world?
11:24No-one has seen one in the wild for over 20 years.
11:28It's a huge job trying to move a full-grown lion to a hospital
11:33when he doesn't even know we're trying to help him.
11:36Shane's leg draws attention to a terrible problem
11:39right across America.
11:41There are more than 20,000 big animals, like lions and tigers,
11:46being kept privately, sometimes in bad conditions.
11:55Shane was lucky enough to be rescued
11:57and he's getting some special medical care,
12:00but many animals are not so lucky and they need our help.
12:05It costs a lot of money for people like Pat Craig
12:09to feed and care for the animals like Shane.
12:14Sanctuaries also need our help
12:16so they can keep saving animals from the cruel places
12:20like backyard cages.
12:22Shane is in pain
12:24and he's meeting this vet for the very first time,
12:27but he's being very brave.
12:29See how he keeps his injured paw at the edge of the cage
12:33so she can check it out.
12:37When he walks, he can't put his foot down correctly
12:40and so he's rubbing the top of his foot
12:43and his nails and his foot have been worn so that it's bloody.
12:49Shane's skin is really thick
12:51so the vet has to jab hard with a needle on a stick
12:54to put him to sleep.
12:58OK, if we could put some manpower on either side of this cage.
13:01This is the first time ever
13:03that Shane has been put to sleep for medical attention.
13:06He seems even bigger
13:08when you look at how many people it takes to move him around.
13:15Shane is totally asleep for the operation.
13:18Up to now, no-one has ever been able to get close to his injured leg.
13:22Now they can actually touch and examine Shane's paw
13:26for the very first time.
13:29Way, way in the back.
13:31He's got a lot of changes around that nail bed.
13:35Yeah, see how that toenail's worn right now?
13:39He's also got...
13:41Just an erosion in his pad.
13:43And again, we kind of saw that on the video.
13:46Shane is feeling no pain
13:48so they check to see how far they can bend the damaged leg.
13:52He can flex his paw all the way up against his forearm.
13:56Here he's about 90 degrees.
13:58While he's asleep is the perfect time
14:01to give him his first ever complete medical check-up
14:04and there are other tests to check out the injured area.
14:09A powerful X-ray machine will scan his leg and shoulder.
14:13The pictures will show if Shane's bones are strong or weak.
14:21So we just got the camera placed over the area of interest.
14:23Right now we're looking at the shoulder.
14:25When surgery starts, they want to check every single thing
14:28that could be causing Shane's limp.
14:31On Shane's bone scan, we saw no signs of disease at all.
14:35In my opinion, the bone scan is within normal limits.
14:42Lions are really tigers with their stripes scared off.
14:47With the help of Colorado University,
14:50Shane was in the best of hands.
14:54This is an ultrasound machine.
14:56It gives us a great inside view of Shane's muscles.
15:00The ultrasound shows the part of Shane's leg that is normal
15:04and also the part where there's a problem.
15:07Now the vets know exactly where to do their surgery.
15:11They have shaved the fur so they can see his old bite marks
15:14and the vet discovers there are new injuries too.
15:20These are new wounds right here,
15:22so I think he's been fighting recently with somebody else.
15:25But apparently he's probably had some old injury here
15:28that probably started this whole fibrosis.
15:31It sure feels like it.
15:33The vets are working on a 10-day treatment
15:35for Shane's leg and shoulder.
15:37It sure feels like it.
15:39The vets are working on a tendon that never healed properly.
15:43This surgical work allows the leg to move further
15:46than it ever could before.
15:52The surgeon is putting on a spray-on bandage.
15:55It's great because it covers the wound
15:57so it stays clean and ready to heal.
15:59Now he's chrome-plated.
16:01At first, everyone thought it was an injured foot,
16:04but the problem was really further up his leg at the elbow.
16:08Look at the amount of movement we can get.
16:11Now he has so much more movement in his leg.
16:14On his elbow now that we've...
16:16Fingers crossed.
16:18Let's hope this means no more limping and a more normal life.
16:22In the wild, an injury like this would have been a tragedy.
16:25Radius there. When we started, we were about here.
16:29Now we can get quite a bit more flexion in that area,
16:32which is great.
16:34La-la-la, la-la-la-la-la!
16:37Thanks to the Colorado University team,
16:40Shane is now back with his pride.
16:42I love a happy ending.
16:44The very next day after the operation,
16:47and there's already a difference.
16:49Shane is finally out of pain.
16:51Woo-hoo!
16:53Hi, sweetie.
16:58Tigers are the largest cats in the world.
17:01Their camouflage makes them great hunters.
17:04Sadly, there's not many left.
17:06In India, the tiger is the prince of the jungle.
17:10Meow!
17:12Stepping slowly through the Indian jungle,
17:16there's a tiger called Prince Rajah.
17:19He makes all the animals humble.
17:22He's the biggest tiger by far.
17:25He's got one concern.
17:28He never really learned how to
17:32jump in water, leap in long grass,
17:35like a tiger should.
17:38Bounce on buffalo, bounce with butterflies,
17:42like he wishes he could.
17:45Bounce on buffalo, bounce with butterflies,
17:49like he wishes he could.
17:52In fact, it's quite bizarre.
17:55You're really not a tiger star,
17:58Prince Rajah.
18:05One day, a little green frog
18:08wandered way too close.
18:11Rajah trapped her under his paw,
18:14she said,
18:15Tiger, here's my solemn vow.
18:17If you let me go, I'll show you how to
18:21jump in water, leap in long grass,
18:24like a tiger should.
18:27Bounce on buffalo, bounce with butterflies,
18:31like you wish you could.
18:34I know it sounds bizarre,
18:36but I'll make you a tiger star,
18:39Prince Rajah.
18:45It's a secret they both keep,
18:49how Rajah learned to leap,
18:52watch him.
18:53Jump in water, leap in long grass,
18:56like a tiger should.
18:59Bounce on buffalo, bounce with butterflies,
19:02like he knew he could.
19:05No matter who you are,
19:08you're never gonna jump as far as
19:11Prince Rajah,
19:15Bindi's Jungle Girl.
19:18Isn't this tiger skull beautiful?
19:20It's an artificial tiger skull,
19:22which means it's not real.
19:24And they've got these really, really sharp teeth at the front,
19:28that's for killing their prey.
19:31And then on the back,
19:32they're designed for crushing bone,
19:35hair, flesh or skin,
19:37anything like that.
19:38Tigers are really amazing.
19:42We, the Irwin family,
19:46have always been into conservation.
19:48It's what makes us tick.
19:50So when we get surrounded by these really ugly products,
19:53these dead animal products,
19:54we get pretty upset.
19:56Have a go at this beautiful leopard,
19:58that's virtually been skinned with its head on,
20:01so as someone could put it on the lounge room floor for a trophy.
20:04And all these products, these tiger bone products,
20:07and claws that you can wear as a necklace,
20:09we find them absolutely disgusting.
20:11And everybody can help, even kids,
20:14because all of this,
20:16the crushed up bones of tigers,
20:18and they've skinned the tigers just so you can put them on the lounge,
20:22or anything like that.
20:24All of these things look much better on the tiger.
20:28And I think that these are just cruel.
20:31Animals have to die a thousand deaths
20:34just so you can get your claw of a tiger.
20:37And wear it as a necklace.
20:39So, as Bindi said,
20:41every single person in the world
20:43can make a difference with wildlife conservation,
20:45just don't buy these products.
20:47Yes.
20:53They're probably the best hunters in the animal kingdom,
20:57but when it comes to milk,
20:59tigers are just big pussycats.
21:02Our tigers will do anything for a drink of milk.
21:05They love it.
21:07Rise.
21:09Good boy.
21:11That's good.
21:13That's real good.
21:15This is part of our regular enrichment program,
21:18and my dad is loving it as much as the cat.
21:31The tigers learn to rise on command.
21:33Standing on his back legs is something he does naturally.
21:37Good boy.
21:39Bindi!
21:43Lions and tigers, the biggest of all the big cats.
21:47You might not get to see them in the wild,
21:50so checking out big cats in a wildlife sanctuary is awesome.
21:54We'll see you next time for more Fun in the Jungle.
21:58Bindi the Jungle Girl