The Crocodile Hunter Diaries - Final Entry (2004)
Season 3 (2003-2004)
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00In this episode of Croc Diaries, a year of milestones as Bindi meets baby Bok.
00:06My lifelong goal to meet a great white shark.
00:11And the final entry for my best mate Sue.
00:30Animal life, it's easy to see.
00:33You bring out the animal inside of me.
00:37It's animal life and I've been waiting to get back to nature here at Australia Zoo.
00:45Woo! Crikey, what a year! It's been stacked full of firsts.
00:50We've got little baby Bob, we've got some great croc stuff,
00:53we've got some new animals coming from Africa,
00:56and I get to go one-on-one with the greatest fish in the ocean.
01:00It's so exciting for Bindi when she officially joins our international crocodile rescue team.
01:06What a year it's been for Bindi, growing up fast with crocs and snakes in the wild,
01:12putting up with the hardship in remote tropical north of Australia,
01:16becoming savvy about big gnarly saltwater crocodiles,
01:19learning about survival in the bush,
01:22and keeping safe in the face of danger.
01:26And at all times, we keep her well out of harm's way,
01:31with all of my team watching out for every move she makes.
01:35There's a girl.
01:39Keep going mate, that's going great.
01:41She's a real daddy's girl, my girl, and she helps everywhere she can.
01:46My best assistant ever, and Bindi really loves her crocs.
01:52She's a genuine help to me and a helper for the crocs,
01:55putting on antiseptic to treat the minor abrasions that they get when they thrash around.
02:01There's nothing like seeing my very own daughter inherit the passion and the love that's driven my entire life.
02:10This is just how I started, watching and learning right at my dad's side,
02:16helping out where I could and feeling so proud that I was out there with my dad
02:22catching some of the most dangerous animals on earth.
02:28There's my girl. Oh, you've got a few teeth stuck there.
02:33Ready, go.
02:35Okay, hold.
02:39And you don't have to talk to her too, just keep her comfortable.
02:42You alright?
02:43Yep.
02:44Historical moments, a big year, a milestone.
03:01That's my daddy alright.
03:06One of the biggest highlights for myself and Bindi
03:09is her first crocodile education seminar at a remote school in far north Queensland,
03:16talking to all the other kids.
03:20It's an impressive arrival at the school.
03:22Me, Terry and Bindi turning up in style, and the kids are right into it.
03:35Struth, what a welcome.
03:39Hello.
03:46The big moment and Bindi's ready for it.
03:49Her first educational demo.
03:52Daddy's at the weeper school.
03:54Bindi's been handling reptiles since she was a baby.
03:57Her first pet was a snake, but the reason she's showing off this little tacker
04:01is an important safety message.
04:05Should you ever pick up a snake?
04:09No.
04:11We're going to do a snake bite demonstration, so I pick, I pick you.
04:19What's your name?
04:20Shelby.
04:21Shelby, that's a very nice name.
04:24So let's pretend that the snake picked Shelby on the arm, okay?
04:28And Bindi's going to put a pressure bandage on her.
04:31Now the pressure bandage stops the venom from going through her body.
04:37So you put that pressure bandage all the way up the limb, wherever you were bitten,
04:41even if it's clothing wrapped around the limb,
04:44and then you're going to get to hospital and be just fine.
04:47Being way out in the outback, these kids are certain to come in contact with venomous snakes.
04:53But thanks to Bindi, they'll never forget how to save a life with a pressure bandage.
05:00We're also explaining our research project with satellite trackers on big salties,
05:05a great opportunity for Bindi to show the kids what a crocodile actually feels like.
05:12It's a total blowout for them to reach out and touch a big croc.
05:18The more they know about this powerful animal, the safer they'll be living in crocodile territory.
05:26And the more understanding these kids develop, the better it's going to be for the crocs as well.
05:34Have a go at this, the Crocoseum, where I can fit nearly 6,000 people in to see our crocodile shows.
05:43Well, now I'm going to take them to a new and exciting level.
05:47All of the crocs are hitting hard and fast, but I want to get them to death row.
05:52And it's not going to come easy. I'm going to have to go in, present myself as a food source,
05:57give them a large chunk that they'll hold in their mouth and get them into a violent action called the death row.
06:03You know what, let's start with the wildest sealers in Australia.
06:08Have a look at these little rippers.
06:13This is my beautiful girl Bindi and my lovely wife Terry.
06:19Bindi's finally stepped up to calling the show as we see the crocs come out through the canals on the Crocoseum big screen.
06:27We call it the lovely canal because if he gets hold of you, he's going to love to eat you.
06:37Is Aki full grown yet?
06:39No.
06:40No, they get bigger, don't they?
06:43Is Aki full grown yet?
06:45No.
06:46No, they get bigger, don't they?
06:48Way, way, way bigger.
06:51A crocodile death roll is the most powerful, frightening animal weapon I've ever seen.
06:57They death roll to rip into their prey and kill it quickly.
07:04I reckon he's just about ready.
07:09I'm trying to convince him that I'm his target.
07:11I want to interest him in a large chunk of food that will get him all fired up enough to show the audience the mighty death roll.
07:19So what I'm going to try here is mimicking nature.
07:22This is my big animal that's going to go down to the water, have a drink, he'll come, ambush, kill, death roll, destroy it and then take it back to his girl.
07:32Righto, he's seen me in the water and he's fully fired up.
07:36I've got a whole leg of meat ready to go.
07:42Come on, big boy.
07:44The trick is to keep hold of the rope while I make him fight for the most powerful animal action on earth.
07:54Yes, have a go at that.
07:56A classic death roll.
07:58And if I keep holding on, he should do it again.
08:02He's still going like the clappers.
08:05My method is working perfectly.
08:08A milestone for our croc demos and an awe-inspiring display of their sheer strength, speed and tenacity.
08:17Perk for the visitors of Australia Zoo.
08:20Have a go at that power.
08:23He's done extremely well.
08:25And I reckon he deserves a win after such a huge fight.
08:29But can I tempt him to drop the food and go for something bigger?
08:34The thought did occur to him, but nah, he's happy with his leg of meat.
08:40He's fully locked onto that and there's no way he's giving it up, so good luck to him.
08:48How's that do?
08:50That's quite a substantial feed for a salty.
08:53Probably keep him going for a week.
08:59Now when you're out shopping for baby wear, it's pretty obvious that you're expecting.
09:04But when I broke the news to Steve about our second pregnancy, I was a little bit more subtle.
09:10How long will it take Steve to work out the secret message?
09:14To most people, pickles and ice cream mean just one thing.
09:17I don't know why, I just have this craving.
09:19The cogs are turning, the brain's engaged and I think he's got it.
09:24Woohoo!
09:25Hey, I've finally done it.
09:27Congratulate me, mate, first.
09:29Unreal.
09:30You are eating ice cream.
09:32And pickles.
09:34Hello.
09:35Grammy, I'm so proud of you.
09:37I'm so proud of you.
09:40And pickles.
09:42Hello.
09:43Grammy, it's Steve.
09:46Well, well, well.
09:48How are you?
09:49Well, you wouldn't believe what just happened.
09:53What happened?
09:54You know that information you sent Terry about getting pregnant?
09:57Yeah.
09:58It worked.
09:59You're kidding.
10:00I'm serious, mate.
10:01She's sitting here eating ice cream right now.
10:03And pickles.
10:04Oh, hey.
10:05Hey, Dad.
10:06Where did you go?
10:07I've got news.
10:08This morning she's eating ice cream.
10:10And pickles.
10:11Do you know what I mean?
10:12I know what you mean.
10:13It's like, woohoo, Dad.
10:15So who's he going to tell next?
10:16The whole world, of course.
10:22So here's Graham.
10:24Now, he has got a pretty big record.
10:26He grabbed me on the hand, tried to pull me back into the water and kill me.
10:30He also grabbed me best mate Wes's bottom.
10:33No.
10:35Hey, how's this?
10:37How's this?
10:38How's this?
10:39Speaking of which, Terry's pregnant.
10:45And when there's a traditional girls only baby shower, who's going to crash the party?
10:50Steve, of course.
10:59Girls only, it's my office.
11:02And you're in my chair.
11:05Stephen, would you like to choose a baby present?
11:22Baby shower food.
11:23So is it a boy or a girl?
11:25Thelma's trying the old husband's tail with the wedding ring.
11:29It's not going around.
11:30It's different when the ring goes around.
11:32It went around.
11:33It went around with Bindi's.
11:35Backwards and forwards.
11:37No, you can't do it though, honey.
11:39Will it rotate or swing back and forth?
11:42Now it's a boy.
11:44How do you know?
11:45I'm not just going to fudge it.
11:46And what does Bindi think?
11:48See this belly?
11:50He said it's going to get bigger.
11:54It can't possibly.
11:57It can possibly.
11:58He said it's going to get bigger.
12:02And brace yourself.
12:04You and I are going to have to stick together.
12:06Do you know why?
12:07Why?
12:08He thinks it might be a boy.
12:14Oh, great.
12:16What do you think?
12:17I don't want a boy.
12:19Shall we dress him in little dresses if he's a boy?
12:21Yeah, and give him lipstick and eye powder and blush.
12:29And give him a pink room with Barbie dolls and seahorses.
12:34Okay, deal.
12:35And we can give him Barbie dolls.
12:37You know what?
12:38That'll do to Daddy.
12:39What?
12:40It'll kill him.
12:41Uh-huh.
12:42Anxiety attack.
12:43Bindi has got to meet Bob.
12:44I've got to pick her up from school.
12:45Wait right here.
12:46It's all happened, and Bindi's the first to know.
12:51I've got some news.
12:52Yeah?
12:53We're not really going home.
12:55Do you know where we're going?
12:56Where?
12:57We're going to the hospital.
12:58Do you know why?
12:59Why?
13:00Mommy just had a baby.
13:02Really?
13:03Yeah.
13:04She's had a little baby boy, and his name's Robert Clarence Irwin.
13:09And he's only that big.
13:11Has she already had a baby?
13:13Yeah, she's come out.
13:15Wow.
13:16I'm more excited than Mommy and you.
13:19I can believe that.
13:21The birth of Robert Clarence Irwin, named after Steve's dad and my dad,
13:27is one of the most important highlights of our entire lives.
13:31It's the biggest milestone of the year for all of us at the zoo,
13:35and especially my family.
13:37Bindi's just taking everything in her stride as she adjusts to a baby brother.
13:41How do you know it's a boy?
13:43Because he's got a thing out.
13:45Did you check?
13:47They're not born with clothes on, Bindi.
13:50How come?
13:53How long are you going to sleep for?
13:56I think by the way he is, I'll call him Brian.
14:01His name's Robert.
14:03But I'll call him Brian for short.
14:05Okay.
14:06Could life ever be more perfect than this magical, heart-filling moment?
14:12It's like the whole reason you've been put on Earth is to do this.
14:16It's what it seems like.
14:19Time to spread the news, but word has gone ahead of us.
14:22Here he comes.
14:27Hey, he's going.
14:29Good on you, bud.
14:31A boy!
14:33He's so perfect, it's scary.
14:36Congratulations, Dad.
14:39That is so cool.
14:44Only a parent can understand the emotion,
14:47and now it's time for Baby Bob's very first magazine photoshoot
14:51to announce his arrival to the rest of the world.
14:59What's the best thing about being a big sister?
15:02Hello. Good on you, mate.
15:05Good luck. Come forward.
15:15First public appearance outside the hospital,
15:18and Robert Clarence is meeting all the staff of Australia Zoo,
15:22the people who make up our extended family.
15:26Have a look at this little beauty.
15:31A new teacher director of the season.
15:35Isn't he a little beauty?
15:43It's all right, Bob. It's all right.
15:46When Bindi sings, he just stops whinging.
15:52Mostly.
16:01Talk about a year of highs and lows,
16:03and you've got to take the good with the bad.
16:06And unfortunately, animals suffer from old age just like us humans do,
16:11and we have pretty similar ailments,
16:13and our good mate Darcy is going through it.
16:16The poor old guy's in a really bad way.
16:21Darcy's collapse came on suddenly.
16:23He hasn't been eating, and koalas get almost all their moisture from food,
16:28so he's also severely dehydrated.
16:32We all know it's serious when a koala just stops eating for no apparent reason
16:37and suddenly loses weight.
16:39But exactly what's wrong is a mystery.
16:42Dr. Debbie suspects an inflammation of the abdominal sac,
16:46but it could be any number of other things, including a blockage.
16:50A set of x-rays will show us what's going on with Darcy's digestive system
16:55and whether there's something there that shouldn't be.
16:57While we're waiting for results, Dr. Debbie prepares his leg to insert a saline drip.
17:03We've got to get some fluid back into his system to help revive him.
17:07The immediate threat is dying of dehydration.
17:13The tests reveal the worst possible news about Darcy's condition,
17:18and the final diagnosis is cancer.
17:22The drip has revived him enough so he can eat his gum leaves.
17:26Usually that's a sign of recovery, but it's a type of cancer that's untreatable.
17:31All we can do is work on the symptoms and make him as comfortable as we can.
17:36Darcy is one of our oldest friends at the zoo,
17:39but sadly he passed away a few weeks later.
17:46Have a go at this, Sumatran tiger.
17:49Here is the start of our big catch at Australia Zoo.
17:54Next stop is going to be Africa, where we get into cheaters.
17:58You're a good boy not killing Steve, eh?
18:02I'm flying across the Indian Ocean to Cape Town in South Africa
18:06to hook up with one of the most threatened species in the world
18:09and arrange to bring him back to Australia Zoo for our part in a worldwide breeding program.
18:20The DeWilp Cheater Centre is a miracle of conservation,
18:23bringing back some of the world's most threatened species from the brink of extinction,
18:28including the African wild dog.
18:31Have a go at these blokes.
18:33The wild dog, or Cape hunting dog, is one of South Africa's most endangered mammal species.
18:40DeWilt is desperately trying to breed them up.
18:43They'll replenish wild populations back in the bush where they belong.
18:47For so many years, African farmers saw wild dogs as a threat to livestock
18:52and systematically exterminated them,
18:55and today you hardly ever see them, even in the national parks.
19:00The centre's done amazing work breeding wild dogs,
19:04which includes duplicating their underground dens where their mothers give birth to their pups.
19:10It's huge.
19:16Really big.
19:18Wild dogs are incredibly tense and highly strung,
19:21and this is a typical family pack.
19:24They can vary from five to 40 members,
19:27and there's a very strict hierarchy in the wild,
19:30and they all look after each other just like a human family does.
19:42The biggest bird in the world, the ostrich.
19:45Incredibly fast runners, but no match for the animal that made the DeWilt Centre famous.
19:51And there he is, the African cheetah,
19:54a big cat who can sprint after their prey at an amazing 70 miles an hour.
20:01Crikey, that's fast.
20:03These magnificent cats were born and raised in captivity.
20:07They're not tame, but they're very used to humans,
20:10even though they don't seem to like us much.
20:14There it is, there's that typical, there's my teeth.
20:17Spit snarl.
20:19You know, I'll bite you if you come too close.
20:25These big cats are slowly creeping back in numbers from the verge of extinction
20:31thanks to the superb work done right here by these highly dedicated people.
20:37When the captive red cheetahs are passed through the cub stage,
20:40they're rounded up a few at a time.
20:43No, other way, buddy, other way, other way.
20:45Keep coming.
20:46I'm herding them into holding pens so they can be put into specially designed transport boxes.
20:53Stand up here, stand up here.
20:57There's my boy.
21:02Wow, how easy is that for capture?
21:04Cheetahs are moved all around for breeding purposes to keep diversity in the gene pool.
21:10Some of them go to other parts of the De Wilt Centre looking for compatible partners,
21:15and some get shipped to other breeding programs elsewhere in Africa,
21:20and eventually two of them are coming to us at Australia Zoo.
21:24What a milestone this is going to be.
21:27Some cubs have got to be hand raised, and they're the ones that go to other zoos.
21:32The red container is just a water bottle, and a quick squirt makes them step back.
21:37It works on pet cats too.
21:42Six hundred cheetahs have now been born at the De Wilt Centre.
21:46What an achievement, especially considering the numbers in the wild were once down to just 700 animals.
21:59You'll need that tail, mate.
22:01It's about half the length of the entire body, and they use it as a counterbalance
22:06so they can make sharp turns at high speeds.
22:09The whole species was almost wiped out because of their eating habits.
22:14They only eat fresh meat.
22:16When a cheetah kills a cow or a sheep, it has a few good feeds,
22:20then leaves the rest and makes another kill a few days later.
22:24That's why farmers absolutely despised them and hunted them to the verge of extinction.
22:30Cheetah outreach is a place that really hits my heart.
22:34A way to develop a new understanding of one of the world's most remarkable animals.
22:39A hand raised cheetah is a great big pussy cat.
22:43Not in the slightest bit worried about being patted by me and Big Cat Bruce from Australia Zoo.
22:50The centre is owned and run by Anne Van Dyke.
22:53They're tight in there. They're just cut.
22:57Whereas I think the tiger's quite proud of being beefy and having a bit of excess skin and stuff happening,
23:03these guys are tight.
23:05These are the athletes of the cat world.
23:07They don't want to fight. They don't want to aggressively attack.
23:10They're non-aggressive. They prefer to run.
23:13So it's not like you're going to be with your back to him and he's going to go for you.
23:16You're going to have to have really hurt him or made him anxious or stressed out for him to do anything.
23:21A two year old is a big cheetah but he's still playful.
23:24So we teach them from very young they're not allowed to play with us.
23:28A lot of the other big cats are aggressive.
23:31You don't necessarily know what you've done wrong and they will protect themselves.
23:35They're more likely to attack than a cheetah is.
23:37Cheetahs are more likely to try and back off, intimidate first, walk away.
23:40They're very easy to see when their attitude is changing, when something's scaring them.
23:44You remove that up, they'll sit all right back down.
23:47And we'll hand raise these cheetahs if they're orphaned or neglected.
23:51And then the world's fastest land animal has to be trained to hunt in order to survive in the wild.
23:58Have a go at that for speed.
24:02Time to meet the cubs and a taste of what's in store for us back at Australia Zoo.
24:08Drop dead gorgeous.
24:11Young cheetahs in the wild get to play all day long learning their basic skills.
24:16I'm going to get it. I'm going to take that ball.
24:19They tame as few cubs as possible at the DeWilt Centre
24:23because a hand raised tame cheetah can never be released to the wild.
24:28Other big cats can regain their wild nature.
24:31But cheetahs, they lose their fear of humans forever.
24:35So instead of running away, a fully grown tame cheetah would run straight up to a human.
24:41And that could mean a bullet.
24:48They keep about 60 or 70 cheetahs at the centre as a core breeding group
24:53while the rest of them go back out into the wild or into captive breeding programs.
24:59While these little tackers are developing the ability to hunt,
25:02they're also sending a vital message to the world
25:05through the visitors who come to see and interact with them here at the cheetah outreach.
25:13If anything can get wildlife into people's hearts, it's these little blighters.
25:20Imagine how our visitors at Australia Zoo are going to feel when they get to go one-on-one with a cheetah.
25:29Up until recently, breeding cheetahs in captivity has been a bit of a mystery,
25:34but they've solved it at DeWilt.
25:37It's all about the timing when they introduce the males to the females.
25:41The aim of hand raising cubs is to send them around the world
25:45to create a gene pool in different continents as a backup population for Africa.
25:52Bruce and I are absorbing every detail, all their habits, how they live and how they like to play and what makes them happy.
26:01At Australia Zoo, we're getting two male cheetahs from Africa
26:05and two female cheetahs from another zoo in Australia.
26:09That's two different gene sources.
26:12I've been dealing with hard-hitting predators all my life.
26:16I've been going one-on-one with saltwater crocs since I was a small boy
26:20and you don't want to make mistakes around them.
26:22Well, I'm going to go and live out one of my dreams with another hard-hitting predator over the ocean,
26:28the great white shark. Time to move.
26:32Since I'm already in South Africa checking out the wildlife,
26:35I'm going to head over to Australia Zoo.
26:39Since I'm already in South Africa checking out the cheetahs,
26:42I can't pass up the opportunity to achieve one of my own personal milestones.
26:48I'm catching up with a bloke who's devoted his entire life to the great white shark
26:54and that is the legendary Andre Hartman.
26:58Looks like you've seen some action.
27:00Oh, yes. It's an old friend.
27:02Not too old, I hope. My life's going to depend on its strength.
27:09Andre knows more about these predators of the deep than any man alive.
27:13He knows their behaviour, their temperament, their habits, their habitat.
27:17He's got the biggest admiration for their qualities and a healthy respect for their capabilities.
27:25Yummy. Yeah, good smell. Yeah.
27:28The floating shape imitates the shadow of a seal, the main diet of these local great whites.
27:35They just can't resist a closer look and the food source is fish offal from the local fish market.
27:44Great whites love the stuff, but it doesn't seem to get them overexcited.
27:49Andre's got the knack of feeding them without getting them into a frenzy.
27:53You never know if a shark's going to turn up at all,
27:56but Andre, he's got the magic touch and the seabirds are the first to notice.
28:02No splash, no fuss, just a silent probe.
28:06You tease the birds and the birds just stimulated the shark to come straight up.
28:14Woo, that's incredible.
28:23Andre's a total legend and you're about to see why.
28:27Wow, she's just awesome.
28:30How's the big rates? That's the top teeth of a male shark.
28:34Grabbed her on the top of the head and grabbed hold of her, trying to mate with her.
28:38Yeah, look at this.
28:42Like that.
28:44Who else could do this and make it look simple?
28:47It's not.
28:49Talk about teeth, how they go at the size of them.
28:54The thing that is most outstanding here
28:58is that every single shark is an individual, has different traits.
29:03This female with the big teeth breaks on her head is so quiet.
29:08What a placid girl, quiet enough for me to gently hand feed.
29:14And she does.
29:16Does this bloke know his stuff or what?
29:19Yeah.
29:24Woo.
29:27The sharks are now in full hunting mode.
29:30Not a frenzy, just methodical feeding.
29:33Totally natural behaviour whenever lunch happens to turn up.
29:37OK, here it is, the milestone I've wanted to accomplish for so long.
29:43Head to head in the water with the greatest of great, the great white shark.
29:50This is so typical of a great white shark attack pattern on a floating target,
29:55rising from below and crashing out of the water as they hit their prey.
30:10What a privilege, what an honour, meeting these monarchs of the sea in their territory.
30:17Under the water, so I can see every detail of their beautiful grace and unlimited power.
30:24Here's the girl I hand feed on the surface.
30:28And whoa, she rattles my cage for another feed.
30:35I'm getting some underwater footage of this mind-blowing scene
30:39and one of them seems to like my camera.
30:42What an adrenaline rush.
30:44They're determined to get whatever food's on offer, but it's systematic.
30:49Still no sign of a feeding frenzy.
30:52The great white is officially a threatened species.
30:56No one really knows how badly they've been hit by overfishing,
31:00but I've got to tell you, they're in a world of trouble.
31:03So they're now protected by law here in South Africa,
31:07at home in Australia and the United States of America.
31:15Great white sharks have been known to kill people,
31:19but quite often they've mistaken people for seals
31:23and they usually test the food source with a bite, which can be deadly.
31:28It's coming straight at me again
31:31and this one's big enough to swallow the entire camera in a single bite.
31:37Crikey, I think I saw all the way through to the other end that time.
31:43Andre's placing the food right next to the cage
31:46so I can see their behaviour close up
31:49and capture some of the most amazing scenes.
31:52They still call them great whites, but it's only the belly that's white.
31:57The back is always grey.
32:00Perfect for camouflage, silent ambush strikes on their prey.
32:13It doesn't get much closer than this.
32:16Its snout came right through the observation slit.
32:20Whoo, those razor sharp teeth were only inches from my dial.
32:25Whoo, what a buzz.
32:27And the cameraman, well, he's almost sharing the entire cage
32:31with a massive head that carries 3,000 serrated teeth up to three inches long.
32:40Rows and rows of them rotating into place every time that front one breaks off.
32:46Andre's run out of food, so the sharks are calmly gliding away
32:51to silently patrol the South African coastal waters for their regular prey.
32:57And it's time for me to head back to Australia Zoo.
33:02My little brindled dog, Sui, has been my most loyal companion.
33:08She's had a great long life, but things are starting to catch up with her.
33:13You know, she's been through the ringer.
33:15She's seen a lot of action hanging around with me since she was this big.
33:20And you know, a few years back she was even diagnosed with cancer.
33:24Well, things are starting to catch up with my best friend.
33:28Sui's had her ups and downs, but she's always pulled through.
33:32She's part of the family, a real little fighter right to the end.
33:36Oh, come on, Sui.
33:38You're talking about like at 4 o'clock she pulled the thing out of her wrist.
33:41She ripped the nose thing out.
33:44Oh, really?
33:45I think everything wore off.
33:48We were going to take that out today anyway, so that's okay.
33:51And do you think she's comfortable now, or do you think she's got a bit of pain?
33:55Yeah, mate, look at her. She's settled.
33:57Yeah.
33:58Mind you, it's like the good old days back in daddy's swag, you know.
34:02If there's one thing that gives Sui strength, it's the love and trust she's had for Steve
34:07ever since she first came into his life as a puppy.
34:11I've got some cake in there, and she really likes this particular cake.
34:14Can she have a bit of cake?
34:15She can have a piece of cake.
34:16And I got fish and chips last night, and it was terrible because she had some fish.
34:20So whatever she wants today.
34:22As every new person came into Steve's life, Sui sussed them out first and then made them hers.
34:29Now it's time to pay back some of that never-ending loyalty.
34:33Dr. John, Australia Zoo's chief vet, has decided she needs some specialist care.
34:40So as much as she hates it, Sui's off to the hospital for the full battery of tests,
34:46x-rays, and detailed medical examinations.
34:51Sui's seeing a specialist, and hopefully she can get to the bottom of what's wrong with Steve's best friend.
34:57How old is she?
34:58She's 15.
34:59Okay.
35:00She's had a lot of accidents and incidents through her life, various injuries.
35:05But occasionally she yelps when you touch the side of her head.
35:10And yesterday when I, she greeted me at the car, and I always just kind of scoop up her face and give her a kiss.
35:19And as I scooped, she yelped, and then I noticed her nose was bleeding.
35:22It's in, like if you poke in there, that's what seems to hurt her.
35:26Always the same good nature, taking everything in her stride.
35:31The best way of imaging her face is to do a CAT scan.
35:35A CAT scan is basically an x-ray, but it's a very advanced x-ray.
35:40She'll need anesthetic, so Dr. John's inserting a catheter ready to administer a hassle-free dose.
35:50You're getting sleepy, aren't you, Sui?
35:52We're giving our little mate every possible chance.
35:55We're grasping at any hope to save her life.
35:58Nothing is too much trouble for her.
36:00Sui's been through all this before, and just like always, she settles down and takes it all very calmly.
36:07Even before this latest problem, poor old Sui was down to one lung.
36:12She'd come through a bout of cancer and a list of other ailments as long as your arm.
36:17She's never had anything as comprehensive as these tests.
36:21She knows we won't leave her side for a minute.
36:24Now, Sui's got some options.
36:26She might have an infection, she might have a foreign body lodged somewhere in her side of her head,
36:31or it might even be a tumor, so let's cross our fingers and hope it's something simple and fixable.
36:37The results of all the tests so far paint a pretty gloomy picture.
36:41The diagnosis of her general health is that she's suffering all the advanced signs of old age.
36:47So the urine test has shown us that her kidneys aren't working as well as they should be in a normal animal,
36:54and that probably explains why she's drinking more lately.
36:58Well, that's just another bridge we'll have to cross.
37:00Once we see how she's doing, then we'll see what we can do about her kidneys.
37:03The one that's really got us worried is the pain in Sui's head.
37:08Nothing so far is telling us what's going on inside.
37:12The CAT scan will take three-dimensional pictures of everything, all the cavities, all the tissues, bones, and muscles.
37:19The X-ray pictures are taken from every angle as the scanner rotates around Sui's head.
37:25It's about 100 times more sensitive than a normal X-ray, and everything is enhanced and analyzed by a computer.
37:37What we're seeing here is this is the right side, which is the normal side, which is air-filled.
37:41This is the side where we're seeing the abnormality, and we can see this fluid line here.
37:45So it's air up the top, and then we've got this fluid underneath it,
37:52which corresponds to about here in the skull, which is what we call the frontal sinuses.
37:56At least we know the probable location of the cause of Sui's constant pain, which is a lot more than we knew before.
38:03It's progress of a kind, but nothing we're finding is giving us much new hope.
38:08The next test will be a CT scan of Sui's head.
38:12The CT scan will be done by a CT scanner.
38:15The CT scan will be done by a CT scanner.
38:18The CT scan will be done by a CT scanner.
38:21It's progress of a kind, but nothing we're finding is giving us much new hope.
38:25The next test means going in with an endoscope for a visual look at the problem.
38:30The endoscope has a light and a tiny camera on the end of a flexible tube with a cable to show close-up pictures on the monitor.
38:46So it looks like the work with the endoscope wasn't conclusive,
38:49because up inside the nose there's a mass,
38:52and to get to the center of it you can't really tell exactly where that is
38:56because there's just so much fluid and blood and problems going on.
39:00So Dr. Vicky's going to go ahead and try to biopsy the very center of the problem,
39:05get some tissue samples, do a culture.
39:08We'll see if we can figure out if it's an infection, something simple,
39:12or if it ends up being something more dramatic like a tumor.
39:16This is the test that should lead to a conclusive answer,
39:19draining out the contents of Sui's severely blocked sinus cavity.
39:34At least she can't feel anything.
39:36She's totally out to it under the anesthetic.
39:39There we go.
39:43A biopsy sample of what the specialist has extracted from all that fluid
39:47will be put through all the tests for a final diagnosis.
39:51Whether the news is good or bad, at least we'll know once and for all what it is that's made our best friend so sick.
40:00She's been on the operating table plenty of times before
40:03and always has come through with flying colors.
40:06But she's an old dog now, with all the problems that come with age.
40:15So this is the area that we're concerned about.
40:18The problem is on the other side, which is the left side,
40:21where we've lost that nice sweet spot.
40:24The problem is on the other side, which is the left side,
40:27where we've lost that nice swirly turbinate structure there
40:31and it's been replaced by more soft tissue.
40:35So I guess our main concerns is could this be like a tumor?
40:40We do see fungus sometimes in the noses of dogs.
40:44I guess that's still a possibility.
40:46So would that have been causing her the pain?
40:48Yeah, I think so.
40:49So this condition is uncomfortable?
40:51Yeah.
40:54Suie's got two problems that showed up on the CT scan.
40:57One is her nose. That's the main problem.
41:00There's some mass in her nose causing irritation.
41:03The second problem was her ear.
41:05You can see that there's a plug on the left side where there's air on the right side.
41:12Upon investigation, fortunately, we found out that was just wax, plain old ear wax.
41:18So that's not a big problem for Suie.
41:20Unfortunately, the mass in Suie's nose is a lot more serious.
41:25The tests confirm our greatest fears, cancer.
41:29And this time we can't do a thing
41:31except make the final chapter of Suie's life as good as we can.
41:36Inside. I'll just head in.
41:39Oh, my God.
41:42Watch out for that bucket.
41:47At least she's home, surrounded by family.
41:50It's tough when you get old.
41:52It's tough on all of us.
41:57I see you under that table.
42:00It's up to us to spend every moment of Suie's last days right by her side.
42:06At the moment, she's under sedation.
42:08She's got pretty potent painkillers, so she's sleeping.
42:12You can wake her up.
42:14I won't wake her up.
42:16She'll be thrilled to see you, though.
42:18I think she'll be happy to see you.
42:24She doesn't want to wake up.
42:26She doesn't want to wake up.
42:28Looks like her eyes are...
42:30Here she comes.
42:40I wish she was right here, Daddy.
42:43Yeah, well, she's very, very old, Suie.
42:45Yeah, I know.
42:47Tell you what, she's had a good life.
42:49She's had a beauty.
42:51And now we have to be really strong for her.
42:54Because this is...
42:56Suie's not going to get better this time.
42:59All we can do for our girl is make her comfortable,
43:03free from pain,
43:05and surround her with as much love as she's given all of us
43:08over the years of her entire life.
43:18How sweet.
43:25You sleep.
43:37Suie died peacefully in her sleep,
43:40with Steve at her side,
43:42just the way they were throughout their life.
43:55My little dog went everywhere with me.
43:58She loved every minute of it.
44:03You're a funny little dog.
44:10She was there when Bindi was born.
44:13She was baby Bob's first best friend.
44:16Whatever was on, Suie was a part of it.
44:19No questions, never holding back.
44:23She had more than her fair share of injuries and illnesses,
44:27but she came through it with courage and good nature.
44:36And on camera, crikey, Suie was a star.
44:40She even did her own movie.
44:44How's the lady?
44:46Hey, what a good girl.
44:48There's no doubt about it.
44:50There's no doubt about it.
44:52Easily the best actor here is Suie.
45:10I'm not sure who's had more fun, me or Suie.
45:16Because you only have a few best friends in this world
45:20This is the final entry in poor little Suie's diary.
45:25The best little dog in the world.
45:30Have a look at these little beauties.
45:32Well, what a year of highs and lows,
45:35troughs and peaks here at Australia Zoo.
45:38Well, this is our extended family.
45:41And this isn't the end of diaries,
45:43this is the start of a new chapter.
45:46Trough rule!
45:48And for my extended zoo family,
45:50it was also a year of personal milestones.
45:54Wes and Jodie got married.
45:56So did Kelsey and Brett.
46:00And Brian and Kate were engaged.
46:19It's animal life, it's easy to see.
46:23You bring out the animal inside of me.
46:27It's animal life and I can't wait to get back to nature
46:32here at Australia Zoo.