Real Life in the Zoo

The new breeding bull Tusker meets the female elephants. The giant tortoises have a new enclosure, with more hiding spots where Mien can escape from Sjaak. And brown bear Mincho is being excluded from his shelter, he’ll have to learn to stand his ground among the other bears and the wolves.

Brown bear Mincho, who can no longer take refuge in the indoor enclosure, faces off with the wolves. Polar bear Freedom retreats into her maternity den, and soon the cries of her two cubs can be heard, less than 30 centimeters long, pink, blind, deaf, and completely helpless. Finally, orangutan Minggu, now six months old, decides she’s ready to start climbing on her own, but does her mother Tjintah agree?

The first panda ever born in the Netherlands is growing up, an exciting adventure full of challenges and dangers. Mother Wu Wen prefers to keep her baby safe by her side for as long as possible, because a newborn panda is extremely fragile. But little Fan Xing is full of mischief and impatience to explore the world. Still, he has a long way to go before becoming a true giant panda. Will he make it?

Female giant panda Wu Wen is in her maternity den. One morning, the long-awaited sound is finally heard: the cries of a panda cub. After male elephant Tusker mated with female Duna, he also shows great interest in Tembo. That’s surprising, since Tembo is too old to have calves, a so-called “flatliner.” Sometimes, however, elephants regain their cycle later in life. Hormone tests soon reveal that Tusker’s interest is related to this. The polar bear cubs go swimming for the first time, giving caretaker Dorine a chance to finally find out their gender. Barbary macaque Viktor was found in a city park, wearing a diaper and a collar. He has never had contact with other macaques. Now he must learn how to behave like one, otherwise, the group will make it painfully clear that he’s not welcome.

Among the mandrills, your status is determined by your lineage. The offspring of a low-ranking female automatically inherit a low position in the hierarchy. But young male Kalle no longer accepts that and starts challenging the system. The young clouded leopards are growing up, so quickly, in fact, that son Badai is slowly becoming a danger to his sisters and even to his mother. Elephant bull Tusker has already fathered fourteen offspring in his previous zoo, so he knows exactly what to do when female Duna enters her fertile period.

The giant pandas haven’t mated. The brief period in which it could have happened has passed, and it seems it won’t happen this year. But then, female Wu Wen shows one last surge of fertility. Polar bear mother Freedom has spent three months in a dark, soundproof maternity den with her two cubs. Now the little ones are big enough, Freedom is ready to take them outside. But the cubs have never seen daylight or felt the wind on their noses, and they’re too afraid to follow their mother.

Female giant panda Wu Wen is in her maternity den. One morning, the long-awaited sound is finally heard: the cries of a panda cub. After male elephant Tusker mated with female Duna, he also shows great interest in Tembo. That’s surprising, since Tembo is too old to have calves, a so-called “flatliner.” Sometimes, however, elephants regain their cycle later in life. Hormone tests soon reveal that Tusker’s interest is related to this. The polar bear cubs go swimming for the first time, giving caretaker Dorine the opportunity to finally determine the gender of the little ones.