Real Life in the Zoo

Three koalas arrive at the zoo in Rhenen. How will they react to their new surroundings after their long journey, and will they be able to settle in? At the bison enclosure in Rotterdam, there’s a baby boom, four healthy calves have already been born when little Eli arrives. Right after birth, he needs to start drinking milk, but he’s struggling to manage. Will he make it through his first night…? And red-bellied tamarins Pablo and Chili become parents for the first time, to twins! The two little ones are growing fast, along with their mischievous personalities!

Giant panda Wu Wen is torn when Xing Ya tries to win her over. Elephant bull Tooth has been at the zoo for a year now, but things still aren’t going smoothly between him and Duna. Okapi Mbuti gives birth to a healthy daughter named Makimzie. In the Bear Forest in Rhenen, the bears share their habitat with a pack of wolves. Especially during feeding time, tensions rise over the food. Physically, the bears are much stronger than the wolves, but those who aren’t strong must be smart. So, the wolves use their famous “pickpocket technique” to get their share.

Young giraffe stallion Jafari is very intrigued by the scents the females in the herd give off. However, he has some rather unusual habits when it comes to finding out whether a female is fertile. Giant panda Wu starts showing unusual behavior and eventually retreats into her birthing den. Could this mean she’s about to give birth to a long-awaited cub, or maybe even two? Meanwhile, koala male Arru suddenly begins showing worrying behavior: he’s sleeping on the ground, which is highly abnormal for a koala. The keepers fear that Arru might be ill.

Hawaiian goose Guus behaves like the queen of the aviary in Rhenen. How will she react when another Hawaiian goose suddenly joins her? The Rotterdam Zoo is working on a unique project to increase fish populations around coral reefs in order to help preserve them. This initiative could be groundbreaking for the survival of coral reefs worldwide. Orangutan male Bako has been suffering from a severe respiratory infection for years, and it’s only getting worse. He will need to be anesthetized for an examination, but the big question is whether the weakened Bako will be strong enough to handle it.

At the zoo in Rhenen, female koala Leumeah is showing changes in her behavior, which could be a sign that she’s entering her fertile period. Humboldt penguins Jesse and Geertje are very elderly, and with old age come a few ailments. Along with a group of other penguins, they’ll need to undergo an X-ray scan, but these penguins absolutely hate changes to their routine. The question is whether they’ll even allow themselves to be caught. Meanwhile, in Rotterdam, the newborn Visayan warty pigs are meeting their father, Elvis, for the first time, but that’s not without risk. How will he react to his piglets?

Meerkat brothers Barry and Bob are far too lazy and have become overweight as a result. For more than 30 years, the zoo in Rotterdam has been working on a groundbreaking vaccine against the deadly elephant herpesvirus. Female polar bear Huggies may be suffering from arthritis. To be sure, she would normally need to undergo a scan, but that’s not an option for a polar bear in the warm summer weather. Fortunately, the keepers have come up with a test that doesn’t require Huggies to be anesthetized.