My name is Luis Neves
and my favourite bird is... all of them.
So if you want to call me a bird whisperer, I'll take it any time.
My name is Clarence.
Suzy! Hey!
Suzy is one of the birds.
She's a 21 year old American bald eagle. I've worked with for some time.
My name is Jia Hao.
The animal care members here at Mandai.
My name is Peter Teo and in the park,
they actually call me Tong.
Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump.
Yeah, they're my three little pigs.
as I believe they are a bit chubby.
So the word that comes to mind when I first saw the
sarus crane was "awe".
Suzy is a very pleasant bird to work with.
But over the years, I've also discovered that she has started to behave very grouchy.
First impression?
"Wow. They're huge."
Amazingly, they are not as heavy as most people think.
So the macaws can break their nuts very easily
because they have very strong beaks.
You wouldn't want to put your fingers in there.
So this black crown crane has a very interesting personality.
He's very protective of his partner and he actually prefers the male keepers
and is very aggressive to the female keepers.
We are moving approximately 3,500 birds
of around 400 species.
The preparation for the actual move started more than a year ago.
It started initially as a tabletop exercise,
basically a series of workshops just for us to identify every possible area of risk...
how to mitigate that risk...
what are the actual needs from an operational decision point-of-view
from transportation to how many boxes – how many pairs of boots,
whether there are switches in the right places – all those things.
We had dry runs with the company over the trucks
to select the best way and figured out
was there a better timing to bring the
the birds in because there's only a certain period of time in the morning.
So when we move birds, we have a few methods that we can choose from.
Our preferred method is to have the
animals conditioned to come to the retrieval areas.
However, certain species are a bit more complex.
So cranes and stalks – it's much safer for them to quickly
restrain them and put them safely in the transport boxes.
So this is a crate for a crane-sized animal.
These are some of the special features on it.
We have two padlocks. And these crates have all these little holes,
these are air circulation holes for the animal inside.
They're also for the keepers. We can shine a torchlight in and see the animal from outside.
I'll show you inside.
It's very spacious, even I can go in.
These are the pads for the animal in the truck.
In the truck, it's very bumpy. These cushion the animals
if they hit the side of the crate.
The crane is a terrestrial animal. It doesn't perch.
So it doesn't need a perch.
But we do lay mats one the floor so that the bird can grip onto those,
and it won’t slip and fall.
Then certain species like flamingos, penguins,
they are actually more comfortable if we gently
shepard them as a group into their transport area
and then they come as a whole group
which makes them much more relaxed and its much less stressful.
Every time we start with a new habitat, we always first bring in
the birds that we know are, in a way, hardier
and more likely to find their sweet spot faster.
And in a way, that also helps us test the aviary
to make sure that everything is safe.
Today, we are getting ready for the move – finally.
We're all excited to bring our birds into their new homes.
So what's going to happen is that we've conditioned
a few of our birds to enter the pet carriers voluntarily,
after which we will load them up onto the trucks to
transport them over to Bird Paradise.
I actually started conditioning the birds to go into the pet carriers since last September.
So with positive reinforcement training, we will start off by introducing
the bird to the pet carrier, to sit them down
in front of the pet carrier
and let them know that it will not harm them
and then eventually putting some food inside for them to receive a reward.
Eventually the bird will accept and will want to go in on its own
as opposed to being restrained.
Imagine if you have never been next to a crate, for example,
or if you have never been inside a box.
So that's why we made it a point to ensure most of the animals
are already familiar with what a crate is, so it's nothing foreign to them.
When the move comes and you close the crate door, it's
“Oh, nothing special,” because it happened before.
The birds we are moving
today are the black crown crane and the sarus crane.
So, first thing in the morning we assemble all the staff members.
We want every staff member to know what’s their roles and their preparation work.
The cranes are a potentially dangerous animal.
So we always go by buddy system.
Restraining crane is kind of tricky
because a crane’s defense mechanism involves them pecking and kicking.
When we restrain a crane, we have to make sure we handle both
their bill (their head) and their feet.
Normally, when the animals see the vets, they think
that they're about to a medical check.
So the animals don’t like it and do their best to run away from us.
The nets are there to control the animal's movement.
We do not want the animal to thrash and hurt itself.
Maybe there's a sharp twig or branch or rocks.
It’s also to protect the keepers as well because the animal's
natural instinct is to thrash and fight back.
Then we will try to hold the animal and walk with it to the crate.
So we try to minimise nets as much as possible.
If you see a shoebill, their upper bill membrane is actually a hook.
So that's where you get injured.
So we secure the head and we tuck in the legs and we'll just
hold them like a big baby.
Our net has a spongy edge,
to make sure that we don't injure them when we net them.
So he gave me a slight pinch but I managed to hold him and secure his bill.
They have a quick vet check on their condition.
We trim the feather, just to keep them on the ground.
This let’s them explore and have some time to adjust.
It's not something that is a concern, because they always
grow back their feathers within three months.
We always try to avoid restraining the bird.
I have no choice but I’ll have to be the handler for the shoebills.
Even though it might break his trust, it just has to be done.
It’s all for the safety of the bird.
Earlier on, Suzy was trying to come out of the carrier that she was in.
So before we left,
I tapped on the cage and told her that we are going to her new home.
Everything is going to be fine.
There was a moment when when the crate was in the lorry...
...it was moving.
It's like a “Goodbye but...”
“I will see you again.”
When we cover the boxes, it gives the birds less visual stimuli
and makes them a bit more relaxed.
We
just released Suzy
and we are going to monitor her, together with the rest of the birds.
She’s now checking out her new home,
trying to figure out where this is,
you know, which is very normal and expected as well.
It's very hard to tell whether a bird is happy or not.
But I think she is not angry.
I know that, for sure.
So I'm thinking she's happy.
For the shoebills, we we want them closer to the water.
So we'll probably release them in a flat area.
So it’s easier for a walk around and all that.
And once they come over, we’ll try to condition them
with food and slowly move them closer to the water.
Whenever we move a bonded pair of cranes or hornbills,
where the bond between the birds is very strong.
We always make it a point to release them side by side,
If not at the same time, very shortly after the other,
to make sure that the first thing that they see is the other bird, which is what they’re used to.
In a way, it is like a safety blanket for them.
Today we released 12 scarlet macaws and 60 Sun parakeets to Crimson Wetlands.
They are the second batch of birds to come to the habitat.
And these new tenants will learn from the first ones
that came, the pioneers,
to know how to manoeuvre around the place.
And they will learn from them where to get food,
where to go for shelter, where is the best place to roost at night.
Hey boy!
Remember me?
Yes. You remember me because you're running away.
He remembers that I'm the one
who handled him during the moving period...
and he's avoiding me.
I’m a bit sad...
but at least he’s doing very well here.
He’s adapting well.
Oh, you should have come here earlier.
It's so beautiful here.
So I can’t wait to move to Bird Paradise because I can’t wait to see the look of
“Wow!” from the guests when they walk through the door for the very first time.
Because the housing for our birds is going to be much bigger
Because I believe this is going
to be the best place in the world that will be caring for birds,
Because I will have Wings of Asia to myself.
The whole aviary with the theme of “Bali”.
Holiday!
Every day, coming to work will be like a holiday.