(UPLIFTING MUSIC)
We're just about to let our four Bornean orangutans outside.
We're gonna celebrate Madju's birthday.
Madju turns 10 today, so he's finally reached double figures,
and that's three days before he actually is transferred to the USA.
So he'll be going to LA Zoo for quarantine and then on to Busch Gardens.
So this is just a great way for us to be able to start talking to the public about what's happening
and for them to have a chance to farewell him.
I'll be Madju's primary trainer,
so I'll be the one that teaches him all his new behaviours when he comes into Busch Gardens.
Madju is very playful.
He seems to instigate the other orangs a little bit,
so it's gonna nice to have an orang that's playful on habitat,
cos our females are a little bit older.
It is very exciting about bringing new orangs into Busch Gardens.
It helps the species survival plan. It's new genetics coming in.
So hopefully we will get a baby soon out of Madju and Luna.
So that's what it's really all about - is helping the species.
So this is Luna. This will be Madju's new girlfriend when he comes to Busch Gardens.
She's playful, so she'll be perfect for him.
So this week we are sending three of our six orangutans overseas to America.
Isim and Gangsa, who live in the other enclosure - they're an adult pair - they'll be going to LA Zoo.
It's a big week for us. We're feeling quite emotional and quite stressed about the whole thing,
because it's a huge undertaking, but we're nearly there.
So this is the week, and, yeah, we're excited but sad at the same time.
(GENTLE MUSIC)
To transport orangutans is quite a big ask,
so we need to be able to get all three orangutans - Isim, Gangsa and Madju - into their crates.
And to do that we have to anaesthetise them first,
because we can't just hold them by the hand and lead them on out of there,
cos they're dangerous animals. So we have to actually physically get the animals prepared for this -
emotionally and physically.
So we've been preparing Madju for transfer by separating him for short periods.
He's actually used to being apart from the rest of his family group.
So this is Madju's airplane food.
Specially created special meal - vegetarian, gluten-free - for his journey on Air New Zealand today.
And, yeah, just trying to spend a lot of time with him as well,
just so that for our sake, for our emotional sanity,
we know that we've spent some really good quality time with them before they go.
We're really proud of ourselves that we got to this point,
because we've been building up to this for a good number of years now.
So to actually have them in the crate feels pretty amazing.
I think it's not gonna really sink in until we get to the airport, when we've kinda got the time to go,
'Ooh, what's happening? What's just happened and what's about to happen?'
knowing that we won't ever get to see them again. So that's gonna be the hard part - at the airport.
And everything has gone really well today. We're really really pleased.
We're only partway there, but at least all the orangutans are in the crates.
They're all safe. They all had really stable, good anaesthetics, which is a bonus.
It's far too heavy. You've got a nice outlook, though, haven't you?
We feel like the really hard work is done,
and we're all kinda a bit running on adrenaline at the moment. (CHUCKLES)
So as soon as all three are fully awake and fully coherent,
then we'll be able to get the fork hoist down,
lift the crates with the orangutans in them on to the truck,
and then we'll go and put that truck somewhere nice and quiet and cool,
and we're just all gonna go and sit with them and hang out for the rest of the day.
(UPBEAT MUSIC)
(UPBEAT MUSIC CONTINUES)
(UPBEAT MUSIC)
(UPLIFTING MUSIC)