Keepers in Koala Creek are on red alert as Violet’s health takes a turn for the worst. Ben Fogle and Kate Humble discover how keepers fear her worrying urine samples could suggest she might suffer the same fate as Wilpena. One of the four females, Wilpena died of oxylate nephrosis - a painful kidney disease endemic in Southern Australian koalas - just weeks after arriving from Adelaide.
Violet now also has breathing problems and she has started sneezing. The vet has been called and Kate races to join him, keeper James and Violet in the koala hospital to discover the prognosis. Is the potentially fatal kidney disease also going to claim Violet’s life? What battles does she face?
Across in Animal Adventure, another creature is in trouble. Iggy Pop the Iguana – one of the big stars of the park – faces life-threatening surgery. This old trooper, reckoned to be at least 22 years old, has got a mystery injury to his tail. In the wild, an iguana tail would grow back but Iggy’s shows no such sign. Now there are worries that any infection could race through his old bones.
Iggy has survived chest surgery, arthritis and mouth ulcers, but could this trip to the vet be a step too far? Reptiles are difficult to monitor under anaesthetic, but the biggest risk is his age and the fact that he took a long while to come round from his last op. Keeper Emily has the unenviable task of taking her beloved Iggy to surgery. Keepers fear the worst. Who could imagine the park without Iggy? Hopefully he can live up to his namesake’s indestructible reputation.
Kate joins keeper Caleb to see how pin-up boy Harry faces the ultimate challenge in his bid to become king of a brand new pride at Longleat. He has spent a few weeks now with his posse of eight feisty lionesses but can he take the top seat at the table when the pride get their first big carcass feed? He has got to control the girls, but this posse don’t take too kindly to being bossed around!
And Jean Johansson steps into to help de-fleece the camels to prevent painful summer eczema. Show less