Pregnant and Under Siege: Babirusa vs Otter | The Secret Life of the Zoo

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:02]There are animals from more than 150 different countries at Chester.

[00:00:13]>> [music] >> To reflect conditions in the natural world, many species which coexist in the wild live together at the zoo.

[00:00:23]Mixed species exhibits are quite can be stimulating. So they're not on their own, they're paired up [music] with other species that occupy the same areas they would in the wild.

[00:00:32]It gives them a more realistic environment to live in [music] because they will have to look out for other species.

[00:00:39]Variety is the spice of life.

[00:00:41]>> [music] >> But from time to time, the policy of mixing species throws up a neighborhood dispute.

[00:00:52]Kandari, the babirusa, shares her paddock with Asian short-clawed otters.

[00:00:59]Wallace and Annie.

[00:01:03]They're other trouble. Hmm.

[00:01:10]They're feisty.

[00:01:15]They've got a good set of teeth on them.

[00:01:19]I've been bitten by an otter and it hurts.

[00:01:25]Both animals are found in Indonesia.

[00:01:30]But not usually in such close proximity.

[00:01:34]>> [music] [music] >> The otters kind of rule the roost in that enclosure. You wouldn't think a bigger animal, a pig, it would be more in charge, but they're like neighbors from hell.

[00:01:55]But like all babirusa, 5-year-old Kendari has some antisocial tendencies of her own. They do uh have pungent trumps.

[00:02:08]They stink.

[00:02:10]They just fart all time. They stink.

[00:02:12]Cabbage.

[00:02:14]Here you go, puppet.

[00:02:15]I like to smell you. Little stinker.

[00:02:18]You are okay.

[00:02:23]Both species have been classified vulnerable in the wild and are part of an international breeding program. Come on, out you go.

[00:02:32]Out.

[00:02:33]But, while Wallace and Annie have so far failed to deliver any pups, keepers have high hopes for Kendari.

[00:02:42]We think Kendari's pregnant.

[00:02:44]Kendari was recently paid a visit by the zoo's breeding male babirusa, Sossu.

[00:02:50]We put him in there for the breeding purposes and then he goes around the different enclosures and mixes him with the other females that we've got here.

[00:02:57]We've been monitoring her weight weekly.

[00:02:59]Come on, then.

[00:03:01]Come on. Yeah, she's on 55.3.

[00:03:08]She's gradually putting weight on.

[00:03:10]We've seen development with the udder.

[00:03:13]The teats are more prominent.

[00:03:16]It's happening.

[00:03:19]Staff think Kendari's due any day now, and the last thing an expectant mom needs is two noisy neighbors.

[00:03:30]Back in the babirusa paddock, Kendari's pregnancy is reaching a crucial stage.

[00:03:36]I'd say the main risk with pregnancy with the babirusa is disturbance. They are very sensitive. We've learnt that they cannot be disturbed. We don't go anywhere near her. We don't touch her.

[00:03:47]We just let her get on with doing what she needs to do.

[00:03:52]Kendari's nuisance neighbors, Wallace and Annie, have got other ideas.

[00:03:57]>> [music] >> The problem is with the otters, they're so cheeky, they keep going in her bed and doing poos.

[00:04:09]The otters do like to go in the babirusa house.

[00:04:14]They make a mess in there. They defecate in the house.

[00:04:18]Out, out, out.

[00:04:19]Out.

[00:04:22]As the birth is imminent, Kendari's being separated from the otters in her own pen.

[00:04:28]So she can build a nest in peace.

[00:04:33]But a steel door isn't enough to deter her ever resourceful cohabitees.

[00:04:43]When she's inside, they get pebbles in their paws.

[00:04:47]And they sort of smash them against her front door.

[00:04:51]>> [music] [music] >> But staff fear the otters antics could have serious consequences.

[00:05:17]If she gets disturbed, if she feels stressed, if she's not comfortable, we have seen it in the past where she can kill the the piglets.

[00:05:30]A pig eating her newborn babies isn't uncommon.

[00:05:36]You know, I've seen it. I've seen it can happen. I've seen how it affects the the mother.

[00:05:55]>> Kendari, the babirusa, is due to give birth any day now.

[00:06:01]Babirusa have up to three piglets, and to safeguard her offspring, staff have decided to evict nuisance neighbors, Wallace and Annie.

[00:06:11]Babirusa just need peace and quiet. They just need to be left alone. They don't want the otters banging on the door with their pebbles, or coming into their bed and doing a big poo.

[00:06:26]>> [music] >> It's 1:00 a.m.

[00:06:35]>> [music] >> Across the zoo, all is quiet.

[00:06:44]But over in the babirusa house, Kendari [music] is stirring.

[00:06:54]It's more likely that they give birth overnight. It's dark, it's quiet, there's no one around, and that's when they're most comfortable.

[00:07:03]After 161 [music] days of pregnancy, her due date has arrived. It's really exciting, and a bit nerve-racking, I suppose. You hope that you've done everything right for her.

[00:07:19]It'd be sad for us to see anything go wrong at this stage, because, you know, we've waited [music] such a long time.

[00:07:41]At 2:00 a.m., Kendari [music] gives birth to just one piglet weighing 1 lb 6 oz.

[00:07:49]When the piglets are first born, they're absolutely tiny, fragile, and they just look like maggots.

[00:07:55]After a matter of [music] minutes, the newborn makes its first attempt to stand up.

[00:08:02]>> [music] >> But the piglet is not out of the woods yet.

[00:08:09]Potentially, she could kill the piglet.

[00:08:12]Potentially, [music] by accident.

[00:08:20]Piglets are so small. We have seen piglets get rolled on before.

[00:08:28]It's really important that >> [music] >> piglet suckles quite early on, just cuz it is so small, and it needs the energy, and also it's a way of them bonding together.

[00:08:40]The next few hours will be critical. Not a lot the keepers can do at this stage, so we're just crossing our fingers and hoping that nature takes its course.

[00:09:00]It's feeding time at the zoo.

[00:09:06]>> [music] >> Kendari [music] and her piglet, Bukaan, are doing well.

[00:09:16]They're very sweet, really sweet, like little small ginger little things when they're first born.

[00:09:24]They're probably no bigger than the [music] span of your hand.

[00:09:27]They have a a little It appears an orange fuzz of hair over them.

[00:09:31]And they're really sweet, really cute.

[00:09:38]After the birth, [music] yeah, we just we just leave her alone. She's not interested. She's a totally different animal. She's not interested in coming over [music] and having a head scratch.

[00:09:46]It's just all about rearing her piglet.

[00:09:53]But Kendari [music] still needs to be fed herself.

[00:09:56]And it's a delicate operation.

[00:09:59]From her having the piglet now, all we're doing is we're going in twice a day, [music] putting the food down in there seconds.

[00:10:09]I've just got to be really [music] careful that when I do put the food in, I step back straight away because if she jumps up at the gate, she could squish [music] the piglet because the piglet's very close behind her all times.

[00:10:24]I've just gone in there now. All the food's gone from this morning, [music] which is brilliant. So, at least I know that she's gone out and had a feed.

[00:10:30]Seen the piglet suckling, so I know that she's been a good mum so far.

[00:10:42]But not everything at the zoo is going to plan.

[00:10:46]Over in the orangutan paddock, Wallace, Sunny.

[00:10:50]there's a problem.

[00:10:53]There's no otters.

[00:11:00]The otters are in with the orangutans now, um, but slightly concerning, they haven't actually turned up for their food today.

[00:11:12]Wallace.

[00:11:14]Come on, guys.

[00:11:16]We feed the otters four or five times a day, and without fail, they turn up for their food. They're very greedy.

[00:11:25]I did the last check on the Thursday for them. Uh, threw the fish in, they both came over for the food. Yeah, nothing different.

[00:11:33]And then I went Friday morning.

[00:11:35]I called him three times with no response.

[00:11:38]The team are concerned that something may have happened between the otters and the orangutans.

[00:11:44]It's potential for anything to go wrong when you're [music] doing mixed species exhibit.

[00:11:48]If the orangs did do something to the otters, yeah, I'd feel terrible.

[00:11:52]Because we, you know, we've given them that environment.

[00:11:57]Come on.

[00:11:58]Let's have a look at you. Keeper Chris decides to check for any evidence of conflict. How are your fingers and toes?

[00:12:06]As lovely as otters are, they can give you quite a nasty nip. You think they can crack through shellfish and stuff so like it's If there had been any kind of physical contact between the two in a kind of negative way, we'd have been able to see some physical marks. If the otters had had a nip, then obviously we'll check over to make sure that that nothing like that has happened. Where's your fingers?

[00:12:27]Toes all right?

[00:12:29]You're all intact. There's no sign of any injuries.

[00:12:36]So Sarah decides [music] to check the otters holt.

[00:12:43]>> [music] >> As a last resort, I check the holt.

[00:12:48]>> [music] >> Lifted it up.

[00:12:53]And that's when I saw >> [music] [music] >> a few pops.

[00:13:03]It looked like there was five otter pups. Um, they're so [music] cute. I'm so happy.

[00:13:09]It was just a quick look and then I swore and put the lid down.

[00:13:15]Cuz I know that you just need to not even be messing around in there.

[00:13:22]She's surprised us.

[00:13:28]As keepers, obviously any birth [music] is fantastic. But we do like to know when animals are pregnant.

[00:13:35]We can prepare. We can get everything ready.

[00:13:38]We weren't ready. We weren't prepared.

[00:13:52]It's been 2 months since the otter pups were born.

[00:13:56]We've got five otter pups, two boys and three girls. The two boy pups are called Bo and Sunan. The three girl pups are Jaya, Sari, and Asha.

[00:14:08]Today, the pups are being microchipped.

[00:14:13]And photographed for the zoo's records.

[00:14:18]Having played their part in the romance next door, the otters have been moved back to the babirusa paddock to safeguard the pups.

[00:14:27]Wallace and Annie are doing a really good job being parents. I think Wallace is is really good. He's a really good dad. He really looks after the pups.

[00:14:36]Whereas Annie's just too busy stuffing her face with fish.

[00:14:39]>> [laughter] >> She's got five hungry babies to feed. So she's always looking for food.

[00:14:46]With Kendari's piglet Bucan growing bigger every day, it's now time for the two families to be reunited.

[00:14:53]I don't think Kendari's going to be best pleased. She had to put up with two otters and now she's going to have to put up with seven.

[00:15:02]I think if them five otter pups take after the mother, they're going to be keeping Kendari on her trotters.

[00:15:11]Annie the otter can be quite aggressive.

[00:15:15]So we just have to watch her.

[00:15:19]We hope they'll just coexist fine. It's just that these are first-time parents, the otters, and they've had five pups.

[00:15:26]So, they are going to be protective of their young.

[00:15:31]Kendari!

[00:15:33]Come on.

[00:15:37]It doesn't take long for Wallace and Annie to resume hostilities.

[00:15:46]Okay.

[00:15:52]>> [laughter] >> The first 10 minutes for us watching, it was quite anxious.

[00:16:09]Annie!

[00:16:11]The otter did bite the piglet on the nose. It was just a little nip. There was no blood. Um but, I think the piglet got a little shock.

[00:16:19]Kendari's maternal instincts kick in, and she decides to take a stand.

[00:16:33]Kendari got involved, and she protected the piglet. And they needed that. They needed that first stand off just so that they can establish what's what.

[00:16:47]After their run-in with Kendari, Wallace and Annie get back to the business of raising five pups, and an air of calm finally descends on the paddock.

[00:16:57]>> [music] >> The otters and the babirusa are not best of friends, but they tolerate each other.

[00:17:06]I think she's missed being on the paddock since she's had the piglet. But, yeah, she hasn't missed [music] the otters.

[00:17:15]I think the otters have had a taste of their own medicine living with the orangs. So now they've come back and they're living with Kendari and the piglet. I think they've got a mutual respect.