About Animal Academy
It's been a glorious summer and Animal Academy has been out
amongst it, bringing you a brand new summer series.
Join Gold Medal Winning Cyclist Sarah Ulmer and Willowbank Wildlife
Reserve Ranger Jeremy Maguire as they are out in the summer sun,
getting hands on with animals in all new locations: from family run
homestays, to wildlife cruises, to bird spotting in a wetland
sanctuary. It's all about animals and whether it's Alpacas, Guinea
Pigs, Goats, Sheep, Donkeys, Dolphins, Lemurs, Kea, Cormorants and
more - Sarah and Jeremy celebrate them all.
Summer is a busy time for all animals; breeding, birthing, feeding
and making homes for themselves. This summer Animal Academy goes on
a once in a lifetime journey - rescuing a kiwi egg from a burrow
deep in the heart of a virgin West Coast forest and a seeing a
newly hatched chick struggling out of its shell, an event not to be
missed.
In this series of Animal Academy Sarah travels New Zealand on
Wildlife Encounters. She snorkels at beautiful Goat Island to see
first-hand what a successful marine reserve looks like; she visits
the chimpanzees at Hamilton Zoo for an insight into behavioural
training for managing and caring for the chimps and she travels to
sunny Marlborough to meet Peter Yealands, a winemaker whose aim is
to run an environmentally friendly and fully sustainable vineyard,
using animals to help achieve this.
Animal Academy meet people who commit their lives to working with
our rare and special animals: there are only 250 Takahe in the
world and Phil Marsh works to save them every day. Dr Colin
O'Donnell is New Zealand's bat expert and for the summer months his
studies help keep them from extinction. And we meet the most
passionate animal lovers: Marion and Peter van Dijk have over 30
Miniature Donkeys on their Pukekohe property, Kathryn and Pascal
care for more than 80 Rabbits of all shapes and sizes, and Helen
McCaig keeps nearly 40 different short legged "Munchkin"
cats.
Resident Vet Geoff Mehrtens is out treating animals on House Calls
again. Rocket is a dog with a rare cleft palate condition, Chester
the cat has advanced cancer, and Lucky's leg has multiple fractures
- Geoff gives owners peace of mind as he gets their beloved pets
back on track so they can run and play outside again.
Plus Geoff treats us to an up close and personal look at the birth
of a tiny litter of kittens and some purebred Huskies, offering
advice and support while still having a few laughs along the
way.
Animal Academy profiles seven SPCAs around the country. From the
busy and bustling Auckland branch to tiny Te Awamutu, we meet the
teams and see the valuable work they do.
In the warmth of the sun, Animal Academy Summer Series gets to the
heart of the special relationship we have with the creatures we
share our world with - Our Animals.
