72 Cutest Animals (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - Footpads and Flippers - full transcript
Manatees, leopards, penguins and whale sharks are all beloved by their caregivers, who explain why they're really the cutest creatures on earth.
NARRATOR:
Cute is in the eye of the beholder.
Revealing 72 of the world's cutest animals
is an eclectic list.
They're unique, possibly eccentric
with a touch of the unusual
and of course, totally adorable.
We explore a broad range
of the cutest animals across the world
and in the process, define just how cute
even the quirkiest of animals can be.
(TRUMPETING)
Graceful when swimming,
although not quite so elegant
when it comes to looks,
our first rather unusual animal may extend
the boundaries of what it is to be cute.
Say hello to one of the ocean's most
relaxed and intelligent mammals.
There are three different
species of manatee
and this one is the West Indian variety.
How can you tell?
Well, the reggae music
is usually a giveaway.
JAYCE: Basically,
they eat and they sleep.
They spend most of the time in the day,
um, munching on the
vegetables that we give them.
Most of the time they sleep.
NARRATOR: Underwater, for about 20 minutes
at a time before coming up for air.
Yes, a demanding routine
of serious leisure
must be difficult to deal with
for the West Indian manatee.
With no real predators,
a manatee can float through life
without having to look over its shoulder,
which is a difficult task anyway
for an animal of this size
with such a short neck.
These ones live at the Singapore Zoo,
so they don't even
have to travel far for a feed.
JAYCE: We feed them carrots,
and we also feed them pellets browse,
it's kind of biscuits for them.
NARRATOR: But to write off
these hungry herbivores as lazy
would be doing the manatee
a great disservice.
While a sense of urgency is
rarely on a manatee's agenda,
their incredibly pleasant nature means
that even if they did get there first,
they'd probably let others
go ahead of them anyway.
JAYCE: They are very social animals.
I love watching them
playing with each other
and sometimes they will
do some somersaults.
They will hug each other,
they will roll over,
sometimes they want
a belly rub on the tummy.
NARRATOR: In fact,
anyone who enters their domain
is fair game for some manatee shenanigans.
Sometimes when we go down
in the tank diving,
they will actually come up to you,
hold onto your tank
and they are just playing hide-and-seek.
Because they will hold onto your tank
and you are looking back,
who is holding onto your tank
and you couldn't find them.
NARRATOR: Growing up to four metres long
and weighing in at nearly 600 kilos,
a fully grown manatee is quite imposing,
but at just four months old
this one is relatively pocket sized.
Granted, you'd have to be
wearing very large pants,
but still, adorable little Willy loves
human touch and is so affectionate.
(CAMERA CLICKING)
He's kind of like,
"Hey come, pat me, I love it".
They're really not afraid of you,
so when you play with them
they don't shun you away
and there's a reciprocate love there.
NARRATOR: Manatees actually
have a formidable long-term memory
and you can imagine
this sort of tender care
would leave a lifelong
impression on young Willy.
JAYCE: What makes them unique?
Every single thing. (CHUCKLING)
They can grow until very huge.
Yet you can come very up close to them.
Not fearful of you,
neither you fearful of them
and you really have
a fun time with them.
The manatees are cute,
adorable and loveable.
(CAMERA CLICKING)
NARRATOR: There is more to being cute
than just having a pretty face.
Some animals instantly make us smile
and while others may not be so attractive,
their quirkiness and relationship with
humans can be incredibly charming.
We explore the characteristics
that allows each animal
to claim the title of "cute".
Who will be the cutest?
In the end, it's more
than just good looks.
The manatee may just prove
that looks can be deceiving,
it's first in the show,
so it's sitting at number one,
but stalking the arena
to challenge the top spot
is a creature well known
for its glamorous looks.
You don't find leopards,
leopards allow you to see them.
You can go looking
and not see them
but one will appear
when it decides it's going to
and that makes them a bit special too.
NARRATOR: Slinky, sassy, superior.
Leopards are majestic
and mysterious creatures.
Quite the reserved animal,
if you were to cross paths with one,
maintaining your distance is advised.
But that doesn't mean these big cats
are anything short of gorgeous.
Oh, leopards!
Every time I see a leopard
is really a special experience.
NARRATOR: Graceful climbers,
and even stealthier stalkers,
leopards can hear five times
more than the human ear,
allowing them to keep a low profile
and remain perceptive.
They can be up in trees,
in the shade of the tree
because they're very good
at finding a nice shady spot
and just hanging with their legs
drooped over a branch.
Or they can just be wandering around
through, you know, long grass, hunting.
The males are solitary
and they will walk through
the females' territories
and that's when they decide that
this one might be a good one to mate with.
NARRATOR: There's no denying
their beautiful coat.
Their spots are called rosettes
because of the distinct pattern they form.
LUKE: Every leopard's spots are different.
So obviously that is very unique.
Again that's like a fingerprint
and the facial markings
are all completely different.
That's how I usually identify them,
either on their personality
or on their facial markings.
NARRATOR: Leopards are
fairly territorial creatures,
particularly where
their cubs are involved.
SALLY: Females have territories
and the females and their young
will live in those territories
until the young leave.
They're extremely protective as mothers
and very, very good
at hiding their cubs,
often up in rocky places
and caves, things like that
and then when the cubs are at heel
then they will never have them
very far away at all.
(MEOWING)
NARRATOR: Cubs are born blind
and completely rely on mum
for the first few months.
They will stay with her
for about two years,
learning from the best
on how to hunt and survive.
All of it was practice for the real world.
Running up trees and jumping off again,
it was like a gym for leopards
building important muscles.
SALLY: We'd stopped on the road,
I'd just sensed that they were
going to cross in front of us
and the mum went and just stopped,
paused, checked it's all okay,
ran across the road
and the cubs were all sitting together
just a little bit further back
and then the adult lay in the long grass
on the other side of the road
and she called each cub across,
one by one,
and there were these
gorgeous little cubs
just trotting a little bit nervously
across the road,
but really only just in front of us,
it was lovely, very special.
NARRATOR: When they're
not learning life lessons,
the cubs are practising
their skills on each other,
play fighting, preening
and pouncing for hours.
LUKE: For me, because the leopard
is my favourite animal,
I'd say they're number one
on the cuteness scale
simply because of those cubs.
You just can't look at a leopard cub
and think anything but...
I don't think there's anything
cuter than a leopard cub.
Most of what I've seen would be the
gentler side I think, I'm probably lucky.
'Cause my husband has
called me leopard lady,
because I'm very, very successful
at seeing leopards
or finding them
when they're there to see
and being in a position where
they will show themselves.
So his nickname for me is leopard lady.
Maybe they recognise a fellow spirit.
(CHUCKLING)
NARRATOR: The stylish spots
aren't going to be enough
for the leopard to knock
the manatee from the top,
it's going to have to laze around
at number two, waiting,
watching to see if the next contender is
going to take control of the cute stakes.
You certainly don't see this everyday.
It was one of those deep blue experiences
that you can't ever replicate.
NARRATOR: Whale sharks are the giant
fishies of the ocean.
And if you want to see one,
you'll have to join them for a swim.
My name's Ellece Nicholls
and I live in Exmouth, Western Australia,
and I swim with whale sharks for a living.
ELLECE: As some people say,
the best job in the world, I agree.
I've been doing it for
seven, eight years now
and every day is so different.
Most of the time
people will come out of the water
and they are looking
like a whale shark, like this.
(CHUCKLING)
And you tell them, "Put your face in,
put your face in the water"
and they do that and then they see
this big wide mouth emerge,
that's when you feel them
squeezing your hand really tight
and it's a really rewarding feeling.
NARRATOR: When this is the experience
it's hard not to get goosebumps.
They can reach sizes of up to 12 metres
and unofficially a lot larger.
Even more impressive is how they navigate
their bulk through the water.
ELLECE: They rely on their sensors,
so electrical currents in the water
and in our spine
and in every little tiny fish,
that's what they can pick up.
So with their sensory receptors
they will respond to those
in a curious manner
as far as maybe checking
something out briefly.
NARRATOR: Don't worry though,
they're more closely related
to their whale side than the shark
when it comes to food.
ELLECE: Well, they are
100 percent shark and zero whales.
Whale sharks are called a whale shark
because of the size of them
and because they're large like a whale
and also because of what they eat.
They eat the same food as whales do,
bailing whales.
So the biggest fish in the sea
exists only on the tiniest organisms
that are in the ocean.
NARRATOR: There's a lot still unknown
about the behaviour of whale sharks.
Their migration, life cycle,
methods of communication,
but you can't swim with whale sharks
everyday and not learn a thing or two.
Quirky is a, is a good word to describe
actually the behaviour
that they depict when
they need to go to the toilet.
Sometimes they get very uncomfortable
and start thrashing around
and you think "Wow, what is
wrong with this whale shark?"
because they're not, they're not behaving
the way they normally do.
Say if they're swimming
slowly and passive feeding
and then all of a sudden
a big cloud of white smoke will appear
and you think "Oh, okay, he needed
to go to the toilet". (CHUCKLING)
NARRATOR: Not even this could detract
from their over-aweing presence.
ELLECE: They're the biggest
fish in the ocean,
so they largely represent
what the ocean is about.
It's mysterious and we don't know
too much about it
and I think that that fact
means that we should be
out there trying to protect
what we, what we don't know.
NARRATOR: Preferring warm waters,
there are a great many places
whale sharks can be seen
and very special places to witness
these harmless giant's charm.
ELLECE: Their docile nature
and just how passive they are in the water
and the feeling that they give you
when you swim alongside them.
It's really humbling
and just being allowed to be in the
presence of something in the wild,
in the ocean, is amazing.
And I think that every person wouldn't
deny the feeling that they get.
Even if you're not a water person,
you'd still love
that one on one interaction.
NARRATOR: An experience that
captures the hearts of everyone,
even if the whale shark
isn't quite so engaged,
will easily take this marine creature
straight to the top,
bumping the adorable manatee to second
and the stylish leopard to third.
But eagerly springing into contention
is a charming doe-eyed delight.
With their grace and elegance,
and of course, those big eyes,
it's impossible to resist their charms.
These guys are incredible.
I never expected to have such
a strong bond with sort of, a deer.
A lot of people think about them, like,
just another paddock animal
or potentially to eat.
But yeah, I don't know,
I don't know, they're just awesome.
I'm biased though, I love these guys.
NARRATOR: Whether you're playing
hide and seek in the brush,
ruining a golf course,
or walking strangely through a forest,
if you're a deer of any kind,
well, cue the oohs and ahs.
The deer family is broad, with around
90 species in the extended family
including elk, caribou and moose.
(HORN BLOWING)
The similarities between
some are so striking,
the only way to tell them apart
is to carefully examine
the markings on a deer's rear.
But for most of us, it's the other end
that's impossible to resist.
These guys do have really cute faces.
Sort of faces that will melt your heart.
So I think it's a bit of
a part of their charm.
They've got those big beady eyes
that sort of stare into your soul as such.
"Where are you going?"
(GIGGLING)
Classic Penny.
NARRATOR: Some species have flourished
wherever they've been introduced,
but for others, it's home where
they are held in particular reverence,
like the sika deer of Nara in Japan,
where they are considered to be
messengers from the Shinto gods
and wander the streets freely,
stopping traffic and fearlessly
approaching people for a snack.
These fallow deer may
not be national treasures,
but they're very dear to
zookeeper Emily Mendel
who has fallen for her herd,
each and every one of them.
Penny our darkest one,
she likes to chew everything.
If someone's doing a tour
they've got a microphone cord,
they'll chew through that.
She'll chew through peoples' shoelaces,
she'll chew through my top.
At the moment, Ropey our male,
he's starting to get some antlers,
so he's a little bit
itchy around there
and he'll, all of a sudden,
he'll come over and start
nuzzling into your arm,
pretty much saying
that he wants a scratch
and he won't go away until
you start to give him
a bit of a scratch around the antlers.
Which is kind of sweet.
When under threat
these guys can run incredibly fast.
It's actually thought that they can
run over 50 kilometres an hour.
So they've got pretty flimsy looking legs.
But they are incredibly strong.
A lot of us have copped a fair few
sort of kicks from these guys.
Penny in particular,
she likes to jump up on us.
It can be a little bit threatening.
Um, they are quite strong
despite how they look.
NARRATOR: This small herd
of three females and one male
calls Australia's National
Zoo in Canberra home,
where they share their
enclosure with alpacas.
This unique living arrangement has led to
some unexpected developments.
(SNEEZING)
The sneeze, there isn't
a normal thing for fallow deer.
When we got them, they never sneezed,
they never did anything like that.
It's actually our alpaca that have
taught them how to do that.
That's why they're doing
a little sneeze now.
Not something
they probably should be doing,
but it's funny none the less.
NARRATOR: In which universe
would you have nominated alpacas
to be charismatic innovators?
Even they must be surprised.
But it just so happens they're easily
impressed housemates, the fallow deer,
truly are herd animals
eager to follow any trend,
even if it is just sneezing.
It's easy to fall in love
with a fallow deer,
but all the love in the world
isn't going to help it in the rankings,
it's sliding into number three
just ahead of the sleek leopard,
leaving the whale shark and manatee
safely at one and two.
But hopping into the limelight
is a gregarious bird
known for its wilder side
in the headwear department.
It's challenging enough carving out
a life in some of the harshest,
most inhospitable terrain on earth.
But when you're as vertically challenged
as the rockhopper penguin,
every day is a battle.
Now, these little guys are probably
about 70 centimetres tall.
They live on land.
Their colonies are normally
well above the sea,
so frequently they have to climb
or move inland
five or six hundred metres
or sometimes more.
And if you think about it,
penguins actually have
extremely short legs
and they're frequently in bouldery
sorts of coastal environment,
so they actually
move and climb quite often
up quite steep little cliffs by hopping.
Although they often
fall and slip too
so that they, they have
quite a rough time getting up.
NARRATOR: When they
slip into the water though,
a remarkable transformation happens.
Penguins in water, are just in complete
contrast to penguins on land.
They're completely graceful,
they're streamlined,
they're fast and they're amazing hunters.
They often go really long
distances off shore.
So they live a very demanding life.
NARRATOR: Back on land,
even standing still,
the rockhopper penguin is irresistible.
How could you not want to cuddle this?
BOB: They have a very thick
layer of fat under their skin,
which is why they sort of look
that sack of potatoes-y type shape.
They can see very well in low light
because they need to, of course,
if they're diving to 400 metres or so,
there's very little light down there.
And they've got sort of
an eyebrow of yellow feathers
that looks quite rake-ish really,
a bit like,
you know, old-fashioned
dandy's hats I suppose.
NARRATOR: For wildlife
traveller Bob Humphries,
it's not just the eyebrow, the plumage,
the tuxedo or the waddle that provides
an endless source of admiration.
It's the rockhopper penguin's resilience,
how stoic and unbowed
it remains in the face of
extreme conditions that never seem to end.
What really impressed me was really
how hard their lives were.
I mean the colonies we visited
on the Falkland's where frequently
500 metres up a cliff
and these poor little guys
would be out fishing
and then it takes them half an hour
or three quarters of an hour
to get up to the nest
and it's a very demanding life.
I mean, you sort of speculate
as to why anything would bother.
NARRATOR: Yes, beyond the realms of
"Why would you bother?"
lives the rockhopper penguin,
perpetual winner of the animal
kingdom's best attitude award.
Immovable, irrepressible
and impeccably dressed
in the face of incredible odds.
NARRATOR: How can the irresistible
rockhopper penguin sit anywhere but first?
It's nudging everyone down the pack.
But keen to steal the show is
a golden mutant of the night.
The cutest thing about Honey
is her adorable little face.
Her colouration also adds to it,
being unique amongst the possums,
but the soft fur, the fluffiness,
and the cute little face and whiskers
make her really adorable.
NARRATOR: Who would
disagree with Chadd Banfield's
glowing endorsement of his little friend?
Honey is a brushtail possum,
probably the most commonly seen marsupial
by people in its native Australia,
not to be confused
with its distant relative
over on the American continents,
the opossum.
Golden brushtail possums
are found only in Tasmania.
Here on the mainland, most of the
possums are grey in colouration.
The fur on a possum is quite thick.
It is also really soft and waterproof
due to the Tasmanian lifestyle that
the golden brushtail possums have.
NARRATOR: As distinctive
as that blonde fur is,
it can make life a little
difficult in the wild.
There's not much in the way of blonde
foliage in the forests of Tasmania,
so camouflage is not one of the golden
brushtail possum's strong points.
And yes, it is quite unusual
for a native animal
not to have protection
in its natural habitat.
However, the gorgeous coat of
the golden brushtail possum
is actually a genetic mutation
where not enough melanin is
produced in their skin or fur.
Luckily for Honey, predators have
never really been an issue,
she's always been carefully
watched over by Chadd,
a guardian with endless patience.
CHADD: Honey was bred here
at Caversham Wildlife Park.
She was an orphan,
so she was raised by me.
These guys are the party animals of
the wider marsupial family.
They can literally swing from the rafters.
CHADD: Possums are equipped
with quite large and quite sharp claws,
in order to make scaling
the tree trunks quite a lot easier.
They also have quite a long tail
to help aid them with balance.
It's semi-prehensile,
a bit like a monkeys'.
Naked on the underside,
which gives them extra grip.
They're able to wrap it around
the end of the branch
in order to give them
a little bit of extra balance
when they lean out to reach
the flowers and fruits
right at the end of the branches.
NARRATOR: Is it those little paws
that grip those branches
so tenaciously that makes Honey so sweet?
Or is it those beautiful eyes
that never seem to blink,
that permanent look of surprise?
CHADD: You've only got
to take one look at the face
to know that she's just really
adorable, really cute.
Honey would sit at number 12
on the list of 72 cutest animals.
NARRATOR: That's a very specific
and well thought through assessment
from a man who knows animals,
but in the end,
it's just a number for Chadd,
because there are some things
you simply cannot quantify.
I really love the fact that
I can come to work every day
and just pick up a possum
and give it a cuddle.
The golden brushtail possum maybe
one of the cuddliest critters around,
but it's not going to compete with the
wild antics of the rockhopper penguin.
The possum will take second spot,
pushing the ambivalent whale shark,
odd-looking manatee, endearing fallow deer
and slinky leopard lower in the line-up.
NARRATOR: Such a wonderfully
broad mix of animals in this episode,
from the adorably cute
golden brushtail possum
and the cumbersome
but ever so appealing manatee
to the incredible experience
of swimming with whale sharks,
not to mention, of course,
the outrageous, quirky
and tenacious rockhopper penguin.
Will there be much of a change
to the state of play?
Well, most the stakeholders already
holding onto a number look fairly relaxed,
not particularly worried about the
new pack moving onto their turf at all.
However, at number 10, the little penguin,
despite all its charming traits
and loyal devotion
knows it's got a challenger
in place with the rockhopper.
Sadly for the little penguin
there's going to be a penguin coup.
So the number 10 spot is vacated
as the rockhopper penguin
moves into number five,
continuing the penguin coup and pushing
the rather handsome king penguin to six.
The red panda, gibbon,
gorilla and elephant,
all move closer to the fate
of the little penguin
but are going to hold tight
to their spots for now,
happy to take the accolades of
being in the top 10 while they can.
We're half way through
the cute animal list,
but there are so many more
critters to come
that will make you smile and laugh,
plus a few who will totally amaze you.
Can you work out who will be number one?
Here's a little clue,
this animal can swim,
but swimming is not
necessarily its best skill.
Six more incredible animals
in our next episode
as we get closer to revealing the cutest.
Everyone's idea of cute is different
and we're going to find it hard
to rank the quirky, fluffy and adorable
in our list of 72 Cutest Animals,
but no matter what spot they take,
they'll all win
a special place in your heart.
Cute is in the eye of the beholder.
Revealing 72 of the world's cutest animals
is an eclectic list.
They're unique, possibly eccentric
with a touch of the unusual
and of course, totally adorable.
We explore a broad range
of the cutest animals across the world
and in the process, define just how cute
even the quirkiest of animals can be.
(TRUMPETING)
Graceful when swimming,
although not quite so elegant
when it comes to looks,
our first rather unusual animal may extend
the boundaries of what it is to be cute.
Say hello to one of the ocean's most
relaxed and intelligent mammals.
There are three different
species of manatee
and this one is the West Indian variety.
How can you tell?
Well, the reggae music
is usually a giveaway.
JAYCE: Basically,
they eat and they sleep.
They spend most of the time in the day,
um, munching on the
vegetables that we give them.
Most of the time they sleep.
NARRATOR: Underwater, for about 20 minutes
at a time before coming up for air.
Yes, a demanding routine
of serious leisure
must be difficult to deal with
for the West Indian manatee.
With no real predators,
a manatee can float through life
without having to look over its shoulder,
which is a difficult task anyway
for an animal of this size
with such a short neck.
These ones live at the Singapore Zoo,
so they don't even
have to travel far for a feed.
JAYCE: We feed them carrots,
and we also feed them pellets browse,
it's kind of biscuits for them.
NARRATOR: But to write off
these hungry herbivores as lazy
would be doing the manatee
a great disservice.
While a sense of urgency is
rarely on a manatee's agenda,
their incredibly pleasant nature means
that even if they did get there first,
they'd probably let others
go ahead of them anyway.
JAYCE: They are very social animals.
I love watching them
playing with each other
and sometimes they will
do some somersaults.
They will hug each other,
they will roll over,
sometimes they want
a belly rub on the tummy.
NARRATOR: In fact,
anyone who enters their domain
is fair game for some manatee shenanigans.
Sometimes when we go down
in the tank diving,
they will actually come up to you,
hold onto your tank
and they are just playing hide-and-seek.
Because they will hold onto your tank
and you are looking back,
who is holding onto your tank
and you couldn't find them.
NARRATOR: Growing up to four metres long
and weighing in at nearly 600 kilos,
a fully grown manatee is quite imposing,
but at just four months old
this one is relatively pocket sized.
Granted, you'd have to be
wearing very large pants,
but still, adorable little Willy loves
human touch and is so affectionate.
(CAMERA CLICKING)
He's kind of like,
"Hey come, pat me, I love it".
They're really not afraid of you,
so when you play with them
they don't shun you away
and there's a reciprocate love there.
NARRATOR: Manatees actually
have a formidable long-term memory
and you can imagine
this sort of tender care
would leave a lifelong
impression on young Willy.
JAYCE: What makes them unique?
Every single thing. (CHUCKLING)
They can grow until very huge.
Yet you can come very up close to them.
Not fearful of you,
neither you fearful of them
and you really have
a fun time with them.
The manatees are cute,
adorable and loveable.
(CAMERA CLICKING)
NARRATOR: There is more to being cute
than just having a pretty face.
Some animals instantly make us smile
and while others may not be so attractive,
their quirkiness and relationship with
humans can be incredibly charming.
We explore the characteristics
that allows each animal
to claim the title of "cute".
Who will be the cutest?
In the end, it's more
than just good looks.
The manatee may just prove
that looks can be deceiving,
it's first in the show,
so it's sitting at number one,
but stalking the arena
to challenge the top spot
is a creature well known
for its glamorous looks.
You don't find leopards,
leopards allow you to see them.
You can go looking
and not see them
but one will appear
when it decides it's going to
and that makes them a bit special too.
NARRATOR: Slinky, sassy, superior.
Leopards are majestic
and mysterious creatures.
Quite the reserved animal,
if you were to cross paths with one,
maintaining your distance is advised.
But that doesn't mean these big cats
are anything short of gorgeous.
Oh, leopards!
Every time I see a leopard
is really a special experience.
NARRATOR: Graceful climbers,
and even stealthier stalkers,
leopards can hear five times
more than the human ear,
allowing them to keep a low profile
and remain perceptive.
They can be up in trees,
in the shade of the tree
because they're very good
at finding a nice shady spot
and just hanging with their legs
drooped over a branch.
Or they can just be wandering around
through, you know, long grass, hunting.
The males are solitary
and they will walk through
the females' territories
and that's when they decide that
this one might be a good one to mate with.
NARRATOR: There's no denying
their beautiful coat.
Their spots are called rosettes
because of the distinct pattern they form.
LUKE: Every leopard's spots are different.
So obviously that is very unique.
Again that's like a fingerprint
and the facial markings
are all completely different.
That's how I usually identify them,
either on their personality
or on their facial markings.
NARRATOR: Leopards are
fairly territorial creatures,
particularly where
their cubs are involved.
SALLY: Females have territories
and the females and their young
will live in those territories
until the young leave.
They're extremely protective as mothers
and very, very good
at hiding their cubs,
often up in rocky places
and caves, things like that
and then when the cubs are at heel
then they will never have them
very far away at all.
(MEOWING)
NARRATOR: Cubs are born blind
and completely rely on mum
for the first few months.
They will stay with her
for about two years,
learning from the best
on how to hunt and survive.
All of it was practice for the real world.
Running up trees and jumping off again,
it was like a gym for leopards
building important muscles.
SALLY: We'd stopped on the road,
I'd just sensed that they were
going to cross in front of us
and the mum went and just stopped,
paused, checked it's all okay,
ran across the road
and the cubs were all sitting together
just a little bit further back
and then the adult lay in the long grass
on the other side of the road
and she called each cub across,
one by one,
and there were these
gorgeous little cubs
just trotting a little bit nervously
across the road,
but really only just in front of us,
it was lovely, very special.
NARRATOR: When they're
not learning life lessons,
the cubs are practising
their skills on each other,
play fighting, preening
and pouncing for hours.
LUKE: For me, because the leopard
is my favourite animal,
I'd say they're number one
on the cuteness scale
simply because of those cubs.
You just can't look at a leopard cub
and think anything but...
I don't think there's anything
cuter than a leopard cub.
Most of what I've seen would be the
gentler side I think, I'm probably lucky.
'Cause my husband has
called me leopard lady,
because I'm very, very successful
at seeing leopards
or finding them
when they're there to see
and being in a position where
they will show themselves.
So his nickname for me is leopard lady.
Maybe they recognise a fellow spirit.
(CHUCKLING)
NARRATOR: The stylish spots
aren't going to be enough
for the leopard to knock
the manatee from the top,
it's going to have to laze around
at number two, waiting,
watching to see if the next contender is
going to take control of the cute stakes.
You certainly don't see this everyday.
It was one of those deep blue experiences
that you can't ever replicate.
NARRATOR: Whale sharks are the giant
fishies of the ocean.
And if you want to see one,
you'll have to join them for a swim.
My name's Ellece Nicholls
and I live in Exmouth, Western Australia,
and I swim with whale sharks for a living.
ELLECE: As some people say,
the best job in the world, I agree.
I've been doing it for
seven, eight years now
and every day is so different.
Most of the time
people will come out of the water
and they are looking
like a whale shark, like this.
(CHUCKLING)
And you tell them, "Put your face in,
put your face in the water"
and they do that and then they see
this big wide mouth emerge,
that's when you feel them
squeezing your hand really tight
and it's a really rewarding feeling.
NARRATOR: When this is the experience
it's hard not to get goosebumps.
They can reach sizes of up to 12 metres
and unofficially a lot larger.
Even more impressive is how they navigate
their bulk through the water.
ELLECE: They rely on their sensors,
so electrical currents in the water
and in our spine
and in every little tiny fish,
that's what they can pick up.
So with their sensory receptors
they will respond to those
in a curious manner
as far as maybe checking
something out briefly.
NARRATOR: Don't worry though,
they're more closely related
to their whale side than the shark
when it comes to food.
ELLECE: Well, they are
100 percent shark and zero whales.
Whale sharks are called a whale shark
because of the size of them
and because they're large like a whale
and also because of what they eat.
They eat the same food as whales do,
bailing whales.
So the biggest fish in the sea
exists only on the tiniest organisms
that are in the ocean.
NARRATOR: There's a lot still unknown
about the behaviour of whale sharks.
Their migration, life cycle,
methods of communication,
but you can't swim with whale sharks
everyday and not learn a thing or two.
Quirky is a, is a good word to describe
actually the behaviour
that they depict when
they need to go to the toilet.
Sometimes they get very uncomfortable
and start thrashing around
and you think "Wow, what is
wrong with this whale shark?"
because they're not, they're not behaving
the way they normally do.
Say if they're swimming
slowly and passive feeding
and then all of a sudden
a big cloud of white smoke will appear
and you think "Oh, okay, he needed
to go to the toilet". (CHUCKLING)
NARRATOR: Not even this could detract
from their over-aweing presence.
ELLECE: They're the biggest
fish in the ocean,
so they largely represent
what the ocean is about.
It's mysterious and we don't know
too much about it
and I think that that fact
means that we should be
out there trying to protect
what we, what we don't know.
NARRATOR: Preferring warm waters,
there are a great many places
whale sharks can be seen
and very special places to witness
these harmless giant's charm.
ELLECE: Their docile nature
and just how passive they are in the water
and the feeling that they give you
when you swim alongside them.
It's really humbling
and just being allowed to be in the
presence of something in the wild,
in the ocean, is amazing.
And I think that every person wouldn't
deny the feeling that they get.
Even if you're not a water person,
you'd still love
that one on one interaction.
NARRATOR: An experience that
captures the hearts of everyone,
even if the whale shark
isn't quite so engaged,
will easily take this marine creature
straight to the top,
bumping the adorable manatee to second
and the stylish leopard to third.
But eagerly springing into contention
is a charming doe-eyed delight.
With their grace and elegance,
and of course, those big eyes,
it's impossible to resist their charms.
These guys are incredible.
I never expected to have such
a strong bond with sort of, a deer.
A lot of people think about them, like,
just another paddock animal
or potentially to eat.
But yeah, I don't know,
I don't know, they're just awesome.
I'm biased though, I love these guys.
NARRATOR: Whether you're playing
hide and seek in the brush,
ruining a golf course,
or walking strangely through a forest,
if you're a deer of any kind,
well, cue the oohs and ahs.
The deer family is broad, with around
90 species in the extended family
including elk, caribou and moose.
(HORN BLOWING)
The similarities between
some are so striking,
the only way to tell them apart
is to carefully examine
the markings on a deer's rear.
But for most of us, it's the other end
that's impossible to resist.
These guys do have really cute faces.
Sort of faces that will melt your heart.
So I think it's a bit of
a part of their charm.
They've got those big beady eyes
that sort of stare into your soul as such.
"Where are you going?"
(GIGGLING)
Classic Penny.
NARRATOR: Some species have flourished
wherever they've been introduced,
but for others, it's home where
they are held in particular reverence,
like the sika deer of Nara in Japan,
where they are considered to be
messengers from the Shinto gods
and wander the streets freely,
stopping traffic and fearlessly
approaching people for a snack.
These fallow deer may
not be national treasures,
but they're very dear to
zookeeper Emily Mendel
who has fallen for her herd,
each and every one of them.
Penny our darkest one,
she likes to chew everything.
If someone's doing a tour
they've got a microphone cord,
they'll chew through that.
She'll chew through peoples' shoelaces,
she'll chew through my top.
At the moment, Ropey our male,
he's starting to get some antlers,
so he's a little bit
itchy around there
and he'll, all of a sudden,
he'll come over and start
nuzzling into your arm,
pretty much saying
that he wants a scratch
and he won't go away until
you start to give him
a bit of a scratch around the antlers.
Which is kind of sweet.
When under threat
these guys can run incredibly fast.
It's actually thought that they can
run over 50 kilometres an hour.
So they've got pretty flimsy looking legs.
But they are incredibly strong.
A lot of us have copped a fair few
sort of kicks from these guys.
Penny in particular,
she likes to jump up on us.
It can be a little bit threatening.
Um, they are quite strong
despite how they look.
NARRATOR: This small herd
of three females and one male
calls Australia's National
Zoo in Canberra home,
where they share their
enclosure with alpacas.
This unique living arrangement has led to
some unexpected developments.
(SNEEZING)
The sneeze, there isn't
a normal thing for fallow deer.
When we got them, they never sneezed,
they never did anything like that.
It's actually our alpaca that have
taught them how to do that.
That's why they're doing
a little sneeze now.
Not something
they probably should be doing,
but it's funny none the less.
NARRATOR: In which universe
would you have nominated alpacas
to be charismatic innovators?
Even they must be surprised.
But it just so happens they're easily
impressed housemates, the fallow deer,
truly are herd animals
eager to follow any trend,
even if it is just sneezing.
It's easy to fall in love
with a fallow deer,
but all the love in the world
isn't going to help it in the rankings,
it's sliding into number three
just ahead of the sleek leopard,
leaving the whale shark and manatee
safely at one and two.
But hopping into the limelight
is a gregarious bird
known for its wilder side
in the headwear department.
It's challenging enough carving out
a life in some of the harshest,
most inhospitable terrain on earth.
But when you're as vertically challenged
as the rockhopper penguin,
every day is a battle.
Now, these little guys are probably
about 70 centimetres tall.
They live on land.
Their colonies are normally
well above the sea,
so frequently they have to climb
or move inland
five or six hundred metres
or sometimes more.
And if you think about it,
penguins actually have
extremely short legs
and they're frequently in bouldery
sorts of coastal environment,
so they actually
move and climb quite often
up quite steep little cliffs by hopping.
Although they often
fall and slip too
so that they, they have
quite a rough time getting up.
NARRATOR: When they
slip into the water though,
a remarkable transformation happens.
Penguins in water, are just in complete
contrast to penguins on land.
They're completely graceful,
they're streamlined,
they're fast and they're amazing hunters.
They often go really long
distances off shore.
So they live a very demanding life.
NARRATOR: Back on land,
even standing still,
the rockhopper penguin is irresistible.
How could you not want to cuddle this?
BOB: They have a very thick
layer of fat under their skin,
which is why they sort of look
that sack of potatoes-y type shape.
They can see very well in low light
because they need to, of course,
if they're diving to 400 metres or so,
there's very little light down there.
And they've got sort of
an eyebrow of yellow feathers
that looks quite rake-ish really,
a bit like,
you know, old-fashioned
dandy's hats I suppose.
NARRATOR: For wildlife
traveller Bob Humphries,
it's not just the eyebrow, the plumage,
the tuxedo or the waddle that provides
an endless source of admiration.
It's the rockhopper penguin's resilience,
how stoic and unbowed
it remains in the face of
extreme conditions that never seem to end.
What really impressed me was really
how hard their lives were.
I mean the colonies we visited
on the Falkland's where frequently
500 metres up a cliff
and these poor little guys
would be out fishing
and then it takes them half an hour
or three quarters of an hour
to get up to the nest
and it's a very demanding life.
I mean, you sort of speculate
as to why anything would bother.
NARRATOR: Yes, beyond the realms of
"Why would you bother?"
lives the rockhopper penguin,
perpetual winner of the animal
kingdom's best attitude award.
Immovable, irrepressible
and impeccably dressed
in the face of incredible odds.
NARRATOR: How can the irresistible
rockhopper penguin sit anywhere but first?
It's nudging everyone down the pack.
But keen to steal the show is
a golden mutant of the night.
The cutest thing about Honey
is her adorable little face.
Her colouration also adds to it,
being unique amongst the possums,
but the soft fur, the fluffiness,
and the cute little face and whiskers
make her really adorable.
NARRATOR: Who would
disagree with Chadd Banfield's
glowing endorsement of his little friend?
Honey is a brushtail possum,
probably the most commonly seen marsupial
by people in its native Australia,
not to be confused
with its distant relative
over on the American continents,
the opossum.
Golden brushtail possums
are found only in Tasmania.
Here on the mainland, most of the
possums are grey in colouration.
The fur on a possum is quite thick.
It is also really soft and waterproof
due to the Tasmanian lifestyle that
the golden brushtail possums have.
NARRATOR: As distinctive
as that blonde fur is,
it can make life a little
difficult in the wild.
There's not much in the way of blonde
foliage in the forests of Tasmania,
so camouflage is not one of the golden
brushtail possum's strong points.
And yes, it is quite unusual
for a native animal
not to have protection
in its natural habitat.
However, the gorgeous coat of
the golden brushtail possum
is actually a genetic mutation
where not enough melanin is
produced in their skin or fur.
Luckily for Honey, predators have
never really been an issue,
she's always been carefully
watched over by Chadd,
a guardian with endless patience.
CHADD: Honey was bred here
at Caversham Wildlife Park.
She was an orphan,
so she was raised by me.
These guys are the party animals of
the wider marsupial family.
They can literally swing from the rafters.
CHADD: Possums are equipped
with quite large and quite sharp claws,
in order to make scaling
the tree trunks quite a lot easier.
They also have quite a long tail
to help aid them with balance.
It's semi-prehensile,
a bit like a monkeys'.
Naked on the underside,
which gives them extra grip.
They're able to wrap it around
the end of the branch
in order to give them
a little bit of extra balance
when they lean out to reach
the flowers and fruits
right at the end of the branches.
NARRATOR: Is it those little paws
that grip those branches
so tenaciously that makes Honey so sweet?
Or is it those beautiful eyes
that never seem to blink,
that permanent look of surprise?
CHADD: You've only got
to take one look at the face
to know that she's just really
adorable, really cute.
Honey would sit at number 12
on the list of 72 cutest animals.
NARRATOR: That's a very specific
and well thought through assessment
from a man who knows animals,
but in the end,
it's just a number for Chadd,
because there are some things
you simply cannot quantify.
I really love the fact that
I can come to work every day
and just pick up a possum
and give it a cuddle.
The golden brushtail possum maybe
one of the cuddliest critters around,
but it's not going to compete with the
wild antics of the rockhopper penguin.
The possum will take second spot,
pushing the ambivalent whale shark,
odd-looking manatee, endearing fallow deer
and slinky leopard lower in the line-up.
NARRATOR: Such a wonderfully
broad mix of animals in this episode,
from the adorably cute
golden brushtail possum
and the cumbersome
but ever so appealing manatee
to the incredible experience
of swimming with whale sharks,
not to mention, of course,
the outrageous, quirky
and tenacious rockhopper penguin.
Will there be much of a change
to the state of play?
Well, most the stakeholders already
holding onto a number look fairly relaxed,
not particularly worried about the
new pack moving onto their turf at all.
However, at number 10, the little penguin,
despite all its charming traits
and loyal devotion
knows it's got a challenger
in place with the rockhopper.
Sadly for the little penguin
there's going to be a penguin coup.
So the number 10 spot is vacated
as the rockhopper penguin
moves into number five,
continuing the penguin coup and pushing
the rather handsome king penguin to six.
The red panda, gibbon,
gorilla and elephant,
all move closer to the fate
of the little penguin
but are going to hold tight
to their spots for now,
happy to take the accolades of
being in the top 10 while they can.
We're half way through
the cute animal list,
but there are so many more
critters to come
that will make you smile and laugh,
plus a few who will totally amaze you.
Can you work out who will be number one?
Here's a little clue,
this animal can swim,
but swimming is not
necessarily its best skill.
Six more incredible animals
in our next episode
as we get closer to revealing the cutest.
Everyone's idea of cute is different
and we're going to find it hard
to rank the quirky, fluffy and adorable
in our list of 72 Cutest Animals,
but no matter what spot they take,
they'll all win
a special place in your heart.