³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

Life inside Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park might appear to be a constant round of basic feeding, cleaning and caring for the 3,000-plus residents, but for the keepers, the job goes way beyond fulfilling the daily necessities. They are a dedicated bunch who love their animals with a passion – and it shows.

With female sun bear Babu hogging all the food, keeper Phoebe gets creative to make sure sensitive male Rotana gets his fair share. Meanwhile, there are tough decisions to be made when king penguin Fingal becomes unwell.

However, not all the animals want to be friends with their carers, with guineafowl Philip taking a dislike to Karen, one of the zoo’s longest-serving keepers. There is a new arrival at the zoo in the shape of female dik-dik Noodles - will she cause problems with the resident dik-dik family, and how will young male Rocket take to having a new girl in town?

Keepers Marc and Andy must keep their wits about them at the Highland Wildlife Park as they make repairs in the European grey wolves’ enclosure under very close surveillance from the 12-strong pack. And 12 become 11 when Polly leaves the park for Greece, where hopefully she will start her own family.

Although cleaning up after the animals is a large part of a keeper’s daily duties, there is still time for a bit of light relief. World Rhino Day gives the keepers a chance to let their hair down and have some fun as they raise both money and awareness of conservation issues – but there is a serious issue of pride at stake in the tug-of-war.