The Secret Life of the Zoo – Channel 4

Secret Life of the Zoo. Baby elephantsIndali and Anjan.

In the new series of The Secret Life of the Zoo, vets at Chester Zoo treat an elephant calf for the herpes virus, and the penguins welcome 16 new members to their colony

Last year Chester Zoo tragically lost two Asian elephant calves to a fatal herpes virus.

But in this week’s first episode of the new series of The Secret Life of the Zoo, keepers face a race against time to save the life of two-year-old Indali when she’s also diagnosed with the deadly virus (see our TV guide for full details).

The Secret Life Of The Zoo S8 — Elephants Indali and Anjan

As a last resort an emergency medical team tries a radical treatment using the drug interferon, which is usually given to humans to treat cancer.

Incredibly, after three weeks, it appears to have worked, making little Indali the first elephant to beat the virus at Chester Zoo.

It’s a heartwarming tale that has far-reaching consequences and could offer hope to all affected elephants across the world.

TV Times rating: ****

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As TV Times Highlights Editor I get to hear about all the latest TV shows coming soon. Here at TVT HQ we are in the privileged position of selecting the best programmes from across all the channels and streaming platforms. Our mission is to make it easier for our readers to decide what to watch - and give them lots of choice of genres - all the latest shows, plus some nostalgic choices we call hidden gems, too. My career began with a postgraduate degree in periodical journalism (ahem, yes old school!) in 1991 and I’ve worked in TV media since 2000.