The WORST episodes of Secrets of the Zoo

Every episode of Secrets of the Zoo ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Secrets of the Zoo!

With more than 10,000 animals in their care and over 2.4 million guests welcomed a year, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and The Wilds have many compelling stories to tell. Over the course of the last year, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium staff and documentarians at Nat Geo WILD have been working together to share a glimpse into the incredible bonds between caretakers and animals at the Zoo.Secrets of the Zoo also focuses on the Columbus Zoo’s incredible conservation work, including an in-depth look at The Wilds, one of the largest conservation centers in North America at 10,000 acres, and home to rare and endangered animals from around the world.

Last Updated: 4/24/2024Network: Nat Geo WildStatus: Continuing
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Polar Bear Palooza
star
6.17
12 votes

#1 - Polar Bear Palooza

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/30/2019

The staff throws a polar bear "bon voyage" party celebrating their polar bears Neva and Amelia Gray before they head off to the Maryland Zoo. Priya gets to work with her husband on a shark exam. Brie the kangaroo visits the dentist, and an unlikely friendship is formed at the Wilds between Albert the baby takin and Elmur Fudd the baby camel.

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Febreze, Please
star
6.30
10 votes

#2 - Febreze, Please

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/7/2019

A Muntjac deer name Chowlie suffers from mysterious seizures, but the keepers will need to catch him first before they find out why. An adorable tiny Loris named Colby has an abscess dangerously close to the brain and goes in for a CT scan. Jessie the cougar needs to see the dentist, and Febreze the Skunk sees a heart specialist.

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Mandrill of the House
star
6.33
9 votes

#3 - Mandrill of the House

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/12/2020

A mandrill shows its true colors during a dental exam; a gigantic female bison gets a checkup; a young Pronghorn deer's leg injury gets attention; a mother Oryx and her newborn calf seek refuge; and a warthog plays his trainer like a fiddle.

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Otter-ly Ridiculous
star
6.33
9 votes

#4 - Otter-ly Ridiculous

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 7/14/2019

Unga, a special bonobo who has overcome a stroke, gives the vet team a scare on the way to her annual exam. Yin and Yang, two Asian small clawed otters show off their x-ray training skills. Raymer, an elderly Bactrian deer, appears skinny and frail, prompting a field procedure at the Wilds, and Ginger, a 41-year-old white-naped crane keeps on defying the odds.

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Polar Bear Express
star
6.45
11 votes

#5 - Polar Bear Express

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 8/18/2019

An orphaned 600-pound manatee named Agua has been at the Columbus Zoo for years, but now it's time for her to join her cousins in the wild off the coast of Florida. A polar bear named Lee becomes the zoo's newest resident, and an Oryx Antelope named Ruth needs an emergency mani-pedi.

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The Hissing Lynx
star
6.46
13 votes

#6 - The Hissing Lynx

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/21/2020

Two baby white rhinos join the herd at The Wilds; a pair of red pandas have a blind date in a tree; and a super-cute tortoise baffles its doctors.

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Baa-Baa-Bad Teeth
star
6.50
14 votes

#7 - Baa-Baa-Bad Teeth

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 8/4/2019

A mandrill named Tatu has keepers working around the clock in a life-or-death struggle to save her life. Cedric the Anaconda hasn't eaten in three months, but no one knows the reason; a blue-eyed goat named Talula has a date with the dentist but only if her keepers can catch her.

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Love is a Cheetah Cub
star
6.50
12 votes

#8 - Love is a Cheetah Cub

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/2/2019

Three adorable new cheetah cubs capture the hearts of Dr. Priya and Suzi, and the curiosity of the zoo's cheetah companion dogs. Finnick, a Langur monkey and favorite resident at the zoo, needs life-saving emergency treatment for a urinary tract obstruction that won't seem to go away, and an aging and sick arctic fox named Anana has emotions running high for her keeper Josh, as Dr. Priya and her team fight to keep her alive.

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Baby Elephant Watch
star
6.54
13 votes

#9 - Baby Elephant Watch

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 8/11/2019

The entire zoo is on baby watch as Phoebe the Elephant goes into labor. It could be three days or 30 days before the big event, but Phoebe's keepers aren't going anywhere until she delivers. A dentist makes a house call to perform a root canal on Aurora the Polar Bear, and a family of flying foxes, better known as bats, gets its annual exam.

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Rhino-mite!
star
6.56
16 votes

#10 - Rhino-mite!

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/12/2018

A white rhino ultrasound shows surprising results, and a sick guinea fowl becomes an emergency. From Florida to California, the zoo team hits the coasts, returning two rescued manatees to their native waters, and transporting four wild cats to Los Angeles for an appearance on "The Late, Late Show With James Corden."

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Penguin's New 'Do
star
6.57
14 votes

#11 - Penguin's New 'Do

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/2/2019

Dr. Priya calls in a human heart specialist to help with Lady, a Bonobo chimpanzee with a life- threatening heart condition. Barry, a penguin stuck in molt for almost a year, has hopefully seen the last of his bad hair days, and the zoo also welcomes their newest veterinarian, Dr. Katie Seeley. Out at The Wilds, Dr. Jan and her team anxiously await the birth of resident cheetah Wangari's cubs.

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Wolf Pup Watch
star
6.58
12 votes

#12 - Wolf Pup Watch

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/31/2020

A hidden camera captures the birth of a litter of wolves, and a tortoise baffles the vets with a mysterious illness.

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Snaky, Breaky Heart
star
6.60
10 votes

#13 - Snaky, Breaky Heart

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/17/2020

Get ready for some flamingo annual exam chaos, two adorable manatee orphans, some very glitzy polar bear poop, and a blind date with two rattlesnakes.

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A Cheetah's Greatest Race
star
6.62
13 votes

#14 - A Cheetah's Greatest Race

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/10/2020

A beloved cheetah fights for its life against a mysterious and debilitating illness. Meanwhile, an elephant undergoes artificial insemination, and the vets hope to bring another Asian elephant into the world. Lastly, two baby deer must prove that they have what it takes to be a part of the herd.

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Tiger Queen
star
6.63
16 votes

#15 - Tiger Queen

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/7/2020

This week at the Columbus Zoo: daredevil flying goats, adorable cheetah cubs, a cranky female tiger, a lethal king cobra, and a rhino that paints.

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Big Bear Theory
star
6.67
12 votes

#16 - Big Bear Theory

Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/19/2020

The zoo's beloved sloth finds its mate; an armadillo get its groove back; and a behind-the-scenes look at how the zookeepers wrangle a herd of rare donkeys into the barn for its annual check-up.

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Grumpy Cat
star
6.67
12 votes

#17 - Grumpy Cat

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/1/2020

An Asian takin calf hangs on for dear life, and a very grumpy tiger arrives at the Columbus Zoo. The zoo makes history by incubating rare turtle eggs.

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Kangaroo-mance
star
6.67
18 votes

#18 - Kangaroo-mance

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 8/5/2018

Keepers try making a love match between young male Kangaroo Fergus and older female Beatrice; Warthog Zuri gives birth; 34th b-day for silverback Gorilla Mac.

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Polar Delivery
star
6.69
16 votes

#19 - Polar Delivery

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/14/2020

This week at the Columbus Zoo, we meet an adorable baby Rhino, witness an amazing polar bear birth, and comfort a rare bird named Marla.

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Waking the Dragon
star
6.75
12 votes

#20 - Waking the Dragon

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/28/2020

The zoo’s penguin colony gets annual exams, and the staff holds its collective breath as a rare pangolin pregnancy unfolds at the Columbus Zoo.

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A Serval Star is Born
star
6.77
13 votes

#21 - A Serval Star is Born

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 7/28/2019

A silverback Gorilla named Oliver gets his annual exam, and baby pronghorns meet their adult roommates for the first time. Keepers try to figure out why Gobi the Bactrian Camel has been mysteriously gaining weight, and a Serval cat named Kenya gets stage fright when she performs in Jungle Jack Hanna's anniversary show.

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Cheetah Play Date
star
6.77
13 votes

#22 - Cheetah Play Date

Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/26/2020

Two of the zoo's cats receive some high-tech assistance in the baby-making department; Rinzen the red panda and Eebi the mandrill come out on top.

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Babies on Board
star
6.82
17 votes

#23 - Babies on Board

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/24/2020

Babies at the zoo! Meet adorable bouncy baby goats, a trio of fluffy flamingo chicks, a sweet baby gazelle, and a feisty eland calf at the Wilds.

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Run Cheetah Run
star
6.82
17 votes

#24 - Run Cheetah Run

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/29/2018

Zoo docs rush to save a Cheetah with an orthopedic problem; rescued macaws get new lives; and baby polar bears go off the deep end for swimming lessons.

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Welcome to the Family
star
6.83
18 votes

#25 - Welcome to the Family

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/9/2019

The staff at the Columbus Zoo can hardly contain themselves as they prepare to make a home for an orphaned baby gorilla. A longtime resident at the zoo named Annyeung has lost his voice and out at The Wilds, a pregnant giraffe named Lulu keeps the keepers on the edge of their seats as they anxiously await the birth of their newest member.

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