The WORST episodes of The Secret Life of the Zoo
Every episode of The Secret Life of the Zoo ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of The Secret Life of the Zoo!
Chester Zoo is the most popular zoo in Britain. This observational documentary series uses micro-rig camera technology to capture, in incredible detail, the remarkable behaviour of the animals there.
#1 - Survival of the fittest
Season 10 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/7/2021
Vila the chimp makes a bid for the job of top female only to get hurt in a fight with rival Alice. And Chester Zoo's super-rare pink pigeons need to stop arguing and start mating.
#2 - The new Otter brood
Season 10 - Episode 2 - Aired 8/17/2021
A giant otter's hogging all the food while a turtle's gone off his dinner because of a belly full of gravel. And a red river hog bullied by her sisters needs to fight back.
#3 - Goodbye for now
Season 10 - Episode 6 - Aired 9/14/2021
As two rat snakes meet for the first time, will they mate or will the male eat the female for his dinner? And Tombol the orangutan is parted from his sick mum, who may not make it.
#4 - Protecting 007
Season 10 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/10/2021
Keepers are curious when Margery the Malayan tapir is suddenly eating for two; a deadly virus is suspected of being the cause behind a female hyacinth macaw's untimely death, her partner James Bond must undergo total isolation.
#5 - Bongo love story
Season 10 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/31/2021
Newcomer Safi, a rare bongo antelope from the mountains of Kenya, is giving enthusiastic breeding partner Moti the runaround. Very soon the keepers realise why - it seems she may be about to give birth earlier than expected. Sunda gharial crocodiles Frank and Frankie need to have their blood tested - but taking a sample from one of the world's largest and most dangerous reptiles is easier said than done - and George the giant rat needs to have surgery after an X-ray pinpoints a huge lump of hard faeces in his stomach.
#6 - Habitat fit for a King
Season 10 - Episode 3 - Aired 8/24/2021
Chester Zoo's alpha male lion is having a crisis of confidence. There's been a bloodbath among the vampire crabs. And affable Andean bear Bernie has been kicked out of the family paddock.
#7 - First-time mom
Season 6 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/12/2018
Bert and Terrance, the Radiated Tortoises, are competing over female, Smooth Sides. K'tusha the Okapi is about to give birth to her first baby and Eurasian black vultures, Eric and Ethel, who haven't mated yet, may need to be separated.
#8 - The disappearance of the warty Pig
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/8/2019
Wendy, the Visayan Warty Pig, manages to escape from her enclosure, causing an emergency. Young Giraffe, Narus, is moving to a zoo in the Netherlands. Keepers try to get Pinstripe Dambas, Noel and Frida, to mate.
#9 - The Bermuda Skink shuffle
Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/27/2020
Adolescent babirusa Tolo has a hoof problem. Rock hyraxes Daissie and her partner Nungu are expecting their eighth litter. At the reptile house, the Bermuda skinks have a ferocious approach to mating as Poptart meets Sharkface.
#10 - Wishing for a Meerkat miracle
Season 9 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/20/2020
Hornbills survived a fire that swept through their home, but it may have derailed their plans for chicks. Meerkat matriarch Huskie seems to have lost her breeding instincts. Sun bear Milli has her paws full bringing up her daughter Kyra.
#11 - Difficult parenting
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/17/2016
Grevy's Zebras, Florence and Nadine, are about to give birth so the keepers are keeping a close eye on both. Meanwhile, warthog dad Magnum is feeling the pressure of parenting. Two of his older children are becoming increasingly hard to control.
#12 - The Secret Life of the Zoo at Christmas 2018
Season 6 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/20/2018
"Secret Life at the Zoo Christmas" - The animals receive their presents. It's a celebration for the birth of the UK's first surviving Sun Bear cub.
#13 - A deer Family Welcome
Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/13/2020
As the documentary series following life at Chester Zoo returns, on Chimpanzee Island the younger males test the pecking order. And there's a fish out of water at the aquarium. Deer couple Serena and Odin welcome their second doe.
#14 - Elephant Dynamics
Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/14/2019
Asian short-clawed otters develop bald patches. Flamingo chicks are being moved to the adult aviary. A pregnant antelope's aggressive behavior is causing concern.
#15 - High risk pregnancy
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/31/2018
Asian Elephant, Thi, is pregnant again, but keepers are worried for both her and her unborn calf. Male Clownfish Polo, is injured while fighting with the other males for the attention of dominant female, Rosie. A new male Giant Anteater arrives as a potential mate for Bliss and Giraffe, Meru, is on a mission.
#16 - Cheetah Brothers
Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/15/2019
Elderly Cheetah, Matrah, develops a limp and is examined by the vets. Young Sumatran Orangutan, Tuti, needs to prove that she's responsible enough to look after her new sister. Rare Babirusa piglets arrive, but there are concerns for the runt of the litter.
#17 - Chimp turf war
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/28/2018
Mana the Bush Dog is pregnant. The Chimpanzee group is having a power struggle. Wattled Crane, Wilma, is getting a new partner named Ivan and Asian Short Clawed Otter, Wallace, is unwell.
#18 - Aardvark-Free Romance
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/18/2018
A new pair of female meerkats arrive and the aardvarks are making them anxious. Subis, the Sumatran Orangutan, gives birth, and the keepers try to breed some Three-Horned Chameleons.
#19 - Fledgling Penguins
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/1/2016
Humboldt Penguin chicks are introduced to the main pool. Two Sunda Gharial Crocodiles arrive from France, but refuse to eat. Boris the chimpanzee takes a wild Moorhen chick hostage and keepers try to figure out why two Bornean River turtles aren't breeding.
#20 - Antisocial Otters
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/24/2016
Willie, a male Bornean Orangutan from Holland is introduced to Chester Zoo's females. Kendari, the Babirusa is about to give birth and the Small Clawed Otters have a big surprise for their keepers.
#21 - The Birthing Journey
Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/21/2019
Keepers plan a herd birth for Orla the giraffe. Two spider monkeys withdraw from their family. Two camels experience the trauma of separation when one undergoes an operation.
#22 - Episode 3
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/14/2017
Cheetah, KinkyTail, has fallen ill and the Chimpanzees are joined by a new female from Germany. Small Clawed Otter runt, Bo, is observed by keepers.
#23 - Save the Elephants
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/23/2016
A potentially deadly virus hits the elephant house. Will Chester's female zebras be interested in new stallion Mac? Plus: the bizarre world of the naked mole rat.
#24 - Baby Porcupine On The Loose
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/9/2018
Three Malayan Tapirs are moved to a new enclosure. Crested Porcupines, Roxy and Hendrix have a baby and some new male Golden Dart Frogs arrive.
#25 - Tough love
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/22/2019
Keepers think that two-toed sloth, Tina, may be pregnant. A young new male is introduced to the mandrill group. Keepers find a new mate for South American blue poison dart frog, Big Bertha, who loves to wrestle and try to get Asiatic Lions, Kiburi and Iblis, to mate.