Plot Synopsis

Animal lover Clare Balding and vet Steve Leonard join vet teams around the world as they undertake ground-breaking operations to try and save the lives of wild animals. They discover how developments in human medicine are transforming the way sick animals are treated around the world in some of the most remote places on earth. In the first part of this series, the filmmakers travel to the Wolong Giant Panda Base in South West China, where vets are using high-tech animal medicine to try to save the species. In West Africa, a gorilla called Shufai is still trying to recover from being shot in the arm by poachers when he was just a baby. A vet in Japan has invented a new kind of underwater medicine designed to look after manta rays. Audiences also glimpse the largest pop-up animal ER on the planet, created when an ancient kite festival in India causes a wildlife crisis. Part two follows a team in South Africa who are trying to help rhino Thandi with a ground-breaking skin graft operation after poachers stole her horns. A giraffe has caught his leg in a snare and must be caught and anaesthetized in order to prevent his death. Rosemary the orangutan has micro-surgery in Borneo to try to restore her sight and give her back her freedom. At Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, viewers learn how human heart technology is being used to help our closest animal relatives, chimpanzees, prevent heart disease. The third episode begins in the rainforest of Laos, where vets are going to attempt groundbreaking keyhole brain surgery on Champa, an endangered moon bear. In Japan, vet and inventor Dr. Keiichi Ueda has spent the last 12 years trying to improve the life of Fuji, a dolphin with no tail. Renowned reptile specialist Dr. Doug Mader tries 21st-century surgery to save the life of a prehistoric beast, and in Poland, a team of South African vets is called in to try to remove the infected tusk of a five-ton elephant, Ninio. PBS aired the U.S. premiere of OPERATION WILD on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 at 8pm (check local listings).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Wedneday, July 15, 2015 at 8pm (check local listings), PBS aired the season finale of OPERATION WILD. The season ender chronicles extreme dentistry on a five-ton elephant, keyhole surgery on a giant tortoise, and a remarkable invention that might help a dolphin swim again.