0:00:29 > 0:00:33Hello and welcome to Animal Park. I'm Kate Humble.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37I'm Ben Fogle, and we're in the beautiful gardens surrounding Longleat House.
0:00:37 > 0:00:43This is Lime Tree Walk. The plan was for the trees to be planted on either side of the path over there,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46but someone made a mistake and they ended up like this.
0:00:46 > 0:00:51Walking along it today, it's hard to believe it wasn't always supposed to look like this.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56We'll be bringing you stories from the estate and the safari park including...
0:00:56 > 0:01:00Winky the one-wheeled tortoise has been in a bash.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Now she needs roadside assistance.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08We've set up a special spy cam to find out what the wolves make of an unusual pong.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13But I'm just gonna take the cam for a second!
0:01:13 > 0:01:17'And when we venture onto the mudflats to try to get the flamingos to breed,
0:01:17 > 0:01:21'the Animal Park crew get that sinking feeling.'
0:01:27 > 0:01:32But first, we've heard that there's been an exciting development up at the camel house.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40I am going to just open the door to find keeper Kevin Nibbs
0:01:40 > 0:01:42and a couple of Bactrian camels.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44What happened this morning, Kevin?
0:01:44 > 0:01:49Some time during the night, we've had another baby, this little white one down here.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Oh, look... Wow!
0:01:52 > 0:01:54So Mum is?
0:01:54 > 0:01:59Mum is Raisha and it was a bit of a surprise a few weeks ago that we found out she was pregnant,
0:01:59 > 0:02:05- because the father, Khan, he was only four years old when he mated her.- Right.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10Which is more than a year younger than he would be sexually mature,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13so it was a bit of a surprise.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16This morning, we found this little white thing, which is fantastic.
0:02:16 > 0:02:22- The all-important question, has he or she fed yet?- She has, yes.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24She's done everything perfectly,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28as opposed to with Elvis, the other one there,
0:02:28 > 0:02:33she was up in hours, feeding all by herself within just a few hours, which is fantastic.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37- And Elvis and...who's his mum? - Barley.- Barley.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Did they seem concerned to have another little one in here?
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Are they being protective? Barley's coming over quite a lot.
0:02:43 > 0:02:49Yeah, I don't think it's protective, they're very curious of another one in the house, really.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51They're all getting on fairly well at the moment.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Maybe Elvis is a little bit worried about what it is,
0:02:54 > 0:02:59but give it a few hours and they'll be best friends. It's a good playmate for him, really.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04Did you find, Elvis, obviously being male, this new little one being female...
0:03:04 > 0:03:06RATTLING
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Oi, oi! That's no way to behave!
0:03:08 > 0:03:13Do you find, like people say with human children, that girls develop faster than boys?
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Do you think that, now you've got this direct comparison here,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20would you say the same is true for Bactrian camels?
0:03:20 > 0:03:22I would say, yes. Definitely yes.
0:03:22 > 0:03:29The little female calf, she's almost as big as Elvis is now, and he's three weeks old.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33I think she'll develop a whole lot quicker than Elvis did, anyway.
0:03:33 > 0:03:40Very, very exciting, and great news for this species, because they're aren't many Bactrian camels left.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42There's maybe less than 1,000 in the wild.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Any female birth is fantastic.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49- Though Elvis was good, a female is even better.- Yeah, absolutely.
0:03:49 > 0:03:54I think, we're getting the message, which is, "Clear out of here and leave us with our babies."
0:03:54 > 0:03:56Kevin, great news. Thank you very much
0:03:56 > 0:04:00and we look forward to seeing her up and about out in the park.
0:04:00 > 0:04:01Thank you.
0:04:11 > 0:04:18Up in Longleat House, there's a plan afoot to do something very radical to the Great Hall.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21This is the largest room in the house,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24and one of the few parts to have survived, almost unaltered,
0:04:24 > 0:04:29since the place was built by Sir John Thynne during the reign of Elizabeth I.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33But the Great Hall has changed in one fundamental way,
0:04:33 > 0:04:38because back in Tudor times, when you walked in here, you would have been faced with a riot of colour.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Longleat's curator of historic collections, Kate Harris,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48has investigated how the room was first decorated.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52It was the room that impressed anybody first when they arrived.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55It showed how important you were.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00Who you were. The house is covered in heraldry so it shows who your patrons and friends were.
0:05:00 > 0:05:06Originally, the Great Hall was more than a reception area, it was at the heart of the Tudor house.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10A magnificent room for eating and entertaining.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14The Great Screen is made of wood and the walls are covered with panelling,
0:05:14 > 0:05:20but despite appearances, what we see today is not the natural surface of that wood.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24In fact, almost all the brown you can see is paint.
0:05:24 > 0:05:31I think the current sludge brown is almost at the opposite end of the colour scheme of the original hall.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35The 16th-century scheme was revealed as very sophisticated,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37built up of many layers,
0:05:37 > 0:05:42so there's an undercoat of dark stain in the bottom half of the screen,
0:05:42 > 0:05:44followed by colour, followed by glazes.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Its appearance would have been much more sophisticated.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52The sludge-brown paint was first applied in Victorian times,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56and recently, one small section was stripped back by conservators
0:05:56 > 0:05:59to find traces of the original colours.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01There's an olive-green, there's a pale blue,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04there's a darker blue, then the graining on top.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08The brown paint is particularly unfortunate,
0:06:08 > 0:06:14when you remember that this is, after all, the home of Alexander Thynne, the 7th Marquess of Bath.
0:06:20 > 0:06:26As an artist and a dresser, there's no denying that Lord Bath is a big fan of colour.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31And now he's desperate to see a bit more of it on the walls of the Great Hall.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40He's teamed up with interior designer Claire Rendall,
0:06:40 > 0:06:44to come up with his own personal take on that Tudor pizzazz.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48It would have been impressive, have had fabulous colours, gilding.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52It would've been something really glamorous and very bright,
0:06:52 > 0:06:56and what the Victorians tended to do was slap a load of brown paint on,
0:06:56 > 0:07:01clean all the stone. They've done it with churches, public meeting places
0:07:01 > 0:07:04and they've done it with a lot of stately homes.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08Because Longleat is a heritage treasure of international significance,
0:07:08 > 0:07:12Lord Bath is not actually allowed to make big changes to the decor.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17But Claire has come up with an ingenious plan to help him indulge his decorative vision.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24So what we're going to do today is take a digital photograph of the Great Hall,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28and then we're going to digitally enhance that using the computer,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31and Lord Bath is going to choose his own colours.
0:07:31 > 0:07:37It won't be as it would've been when John Thynne had the house, but it'll be the present Marquess's choice,
0:07:37 > 0:07:42and will give visitors a sense of how the Great Hall would have looked when it was coloured.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44It'll be truer to the Elizabethan theme.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47- The kind of colours that I'm talking about...- Yes?
0:07:47 > 0:07:49If you hold it...
0:07:49 > 0:07:55I'm feeling we've lost out. What the Elizabethans would've had is a colourful Great Hall.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57I wanting to get back to colourful,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59yet keep the spirit of it being contemporary,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02but be bold in choosing the colours.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05What about gilding and silver...?
0:08:05 > 0:08:09There would have been, I would imagine, just to catch the light in the evenings,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12because Sir John would have wanted to show off, wouldn't he?
0:08:12 > 0:08:16- I'm wondering if he would have smacked a lot of gold leaf on.- Yes.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21If you find the ribbons in her hair, something of that nature,
0:08:21 > 0:08:25- but not to overdo the gold.- No, just to really bring it out.- Uh-huh.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29Lord Bath has lived here for much of his 74 years,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33and he's never seen this room decorated in any other scheme.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38Claire's digital photo idea has already got his creative juices flowing.
0:08:41 > 0:08:47I would like to choose colours going over the panels, the rings round, etc, etc,
0:08:47 > 0:08:55in contrasting colours around the rainbow, and also to bring out the stonework in colour.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00If Lord Bath had his way, he'd have the paintbrush out and he'd be painting it as he wanted to,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04but as an historic building, he can't. Which is a shame. It'd be interesting.
0:09:04 > 0:09:09We'll be back later to see just what Lord Bath comes up with
0:09:09 > 0:09:13and whether it really is a shame that he's not allowed to redecorate the Great Hall.
0:09:19 > 0:09:24I'm out in Wolf Wood with keeper Bob Trollope and head of section Brian Kent.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29You've done something unusual. You've put down some red deer poo in their enclosure.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Why have you done that, Bob?
0:09:31 > 0:09:36A continuation of the enrichment that we do here. So it's scent enrichment.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40It's something that, if they were in the wild, they'd naturally come across.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45But because they don't here, we put it in there to see what reaction we get.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50What we've done to get an even closer view of the wolves here,
0:09:50 > 0:09:55if you just pan back, you will see expert cameraman Andy Milk
0:09:55 > 0:09:57looking very focused there.
0:09:57 > 0:10:02Andy has hidden a little camera which we're calling wolf cam,
0:10:02 > 0:10:07which, hopefully, will get a very close view, or perspective, of the wolves.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10This is the screen that we're gonna be watching it on.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12What are you hoping to see, Brian?
0:10:12 > 0:10:17I'm hoping for the wolves to come over and investigate and have a sniff around,
0:10:17 > 0:10:22but they're a bit wary at the moment. More than likely roll around in it.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25- Like a dog would do to mark themselves?- Basically, yes.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28If you just stop there, Andy,
0:10:28 > 0:10:34we have a very nice view of our poo, but no wolves.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37I don't know how long it's gonna be, but they're not very far away.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40They're by the Land Rover at the moment.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43- Who's this one right outside here? - This is Zeva.- Zeva?
0:10:43 > 0:10:49- And is she the lowest in the pecking order now?- Yes. There's a few more around.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56He's instantly attracted to the smell of the deer poo.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59Which we can just see now. Look at that, coming right up.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03- Oh, look, he's actually picking it up.- He's trying to bite it.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05Is that seeing what it is exactly?
0:11:05 > 0:11:06Oh, it's taking some away.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10If we were to leave right now, most of them would come straight in.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13So they're a bit wary of us being this close?
0:11:13 > 0:11:16- Who's the second one coming in now? - That's Zeva.- That's Zeva.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19- So this is the lowest in the hierarchy?- Yes.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22- She's used to be the top dog.- Yeah.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25But we had a younger female come up through the ranks,
0:11:25 > 0:11:27which would be a natural progression.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30- That's what would happen...? - In the pack.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Freda, the one that took over as alpha, is just there.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38- She's not very far away. - Andy, can we zoom in?
0:11:38 > 0:11:40Look at those eyes.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42You often hear about wolf eyes.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44Again, she's just sniffing through it.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47- None of them have rolled in it yet. - Not yet.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51In the wild, they would scavenge if they couldn't find any prey as such,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and there could be some nourishment in that.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57That's why she's having a root around in it.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00It is amazing to see the wolves this close.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03That's a fantastic shot. Look at her ears moving,
0:12:03 > 0:12:05picking up different noises.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Well, Bob and Brian, thank you very much.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10It's great to see the wolves looking so good.
0:12:13 > 0:12:19In Longleat House, interior designer Claire Rendall is helping Alexander Thynne, the 7th Marquess of Bath,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22to come up with a new colour scheme for the Great Hall.
0:12:22 > 0:12:28Something that would be a little more to his liking than the present coat of sludge-brown paint.
0:12:31 > 0:12:37OK, Alexander, here's a print of the photograph we took the other day of the Great Hall,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41that we've printed out in black and white for you to colour in.
0:12:41 > 0:12:47Well, let me think of the building blocks. I'm thinking of the magenta.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52- Yeah.- The green.- Yeah.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56- The yellow.- Mm-hm. - Possibly the two blues.- Yes.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Lord Bath isn't actually allowed to change the decor of the Great Hall,
0:13:00 > 0:13:04but this is a good opportunity to see what the place might look like
0:13:04 > 0:13:09if only there were no rules about heritage buildings.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14So what Lord Bath is going to do now is get his crayons out and colour in this digital print for me,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17and he's going to give me a colour references
0:13:17 > 0:13:21that we're then going to use for the colours for the computer enhancements.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23We're going back to the studio with this plan,
0:13:23 > 0:13:27with the colours, then do the digital enhancement of the photograph.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33When the house was first built in the reign of Elizabeth I,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35almost all of the woodwork was painted,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38though not necessarily as Lord Bath would have it now.
0:13:40 > 0:13:46I think it should be a full spectrum of colour, and at a particular brightness.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52In Elizabethan times even the carved stone figures would have been painted.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54They're all blondes, are they?
0:13:54 > 0:13:56They're all blonde, are they?
0:13:56 > 0:13:58That's what I noticed, yes.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00I'm not sure I approve!
0:14:00 > 0:14:04We'll be back later, when Claire's digitally enhanced picture is complete,
0:14:04 > 0:14:10and we can see Lord Bath's new colour scheme unveiled in all its glory.
0:14:14 > 0:14:20Down in Pets' Corner, there's a problem with one of the most famous residents.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22There are over 30 tortoises living here,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25and they're all popular with the visitors,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28- but one in particular is a firm favourite - Winky.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33She's a female spur-thighed tortoise,
0:14:33 > 0:14:37and when she arrived at Longleat back in 2003,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40she'd already lost one of her back legs in an accident.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45Her previous owner had fitted Winky with a wheel so that she could still roam wide and free.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48But the wheel was looking the worse for wear,
0:14:48 > 0:14:55so head of Pets' Corner, Darren Beasley, called in a specialist model-maker to fit a new one.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58That's the trouble with technology -
0:14:58 > 0:15:00you have to keep on top of the maintenance,
0:15:00 > 0:15:04and Winky has needed a new wheel to be fitted at regular intervals.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07But now the break-down service has had to be called in.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14Recently we've had a problem, and she's managed to bend the axle.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18The wheel has moved and is rubbing on the piece of stumpy leg she has got.
0:15:18 > 0:15:23We don't want her going back, and being poorly and stuff.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28At the moment, Winky is still motoring around and is dragging the wheel on her stump around.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30She's still eating, so she seems OK.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33I think if we just left it alone,
0:15:33 > 0:15:37it's not doing any good, it can only do her bad.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40It'll get in the way, might cause discomfort in her leg.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Tortoises are funny things.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44They don't need a lot of excuses to stop eating.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47If you get things slightly wrong, they stop eating.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51So before she gets to any discomfort, we're gonna act now.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54So Darren's called in Simon England,
0:15:54 > 0:15:58the model-maker who fitted Winky's new wheel when she came to Longleat.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02- Hi, Simon.- All right? - Nice to see you.- How's it going?- OK. I'm glad you came out.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05- Thanks for that.- That's all right. What can we do?
0:16:05 > 0:16:08A bit of a wonky wheel with Winky.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13What we think's happened is, over in the female tortoise pen, we've got a small, low fence that goes around.
0:16:13 > 0:16:19I think she's got this caught in one of the squares and has bent the axle.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24So when she walks now, it's not supporting her, or doing anything.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28She's certainly used that a lot. Look at the tread pattern.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32I was comparing it to the new one we had for her a little while ago.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37It's done some miles. They say tortoises don't go very far, but this one has.
0:16:37 > 0:16:43After Simon's success with Winky's first wheel, his expertise has been in demand.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45We've done a couple of tortoises already.
0:16:45 > 0:16:51Yes, it's not something totally unusual, but it was very unusual when we got the first phone call.
0:16:51 > 0:16:52It's a pleasure to do it.
0:16:52 > 0:16:58It's nice to see her - she's put on a lot of weight since we first met her. She looks really well.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02This is a good opportunity to fit Winky with a new kind of wheel,
0:17:02 > 0:17:06one that might be better suited to her off-road requirements.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Now we could do something like that.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11I've got a nice bag of goodies here.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16We could do something with some low bounce in it.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Look at that. That's even bigger bounce.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21It's gonna be better, I think.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23I think that might be a better option,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25- cos it's nice and...- Yeah, yeah.
0:17:25 > 0:17:26..where this one's solid.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30So if she does go off road...
0:17:30 > 0:17:32If she escapes.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35It'll last quite a few years, anyway.
0:17:35 > 0:17:41The wheel they settle on is from a model aircraft, and it seems to be an improvement.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46- That's the original one. - This would give her more support. You can see instantly. Look.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49I'm supporting her body there, cos she's not bothering to,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51but on grass, that gives her more clearance.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55It was all to be with the remnants of whatever to the leg -
0:17:55 > 0:18:00I presume an animal attacked her years ago - this then doesn't connect.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04There's a gap. There's no way that's going to connect with that wheel.
0:18:04 > 0:18:09We don't want to make a secondary problem. We don't want to make her sore or anything.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13Darren thinks this wheel looks good but will it work in practice?
0:18:13 > 0:18:15Give her the off-road challenge.
0:18:15 > 0:18:21These guys all round the Mediterranean, all the rocks and nooks and the crannies,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25and the thickets and stuff, they have to be fairly mobile.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27They barge their way through anything.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30This is a chalk mound we put in for our tortoises.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34so everything that grows through has got all the calcium they need.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Instantly, it's quite a sheer slope.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38She's taking her time, but the wheel's connecting.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40The stump's not connecting.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44- It's working a lot better now. - That is a result. - And it's lightweight.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Of course, Winky won't be breaking any speed limits,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51but the new wheel has restored her mobility.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55It is important to the animal, and it's something we're grateful for.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59It's good for Winky and it's good for us, as well.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01It's good news all round.
0:19:06 > 0:19:12When the flock of pink flamingos came to Longleat a couple of years ago,
0:19:12 > 0:19:16they were all juveniles and not old enough to breed.
0:19:16 > 0:19:22Now, they're almost mature, and the keepers are keen to encourage them to get on with it.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26I'm in the aviary with head of section, Mark Tighe,
0:19:26 > 0:19:30and possibly the heaviest bucket of mud...
0:19:30 > 0:19:31SHE LAUGHS
0:19:31 > 0:19:38I don't know why we're bringing mud into one of the muddiest places in the park. What's going on, Mark?
0:19:38 > 0:19:44- Well, this is the area we're hoping the flamingos will use as a breeding site.- Ooh!
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Hang on, this could be comedy.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50Hold on. Right. Oh, no, where am I gonna go now?
0:19:50 > 0:19:52Go on the edge there, I think that's the safest.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57The flamingos are gonna use this wet, soggy, horrible area as a breeding site?
0:19:57 > 0:20:01- Yep, that's what they love.- Really? - Yeah. Lots of mud.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04- Where am I going?- Over to those tufts of grass, I think.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06OK. Oh, squelch. Right.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11They will literally build a nest on this stuff?
0:20:11 > 0:20:15Yes. What they like to build is a nest cone,
0:20:15 > 0:20:19- which is probably about 12 inches high.- Yes.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22And about a foot across.
0:20:22 > 0:20:23Like a mini volcano?
0:20:23 > 0:20:28Yes. They will lay the egg in the shallow scrape in the top.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31How extraordinary! So, what's the plan with this?
0:20:31 > 0:20:35Well, all these birds are young birds.
0:20:35 > 0:20:40They've never been brought up around another breeding flock of adult flamingos.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44So, they might be a bit clueless, really, as how to build a nest.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48- Right.- So what we're gonna do is put some here for them
0:20:48 > 0:20:52and it might give them half an idea of what they've got to do.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56- So you're building something for them to copy, effectively? - Yeah, that's right.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01Well, you better show me, because I've got no idea how to build a flamingo nest.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03It's all a bit random, isn't it?
0:21:03 > 0:21:06These were ones we used last year.
0:21:06 > 0:21:07Right.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12It's just packing the mud round the edges.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17You said you got these as juveniles.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21They're looking pretty much like full-blown adults now.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24They've got the full pink plumage.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Does that mean that there's a chance that they will breed this year?
0:21:27 > 0:21:32I think it would be a bit much to expect of them this year.
0:21:32 > 0:21:33- Right.- They're still...
0:21:33 > 0:21:39Some, probably, are too young and, I think, collectively, they have to breed really as a whole group,
0:21:39 > 0:21:42- and I think some of them are a bit too young for that.- Right.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45But we have seen a lot of displaying.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48- Oh, really?- Which is something we didn't see in previous years.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51What do they do when they display?
0:21:51 > 0:21:56Initially, they all stand and look up in the air, and just turn their heads from side to side.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59- What like that?- And go like that.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03- Flamingos find that irresistible, do they?- I presume so!
0:22:03 > 0:22:07Then they'll all start walking in the same directions.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Then one will turn and the whole lot will turn.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14- They all start doing that, walking as a group.- Wow!
0:22:14 > 0:22:17I have to point this out. ..You can't see this.
0:22:17 > 0:22:23You'll have to excuse the camera work, but I'm just gonna take the camera, just for a second.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26Before he falls over!
0:22:26 > 0:22:28KATE LAUGHS
0:22:28 > 0:22:34Because look at this. The cameraman is well and truly stuck.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39Stop being drama queens, the two of you, and carry on with this.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42So when it comes to laying the egg,
0:22:42 > 0:22:48will they line the little hollow in the top with grass, or anything?
0:22:48 > 0:22:53They'll use grass in the construction of the nest,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56but they would just lay the egg in the dirt.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00Oh, really? And how long does it take for a flamingo egg to hatch?
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Between 28 and 31 days.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08Will both parents be involved in the brooding of the egg?
0:23:08 > 0:23:13Yes, they would, and then when they hatch, both parents would look after the chick.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18The chick will leave the nest at about seven days old.
0:23:18 > 0:23:24As soon as they can walk, they'll leave the nest and start pottering around.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Well, I wish them very good luck walking through this mud!
0:23:27 > 0:23:33I'm not sure how we're gonna get out of here, and the cameraman isn't going to - he's completely stuck.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38Mark, thank you very, very much. Hopefully, this will do the trick.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Back in Longleat House, interior designer Claire Rendall
0:23:54 > 0:23:57has returned with the finished picture of the Great Hall,
0:23:57 > 0:24:02now digitally enhanced with Lord Bath's new colour scheme.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Originally, this room was brightly decorated,
0:24:04 > 0:24:09but all the panelling and woodwork was painted brown in Victorian times.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11Lord Bath has lived with it all his life.
0:24:11 > 0:24:17Now, at last, he'll be able see what could be done with the decor, if only they'd let him.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19- Ta-da!- Ha-ha!
0:24:21 > 0:24:23So, when do we start?
0:24:23 > 0:24:28Oh, it's certainly showing how we can improve on brown.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32I would put something in front of the brown, but it's impolite.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34I'll just say "brown".
0:24:35 > 0:24:43Also here to inspect the finished picture is Kate Harris, the curator of Longleat's Historic Collections.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48She'll be able to judge whether Lord Bath's ideas are true to the Elizabethan scheme.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53I think it reflects the buoyancy of 16th-century polychromy,
0:24:53 > 0:24:55but it's a very modern take on that,
0:24:55 > 0:25:00and all colours were probably unproduceable at that period.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02So it's as inauthentic as you could get.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06If somebody wants to come to your assistance and put a colour scheme up there,
0:25:06 > 0:25:12and show what YOU think it should have been like, I'm very happy that it should be put up there.
0:25:12 > 0:25:17It's not what I think it should have been like, but what people discovered it was like.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21There was bound to be some clash between historic accuracy and artistic flair,
0:25:21 > 0:25:24but at the end of the day, it's all down to taste.
0:25:24 > 0:25:29So, what do you think of Lord Bath's scheme?
0:25:29 > 0:25:33It looks very mad LSD tartan, doesn't it, really?
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Not my colour palette at all.
0:25:35 > 0:25:41I think Kate was slightly shocked, but she'll have a better knowledge of what it was like originally.
0:25:41 > 0:25:46I think it's fair to say that Lord Bath has a fairly unique sense of colour.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49It isn't to everybody's taste, obviously.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58The narrow-gauge steam train that runs round the park
0:25:58 > 0:26:03has long been a big hit with the visitors, young and old.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05But it's more than that for the people who work here.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10Railway enthusiasts who live, breathe and even eat the glory of steam.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15It's the end of a lovely hot day here,
0:26:15 > 0:26:20and Kate and I have come down to Longleat Central to catch up with station manager, John Hayton.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Hi, John. What's going on here?
0:26:22 > 0:26:24Afternoon tea.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28Bacon for afternoon tea. What's all this about? And cooking on a shovel.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30- On a shovel, in the firebox. - Really?
0:26:30 > 0:26:34- Oh, it's the best way.- Really? - Gordon Ramsay...
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Do you put it into the actual furnace?
0:26:37 > 0:26:39- Yes, exactly.- Wow!
0:26:39 > 0:26:41Let's get it cooking,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45and we'll test it out in a minute and see how good it is.
0:26:45 > 0:26:51Apart from cooking bacon, John, what else do you have to do here with all the steam trains?
0:26:51 > 0:26:55Well, they've got to be taken in, all the ash taken out, smoke box cleaned,
0:26:55 > 0:26:59blow the boiler down if it needs to be, get the ashes out,
0:26:59 > 0:27:03clean the fire and make sure there's no hot ashes left in.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07Then fill the boiler up, ready for next day.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09Does she have to be buffed on the outside as well?
0:27:09 > 0:27:11So she's sparkling in the morning?
0:27:11 > 0:27:15That's usually done in the morning, especially my nameplate.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17I did notice that.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20It is very, very grand, having a train named after you.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Very much so.
0:27:22 > 0:27:23What did you do to deserve that?
0:27:23 > 0:27:30Well, I suppose, it was for 30 years' service.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32It was a surprise to me.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36We've just got another 20 to go before we get steam trains named after us!
0:27:36 > 0:27:39I think that bacon looks more or less ready, don't you, John?
0:27:39 > 0:27:41- It's not far off now.- Not far off.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45We will be making some delicious bacon sandwiches cooked on a train.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48Sadly, that's all we've got time for on today's programme.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Here's what's coming up on the next Animal Park.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54All over Longleat, there's a baby boom on.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57Down by the lake, mum doesn't want anyone too close to junior.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59..Apart from I'm gonna get bitten.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02GRUNTING
0:28:02 > 0:28:05The ostrich's new chick is just hours old.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09We'll be there to see its first faltering steps.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12And nobody even knew she was pregnant,
0:28:12 > 0:28:17So these four little lion cubs were a big surprise.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22We'll have all that and more next time on Animal Park.
0:28:32 > 0:28:37Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:37 > 0:28:41E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk