Episode 15 Animal Park

-Hello, and welcome to Animal Park. I'm Kate Humble.

-And I'm Ben Fogle,

and these are Tommy and Michelle, Longleat's two sulcata tortoises.

They are incredible. They are also known as spurred tortoises,

and they're Africa's largest mainland tortoise.

-They look almost prehistoric.

-They really do.

Well, there are plenty more amazing animals in the safari park,

more than 50 species, in fact,

and we'll be bringing you plenty of stories, including...

Up at Wolf Wood,

these fearsome hunters try their paw at a spot of fishing.

Oh, that was a good 'un!

The park has ordered two new safari boats for Half Mile Lake,

but unless it rains soon they'll be left high and dry.

And, at Pets' Corner,

keeper John Ovens is making his stage debut.

Very nice! Give her a little round of applause!

But his co-stars are acting up.

You got a piece of rubbish for me? No, don't look at them!

PARROT SQUAWKS No, Archie. Archie, I want a piece of rubbish, please.

But first...

Up at Wolf Wood lives the park's pack of 20 timber wolves.

Wolves once roamed through most of Europe,

but today, the wild population is found mainly in the forests

of Canada and Eastern Russia.

Their pelts are thick enough to keep them warm

through the bitterly cold winters, so as the weather gets hotter,

wolves often enjoy a dip in the water to cool down.

Thanks, Bob. Phew! Wow, that was a bit noisy!

We're up at Wolf Wood, and, as you can see,

we are busy cleaning out their...well, swimming pool,

I suppose this is, really, isn't it? It's rather grand, for the wolves.

-Yeah, it is.

-Is it important for them to have somewhere to come

and cool off on hot days like this?

They love water, they really do.

If this was emptied, then they'd jump in their little drinker.

-Really?

-Yeah, they love it that much.

So they're quite like domestic dogs in that way,

a lot of domestic dogs love jumping into anything - ponds, the sea.

-So wolves would be the same?

-Very much so.

They are extremely strong swimmers.

If they had to cross a fast-moving river,

-they are capable of doing that.

-That's amazing.

We are planning to put fish in here,

which seems a little odd for wolves because, you know,

you think of wolves hunting in packs,

going after small deer, or something like that.

-Would they actually eat fish in the wild?

-They would do.

When the salmon are spawning, that's easy food,

because, as you see with the bears on telly,

-they will grab them as soon as they can.

-Of course.

Wolves are opportunists, and if they see a free meal then they'll take it.

So the idea is that we're going to try and put fish in here,

and see their fishing technique.

Presumably, they're not all gonna be sitting round the edge with a rod!

What will they do?

Will they try and bring it out with their feet?

-The water will be a lot clearer than it is now.

-Yes.

They'll be able to see it, they'll be able to smell it,

and what they'll do is,

some of the braver ones stick their heads in and grab it,

others, like Freda, tend to sit and hook it back to a shallow bit,

-and then go in after it.

-..and then go in after it.

Well, we are gonna be able to see exactly what technique

each wolf employs - I'll put this down -

with this clever little piece of kit.

This is an underwater camera.

It's all sealed up, so that the water can't get in,

but we can get fantastic images, hopefully.

So what we're going to do is, once this is all cleaned out

and less green and murky, this camera will go in the bottom,

we'll put fish in the pond,

and we'll be able to see the wolves fishing.

WOLVES HOWL

Across the park are some rather larger stretches of water.

Half Mile Lake may seem natural,

but in fact it's as artificial as the wolf pool.

It was designed by Capability Brown in the 1700s

and painstakingly dug out by hand.

Today, the park's two safari boats carry around 300,000 visitors a year

out onto the lake to see the hippos and sea lions,

pelicans and gorillas who live there.

The Lady Sylvie and Lady B

have been plying these waters for over 30 years.

But now passenger numbers are growing,

and the two vessels are struggling to keep up with demand.

Safari park boss Keith Harris

has decided that it's time to replace them.

On a really busy day you could be queuing for, you know,

anything up to a couple of hours with these two boats.

And this is why we are looking at two bigger boats altogether.

Loading, unloading will be quicker, we'll get more people round the lake,

and they'll be more enjoyable for everybody.

The new boats will be almost twice the size

of the pair they're replacing, with seats for 102 passengers.

But the bigger boats will have a deeper draft.

To allow them to operate,

the shallow landing area will have to be dredged.

We've got to get a digger into the lake.

We've got to empty the lake out, get a digger in there,

and flatten this area out, so these new boats don't hit it.

The sluice gates are opened.

Thousands of gallons of water an hour flood out of Half Mile Lake.

By the next day,

the shallow end of the lake is reduced to a soggy patch of mud.

Now water bailiff Nick Robbins must get a ten ton digger out

onto the lake bottom, to dredge out the landing area for the new boats.

The hardest job will be getting to the area where the problem is,

because all round the edges it's silt,

and at the moment, we don't know how deep the silt is.

Plant operator John Miles has the tricky job of operating the digger.

He hopes it won't just sink into the mud.

Shouldn't be too deep, though.

According to Nick, it's only about a foot deep,

but then, you can't rely on Nick!

They're right to be worried -

in 1990, a similar operation led to a sticky situation.

The digger driver that we had in them days

decided just to drive into the lake,

and, literally, that's what he did -

he drove into the lake, and he stayed there.

He went in at 8.30 in the morning,

and he was still in the lake at 7.30 in the evening.

Everyone holds their breath

as John inches the huge machine out onto the slippery mud.

Luckily, the lake bed proves firm enough.

Work can now go ahead.

Meanwhile, the deeper end of the lake has water left in it,

for the residents to play in.

The hippos are loving the muddy wallow,

and the sea lions are taking advantage

of the concentrated stock of fish.

Keeper Michelle Stevens has been keeping an eye on them.

They're disorientated, especially the pup.

She's sort of wondering where all the water's gone.

It's not that deep, but, you know, they seem to be coping pretty well.

There's lots of fishing going on. If you look at the seagulls,

the sea lions are actually rounding up all the fish in there.

They're not eating the fish that we provide for them,

they're simply doing their own fishing at the moment.

The birds are helping themselves.

This sort of scenario makes it a lot harder to feed the animals,

and to keep a check on them, because you can't get as close to them.

So normally we feed the sea lions on the beach,

so that we can get a good health check on them,

and see who's feeding, just general things like that,

so when the water levels do go back up, it will be much better,

you know, we can get back to normal.

The digging work is almost completed,

and the animals are happy enough, for now.

But the lake must be refilled soon or they could become distressed.

Some water can be let in from the upper lakes,

but to bring the level back to normal

will require a good few hours of rain.

Across the park live a group of animals who have evolved

to survive in very dry conditions - the park's seven Bactrian camels.

The latest arrival in the herd is little Elvis,

who's now just two weeks old.

# I'm all shook up! #

Elvis had a bit of a shaky start, as he was born with a weak hind leg.

# I can't seem to stand on my own two feet

# Who do you thank when you have such luck? #

Thankfully, within days, the leg strengthened.

Now Elvis is enjoying his excursions into the wider enclosure.

I'm out in the new area with keeper Adie Lanfear,

and the new camel is going out

for one of its first trips out here, isn't it?

Yes, he's been out a few times,

but it's still a very new experience for him.

He's in a mixed reserve, and he will encounter very different species,

that he wouldn't normally encounter.

We've got the rhinos down over there, we've got the Ankole cattle...

And all these cars, which, presumably for a young camel,

is actually a bit of an issue,

because he doesn't know what's dangerous and what isn't.

He's got to learn a lot from his mum out here. She's been brilliant.

And is that mum that he's standing under the neck of?

That's Barley protecting there.

She's been an excellent mother, protecting.

She's using her body as a shield.

She's shepherding him around.

She is. She's guarding him where she thinks the threat is,

and she'll put herself in between him and the threat.

So they're kind of chasing after him,

is that to stop him getting into trouble?

In the distance, we can see the rhino, which is where he's heading,

so I suppose Mum is really nervous for him.

Mum is very nervous, and you've got Khan there chasing.

-He's still a very young boy.

-Khan is Dad, isn't he?

Khan's Dad. He's obviously trying to get the smells, get to know Baby.

But when Baby starts to run, that's fun, that's a big game.

He's still very young, and he will run and chase after the baby.

Have you noticed a real character forming with the young camel?

He's very playful. I mean, Mum's been very good.

We're able to actually handle him.

We have a play with him. Mum's brilliant.

Because you look after them every day,

and you must really recognise individual characters

between all of them.

Yeah, the biggest character is Babs. She's got the saggy humps.

They are so saggy, it doesn't look like she has any humps whatsoever.

She's flattened them.

Well, the humps are actually stored fat,

which they use for energy, and through a process of oxidation,

they can actually produce water.

Really? So that's how they can live in an arid area?

They can live up to 17 days without water,

but because she's got a ready supply of food and water,

her body's adapted, got a little bit lazy,

and there's no need to store so much fat, so they've sagged over.

Are you confident that this youngster is happily blending in,

mixing with the camels that already exist here?

He's mixing very well with the other camels.

They've all got to learn their place.

They discipline each other with biting,

and that's what they use their teeth for, fighting, also.

But they're going to encounter the other animals.

We've got horns in here, the Ankole.

The oryx are our biggest worry. The five girls up there.

-Are they particularly aggressive?

-They're very inquisitive.

They come over, and they circle the young one,

and they will try and test it with their horns,

and it's a little bit frightening at the moment.

Until he gets a little bit bigger,

we've always got somebody watching him out here.

Adie, thank you very much.

We'll keep you posted on Elvis's progress throughout the series.

# Hey, I'm all shook up. #

Back across the park, Half Mile Lake is still a muddy puddle.

It's been drained to allow dredging work,

so that the park's new and larger safari boats

will be able to navigate without scraping the bottom.

While waiting for the lake to refill,

safari park boss Keith Harris has come to Warwickshire,

to Dom Cole's boatyard to check on the construction of his new boats.

Bill Lord and Darren Beasley will operate the new vessels,

so they've come along with him.

-Have we got some boats to look at?

-Yep, come and see the progress.

I was actually very lucky.

At an early stage, Keith involved us in looking at the plans,

and also thinking what we require from a boat,

because obviously, a boat's got to work on our lake,

and our lake requires certain things.

It's very shallow, for instance, and the number of people.

So we were privy to that fairly early on.

But we have only seen drawings, and a few weeks ago,

I got a couple of glossy photographs of some metal being welded together

which whetted the appetite, so I'm excited.

I don't know what we're going to see,

but hopefully it's come on, and I can't wait.

The yard has ten men working at fever pitch

to get the boats finished on time.

There's still a long way to go,

but this is the first time that Keith and the team

can get a good look at the true scale of their new vessels.

It looks huge. Whether they'll look that big on the lake, I don't know,

and how they'll handle.

And the fact that we've still got that clear view,

and we're above the level of the water now,

so people can see all the sea lions

and the hippos from that elevated view. Fantastic.

To prevent injury to the animals,

boats using Half Mile Lake must have a host of special features built in.

It's an extra challenge for marine architect Tony Tucker.

We've had to put in special guards around the propellers,

and the propellers are a special type,

so that they can be lifted up out of the water.

We've got special guards and protective bars around the screws,

to stop injury to any animals.

Bill Lord has worked on the safari boats for a decade.

This is my first time in the cabin. I like the look of this.

He and Darren are keen to give the boats a thorough inspection,

to make sure everything is up to their exacting specifications.

So you've got the tank, you've got pre-filters, a water separator,

and a filter on the engine.

Everything will be on this boat that we require, even fold-down seats,

so you can get easily to the sides and so forth. Loading, discharging.

We can get 100 people on and off very, very quickly.

So I'd say, perfect design.

The visitors will get such a fantastic view of the animals.

They'll feel safe.

We can get everybody on board, no matter what shape, size.

They can come on this boat, and it's going to be really good.

To see the way they've been working on it,

really professional,

and everything's to a very high standard,

so I am really pleased, and now a lot more confident with the boats.

At the boatyard, everything is passing muster.

But back at the park, there's a problem.

The lake is still half empty.

Deputy Head Warden Ian Turner is getting worried.

We've got two foot of water missing, and we've got no rain,

so we're praying like mad for rain,

because it's only coming at two inches per day at the moment.

They can't let more water in than that because of the top lakes

and the fish, so we need rain.

So I'm probably the only person in the park who's praying for rain.

The holiday season,

when thousands of visitors will be passing through the park,

is just days away.

But will the park get the rain it needs to fill the lake in time?

Across the park, we've managed to fill up the wolf pool

rather more quickly.

Now it's time to see if the wolves are any good at fishing.

I'm up at Wolf Wood with keeper Bob Trollope,

and earlier we cleaned out the pond and put some fish in,

-and we've already got... Is that Zeva, Bob?

-Yes.

-Look at her.

We've got a monitor set up,

running to the little camera which you can see under the water there.

Zeva, the apparently omega member of the wolf pack is the first in,

and being the bravest.

As I said earlier, she's very food orientated.

Zeva used to be the alpha, or dominant female,

until she was deposed by Freda.

Now she has the lowest status of all the wolf pack,

and normally would be one of the last to feed.

The fish are an opportunity not to be missed.

Something like this is just a rare treat for her.

And she's having no problem with putting her face right in the water.

No, she hasn't got a problem.

And the others are very much hanging back.

Yeah, well, I think it's cos we've been about there,

and there are a lot of our smells around.

Zeva is really up for it. This is her feet.

Absolutely, as you said,

that she'll claw the fish up into her mouth,

but she has no problem with actually submerging her whole face, as well.

Oh, that's lovely.

As you say, clearly, I thought that they were just meat eaters,

but they're loving fish.

Yeah, it's as good for them as it would be for us.

Plus the fact that they've come to an age where they're moulting now,

this time of year,

and they love getting into the water and getting wet,

and then they come out and have a good shake.

So that's getting all that itchy, dry, dead fur out.

It's interesting, I mean, she's constantly on the lookout.

She's not just gorging herself.

No... Oh, that was a good 'un!

A bit of water down her ear that time, I think.

Yes, she's going to be on the guard anyway,

because when her head is under water, obviously the back end is vulnerable,

and with all the others around,

then I suppose she feels a little bit vulnerable.

She's going to be checking out,

cos that's Freda behind, the alpha female.

Bob, that was a fascinating experiment,

and wonderful shots here of Zeva's face right in there.

Thank you, girl, very much indeed.

And thank you, Bob. We'll leave them to finish off the fish, I think.

Over at Half Mile Lake, to everyone's relief,

a good couple of rainy days has allowed the water level

to be brought back to normal, just in time for peak season.

The residents are all delighted to have their lake back,

none more so than the Californian sea lions.

Now the big day is finally here, as one of the new safari boats

arrives at the park.

65 feet long, and seating over 100 passengers,

the boat is purpose-built to suit conditions on the lake,

and crammed with state-of-the-art features.

Getting the 26 ton vessel safely into the water is a big operation.

Safari park boss Keith Harris is glad

that all the commotion isn't upsetting the residents.

Nico the gorilla has been watching,

but they're used to seeing us getting boats in and out the water.

It's just lovely to see it going off up the lake now.

As with all boats, this one will need extensive trials

before the public can be allowed on board.

But soon, both new boats will be ready to make their maiden voyages.

Over at Pets' Corner live the park's 17 parrots,

but there's not a bird-brain among them.

Experts believe that parrots have the intelligence

of a four-year-old child.

To make sure they are properly stimulated,

keepers teach them how to perform interesting tasks.

The parrots also love being the centre of attention,

so every day in the summer,

the keepers put on a parrot show for the visitors.

Keeper Rob Savin's been doing the shows for years now,

but today he's handing over to his successor.

I'm down at Pets' Corner with keeper John Ubans and Rob Savin.

-Hello there.

-This is a very big day for you, John, isn't it?

-It is indeed.

-What's happening?

I'm just about to do my first bird show.

Rob, I know you've been doing this for...

-You're a veteran of the bird shows here.

-Five or six years, so...

You've been training John up?

I have indeed, and he's doing very, very well.

-How did you feel on your first day?

-I was terribly nervous.

It went OK, I was happy with the result, but...

-Any last minute advice for John?

-Just take your time.

Honestly, take your time, and think it through as you go.

It's all about timing, but timing will come.

-Timing comes into it eventually.

-John, who have we got here?

This is Matilda. Matilda's going to start the show.

I'm not worried about standing in front of those people,

it's how the birds will react.

That's what's going to be interesting.

They say never work with children or animals.

And I'm about to do both.

Exactly. Are you looking forward to it?

-Do you like performing in front of a crowd?

-Yeah, I do.

It's good to get the reaction off the people,

and from the animals as well,

but it will be very interesting to see what happens. Very excited.

We both wish you lots of luck.

We're going to be standing here watching you. It's about time.

-Two o'clock, on the dot. We'll let you go, John. Good luck.

-Thank you.

OK, good afternoon, everybody.

Welcome to Longleat, welcome to the bird show.

My name's John and this is Matilda.

This afternoon, we'll teach you a few things about the birds,

about the environment, but most of all, just have a little bit of fun.

What Matilda's going to do first,

she's actually got her very own pair of parrot roller-skates.

Oh, yeah. She's got a nice tight grip, onto the skates there.

Very nice, Matilda.

Shall we have a spin to finish off, Til? Very nice.

Give her a round of applause. Thank you, Matilda.

John's off to a flying start, and the audience are loving it.

Thank you, Jake, and once he gets all the way to the end of the table,

make sure you give him a big round of applause.

All the way to the end, Jake. Are you going to stop?

I don't want an accident. Very nice. Give him a round of applause.

Come on, Bobby. Yes!

Give them a wave in the middle as well.

Give him a little round of applause. He is a very good boy.

So far so good, but when performing with parrots,

you can never be sure what they'll do next.

PARROT SQUAWKS

He's going to select a piece of rubbish.

Are you going to get a piece of rubbish? Don't look at them.

I know they're all very interesting,

but can we concentrate on the matter at hand?

You're not going to do it for me? No? Oh, Archie's gone all shy.

Archie, are you going to come up for me?

There we go. I tell you what, I'll use my substitute parrot.

But, no, Sunday doesn't want to play either.

Let's go to Bobby...

Thankfully for John,

soon, the parrot prima donnas manage to get their act together.

Nine bell rings.

Nine, go! Nine, go!

BELL RINGS EIGHT TIMES

There we go! Very nice, Matilda. She got there in the end.

The audience have clearly enjoyed the show.

John's first performance has been a success.

Overall, are you happy?

-I'm fairly happy, yes.

-I'm happy.

Can we give John marks out of ten, do you think?

-I think a good nine out of ten.

-Nine out of ten. That's not bad.

-Thank you very much.

-Well done.

You did very well. You've got a good protege there.

As far as he goes, no problem.

We need to get them about a three out of ten though.

Well, John, congratulations. Rob, thank you very much.

It looks like the parrot show will be a success for many years to come.

We're up at Half Mile Lake

on the brand new boat and we've come to meet head warden, Keith Harris.

You must be feeling very proud of yourself, Keith.

I feel like the Admiral this morning.

-Admiral of the fleet, I think.

-It is a fantastic boat.

Very quiet, much, much bigger than the last ones, with a great view.

That's right. Of course, until they get here,

I've been seeing them built, but I didn't realise just how good a view we were going to get

from these boats and how good they are, compared to the old ones.

It is different being so high up on the water.

-What do you think the animals, the sea lions, the gorillas...

-Samba's right there.

Are they going to kind of say, "Oh, there's a new boat on the lake!"

When we unloaded yesterday, certainly Nico, he was running up and down investigating quite clearly.

He was quite interested in what we were doing.

And even just getting the boat down to the key, the sea lions

started chasing it, so I don't think they're going to have any worries.

Are you hoping this will enhance your visitors experience?

Yes. It takes twice the amount of people, it's a lot quieter, so being

able to talk to the public will be a lot easier, so hopefully,

fingers crossed, it'll be a better trip round the lake for the public.

Most important thing, obviously, this is it's inaugural voyage.

We feel very honoured to be the first people on it.

Does it have a name yet?

This particular boat is going to be called the Lady Bath.

And the other one is going to be called the Lady Lenka.

So it's mother and daughter.

Lovely. Absolutely lovely.

Well, we hope that the Lady Bath and the Lady Lenka sail well

for many years to come. Absolutely.

Keith, thank you very much.

Sadly, that's all we've got time for on today's programme,

but here's what's coming up on the next Animal Park.

It's the safari park's 40th anniversary,

so we've gone to the archives to dig up some extraordinary footage from

the early days, and to find out why setting it up was so controversial.

Lord Bath will be sharing some of his memories,

as he serves supper to Longleat's most famous residents.

And in the Gorilla House, we've set up spy cameras to find out

just what Nico and Samba get up to when no-one's around.

That's all coming up on the next Animal Park.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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