0:00:29 > 0:00:32Hello and welcome to Animal Park. I'm Kate Humble...
0:00:32 > 0:00:37..and I'm Ben Fogle. And we're up on the roof of Longleat House.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39And it is extremely impressive.
0:00:39 > 0:00:4138,000 square feet, and these chimneys,
0:00:41 > 0:00:46and there are 99 of them, have all been hand-crafted from Bath stone.
0:00:46 > 0:00:51But I think the most special thing about being up here, are the views across the estate.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54They are spectacular. We'll be bringing you stories
0:00:54 > 0:00:58from not around the house but the entire safari park. Coming up today -
0:00:58 > 0:01:04A life and death situation when the vet has to perform an emergency operation.
0:01:04 > 0:01:11There's the before... and the after, when I find out how to turn eggs into chicks.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13And we'll discover what Mike, Michelle
0:01:13 > 0:01:18and Little Mandu the marmoset make of the world's favourite pongs.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27But now, across the safari park, the keepers
0:01:27 > 0:01:31are always trying to find ways to enrich the lives of their animals.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35That could be building a climbing frame for the pygmy goats,
0:01:35 > 0:01:39hanging up unusual food for the giraffes to browse,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43or making a giant scratching post for the lions to play with.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48As one of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, the gorillas need plenty of mental stimulation.
0:01:48 > 0:01:54Keeper Michelle Stevens is constantly trying to come up with something to keep them interested.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00It's very much like trying to stimulate young child.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02You've always got to be on the ball with them,
0:02:02 > 0:02:06you always have to think of new ideas to keep them entertained.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08And that's quite a large part of the job.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12To keep our gorillas enriched we have a TV in the house which is quite unusual.
0:02:12 > 0:02:13They seem to enjoy it.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15It gives some things to look at.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19It also gives them feed enrichment as well.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22We scatter food around the island and create little puzzles
0:02:22 > 0:02:24for them to fathom as well.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Anything to increase the amount of time they forage for their food,
0:02:28 > 0:02:30which is what they do in the wild,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33that is what we have to try and replicate in captivity.
0:02:33 > 0:02:39Nico the silverback male, and Samba the female, are both complicated characters.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44There's always something to learn with gorillas and they're always learning something about you.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47It's a constant relationship which is building all the time.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51They get to know you and you get to know them and their little habits as well.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56I've only been there for two years and I'm still learning all the time.
0:02:58 > 0:03:04Michelle has also expanded her education recently with a specialist animal management course.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07In her studies she's heard of an experiment
0:03:07 > 0:03:11that was done to see if primates recognize images of themselves.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16Researchers found that gorillas were sometimes fascinated by their reflection in a mirror.
0:03:16 > 0:03:22So this morning Michelle's trying it with Nico, to see if it gets him thinking.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24NICO GRUNTS
0:03:24 > 0:03:30That sort of noise is what he makes very rarely, when he watches chimpanzees on TV.
0:03:30 > 0:03:37So whether he's thinking, "This is another silverback looking at me, I'm territorial," or, my guess is,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41that he knows it is him, and he's just reacting to it.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45It might wind him up as well if he could see himself all the time, so...
0:03:45 > 0:03:47But now,
0:03:47 > 0:03:49that's a reaction...
0:03:49 > 0:03:53That's kind of an aggressive reaction, showing the teeth, making
0:03:53 > 0:03:57himself look really big, so I think he's probably getting a little bit agitated.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Showing who's boss at the moment, I think.
0:04:03 > 0:04:04Hmm?
0:04:04 > 0:04:07'But he has come back for another look...
0:04:07 > 0:04:09'he's really quite interested.'
0:04:12 > 0:04:15'So Michelle's trying something else.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17'Nico sees the sea lions every day,
0:04:17 > 0:04:21'but what will he make of them on video?
0:04:21 > 0:04:23'No reaction. What about other animals?
0:04:25 > 0:04:26'Not interested.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31'But he sits up when Longleat's Rhesus Macaque monkeys come on.'
0:04:31 > 0:04:36It just looks like he is really concentrating on the TV.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39It just sort of...
0:04:39 > 0:04:43he's really focusing on something, trying to work it out, I think.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Trying to make out what it is.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50It seems to me that he knows it's a primate.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55Because he seems to respond to this and not to sea lions or the horses.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59'So, what will the gorillas make of a video of themselves?
0:04:59 > 0:05:02'Hopefully, they will find it stimulating viewing.'
0:05:02 > 0:05:08I took a video of the gorillas and showed it back to them and they were quite receptive to it.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12They did actually what it quite intently, especially Nico again.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15He sat with arms crossed and watched the whole thing.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18I showed him other videos of other things and he has not shown
0:05:18 > 0:05:22any interest. He has actually walked away. So I think he knows it's him.
0:05:22 > 0:05:27It is hard to know what Nico's thinking, but he is glued to the telly.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29HE GRUNTS
0:05:29 > 0:05:32That's the same noise that we were hearing when we showed him the mirror.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36He's probably just interested to see what he looks like.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43He probably recognises the logs and everything as well and the actual island.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47'But suddenly, something breaks the spell.'
0:05:48 > 0:05:49HE HITS THE WALL
0:05:49 > 0:05:51That was a good reaction.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56He's just basically getting a bit agitated and little bit...
0:05:56 > 0:06:00unnerved and he wants it to end, I think.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04In fact, it's time to go out for the day anyway.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07The gorillas were fascinated with themselves on video,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11even if Nico decided in the end that he didn't like that show.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14It's a really good response, especially with the mirror as well.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17I didn't think they'd be that interested, to be honest.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21I knew they'd have a look but didn't think it would keep their attention for that long.
0:06:21 > 0:06:27They are creatures that do recognise their own reflection and they're very intelligent.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29It's everything I thought it would be, actually.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33For Michelle it's been an interesting experiment,
0:06:33 > 0:06:38and for the gorillas it may well have given them something to think about for the rest of the day.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48For some of the residents just having a grassy patch
0:06:48 > 0:06:52and a few friends around is all the enrichment they need.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55The guinea fowl is a ground-dwelling bird from Africa,
0:06:55 > 0:06:59and at Longleat, they range free all across the East Africa Reserve.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03And as they go, they lay free-range eggs.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Ben's gone to find out what happens to them.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11I've come up to the incubation house was Senior Warden Bev Evans.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14And a collection of eggs. What are these actually for...?
0:07:14 > 0:07:18- These are from our guinea-fowl.- Wow. So they were laid... - Around the giraffe area.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23- I had to search everywhere for them. - And why are we here?- We've brought them to be incubated.- OK.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Hiding in here is head of section Mark Tye. Good morning, Mark.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31What is Mark going to do with these?
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Hopefully incubate them if you've got some room?
0:07:34 > 0:07:39- We've got plenty of room.- What are you looking for with these eggs and what does incubation involve?
0:07:39 > 0:07:47Firstly, what we need to look for straight away is that they're clean and not deformed at all.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52Sometimes you can get calcification not all over the shell which would indicate a poor quality egg.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54These all look pretty good to me.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58And then we need to put them in the machine and 28 days later,
0:07:58 > 0:08:00out pop some chicks.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05So we have a few things there, 28 days is the period it will take
0:08:05 > 0:08:10for a chick to hatch. But why can we not just leave these out and about around the estate?
0:08:10 > 0:08:15One of the reasons is they get predated by crows.
0:08:15 > 0:08:20What a game bird like this will do is lay eggs, one a day over X amount of days.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24The trouble is that crows are really good at finding nests and they just seal the eggs.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28Is this an incubation machine? Is this where they would be put?
0:08:28 > 0:08:31Yes, this is one of the specialist machines.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36This one does turning and controls the humidity as well.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39We can keep that at a set point.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41It turns the eggs every hour. With these eggs...
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I don't know, if you can turn the light out we can see...
0:08:46 > 0:08:52All you can see is just a clear shell with a dark patch in the middle which is the yoke.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54So there isn't a chicken there yet?
0:08:54 > 0:08:57There's not an embryo in there at all at this stage.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59That's what you are looking for initially.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Just a nice, dark yolk shape.
0:09:02 > 0:09:08- OK.- But with some eggs over here which is a partridge and doing for Tim...
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Wow, you really are... you are the egg man!
0:09:12 > 0:09:16I am. You might be able to see, all these veins.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19- You can see the dark bits...yes! - See these veins?
0:09:19 > 0:09:21So is that that the chick forming inside?
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Yes, that's the embryo growing inside.
0:09:24 > 0:09:30What happens is, the first thing you'll see at about 44 days in a partridge is a little heart beat.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33- You will be able to see that? - You'll see the heart pumping away.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37And from that heart beat all these blood vessels start spreading out.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42The blood vessels have to grow all around the outside and inside the shell.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45And that is then their outer blood supply.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48It's a bit similar to a mammal being connected to the centre.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51- How many eggs do you have? - We have about 12.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54I don't know how many we are likely to get out of that.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57I would hope about 80%.
0:09:57 > 0:10:03- That's not bad.- You will always find, particularly with birds that lay lots of eggs, some don't work.
0:10:03 > 0:10:08- Bear in mind, these are guinea-fowl. They are not native to the UK.- No, these are African.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10How many do you have now?
0:10:10 > 0:10:13- We have 34.- Do you need more?- Yes.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17They do spread out a lot because they are good at free-ranging.
0:10:17 > 0:10:22So 34 now, but how many of those eggs will hatch?
0:10:22 > 0:10:25We'll be back later to find out.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34But now, back up in the East African Reserve there's an emergency with the pygmy goats.
0:10:34 > 0:10:40The vet, Duncan Williams has just arrived, and Bev Evans has been called back to help.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44Lily, one of the pregnant nannies, began to go into labour yesterday.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46They think she's got twins.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50But almost 24 hours later, she still hasn't given birth.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52There must be something wrong.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56With a pygmy goat, my hand is a bit too big to get in there.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00If it was a sheep or something you'd be able to lamb it quite easily.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04But I can't do it. I think we will have to do a caesarean.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09So it looks like the only chance to save Lily and her babies
0:11:09 > 0:11:12is to perform an emergency caesarean section.
0:11:12 > 0:11:19There's no time to take Lily to the surgery, so the operation will have to be performed right here.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24The vet needs light, and the brightest place is actually outside in the yard.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Andy Hayton is here to help.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29He's the keeper in charge of the pygmy goats.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33The problems we've been having this year is that they are all inexperienced mums.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36These are all their first kids. They are not pushing.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42This is a uterine relaxant which makes the caesar a bit easier to do.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46I think if you pop her up there... A bit of antibiotic.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Duncan's going to use a local anaesthetic because it would
0:11:51 > 0:11:55be very risky to knock Lily out with a general anaesthetic.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00Apart from the increased risk to her, the babies inside would also receive a dose of the drug,
0:12:00 > 0:12:06and if they're already weak, that could be very dangerous.
0:12:06 > 0:12:11I'm going to just do this under a local block which is fine.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13We've given her a little bit of a sedative as well.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16So she's a little bit dopey but not much.
0:12:16 > 0:12:22Lily is a very popular goat, and Bev's the keeper who knows her best.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Lily's one of our friendliest goats.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28She's always quite pleased to get a bit of attention.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31She looks fine. She's quite calm.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34A little bit dopey because of the sedative.
0:12:34 > 0:12:35But she seems fine.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40But now, Duncan's ready to make the incision.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45OK, just feeling in there for the uterus.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48I'll grab the inside of the uterus.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52It takes just moments to get the first baby out.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55There's no sign of life.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59- It's dead, isn't it? - Swinging the baby is to clear fluid from the lungs.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Massaging is to encourage the heart to start.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12Now the second baby is out.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Still no signs of life.
0:13:17 > 0:13:25But there was never any hope. By the time he starts to do the sutures, Duncan has discovered what happened.
0:13:25 > 0:13:30Unfortunately, the placenta was detached already, so the kids had died in the uterus.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35Probably some time during the night, because she didn't get on with it.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37What we're doing now is just sewing her up.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42We'll sew up the uterus first and then we'll sew up the skin.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Mothers don't normally die from a caesarean but it can happen
0:13:45 > 0:13:49if they get peritonitis or something but she's perfectly healthy.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56An hour later, Lily is back indoors.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Bev is sitting with her.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03She's looking surprisingly well considering what she has just been through.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07She was only on a light sedation anyway.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11So she had already stood up and we put her in this giraffe box for now
0:14:11 > 0:14:14to give her a bit of time on her own.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19We've been able to save Lil,
0:14:19 > 0:14:24and she's fine in herself, so that is a bonus.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28So Lily survived, and she was soon on the mend.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32A week later she was well enough to go out, and rejoin the rest of the herd.
0:14:50 > 0:14:56Down in Pets' Corner, Jo Hawthorne is preparing a new kind of enrichment,
0:14:56 > 0:15:02aimed at stimulating what is for many animals the most interesting of all the senses - smell.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07Jo is putting some of our favourite scents, various herbs and spices,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11into a basket to see what the marmosets make of them.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14They've got three Geoffroy's tufted-eared marmosets here -
0:15:14 > 0:15:16a rare species from Brazil.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20Mike and Michelle came to Longleat four years ago
0:15:20 > 0:15:24and now have their two-year-old daughter Mandu living with them.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27Marmosets are part of the monkey family,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31so having something new to keep their minds busy is very important.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34Kate's gone to see if Jo's basket gets them thinking.
0:15:34 > 0:15:41- You've got lavender here.- Yes, we've got lavender growing in Pets' Corner, and it's got quite a strong smell.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Nutmeg, which we use for cooking.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48I've tried to stick to things that aren't too...
0:15:48 > 0:15:49kind of...
0:15:49 > 0:15:52..that would actually put them off.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Like a peppery thing that would make them sneeze.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Yeah, that you and me wouldn't want to get a noseful of, I tried to stay away from.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04Ginger. Again, that's quite a nice smell - to you and me. I don't know...
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Cinnamon, again going for a really nice natural smell.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10And sage, which is also natural, from plants.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13- So, who knows?- Who's this?
0:16:13 > 0:16:15- That's Dad.- That's Dad, Mikey.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19- He's having a good look at the sage on the end there.- He is, isn't he?
0:16:19 > 0:16:23He can obviously smell it, because he's having a good look.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Do you think he's rejecting it because there's no food in there?
0:16:26 > 0:16:29It is literally just the powders.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31He might well do.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34There's nothing visibly edible there.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36It might be that he's thinking, "Mm..."
0:16:36 > 0:16:39- Who's this coming up now? - This is Mandu now.- This is baby.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41Mandu always comes in after Dad.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47- She's having a look. - She's definitely having a sniff.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50She's taking the paper!
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Ooh, no, she's...
0:16:52 > 0:16:54- She's definitely curious.- She is.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Much more than Dad, actually.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Oh, she's got some on her nose!
0:16:59 > 0:17:01Oh, she's licking it!
0:17:01 > 0:17:03- Ooh, what's that?- That's the ginger.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10She's trying to get that off her nose. Poor little thing.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12Bless her.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14- She's had a taste.- She's tasted it.
0:17:14 > 0:17:15Oh, she's going back for more!
0:17:15 > 0:17:17Nope, leapt it.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20Oh, no, she is, she's having a look.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24She's definitely intrigued by this, isn't she?
0:17:24 > 0:17:26She kind of went to get it off her nose.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29- She didn't recoil in disgust, did she?- No.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Mum is staying resolutely inside.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34She's not interested at all.
0:17:34 > 0:17:39She's a bit of a grump like that. She's kind of, whatever they're doing, I don't want to know.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44I tend to find with her, if I'm doing something and I leave it out for days, she'll come in days after
0:17:44 > 0:17:48and come out and look, and go, "That's the deal, is it?"
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Initially she's a bit fearful of things like that.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53She's the sensible one of the three.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57It doesn't surprise me that she hasn't gone anywhere near it.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59- Well...- A bit of a result.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03It was a bit of a result. It was very interesting.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Mikey having a look...
0:18:05 > 0:18:08but not having a taste.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Mandu getting her face in it.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14- Mandu was thinking, "OK, I'll just do it."- Jo, thank you very much.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17That was fascinating. Go on, Michelle. You can have a try.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21'The scent basket may not have been an instant hit
0:18:21 > 0:18:26'with the whole family, but it has given the marmosets something new to investigate...
0:18:26 > 0:18:29'and that's what enrichment is all about.'
0:18:34 > 0:18:41Over the last four centuries, 13 generations of the Thynne family
0:18:41 > 0:18:44have been doing home improvements on Longleat House.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Today we're going to investigate the one who's left the biggest mark
0:18:48 > 0:18:50on the interior of the house.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55His name was Alexander Thynne, and he was the fourth Marquess of Bath.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58He inherited Longleat in 1837,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02the same year that Queen Victoria came to the throne.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06After a proper education at Eton and Oxford, Alexander set off
0:19:06 > 0:19:10on what had become de rigeur for the well-bred Englishman,
0:19:10 > 0:19:12the Grand Tour of Europe.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14It had a profound affect on him.
0:19:14 > 0:19:19The present Lord Bath, who has the same name, knows all about it.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Once he'd done his Grand Tour,
0:19:22 > 0:19:28he saw the magnificent ceilings, the Renaissance ceilings
0:19:28 > 0:19:32in Venice and other places, and he suddenly felt,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35"That is the decor that should be here,"
0:19:35 > 0:19:39because the house was inspired from that period.
0:19:39 > 0:19:45So on the public side the ceilings all changed.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50The public, or state, rooms take up about a third of the house,
0:19:50 > 0:19:54and the lavish ceilings often get comments from the visitors.
0:19:54 > 0:20:00So the house guides, like Rachel Appleby, feature them prominently on their tours.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05Starting with the ceiling above us, we have a very grand ceiling in here.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10The paintings up there came from a Venetian palace,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12they're by the School of Titian,
0:20:12 > 0:20:17bought by the 4th Marquess, instructed by his designer,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20who was a man called Crace, a very important designer.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24Crace helped the 4th Marquess in all these interiors.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26He had a passion for Italy.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29John Dibblee Crace helped the 4th Marquess
0:20:29 > 0:20:32turn nine of the grandest rooms of Longleat
0:20:32 > 0:20:34into a kind of Victorian version
0:20:34 > 0:20:37of some great palace from Renaissance Italy.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43Above us, the ceiling is another of Crace's ceilings.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49The inspiration for this was a palace in Rome. The Palazzo Massimo.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56It was important that the house should make a big impression
0:20:56 > 0:21:00because the 4th Marquess mixed in very grand circles.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04The Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra are seen here
0:21:04 > 0:21:07when they came for a shooting weekend in 1881.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12Alexander, the 4th Marquess, is the tall one on the right.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15And when they all sat down in the state dining room
0:21:15 > 0:21:19the guests were always suitably impressed with the new interiors.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22I think it sums up the Victorians.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26It's dark,
0:21:26 > 0:21:30it's very dramatic, it was meant to cause a stir.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32And I think it probably did.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35What we don't have,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38that the Victorians saw,
0:21:38 > 0:21:42was the atmosphere that this room would have been seen in.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47All those wonderful candles that would have lit this room.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50I think, if we could see it like that today,
0:21:50 > 0:21:52that would be the icing on the cake.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Alexander, the 4th Marquess, died in 1896,
0:21:56 > 0:22:01and since then the state rooms have remained largely unchanged.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05The next marquess to have as keen an interest in interiors
0:22:05 > 0:22:08was the seventh, also called Alexander.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11But the present Lord Bath's renovations have been limited
0:22:11 > 0:22:13to the private apartments.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15The artwork he's put on the walls
0:22:15 > 0:22:18and ceilings has come not from abroad but from his own mind.
0:22:18 > 0:22:24So far, he's painted murals to decorate almost 20 rooms.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Recently he's been getting some extra help
0:22:27 > 0:22:30from yet another relative with the same name.
0:22:33 > 0:22:34Well, this is
0:22:34 > 0:22:37what I do in terms of ceilings.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39I'm trying to do them
0:22:39 > 0:22:44in the spirit of the other side that has a lot a Baroque work
0:22:44 > 0:22:48on the ceilings, making them in an ornate Italian style.
0:22:48 > 0:22:54I've been getting my nephew, young Alexander, to do a mosaic
0:22:54 > 0:22:58wherever I have done a mural within the nursery suite and elsewhere.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04All of the ceilings are different.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08They've all been done according to the theme I've suggested.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12I think young Alex has made a very fine job of it.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16I do the actual mural but he does the mosaic work.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21Of course, the best judge of any artistic endeavour is posterity.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25So in a century's time what will people think
0:23:25 > 0:23:28of Lord Bath's contributions to Longleat House?
0:23:28 > 0:23:34I think they certainly will feel that the different generations
0:23:34 > 0:23:38have made their own marks on the decor of the house,
0:23:38 > 0:23:43and decor of the garden and the decor of the park in general.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47I think we've all left our fingerprints around the place.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49I don't think any of us need be worried.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51They're all the same sort of
0:23:51 > 0:23:55messy fingerprints that knit well together.
0:24:20 > 0:24:25A little over a month ago we brought a dozen of these eggs to Head of Section Mark Tye.
0:24:25 > 0:24:31And now, 35 days later, I'm back with Senior Warden Bev Evans and a very smiley face!
0:24:31 > 0:24:33And some of these. Have a look.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36These baby chicks. Of the guinea fowl.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38So how many were eventually born?
0:24:38 > 0:24:41I think we have nine. Out of 12 eggs.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46If the camera just pans down there in the corner, there are the new litter.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48- That's not the term, is it?- Clutch.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50A clutch of guinea fowl.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54Are you happy with 80 per cent? How many...
0:24:54 > 0:24:58We had 12, so to get nine out is pretty reasonable.
0:24:58 > 0:24:59That's incredible.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04Were they all born over...what sort of gap between each chick?
0:25:04 > 0:25:06They all started hatching...
0:25:06 > 0:25:11well, one hatched two days early and all the rest were all at the same time.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Is that a problem, premature chicks?
0:25:13 > 0:25:19No, it could have been that, when the eggs were brought to me, one may have been sat on already.
0:25:19 > 0:25:24So it could have been slightly more developed than the others.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28Or, sometimes, you just get that odd one that will be different to the rest.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30Talking of different to the rest,
0:25:30 > 0:25:34there are two little chicks that really stand out in there.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37There's two little grey ones and then all the other colours.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39Why are they different colours?
0:25:39 > 0:25:42To be honest, I don't know. Probably genetics of some description.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45I've had it with pheasant chicks as well.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50You get 99% of them all the same colour and then you get a couple of different-coloured ones.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54And how much maintenance has to go on with the chicks? Is there a lot of hands-on stuff?
0:25:54 > 0:25:57No, to be honest, once they have hatched out and we can see
0:25:57 > 0:26:02they've all dried out nicely, because they're very wet when they first come out,
0:26:02 > 0:26:06once they've dried out we can put them out under a lamp.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08So, Bev, it must be very exciting for you.
0:26:08 > 0:26:13- You have 35...- 34. - 34 wild guinea fowl.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17To have a whole clutch of extra ones to add to that...
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Definitely. And all sorts of colours, which will bring variety.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23They range like a lot.
0:26:23 > 0:26:28So even 34 is quite a large number, because they're so wide-ranging it doesn't seem that much.
0:26:28 > 0:26:34- It is very much hands-off, isn't it? - Oh, yes. We feed them in the morning, and they get up to their own devices.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38What sort of age will these chicks be able to...head out?
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Really once they're getting up to full size and able to roost as well.
0:26:41 > 0:26:47- Once they're able to get up into the trees away from predators then we let them free-range.- Fantastic.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Well, Bev, Mark, congratulations, if that's the word.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54Let's hope that these guinea fowl thrive here in Wiltshire.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12We're up in Monkey Jungle with Deputy Head Warden Ian Turner.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16And just over here are the water buffalo, really living up to their name, Ian!
0:27:16 > 0:27:19I don't think I've ever seen them in the water before!
0:27:19 > 0:27:24It has to be warm. Today's a day when you want to go in and join them because it is hot.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26And this is how they get their name, is it?
0:27:26 > 0:27:30Yes. The water buffalo. They like to splash and keep cool.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32Because it's so hot.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36Presumably, if there were lots of flies or biting insects around, that's a good way of escaping them?
0:27:36 > 0:27:41That's right. It keeps all the flies off, yes. The only bit you can see is the head.
0:27:41 > 0:27:42And there...
0:27:42 > 0:27:45He just flicked it over his head!
0:27:45 > 0:27:50- I'm very tempted to join them but I don't think it would be a good idea.- I'm not sure it would!
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Ian, thank you very much.
0:27:52 > 0:27:57Sadly, that's all we have time for on this programme but here's what's coming up on the next Animal Park.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01Up at the Wolf House Freda's had a new litter of cubs
0:28:01 > 0:28:05but will all of them survive when she brings them outside?
0:28:05 > 0:28:11The Eland herd is growing at quite a pace - we'll be meeting the new arrivals.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14And we visit Howlett's Safari Park in Kent,
0:28:14 > 0:28:18where Longleat's Michelle Stevens gets up close and personal
0:28:18 > 0:28:21with their over-friendly elephants.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29So don't miss the next Animal Park.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:47 > 0:28:48E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk