Episode 2 Animal Park

Hello and welcome to Animal Park. I'm Ben Fogle...

And I'm Kate Humble and we are out in the East Africa Reserve,

which is home to giraffes, as we can see, zebras, llamas, camels and ostrich.

And also, wallabies, tapirs, guinea-fowl,

and giant tortoises and pygmy goats.

With all these animals, we've got a whole host of stories for you on today's programme, including:

The lion cubs are keen to play with their new toy,

but Kabir's got there first.

Jasira is thinking, "I want a go, my dad won't let me!" Oh!

This tiny tapir tot takes his first tentative steps.

And it's the moment of truth for the rare Pere David calf.

We'll find out if she's managed to recover from her broken leg.

But first, Longleat's littlest lions, Malaika and Jasira,

are growing bigger and bolder every day.

As the weather gets warmer,

they've been exploring the wide open spaces of the enclosure,

testing their limits all the time.

Lion cubs learn the crucial skills of hunting and fighting

by playing with each other and with their parents.

Even the larger lions can be playful beasts.

Recently, they took a real shine to their brand new scratching post.

But today, there's another treat in store for Malaika and Jasira.

A happy lion family in the sun.

I'm out in the lion enclosure with keeper, Bob Trollope.

Why are they shut in the compound today?

It seems like a perfect day for Kabir and his pride to be out in the big, wide open spaces?

-We're going to be doing a bit of DIY in their section.

-Right.

Obviously, it's safer for them not to be with us.

OK, so, what sort of DIY? It's just a big area of grass, surely?

Well, we do, sort of, enrichment every now and again.

We've done a scratching post in with Charlie's pride.

-Right.

-So, we thought we'd try something in with Kabir's pride.

As soon as they got a natural climbing frame...

Yeah, this is fantastic, isn't it?

We thought we'd add something to it.

-Right.

-A few toys for them to play with.

A brilliant idea. Yes, I can see the ropes hanging round there.

-We have dangled a few things down there.

-Fantastic!

They're going to love this!

Well, we're hoping they are.

It's completely new, obviously, to the cubs, they've never seen anything like this,

I very much doubt whether the big ones have.

-Yeah.

-But, hopefully, the system will encourage

the cubs to play a bit more round here cos it's such a lovely setting.

It's absolutely brilliant. It'll be great for visitors coming in as well to be able to see them.

And, presumably, this will play on natural hunting instincts and playing instincts anyway?

Hopefully, what we'll see is what your domestic cat would do with a new toy,

using their claws, biting it, actually stalking it, all that sort of behaviour.

Brilliant! Well, I can see head of section, Brian Kent, over there, looking puzzled.

-Brian, do you want a hand?

-I'm left doing all the work!

Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

I'm on the last one.

Right, OK. So, what are you going to do with this one?

Hopefully, try and wrap it round this partition here.

OK, shall I throw that over the top of...there.

How's that looking?

-What do you think?

-I think...

That's quite tough! What do you think, Brian?

Do you think they're going to react quite favourably to having new toys in their enclosure?

I think they'll really enjoy it, especially the cubs.

It's ideal for them.

If we hammer it down and then, join us a little bit later,

when we've finished off the cub playground and see how they react to it.

Many of the animals housed in the safari park are under threat in the wild.

Part of the park's purpose is to breed them so that they never become extinct.

These critically endangered Pere David deer

are the rarest residents of the park.

There are just a few thousand Pere David left in the world,

six of them here, at Longleat.

This spring, head of section, Tim Yeo,

was delighted to find one of the does had given birth to a beautiful calf.

But just days after the baby was born,

Tim saw something which gave him cause for concern.

The calf was lying down by itself and was not moving.

Immediately, he called in vet Duncan Williams.

The baby deer has got a really serious facture of its left foreleg.

It's not just a simple break, which would heal really easily,

it has split and there's a segment that is a bit loose.

No-one knows how the leg was broken so badly,

but keepers think it was caused by an adult deer.

In the wild, the calf would surely have died,

but with Duncan's treatment, she has a chance.

We have stabilised it as best we could, we have put a plaster cast on it, which is a very lightweight one,

made out of plastic, rather than plaster of Paris, it sets really hard,

but it's nice and light and will also be waterproof,

so it can stay outside.

It's just really a question of how many complications we've got there.

In the 1970s, the Pere David species dwindled

to just 18 animals in one captive herd.

Since then, breeding programmes have brought the species back from the brink

and some have been reintroduced to the wild.

But, there are still only a few thousand Pere David deer in the world

and every single baby is precious.

Two weeks have passed and the calf seems to be doing well.

Now it's time for the cast to be changed.

But even a lame deer will be hard to catch.

The calf is growing at such a rate now

that Duncan feels that he really must take this cast off

so, we are here to try and catch it this morning.

It's very mobile, this little one,

and it can move surprisingly well on three legs, really,

so, I think it could be interesting, really.

Even though being captured will cause stress to the calf,

it's vital that the cast is taken off.

Tim is hoping that a flanking manoeuvre will take her by surprise.

The other way!

Right, down to the fence then.

Run her along the fence, if you can.

Even on three legs, the baby deer is much faster than her pursuers.

And rather more nimble!

Finally, keeper Ross Ellis manages to corner her near the fence

and catch hold of her safely.

If you sit down and just... shuffle yourself back.

I'm going to take her down to the Rhino House take the cast off,

we've got electricity and stuff, so...

I've never run like that in my life!

She's all right.

We'll be back when the cast comes off.

The sun's shining down at Half Mile Lake

and it's the perfect weather for a spot of gardening,

so, I'm clambering up Meerkat Mound here, to join keeper,

Luke McGruther, up at the top here.

Hi, Luke. Now, I have to say, the mound is looking fantastic.

It's positively overgrown!

Yes, we're really pleased with the way it's gone,

and as you say, it's overgrown, but it's the way we like it.

The meerkats love to hide in the undergrowth and it attracts lots of insects as well.

Our only problem is the fact

we've got lots of stinging nettles around

so we need to pull them all up.

Is that because they sting the meerkats or is that more aesthetics?

No, it's purely aesthetic, it doesn't look nice for the public.

It looks like we're not looking after it, as we are, but we just want lots of natural...

Sure. Shall we start picking away?

Now, I know it's not just the meerkats that live here now, is it?

It's the yellow mongooses as well.

Sometimes, they're called fox mongooses.

Because they do look strikingly like a fox when you see them,

especially from a distance. How are they all getting on together?

Absolutely fine. I wouldn't say they're the best of friends, they keep themselves to themselves,

but they get on, they don't fight or argue or anything.

The mongooses like the meerkats to be around because they keep watch.

Mongooses keep watch anyway, but when the meerkats are around they don't need to,

cos the meerkats always check what's going on.

This is the meerkats' favourite place,

to come up here... and the view is fantastic,

of Half Mile Lake and all the visitors over there,

but this is where they keep an eye that there are no predators coming along.

Yes, it's not the only place they go, but lots of times they will come up here

because they get a good view of the whole area.

If there are buzzards flying overhead or even a plane is flying overhead,

you'll see them look up and they will be checking it out,

to make sure it's not going to swoop down and eat them, basically!

Have you noticed any breeding going on between the meerkats?

There will be pretty soon because I've noticed they've just started to fight,

just a few hours ago, and it'll be the females versus the male.

This is an important part of meerkat culture, they do a lot of fighting.

People think they're vicious, they're not, they're just making sure

they've got a nice, healthy partner cos they want a nice, strong group.

It's just the same with any other animal - they like to pick the best partner possible

to ensure their young are going to be nice and healthy,

and will be able to have a high place in the hierarchy of the group in years to come.

Excellent. Fingers crossed it all works out. Luke, thanks very much.

I think you'd better leave us to it because we have a whole mountain still to clear.

Spring is a special time of year all over the park

as the animals come out to enjoy the sunnier weather

and breeding season gets under way.

The parks two South American tapirs,

Jessie and Jethro, have been here for nine years,

and over that time, they have produced four calves.

Recently, park staff were delighted to discover that Jessie was pregnant again.

Now, keeper Bev Evans is getting ready for the imminent new arrival.

Since Jess is getting very close to her due date, we've started to separate them.

Normally, we wouldn't, we always leave them together,

they love being in a pair,

but, yeah, a week to go, it's one of our procedures before the birth.

All right, Jess, come here.

It's not just for the baby's benefit that Jessie and Jethro are kept apart.

Hey, Jeth, how are you doing? Are you a good boy?

Jethro's quite a laid back adult male, he wouldn't do anything to the baby,

but Jess is being over-protective and beating him around a little bit and we don't really want that,

and it's always nice for mum and baby to bond before we do any mixing of any sort.

And he can see them, so, it should be fine.

Tapirs carry their young for 13 months.

With such a long gestation period,

it's almost impossible to predict exactly when Jessie will give birth,

but Bev suspects it will happen tonight.

Her udder is dropping quite a lot and there is a lot of change going on.

We have just got to look out for behaviour, changes in behaviour,

because she will tell us when she is starting.

Now, all Bev can do is wait. We will be back to see if Jessie delivers.

I'm out in the lion enclosure with head of section, Brian Kent, and keeper, Bob Trollope.

And the lions, Kabir and his two wives and the cubs, have just been let out.

A little earlier, we hung up, you can see, these toys for them,

on the dead tree here and we're waiting to see...

what reaction they have,

but it looks like Kabir is more interested in us, guys.

They'll be fine.

So, we've got, is it Jasira on the left, the slightly smaller one?

Yes, she's the smaller one and then, Malaika.

The're not too sure about this, are they?

Is this a typical reaction, a bit superstitious at first?

-A bit cautious...

-Oh, Kabir is having a go!

He wants that one! Straight into it!

It's a good job we absolutely nailed them down, isn't it?

We needed to, didn't we?

He would've been the last one I would have thought would play with them.

Oh, look, Jasira's thinking, "Can I come in and play?"

She thinks it's food. Will it stay there?

That will be the test, whether it actually stands up to his strength.

Yes, I mean, how heavy is a big, male lion like that?

Well, he is anything in the region of 450 to 500 lbs, I would've thought.

-Wow!

-He's actually pulled it out of shape already.

You can just see those teeth as well.

Now, it's interesting that both Luna and the Yendi, the females,

don't seem really that interested in playing,

more just looking at what's going on.

I think they will do eventually, but they're a little bit more cautious

because they are the hunters in the pride,

so, they're taking it steady, I suppose.

-Jasira there with Dad!

-Jasira is thinking, "I want a go and my dad won't let me!"

She has to watch out, if he lets go.

Oh!

That's it - lion skittles!

Now, we can see Malaika just off to the side here,

she's got the end of the other rope.

There's a big knot in the end so that they can tug on that and play with it.

That's what she's doing.

They are putting their full force into that.

Obviously, not as much power as Kabir.

Oh, is that Jasira?

Come on, jump on it, then.

Frightened Mum a bit, but...

Go on, that's it!

I mean, in the wild, they're not going to, obviously, find beautiful rope fenders hanging up from trees.

But, presumably, this is quite natural behaviour for them, discovering new things?

It is, yes, they're very inquisitive anyway.

Something new like this, then, they're going to suss it out first

and then play with it, as they are doing.

It looks like play, but there's hunting instincts coming out here.

Well, there is, they're pretending to try and kill something, the way they're going at it.

So, although, as you say, they look quite small and cute,

that strength that they've got, even in these early days, is really important for their survival.

Yes, incredible power, and obviously, their teeth are incredibly sharp as are their claws.

They would do you an awful lot of damage.

Kabir is loving them, isn't he?

I think he'll be here for hours!

That's great. Well, I think we can call that a success, don't you?

I think you've got a very, very happy family of lions.

Bob, Brian, thank you very much indeed.

Up at the deer park, the injured Pere David calf has been brought inside,

so vet, Duncan Williams, can remove the cast and check on the broken leg.

What we'll do is take the cast-off, see how the leg is,

see if it's going to be any use because it was really badly broken,

and then, if necessary, we can stick another cast on.

This is the moment of truth for the young Pere David.

Head of section, Tim Yeo, and the team are desperate to find out if the leg has actually healed.

Hold that up out of the way. Have you got the leg, Kev?

Support it under there.

Oh! Ooh, right, now, you can see what has happened there.

-Yes, yes, exactly.

-It's actually, since we've cast it,

the bones have gone through, it's stinking, it's really rotten.

You know, this is obviously going to fall off, it's going to die.

The leg is going to die.

The news could not be worse.

All the best efforts of the team have been in vain.

Unfortunately, the fracture has not healed at all and the bones,

the bone ends at the fracture site, have broken through the skin,

and because it has been out in the mud and stuff, it's all infected.

So, really, the bottom end of the leg is actually dead now and going gangrenous, really.

So, unfortunately, we have to put the calf off to sleep.

Putting the calf out of its misery is the kindest thing to do,

but Tim is devastated.

This is the worst kind of news that we could have, really.

I mean, a female calf, I've been wanting to build the numbers up,

so it's a real setback, it's a female calf, a hind calf.

But there, you know, accidents happen,

and they're big animals and if a calf,

if it's around its mother trying to drink

and the others, you've got a jealous female hind next to this,

and I think, my hunch is that is somewhere along the lines of what befell this animal.

These accidents happen and you've got to take it,

it's a bitter pill to take, but it's the way it goes.

Although the treatment failed to save the calf,

Duncan hopes his efforts will have some benefits for the herd.

By casting it and giving it these two weeks,

we have helped the mother maintain or to develop her rearing instincts

and if we had put the calf down straightaway, she would never have done that,

so, it's good for the future in that, if she has a calf next year,

she will know what to do with it.

Now, the staff can only hope the Pere David will breed again next year.

Up at the Tapir House, there is better news.

Overnight, Jessie delivered a healthy baby boy.

Keeper Bev Evans was up at dawn to check on the pair

and captured this amazing footage

of the tapir calf at just a few hours old.

We did, kind of, expect that he was coming

because Jessie showed all the signs, all the labour signs, the pacing around,

so, we were on tenterhooks, we kind of knew,

but Andy kindly sent me on a morning check especially just to check.

But yes, he's there, running about, which is really cool, really good to see.

Have you had something to eat this morning?

Have you?

Look at the stripes!

It's a lovely coat.

There is always a worry, she's had four really good births,

so, you know, the probability is that some time,

something might go wrong, you never know, nothing is ever 100%,

But then, we do have that faith in her, she's such a good mum, she's such a natural,

she just gets on with it, really, so, you know, there is that worry, but, you know, everything went well.

Unlike his parents, this little boy has striking markings,

which would be camouflage for him in the wild.

His coat will fade to brown as he gets bigger.

To be honest, he looks really small, but I think it's because

we haven't had a baby for a year and a half,

you forget how small they are when they are born.

But he's very lively, actually,

and yeah, very strong on his feet, so we're pleased with him.

That's it, good boy.

After a few days in the house to build his strength,

the youngster is ready to take his first tentative steps outside.

It's a whole new world of sights and smells.

He's feeding all the time, doing really well.

That will probably last until about six months old, when he's weaned,

and that's also when his stripes and his spots tend to fade away.

It's still quite cold for him, but we need to get him out and about,

to get him a bit of sunshine, exercises his little legs, really.

We'll be following the progress of this new tapir toddler throughout the series.

The park's population is changing all the time,

but many of the animals have been here for years

and lived to a ripe old age,

thanks to the keeper's excellent care and attention.

Tigers Sona and Kudu are now 20 years old.

Although somewhat past their prime,

they still enjoy their lives in the park.

Western lowland gorillas, Nico and Samba,

are the oldest animals here.

At 45 years old,

they've already lived ten years more than they would in the wild.

And up at the rhino house, lives another park veteran.

Winston is now 37 years old.

He's doing very well for his age,

but after a hard winter, he's getting extra special treatment.

We're up at the rhino house with keeper, Kevin Nibbs,

and we've come to find out what you feed an old rhino to keep him fit and healthy.

So, we've got Winston here, the old rhino, a couple of buckets each, Kevin.

What have I got in mine?

What you've got, Kate, you've got dried food, which is in pellet form,

we have added some vitamins and minerals for him and some cod liver oil for his joints.

Very good. It's the same for rhinos as it is for people!

-Yes, exactly the same.

-And what about in my bucket here?

You've got linseed and barley mix, which we have boiled up.

The barley will fill him up, fill his tummy up,

and the linseed releases an oil which is good for his skin.

He's got very dry skin, so that will help rehydrate him.

A brilliant idea. What I don't understand...

Sorry, do you want us to mix this while you're going ahead?

I'll pour it in. It's like an extreme cookery programme.

It is! It's like a great big gloopy porridge!

What I don't understand, Kevin, is that there is no one running around

the African bush with linseed to keep their skin in good condition.

So, how do you know that something like linseed will work?

It's mostly an experiment, still.

People use it on horses quite a lot and it's good for their coats,

and rhinos are very similar to horses and they are very closely related,

so we're hoping it will do the same sort of thing.

Talking of old age and keeping the rhino healthy, are there things that you do as well?

Yes, we do all sorts of things.

Good exercise is the best for them, so we make them,

we get them out into the big reserve, have a good walk around up the hill.

If they need medication, we can give that to them.

The linseed and barley is the big one at the moment.

Our rhinos prone to arthritis?

They are in our climate, I'm afraid. It's the cold, damp wind.

Whereas in Africa it's very dry,

here it's the cold and the damp that gets to them, I'm afraid.

-How are you getting on, Kate?

-I think we're doing pretty well, what you reckon?

-Do think these guys will enjoy that?

-I hope so.

-OK.

-We're not going to spoon-feed him?!

-No, no.

-Do we just put the bucket through?

Yes, if you just come up here, away from its horn,

maybe just for this one, give it a good bang on the floor, and he should come over.

-Just dump it out.

-Will he start eating it straightaway?

He normally does, yes.

-So, it's pretty tasty, is this?

-Yes.

Not only nutritious, but...

It smells really good.

It smells delicious actually. It's making me hungry!

I know! Kevin, thank you. Enjoy your food!

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

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

Little Gertie is being groomed to within an inch of her life by her mum.

Can the keepers stop her ear infection becoming fatal?

Bob's jeep has broken down in the lion closure.

But no one wants to get out and push!

And new house steward, Steve Blyth,

let's us in on some secrets of the great house.

I just...I love that, it's so James Bond!

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

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd -2007

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