0:00:30 > 0:00:34- Hello and welcome to Animal Park. I'm Kate Humble.- And I'm Ben Fogle.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38And we've just come out of the great doors of Longleat House.
0:00:38 > 0:00:45Longleat first opened to the public in 1949, one of the very first stately homes to do so, and now
0:00:45 > 0:00:48a quarter of a million visitors take the house tour every year.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51We'll be bringing you stories from the entire estate,
0:00:51 > 0:00:54and of course the safari park. Here's what's coming up today.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00We'll be catching up with the safari park's most decorated new arrival -
0:01:00 > 0:01:03a baby named Gomez.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07There's an army trying to eat Longleat's treasures.
0:01:07 > 0:01:13We'll be reporting on the latest battle in the war on bugs.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17And up in Wolf Wood, everyone's getting ready for the next litter of cubs.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22The pack are getting frisky, and the keepers have built a new nursery.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26It looks very cosy.
0:01:26 > 0:01:31But first, we're going up to the giraffery where it has been a bumpy year for new arrivals.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40The season started when Jolly gave birth
0:01:40 > 0:01:45to Longleat's one hundredth baby giraffe - a male named Century.
0:01:45 > 0:01:51Then, over a month ago, Becky had Gertrude, also called Gertie for short.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55And finally, just last week, Jemima had Gloria.
0:01:55 > 0:02:03Today, I've come up to the giraffery with head of section Andy Hayton to get my first look at little Gloria.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Though it's a bit tricky to tell her from Gertrude
0:02:06 > 0:02:10because despite the age difference they're both the same size.
0:02:10 > 0:02:15Gertrude is a bit of a midget, to give her her due, but Gloria is a big giraffe.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18She's enormous! How old is she?
0:02:18 > 0:02:22She's about 2½ weeks. And she is nose-to-nose with dear old Gertie.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26She really is. Her neck looks so thick you'd think that she was a male.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31Oh, yeah, she's all there, and the second day she was born we went in to spray the navel and sex her
0:02:31 > 0:02:34and check her over, and she came flying at us.
0:02:34 > 0:02:41Me and Ryan went in there, yeah, hooves flying, growling, trying to savage us and kick us to bits.
0:02:41 > 0:02:46Mind you, you said Gertie was quite a sassy little thing when she was born.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50It's great, actually, because you start seeing things...
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Instinctively anything that's tall and spotty is OK, anything dressed
0:02:54 > 0:02:57in green and walks in on two legs is an immediate threat,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00so it's just a defence mechanism.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Anything that isn't a giraffe gets it, basically.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07And it's normally us that are the first ones to introduce ourselves, and we cop it.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12Do you find that they take on characteristics of their mother?
0:03:12 > 0:03:20For sure. Gertrude's quite cool, calm and collected, Century is, but this one, she's a real nutcase.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23She's already run into a brick wall and a gate,
0:03:23 > 0:03:29and fallen over and chucked herself around, so she's just an accident waiting to happen, she really is.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32Look at her looking at the zebra, that's very funny.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35Looking down. She's very imperious already.
0:03:35 > 0:03:40But she looks so confident, and so part of the group,
0:03:40 > 0:03:43or tower to give it the proper name.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47I mean, she looks very much
0:03:47 > 0:03:52a confident, happy giraffe, not the baby of the group at all.
0:03:52 > 0:03:59No, we normally give them about three or four days of just keeping them up at the house.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03The first day they stay in, we make sure that the calf's suckling and everything's fine, then we start
0:04:03 > 0:04:06introducing them to the yard, and then out into the paddock.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10As soon as we can get them running with the group, and normal,
0:04:10 > 0:04:11just a normal routine, we do it.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14So this is what they do, we get them doing it.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Just because they're two, three, four days old, it doesn't mean
0:04:17 > 0:04:19they can't follow the group. They would do in the wild.
0:04:19 > 0:04:26Presumably having other young in the group like Century and Gertie, she's got peers, immediate peers there.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31Yeah, there's other people the same size as her, so she's got somebody to play around with.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34You do see them playing around a little bit.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36Look at her, she's wonderful.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40It's lovely. When the sun's shining, and they're out at the far end
0:04:40 > 0:04:44and all moving around nicely, it looks really, really impressive.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49You've got the zebra in with them, and sometimes the whole group will run the length of the park,
0:04:49 > 0:04:54which is a really good distance, and they get up to speed and you see them all running across here...
0:04:54 > 0:04:57It's fantastic. As long you're not stood in front of them.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59She's showing off for us beautifully.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Andy, thank you very much for introducing us,
0:05:02 > 0:05:07and welcome, Gloria, you are a beautiful addition to your family.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18It's been a busy year in Wolf Wood.
0:05:18 > 0:05:25Last spring, Freda, the alpha female, gave birth to a bumper litter of seven cubs.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30They emerged at about four weeks old from a den dug under one of the trees.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35Needless to say, we were soon on the spot to follow their progress.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40We had a feeling it was going to be a big litter, but not quite this big.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43At that age, the cubs' diet is a mixture of their mother's milk
0:05:43 > 0:05:47and some regurgitated meat from other members of the pack.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52But one bold cub was keen to start eating with the grown-ups.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55- Look, they got a bit. - Yes, look at that.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Will it know what to do? Could it eat that?
0:05:57 > 0:06:01He will eat this, but how beneficial that is at the moment, I don't know.
0:06:01 > 0:06:08The pack was clearly as happy as the keepers to have some youngsters running around.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12It's amazing to see the pack dynamics change when there's cubs about.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17It's a very tight-knit family anyway, even though you obviously
0:06:17 > 0:06:21have your quarrels and that, but as soon as there's pups, that all seems to change.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28WOLVES HOWLING
0:06:29 > 0:06:35But now things are changing again because the cubs are almost fully grown.
0:06:35 > 0:06:41As they become adults, there's a danger that the hierarchy of the pack could be thrown into confusion.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Bob Trollope has been observing the group dynamics.
0:06:44 > 0:06:50Last year's pups are now getting to that age where they will be integrating into the bigger pack,
0:06:50 > 0:06:55and they would obviously have to find their place, their ranking.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59So you get a little bit of turmoil there.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03In a well-adjusted wolf pack, there should be a strict hierarchy,
0:07:03 > 0:07:08with the alpha couple at the top - that's Freda and a male called Two Tips -
0:07:08 > 0:07:12and then a series of ranks beneath them.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16There's always a single animal at the very bottom - the omega wolf.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23The gap between alpha and omega, you have a rank where
0:07:23 > 0:07:25it fluctuates.
0:07:27 > 0:07:33So obviously - it's like in a workplace, you know, there's room for promotion,
0:07:33 > 0:07:39and some people would do anything to get promoted - it happens in the wild as well.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48The social order is most clear to see when there's a meal that must be shared.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57You normally find that the alpha members -
0:07:57 > 0:08:03Freda and Two Tips, would normally be the first ones in on the food.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07As you can see, they're very nervous of the meat at the moment
0:08:07 > 0:08:10because the one thing that they haven't done is killed it.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15So they're not sure themselves if it's going to get up and run at them, or see them off.
0:08:15 > 0:08:20So they're all waiting around until they're sure that it's dead.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Lesser ranking ones will come in
0:08:23 > 0:08:26at a time when it's appropriate for them to get in there.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30You sometimes find that they all frenzy feed,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32but these are a well-fed pack.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35As the youngsters begin to find their places in the hierarchy,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Bob's trying to pick out the future leaders of the pack.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44The pups are very, very hard to tell apart because they're all very similar looking.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48But you do get one or two that are very up front...
0:08:50 > 0:08:55..which would be in future maybe an alpha male or an alpha female.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59And then you have the other end of the scale where one or two
0:08:59 > 0:09:05are a little bit more frightened about coming up to the vehicles, coming up to the food straight away,
0:09:05 > 0:09:12because, as you can see, half of them aren't here. They're still dilly-dallying around the section.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15But that's to be expected.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19We're very, very pleased at how it has gone on.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23We have got a very nice sized pack at the moment.
0:09:23 > 0:09:29But the pack could soon become larger still because Freda's now thought to be pregnant again.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34And this year the keepers have been working on a new project that will not only keep the cubs
0:09:34 > 0:09:40as safe as possible, but will also give us the opportunity to see them actually being born.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42We'll be back later to investigate.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Raising a family seems to be a lot more straightforward
0:09:51 > 0:09:55for Longleat's pair of South American tapirs Jethro and Jess.
0:09:55 > 0:10:01They have just one baby at a time almost every year, regular as clockwork.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Little Gomez is number five.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11I'm out in the tapir paddock with senior warden Bev Evans
0:10:11 > 0:10:15and the tapirs, including a very large looking Gomez.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19- He was so much smaller when I last saw him.- Yes, he's shot up.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21- Can we go and see him?- Yes.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26We've got some food here for mum and dad, so that they don't mind us coming and saying hello to everyone.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31- He's still got his stripes. - Yes, quite strikingly, he's still got his spots and stripes.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33And how is he with people?
0:10:33 > 0:10:36- He's letting us come quite close to him.- Yes, he's a little bit shy.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39He's actually one of our more nervous babies. But no, he's fine.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42He's starting to eat a few more solids, so maybe he'll come over.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45And how long will these amazing stripes stay on him for?
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Probably round about six months.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50OK, and then he will look exactly like mum and dad?
0:10:50 > 0:10:54Exactly like Dad, but probably just a third of the size, but he'll get really big really quickly.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58And obviously he's had only cold weather until now,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01- but we've got the sun out - is he enjoying it?- Yes, definitely.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03Yes, getting very active in fact.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06And of course, Bev, he's got the whole little pond over there.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Mum and dad go in there when it's hot. Has he been in yet?
0:11:10 > 0:11:13No, he hasn't yet, but I'm thinking maybe he's just too small.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Jess will encourage him in when she's happy with his size,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19but at the moment she's not taking him in the pond at all.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24And in terms of eating, I can't tell if he's actually eating some of the fruit we've put down. He is?
0:11:24 > 0:11:27He'll go for the banana, which is a lot softer.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31So he's going for the softer fruit rather than necessarily what he enjoys more.
0:11:31 > 0:11:36I think banana is a favourite of tapirs anyway, but as it's soft, yes, he's definitely aiming for that.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39- And how have mum and dad been here? - Absolutely brilliant, actually.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44We've already gone through mating already, so they're getting straight back into the swing of things.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47And, yeah, the family's getting on really well.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49I'm amazed that they can have gone through a mating
0:11:49 > 0:11:55- this soon when he is still so young and they're still looking after him. - Yes, she comes into season quickly.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58- And that's typical behaviour out in the wild as well.- Yes, definitely.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03- They're always going to be pregnant out in the wild.- Really? - Just continual.
0:12:03 > 0:12:10- And does that mean, then, that more baby tapirs could potentially be born here?- Yes, more than likely.
0:12:10 > 0:12:1213 months' time, hopefully we'll have another baby, yes.
0:12:12 > 0:12:1713 months, is that the gestation period for a tapir?
0:12:17 > 0:12:20And I know that in the wild the babies do tend to hide
0:12:20 > 0:12:26- for the first few months to kind of protect them from predators. Is he showing any of that behaviour?- Yes.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Mum will go and lay him up somewhere, and carry on doing her normal thing,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33- and he'll be absolutely fine for a couple of hours even.- Really?
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Just hiding. And in here, does that mean behind a tree, in a bush?
0:12:37 > 0:12:41Unfortunately in here it means right the other side by the fence, and getting lost.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46So we've had a few problems in him getting the wrong side of fences and things like that, but he's generally
0:12:46 > 0:12:51getting the idea of it now, but, yes, he's quite small so we lose him quite a few times throughout the day.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54I'm sure. Well, Bev, thank you very much for letting me come in again,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57and I'm so glad that he's doing as well as he is.
0:13:04 > 0:13:11For more than four centuries, Lord Bath's family has been filling Longleat House with treasures,
0:13:11 > 0:13:16so now the 114 official rooms are furnished with valuable antiques
0:13:16 > 0:13:20while the walls are hung with irreplaceable paintings.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25There are seven separate libraries that contain 44,000 books and manuscripts,
0:13:25 > 0:13:29almost all of them rare with some bordering on priceless.
0:13:29 > 0:13:36In its long history, Longleat House has survived civil war, fire, and the attention of thieves.
0:13:37 > 0:13:43But now a hidden enemy threatens the very existence of the place.
0:13:43 > 0:13:48Inside the wood, the fabric and the paper lurk armies of insects -
0:13:48 > 0:13:53woodworm, clothes moths, and now the latest invader, Ptinus tectus -
0:13:53 > 0:13:55the Australian spider beetle.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00The curator of Longleat's historic collections is Kate Harris.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04It's up to her to stop them from turning all this history into dust.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08We're fighting, not just the battle at Longleat,
0:14:08 > 0:14:09but a war or several campaigns
0:14:09 > 0:14:13against small creatures that destroy important things,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16mostly a beetle called Ptinus tectus,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Australian spider beetle, and also, of course, wood worm,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22which affects all historic furniture.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27We've used a fumigation of methyl bromide in the past, years ago,
0:14:27 > 0:14:31for a whole library, and now we're using CO2 fumigation
0:14:31 > 0:14:37on objects that are in the south-west corner of the house,
0:14:37 > 0:14:42where we've seen a lot of evidence of a lot of Ptinus tectus about for some time,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45and this is really another battle, another skirmish with them.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49We don't think we'll win, but we're getting closer all the time.
0:14:53 > 0:14:59Using CO2, that's carbon dioxide, to kill insect infestations
0:14:59 > 0:15:04is quite a new technique, and it's never been done at Longleat before.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09First, the objects that need to be done are collected into neat piles,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12so that they can be sealed into giant airtight bubbles,
0:15:12 > 0:15:15made from a special packaging material.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Ken Windess, who is now the house conservator,
0:15:17 > 0:15:21has prepared several of these infested piles.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24The next step now is to actually seal the bubbles.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28And what they actually do is they create a bubble, literally,
0:15:28 > 0:15:30with this sort of material,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33so they need to seal the base, go over,
0:15:33 > 0:15:37so it is literally like a tent.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41What happens then is they literally suck out all the oxygen,
0:15:41 > 0:15:45or as much air as they possibly can, out of the bubble,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48and then replace it with CO2,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52and then, of course, anything that normally breathes oxygen would die.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01With everything in place, it's time to hand over to the professionals.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12They're going to start with the piles of infested books and antiques
0:16:12 > 0:16:16that have been assembled in the old Victorian kitchen.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19As technical director of the pest control company,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23Colin Smith is only too aware of the first rule of combat -
0:16:23 > 0:16:25know your enemy.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27This is a typical example.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30This is wool, and what's very interesting about this
0:16:30 > 0:16:34is that this is the sort of damage the insects will cause,
0:16:34 > 0:16:38and this is the type of material they love to go for,
0:16:38 > 0:16:39because this is a protein.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42They are behind the scenes in the dark,
0:16:42 > 0:16:47in storerooms that people don't know that they're there at all,
0:16:47 > 0:16:51slowly chomping away, and when you realise there's a problem,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54then that's what you get, you get holes in everything.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03But now the fumigators swing into action,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07deploying their secret weapon - specially designed tents.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10We now have to form a gas-tight structure,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13and that is very difficult to do indeed.
0:17:13 > 0:17:18This material is very similar to the material that you'd have at home,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20that you'd keep your coffee in.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22So when you go to the supermarket,
0:17:22 > 0:17:24you buy your aluminium pack of coffee,
0:17:24 > 0:17:26it's almost the same material,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29except here, of course, we're making a huge structure.
0:17:34 > 0:17:39The infested piles have been placed on top of sheets of the packaging material,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42so the tents can be made gas-tight around the bottom edge,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45using a heat-sealing machine.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48And this is where the carbon dioxide is introduced,
0:17:48 > 0:17:53and it takes about 10 minutes to fill a bubble up like this.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Carbon dioxide is the gas we all breathe out.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01It's harmless in small amounts, but inside the bubble tents,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04it will be at a concentration of 60%,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08and that's lethal not only to insects, but also to people.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10The only risk, really,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13is if there was to be an accidental puncturing of the bubble,
0:18:13 > 0:18:17or if somebody was silly enough to put their head inside it,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19then that would be very serious,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22that person would be affected very quickly indeed.
0:18:23 > 0:18:29So safety procedures must be observed when the bubble tents are being filled with CO2.
0:18:29 > 0:18:30The room is cleared,
0:18:30 > 0:18:34and the fumigators must wear breathing apparatus.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37We'll be back later, when it's time for the bubbles to be opened.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57When the wolf cubs were born last year,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00we didn't see them until they were about four weeks old,
0:19:00 > 0:19:04and ready to emerge from their den under the roots of a tree.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07This year, there's a plan to change all that.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12I'm with head of section Brian Kent and keeper Bob Trollope
0:19:12 > 0:19:15in a place that we don't come into very often,
0:19:15 > 0:19:16because this is the wolf house.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20- They have access to this house all the time...?- Yeah, all day.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22But if we come in, they leave?
0:19:22 > 0:19:26If you poke your head through the walls, they just scatter and go off.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30Right, OK. So they would use this, what, when the weather's bad?
0:19:30 > 0:19:32When do they tend to use it?
0:19:32 > 0:19:35A windbreak. They've obviously got drinkers in here,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37and some lovely bedding.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Yeah, they will come in and out throughout the day.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Do they tend to sleep in here, do you know, or again, does it sort of...?
0:19:44 > 0:19:45Yeah, because you notice...
0:19:45 > 0:19:49In the straw, you find little nests, where they've made at night-time.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51So you know they have been in there,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54and they do leave other little messages.
0:19:54 > 0:19:55That you have to clear up.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00Absolutely. Now, quite a different approach this year,
0:20:00 > 0:20:06we're coming up to breeding season, and this building has gone up.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10- Our little box.- Tell me about this.
0:20:10 > 0:20:17Well, what it is is hoping to get the alpha female to come and have her pups in the box.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Right, because in previous years,
0:20:19 > 0:20:23they have always built dens under the trees out in the reserve.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27Yes, they have. There's a natural way outside, admittedly,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30but we need her to come in here, and have them in here,
0:20:30 > 0:20:33so we can keep a check on them better than outside,
0:20:33 > 0:20:35because once they're under the tree,
0:20:35 > 0:20:40there's no way of knowing how the pups are getting on, we just can't.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44We can't go near it, because obviously other wolves are around,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47you can't go down and look under the tree,
0:20:47 > 0:20:49unless you've got a long camera or something,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51but this is a better way, hopefully,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53that she will come in here, have them in here,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56and we can keep an eye on her and the pups.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58Can I have a little peek in there?
0:20:58 > 0:21:02It looks very cosy indeed. It looks lovely.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06And of course, we are going to be taking massive advantage of this.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08Bob, stay there a second. Brian, come with me.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11I'm going to use Bob as my wolf double.
0:21:12 > 0:21:19What we've done is basically rigged up a little camera,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21which is here,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25and it's got infra-red lights, so that when the light levels drop,
0:21:25 > 0:21:27those infra-red lights will kick on,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30and it will still be able to get pictures inside here.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35So what we are hoping, we're all hoping is that we will get footage
0:21:35 > 0:21:37which will be an absolute first for us on Animal Park,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40of wolf cubs actually being born,
0:21:40 > 0:21:45but without disturbing them, or the adults in any way, shape or form.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47And what we'll be able to do...
0:21:47 > 0:21:51Bob, can you go into the den, please?
0:21:51 > 0:21:54And we'll just show you how this works. In he goes.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57Now you see that flicker, and it went to black and white,
0:21:57 > 0:21:59that's actually going to infra-red,
0:21:59 > 0:22:01because Bob blocked off the light there.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05You look very comfortable. Is it comfortable in there?
0:22:05 > 0:22:08- I think I might stay here! - Yeah, it looks really warm.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12It's gone back to colour now, because there's enough daylight.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15So for you, Brian, will this be a bit of a first?
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Will this be really interesting?
0:22:17 > 0:22:19This is going to be really interesting,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22because obviously we've never seen pups close up,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25so it's going to be great to be able to view them.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29- It's going to be...- Apart from the one in there at the moment!
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Yes. Do you want to come out now, Bob? Crawl out.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35So Freda is still alpha female, as far as you know,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38she's going to be the one that's breeding.
0:22:38 > 0:22:39And do you have a rough idea...?
0:22:39 > 0:22:43I mean, are there signs that males are looking interested?
0:22:43 > 0:22:47Are there are definite signs that the breeding season is on its way?
0:22:47 > 0:22:50- They've been very persistent with... - With Freda.- With Freda.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53They're chasing her around, are they?
0:22:53 > 0:22:55We haven't actually seen them do the business,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58but it's pretty certain that they have.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00She's done everything that she should do.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04Obviously, we've got other females in here that do come into season,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07- and she's been... - She's been fighting them off.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09She's been intimidating them,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13and stopping them from coming into season, and stopping suitors.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17Well, let's hope that she chooses this beautiful new den
0:23:17 > 0:23:19as the place to give birth to her cubs,
0:23:19 > 0:23:23and keep us posted, won't you, on what happens,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27and we will be able to bring you, hopefully, fingers crossed,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31first ever Animal Park footage of wolf cubs being born.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Up in Longleat House,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42it's been four weeks since the latest battle began
0:23:42 > 0:23:46against the invading army of insects that are threatening to devour
0:23:46 > 0:23:50some of the most precious art, antiques and books.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55The worst affected items were sealed in purpose-built, gas-proof bubble tents,
0:23:55 > 0:24:00which have been filled with lethal concentrations of carbon dioxide.
0:24:00 > 0:24:06For safety's sake, the rooms where the tents were set up have also been sealed for 28 days.
0:24:06 > 0:24:11But now, the fumigators have returned, because it's time to open the bubbles.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14CO2 is not normally toxic,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17but it's being used in a concentration high enough to kill,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20so the technicians must wear breathing apparatus.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24There's no guarantee that the process has done the job.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27And, as we're not allowed in while they're working,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30we just have to wait until the fumigators have finished.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33When everything was cleaned up,
0:24:33 > 0:24:35service manager Mike Davies reported back.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39It was brilliant. Yeah, everything's gone. Absolutely fine.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42All the insects are dead, and we've taken the covers off,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46and they are ready now for the house people to come in and empty the bubbles for us.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48It's always great when we've finished,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50and we can get on to the next one.
0:24:52 > 0:24:57This was the first time that the new CO2 technique was used here,
0:24:57 > 0:24:59so it's a relief that it has worked.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02But this isn't the end of the problem,
0:25:02 > 0:25:08as the curator of Longleat historic collections, Kate Harris, knows only too well.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12Of course, it's only one step in an ongoing process.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15It's not an instant, total cure for all time,
0:25:15 > 0:25:19so we have to make sure that everything goes back into a clean environment
0:25:19 > 0:25:22that's been treated with insecticides,
0:25:22 > 0:25:24and that we keep up the housekeeping for the future.
0:25:24 > 0:25:30So they've won this battle with the bugs, but the war continues.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33Next winter, it'll be the old library's turn again,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36to make a start on cleaning and vacuuming,
0:25:36 > 0:25:38and our usual programme of work.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42If there should be anything going on, that's where we'll spot it.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06We've come down to Pets' Corner with Alexa Fairburn and two of...
0:26:06 > 0:26:09I just don't know how anyone cannot like rats, Alexa,
0:26:09 > 0:26:10they are so adorable.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15- These are new ones, and very small. - They are only about eight weeks.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17It's a really good age to get them from.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21You can really start handling them, and get to bond with them.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23- They make brilliant pets.- Do they?
0:26:23 > 0:26:25Friendly, really intelligent,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27and you can train them to do things, as well.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30What sort of things can you train them to do?
0:26:30 > 0:26:33They can pick things up, bring them back to you.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Obviously not the newspaper!
0:26:35 > 0:26:39And what about feeding, and that sort of thing?
0:26:39 > 0:26:43- Do they need a complicated diet? - Not really, no.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47You can buy commercial pet food, same as hamsters and rabbits.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49They're garbage bins, they eat anything.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53- Really?- Yep.- Is there anything that you should avoid them eating?
0:26:53 > 0:26:57A lot of green foods can cause them to get a bit of an upset stomach.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59- Lettuce leaves? - Yeah, too much moisture.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02- You'd think those would be good for them.- Of course, yeah.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04You can tell if a rat's healthy,
0:27:04 > 0:27:06their teeth should be orange rather than white.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Show us your pegs!
0:27:09 > 0:27:11A lot of rodents have...
0:27:11 > 0:27:14I think all rodents have teeth that continually grow,
0:27:14 > 0:27:15is that the same with them?
0:27:15 > 0:27:19It is, yeah. They all need gnawing materials - bits of wood.
0:27:19 > 0:27:20- Very wriggly.- There's no way...
0:27:20 > 0:27:23- I'll have a little... - You see if you can...
0:27:23 > 0:27:26No, "I'm not going to Ben, no way!"
0:27:26 > 0:27:31I'll definitely leave that one with you, Kate.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37Let me have a... Has it got a name yet?
0:27:37 > 0:27:40This one's Squeak, and the one up Kate's sleeve is Bubble.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43- I like what you've done there. - Bubble's going to stay with me.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45And are they happy alone?
0:27:45 > 0:27:48- They like company. - So it's best to get two, perhaps...
0:27:48 > 0:27:51- Yes. - ..if you were going to have one.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53- Yeah.- You are quite sweet, actually.
0:27:53 > 0:27:54Oh, look, you see, Ben.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56You don't need a dog at all,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59you can just stick with rats, they're much more fun.
0:27:59 > 0:28:00Call me old-fashioned, Kate...
0:28:00 > 0:28:04Alexa, thank you very much. Sadly, we're out of time,
0:28:04 > 0:28:07but here's what's coming up on the next Animal Park.
0:28:07 > 0:28:13With cubs on the way, there are dramatic developments in Wolf Wood.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18I'll be getting friendly with one of the biggest creepy crawlies I've ever seen.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20- I'm supposed to hold this, aren't I? - You are.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23And when we try to help Alema with her spring makeover,
0:28:23 > 0:28:27I'll discover why Bactrian camels are famous for their bad manners.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34So don't miss the next Animal Park.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd - 2007
0:28:48 > 0:28:51Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk