Browse content similar to Episode 14. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
Line | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
Hello and welcome to Animal Park. I'm Kate Humble. | 0:00:31 | 0:00:34 | |
I'm Ben Fogle, and these are Longleat's Bactrian camels. | 0:00:34 | 0:00:38 | |
Although there's quite a crowd here, they're actually quite rare in the wild. | 0:00:38 | 0:00:42 | |
To find them, you would have to go to Mongolia or to China, where there are only a few hundred left. | 0:00:42 | 0:00:47 | |
They survive in one of the most extreme environments in the world, where temperatures plummet to -20. | 0:00:47 | 0:00:53 | |
we've got lots of other remarkable animals on today's programme, including... | 0:00:53 | 0:00:58 | |
White rhino bull Winston becomes a sperm donor. | 0:00:58 | 0:01:01 | |
Will artificial insemination allow him to become a father at last? | 0:01:01 | 0:01:07 | |
The Pere David deer are hovering on the edge of extinction. | 0:01:07 | 0:01:10 | |
Can Longleat help save the species? | 0:01:10 | 0:01:14 | |
The Bat Cave needs a make-over, but first Darren and his troops must round up the bats. | 0:01:14 | 0:01:19 | |
Got one. ..Oh! Dropped it. | 0:01:19 | 0:01:23 | |
And we'll go on a stake-out to see the lions tucking in in a special midnight feast. | 0:01:23 | 0:01:29 | |
He's trying to take it away. | 0:01:29 | 0:01:33 | |
There's going to be a tug-of-war, by the looks of things here. | 0:01:33 | 0:01:36 | |
But first, for decades Longleat has played an important role | 0:01:40 | 0:01:44 | |
in preserving the white rhino from extinction. | 0:01:44 | 0:01:48 | |
Though breeding rhino in captivity is notoriously difficult, | 0:01:48 | 0:01:52 | |
in the 1980s, the park successfully bred eight calves. | 0:01:52 | 0:01:57 | |
Adult male Winston moved here in 1993 from Windsor Safari Park. | 0:01:59 | 0:02:04 | |
It was hoped that he would carry on the breeding tradition, but sadly Winston never mated. | 0:02:04 | 0:02:09 | |
OK, let's see what he does. | 0:02:09 | 0:02:11 | |
'Recently, we saw keepers introduce him to a new female, Marashi.' | 0:02:11 | 0:02:16 | |
Here we go! | 0:02:16 | 0:02:18 | |
Wow, what a reaction. | 0:02:18 | 0:02:21 | |
But though they hit it off at first, so far romance has not blossomed. | 0:02:21 | 0:02:27 | |
Now Winston's 39 years old, and his time is running out. | 0:02:29 | 0:02:34 | |
To maintain genetic diversity amongst rhino, it's important to preserve Winston's bloodline, | 0:02:34 | 0:02:40 | |
so Head Warden Keith Harris has decided to try a new experimental technique - | 0:02:40 | 0:02:45 | |
artificial insemination for rhinos. | 0:02:45 | 0:02:48 | |
It's quite important we do use genes or blood from him within the breeding population. | 0:02:48 | 0:02:54 | |
So if this works, it will be very good. | 0:02:54 | 0:02:58 | |
Winston will have left us with something | 0:02:58 | 0:03:02 | |
when he goes to where all the rhinos go. | 0:03:02 | 0:03:05 | |
Last year, a veterinary team from the Berlin Institute For Zoo And Wildlife Research, | 0:03:06 | 0:03:12 | |
who are pioneering artificial insemination for rhinos, | 0:03:12 | 0:03:15 | |
came to Longleat to see if Winston's sperm was healthy enough to use. | 0:03:15 | 0:03:20 | |
To everyone's delight, tests showed that Winston's sperm is very potent indeed. | 0:03:20 | 0:03:27 | |
Now the Berlin team has come back to take another sample, and try to implant it into a rhino cow. | 0:03:27 | 0:03:34 | |
Vet Robert Hermes is hopeful that, using their new technique, | 0:03:34 | 0:03:38 | |
Winston could become a father at last. | 0:03:38 | 0:03:42 | |
A semen collection lasts about 20, 30 minutes. | 0:03:42 | 0:03:45 | |
We'll look at what we have and then pack up as quickly as we can, | 0:03:45 | 0:03:50 | |
and drive up to the West Midlands Safari, where two females are waiting to be inseminated. | 0:03:50 | 0:03:56 | |
But first, Winston must be sedated. | 0:03:58 | 0:04:02 | |
It's a painless procedure, but the gun is needed to get the syringe through Winston's thick hide. | 0:04:03 | 0:04:09 | |
To keep him calm while the drug takes effect, keepers muffle his ears and cover his eyes. | 0:04:11 | 0:04:17 | |
Once Winston is unconscious, the team will have to move fast, | 0:04:18 | 0:04:24 | |
so he remains sedated for as little time as possible. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:29 | |
It's a rare opportunity to get a really close look at Winston. | 0:04:35 | 0:04:39 | |
Last time he was sedated, a tumour was discovered on one of his testicles, | 0:04:39 | 0:04:44 | |
and now Keith needs to find out if it's grown. | 0:04:44 | 0:04:48 | |
They've just been scanning the testis that had the tumour on. | 0:04:48 | 0:04:53 | |
I think the early thought is that it hasn't actually grown... | 0:04:53 | 0:04:59 | |
in size any more than last time, so that's slightly encouraging. | 0:04:59 | 0:05:05 | |
Can I get you here to hold this? Come on. | 0:05:05 | 0:05:08 | |
In order to extract sperm, Winston must be unconscious but not too deeply asleep. | 0:05:08 | 0:05:13 | |
Moment by moment, Berlin team vet Mark Combert monitors his condition. | 0:05:13 | 0:05:19 | |
These spasms are normal. It's sort of a nervous reflex reaction. | 0:05:19 | 0:05:25 | |
So it's not that he's waking up, it's just he gets a bit stimulated. | 0:05:25 | 0:05:31 | |
It looks painful, but actually, this procedure is far from unpleasant for Winston. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:38 | |
The Berlin vets have successfully used artificial insemination with elephants in the past, | 0:05:38 | 0:05:44 | |
but not, as yet, with rhino. | 0:05:44 | 0:05:46 | |
If this new technique works, it will be a world first. | 0:05:46 | 0:05:50 | |
He's a bit too awake. | 0:05:55 | 0:05:56 | |
So we're going to give him 0.05ml of Immobilon. | 0:05:56 | 0:06:04 | |
It's going OK. We had to give him a little bit more to relax him. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:13 | |
He's a bit more tense today. | 0:06:13 | 0:06:17 | |
It could be a lot of reasons, | 0:06:17 | 0:06:20 | |
but they're actually getting sperm as we speak, so it's all going according to plan. | 0:06:20 | 0:06:25 | |
We'll catch up with Winston and the team later on. | 0:06:27 | 0:06:30 | |
Even more threatened than the rhino, these Pere David deer are so rare | 0:06:38 | 0:06:42 | |
they've been declared critically endangered. | 0:06:42 | 0:06:45 | |
There's just a handful left in the world, and seven of them at Longleat. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:50 | |
They're the remnants of a herd that's had a very strange history. | 0:06:50 | 0:06:54 | |
The species comes from China, where they became extinct over a century ago. | 0:06:54 | 0:06:59 | |
Just a few survived in captivity, and in 1893, they all ended up in the grounds of Woburn Abbey. | 0:06:59 | 0:07:07 | |
This herd of about 300 lives on the Duke of Bedford's estate at Woburn. | 0:07:07 | 0:07:11 | |
They died out in China when the walls of the park were breached by floods in 1894. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:16 | |
There were only five left in the world, which were all collected at Woburn, | 0:07:16 | 0:07:20 | |
and from them, the present flock has grown. | 0:07:20 | 0:07:23 | |
In the 1980s, Woburn gave 20 Pere Davids to Longleat. | 0:07:24 | 0:07:29 | |
Deputy head warden Ian Turner is proud that they were then able to contribute to a scheme | 0:07:29 | 0:07:34 | |
to re-introduce them to the wild. | 0:07:34 | 0:07:37 | |
There wasn't any left in the wild, and then Woburn and Longleat - | 0:07:37 | 0:07:41 | |
I think Whipsnade also were involved - sent some back to China. | 0:07:41 | 0:07:45 | |
That was in 1986. | 0:07:45 | 0:07:47 | |
And it hit the headlines. | 0:07:47 | 0:07:49 | |
'The Six O'Clock News from the BBC.' | 0:07:49 | 0:07:51 | |
The animals that we're sending are reasonably wild and hard to approach | 0:07:51 | 0:07:55 | |
and I think they will adapt very quickly to the new environment | 0:07:55 | 0:07:58 | |
and within a generation or two, will be as wild as any deer are. | 0:07:58 | 0:08:02 | |
-What about the journey? Is that going to be safe for them? -It's going to be a difficult journey | 0:08:02 | 0:08:07 | |
both for the people and the deer. It's a long trip. | 0:08:07 | 0:08:11 | |
We're flying them direct to Shanghai, | 0:08:11 | 0:08:13 | |
putting them on trucks, taking them overland | 0:08:13 | 0:08:16 | |
400 kilometres north to the site where they will be released. | 0:08:16 | 0:08:19 | |
Unfortunately, after sending some of their deer to China, | 0:08:21 | 0:08:25 | |
Longleat's remaining herd was plagued by illness. | 0:08:25 | 0:08:28 | |
They went into a long decline, from 15 to just 6 animals. | 0:08:28 | 0:08:33 | |
They're now all healthy, though they look a bit scruffy at the moment | 0:08:33 | 0:08:38 | |
because they're shedding their winter coats. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:40 | |
The herd's main problem is that their dominant stag turned out to be infertile. | 0:08:40 | 0:08:46 | |
They do have another male, but he's young and suppressed by the senior stag. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:51 | |
It looked like the Pere Davids were just going to fade away. | 0:08:51 | 0:08:56 | |
But now, the keeper in charge of the deer, Tim Yeo, has spotted something. | 0:08:56 | 0:09:01 | |
The last few days certainly... | 0:09:01 | 0:09:05 | |
have given me hope. I mean, there are a couple of young hinds | 0:09:05 | 0:09:10 | |
that are looking, to me, as though they are possibly in calf. | 0:09:10 | 0:09:15 | |
But I need to keep watching. | 0:09:15 | 0:09:18 | |
It is a difficult thing to actually say whether they are or they aren't. | 0:09:18 | 0:09:22 | |
Tim is desperate to get a closer look at the two young females, | 0:09:26 | 0:09:30 | |
and takes his vehicle into the enclosure. | 0:09:30 | 0:09:33 | |
But the Pere Davids move away. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:35 | |
It may be that from past experience, they associate Tim with trouble - medical checks and so on. | 0:09:35 | 0:09:41 | |
I think they have become... certainly to recognise me. | 0:09:43 | 0:09:47 | |
They seem to. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:49 | |
It's strange because they do become, as some of the other animals do, | 0:09:49 | 0:09:53 | |
they become used to the sound of a certain vehicle. | 0:09:53 | 0:09:57 | |
Usually I can just get a look at them before they make off. | 0:09:57 | 0:10:03 | |
With so few of these animals left anywhere in the world, every pregnancy is important. | 0:10:03 | 0:10:10 | |
For Longleat, new babies would mean that their herd was back from the brink, | 0:10:10 | 0:10:14 | |
playing its part again to help stop the species from sliding into extinction. | 0:10:14 | 0:10:19 | |
This is certainly very much my hope, that this year, | 0:10:19 | 0:10:26 | |
fingers really crossed, we do have a hind, or even better, two hinds in calf. | 0:10:26 | 0:10:32 | |
It's early days. I'm hopeful, though, from what I'm seeing. | 0:10:32 | 0:10:37 | |
But I hope it's not just me wanting it a little bit too much. | 0:10:37 | 0:10:42 | |
But just a few days later, Tim made a sad discovery. | 0:10:46 | 0:10:51 | |
When he went up in the morning, he could tell | 0:10:51 | 0:10:54 | |
that something had happened to one of the two young females. | 0:10:54 | 0:10:58 | |
The hind, to me, had obviously calved, from the look of her. | 0:10:58 | 0:11:04 | |
I looked...hunted for a calf, | 0:11:04 | 0:11:07 | |
and found, sadly, a dead calf. | 0:11:07 | 0:11:10 | |
It was a great shock, and an awful shame. | 0:11:10 | 0:11:14 | |
It's so frustrating when you go a full pregnancy, | 0:11:14 | 0:11:19 | |
and then to lose the calf in the birth. | 0:11:19 | 0:11:22 | |
That leaves just one hind who may still be pregnant - | 0:11:23 | 0:11:27 | |
the last hope for the Pere David deer. | 0:11:27 | 0:11:30 | |
We'll find out what happens with her later on. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:33 | |
Longleat's newest lion cubs, Malaika and Jasira, | 0:11:51 | 0:11:56 | |
are growing stronger and more adventurous every day. | 0:11:56 | 0:11:59 | |
The whole family, under dominant male Kabir, are getting on famously together. | 0:12:00 | 0:12:06 | |
The cubs are showing almost as much of an appetite as their father when the feeding truck comes round. | 0:12:07 | 0:12:14 | |
But now these lions are ready for a brand-new dinner-time experience. | 0:12:17 | 0:12:23 | |
I'm up at the lion house with keeper Bob Trollope and head of section Brian Kent. | 0:12:26 | 0:12:31 | |
We're going to try a bit of an experiment tonight, aren't we? | 0:12:31 | 0:12:35 | |
It'll be totally different tonight. Nothing that we've done before. | 0:12:35 | 0:12:39 | |
-What's the plan? -We're going to put a carcass in the compound. | 0:12:39 | 0:12:45 | |
Right. So, out in the paddock bit here? | 0:12:45 | 0:12:49 | |
And then we'll let Kabir and the mums and cubs out. | 0:12:49 | 0:12:53 | |
One of the things is, we've never fed them a whole carcass before. | 0:12:53 | 0:12:58 | |
Usually, they just get the chunks. | 0:12:58 | 0:13:01 | |
We know Kabir's a bit of a foody, so it'll be interesting to see what he actually does. | 0:13:01 | 0:13:07 | |
Because usually, he runs round and tries to get all the chunks for himself. | 0:13:07 | 0:13:14 | |
It'll be interesting to see what he does in relation to the cubs and mums. | 0:13:14 | 0:13:19 | |
And feeding at night, Brian, is not something you would normally do. | 0:13:19 | 0:13:24 | |
We try not to! | 0:13:24 | 0:13:26 | |
-No! Do you think...? Lions in the wild would often hunt at night, presumably. -Oh, yeah. | 0:13:26 | 0:13:32 | |
So it's going to be good for them. | 0:13:32 | 0:13:35 | |
-Something different. -Yeah. | 0:13:35 | 0:13:36 | |
It's more natural, to be honest, than the way we do it. | 0:13:36 | 0:13:39 | |
So it'll be interesting to see what Kabir does, and the females. | 0:13:39 | 0:13:44 | |
You might be thinking, "But if you're doing this at night, how will you see it?" | 0:13:44 | 0:13:48 | |
A-ha! Well, we've got a plan. | 0:13:48 | 0:13:51 | |
Come over to the Animal Park vehicle. | 0:13:51 | 0:13:53 | |
There's kit everywhere, and we haven't set anything up yet, | 0:13:53 | 0:13:57 | |
but this is an infrared camera and this is an infrared light. | 0:13:57 | 0:14:02 | |
The camera will be mounted on a pole, probably against the fence here | 0:14:02 | 0:14:07 | |
-on this side. -Yeah. | 0:14:07 | 0:14:08 | |
The infrared light will flood that area with light. | 0:14:08 | 0:14:12 | |
But the great thing about infrared is that the lions - and we - can't see it. | 0:14:12 | 0:14:17 | |
So it will totally not disturb them. | 0:14:17 | 0:14:20 | |
So we can get as natural a set-up as is at all possible. | 0:14:20 | 0:14:25 | |
So we've got our work cut out for the afternoon setting all this stuff up. | 0:14:25 | 0:14:29 | |
But join us later to see the lions having a midnight feast. | 0:14:29 | 0:14:33 | |
Now we're off to Pets Corner, where head of section Darren Beasley is on a difficult mission in the Bat Cave. | 0:14:46 | 0:14:53 | |
Today, he has to move the Egyptian fruit bats so their cave can be given a makeover. | 0:14:53 | 0:14:58 | |
There are 14 of them in here, so he's called in the troops to help. | 0:14:58 | 0:15:05 | |
You've got the whole team, the whole posse of us. | 0:15:05 | 0:15:08 | |
We're going to do some painting and cleaning in here, because bats are pretty messy creatures. | 0:15:08 | 0:15:13 | |
We're going to mess around with the lights, so we're going to paint the ceiling. | 0:15:13 | 0:15:17 | |
But it's a bit of a military operation, because these are Egyptian fruit bats. | 0:15:17 | 0:15:22 | |
They're designed not to bump into things. We have to catch 'em. | 0:15:22 | 0:15:25 | |
Because bats use echolocation, they use sound, they fly and bounce sound off things, | 0:15:28 | 0:15:33 | |
they can steer round everything. | 0:15:33 | 0:15:35 | |
It's not easy to catch them. So we need the team to try and chase them. | 0:15:35 | 0:15:41 | |
The bats will get a little bit tired, and hopefully they'll start, | 0:15:41 | 0:15:45 | |
not flying into them, but making my life a bit easier. | 0:15:45 | 0:15:48 | |
So, forward planning, a bit of military precision here, clear the decks. | 0:15:48 | 0:15:53 | |
And you need everybody as fit as world-class athletes. | 0:15:53 | 0:15:56 | |
So that's why I brought them along! | 0:15:56 | 0:15:58 | |
Darren and the team will have to get their tactics right. | 0:16:04 | 0:16:09 | |
Nets at the ready, they deploy in a pincer movement. | 0:16:09 | 0:16:12 | |
Got one. ..Oh, dropped it. | 0:16:12 | 0:16:14 | |
If you can... | 0:16:15 | 0:16:16 | |
Ooh! | 0:16:16 | 0:16:18 | |
Ah, lovely. | 0:16:18 | 0:16:19 | |
So, bat number one. | 0:16:21 | 0:16:24 | |
Look at him. | 0:16:25 | 0:16:27 | |
Lovely fella, isn't he? | 0:16:27 | 0:16:29 | |
You don't often get many chances. | 0:16:29 | 0:16:33 | |
We do, like, an MOT, where we grab random ones throughout the year. | 0:16:33 | 0:16:38 | |
But we haven't had any problems with them. | 0:16:38 | 0:16:41 | |
Look at those beautiful wings. | 0:16:41 | 0:16:43 | |
I love them to bits. Absolutely love them. | 0:16:43 | 0:16:45 | |
I tell you, I honestly don't think I could hit a barn door! | 0:16:52 | 0:16:55 | |
As the bats are captured, Darren takes the chance to show his team how to give them a health check. | 0:16:58 | 0:17:04 | |
You're looking for things like rips in the wings, maybe poor body weight condition. | 0:17:05 | 0:17:10 | |
Take your glove off, | 0:17:10 | 0:17:12 | |
and gently put your finger on his chest. | 0:17:12 | 0:17:15 | |
There's plenty of meat coating, you can't feel the breastbone at all. | 0:17:15 | 0:17:18 | |
Got one. | 0:17:18 | 0:17:20 | |
Some people call them flying foxes. | 0:17:20 | 0:17:23 | |
This one's not as friendly as the last one, so I've got to watch my hands a bit. | 0:17:23 | 0:17:28 | |
They've got these nasty-looking teeth, but really, these are totally fruit and flower eaters. | 0:17:28 | 0:17:35 | |
There can be tough skin on the fruit, and they've got to get through that. | 0:17:35 | 0:17:38 | |
His little heart's beating. | 0:17:38 | 0:17:40 | |
They've developed these...claws, for hanging upside down. | 0:17:40 | 0:17:45 | |
Absolutely beautiful. All right, mate? | 0:17:45 | 0:17:48 | |
Darren's bat catchers are winning the battle, but slowly. | 0:17:48 | 0:17:52 | |
In you go. That's three. | 0:17:52 | 0:17:54 | |
We're going to be here a little while! | 0:17:54 | 0:17:56 | |
We'll come back to see how the team get on. | 0:17:56 | 0:17:59 | |
I'm down at the pig enclosure with keeper Val McGruther | 0:18:11 | 0:18:14 | |
and Longleat's two Chinese pot-bellied pigs, Bruno and Blossom. | 0:18:14 | 0:18:18 | |
We've got the two here. | 0:18:18 | 0:18:19 | |
And I've got this unusual contraption with me. | 0:18:19 | 0:18:22 | |
What's all this about? | 0:18:22 | 0:18:24 | |
Sam and John, two of our workers, have put this together. | 0:18:24 | 0:18:28 | |
It's an enrichment item. A food enrichment item. | 0:18:28 | 0:18:31 | |
-How does it work? -We tie this up to the rope, and inside... | 0:18:31 | 0:18:36 | |
They're particularly hungry today, aren't they? Who is this? | 0:18:36 | 0:18:40 | |
We've got Bruno here. | 0:18:40 | 0:18:42 | |
He knows I've got some pig nuts. | 0:18:42 | 0:18:44 | |
So we'll pour those pig nuts into here. | 0:18:44 | 0:18:47 | |
Yeah, and they will rattle this. | 0:18:47 | 0:18:50 | |
-The pigs are supposed to rattle that? -That's right. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:52 | |
They get hold of it with their teeth and rattle it about, which works these red things. | 0:18:52 | 0:18:57 | |
These bits here. They move like that, don't they? | 0:18:57 | 0:19:02 | |
-So that allows the pellets to come out? -Exactly. Excuse me. | 0:19:02 | 0:19:05 | |
I've got a creature on me. | 0:19:05 | 0:19:07 | |
And will the pigs know how to do that? | 0:19:07 | 0:19:10 | |
Yes. We've actually done a bit before. | 0:19:10 | 0:19:12 | |
This is a work in progress, and this is a slightly improved finish. | 0:19:12 | 0:19:17 | |
So you're updating it. Shall we pour them in? | 0:19:17 | 0:19:19 | |
Let's put some in. | 0:19:19 | 0:19:21 | |
Perfect. Is this all part of your general enrichment, keeping them busy and occupied? | 0:19:23 | 0:19:28 | |
Yes, it is, cos they are intelligent animals. | 0:19:28 | 0:19:31 | |
They reckon, and I know you like dogs and have one yourself, | 0:19:31 | 0:19:35 | |
they have got the intelligence of a labrador dog. | 0:19:35 | 0:19:38 | |
-Really? -So they say. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:40 | |
We shall see. What sort of height to do you want this at? | 0:19:40 | 0:19:43 | |
That's fine. | 0:19:43 | 0:19:45 | |
We'll test my knot-tying skills now. | 0:19:45 | 0:19:48 | |
-Were you a Scout? -It should be OK. | 0:19:48 | 0:19:51 | |
-Here comes Blossom. -Do you think they're going to come straight over? | 0:19:51 | 0:19:55 | |
Will they mind us hanging around? | 0:19:55 | 0:19:57 | |
Hopefully they'll do it straight away, but we may have to step back. | 0:19:57 | 0:20:01 | |
Shall we step back a little bit? | 0:20:01 | 0:20:02 | |
Wiggle it a bit first so they know they've got some there. | 0:20:02 | 0:20:07 | |
How is their smell? Will they know there is food? | 0:20:07 | 0:20:10 | |
They've got a good sense of smell. | 0:20:10 | 0:20:13 | |
-This is Blossom? -No, this is Bruno and Blossom here. | 0:20:13 | 0:20:17 | |
-In fact, when we did it the first time, it was Blossom that did it first. -Right. | 0:20:17 | 0:20:22 | |
Does that make her the more intelligent? | 0:20:22 | 0:20:24 | |
Well, I think she's a woman! | 0:20:24 | 0:20:25 | |
No bias there! | 0:20:27 | 0:20:30 | |
Come on then, Blos. Share her you can do it. | 0:20:30 | 0:20:32 | |
Blossom's not too interested in going over just now. | 0:20:32 | 0:20:36 | |
But you've got all sorts of things in here, footballs, all sorts to keep them occupied. | 0:20:36 | 0:20:42 | |
Yes, they are very intelligent. | 0:20:42 | 0:20:45 | |
They need to be kept busy or they get naughty and do things they shouldn't. | 0:20:45 | 0:20:49 | |
Like what? Can you tell us anything? | 0:20:49 | 0:20:51 | |
They used to be up at Pets Corner at one time. | 0:20:51 | 0:20:53 | |
Bruno used to open the gate and get out sometimes. | 0:20:53 | 0:20:56 | |
-Did he? -If he did that when we weren't there, he'd go round and start destroying the gardens. | 0:20:56 | 0:21:01 | |
-Didn't go down very well. -I'm sure it didn't with the gardeners. | 0:21:01 | 0:21:04 | |
He's going back. | 0:21:04 | 0:21:06 | |
-That's fantastic. She's finally doing it. -Yes. | 0:21:16 | 0:21:19 | |
You said it was Blossom last time that was the first up to it. | 0:21:19 | 0:21:23 | |
-Does that make her the piggiest? -I think it does. | 0:21:23 | 0:21:26 | |
She's doing it, she's proving that she can do it. | 0:21:26 | 0:21:29 | |
Bruno here is more interested in us still. | 0:21:29 | 0:21:32 | |
I don't think he's worked it out. | 0:21:32 | 0:21:34 | |
I think he wants us to hand it to him on a plate. | 0:21:34 | 0:21:37 | |
Really? He really is lazy. | 0:21:37 | 0:21:39 | |
-Are you pleased with it? -Yes, I am. I'm really pleased it's working. | 0:21:39 | 0:21:43 | |
Fantastic. Thank you very much for showing us this fantastic machine. | 0:21:43 | 0:21:48 | |
100 miles up the road from Longleat is West Midlands Safari Park. | 0:21:56 | 0:22:00 | |
They've had considerable success in breeding exotic animals. | 0:22:04 | 0:22:07 | |
This year they have a hippo calf. | 0:22:07 | 0:22:10 | |
And even one rhino calf conceived naturally. | 0:22:12 | 0:22:17 | |
But two of their female rhino have never bred and head keeper Bob Lawrence | 0:22:17 | 0:22:22 | |
fears that their biological clocks are ticking. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:26 | |
We get to a point with these large animals like elephant and rhino - | 0:22:26 | 0:22:30 | |
if they don't breed by a certain age, they probably never will, | 0:22:30 | 0:22:33 | |
and these two old girls behind me are 15. | 0:22:33 | 0:22:35 | |
We need to get them breeding pretty urgently | 0:22:35 | 0:22:37 | |
otherwise they never will and it will be a terrible waste. | 0:22:37 | 0:22:40 | |
The park does have a bull named Sharka, but so far he's not been up to the job. | 0:22:42 | 0:22:48 | |
It's a funny thing with rhinos. They almost get too familiar with each other. | 0:22:48 | 0:22:52 | |
It's significant that the bull came with those two girls | 0:22:52 | 0:22:55 | |
and it's like a brother-sister thing, rather than a genuine up and running at mating scenario. | 0:22:55 | 0:23:01 | |
Now Bob is hoping that where nature has failed, artificial insemination will work. | 0:23:01 | 0:23:08 | |
It's quite important that if we can do this on these relatively common species of rhino, | 0:23:08 | 0:23:13 | |
it could perhaps be done on Indian rhino, black rhino, which are a lot rarer. | 0:23:13 | 0:23:17 | |
When this place opened in 1973, | 0:23:17 | 0:23:20 | |
there were hundreds of thousands of rhino possibly on the earth. | 0:23:20 | 0:23:24 | |
In that intervening 33 years, 98% of those rhinos have gone | 0:23:24 | 0:23:28 | |
so it's very important we retain the ability to do this sort of thing | 0:23:28 | 0:23:32 | |
and look forward and think forward and think of new ways of achieving a means to an end. | 0:23:32 | 0:23:36 | |
Back at Longleat, the team of expert vets from Berlin | 0:23:37 | 0:23:41 | |
have collected Winston's sperm and now he's waking up. | 0:23:41 | 0:23:45 | |
He doesn't seem too bothered by the experience, to head warden Keith Harris's delight. | 0:23:45 | 0:23:50 | |
It's always nice to see him standing up, that's the main thing, | 0:23:50 | 0:23:54 | |
because 2.5 tonnes of rhino is not easy to move, so... | 0:23:54 | 0:23:59 | |
obviously, for his sake, and everybody else's, that they get straight back up. | 0:23:59 | 0:24:05 | |
He'll never know what happened. | 0:24:05 | 0:24:08 | |
Berlin team vet Mark Combert is passionate about the work they do. | 0:24:10 | 0:24:15 | |
What we're trying to do by breeding in captivity | 0:24:15 | 0:24:20 | |
is guaranteeing that there'll be animals to release into the wild if needed. | 0:24:20 | 0:24:25 | |
So, if for reasons of populations decline, | 0:24:25 | 0:24:30 | |
whether it's disease or deforestation or hunting and poaching, | 0:24:30 | 0:24:36 | |
we'll have places for these guys to go. | 0:24:36 | 0:24:38 | |
Before they do anything else, Berlin team leader Robert Hermes | 0:24:38 | 0:24:43 | |
must check that Winston's sperm is still healthy. | 0:24:43 | 0:24:46 | |
Obviously the sperm have to move from... | 0:24:47 | 0:24:50 | |
In the rhinoceros it's about 1.5 metres from where the bull puts them to the cervix, | 0:24:50 | 0:24:56 | |
and then they have to travel all the way to the oviduct. | 0:24:56 | 0:24:59 | |
The sperm movement is very important. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:05 | |
Winston's sperm passes the test. | 0:25:05 | 0:25:08 | |
It's important to use the sperm as quickly as possible, | 0:25:08 | 0:25:12 | |
so Robert immediately takes the sample and sets off for West Midlands Safari Park. | 0:25:12 | 0:25:17 | |
-Hi, Rob. -Hi. -Good trip? -Yes, thank you. -Hi. | 0:25:20 | 0:25:25 | |
The things we do on a Sunday afternoon, eh? | 0:25:25 | 0:25:28 | |
Now Robert and the Berlin team will implant Winston's sperm into female rhino Mtuba. | 0:25:28 | 0:25:35 | |
We'll come back to see how they get on. | 0:25:35 | 0:25:38 | |
I'm with Derek Longway, the manager of the butterfly garden here at Longleat. | 0:25:48 | 0:25:52 | |
We're with some of your residents. Who have we got here? | 0:25:52 | 0:25:55 | |
These are the owl butterflies, so called because of their eye markings. | 0:25:55 | 0:25:59 | |
Which is incredible, because it really does look like an owl's eye. | 0:25:59 | 0:26:02 | |
Yes, it's used as a deterrent for predators. | 0:26:02 | 0:26:05 | |
They'll flap their wings and flash this false eye | 0:26:05 | 0:26:09 | |
and the predators will either be discouraged | 0:26:09 | 0:26:13 | |
or if they do attack, they'll attack the back end of the wing, | 0:26:13 | 0:26:16 | |
thereby letting the butterfly escape. | 0:26:16 | 0:26:18 | |
-Incredible. The fruit that they're dining off looks quite old and manky. -Yes. | 0:26:18 | 0:26:25 | |
As the fruit rots down, it releases the sugars and makes a sugary, | 0:26:25 | 0:26:31 | |
syrupy liquid which is readily digested through the proboscis. | 0:26:31 | 0:26:37 | |
-That's the thing just going into the banana there. -Into the banana. | 0:26:37 | 0:26:41 | |
Are they sucking it up like through a straw? | 0:26:41 | 0:26:43 | |
Absolutely, yes, like a hydraulic suction. | 0:26:43 | 0:26:47 | |
Presumably where there are butterflies, there must be caterpillars. | 0:26:47 | 0:26:50 | |
Yes, I can see one not too far away, on the citrus here. | 0:26:50 | 0:26:54 | |
That's a citrus swallowtail. | 0:26:54 | 0:26:56 | |
Oh, it blends in incredibly well to the leaf. | 0:26:56 | 0:26:58 | |
I can just make out its two little eyes. | 0:26:58 | 0:27:01 | |
Otherwise I wouldn't have spotted that. Presumably it's a camouflage. | 0:27:01 | 0:27:05 | |
Yes, nature's camouflage. | 0:27:05 | 0:27:07 | |
And what sort of butterfly will that turn into? | 0:27:07 | 0:27:10 | |
That will be a swallowtail. | 0:27:10 | 0:27:13 | |
Fascinating. Derek, thank you very much. | 0:27:13 | 0:27:16 | |
Here's what still to come on today's programme. | 0:27:16 | 0:27:18 | |
We'll find out if Winston's sperm donation will make him a father at last. | 0:27:18 | 0:27:24 | |
She's good, very good. | 0:27:24 | 0:27:26 | |
Should ovulate tonight. | 0:27:26 | 0:27:28 | |
They may be shy creatures, but this tortoise doesn't hold back when faced with a tasty treat. | 0:27:30 | 0:27:35 | |
And we'll see what the lions make of their new dinner arrangements. | 0:27:37 | 0:27:41 | |
-It is the perfect family dinner. -It is. | 0:27:41 | 0:27:43 | |
But first, to the Bat Cave, where Darren and his troops | 0:27:48 | 0:27:51 | |
are still trying to round up the last three Egyptian fruit bats. | 0:27:51 | 0:27:57 | |
Hang on. | 0:27:57 | 0:27:59 | |
-I've got him. -BAT "GRIZZLES" | 0:27:59 | 0:28:01 | |
You can have the noisy one. | 0:28:01 | 0:28:02 | |
You can bite all you want, I've got gloves on. | 0:28:02 | 0:28:05 | |
All right, sweet, let's get your wings in. | 0:28:05 | 0:28:07 | |
Here we go. | 0:28:07 | 0:28:08 | |
This one's got some good teeth on him. | 0:28:08 | 0:28:11 | |
Beautiful. Look at that. See all the veins and capillaries and things. | 0:28:11 | 0:28:15 | |
That's my fingers through there, look how delicate that is. | 0:28:15 | 0:28:19 | |
Fantastic. | 0:28:19 | 0:28:21 | |
OK, let's pop that one in. | 0:28:21 | 0:28:23 | |
Yes, got one, it's all right. | 0:28:30 | 0:28:31 | |
Something very interesting about the bat we noticed on one we MOTed back in the summer - | 0:28:31 | 0:28:37 | |
when they arrived, we didn't know how old they were, | 0:28:37 | 0:28:40 | |
and they were all adults of varying age. | 0:28:40 | 0:28:42 | |
These guys can live, what? 20, 25 years. | 0:28:42 | 0:28:45 | |
The way to age them, look into his mouth. | 0:28:45 | 0:28:47 | |
All the teeth are worn almost all the way down on the bottom layer. | 0:28:47 | 0:28:51 | |
Can you see that? This is a very old bat and he's worn all his teeth, so he's an aged fellow. | 0:28:51 | 0:28:58 | |
Also, if you gently pull that wing out, John, gently. | 0:28:58 | 0:29:02 | |
Pull it out slightly. I've got this one. | 0:29:02 | 0:29:05 | |
I actually think, if you look at the condition of the wing, | 0:29:05 | 0:29:08 | |
-he looks older - see that? -It does, yeah. | 0:29:08 | 0:29:11 | |
He might have trouble in a little while. We have to keep an eye on him. | 0:29:11 | 0:29:15 | |
Can you fit dentures to a bat? | 0:29:15 | 0:29:17 | |
I don't know. But he's probably a very old bat. | 0:29:17 | 0:29:21 | |
He could be pushing 20, the 25 mark, who knows? | 0:29:21 | 0:29:25 | |
That's 13 in the box, but there's still one bat holding out. | 0:29:26 | 0:29:32 | |
There he goes. | 0:29:32 | 0:29:34 | |
This is a fast one. | 0:29:34 | 0:29:36 | |
Actually, if I let him go in... | 0:29:38 | 0:29:40 | |
All right, mate. I'll get him, I nearly got him last time. | 0:29:43 | 0:29:46 | |
People think bats get stuck in your hair. | 0:29:46 | 0:29:48 | |
Jo's got really long hair. They don't get stuck in your hair. | 0:29:48 | 0:29:52 | |
They bounce sound off of you. | 0:29:52 | 0:29:53 | |
-They'll avoid you. -All right, darling, I've got you. | 0:29:53 | 0:29:56 | |
And just to prove it... | 0:29:56 | 0:29:58 | |
Jo, don't get it stuck in your hair. Here it comes. | 0:29:58 | 0:30:01 | |
-Stay there, Jo, for us. -OK. | 0:30:01 | 0:30:04 | |
This one. Thanks, yeah. | 0:30:04 | 0:30:06 | |
Well done. | 0:30:06 | 0:30:08 | |
Hello, beautiful. | 0:30:10 | 0:30:13 | |
Yeah, that's right. | 0:30:13 | 0:30:15 | |
Last, but not least. | 0:30:15 | 0:30:16 | |
Well done. Thank you. | 0:30:21 | 0:30:24 | |
Thank you. Thank you. Well done. | 0:30:24 | 0:30:26 | |
So, if you can get it all painted, cleaned, revamped ... | 0:30:26 | 0:30:30 | |
-By tonight. -20 minutes? | 0:30:30 | 0:30:32 | |
I'll be having a cup of tea over there, all right? | 0:30:32 | 0:30:34 | |
The fruit bats would normally roost in dark caves. | 0:30:36 | 0:30:40 | |
The team's mission is to make their enclosure | 0:30:40 | 0:30:42 | |
as much like their natural habitat as possible. | 0:30:42 | 0:30:46 | |
It's going to be a long job. | 0:30:46 | 0:30:48 | |
At West Midlands Safari Park, | 0:30:55 | 0:30:57 | |
the German veterinary team are preparing | 0:30:57 | 0:30:59 | |
to artificially inseminate rhino Mtuba using Winston's sperm. | 0:30:59 | 0:31:04 | |
First, they must check whether Mtuba is fertile enough | 0:31:04 | 0:31:07 | |
to receive the sperm. | 0:31:07 | 0:31:09 | |
Head keeper Bob Lawrence has been giving her hormone treatment | 0:31:09 | 0:31:13 | |
so her chances of getting pregnant should be at their highest today. | 0:31:13 | 0:31:17 | |
This is the point where we'll see whether the last 60 days or so of medication has worked, | 0:31:17 | 0:31:22 | |
whether she is cycling and just how receptive she might be. | 0:31:22 | 0:31:26 | |
If she's not quite ready, we'll probably inseminate anyway, | 0:31:26 | 0:31:31 | |
but revisit her again tomorrow. | 0:31:31 | 0:31:33 | |
But he'll know in a minute or two just how set she is. | 0:31:33 | 0:31:37 | |
She's good, very good. | 0:31:37 | 0:31:40 | |
Excellent follicle on the right ovary, 3.5 centimetres, | 0:31:40 | 0:31:44 | |
and that should ovulate tonight. | 0:31:44 | 0:31:46 | |
Vet Robert Hermes and his team have spent five years | 0:31:48 | 0:31:51 | |
developing the magic wand that will help artificially inseminate Mtuba. | 0:31:51 | 0:31:55 | |
It's made to replicate what a male rhino would do. | 0:31:55 | 0:32:00 | |
They have a very long genital tract. | 0:32:00 | 0:32:02 | |
The entire length is about one metre 50. | 0:32:02 | 0:32:05 | |
That's why we need special tools. | 0:32:05 | 0:32:07 | |
The arm of us is not long enough to reach. | 0:32:07 | 0:32:10 | |
The ovaries are right in the middle of a rhino, | 0:32:11 | 0:32:15 | |
but using their specialist tool, | 0:32:15 | 0:32:17 | |
Robert and the team are able to reach easily. | 0:32:17 | 0:32:20 | |
It looks very, very promising. Just about finished. | 0:32:20 | 0:32:23 | |
We want to get her up quickly | 0:32:23 | 0:32:24 | |
because she's lying on this right front knee, | 0:32:24 | 0:32:28 | |
but we're almost done and we'll keep everything crossed. | 0:32:28 | 0:32:31 | |
It may save populations, or may be a modern way | 0:32:31 | 0:32:34 | |
of introducing fresh bloodlines into existing populations. | 0:32:34 | 0:32:38 | |
At the end of the day, it's a lot easier to move semen around | 0:32:38 | 0:32:41 | |
than it is to move rhinos, isn't it? | 0:32:41 | 0:32:43 | |
While Mtuba comes round from the anaesthetic, | 0:32:45 | 0:32:48 | |
Robert and his team retreat to safety. | 0:32:48 | 0:32:50 | |
It's been a long day, but with the future of the southern white rhino at stake, no-one minds the effort. | 0:32:50 | 0:32:57 | |
If you see the other small calf in the other stall, | 0:32:57 | 0:33:00 | |
you'll really cross fingers and hope that we'll achieve another one. | 0:33:00 | 0:33:06 | |
Once you see one of these guys | 0:33:07 | 0:33:09 | |
and you know the problem throughout zoos in Europe and North America, | 0:33:09 | 0:33:15 | |
that they don't breed, you try to figure out a way that there's more | 0:33:15 | 0:33:19 | |
and that just keeps you going. | 0:33:19 | 0:33:21 | |
It's fantastic to work with animals like this | 0:33:21 | 0:33:26 | |
and you don't punch the clock at any time. | 0:33:26 | 0:33:28 | |
You just keep going as long as you can. | 0:33:28 | 0:33:30 | |
It's impossible to tell straight away if Mtuba is pregnant or not. | 0:33:30 | 0:33:35 | |
We'll find out later on. | 0:33:35 | 0:33:37 | |
Back at Longleat, keepers are also trying to breed Pere David deer, | 0:33:49 | 0:33:53 | |
which are hovering on the edge of extinction. | 0:33:53 | 0:33:57 | |
Two of the park's handful of does recently became pregnant, | 0:33:57 | 0:34:00 | |
but, sadly, one of them gave birth to a stillborn calf. | 0:34:00 | 0:34:06 | |
Today, though, keeper Tim Yeo has a cause for celebration. | 0:34:06 | 0:34:11 | |
Extremely exciting news. | 0:34:11 | 0:34:13 | |
On check this morning, I've found a Pere David calf. | 0:34:13 | 0:34:19 | |
It's the first one that we've had here for about four or five years | 0:34:19 | 0:34:23 | |
so, as you can imagine, it's pretty special. | 0:34:23 | 0:34:26 | |
They get very nervous with me. | 0:34:26 | 0:34:30 | |
I have had cause in the past to dart animals | 0:34:30 | 0:34:34 | |
and they remember very well, so... | 0:34:34 | 0:34:38 | |
the best way, really, I think for us to try to get close and have a look | 0:34:38 | 0:34:42 | |
is to go in the crew van | 0:34:42 | 0:34:45 | |
and just blend in with the public who are visiting the park. | 0:34:45 | 0:34:50 | |
Well, here we have the six Pere David deer, | 0:34:52 | 0:34:57 | |
the two stags and four hinds there. | 0:34:57 | 0:35:01 | |
And I think the mother of the calf | 0:35:02 | 0:35:06 | |
is actually laying down with her just at the head of the pond there. | 0:35:06 | 0:35:12 | |
This is certainly... | 0:35:12 | 0:35:14 | |
For me, it's very close | 0:35:14 | 0:35:16 | |
and it's nice to be able to see them this close. | 0:35:16 | 0:35:21 | |
It's natural for deer to hide their newborn calves | 0:35:21 | 0:35:25 | |
and Tim suspects the baby is somewhere in the hedge. | 0:35:25 | 0:35:30 | |
He's desperate to check on the calf, | 0:35:30 | 0:35:32 | |
but he's not going to put it in danger just for his own curiosity. | 0:35:32 | 0:35:36 | |
It's not something we can do at the moment. | 0:35:36 | 0:35:40 | |
The reason being that it may well upset her, it may put her off. | 0:35:40 | 0:35:47 | |
If there is any problem there at the moment, | 0:35:47 | 0:35:51 | |
of which I'm not entirely sure, | 0:35:51 | 0:35:54 | |
if she's not looking after it properly, | 0:35:54 | 0:35:58 | |
then we may well sort of hamper that. | 0:35:58 | 0:36:02 | |
We don't want to upset her at all, so it's far better to keep away. | 0:36:02 | 0:36:07 | |
Tim's concern not to disturb the mother is a very real one. | 0:36:07 | 0:36:12 | |
Not only is this her first baby, but she's never even seen a calf before. | 0:36:12 | 0:36:17 | |
It's quite possible that she won't know how to look after it. | 0:36:17 | 0:36:22 | |
I need to see her come up at some stage | 0:36:22 | 0:36:24 | |
and show an interest in her calf. | 0:36:24 | 0:36:27 | |
That's vital, obviously, to the well-being of the calf, | 0:36:27 | 0:36:32 | |
so it's a waiting game. | 0:36:32 | 0:36:35 | |
You know, it's lovely to have a live calf, | 0:36:35 | 0:36:38 | |
but I know we're not out of the woods yet. | 0:36:38 | 0:36:42 | |
If the calf is all right, it should soon be venturing out in the open. | 0:36:42 | 0:36:47 | |
We'll be back here later to see if there's any news. | 0:36:47 | 0:36:50 | |
I've come up to the tortoise paddock with Senior Warden Beth Evans | 0:37:05 | 0:37:09 | |
and it's feeding time for Michelle and Thomas. Now, Michelle and Thomas are...? | 0:37:09 | 0:37:13 | |
-African spur tortoises. -This is where they are? | 0:37:13 | 0:37:15 | |
-They're still in bed at the moment. -Do they go in here every night? | 0:37:15 | 0:37:19 | |
They do, for security reasons, and because it's too cold at night for them. | 0:37:19 | 0:37:23 | |
-But it's a nice day today. -It is and it's about time they got out. | 0:37:23 | 0:37:26 | |
How do we entice them out? | 0:37:26 | 0:37:27 | |
We're going to have to lift them out, to be honest, | 0:37:27 | 0:37:30 | |
because they are not very fast. | 0:37:30 | 0:37:32 | |
-Can I help you with that? -Yes, you can. Put the food down on the side. | 0:37:32 | 0:37:35 | |
If you lift the roof, Ben. | 0:37:35 | 0:37:37 | |
-Just lift it up? -Yep. | 0:37:37 | 0:37:39 | |
-That's it. -Wow! There they are. | 0:37:39 | 0:37:42 | |
And then if we open both of the side doors. | 0:37:42 | 0:37:46 | |
And just pull these out. So how old are these two? | 0:37:46 | 0:37:51 | |
Tommy's this one here and he's about 12 years old. | 0:37:51 | 0:37:55 | |
Michelle's only five, | 0:37:55 | 0:37:56 | |
although she's already near enough the same size. | 0:37:56 | 0:37:59 | |
It's incredible. Shall we lift them out? | 0:37:59 | 0:38:01 | |
Is there a best way to pick up a...? | 0:38:01 | 0:38:03 | |
Just go for the sides, cos if you put your fingers in there, | 0:38:03 | 0:38:07 | |
he can pinch you between his shell and his feet. | 0:38:07 | 0:38:10 | |
Wow, he is heavy, isn't he? | 0:38:10 | 0:38:11 | |
-Incredibly heavy. -Is this Thomas? | 0:38:11 | 0:38:13 | |
-Yes. -OK, Thomas. Gosh, how much do you think he weighs? | 0:38:13 | 0:38:17 | |
He's about 20 kilograms. | 0:38:17 | 0:38:18 | |
That doesn't say much for my weightlifting. | 0:38:18 | 0:38:21 | |
Ah, there you go. | 0:38:21 | 0:38:22 | |
Fantastic. | 0:38:24 | 0:38:26 | |
Obviously, we've carried them out, | 0:38:26 | 0:38:28 | |
-but do they like spending the day outside? -They do. | 0:38:28 | 0:38:31 | |
They do a lot of grazing throughout the day, | 0:38:31 | 0:38:33 | |
and this is a nice paddock, because as well as the grass, | 0:38:33 | 0:38:36 | |
you've got dandelions and clover. | 0:38:36 | 0:38:38 | |
We've picked some dandelions here | 0:38:38 | 0:38:40 | |
and, intriguingly, we've got some melon here. | 0:38:40 | 0:38:43 | |
Yes, we do. This is a treat. | 0:38:43 | 0:38:45 | |
OK, so this isn't their usual diet? | 0:38:45 | 0:38:48 | |
No, and if you fed them on melon or any kind of lettuce | 0:38:48 | 0:38:51 | |
or cucumber every day, it would be quite bad for them. | 0:38:51 | 0:38:54 | |
But it's good to have a treat every so often? | 0:38:54 | 0:38:56 | |
And also you can add mineral supplements, so... | 0:38:56 | 0:38:59 | |
So, how do you feed a tortoise? | 0:38:59 | 0:39:01 | |
-If you just grab a piece of melon. -I'll take this one here. | 0:39:01 | 0:39:04 | |
Stick it in front of Thomas and see if he's hungry. | 0:39:04 | 0:39:07 | |
He's already started on the dandelions. | 0:39:07 | 0:39:09 | |
He is... What do you think of this? | 0:39:09 | 0:39:13 | |
Wow, look at that. | 0:39:13 | 0:39:15 | |
Look at the chunks he's taking. | 0:39:15 | 0:39:17 | |
Because tortoises have a beak, don't they? | 0:39:17 | 0:39:20 | |
They don't have teeth, they have a sharp edge to their mouth, | 0:39:20 | 0:39:23 | |
and if they do actually accidentally catch your finger, | 0:39:23 | 0:39:26 | |
it does actually hurt quite a lot. | 0:39:26 | 0:39:28 | |
-Really? -Yes. -So I should hold it at the end. | 0:39:28 | 0:39:31 | |
That would be best. | 0:39:31 | 0:39:32 | |
I can't believe how quickly he's getting through that. | 0:39:32 | 0:39:35 | |
And presumably out in the wilds of Africa, | 0:39:35 | 0:39:38 | |
they might find some fallen fruit from trees. | 0:39:38 | 0:39:41 | |
Yes, they could come across that in their wild diet, | 0:39:41 | 0:39:44 | |
so it's not alien to them. | 0:39:44 | 0:39:46 | |
Right. He's eating the skin and everything, is that OK? | 0:39:46 | 0:39:51 | |
That's absolutely fine. A bit of fibre in his diet would be lovely. | 0:39:51 | 0:39:55 | |
Between the two of them, is there...? Shall we see...? | 0:39:55 | 0:39:58 | |
I'm feeling sorry for Michelle. I'm going to swap this around. | 0:39:58 | 0:40:02 | |
Is there one that's greedier? | 0:40:02 | 0:40:04 | |
-Is Thomas here...? -Thomas, he's more of a confident character anyway, | 0:40:04 | 0:40:07 | |
so he'll get straight in and eat. | 0:40:07 | 0:40:09 | |
Michelle's reasonably shy. She's still finding her feet here. | 0:40:09 | 0:40:12 | |
Thomas has been with us a lot longer, | 0:40:12 | 0:40:14 | |
so Michelle's still a bit shy. | 0:40:14 | 0:40:16 | |
Am I right in thinking they can actually dig? | 0:40:16 | 0:40:19 | |
Yes, incredibly well. They've got very strong front and back feet. | 0:40:19 | 0:40:23 | |
We can actually just see them down there. It's almost like claws. | 0:40:23 | 0:40:26 | |
Yes, and they're very, very good at digging. | 0:40:26 | 0:40:29 | |
Sometimes we have a problem with that because they love to burrow | 0:40:29 | 0:40:32 | |
and when we come to put them in at night, | 0:40:32 | 0:40:34 | |
sometimes we have to dig them out from underneath our logs. | 0:40:34 | 0:40:37 | |
How far down could a tortoise like this burrow? | 0:40:37 | 0:40:40 | |
Six foot to ten foot burrows, really long. | 0:40:40 | 0:40:42 | |
-You're joking? Really? -Yeah. | 0:40:42 | 0:40:44 | |
-You don't want to have to come and dig up that amount. -Try and get him out every evening. | 0:40:44 | 0:40:48 | |
Now, you've got to tell me what to do with this last little bit. | 0:40:48 | 0:40:52 | |
Shall I pass it to him? There we go. | 0:40:52 | 0:40:54 | |
I would like to keep my fingers just now. | 0:40:54 | 0:40:56 | |
Well, Bev, I think that was a huge success. | 0:40:56 | 0:40:59 | |
-He did enjoy that. -Thank you very much for letting me feed him. | 0:40:59 | 0:41:03 | |
-Can he have another one or is that too many? -No, that would be lovely. | 0:41:03 | 0:41:06 | |
Why not try this type of melon? I think he'll like that one. | 0:41:06 | 0:41:09 | |
Some more, Thomas? | 0:41:09 | 0:41:11 | |
At Pets Corner, | 0:41:24 | 0:41:25 | |
Jo Hawthorne is checking on the 14 Egyptian fruit bats. | 0:41:25 | 0:41:29 | |
They're waiting patiently in their box | 0:41:29 | 0:41:32 | |
while the Bat Cave gets a makeover. | 0:41:32 | 0:41:34 | |
Huddling together is normal behaviour for bats | 0:41:35 | 0:41:39 | |
and is how they like to sleep in the wild. | 0:41:39 | 0:41:41 | |
As a colony, they'll cling together anyway, and what they'll do is... | 0:41:41 | 0:41:45 | |
Somewhere where it's nice and quiet | 0:41:45 | 0:41:48 | |
and out of the way of human beings - old ruins, caves, mines. | 0:41:48 | 0:41:54 | |
They'll hang out in trees, actually, obviously, | 0:41:54 | 0:41:57 | |
because they're fruit bats, | 0:41:57 | 0:41:58 | |
so they'll actually just choose a branch and just hang about there. | 0:41:58 | 0:42:03 | |
But they tend to stick together. | 0:42:03 | 0:42:05 | |
They feel more security when they're actually hanging together. | 0:42:05 | 0:42:08 | |
I'm sure they can't wait to get out of there, | 0:42:08 | 0:42:11 | |
so I can't wait to let them out! | 0:42:11 | 0:42:12 | |
But, yeah, I think they'll be out tomorrow morning, | 0:42:12 | 0:42:15 | |
which will be great. | 0:42:15 | 0:42:17 | |
The team have spent hours painting and installing new lighting. | 0:42:22 | 0:42:26 | |
Finally the finishing touches go on. | 0:42:26 | 0:42:28 | |
Oh, thank goodness for that! | 0:42:31 | 0:42:34 | |
It's done! | 0:42:34 | 0:42:36 | |
Time to see what the bats make of it. | 0:42:39 | 0:42:42 | |
Here we go. | 0:42:42 | 0:42:43 | |
Yo! | 0:42:43 | 0:42:46 | |
At first they seem to prefer the box. | 0:42:46 | 0:42:49 | |
Jo and John are glad to see them up close one final time. | 0:42:49 | 0:42:53 | |
You normally just get to see them on the ceiling or feeding on the fruit, | 0:42:53 | 0:42:57 | |
but this is the closest I've ever got to them. | 0:42:57 | 0:42:59 | |
Yeah. And the fact that they're furry, | 0:42:59 | 0:43:05 | |
they aren't bald and leathery and horrible. | 0:43:05 | 0:43:08 | |
Yeah, the stereotypical image of a bat. | 0:43:08 | 0:43:10 | |
These guys break the mould, really. | 0:43:10 | 0:43:14 | |
Despite being nocturnal, bats have keen eyesight | 0:43:14 | 0:43:17 | |
and good peripheral vision to keep a lookout for predators. | 0:43:17 | 0:43:22 | |
But they only see in black and white. | 0:43:22 | 0:43:24 | |
There's lots of myths about bats being blind and everything. | 0:43:24 | 0:43:29 | |
I think that's basically due to the fact they are a creature that flies at night | 0:43:29 | 0:43:34 | |
and for all those people that go walking up the lanes and they're flying very near | 0:43:34 | 0:43:38 | |
they don't know that they're using the echolocation, | 0:43:38 | 0:43:42 | |
getting that bounce of sound off you, hence why they're flying so close. | 0:43:42 | 0:43:46 | |
But with their eyes, they can see as well as you or I. | 0:43:46 | 0:43:53 | |
I think what we'll do now is we'll probably go away and leave them now. | 0:43:53 | 0:43:57 | |
We'll leave you to it, chaps. | 0:43:57 | 0:43:59 | |
Soon the bats emerge and start enjoying their newly decorated cave. | 0:44:06 | 0:44:11 | |
Even if they can only appreciate it in black and white. | 0:44:11 | 0:44:15 | |
Bats aren't the only animals in the park which are nocturnal in the wild. | 0:44:22 | 0:44:26 | |
Big cats like lions would normally be more active at night. | 0:44:28 | 0:44:33 | |
To see some of that natural behaviour we've set up a unique experiment. | 0:44:34 | 0:44:39 | |
We're going on a stake-out | 0:44:39 | 0:44:41 | |
to see Kabir and his pride having a midnight feast. | 0:44:41 | 0:44:45 | |
I'm out in the lion enclosure. | 0:44:45 | 0:44:47 | |
It's very dark. It's the middle of the night. | 0:44:47 | 0:44:50 | |
I'm here with head of section Brian Kent and keeper Bob Trollope | 0:44:50 | 0:44:54 | |
and we're getting the most amazing pictures on this monitor. | 0:44:54 | 0:44:58 | |
We set up an infrared camera so that we could film at night, | 0:44:58 | 0:45:02 | |
so you'll see black and white pictures. | 0:45:02 | 0:45:05 | |
And we've put a carcass out and Kabir and his two females, | 0:45:05 | 0:45:13 | |
Yendi and Luna and the two cubs have come out. | 0:45:13 | 0:45:17 | |
This is the first time that you've done this, isn't it? | 0:45:17 | 0:45:21 | |
Yeah, the first time we've put a carcass out for this pride. | 0:45:21 | 0:45:25 | |
Presumably they have very good eyesight at night. | 0:45:25 | 0:45:28 | |
They're very much like your domestic cat. | 0:45:28 | 0:45:31 | |
They have a layer behind the retina | 0:45:31 | 0:45:34 | |
and they will pick up any amount of light that is here, | 0:45:34 | 0:45:40 | |
they absorb it and can obviously see a lot better than we can. | 0:45:40 | 0:45:46 | |
We can't see a thing, but they come straight out into the dark. | 0:45:46 | 0:45:50 | |
That's also using their sense of smell as well. | 0:45:50 | 0:45:54 | |
Now, all of them are licking it. | 0:45:54 | 0:45:57 | |
Is that a typical response? | 0:45:57 | 0:45:59 | |
Yeah, they're just getting, as you can see, Kabir's trying to drag... | 0:45:59 | 0:46:02 | |
Kabir is trying to take it away! | 0:46:02 | 0:46:05 | |
There's going to be a tug-of-war, by the looks of things here. | 0:46:05 | 0:46:08 | |
I'm surprised that Kabir has tolerated them being here | 0:46:08 | 0:46:11 | |
because he's a bit of a foody normally. | 0:46:11 | 0:46:14 | |
Do you think this is Luna closest to us here? | 0:46:14 | 0:46:17 | |
It's very hard to tell through this. | 0:46:17 | 0:46:19 | |
It is. Cos she's got her claws right into it, she's holding on. | 0:46:19 | 0:46:23 | |
Oh, now Kabir is trying to drag it off. | 0:46:23 | 0:46:26 | |
But the girls are not letting him have it. | 0:46:26 | 0:46:29 | |
At the moment, apart from a few tug-of-war-type tussles, | 0:46:29 | 0:46:34 | |
there doesn't look like there's been any fighting. | 0:46:34 | 0:46:37 | |
No, that's good. Maybe it's because they have to actually work at getting into where the meat is. | 0:46:37 | 0:46:43 | |
Normally the chunks that we feed them are prepared and just... | 0:46:43 | 0:46:48 | |
The sort of equivalent of a ready meal, isn't it? Whereas this one they've got to do themselves. | 0:46:48 | 0:46:54 | |
Do you think that the cubs simply aren't hungry, | 0:46:54 | 0:46:57 | |
or that they feel this is a bit too big and scary for them to handle? | 0:46:57 | 0:47:01 | |
I don't think we've left them out at night | 0:47:01 | 0:47:05 | |
since they've been born, so this is a whole new experience for them. | 0:47:05 | 0:47:09 | |
They do look a little bit wary, don't they? | 0:47:09 | 0:47:12 | |
Not quite sure what's going on. | 0:47:12 | 0:47:15 | |
Might just be a little bit wary of Kabir. | 0:47:15 | 0:47:19 | |
He's a big chap compared to them. | 0:47:19 | 0:47:21 | |
In the wild, the cubs would fend for themselves. | 0:47:21 | 0:47:24 | |
On a kill, if they can get in, they can get in. If not, they can't. | 0:47:24 | 0:47:28 | |
Yeah. Look at this little cub! | 0:47:28 | 0:47:30 | |
Jasira is absolutely piling in there! | 0:47:30 | 0:47:34 | |
What an amazing scene! Almost like we're in Africa. | 0:47:34 | 0:47:39 | |
Oh, now, can we just zoom in very quickly | 0:47:39 | 0:47:42 | |
because we've got just Kabir and the cub now on the carcass. | 0:47:42 | 0:47:47 | |
Kabir's totally unconcerned. Look how hard that little cub is working! | 0:47:47 | 0:47:51 | |
I'll pull it away from you yet! | 0:47:51 | 0:47:52 | |
And that's pure instinct, isn't it? | 0:47:52 | 0:47:55 | |
-Because they've never been taught that. -No. | 0:47:55 | 0:47:59 | |
It's the perfect family dinner. | 0:47:59 | 0:48:01 | |
-It is. -And they're not scrapping over food. | 0:48:01 | 0:48:03 | |
-You must be really pleased to see this sort of... -Surprised, really. | 0:48:03 | 0:48:07 | |
-..content family unit. -It's really good. | 0:48:07 | 0:48:10 | |
-This is the future of the lions of Longleat, carrying on our bloodlines. -Absolutely. | 0:48:10 | 0:48:16 | |
Which is what we need to do. | 0:48:16 | 0:48:18 | |
Well, what a fantastic night. Rob and Brian, thank you very much. | 0:48:18 | 0:48:22 | |
A huge privilege to see that. | 0:48:22 | 0:48:25 | |
Kabir's like, right, I'm going to take charge! | 0:48:25 | 0:48:29 | |
Today is a big day for bull rhino Winston. | 0:48:42 | 0:48:47 | |
Dung samples from West Midlands female Mtuba were sent for tests | 0:48:47 | 0:48:52 | |
to find out if the artificial insemination with Winston's sperm made her pregnant or not. | 0:48:52 | 0:48:57 | |
Head warden Keith Harris is anxiously standing by for a phone call with the results. | 0:49:00 | 0:49:06 | |
PHONE RINGS | 0:49:06 | 0:49:09 | |
Oh, dear, what a shame. | 0:49:09 | 0:49:11 | |
Oh, that's a bore. | 0:49:11 | 0:49:14 | |
Right, well, we'll see if they want to try again, then. | 0:49:14 | 0:49:18 | |
Presumably you'd like to do it again. | 0:49:18 | 0:49:20 | |
Oh, well, I'm sorry to hear the bad news. | 0:49:20 | 0:49:22 | |
But hopefully we'll be more successful in the future. | 0:49:22 | 0:49:26 | |
OK, then. Bye, then. | 0:49:26 | 0:49:28 | |
The artificial insemination may not have worked this time, | 0:49:33 | 0:49:38 | |
but the good news is that at the grand age of 39, Winston's sperm is still fertile. | 0:49:38 | 0:49:44 | |
Everyone hopes that artificial insemination for rhinos will continue to develop | 0:49:44 | 0:49:49 | |
and that Winston may still become a father in the future. | 0:49:49 | 0:49:53 | |
How are you doing, Winny? | 0:49:53 | 0:49:55 | |
Try, try and try again. | 0:49:56 | 0:49:58 | |
Certainly, from their future, | 0:49:58 | 0:50:01 | |
you can actually store the sperm, then, theoretically, | 0:50:01 | 0:50:06 | |
the conservation of rhinos will be a lot easier | 0:50:06 | 0:50:08 | |
because there will never be a time when we haven't got rhinos. | 0:50:08 | 0:50:14 | |
Extinction will not be a thing. | 0:50:14 | 0:50:17 | |
So that's very important and there's a lot of benefits | 0:50:17 | 0:50:19 | |
to be able to do AI with these animals | 0:50:19 | 0:50:22 | |
because trying to move large animals like this isn't always easy. | 0:50:22 | 0:50:27 | |
So, if you can take the sperm rather than the animal, then again, | 0:50:27 | 0:50:31 | |
that's got to be better for the species. | 0:50:31 | 0:50:34 | |
So there's a whole lot of different things | 0:50:34 | 0:50:37 | |
that will hopefully improve the life of the rhinos across the board. | 0:50:37 | 0:50:41 | |
Up at the deer park, there's been some better news about the rare Pere David calf. | 0:50:51 | 0:50:57 | |
Tim Yeo is eager to see for himself. | 0:50:57 | 0:51:00 | |
He's coming in our van because the deer are so shy of his vehicle that they avoid it. | 0:51:00 | 0:51:05 | |
He wants to get as close as possible because the new baby has just come out of hiding. | 0:51:05 | 0:51:11 | |
I never get to see them this close. | 0:51:11 | 0:51:13 | |
We've just seen the calf suckling from Mum and I must say, | 0:51:13 | 0:51:18 | |
for me this is absolutely great because I can't get close enough to them. | 0:51:18 | 0:51:23 | |
The deer are completely undisturbed by us. | 0:51:23 | 0:51:28 | |
They're used to cars coming down, they don't suspect anything at all. | 0:51:28 | 0:51:33 | |
So this is wonderful to watch it so closely. | 0:51:33 | 0:51:39 | |
Four or five years of not having a pregnancy at all, | 0:51:39 | 0:51:44 | |
it's just wonderful to see a Pere David calf | 0:51:44 | 0:51:49 | |
and just the prospect that we can slightly build our numbers, | 0:51:49 | 0:51:54 | |
absolutely wonderful. | 0:51:54 | 0:51:56 | |
The Pere David deer are all descended from one small herd, | 0:51:56 | 0:52:01 | |
so they can be prone to genetic defects. | 0:52:01 | 0:52:03 | |
It's important for the keepers to keep a close check on their health, especially when they're young. | 0:52:03 | 0:52:10 | |
With a world population of Pere David deer descending from 18 animals, | 0:52:10 | 0:52:17 | |
obviously...you're always watching with newborn calves. | 0:52:17 | 0:52:23 | |
You're just making sure... | 0:52:23 | 0:52:25 | |
It's easy just to look at them and see a calf, but... | 0:52:25 | 0:52:29 | |
you need to be looking a bit closer if you can, just to make sure that | 0:52:29 | 0:52:34 | |
everything that should be there is there. | 0:52:34 | 0:52:36 | |
But very good, very happy with what we're seeing. | 0:52:36 | 0:52:42 | |
The herd have lived in the park side by side with all sorts of animals for years, | 0:52:42 | 0:52:47 | |
but a new calf is likely to attract attention. | 0:52:47 | 0:52:50 | |
Some of it unwanted. | 0:52:50 | 0:52:52 | |
Deputy head warden Ian Turner will be spending a lot of time up here to make sure the star newcomer is safe. | 0:52:52 | 0:52:59 | |
This is a camel, look, coming over now. | 0:52:59 | 0:53:02 | |
Come and say hello. | 0:53:02 | 0:53:04 | |
The baby should just head off with Mum. | 0:53:04 | 0:53:07 | |
You can see, look, one baby Pere David deer. | 0:53:07 | 0:53:10 | |
And hopefully that's just one of a few. | 0:53:10 | 0:53:13 | |
So that's really good news and Mum's doing fine looking after it. | 0:53:13 | 0:53:17 | |
About four days old now, so fingers crossed. | 0:53:17 | 0:53:20 | |
The only thing we've got to watch out for is the camels. | 0:53:20 | 0:53:24 | |
They tend to come over and say hello to all new babies. | 0:53:24 | 0:53:26 | |
That can sometimes stress them out. | 0:53:26 | 0:53:28 | |
The rhino keeper's got to be on her toes. | 0:53:28 | 0:53:31 | |
Mum will keep a close eye on it and if the baby gets left behind, Mum will come back and pick it up | 0:53:31 | 0:53:36 | |
and also, with all the other animals in this section, they'll try and keep the baby in the middle, | 0:53:36 | 0:53:41 | |
literally just for protection or go wherever it needs to go. | 0:53:41 | 0:53:45 | |
So they're very protective of it at the moment, which is good. | 0:53:45 | 0:53:48 | |
Whenever babies are born, it always gives everybody a bit of a lift. | 0:53:52 | 0:53:55 | |
It makes your day worth coming in and everything | 0:53:55 | 0:53:59 | |
and hopefully this is just the start. | 0:53:59 | 0:54:02 | |
So, it's doing fine, | 0:54:02 | 0:54:06 | |
Mum's fine. They'll just keep an eye on it and hopefully there'll be some more. | 0:54:06 | 0:54:11 | |
We've come down to Pets Corner with Alexa Fairbairn and two of... | 0:54:24 | 0:54:30 | |
I just don't know how anyone can not like rats, Alexa. | 0:54:30 | 0:54:33 | |
They're so adorable. | 0:54:33 | 0:54:34 | |
These are new ones and very small. | 0:54:34 | 0:54:37 | |
Yeah, they're about eight weeks. A really good age to get them, | 0:54:37 | 0:54:41 | |
-then you can start handling them and bond with them, because they make brilliant pets. -Do they? -Yeah. | 0:54:41 | 0:54:46 | |
Really friendly, really intelligent. | 0:54:46 | 0:54:49 | |
You can train them to do things as well. | 0:54:49 | 0:54:51 | |
-Can you? -What can you train them to do? | 0:54:51 | 0:54:53 | |
They can pick things up, bring them back to you. Small objects. | 0:54:53 | 0:54:56 | |
Obviously not the newspaper, it would be a bit of a struggle! | 0:54:56 | 0:54:59 | |
And what about feeding and that sort of thing? | 0:54:59 | 0:55:03 | |
-Do they need a complicated diet? -Not really, no. | 0:55:03 | 0:55:06 | |
You can buy commercial pet food the same as hamsters, rabbits. | 0:55:06 | 0:55:10 | |
But they're garbage bins, they'll eat anything. | 0:55:10 | 0:55:13 | |
-Really? -Yeah. -Is there anything that you should avoid them eating? | 0:55:13 | 0:55:16 | |
Green foods, really. That can cause them to get an upset stomach. | 0:55:16 | 0:55:20 | |
-Lettuce leaves and things like that? -Yeah. Too much moisture. | 0:55:20 | 0:55:23 | |
You'd think they'd be good for them. | 0:55:23 | 0:55:25 | |
You can tell if a rat's healthy - their teeth should be orange. | 0:55:25 | 0:55:28 | |
Oh, really? Come on, show us your pegs. | 0:55:28 | 0:55:31 | |
Let's have a look. Are they, like... | 0:55:31 | 0:55:33 | |
A lot of rodents have... | 0:55:33 | 0:55:34 | |
or I think all rodents have teeth that continually grow. | 0:55:34 | 0:55:37 | |
Is that the same with them? | 0:55:37 | 0:55:39 | |
It is. They all need gnawing material. | 0:55:39 | 0:55:41 | |
-Bits of wood. -He's very wriggly. | 0:55:41 | 0:55:43 | |
-There's no way... -I'll have a little... | 0:55:43 | 0:55:46 | |
-Go on... -No, I think he prefers... -I'm not going to bed, no way! | 0:55:46 | 0:55:50 | |
I'll definitely leave that one with you, Kate. | 0:55:50 | 0:55:54 | |
-So... -Let me have a quick... -You can have a go. -Has it got a name yet? | 0:55:56 | 0:56:00 | |
Yeah, this one's Squeak and the one up Kate's sleeve is Bubble. | 0:56:00 | 0:56:04 | |
-Oh, very good. -I think Bubble's going to stay with me. | 0:56:04 | 0:56:06 | |
-And are they happy alone...? -They like company. -They like company. | 0:56:06 | 0:56:10 | |
-It's best to get two, perhaps, if you're going to have one. -Yeah. | 0:56:10 | 0:56:13 | |
People worry that rats are dirty. | 0:56:13 | 0:56:16 | |
They're synonymous with dirt. | 0:56:16 | 0:56:18 | |
-They are. -I've lost this one completely! | 0:56:18 | 0:56:21 | |
-Sewer rats, yes. -Yeah. | 0:56:21 | 0:56:22 | |
Domestic rats, no. They're really clean. | 0:56:22 | 0:56:24 | |
Go to the toilet, one corner all the time. Very healthy. | 0:56:24 | 0:56:28 | |
-So you'd recommend them as pets? -Oh, definitely. -And you'd recommend one? | 0:56:28 | 0:56:32 | |
I would, but I'm completely biased because I've had loads. | 0:56:32 | 0:56:35 | |
-Alexa, check her coat before she goes! -I'm off! | 0:56:35 | 0:56:40 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:57:02 | 0:57:05 | |
E-mail [email protected] | 0:57:05 | 0:57:07 |