Episode 3 Animal Park


Episode 3

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

-And I'm Ben Fogle.

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We're in front of Longleat House, one of Britain's most impressive Elizabethan buildings.

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It's surrounded by 900 acres of stunning gardens

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as well as thousands of acres of woodland, farmland and lakes.

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It's also home to a host of animals and we'll be bringing you lots of their stories today.

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Here's what's coming up.

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I'll be welcoming a historic new arrival -

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the 100th giraffe to be born at Longleat.

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The vet's been called because Samba,

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the geriatric gorilla, has fallen dangerously ill.

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And Lord Bath reveals a dark family secret,

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although their skeleton isn't in the closet -

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it's under the floor.

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There have been Bennett's wallabies at Longleat

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for more than 15 years.

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They've done very well, so that now the colony,

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called a mob, is almost 30 strong.

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But last year, a single pair of Parma wallabies

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were brought to live in Pets' Corner.

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This is a smaller variety and very rare.

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The Parma was thought to be extinct till 1965,

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when a few were discovered still living wild

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on an island off the coast of New Zealand.

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So everyone was pleased

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when their new couple, named Sydney and Adelaide, produced a joey -

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the proper word for a baby wallaby.

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But now, keeper Bev Allen has some bad news.

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We noticed that Mum had the joey in the pouch a while back,

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cos the pouch got very big.

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Then, about a week ago, we saw the head popping out of the pouch.

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I'd been away for a few days and I got a telephone call from Darren

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saying, "You might have to come to work, because the joey came out of the pouch."

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It's not unusual for a joey to pop out for a while.

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But in this case, Adelaide wouldn't let the infant back in -

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for some unknown reason, she rejected it.

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It would have died within hours if Bev hadn't come to the rescue.

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He was a bit weak to begin with,

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but he's getting used to taking milk from a syringe - not the bottle.

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So, yeah, he's getting stronger, which is good.

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It's been about three days now, I'd say. And, yeah,

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he's got better - he's got stronger.

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He makes little noises when he wants his food now.

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He's got a good chance of survival

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and a good chance to go back in with Mum and Dad, which is what we want.

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It's not ideal to hand-rear.

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But if there's a strong possibility they'll be able to go back in the group, there's no reason not to.

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The joey is a little boy, and he's still on nothing but milk.

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He needs feeding every two or three hours, day and night.

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So being a foster mum is a round-the-clock job.

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A lot of commitment's involved.

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You have to make sure they're strong enough to survive, get them used to being bottle fed.

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After milk, a joey needs a pouch. Bev has had to improvise.

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Basically, this is his pouch.

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He needs a pouch to go into, so we make a substitute pouch for him.

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This will make him feel secure, warm,

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and it helps him, because you're trying to copy what Mum would do.

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A couple of years ago, Bev stepped in when another joey needed

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to be hand-reared.

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They called the baby Kimberley and she was an orphan

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who was rescued from her dead mother's pouch.

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Bev nursed her through thick and thin,

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so that Kim could be successfully reintegrated with the mob.

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But now, for this little one, all that is still a long way off.

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If he's about five to six months old,

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they need the pouch up to nine months.

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So it could be another couple of months or so.

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Also, the weather's got to be warm enough for him to go back.

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So he could be coming home with me

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for quite a few times yet.

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Even with all Bev's hard work and commitment,

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there's no guarantee that the joey will survive.

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There's every possibility that something could go wrong.

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But looking at him at the moment,

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he's quite lively, quite active.

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He's cleaning himself.

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He's doing everything that a nice,

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healthy wallaby would do, so I'm confident, hopefully, he'll be OK.

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But a baby wallaby as young and vulnerable as this

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faces many dangers.

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We'll be back later to see how he's doing.

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Amongst the unusual and exotic species here at Longleat,

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there are also some animals that many people could keep themselves.

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I'm in Pets' Corner with keeper Amy Moore and two rabbits.

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-This is Fern and this is Sally?

-Yes.

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What are the breeds we've got here?

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This is a dwarf lop, Sally is.

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And Fern is a Continental giant.

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And what sort of age are these two?

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Fern, believe it or not, is only 18 weeks old.

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-So she's still a baby.

-A very, very big baby!

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How big will Fern get?

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Double the size she is now, when she's an adult. She'll get very big.

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-Giant by name, giant by nature.

-Yes.

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And this one here?

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Sally is just over one year old.

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She's fully grown,

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so, in comparison, Fern's a lot bigger than Sally.

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-It's incredible!

-Yeah.

-I'm assuming "lop-eared"

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-because the ears...

-That's right.

-..flop down.

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-Yeah.

-What are we doing today, then?

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We're just giving them a groom over.

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This time of year, when they're losing their winter coat...

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Losing it being the operative word. You're covered in hair there!

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-Is this seasonal, like dogs?

-Yeah.

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So at the end of the summer,

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they'll get their winter coats ready.

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So it's a good idea to keep them clean and give them a groom.

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-Do you recommend this every day, or every so often?

-Every so often.

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-Mm-hm. Shall I have a...?

-Yeah.

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Let's see how Fern likes that. And apart from grooming like this,

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is there any other maintenance that you have to do with a rabbit, if you have one at home?

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It's important to give them a general health check every day.

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They can get problems with their ears and their teeth and that.

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Some rabbits can get mites in their ears,

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so it's a good idea to look inside, give it a clean.

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And then check their teeth aren't overgrown.

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Check their eyes are all right and not cloudy.

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A good thing for their teeth... You can give them

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wood chews to chew on and hay, as well, to keep their teeth filed down.

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If you were looking to get a rabbit at home,

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would you recommend a Continental giant, or is it just a bit too big?

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I'd probably recommend a mini lop.

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Fern looks lovely, but she is quite a handful because of her size.

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And you need a big space to keep her in.

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And as a big rabbit, she's more likely to have health problems than, say, Sally is,

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so I'd recommend this breed.

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-I imagine Fern will get quite strong when she's double this size.

-Yeah.

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Very strong.

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-How's my grooming technique?

-It's very good.

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-How many more rabbits do you have?

-Eight.

-Eight?

-Yeah.

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-We could be busy!

-Yeah.

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You're enjoying this, aren't you, Fern?

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Since the time of Elizabeth I, Longleat has been the home of the Thynne family.

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For 13 generations, they've been one of England's most powerful and influential aristocratic dynasties.

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And almost every generation has left its mark on Longleat House.

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Some have enriched it with rebuilding work and lavish decoration.

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Others have filled the great rooms with priceless treasures or works of art.

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Over the course of this series, we'll be exploring the most significant contributions made

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by some of the more colourful members of the Thynne family.

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Alexander Thynne must be one of the most colourful ones yet.

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He's the present Lord Bath and has volunteered to guide us through the generations of his ancestors.

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He's starting out today with his great-great-great-great- great-grandfather, Thomas Thynne.

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Born in 1710, he became the 2nd Viscount Weymouth

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and the most significant legacy he left Longleat

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was the series of five paintings on sporting and riding themes that hang around the Tudor great hall.

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They're by the English artist John Wootton and are now regarded as works of national importance.

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But when the 2nd Viscount commissioned Wootton to paint them,

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he wasn't so much interested in great art as in the subject - Thomas Thynne was horse mad.

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The 2nd Viscount certainly thought it was...

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He'd been taught... He could ride well

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and there weren't so many things that he was especially proficient at,

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so this does reflect his interest and his character

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in being a...a riding gentleman.

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Thomas wasn't alone. In those days, most of the aristocracy was obsessed

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with all things horsy - that's one reason why Wootton specialised

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in riding themes.

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Also, it's a subject that works well on big canvases.

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I can't think of another British artist

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who has done large-scale things which look suitable

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for covering most of the wall space in a great hall.

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I'm very pleased that we did that.

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The pictures still hang at Longleat but, as national treasures, they're actually owned by the Tate Gallery.

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One of their experts on painting conservation is Warwick MacCallum.

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Wootton was THE first important horse painter -

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in Europe and in England -

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the first painter who thought that horses were important to paint.

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The five pictures are now being cleaned and Warwick is here leading a team of Tate conservators.

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Longleat's curator of historic collections, Kate Harris,

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has been watching the progress.

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-They're looking much better.

-They were filthy when we began to clean them. Very, very dirty.

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-I think the prescription of my glasses has changed - they're that much clearer and more animated.

-Yes.

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-Yes.

-The time of day has changed and the quality of the light in the pictures.

-Yes.

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-They're very nice paintings.

-Yes.

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Cleaning is a painstaking process which has to be done slowly

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and carefully, using very small tools.

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The paintings were filthy.

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There was a thick layer of dark grime on them when we started.

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In a large room like this, with a lot of people passing through,

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the dirt floats up and settles on all surfaces,

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and particularly on paintings and paint frames.

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It's a big job, because they are massive paintings.

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To the 2nd Viscount, Thomas Thynne, that may have been the point.

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He was an awful show-off!

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He spent money like water but they, even in his terms,

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are a very grand commission indeed.

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I think they're very important.

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There are three great halls in England

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that have sporting picture sequences by John Wootton.

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There's a sequence at Althorp - it's actually called the Wootton Hall at Althorp -

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and another sequence at Badminton.

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We're not always entirely original.

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When one stately home's doing something, one has a quick think, "Should we do that too?"

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For example, the new gates they've put in

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at the top of Longcombe Drive.

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That is by the same artist

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who has done some things in the garden at Chatsworth.

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So we do look around and keep up with the Joneses, yes.

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But keeping up with the Joneses never hurt anyone,

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unlike some of Thomas Thynne's other character traits.

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There was a dark side to the 2nd Viscount,

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one that, according to legend, led to murder and tragedy,

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so that, along with the Wootton paintings, the other great legacy he left Longleat

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was its most famous ghost.

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The story continues a little later on.

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In Pets' Corner, keeper Bev Allen

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is foster mum to a little baby wallaby

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who has, for some unknown reason, been rejected by his real mother.

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The problem is, the substitute milk doesn't contain the antibodies

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that his mother's milk would have.

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Without them, the joey's vulnerable to all sorts of illnesses.

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So, today, Bev is going to try once more to reunite him with his mother, Adelaide.

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It's too early to be out of the pouch.

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It's usually at the stage where it would look out of the pouch,

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maybe come out briefly and then back in.

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But it hasn't got a lot of fur, so it hasn't much protection from the cold.

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I think, where it is so cold and it's come out, it's just a shock to the system for the little joey.

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I'll just step away...

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Bev has been fostering the infant for only a few days.

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But already, he's drawn to her rather than to Adelaide.

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Come on!

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A minute later,

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he remembers his real mother and the pouch that should be his home.

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But Adelaide won't let him in.

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This is her first time actually having a young joey.

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I think a lot of it is to do with the weather and the time of year.

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Usually, they will be in the pouch

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until the weather starts to get warmer.

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So I think, you know, she's probably a bit unsure now.

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Adelaide continues to shun her baby,

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and after a few minutes, it becomes clear that the attempt to reunite them has failed.

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Me and Amy decided it's best to go and get the young joey in his pouch now,

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cos it is quite cold. We've tried... sadly, hasn't worked.

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But we'll keep bringing him back over here when he's a bit older,

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and let him get used to Mum and Dad and let him know he is a wallaby.

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For now, we'll put him back in this pouch.

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We hoped everything was going to go well, cos it looked like it would,

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and then, all of a sudden, it went pear-shaped.

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Sadly, that's what happens with animals.

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Of course, he would be a lot better with Mum looking after him,

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but it's not gonna happen.

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So gonna have to hand-rear,

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and then when he's a bit older and stronger, he can come back out with Mum and Dad where he belongs.

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But before any of that can happen, the little joey must simply survive.

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And unfortunately, he's still very small and very vulnerable.

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We'll return to the wallabies a little later on.

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I'm out at Meerkat Mountain with head of section Darren Beasley.

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-I gather you're going to do a little meerkat taunting.

-Yes!

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It's a behaviour experiment, there's some teasing involved.

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Basically, with our meerkats, they were born and bred in captivity.

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We've looked to see what natural behaviours they still have left -

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what is natural and what's taught.

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We know they spot the birds of prey, and they bark and run for cover.

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They'll even see the guys in the microlights coming and run for cover!

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They've got that one, but also, on their travels in southern Africa,

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they will look for things that are out of place.

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They'll come across a big rock, tortoise or porcupine.

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Well, we've got my little friend here...

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-Oh!

-Couldn't use a real one, of course.

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This is actually a rubber snake.

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What we're gonna do is, if they're in the wild and come across a predator,

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they should bark, they should mob it, I'm hoping they won't run for cover.

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They should try and distract it and chase it away.

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If they're really brave, they might lunge at it, bite it and attack it.

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The result will be interesting.

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If they ignore it, then they'll have lost some of their natural behaviour.

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I want lots of barking, lots of tail up and stuff.

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We're gonna hide this somewhere.

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Just over here, as well as the meerkats, you've got the mongoose.

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Beautiful animal.

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Now, "mongooses", I gather the plural is,

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mongooses are famous for attacking snakes.

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Would this particular sort of mongoose attack snakes?

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They'll eat anything from the tiniest bug up to the biggest rodent.

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Snakes in between that.

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If they think it's a danger, more often than not, they'll run away.

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If they think they can get a tasty meal, yes, by golly, they will.

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Just like the old Riki Tiki Tavi stories,

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these guys, if they come across a snake, hopefully they'll react as well as the meerkats would.

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OK, do you think the time has come to give it a go?

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-Do you want to do it?

-Yeah.

-Place it near the stump on the floor.

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Somewhere obvious he can see.

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Yeah, brill.

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-Make it look fierce.

-Scary, isn't it?

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-Oh!

-Oh!

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HE CHUCKLES

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OK, experiment over.

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They don't look fooled, Darren.

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I actually wonder - they've taken no notice of it at all.

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-No fear - hang on...

-This one's having a sniff,

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but there is definitely no fear there.

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What does that mean? Is that a good thing, a bad thing?

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It's somewhere in between.

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The bad thing is they are blase, they feel safe and relaxed, which is what we want.

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We want to protect them from fear and distress.

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On the same thing, I want them to still be a meerkat.

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I still want them to have the reactions that their wild cousins

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in Namibia and Angola and those places where they come from,

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that they would still react the same way.

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Probably because that's just an object and it's sat there,

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they pay it no attention, but it is a result, you know.

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It's a result, a quick experiment,

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something we can do perhaps with other animals as well,

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and we now know that these guys, they don't care about it.

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Well, I think you can safely say

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you have some very happy, very chilled-out meerkats.

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-You're right.

-Darren, thank you very much indeed.

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Up in the East Africa reserve,

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there may soon be some very exciting news.

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Of the ten female giraffes here, at least four are expecting a calf.

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The first one due is Jolly,

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and if all goes well, it will be not only her tenth calf,

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but also the 100th baby giraffe born at Longleat,

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since the safari park opened back in the 1960s.

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The keeper in charge of the giraffes is Andy Hayton.

0:20:360:20:40

You've gotta be positive.

0:20:400:20:42

All going to plan, it'll be a good year.

0:20:420:20:44

And it's the 40th year of Longleat this year,

0:20:440:20:47

so 40 years and 100 giraffe births.

0:20:470:20:50

Pretty cool.

0:20:500:20:52

But Andy is staying cautious,

0:20:530:20:55

because they've had some difficult times

0:20:550:20:58

with the babies here in the Giraffe House.

0:20:580:21:00

Last year, Becky had little Evelyn.

0:21:000:21:02

It was all going well until Mother began to lick her baby's ears.

0:21:020:21:06

That's normal bonding behaviour,

0:21:060:21:09

but Becky was doing it obsessively.

0:21:090:21:11

Evelyn's ears became infected and, despite powerful antibiotics,

0:21:110:21:16

that led to septicaemia - blood poisoning.

0:21:160:21:19

Sadly, the baby died.

0:21:190:21:22

Then, more recently, when Imogen went into labour,

0:21:230:21:27

it soon became clear that something was very wrong.

0:21:270:21:30

Her calf was dead inside

0:21:300:21:32

and had become hopelessly stuck.

0:21:320:21:34

The only option was to perform an emergency Caesarean.

0:21:340:21:37

And, against all the odds, Imogen survived.

0:21:400:21:43

An absolute miracle of nature.

0:21:460:21:48

And she's recovered so well.

0:21:480:21:51

Fantastic, it is.

0:21:510:21:52

That was a small compensation in a difficult season.

0:21:520:21:56

It was a disappointing year, cos we thought we were gonna do better.

0:21:560:22:00

The year previously, we had three females born.

0:22:000:22:02

OK, yeah, we lost one, but, you know, that was good

0:22:020:22:05

and the next year we thought we were gonna do pretty well again.

0:22:050:22:09

We didn't, so it's up and down. It's peaks and troughs, you know.

0:22:090:22:13

But this year, hopefully - not getting too overexcited,

0:22:130:22:16

which you don't - you've been doing this a while,

0:22:160:22:19

you know what can happen - but we've got some good breeders.

0:22:190:22:22

The difficulties taught Andy and his team valuable lessons.

0:22:220:22:26

There's no text-book rules of how this should go.

0:22:260:22:30

We have to make sure we do the best for them and you always feel

0:22:300:22:33

that you should be doing better every time.

0:22:330:22:36

And if you learn from every experience you have

0:22:360:22:39

of calving, or illness, or lameness or whatever,

0:22:390:22:43

you can only make it better. But yeah, you are gonna have problems.

0:22:430:22:46

And now, with Jolly's calf expected very soon,

0:22:460:22:50

the big question is -

0:22:500:22:51

will Longleat's 100th giraffe birth go smoothly?

0:22:510:22:54

We'll find out later on.

0:22:560:22:58

Winter in the safari park.

0:23:030:23:06

Most of the animals here don't mind the cold at all,

0:23:060:23:09

but for the ageing residents of Gorilla Island,

0:23:090:23:12

the bad weather can be life-threatening.

0:23:120:23:14

The keeper in charge of them is Mark Tye.

0:23:140:23:18

It's prolonged days of rain, wind and general cold

0:23:180:23:21

that's not very nice for them, like it isn't for us either.

0:23:210:23:25

I mean, nearly 46 years old,

0:23:250:23:28

and you know, they're sort of coming to the end of their lives

0:23:280:23:32

and, like old people, they have to be wary

0:23:320:23:35

and take precautions for cold weather.

0:23:350:23:37

In the wild, a Western Lowland gorilla would be very unlikely

0:23:390:23:42

to live into its late 30s.

0:23:420:23:44

So at 45, Nico, the male, and Samba, his mate,

0:23:440:23:48

really are a very elderly couple.

0:23:480:23:51

In fact, they're the oldest gorillas in Britain.

0:23:510:23:55

They've lived here on the island for 20 years now,

0:23:550:23:58

and Mark has been looking after them for most of that time.

0:23:580:24:01

They mean a lot to me.

0:24:010:24:02

You know, I've been working with them for a long, long time now.

0:24:020:24:06

And you know, you do want to care for them as best you can,

0:24:060:24:09

do as much as you can.

0:24:090:24:11

Their house is kept cosy with central heating,

0:24:110:24:14

and they have their own TV.

0:24:140:24:16

Research has shown that gorillas enjoy watching the telly.

0:24:160:24:20

Nico and Samba are particularly keen on the cartoons.

0:24:200:24:23

It's not too surprising, really, cos in evolutionary terms,

0:24:230:24:27

gorillas are very close to humans.

0:24:270:24:29

Our DNA is almost 98% identical.

0:24:290:24:33

Unfortunately, that means we're prone to many of the same illnesses.

0:24:330:24:37

Because they are our closest relative,

0:24:370:24:39

they can catch pretty much everything that we can.

0:24:390:24:42

They can suffer from the same health problems -

0:24:420:24:45

heart problems, strokes, cancer,

0:24:450:24:47

anything like that.

0:24:470:24:49

It's one of the things that us as keepers have to be very aware of,

0:24:490:24:52

that if we've got any problems, particularly colds, flu,

0:24:520:24:55

you know, we won't come over here.

0:24:550:24:58

Or if we have to, we'll wear a mask,

0:24:580:25:00

so we're hopefully not transmitting anything to them.

0:25:000:25:03

Also, particularly, they can catch stomach viruses as well,

0:25:030:25:06

the same as us.

0:25:060:25:08

And also they can pass it to us.

0:25:080:25:10

So we have to be particularly careful.

0:25:100:25:12

So a few days later, when Samba came down with a nasty cough,

0:25:140:25:18

the vet was called and no-one else was allowed in.

0:25:180:25:22

But deputy head warden Ian Turner is keeping us posted.

0:25:220:25:26

His diagnosis - she's got cold-cum-flu symptoms,

0:25:270:25:30

which wouldn't be too bad, but when you're a 45-year-old gorilla,

0:25:300:25:34

in Samba's case, it could be quite serious.

0:25:340:25:36

One of the main hiccups with Sam is she doesn't like taking medication.

0:25:360:25:40

It's the age thing - you know, you look at 45 years of age on a gorilla,

0:25:400:25:45

you're talking a real senior citizen, 80-plus on a human being.

0:25:450:25:49

If a senior citizen gets a cold, it always takes 'em down, really.

0:25:490:25:52

The good thing about them, we just keep them in.

0:25:520:25:55

They're not one of those animals what get really stressy,

0:25:550:25:58

being kept inside.

0:25:580:25:59

They've got heating inside. We're just gonna have to mollycoddle her.

0:25:590:26:03

The worry's gonna be - does she take the medication?

0:26:030:26:06

If she won't take the medication,

0:26:060:26:08

we'll have to think of something else.

0:26:080:26:10

We've got little tricks - put it in yoghurt,

0:26:100:26:12

jam sandwiches, stuff like that.

0:26:120:26:14

Ian is hoping it's going to be straightforward,

0:26:140:26:17

but Duncan Williams, the vet, is not so sure.

0:26:170:26:21

Obviously, because of her age, it's affected her a lot more seriously

0:26:210:26:24

than maybe it would have done a few years ago, yeah.

0:26:240:26:27

The danger with illnesses like that is, you know,

0:26:270:26:30

if they don't eat and drink properly,

0:26:300:26:32

they're in danger of becoming dehydrated

0:26:320:26:35

and that can, you know, often be pretty serious

0:26:350:26:38

and possibly even fatal if it goes on for too long, yeah.

0:26:380:26:43

We'll be back on Gorilla Island later

0:26:450:26:48

to see how it goes for poor old Samba.

0:26:480:26:51

In order to survive in the harsh lands of the frozen North,

0:26:560:27:00

the wolf has evolved a very special strategy -

0:27:000:27:03

the pack.

0:27:030:27:04

In the wild, they need each other for protection

0:27:040:27:07

and to hunt their prey.

0:27:070:27:09

In fact, wolves have evolved to rely so much on a social group

0:27:090:27:13

that without it they become disorientated and stressed.

0:27:130:27:17

But the pack is a complex hierarchy,

0:27:170:27:20

where relationships are constantly developing.

0:27:200:27:23

Here at Longleat, we've been able

0:27:230:27:25

to observe the group dynamics during the day,

0:27:250:27:27

but now we're going to find out how they behave

0:27:270:27:30

when they think that no-one can see them.

0:27:300:27:33

I'm out in Wolf Wood with keeper Bob Trollope

0:27:340:27:37

and we're gonna be trying a bit of an experiment

0:27:370:27:39

in the depths of the night tonight, Bob, aren't we?

0:27:390:27:42

What are we gonna be doing?

0:27:420:27:43

-We're gonna come here when it's absolutely pitch black.

-Yeah.

0:27:430:27:47

Er...with a few gadgets on the vehicle.

0:27:470:27:50

Hopefully, we're gonna put some food down

0:27:500:27:52

-and just see how they behave.

-Right.

0:27:520:27:54

Now, the gadgets that Bob mentioned are things like this.

0:27:540:27:58

This is an infrared camera and an infrared light.

0:27:580:28:01

If you come over to the Animal Park wagon,

0:28:010:28:04

we've got another infrared camera up there and another light.

0:28:040:28:07

Now, the great thing about infrared lights is that we can't see them

0:28:070:28:11

and neither can the wolves.

0:28:110:28:13

To all intents and purposes, they won't really know that we're here.

0:28:130:28:16

And what you're hoping, Bob, is that we might actually see

0:28:160:28:20

different behaviour than we do during the day.

0:28:200:28:23

Yeah, cos we know that the youngsters don't always come up to the feed straight away, during the day.

0:28:230:28:29

We just want to see whether that's different at night.

0:28:290:28:32

-Cos they do hunt at night.

-Well, Bob and I are going to be sitting inside the vehicle here.

0:28:320:28:37

We've got an infrared light, so you'll be able to see us,

0:28:370:28:39

cos obviously it wouldn't be any good if you couldn't,

0:28:390:28:42

and there's a monitor so we can watch the action.

0:28:420:28:45

And so, we will be waiting

0:28:450:28:48

until it all gets dark and scary here in Wolf Wood.

0:28:480:28:51

But in the meantime there's lots more coming up on today's programme.

0:28:510:28:55

A tragic tale of bankruptcy,

0:28:550:28:58

adultery, murder,

0:28:580:28:59

and the ghost with a broken heart.

0:28:590:29:02

We'll find out what's happened to the little baby wallaby.

0:29:020:29:06

And down on the farm, they need to know which of the cows are pregnant.

0:29:060:29:10

I'll be helping the vet find out,

0:29:100:29:13

the traditional way.

0:29:130:29:14

COW MOOS LOUDLY

0:29:140:29:16

But now, up at the Giraffe House,

0:29:200:29:21

everyone has been looking forward to the next birth with some excitement

0:29:210:29:25

and a little anxiety.

0:29:250:29:27

Jolly is 22 years old and she's had nine calves before.

0:29:270:29:33

The keeper in charge, Andy Hayton, was hoping

0:29:330:29:36

that her being an experienced mum would help.

0:29:360:29:39

And, as it turned out, it did.

0:29:410:29:45

Longleat's 100th baby giraffe arrived with no problems at all.

0:29:450:29:50

The keepers got these shots

0:29:500:29:52

before anyone else was allowed inside the house,

0:29:520:29:55

when the baby was still just a few hours old.

0:29:550:29:58

This is Jolly's... The most recent addition to the herd.

0:30:010:30:06

A little bull calf, that we came in the other morning,

0:30:060:30:12

and just found in here, stood up, staring at us.

0:30:120:30:15

So absolutely perfect birth, didn't really know, she wasn't showing any signs the evening before.

0:30:150:30:20

Came in in the morning, there's a calf stood up in here.

0:30:200:30:23

She's just got on and done it, absolutely fine. Textbook job.

0:30:230:30:27

First one of the year, she's pretty much

0:30:270:30:30

on the dates that we had for her. The 100th live birth giraffe at Longleat.

0:30:300:30:36

So, excellent. And it's her tenth calf as well. Good on her, really.

0:30:360:30:42

She deserves the laurels.

0:30:420:30:44

When a calf is born, it's already about six feet tall.

0:30:510:30:57

Within an hour, it will be standing, and looking for milk soon after.

0:30:570:31:02

The youngster won't be fully weaned for almost a year

0:31:060:31:09

and in the wild, would stay close to Mum for another year after that.

0:31:090:31:13

But looking that far forward is dangerous,

0:31:130:31:16

because the first days of life are the most precarious.

0:31:160:31:20

We have this superstitious weird thing at Longleat

0:31:210:31:24

that we never name a calf until it's two weeks old.

0:31:240:31:27

If you get them to two weeks, they probably will be OK.

0:31:270:31:33

He's fine. You can almost write him off and put him to bed now,

0:31:330:31:37

he's drinking, he's dunging, what's going in is coming out.

0:31:370:31:40

He's following Mum now, finally, he's just great.

0:31:400:31:43

Just typical one of Jolly's calves, just gets on and does it.

0:31:430:31:47

So now, Andy is more worried about Mum.

0:31:470:31:51

Our main concern with this calving and pregnancy is Jolly.

0:31:510:31:55

What the problem is now is her lactating, her producing milk.

0:31:550:31:59

That takes a lot of energy.

0:31:590:32:01

For an old animal like Jolly, we have to give her a good diet.

0:32:010:32:05

But she does have a little bit of arthritis,

0:32:050:32:08

so we make sure she doesn't get too heavy - that will affect her joints.

0:32:080:32:12

It's a juggling act, keeping a close eye on her, making sure she's OK.

0:32:120:32:17

The next couple of weeks will be critical.

0:32:170:32:20

We'll be back later to see whether or not Jolly can manage to feed

0:32:200:32:24

and look after such a big baby.

0:32:240:32:26

There are more calves on the way elsewhere at Longleat,

0:32:360:32:39

but not in the safari park.

0:32:390:32:42

The estate also includes over 8,000 acres of woodland and working farms.

0:32:420:32:48

And I've come down to Mill Farm to catch up with farmer Steve Crossman

0:32:480:32:52

-and safari park vet Duncan Williams. Hi, guys.

-Hi.

0:32:520:32:55

-What's going on today?

-We're going to PD our cows today.

0:32:550:32:58

-What does that mean?

-It's a pregnancy diagnosis.

0:32:580:33:01

-OK.

-Duncan's come out to do that.

0:33:010:33:03

-How many cows do you have?

-I'm running 100 at the moment.

0:33:030:33:06

-And we've calved about 30.

-How many are you expecting to calve?

0:33:060:33:12

-I'd like to calve 100!

-Of course!

0:33:120:33:14

In an ideal world. I'm not sure it'll happen.

0:33:140:33:16

Duncan, that's one of the reasons you're here,

0:33:160:33:19

-to help with that diagnosis?

-That's right.

0:33:190:33:22

We've got to internally examine every cow that we're worried about,

0:33:220:33:26

-and see if you can feel a calf.

-We often see you in the safari park,

0:33:260:33:30

looking after the lions, or the tigers.

0:33:300:33:33

This, presumably, is the majority of your work?

0:33:330:33:36

That's right. This is what I do most of the time,

0:33:360:33:38

and the safari park only takes up one day a week,

0:33:380:33:41

and any extra calls that they need us in there for.

0:33:410:33:44

Most of the time, I'm out and about on the farms in the area.

0:33:440:33:48

You're dressed for a mucky job. How do you do this?

0:33:480:33:51

Well, this is not very nice for the cow. Plenty of lubricant.

0:33:510:33:56

Right. And literally, you're going to feel for a calf inside?

0:33:560:34:00

That's right, we've just got to pop our hand inside.

0:34:000:34:03

And what are you feeling for, Duncan?

0:34:030:34:06

I'm going to find the cow's uterus, and then feel...

0:34:060:34:10

This one's got a big calf in her, I can feel its head.

0:34:100:34:14

She's going to calve in about three weeks' time.

0:34:140:34:17

-You can tell straight away?

-Just from the size of the calf, yeah.

0:34:170:34:20

-Would you like to have a go?

-Um...

0:34:200:34:23

-Er...

-HE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

0:34:230:34:24

I don't want to say "Can I?"

0:34:240:34:27

I don't know what Steve will think of me!

0:34:270:34:29

-I've got no objections.

-OK.

0:34:290:34:32

-Duncan will see you through.

-Plenty of lubricant. There's the glove.

0:34:320:34:36

I'll take one of these gloves.

0:34:360:34:37

OK, you'll have to explain exactly what to feel for.

0:34:370:34:42

Just put this on.

0:34:420:34:44

OK.

0:34:450:34:47

If you follow where I was, pull the tail up with your left hand,

0:34:500:34:54

and then gently ease your hand in.

0:34:540:34:57

-Is she going to poo on me?

-No, no.

-Are you sure?

0:34:570:35:00

Sorry, I'm not... So, just do what?

0:35:000:35:02

-Yeah.

-Like that?

-That's right.

0:35:020:35:04

-And then you want to go in that way.

-Like that?

0:35:040:35:07

-Yeah. Push it in now.

-OK.

0:35:070:35:08

Go on, push further.

0:35:080:35:10

Keep going forward, keep going forward.

0:35:100:35:12

-Yep.

-You've got to go...

0:35:120:35:14

almost up to your elbow.

0:35:140:35:17

OK.

0:35:170:35:19

And what am I feeling for?

0:35:190:35:21

If you pat your hand down, you might feel the calf's head.

0:35:210:35:25

-I'd imagine you'll find a head. Feel a solid lump?

-I can!

0:35:250:35:28

-There's the calf's head.

-Whoo! That's amazing.

0:35:280:35:31

And you could tell...

0:35:310:35:33

You could tell from that the actual size? OK, there we go.

0:35:330:35:36

Yeah, I mean, it's pretty rough.

0:35:360:35:38

I wouldn't be too far out, I don't think.

0:35:380:35:42

The other way you can tell, she's got an udder developing.

0:35:420:35:45

She's probably only about three or four weeks off.

0:35:450:35:48

She'll be fine, Steve'll keep her in and let her calve in the shed.

0:35:480:35:51

Excellent. Duncan, thank you very much for letting me try!

0:35:510:35:56

You've got a lot of work to do, to go through all these cows here.

0:35:560:36:00

-Yeah.

-Blimey! I'll leave that to you!

0:36:000:36:02

Thank you, guys.

0:36:020:36:04

And hopefully this cow will be a very proud mum too.

0:36:040:36:07

-I'll let you know when she calves.

-Please do. We'll leave you to it.

0:36:070:36:11

COW MOOS

0:36:110:36:14

There was a time when, if you were an aristocrat,

0:36:180:36:20

you could get away with murder.

0:36:200:36:22

Thomas Thynne, the 2nd Viscount Weymouth,

0:36:220:36:25

left Longleat with two very different legacies.

0:36:250:36:28

There are the paintings by John Wootton that adorn the walls

0:36:280:36:31

of the Tudor great hall.

0:36:310:36:33

And then, there's the house's most famous ghost.

0:36:330:36:38

Thomas had a difficult childhood.

0:36:380:36:41

He was only four years old when his father died,

0:36:410:36:43

and he inherited the vast wealth of the estate.

0:36:430:36:47

It wasn't good for his character,

0:36:470:36:49

and the present Lord Bath, his great-great-great-great- great-grandson,

0:36:490:36:53

can still see the evidence of that around him on the walls.

0:36:530:36:58

He did rather get himself painted on every possible occasion.

0:36:580:37:03

It makes me frightened of something, accepting another portrait,

0:37:030:37:07

because it looks... There's a feeling of too much vanity and concern

0:37:070:37:11

that his face is everywhere around the walls.

0:37:110:37:15

He inherited Longleat as a very young boy.

0:37:150:37:19

And he was both pampered at the same time as being, er...

0:37:190:37:24

disciplined to become a young nobleman.

0:37:240:37:27

It was important to them, apparently,

0:37:270:37:29

that that should be his image of himself.

0:37:290:37:31

In some of the expressions on his portraits,

0:37:310:37:35

I fear that that was ingrained too well,

0:37:350:37:38

that he felt he ought to...

0:37:380:37:40

There's an arrogance and a posturing in some of the portraits.

0:37:400:37:45

So, it's no surprise to see Thomas, along with his influential friends

0:37:450:37:50

and favourite horses, included in the famous paintings by John Wootton.

0:37:500:37:55

With a taste for ostentatious living, the 2nd Viscount

0:37:550:37:59

soon ran up massive debts,

0:37:590:38:01

and poor Wootton had to wait years to be paid.

0:38:010:38:05

Longleat's curator of historic collections, Kate Harris,

0:38:050:38:09

has some interesting documents.

0:38:090:38:12

By 1740,

0:38:120:38:15

his debts were so many that they had to be reorganised,

0:38:150:38:20

for him to start to sort them out. This is the book that shows it.

0:38:200:38:24

It dates from September 1740,

0:38:240:38:28

and it's an alphabetical arrangement of his creditors,

0:38:280:38:33

organised by place.

0:38:330:38:35

So it's got London creditors,

0:38:350:38:37

Longleat creditors, and Tilshead creditors as well.

0:38:370:38:41

What appears in the London list, right at the end of the list,

0:38:410:38:46

we see Wootton, painter, Cavendish Square,

0:38:460:38:50

and a debt of £323 8s.

0:38:500:38:56

The book also reveals where most of the money went.

0:38:560:38:59

Thomas spent a fortune on the sport of kings.

0:38:590:39:03

Horseracing had become, really, THE vogue thing

0:39:030:39:06

for the aristocracy because of Charles II's love of it.

0:39:060:39:09

There had been thoroughbreds in England before,

0:39:090:39:13

James I had one of the important Arabians,

0:39:130:39:16

but the Royal stud had been wiped out by the Civil Wars.

0:39:160:39:19

For Charles II, it was really one of his key things, after women.

0:39:190:39:24

It then became the sport of kings.

0:39:240:39:27

So, the 2nd Viscount was an inveterate gambler.

0:39:270:39:31

But he also had another character fault.

0:39:310:39:35

If legend is to be believed, it was one that led to tragedy and murder.

0:39:350:39:39

Thomas was horribly jealous of his wife, Louisa.

0:39:390:39:44

She had her favourite footman,

0:39:460:39:51

and he, eventually, sent him away.

0:39:510:39:55

Or that's what he told her.

0:39:550:39:57

It was only much later we found a skeleton under the cellar flagstones

0:39:570:40:05

and so he was probably bumped off, or fell, broke his neck,

0:40:050:40:09

some story like that.

0:40:090:40:11

But that wasn't the end of it. Louisa died shortly after.

0:40:130:40:17

Everyone said it was from a broken heart.

0:40:170:40:20

Since then, her ghost has been reported many, many times,

0:40:200:40:25

still walking the corridors in search of her lost love.

0:40:250:40:28

Thomas was never the same again.

0:40:280:40:31

After her death, he no longer wanted to live in the house,

0:40:320:40:37

possibly because he was a bit sensitive to the ghost stories around her,

0:40:370:40:41

and he went and lived in Horningsham.

0:40:410:40:44

The house was closed down, shuttered up.

0:40:450:40:47

For ten years, until his death aged just 41,

0:40:470:40:51

the house was left to fall into decay.

0:40:510:40:53

It could easily have been the end of the place,

0:40:530:40:56

but it was saved in the nick of time

0:40:560:40:58

by the heir, also named Thomas Thynne,

0:40:580:41:01

who later became the 1st Marquess of Bath.

0:41:010:41:04

But that's a story for another day.

0:41:040:41:06

There's...frequently a near miss. We survive!

0:41:060:41:13

Earlier, in Wolf Wood, we set up night vision cameras

0:41:240:41:28

and infrared lights, so that we could check on the pack's

0:41:280:41:31

social structure during a night-time feed.

0:41:310:41:34

In order to reinforce the bonding of the pack,

0:41:340:41:37

it's sometimes necessary to bring in an entire carcass.

0:41:370:41:41

It's the best way to simulate the experience of a whole pack feed.

0:41:410:41:45

It's the middle of the night, and I'm out in Wolf Wood with keeper Bob Trollope.

0:41:450:41:49

Ahead of us are the entire pack - is the entire pack -

0:41:490:41:53

reacting amazingly quickly to the carcass that's just been brought in.

0:41:530:41:59

Yeah, it's amazing. And they're all on it.

0:41:590:42:01

Normally, during the day, they're tentative to approach it,

0:42:010:42:05

but they're straight in there.

0:42:050:42:07

This is what we hope to achieve by seeing that

0:42:070:42:10

they're all doing what they're supposed to.

0:42:100:42:12

-Here we've got a few wandering round, but they're all here.

-Yeah.

0:42:120:42:17

You can see right in the very bright white light,

0:42:170:42:21

there's Two Tips, who's the dominant male. Is that right?

0:42:210:42:24

Two Tips is the boss, yeah.

0:42:240:42:27

You've got all of them, you've got Zeva in there having a good old go.

0:42:270:42:30

That's probably because the carcass is too big for any one wolf

0:42:300:42:34

-to guard and take away.

-Right.

0:42:340:42:37

When we see them during the day,

0:42:370:42:40

running around, they're beautiful-looking creatures.

0:42:400:42:44

But it's hard not to think of them as being a pack of domestic dogs.

0:42:440:42:50

I think when you see this sort of behaviour,

0:42:500:42:53

you suddenly notice the differences.

0:42:530:42:55

-It's eerie.

-Yeah, it is.

-It's very eerie, I think.

0:42:550:42:59

They do look incredible in this infrared light.

0:43:010:43:04

-They all seem quite calm, don't they? At the moment!

-Very calm.

0:43:040:43:08

I'm quite surprised that we haven't heard... We've got the windows open.

0:43:080:43:14

There hasn't been a great deal of noise, a little bit of yapping,

0:43:140:43:19

but not howling or anything like that. Is that what you expected?

0:43:190:43:23

I thought there'd be a little bit more aggression, I must admit.

0:43:230:43:27

-But then, they're still trying to get into it.

-Yeah.

0:43:270:43:30

I should imagine when they split it open a bit more,

0:43:300:43:33

that should start getting to the better bits.

0:43:330:43:35

Then, that's when the hierarchy steps in,

0:43:350:43:39

because the dominant animals will want to be at the best bit.

0:43:390:43:42

That's when you'll more likely hear a lot of the snarling and barking.

0:43:420:43:46

And they must have, without wanting to get into too gory detail,

0:43:470:43:53

they must have incredibly strong jaws to get through hide and bone,

0:43:530:43:58

-to get at the meat.

-They've got very sharp teeth and the crushing power -

0:43:580:44:03

-I think it's something like 500lb per square inch, which is...

-Wow!

0:44:030:44:07

Straight through our fingers, no problem.

0:44:070:44:09

It's just incredible to see. If I didn't know

0:44:090:44:13

I was sitting in Wolf Wood,

0:44:130:44:14

you could imagine we're in the wilds of Canada or something.

0:44:140:44:18

-It is incredible.

-It's certainly cold enough!

0:44:180:44:21

-Yeah, that's for sure!

-Ooh, look!

0:44:210:44:23

-There's a bit of fight there.

-That's all dominance, you know.

0:44:230:44:27

They're obviously a low-ranking member of the pack.

0:44:270:44:31

It's obviously overstepping the mark and getting a better spot

0:44:310:44:34

than he should be in.

0:44:340:44:36

A higher-ranking animal is just, you know, telling him off.

0:44:360:44:40

Putting him in his place. There's one or two wandering off.

0:44:400:44:44

Do you think some of them have had their fill?

0:44:440:44:47

They know that this carcass won't go anywhere,

0:44:470:44:50

they'll come back later on and eat again at their leisure?

0:44:500:44:54

They won't finish it all in one go, they'll come back through the night.

0:44:540:44:58

Most probably be gone by the morning.

0:44:580:45:00

Do you think? Completely clean down to the bones?

0:45:000:45:03

Bob, thank you very much indeed for letting us see this.

0:45:050:45:08

It's been a most amazing experience.

0:45:080:45:11

I think we should leave the wolves to their midnight feast.

0:45:110:45:15

Back in Pets' Corner, there's been some bad news

0:45:180:45:21

about the baby wallaby that Bev Allen was looking after.

0:45:210:45:25

He'd been rejected by his mother and all attempts to reunite them failed.

0:45:250:45:30

Bev continued to feed him by hand every two hours day and night.

0:45:310:45:35

But, sadly, all her efforts have been in vain.

0:45:350:45:40

The little joey died.

0:45:400:45:42

He was doing really well, he was taking the milk fine and everything.

0:45:420:45:49

Then at six o'clock in the morning he started...

0:45:490:45:52

not looking right at all and he just passed away quite quickly.

0:45:520:45:57

It wasn't to be expected, really, because he was so strong.

0:45:570:46:02

The last two weeks he'd been doing really well.

0:46:020:46:05

There was no reason why we would suspect

0:46:050:46:09

anything was going to happen like this.

0:46:090:46:11

So it is sad.

0:46:110:46:14

It's one of those things that do happen,

0:46:140:46:17

it's not always a nice ending to a story.

0:46:170:46:19

Sometimes things like this do happen,

0:46:190:46:22

and it's happened for a reason.

0:46:220:46:24

In a way, he's lasted two weeks, more than what he would have done

0:46:240:46:28

if he was with Mum.

0:46:280:46:30

A post-mortem was carried out which discovered

0:46:310:46:34

an unusual bladder problem.

0:46:340:46:36

It was something he was born with, so, in fact,

0:46:360:46:39

little joey was doomed never to survive.

0:46:390:46:42

There was nothing out of the ordinary that he was doing.

0:46:420:46:47

He was very strong so it made it a bit harder that,

0:46:470:46:49

all of a sudden, he did pass away.

0:46:490:46:52

At least this shows that there's nothing wrong

0:46:550:46:58

with Adelaide's maternal instincts.

0:46:580:47:00

With almost every species in nature,

0:47:000:47:02

it's perfectly normal for a mother to reject a baby with birth defects.

0:47:020:47:08

They pick up on things before we do.

0:47:080:47:12

So there probably was a problem with the joey,

0:47:120:47:16

that's why it was too early for it to come out of the pouch.

0:47:160:47:20

She knew, so it was something he had wrong with him from birth.

0:47:200:47:25

There's nothing we or the vet could have done to put it right.

0:47:250:47:29

But the knowledge doesn't make it any easier for Bev.

0:47:290:47:33

It does get to you. I was hand-rearing him for two weeks,

0:47:330:47:36

that's not long, but when you do it 24 hours a day,

0:47:360:47:40

every three hours feeding him, it does get to you.

0:47:400:47:43

But you have to pick yourself up and think

0:47:430:47:46

there's nothing I could have done, so you have to carry on, really.

0:47:460:47:50

Up in the Giraffe House, it's a happier story,

0:47:550:47:59

with Jolly and her new calf. We've heard they're doing well.

0:47:590:48:02

Now, Andy Hayton has brought me up for my first glimpse

0:48:020:48:06

of their 100th baby giraffe.

0:48:060:48:09

-What's his name?

-Century.

-Century!

0:48:090:48:11

How did you come up with that name?!

0:48:110:48:13

We thought he deserved something a little bit special,

0:48:130:48:16

but trying to find something that pertained to 100 was difficult.

0:48:160:48:21

-That is quite an achievement.

-It's fantastic.

0:48:210:48:24

That's the number of giraffes born at Longleat?

0:48:240:48:27

Yep, 100 is the live births. We've had more born.

0:48:270:48:30

We've had stillborns,

0:48:300:48:31

we've had animals give birth prematurely and die.

0:48:310:48:35

So we're probably up to about 130 pregnancies.

0:48:350:48:38

But this is the 100th live calf.

0:48:380:48:41

-How old is he now?

-He's about seven weeks now.

0:48:410:48:44

-Seven weeks!

-He really is a big, big giraffe.

0:48:440:48:48

I feel sorry for dear old Jolly because, er...she is old.

0:48:480:48:51

-This is her tenth calf.

-So not only is it the 100th giraffe here...

0:48:510:48:56

It's Jolly's tenth. Out of anybody that

0:48:560:48:58

deserves to give birth to the 100th giraffe here, it's Jolly.

0:48:580:49:01

She has done so much for this place.

0:49:010:49:03

How is she coping? She doesn't look in...

0:49:030:49:06

She's not bad. She's 22 this year.

0:49:060:49:08

-Is that a ripe old age?

-That's a good age.

0:49:080:49:11

It is a really good age for a giraffe.

0:49:110:49:13

How long would they live in the wild?

0:49:130:49:15

Not anywhere near as long as that,

0:49:150:49:17

because illnesses that Jolly has had here

0:49:170:49:20

may have killed her out in the wild.

0:49:200:49:23

We're giving her a special diet now and keeping her away.

0:49:230:49:26

If this had been one of the younger females,

0:49:260:49:29

they'd go back in the big box very early.

0:49:290:49:31

But as Jolly is old, and it's such a big calf,

0:49:310:49:35

she does lose weight...it takes a lot of effort to make milk.

0:49:350:49:39

-The calf must still be suckling from her.

-Oh, yes.

0:49:390:49:41

He'll keep going until seven or eight months old.

0:49:410:49:44

But as he's such a chunky calf, we may wean him early

0:49:440:49:47

to give Jolly a bit of extra help.

0:49:470:49:50

Could she have more?

0:49:500:49:51

I think, yeah, she went through this last one really well.

0:49:510:49:56

The calf was delivered really easily

0:49:560:49:58

and if the body's willing, let her do it. She'll let us know

0:49:580:50:03

when she'll stop breeding. When she starts struggling, we'll stop.

0:50:030:50:07

But you get little guys like this out of her,

0:50:070:50:10

it is a shame to stop her doing it - she's a great mum, as well.

0:50:100:50:14

Absolutely. Andy, thank you very much.

0:50:140:50:17

We'll keep you posted on how Century does.

0:50:170:50:20

Well done, Jolly.

0:50:200:50:22

Back on Gorilla Island,

0:50:270:50:29

Samba the elderly female has been sick with the flu for a week.

0:50:290:50:33

Now deputy head warden Ian Turner and vet Duncan Williams

0:50:350:50:40

have come to see how she's doing.

0:50:400:50:42

-All right, babe?

-Hello, Sam.

0:50:440:50:45

-Not too bad.

-No, she's looking all right.

0:50:450:50:49

This is quite an improvement since Ian last saw her.

0:50:500:50:54

She came in and buried herself under the straw,

0:50:540:50:57

shoved a blanket over her head and that was it.

0:50:570:51:00

Definitely stop the antibiotics and, er...

0:51:000:51:04

and treat her as normal. God, look at that.

0:51:040:51:06

-Hasn't got many teeth left, has she?

-No! No.

0:51:060:51:09

The gums just recede as they get older.

0:51:090:51:12

You've heard the expression "long in the tooth" - that's what she is.

0:51:120:51:17

She's took all this medication, hasn't she, really well?

0:51:170:51:21

-Cos normally if it's Nico...

-Unusual for her.

-Yeah, quite.

0:51:210:51:25

We worried we couldn't get the medication into her.

0:51:250:51:28

She's been really good, haven't you?

0:51:280:51:30

Maybe you realised it would do you good.

0:51:300:51:34

Before he was deputy head warden,

0:51:340:51:36

Ian was the keeper in charge of the gorillas,

0:51:360:51:38

so he's known them longer than anyone.

0:51:380:51:41

Just a treat for her. They don't normally get this.

0:51:410:51:44

As she's feeling a bit down in the dumps,

0:51:440:51:46

and I don't come across a lot...

0:51:460:51:49

He's gonna get grumpy, aren't you?

0:51:490:51:50

I might save you a finger, what do you reckon?

0:51:500:51:54

You can have one each.

0:51:540:51:56

She'll take this... Don't get grumpy, it's not yours, it's Samba's.

0:51:560:52:00

NICO GRUNTS

0:52:000:52:03

They get jealous.

0:52:030:52:05

But you like a bit of chocolate, and it's not given all the time.

0:52:050:52:10

But she's 45 years old now, so we don't have to worry about

0:52:100:52:14

any more damage to the teeth.

0:52:140:52:16

Do you want this? You've got to be good, then.

0:52:160:52:19

What do we say, then, if you want this chocolate?

0:52:200:52:23

Hey? What do you say?

0:52:230:52:25

You got to be good, though, haven't you?

0:52:250:52:28

Don't mess about. Clap your hands.

0:52:280:52:30

Good boy.

0:52:300:52:31

They're always jealous of each other. If I give Samba a treat,

0:52:310:52:35

Nico gets stroppy.

0:52:350:52:37

If I give Nico a treat, Samba gets stroppy.

0:52:370:52:39

They've always been like... They're more brother and sister

0:52:390:52:43

than husband and wife, put it that way.

0:52:430:52:45

It took Samba a bit longer to shake off the last of the flu.

0:52:480:52:52

Mark Tye kept her supplied with another favourite treat - figs.

0:52:520:52:58

Literally in the last few days she's definitely perked up.

0:52:580:53:03

And, as you can see now, she seems

0:53:030:53:05

quite lively and with it and is definitely keen, much keener to eat,

0:53:050:53:09

which is one thing she wasn't. She was leaving a lot of her food.

0:53:090:53:13

I know this is a bit of a treat, but her appetite is much improved,

0:53:130:53:18

and her general attitude is more back to normal.

0:53:180:53:21

Today she's been extremely grumpy cos we've let Nico out.

0:53:210:53:25

And she's stayed in!

0:53:250:53:27

She's obviously very upset about the whole idea, she wants to go out.

0:53:270:53:31

To help her through the flu,

0:53:310:53:33

Mark has paid particular attention to Samba's diet.

0:53:330:53:36

While she's been ill, she's steered well away from citrus fruits.

0:53:360:53:43

You know, she's not been interested in oranges, which surprised me,

0:53:430:53:47

cos I would have thought the vitamin C aspect,

0:53:470:53:50

but she's kept well away from those and wanted to eat more fibrous foods,

0:53:500:53:55

leafy greens, leeks, onions, things like that.

0:53:550:53:58

Obviously we've pampered to her and given her what she wanted.

0:53:580:54:02

We've given her the choice, but every day she's left what she doesn't want,

0:54:020:54:07

like the oranges, and she's eaten all the green stuff.

0:54:070:54:11

She is a massive fan of leeks and onions. And garlic!

0:54:110:54:16

Which is good for her, but unpleasant for us in the morning.

0:54:160:54:19

It seems to have done the trick,

0:54:190:54:22

she's definitely much chirpier, much more normal.

0:54:220:54:26

I'm very happy about that, very pleased.

0:54:260:54:28

Kate and I are at Monkey Jungle with keeper Kevin Nibbs

0:54:510:54:55

to glimpse the monkeys having their evening feed.

0:54:550:54:58

-What are they munching on now?

-Just selected fruit and veg, really.

0:54:580:55:02

It's a lot of nutrition in there... vitamin C in the oranges.

0:55:020:55:07

How many monkeys are in here?

0:55:070:55:09

At the moment about 80.

0:55:090:55:11

Do they work in a hierarchy,

0:55:110:55:14

or is it a free for all and everyone just piles in?

0:55:140:55:18

It looks like that, but they're very well organised.

0:55:180:55:21

Normally, the big males are in charge.

0:55:210:55:24

We have a big male called Timmy -

0:55:240:55:26

-he's at the end of the log there.

-The big one right at the end.

-Yes.

0:55:260:55:31

-Will he be taking the prime cuts of fruit?

-Exactly.

0:55:310:55:34

He sifts through it all first. He's in charge.

0:55:340:55:37

After him are the sub-adults of the males, they take second place.

0:55:370:55:41

After that you get the females.

0:55:410:55:44

So the females are right down in the pecking order?

0:55:440:55:47

-Yeah, the lowest females...

-Don't laugh!

-It's funny.

0:55:470:55:50

But the females have to do all the work.

0:55:500:55:53

There are a lot of youngsters,

0:55:530:55:55

we can see a few babies attached to the females.

0:55:550:55:58

-How do they fit in?

-They fit in with the mums.

0:55:580:56:01

The mums have a position in the group, the more dominant females

0:56:010:56:05

are higher up and their babies fit in with them.

0:56:050:56:08

So if your mum's dominant, you get a high place in the pecking order.

0:56:080:56:13

-Yeah.

-Do you think any of these guys are pregnant?

0:56:130:56:15

They're bound to be, yeah. They give birth all the time.

0:56:150:56:19

We've got quite a few to come.

0:56:190:56:20

Do you think 80 is about what you like to keep in...?

0:56:200:56:23

80 is a good number for us at the moment, yeah.

0:56:230:56:26

-They certainly seem to be enjoying that fruit.

-They do.

0:56:260:56:29

We have more bits and pieces here.

0:56:290:56:31

We ought to carry on chucking this out.

0:56:310:56:33

That's all we've got time for on today's programme.

0:56:330:56:36

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

0:56:360:56:39

It's time for the lion cub to venture into the great outdoors -

0:56:390:56:44

if only she wasn't such a scaredy cat.

0:56:440:56:47

Dung beetles love dung, so why is the one named

0:56:490:56:52

Hercules turning his nose up at the stuff?

0:56:520:56:55

And the otter pups would be ready for their first solid food,

0:56:560:57:00

except that Mum keeps scoffing the lot.

0:57:000:57:03

So don't miss the next Animal Park.

0:57:060:57:09

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd 2006

0:57:400:57:43

E-mail [email protected]

0:57:430:57:46

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