Episode 6 Animal Park

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

And I'm Kate Humble and we're out in the safari park here at Longleat.

Last year, over three quarters of a million people

came here to see the animals that live here.

We'll bring you all the stories about the animals and the people that look after them.

Here's what's coming up in today's programme.

Lion cubs Malaika and Jasira face their biggest challenge yet

as they prepare to meet their father, Kabir.

Will he greet them, or eat them?

The otter pups are three months old,

but still don't know how to swim.

Will they finally take the plunge?

And five lucky keepers are going to Kenya,

to learn more about how the animals they look after behave in the wild.

This is a lifetime opportunity to go out to Africa

to see wildlife as it should be - absolutely perfect.

But first, we're off to Longleat's lion country.

For years, the park has successfully bred lions.

Now the keepers are trying to bring together a new group,

under the new male, Kabir.

For months after they were born,

lion cubs Jasira and Malaika stayed inside the lion house

with their mothers in separate enclosures.

After completing their inoculations,

the cubs took their first big step - they were allowed outside together.

I'm really happy with that.

They've been next to each other for such a long time,

and all of a sudden they can actually meet each other and play,

it's like all their Christmases in one, I should imagine.

Now the cubs are ready for their next big challenge.

It's time for them to meet their father, Kabir, for the first time.

It's a dangerous moment for the little lions.

In the wild, male lions sometimes kill the cubs of competing males.

Kabir has lived next door to the cubs for most of their lives,

so he should recognise Malaika and Jasira as his own.

But if he doesn't, or if they annoy him, he could become vicious.

We don't know how he's going to react to them.

As you can see down here now,

the cubs are fine with him between the cages

and they're not too fazed when he starts roaring and growling at us.

But it might be a little bit different,

if one of these cubs tries to jump on him and play with him.

It's an anxious time for keepers Bob and Brian.

They've spent months raising the cubs,

now they have to let nature take its course.

The only precautions we can take when they're on the outside

is to be in our vehicles and be ready to step in if - as and when.

Come on then, mate. Come on.

They don't want to go.

Are you ready then?

Go on.

Come on, cubby.

No, you're supposed to go out.

At last, the whole pride is together.

Go on. Good girl.

So far, Kabir is showing no interest in the cubs,

perhaps because he has other things on his mind.

With things going to plan,

Bob can now let the pride out of the controlled confines of the compound

and into the much larger main enclosure for the first time.

This is uncharted territory for the two cubs.

They've both got to learn new smells,

not just one of them at a time.

So they'll both be learning together ultimately.

And this is a much bigger area so they can wander off

and run around and they could very well lose sight of mum

if they want to run off.

They'll find all the best places to cuddle up when it's cold.

When it's hot, they'll find the places that are in the shade.

All things like that.

Everything seems to be going well.

But Jasira is getting a little bit too cocky for her own good.

Luckily, Kabir just tells her off.

He's a grumpy father, but a good one.

If everything carries on as it is,

I think we're gonna have a nice display this summer.

I've come down to Sea Lion Beach with head of section Mark Tye

and keeper Michelle Stevens

to help with the feeding and to find out who's pregnant.

So are you expecting some little sea lions?

Yes, we are, hopefully.

Um, we're expecting two, one from Celia and one from Jo-Jo.

OK. Where shall I go?

If you just go past those rocks there, Ben.

I'm still always amazed, Mark, at how you can recognise

all the different sea lions. Am I OK standing here?

Yeah, that's fine.

That's Buster's fish there.

I recognise Buster, the big chap.

Who's this you're feeding now? This is Celia.

Right. Is she expecting?

Yes, she is. She's fairly fat now.

There's another couple of months to go before she'll be due.

Right. But she is looking quite big.

And who have we got over here on the right?

On the right there's Jo-Jo.

She's hopefully the other female that's expecting.

And on the left next to her? That's Nancy.

She's not gonna have a baby,

because two years ago after she gave birth she had a prolapse.

So the vet decided it wouldn't be a good idea

for her to become pregnant any more.

So we put her on contraceptives every year now.

I know there's always a pretty strict hierarchy

amongst the female sea lions.

Has that changed in the last year?

Well, obviously, last year we lost Lindy

who was our dominant female at the time.

And...since then,

Celia's had ideas of grandeur that she wants to be top female.

Unfortunately, Jo-Jo doesn't quite agree with her.

So that presumably creates its own problems.

Yes, there's a little bit of friction between the two.

Particularly at feeding times,

which is why I try to keep Celia up here on this rock.

So you can keep an eye on her?

So I can keep her away - if they start trying to eat together,

they end up pulling lumps out of each other,

which is a bit unfriendly.

It's not good, especially when you're pregnant. No.

So, remind me of the gestation period for a sea lion.

The gestation period is just over 11 months.

It's about 11 months, two weeks.

So, literally, once they've given birth,

two weeks after that, they've mated again.

And it starts again?

They are literally pregnant all year round.

I know last year - cos obviously, Sea Lion Beach here,

you've had it for about a year now.

Last year was the first successful birthing on the beach, wasn't it?

Are you hoping... Oh, be quiet, Buster!

Are you hoping that it will be successful again this year

and that they'll give birth here again?

Yes, I am. They have got used to it now.

Obviously, in the past, we've had silly situations

where they gave birth in boats and on Gorilla Island,

and things like that.

So they have got used to this beach area and the pen next door.

And there's no reason why they shouldn't give birth here again.

They were quite comfortable with it last year.

So I'm sure that will happen again. Do you still look forward to it?

Absolutely. It's what we're here for, to breed these animals.

It's great for us.

It's great to see these animals giving birth

and living a natural, healthy life.

You're doing the right thing if the animals are happy.

If they weren't happy, they probably wouldn't breed.

So, you know, it's great for us.

It's also nice to have new additions in the lake.

Well, Mark, thank you very much for letting me help.

That's OK, you're very welcome. Thank you.

Go on, Buster.

SEA LIONS BARK

The safari park is home to more than 400 animals,

representing 50 different species drawn from every corner of the world.

They are cared for by more than 100 dedicated staff,

but few of them have ever seen these animals in their natural habitats.

Soon, however, some of them will get the chance to go to Africa.

AFRICAN MUSIC

The park is closely involved with the Tusk Trust,

a charity dedicated to conserving the wildlife and habitats of Africa.

The trust runs 25 conservation projects in 15 countries.

This year, Deputy Head Warden, Ian Turner

will take a select group of staff to see their work in Kenya.

This is a lifetime opportunity, to go out to Africa.

I mean, OK, we're working,

but you're getting to do stuff you want to do.

It's a job,

but you're going to Africa to see wildlife as it should be.

So what do you think I'll enjoy most out in Kenya, Andy?

The lucky four who will join Ian are Andy Hayton and Bev Evans,

from the East Africa Reserve,

along with Darren Beasley and Jo Hawthorne from Pets' Corner.

For head of section, Andy Hayton, it will be the second trip to Kenya,

and a chance to build on his experience.

It's not gonna be a bit scary? No.

Natural behaviour -

seeing what the animals out there behave like naturally.

If we see our animals exhibiting that behaviour,

we know we are going down the right road.

So anything like that is always helpful.

Darren Beasley will also be on his second visit to Kenya.

He'll be looking for the kind of animals

he is used to keeping at Pets' Corner.

These are some things hopefully we'll see next week.

Something that really whetted my appetite last time

was the amount of small animals.

We talk about biodiversity - the little ones and the big ones are all needed. It's crucial.

I'm hoping now, with Jo coming with us this year,

we can find the small animals - the tortoises, the mongoose,

the bugs, the beetles - and all the things that really get me going.

For keepers Bev and Jo, it will be their first chance

to see their favourite animals in the wild.

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing giraffe and zebra out there,

just to compare them to our lot, really.

But elephants...

As a child, I just loved elephants.

So, definitely, seeing that in the wild, that would be just amazing.

Jo's interests are rather more down to earth.

Tortoises is what I'm really interested in.

Just the chance to see one of the two species out there would be amazing.

But this will not be a sightseeing trip.

Seeing these animals in their natural environment,

exhibiting their natural behaviour,

will allow the keepers to increase their knowledge

and care even better for the animals they keep back home.

Looking at the giraffe and seeing the way they feed,

at what height, and all the different types of diet they have,

we could bring something back for ours,

and have an idea of an enrichment idea and things like that.

The keepers will also be able to share

what they learn about conservation with park visitors.

Last year, we had over 700,000 people at Longleat

and I reckon, personally, we talked to most of them in Pets' Corner!

And we can pass that message on.

You can be depressed about the world and say life's hard

and everything is being extinct, it's not. There is hope out there.

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

Longleat House has been in daily use for over 450 years now,

and never more so than today, as a major tourist attraction.

Considering its age, the house is in remarkably good condition,

but it's increasingly difficult for house steward Ken Windess

to keep it that way.

We've had a record year of visitors this year.

It's been good news.

We've had something like between 2,000 and 3,500 people a day,

and that's just within the house.

It's good news, obviously, because we need people to come

for the upkeep of the house, etc.

But it's also got its down side as far as the house is concerned,

because it does cause a certain amount of damage.

Many of the furnishings in the house are very valuable.

Some of the 24 chairs in the state dining room

date from the reign of King George I.

So they're nearly 300 years old.

But now, with so many visitors walking by on a daily basis,

the chairs have started to fall to pieces.

A lot of these knees, what we call knees, here,

they were literally falling off daily.

I was getting handfuls given to me by the cleaners.

Again, a lot of it was with visitors actually moving up against them,

touching them, kicking the legs,

children running in amongst them, and all this sort of business.

Apart from the damage to furnishings,

the sheer number of visitors causes wear and tear to the house itself.

Up to 3,500 pairs of feet a day put enormous strain on floors

and the ceilings beneath them.

Ken is worried that the ceiling in the lower dining room may collapse.

I remember vividly in the army where you had to break step

if you were marching over a bridge,

because the bridge could have broken

because of the soldiers actually marching in step.

Of course, you can't stop people,

or at least you can't march them through the house,

but where you have got this incessant footfall,

you get vibration. You set up this sort of movement.

Now we have the lower dining room.

This used to be the family dining room.

A magnificent ceiling,

which is, again, 22 carat gold leaf.

You can see it's reflection in the beautiful George III mirrors.

The ceiling was created in the 1800s.

It's a priceless example of Renaissance Italianate design,

and extremely fragile.

This is one of the ceilings that we've got problems with.

It's a very ornate ceiling.

The problems that we've had is that some of the decoration

has actually fallen from the ceiling and landed on the floor.

One or two of the roundels are loose.

So I do need to get the experts in to check it out

and obviously, we need it to be safe for people to walk through.

We want to catch it before it actually falls down.

We don't want have to replace it.

If it hits the deck and smashes,

then obviously you've got no chance of replacing it.

Martin Watchurst is a specialist ceiling restorer,

who personally worked on Windsor Castle's state dining rooms

after the fire there in 1992.

He's been called in to do a structural survey,

which should reveal whether the whole thing is about to fall down.

By the end of today we'll be able to work out

whether there are more missing pieces

and whether there is a problem.

In order to find out how badly damaged the ceiling is,

Martin looks inside it using a boroscope.

We've just found discreet places to make an 8mm hole

to pass the tube through.

It's basically an illuminated periscope...

so that we can...

..see inside and safely say

we know how this is put together

and that things aren't coming apart or separating.

If the priceless 150 year old ceiling were to collapse,

it would be a loss to the nation as well as to Longleat.

We'll come back to hear the results of the survey

and what urgent repairs may need to be carried out.

It will be quite good once we get our bearings.

Lord Bath is not the only one at Animal Park

to allow people into his house.

At Pets' Corner, some of the animals

can be trained to accept visitors of their own.

I'm in the chipmunk enclosure with keeper Val McGruther,

and I gather that it's been all change, some for good, some for bad.

Yes. It's a little bit sad. Our favourite little chipmunk Garston,

he was the one that always used to come to us,

I'm afraid he sadly died back in the winter.

He was quite an age, though, wasn't he? He was about seven.

For a male chipmunk, that is really good.

He seems, though, to have a worthy successor. Who's this?

We've been training some new chipmunks to come and take the food.

He's been really good. He's amazing.

He's the one that comes most. He's taken over Garston's job, really.

So, when you say train them, how do you do that?

Is it just a matter of sitting in the enclosure

and letting them get used to you? It is a lot.

It's a bit like training other animals, to be honest.

They like their food and they have particular things they like.

Like some of these things we have here.

Nuts, blueberries, nice little bits of fruit and stuff like that.

So, we'll sit in here and then they get used to being in here.

They get used to coming

and perhaps taking a little bit of food every now and again.

Gradually, we'll increase it so more people come in.

And then, hopefully, we'll have children coming in here again.

Which they would love. They are absolutely adorable and lovely,

although they have all disappeared now.

Where are you? Come out and show us how adorable you are.

He's hiding over there.

Oh, there he is! Look! He's saving it for later.

Do they bury things like squirrels? Yes, they do.

Are they better at remembering where they put them than squirrels?

They're about the same, I think.

What's interesting, it's the same with squirrels,

you'll get another one looking seeing where he's put it. Really?

If he gets the chance, he'll nick it.

What I was going to say - obviously, they're very adorable.

It must be very tempting to keep them as pets.

Are they good pets? They don't really make good pets.

They're interesting animals to keep, rather than a pet, if you see what I mean.

You need a nice bit of space for them.

An aviary the size of this would be great.

And you need to spend time with them.

Because you won't get this if you don't spend time with them.

You need to be in with them.

Just watching here, we're just being very slow and careful.

This is amazing to see how he's cracking into that almond

without any problem at all.

They've obviously got very sharp teeth.

They have got sharp teeth,

and chewing into the nut like that is very good for their teeth,

because their teeth are constantly growing,

and it trims them a bit as they go along.

Like all rodents, they've got constant growing teeth,

so is it important, as well, to have things in the enclosure

that they can wear their teeth down on?

Yes, it is, very important.

They've got all the branches here and everything, which are good,

and hard food to eat, like nuts and a bit of biscuit in there,

hard seeds and things like that, that's all really good.

Now, he's actually taking far more than he can eat all at once.

It seems like... Is he stuffing it into a cheek pouch?

Yeah, they've got these cheek pouches on either side,

same as little hamsters have, and they will fill their cheek pouch.

Sometimes they'll eat at the same time, they'll save some,

they take it and they'll bury it, as we saw earlier, for later so that...

I think I've made a friend here as well. He's great!

Well, Val, I'm very sad to hear the news about Garston,

but this little feller is an absolute delight,

and I hope that all of them continue to thrive

and give the visitors as much pleasure as they have in the past.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Working with Val at Pets' Corner is keeper Jo Hawthorne.

Her passion is caring for some of the park's smaller and cuter inhabitants.

But now she's preparing to go to Kenya,

where she'll see some really big game in the wild.

Kenya is a world leader

in the conservation of both black and white rhino,

so Jo will definitely come across these animals during her visit.

I've read lots about them and, you know,

actually done a bit of kind of assignment work on them

but never really actually had the time to spend with them.

To gain some expertise before she meets them in the wild,

she's come to the rhino house

to see what she can learn from her colleague Kevin Nibbs.

Hopefully, he can give me insights in how they're kept in captivity,

and then of course I can go out and maybe pick up a few little pointers,

behaviouralisms, things like that, when I get out to Kenya.

So who have we got here, Kev?

In the first pen is Razina, she's five.

Then we've got Anjani, the little male. OK.

He's nearly seven, he'll be seven this year.

In the far pen there we've got Marashi, the oldest one,

who's seven as well. She's seven, right.

At the moment she kind of leads these three youngsters,

she's the biggest one, pushes them around. She's the boss.

She kind of takes charge, yeah.

When they say the white rhino is the gentlest, they definitely are...

Yeah, they are the more sort of chilled out, relaxed.

They only get upset over little things. Right.

Last time Ben was in Africa,

he saw just how unpredictable wild rhino can be.

It was touch and go for a moment.

He now wants to have a go at us.

Are we in trouble? Possibly, yeah.

LAUGHTER

That was close, it was like about a couple of inches.

After what happened last time,

Jo's keen to learn as much as she can about how rhino behave outdoors,

so Kevin has brought her to the enclosure

where bull Winston is grazing.

Winston is normally very placid, but he weighs at least two tonnes,

and in the past he has been known to throw his weight around.

Is he expecting us or...?

I think he is now, he's probably heard us coming all the way up,

we'll jump out in a minute and chuck some hay to him. OK, brilliant.

Before we get out, we'll just go through a few safety things.

Basically, we leave both doors open,

so if we do need to get in, it's really quick to jump in.

And we won't go very far from the vehicle. OK.

But that's basically it, and the tractor will keep an eye on us,

so we should be OK. So are you ready?

After you, then! Are you ready?

Rhinos have poor eyesight,

but make up for it with an excellent sense of smell and hearing.

Amazingly, they're also very fast -

from a standing start they can accelerate within seconds

to a charging speed of up to 30mph.

So is this a safe distance, Kev?

With him, yeah, this is a very good distance,

but with the younger guys we would be maybe twice this,

just to make sure, doubly sure.

They'd be a lot quicker, I suppose.

Absolutely, they'd cover this in maybe a couple of seconds.

The sight of a bull rhino up close is an awesome experience.

It's quite daunting, cos you see him from far away,

and he's doing his thing, and he's just feeding,

but, like Kev said, until they start getting closer to the vehicle,

you become so aware that they're getting bigger as they come nearer,

and you can see the power, you know?

And you know, just the width and breadth of his chest and his legs,

you could actually see why if it broke into a trot,

it would be quite scary.

He's obviously aware we're here, but he's quite calm, isn't he?

He is, actually, yeah, very calm.

This is good for him. He loves it out here.

You can see how one could turn, I mean...

You wouldn't actually be able to do a lot, really,

if one decided he was gonna come along and...

"oof" you out of the way with his horn there.

I wouldn't want to be in front of one if he was making a run at me,

that's for sure.

They really are like a bulldozer, aren't they? Definitely.

Armed with more knowledge about their behaviour,

Jo can look forward to interacting safely with wild rhinos in Kenya.

It's good to get a few kind of pointers from Kev

to see how they act and what I can pick up on -

behavioural signs and that, so it'll be great to study them out there,

I can't wait to see them.

Recently the park scored a triumph

when Asian short-clawed otters Rosie and Romeo became parents.

Their two otter pups emerged from the nest a couple of months ago.

Since then, keeper Rob Savin has been waiting patiently

for the pups to get in the water for the first time.

They're three months old now,

and they should be ready to take the plunge.

But surprisingly, swimming is not a talent otters are born with.

It's a skill the pups will have to learn.

Parents Rosie and Romeo have to keep a close eye on them

to keep them out of danger.

Potentially, if they jumped in a big pool of water very early on,

if they were uneducated swimmers, the chances are they might drown.

But the idea that mum and dad are around,

especially mum, is to drag them out.

And if there's a problem, what she should do -

if they're swimming and then struggling -

she'll go and and bring them back out again, that's hopefully the idea.

Asian short-clawed otters are less aquatic

than any other breed of otters.

Nevertheless, they're powerful, graceful swimmers

and at their most agile in the water.

Their enclosure is well adapted to adult otters -

it has a stream running through it and several plunge pools -

but so far the youngsters are hanging back.

So Rob has come up with a plan

to make water a little less frightening.

He's making them a paddling pool.

Otters need to be taught...

I mean they needed to know where their food was coming from.

They also needed to know which parent was gonna provide the food.

All animals learn from mum and dad, usually,

and it's partly learned behaviour,

and you've got instincts as well, things that they're born with.

Swimming, you would think with an otter, it comes quite natural,

and I suppose, when they see water,

they should know roughly what to do with it.

It's not really enough, nowhere near enough

for them to swim in properly, they're far too big.

They're sniffing, sniffing the sides,

but I don't know if they're gonna go in.

Oh, what's this?

Rosie leads by example and climbs in first.

Eventually, curiosity gets the better of the pups.

One's in!

And...yeah, they're both in now. That's lovely, yeah.

It's more mum than dad, I don't think dad's too bothered.

Romeo, he's not interested at all, not at the moment,

but mum's definitely taking them in there, that's really good.

They've managed to just all fit in there briefly,

but I think it was more of a playful roll-around.

It's fantastic to watch when they're like that,

and especially the little ones getting in on the act.

I've seen Romeo and Rosie playing like that before,

but with the little ones rolling around,

there's nothing left of that clean water now.

It's just a big bowl of mud, but it's fantastic.

They've certainly had a wash, if nothing else. They've had a bath.

In the wild, otters would find most of their food in water.

As well as being fun,

this swimming lesson will teach the pups vital survival skills.

Very intelligent animals, otters.

They're playful, very social, especially this particular species.

And when animals play, they use play as a learning process as well.

I mean, mum's diving in there. They're not following.

They're not quite ready just for that big leap into that bit yet,

but when they do, it'll be a learning process.

It'll be quite a shock to the system,

it'll probably look quite funny,

but if there's a problem, mum should leap in and save them.

The pups liked the paddling pool,

but they're still unwilling to throw themselves in at the deep end.

We'll come back later to see if they take the plunge.

To keep their animals happy and interested,

all the keepers try to give them stimulating new activities.

I'm back with Val McGruther to see what she has in mind

for the Chinese pot-bellied pigs.

You've come up with an inventive way of keeping the pigs occupied, haven't you?

Yeah, we've got this nice ball here with a few holes in it.

We stick some pig nuts in there, these little things.

These things here? I'll just pop them in there.

So what's the idea? Well, they'll roll the ball along,

the pig nuts'll come out, they'll have nice little snack

at the same time as having a bit of fun.

Which one's this one? This is Bruno.

Oh, yeah, you can see from the tusks at the front.

OK, well, he's looking very keen, ready for kick-off.

Go for it, Bruno!

MATCH OF THE DAY THEME

Well, Bruno's gone straight for it.

He has, hasn't he? Yeah, he's quite a dab hand at football.

Do you find... Do you find that, er...

that Bruno does tend to be the more inventive of the two?

Do they have very different characters? They do a bit, really.

He's the one that tends to be more like this, chasing the ball about.

Well, he looks very happy.

Blossom might be going in for a bit of a tackle. Go for it, Blossom!

Oh, yes! And she's won, brilliant, absolutely... One for the ladies!

Exactly! Who said that girls can't play football?

Val, thank you very much indeed,

and we've still got lots more coming up on today's programme.

Rob sets up a spy-camera, in case the otter pups decide to take a dip.

We'll see the results.

The kids at Longleat's local school

do their bit to save African wildlife.

Well, because people are killing other animals,

so they make jewellery and different clothings of them.

I don't think that's very nice to other animals.

But first...

LION ROARS

..the lion cubs have just met their father Kabir for the first time.

Now they must cope with another new experience.

I've come up to the Lion House to meet head of section Brian Kent.

Morning, Brian - and deputy, Bob Trollope.

And just have a look over here, look at these young cubs.

Today Malaika and Jasira are going to be taught an important new skill.

If the keepers need to give the lions any kind of medicine,

they do so by hiding it in a piece of meat,

so now the cubs must learn to eat off a stick.

Can I help you with the...administration as such?

So there's no medication now, is there?

This is purely just some little meat chunks.

These are little placebo chunks, I suppose.

We hold it up to the bars, shall I do one and you do one?

They take it straight off the stick.

I'm amazed they're eating meat already.

Are they still suckling as well from their mums?

You'll find that Jasira, the smaller one, she goes back occasionally,

but they are gradually sort of weaning themselves off.

Look at their claws, their claws are already enormous.

They must be very sharp. There you go, sorry. Tremendously sharp.

And their teeth, have they still got their baby teeth as such?

Yeah, they've still got their milk teeth,

and they'll keep them for the best part of a year.

As you can see, Malaika here is very greedy.

Is she? Is she the greedier of... Very much like dad.

Dad is over there. What's dad doing, actually?

Kind of scraping away at the...

He's realised we've got some meat over here.

Because we do it to all the lions here,

just so they get used to taking it off the stick.

He's getting frustrated that he's not getting meat as well.

We can pop along later on and give him a few chunks.

And are you pleased with their progress? Oh, gosh, what's that?

Is that just a little squabble?

Malaika being a bit greedy. Is it?

Malaika is two months older,

so she's slightly bigger and a bit more boisterous.

Hence slightly more dominant?

Slightly more dominant, and that's basically because of her size,

she can overpower the little one. Look at that.

She's a little bit stroppy but, you know, it's all part of learning.

They're learning their hierarchy here.

And they're gobbling through this meat here, do they eat a lot?

It's an incredible amount. You know, as we were saying...

GROWLING

Hey-hey-hey!

Down!

They're surprisingly aggressive for young pups.

You imagine what sort of damage that will do, these are designed...

The claws really are ferocious looking.

They are, but they're designed to take punishment, as you can see.

And the noises that are going on here,

is this just a sort of..."Give me that meat as soon as you can"?

It's just basically trying to warn off little Jasira here

and hurry us up by giving her another chunk.

Well, Bob and Brian, thank you very much.

What a...joy, to be feeding these young cubs.

Of course, we'll keep up with their progress throughout the series.

Calm down!

The unique gold-leaf ceiling in the lower dining room is in danger of collapsing

because of the unending stamp of visitors' feet in the room above.

We do need to be aware of the amount of people

that's coming through at any one time,

because if we were gonna have this -

as I say, 3,000, 3,500 people through per day,

then it's on its way, you know, so we do need to be aware of that

and to try and handle the situation.

You could have anything... especially in the room above,

anything up to 200 people in there at one time, which is the problem.

Fortunately, the experts have been brought in just in time.

You would expect a number of cracks in a ceiling of this age,

but hopefully, from the look of the first...

..access point we made into the ceiling,

it should turn out to be a nice, solid, sound ceiling.

Martin Watchurst's survey revealed that the ceiling is basically sound,

but should be monitored for signs of stress.

Luckily, it was possible to replace the bits that had fallen off.

The ceiling has been here since the great days of the British Empire

and provides a real sense of history,

which both Ken and Lady Bath are keen to preserve.

So this is the one here, is it? That's it, milady.

That's the one here that has been repaired,

and you frankly would not know a thing, would you?

You wouldn't know the difference at all.

He's are a good craftsman. Certainly is.

It's heart-warming, yes.

Mainly because none of these craftsmen are cheap, obviously,

but it's lovely to see they do a good job.

It was a one-man band, actually, doing the plaster and the gilding,

and he's done a darn good job of it.

And it's nice to know that there are still people

able to do that sort of thing, you see?

Well, it's the crux of the matter, it's the heart of the battle, isn't it?

It's the main thing, really, isn't it?

With a house that is 400 and some years old...

that's the main battle, to preserve it.

That's what we, my husband and myself, try to do -

we try to hand over something to my son

that's coherent and in good stead,

then it's his vision afterwards, you see?

But at least we will have done our best, our very best,

and our duty to the house, to the family.

That's what it's all about.

All around the house, the park is constantly evolving

as new animals are brought in to live here.

When these rare African bongo arrived at the park not so long ago,

keepers thought that they might have a hard time settling in.

Now I'm off to see how they're getting on.

I'm out with the keeper Kevin Nibbs, and we've come to feed the bongos.

Hello, boys!

It must be about a year, is it, Kevin, since they arrived here?

It is pretty much spot on a year ago they arrived.

Wow! Well, they're looking incredibly well.

I mean, given that when they arrived, they were pretty shy,

weren't they, and kind of nervy, they seem much more confident now.

When they arrived, we hardly ever saw them.

You put your head round the door,

they'd just go and hide in the darkest corner,

but now they've seen your face all the time.

Now, you've got a bucket full of bread here. Is this what they like?

They do actually love it. They love it to pieces.

It's a good filler for them in the morning.

A bit of digestion, but it just fills their bellies

so they've got something warm in their tummies.

OK, so what do you do? Just throw it over the top?

Just throw it over and they'll help themselves.

Here you are, boys! When you say they are more confident,

I mean, obviously, they're standing here and seem very happy with us.

But what other things have you noticed when they're out in the park?

What sort of things do they get up to?

Well we were told when we got them from a number of sources,

that they wouldn't mix with other animals very well.

That they were solitary animals,

a solitary species that didn't like to mix.

But we've found that they mix with our eland very well.

They lay out with the eland quite happily.

Because eland are also antelope, also from Africa,

but from a different part of Africa, is that right? Exactly, yes.

A different area altogether. These are more forest dwelling.

Mainly nocturnal as well, these are.

Whereas the eland, dry scrubland, out during the day.

So they are very different characteristics.

But they get on amazingly well. That's incredible.

The eland are a lot bigger than these three, aren't they?

They are, they are huge.

But yeah, they don't seem to take any notice whatsoever.

They're just so confident.

You've got three males here. Three males, yes.

I mean, again, that seems unusual.

I mean, do you see them fighting with each other?

We haven't, not very often.

They even get on well over food.

We can put all the food in one bowl and they'll take it in turns

putting their heads in to take the food.

For three bongo, they get on tremendously well, it's brilliant.

Is one of them - I mean this one here, closest to us,

seems to be the biggest one by the looks of things.

Is this the one that's sort of the boss, in charge?

You'd have thought so, wouldn't you? No, it's actually the little guy.

This one in the middle? Really? The smallest one.

He tends to lead them around. He'll head off and they'll follow him.

But that said, if one did spook or turn round and go away,

then they would follow that one as well.

So they do follow each other wherever they go.

And they are just beautiful looking things.

I've heard a rumour that there's possibly another one coming?

We hope so. Fingers crossed. We're hoping to get a female very soon.

Wow! That would be really exciting.

Will that change the dynamic, do you think, between the three of them?

Will they suddenly start being a bit kind of,

"I'm more handsome than you, I want her"?!

Well, it could do. We hope it won't.

We hope that this will be a nucleus for any new bongo that come.

These'll be a nucleus.

We'll put the new guys with these just to calm them down.

They'll show them the ropes.

Hopefully in the future we could have maybe eight bongo

that are this calm and this confident. That would be amazing.

Well Kevin, keep us posted with any news of new arrivals.

And I'm just delighted to see these three looking so well and happy.

# King of the bongo King of the bongo

# Hear me when I come, baby

# King of the bongo King of the bongo bong

# Hear me when I come. #

At Pets' Corner,

Rosie the Asian short-clawed otter is enjoying a swim.

Her pups are three months old,

but they have yet to pluck up the courage to join her.

Keeper Rob Savin knows it's time for them to start swimming,

so he's decided to bribe them.

We are gonna try with a bit of food.

We've had a little go already, actually.

It's not really worked, to be honest.

We've thrown a bit of egg in there, boiled egg,

and they all love boiled egg.

And they'll all eat it, including the little ones, but only Rosie -

she's the only gannet around here at the minute - she's going in!

She's getting every bit of egg!

I have actually seen her - it's a little bit of a cheat -

she's going up and she's actually giving it to them.

The little ones are screaming at her on the land.

They're not bothering going in the water, they don't want to know.

They just wait till she gets there - "I'll have that, Mum" -

and mum's going back and getting more!

So I've got a bit of cat biscuit

and I'm gonna try throwing that in a little bit now

and we'll have a little go with that.

And she will eat this.

I mean, cat biscuits, really, we use it as a treat food.

When you see them jumping around on land, that tail - brilliant balance.

And different animals under water, they are very elegant.

The tail is used as a rudder and they can spin and turn and dive.

I love watching it.

But we don't see it as often as you perhaps would with other otters.

It's fantastic.

The pups still aren't ready to join their mum in the deep-water.

But in their natural habitat, they usually stick to the shallows.

The Asian short-clawed otters are not so partial

to going into deeper areas of water.

They like the paddy rice fields and areas like that

where there's lots of shallow, almost marshy water.

And they'll weave in and out of the different grasses and plant life.

They'd find all sorts of different crustaceans

and even perhaps little frogs and things inside all of that.

And they use their paws quite a lot,

so they'd almost feel in from the shallower parts into the deeper mud,

and they'd use their nimble little paws.

So very agile little creatures.

Rob has one more plan.

He thinks the pups might take the plunge

if they think no-one is watching them.

So he's set up a camera to spy on them.

They're still a bit wary of us,

still a bit wary of the movement and different objects,

new objects, I think it's best we try to get them used to something

that's steady and still.

So it should be aimed at the right point, but hopefully -

I'll just set it recording now - we'll catch something.

We can walk away, they've got a bit of peace and quiet -

that's the plan!

Now there's nothing Rob can do but wait and hope.

I've come down to Pets' Corner to meet keeper Bev Allen,

who has a bit of a problem here. Bev, what's actually going on?

We had an animal escape, one of the wallabies.

One of these guys just behind us? One of these guys here.

Look very innocent at the moment! Yeah, our female, Adelaide, escaped.

I've got some footage here if you'd like to have a look.

So you rushed out and filmed the escapee, did you?

Yeah, we filmed it and as you can see -

I'll press that there - look, you can see!

Hopping around Pets' Corner! Not a care in the world!

She doesn't care - look, she's loving it! All the different smells.

She looks very at ease.

But we did manage to get her back into the enclosure.

How did you get her back in?

A bit of food, and coaxing her, sort of rounding her up gently.

We managed to get her back into the enclosure.

So this is your very own Houdini here?

Yeah, she's very clever. Yeah!

So how on earth are you trying to stop this happening again?

If you'd like to come and help, and see what we're doing.

It sounds like hard work to me!

So presumably you found out where she's escaping from.

Cos we're extending the pen, you see,

so they're coming out into this area as well.

And we think that she either got scared at night,

and she managed to run up towards the wall.

Cos to be honest, they can usually get out of this, you see.

How high can a wallaby jump?

Quite high, I imagine about maybe two metres.

So we're putting this trellis up and it will make it a bit difficult.

When we haven't got the ledge here as well,

Shall I give you a hand while I'm here? If you tell me what to do.

I'm not very good at DIY!

Presumably this has to be put into the wall?

Yes, just screw it in.

Oh - that's not too bad!

Is it just the one - cos you've got two wallabies here, don't you?

Yeah, we have the two - Palmer wallabies.

Smaller than the ones we have at the top.

And it is the female, Adelaide, getting out both times.

Sydney just tends to sit there and not bother.

Can we just have a look? They're over here kind of munching away.

So which is the escapee?

That's Adelaide at the front, eating. She's the one that got out.

And of course Syd behind, but he doesn't seem to bother.

It's just the female!

So what is it do you think that encourages her out?

She might have been scared?

Something might have spooked her, that's why she decided to get out,

found the weakest bit of the pen and jumped out.

Or maybe she just realised, "That's the easiest way out"

and just wanted to have a wander round. Just curiosity? Yeah.

Different smells and things.

Obviously you can't really have them just wandering around here?

No, it's for their safety as well.

It's not safe for them to be wandering around.

Especially at night when no-one's here to supervise them.

Is there anything around here

that would predate one of these wallabies, for example?

It's probably like a badger that may have scared them.

Foxes, they probably would go for them.

So we've got to keep them nice and secure.

OK, Bev, thank you very much for roping me into this!

That's OK! We've got some work to do, I think.

Hopefully the wallabies won't be escaping again.

Right, up a bit, there we go.

The safari park exists to protect endangered wild animals

and to spread the word about the need for wildlife conservation.

Just down the road from the park is Horningsham primary school.

The children have all had the chance to see the animals for themselves

and it's made an impact.

So, who can tell me what we've been learning about?

Tom, what have we been learning about?

About these animals.

That's right, what else have we been doing? Lucy?

We've been learning about conservation.

Right, conservation. Who can tell me what conservation means?

Anita? Conservation is when zoos have endangered species

and breed them so that they can put them back in the wild,

so that they will still be there for future generations.

How are other animals in other countries becoming endangered?

Well, because people are killing other animals,

so they make jewellery and different clothing.

I don't think that's very nice to other animals.

Now head teacher, Carol Andrews,

has invited Darren Beasley and Jo Hawthorn to come to the school.

Hello. Hello! All right?

They are going to talk to the kids about their upcoming adventure.

D'you know that Jo and I tomorrow are going to Africa?

Yeah, have you heard that? Africa, a long way away.

And we're going to one country in particular, called...? Kenya!

Kenya, well done!

They've got lots of animals we'd really like.

We only get to see them in Longleat, don't we?

In places like safari parks.

Imagine, if in your back garden, you had a giraffe?

That would be a bit good, wouldn't it?

And I've brought some pictures Jo's got here, look.

They're quite small so I'll pass them round.

Jo will bring them around in a minute.

There's a picture of some men that look like soldiers.

They do a really good job. They mean that when you grow up,

you should still be able to see things like rhinos in the wild.

'I think in this day and age, you can't keep yourself in your village

'and just know what's within the borders of your home.

'It's important we have the TV, the internet and books and things.

'It's important you know what goes on.

'Because what these children do here

'is gonna affect what happens in Africa. These are our future.'

What happens if it's really hot for nearly the whole year?

What happens to all the grass?

It dies out. It dies out. What do the animals eat?

They eat nothing!

Can't they go down the supermarket and buy some dinner?

No!

They don't have money! They don't have money! Oh, no!

They're too big to get through the supermarket door.

The children aren't just interested in the animals of Africa.

They're keen to get involved with the local community

where Darren and Jo are going.

What they're gonna do is try and twin themselves

with one of the village schools out in Kenya where we're going.

They're gonna support each other and pass information.

Kids there often can't afford basic things we all take for granted.

So the children have decided to do what they can to help.

So we have a box of books here

that we are hoping that you're going to take over.

Oh, that's fantastic! That is really, really kind.

I promise you, they really will get a lot out of those.

Thank you very much. And thank you.

We have another book that Imogen's going to give you.

This is a book the class have made. Oh, that's beautiful! Well done.

It's lovely. I know the children in Kenya will love this very much.

Give yourself a round of applause, because you've earned that.

Well done.

Thank you. We've got to go, because we've got to pack our cases and go!

We'll see you later. Bye! Thank you! Bye!

'It's really exciting.

'The children here know so much about conservation in this country

'and abroad because they've given us some fantastic books.

'And I know the children in Kenya are gonna adore them.

'They have no resources out there so it's fantastic.

'And to see the faces in there,

'I know it's going to be matched by the happy faces in Kenya next week.'

Tomorrow, Darren and Jo are off to Kenya.

And of course, when they get back, they'll update the kids.

Keeper, Rob Savin is trying to catch the young otters

as they take the plunge and decide to go for their first swim.

He's set up a camera. Now all he can do is wait patiently.

For hours the young otters played close to the bank,

but they just won't get in.

Then, at last...

It's a breakthrough.

Got them on tape. They can't deny it!

We saw definitely one of the little ones go for a swim.

After all his patience and hard work, it's a proud moment for Rob.

They were chasing after, I think it was a bit of food.

But they dived straight in, it was more like a belly flop to be honest!

And it was in the shallow part of the pool,

but they came straight back out, seemed quite happy about it.

So hopefully, that's it now.

We're up at the Giraffe House with head of section, Andy Hayton

and behind us is Jolly with her beautiful calf, Century.

The 100th calf born at Longleat, I gather?

Yes, the 100th calf in our 40th year and Jolly's tenth baby as well. Wow!

So, Jolly really deserves that one.

And looking extremely healthy and fit.

He's a monster! He really is!

He's very tall! How old is he now?

He's about two months old now. And he's just huge! He really is.

Now Andy I want to -

just over here is another of your pregnant giraffes, isn't it?

This is Becky, is that right?

This is Becky, yeah, and that's the 101st baby in there.

And how imminent is that birth?

Oh, she's due in the next week or so, so very imminent.

Last time she really messed us around.

She was late, quite considerably late.

But they can go quite a way over their...

Because she's actually had quite a few giraffes?

She's an old hand. She knows what she's doing.

What are the signs that she's about to give birth?

You know, what tells you it's about to happen?

She will be restless and give us little signs.

But, these animals instinctively, they won't give anything away.

Because if they give things away where they naturally come from,

they become a target.

So a lot of the time, you won't actually see real, clear-cut signs.

So it's very, very tricky.

You think something's going on but no, you won't get it.

Especially her and Jolly, they're real cagey.

New mums, you might get a bit more, because it's a new experience -

"Ow, that really hurts, what's going on?"

They jump around a bit more. But these guys don't...

Just absolutely calm, then...

Will you literally turn up in the morning and find a calf?

That would be nice. It's nice when you come in.

Jolly did exactly that for us -

we came in and there was a calf in there stood up.

When you're watching a birth you start stressing about it.

It's taking too long and she's looking upset and it's distressed...

It's harder.

So just walking in and there's a healthy baby stood up

that's drunk, that's great.

Fantastic. Andy, thank you very much.

Of course, we'll keep an eye out for Becky.

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

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

We're off to Kenya with the staff from Longleat.

We go on a mission with the men

at the frontline of the war against animal poachers.

Stop!

We'll meet these baby black rhino and give them their bottle.

And one of Longleat's largest lions gets a little too close for comfort.

Oh! I think we've got someone biting the tyre.

LAUGHTER

So don't miss the next Animal Park.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd 2006

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