0:00:31 > 0:00:35- Hello and welcome to Animal Park. I'm Ben Fogel.- I'm Kate Humble.
0:00:35 > 0:00:41We're up at Wallaby Wood with the 26 Bennett Wallabies. I say 26 but those are the ones you can actually see.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Spring is in the air and they've started to breed.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48You can probably just make out some joeys in their pouches down there.
0:00:48 > 0:00:54We've got lots of other stories about the animals here at Longleat coming up on today's programme.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57We're off to Kenya, where conservationists are battling
0:00:57 > 0:01:02to inoculate these endangered Grevey's Zebra against an outbreak of deadly anthrax.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09At Longleat, I'm going bananas with the boisterous Bactrian Camels.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13No, don't... It's not for you. Just wait.
0:01:13 > 0:01:19And we'll see how staff keep the peace between these two deadly rivals.
0:01:23 > 0:01:29But first, we're off to Africa to visit the TUSK Trust.
0:01:29 > 0:01:35TUSK is a charity dedicated to conserving the wildlife and habitats of Africa.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40They run 25 conservation projects in 15 countries.
0:01:40 > 0:01:48As a donor, Longleat Safari Park has enjoyed a close working relationship with the trust in recent years.
0:01:48 > 0:01:53This collaboration means TUSK has invited Safari Park staff to develop
0:01:53 > 0:01:58their professional expertise by visiting the conservancies it supports in Kenya.
0:01:58 > 0:02:04This year, Deputy Head Warden Ian Turner has brought four Longleat keepers
0:02:04 > 0:02:08on the trip of a lifetime to the Lewa conservancy.
0:02:08 > 0:02:14Ranging across 250 sq kms of land on the slopes of Mount Kenya,
0:02:14 > 0:02:19Lewa is dedicated to preserving Africa's endangered wildlife.
0:02:20 > 0:02:28Many of the animals living at Lewa are under threat, but none are more endangered than the Grevy's Zebra.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Recognisable by their thin stripes and large ears,
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Grevy's used to be found across East Africa.
0:02:36 > 0:02:42But because of hunting and destruction of habitat, there are less than 2,500 left in the world.
0:02:42 > 0:02:49Of those precious few, about 450 live here at Lewa.
0:02:49 > 0:02:56This year, Kenya has been ravaged by a severe drought which has affected the whole of East Africa.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01There's been no significant rainfall here for over nine months.
0:03:01 > 0:03:07Now the dry conditions have brought on an urgent problem for Head of Security Richard Moller.
0:03:07 > 0:03:14There's been an outbreak of anthrax in an area 45 miles north of Lewa, a place called Ngarani.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18There's quite a good population of Grevy's zebra there.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23The November rains failed totally in this area and especially up north.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25It's these extreme climatic conditions
0:03:25 > 0:03:30that bring out these sort of diseases. Anthrax is one of them.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36Anthrax has hit the headlines in the West as a biological weapon,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39but in Africa it occurs in its natural form.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42It's a bacteria that lives in the soil.
0:03:42 > 0:03:48It's rarely fatal to humans, but when it breaks out in hoofed mammals, it can quickly kill.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51We know of 66 deaths so far.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56That's a pretty significant number of animals.
0:03:57 > 0:04:02The disease could easily spread to Lewa, so the park management
0:04:02 > 0:04:06decided to vaccinate as many of Lewa's Grevy's as possible.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09It's a massive job.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13You're talking about an operation that's cost about 120,000.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18To include aerial darting from a helicopter.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22On Lewa we're up to, I think, 250-odd at the moment
0:04:22 > 0:04:24out of a total of 400.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27We've just got this one small group left to do.
0:04:27 > 0:04:34But if we can do a minimum of 60%, then at least we're hopefully ahead of the game.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Bev Evans looks after zebra at Longleat,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42but hers are a subspecies called Grant's Zebra.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47She's come a long way to see Grevy's for the first time.
0:04:47 > 0:04:54Now she has the chance to help Richard complete this critical vaccination project.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Normally we do dart in a pen, quite a small pen,
0:04:57 > 0:05:02so it's reasonably easy to dart the animal, and also to get the dart back.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Out here, they could go anywhere.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10It must be quite hard to find out which animals you've already darted
0:05:10 > 0:05:13and also to get the animals.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16We've already got some rigged-up darts in here.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18Important that they're all chilled.
0:05:18 > 0:05:24- We've still got quite a few, but probably best we rig up a couple more darts.- Sure, OK.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27- You've got two compartments.- Right.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31You can press this one with compressed air.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36The plan is that compressed air pushes that plunger forward
0:05:36 > 0:05:43- and then the drug, or vaccine in this case, is administered to the animal..- Yeah, sure.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48Right, Bev, I think we can pack up and head out.
0:05:48 > 0:05:55Over 250 animals have been darted so far, and Richard is an old hand at the process.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57But still, it's not easy.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02Once you've darted one or two out of a group, the rest obviously realise
0:06:02 > 0:06:08there's something amiss here and become more schitzy. That's why we haven't done the whole population.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12With one fifth of the world's Grevey's living at Lewa,
0:06:12 > 0:06:17it's vital for the future of the species that the vaccination programme works.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21We'll come back later to see how Bev and Richard get on.
0:06:29 > 0:06:35Back at Longleat, breeding programmes support endangered wild populations.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40One of the longest running of these is lion-breeding.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49Kabir, the male Barbary lion, arrived at the park in 2005.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53He's one of less than 100 Barbary lions left in the world.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Thankfully, he settled in quickly.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59He sired two female cubs.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02At first he was a bit of a grumpy father.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08But now the whole family are getting on splendidly together.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13There is one lion at Longleat that Kabir will never meet -
0:07:13 > 0:07:1712-year-old male, Mafui.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Male lions will not tolerate other males,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25and so Mafui and Kabir are deadly rivals.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29Though they share accommodation, the keepers must keep them apart.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34We're outside the lion enclosures with head of section Brian Kent and keeper Bob Trollope.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37We've got quite a task on our hands, I gather.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39- We do.- What have we got to do today?
0:07:39 > 0:07:42We've got to put one pride in and let one pride out.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44OK. That sounds relatively simple.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49We've got one pride of lions out who've got to be in, and one pride in who've got to be out.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52- But they're all in the same section. - Ah.- Ah.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54So how on earth do we go about this?
0:07:54 > 0:07:58- Well, we just go in there and drive one lot into a paddock.- Right.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Get them into the house and then let the other lot out.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07You make it sound beautifully simple, but I have a feeling it might be more complicated.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12While Ben and Brian head to the lion house to meet Mafui...
0:08:14 > 0:08:17..I'm off with Bob to meet Kabir,
0:08:17 > 0:08:19who's holding court in the lion enclosure.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24There he is, just there.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Just there. He's looking so handsome.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29There's his protege.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31There's his pride. Look at them.
0:08:31 > 0:08:37How do the cubs react to being rounded up and moved into the house?
0:08:37 > 0:08:40They're absolutely brilliant.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43You normally find that, as soon as we open the slider,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47Kabir is there. He's pretty good at that.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Cos it was hours before.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51It was hours, yeah.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56He's a bit of a wuss now, and as soon as he sees the house is open, he wants to go in.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59- It's a very cold day.- Yeah. That triggers a response from the females
0:08:59 > 0:09:03because they see him going in, think they're missing out, so they come in.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08- Obviously cubs don't want to be very far from Mum.- So they follow in.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13Is it just simply not possible to mix the two prides?
0:09:13 > 0:09:16- No, it would be carnage.- Really?
0:09:16 > 0:09:21- Kabir would want to kill Mafui. - Right.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23And Mafui would want to kill Kabir.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27Presumably in here it's Mafui's pride, is it?
0:09:27 > 0:09:28Just the three of them, yeah.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33Brian, just how important is this, to keep the two males separate?
0:09:33 > 0:09:36What would happen if they saw one another?
0:09:36 > 0:09:40If they could see each other through the caging, we'd have problems.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43They would go at each other through the cage.
0:09:43 > 0:09:50- They'd try and attack one another? - They would try to get to each other. What we've done is obviously...
0:09:50 > 0:09:53You've put that whole partition in.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56So they can't actually see at all.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Is this so that in the winter time when it's a bit chilly like today,
0:09:59 > 0:10:05both prides can come in at night and you can house them in the same area and keep an eye on them?
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Yeah, that's what it was for.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12You don't want to let the other ones out too long in the cold.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17We've got the ability to keep them in for as long as we want.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Absolutely.
0:10:19 > 0:10:25Here he is. He's looking quite keen to come in.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30- He really is a magnificent looking male, isn't he?- He is.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33- Here's the others coming in.- Here they come. What's the next stage?
0:10:33 > 0:10:36- Just let Brian know..- OK.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42- Lion two, Brian.- That sounds like Bob and Kate.- Come in.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Yeah, the lions are in the compound.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Fantastic.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48OK, thank you.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51That's phase one successfully completed,
0:10:51 > 0:10:57but the keepers still have to coax Kabir and his pride into the lion house
0:10:57 > 0:11:00before Mafui is allowed out.
0:11:07 > 0:11:14At Pets Corner, Darren Beasley and Jo Hawthorne look after some of the park's less terrifying residents,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17including over 40 tortoises.
0:11:19 > 0:11:25Now they've come to the Lewa conservancy in Kenya, hoping to study tortoises in the wild.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32But Lewa's a big place, and tortoises can be hard to find.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39After days of searching, Darren and Jo have heard about a tortoise sighting,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42so they've come to investigate.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45We heard on the radio, you might have found something for us.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Jo and I have just got fever-pitch excitement here
0:11:48 > 0:11:53because we just heard on the old walkie-talkies that he might have found us a tortoise.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56This is a big place! You're looking for a needle in a haystack.
0:11:56 > 0:12:01We would so love, for many, many reasons, to fight a tortoise.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05If it is the sort of tortoise we think it is, it's a big result all round.
0:12:06 > 0:12:13Tortoises are shy, well camouflaged and very difficult to spot, but one has recently been seen in this area.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15Surely it can't have gone far.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Where the guy is, up there.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25Oh! Look!
0:12:25 > 0:12:27Oh, my goodness!
0:12:27 > 0:12:31- We're going to need bigger scales. - That is a beauty.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34That is a Leopard tortoise.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Oh, my goodness.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40- Isn't she beautiful?- I'll take some pictures.- Well done. Thank you.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42- Well done.- She's huge!
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Goodness gracious me.
0:12:44 > 0:12:50This is dream upon dreams. This is exactly what we're looking for. It's called a Leopard tortoise.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52We've got the little dots.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56As they get really old, some can live a huge amount of years
0:12:56 > 0:13:00if they're not preyed on. This can go just one colour - brown.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02It's got the little dots in here,
0:13:02 > 0:13:04a bit like a leopard coat.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07The camouflaged on these is incredible.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11In this grass, this colour, you're not going to see them.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13Obviously when they need to get away
0:13:13 > 0:13:17to hide away from predators, they've got the perfect camouflage shell.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22The Leopard tortoise is found in grassland right across Africa.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Eating a diet of dry grass and the occasional fruit,
0:13:26 > 0:13:31they can weigh up to 35kg and grow up to 700mm across.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34OK, Jo,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37first one. Goodness gracious.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39- 550.- OK.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44Accurate measurements will tell Darren about how life in the wild affects the tortoise's condition.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47I'm just going to measure her V at the back.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50- OK.- To give us an idea. I know it is a girl.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53- Yeah. 100mm.- OK.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57She's a big girl.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00There's no shell damage, probably because of her size,
0:14:00 > 0:14:04but when they're very young these are ideal prey animals. Everything eats them.
0:14:04 > 0:14:09Even hyena with their really strong jaws, will bite into them and bust these.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11They're like tanks, aren't they?
0:14:11 > 0:14:16She's got a lovely shell, really nice. It's not only a defence but a solar panel as well.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21In the this really hot African heat, 100 degrees out here, it's so warm,
0:14:21 > 0:14:22she generates all her energy
0:14:22 > 0:14:26by eating her food, then absorbing the sunshine through here,
0:14:26 > 0:14:30so it's defence and a very advanced solar panel.
0:14:30 > 0:14:31There's no damage here.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37We know with our tortoises, the boy tortoises can be really rough.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41When they try to chat up the girls, they come up and bash them.
0:14:41 > 0:14:42You get a lot of shell damage.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47Here, she'll be lucky if she stumbles across another male once a year if she's lucky.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49So quite amazing.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56The last vital job is to get a good snap for Darren's extensive collection of tortoise photos.
0:14:56 > 0:15:02Bizarrely, wherever I travel in the world, if I find tortoises, I use my foot as a scale measure
0:15:02 > 0:15:07because you end up with all these lovely photographs - tape measures, weights and things -
0:15:07 > 0:15:10but when you see the pictures on the computer, it means nothing.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14My foot stopped growing years ago so I always slip off a trainer.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18Rather sad for the poor wild tortoise, but it's a good measure,
0:15:18 > 0:15:23so you'll see most of my tortoise shots at home have got Darren's foot inside.
0:15:23 > 0:15:30Darren's special interest is how animals like this Leopard tortoise fit into the overall ecosystem.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33It's really crucial that everybody in the world
0:15:33 > 0:15:37understands as well that we're in Kenya, elephants, rhinos,
0:15:37 > 0:15:43all that stuff, but the crucial word we use these days is biodiversity. Everybody plays a role out here.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47These guys will make the tracks, eat fallen fruit and spread seeds.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50If you look after the little ones, the big ones follow suit.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55It's crucial that the whole scheme, the whole web of life is cared for.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59She can go back and find some more nice things to munch on.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02- Live a long life. Thank you very much.- You're welcome.
0:16:02 > 0:16:03- Absolutely fantastic.- Thank you.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05You've made us both very happy.
0:16:12 > 0:16:19Back at Longleat, Kabir and his pride are in the paddock, waiting to come into the lion house.
0:16:20 > 0:16:25Mafui and his pride are inside, waiting to be allowed out into the open.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30Do we have to do this strange juggling with these guys now?
0:16:30 > 0:16:35- What we need to do is let Kabir and the others in.- Right.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38Before we can let Mafui and the two girls out.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40- OK. How do we do that? - If we go down here.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42Back down to this end.
0:16:42 > 0:16:48Obviously you've got that partition in, but presumably there's a sense that they know one another is there.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51They obviously know each other's there.
0:16:51 > 0:16:52There they are, in fact.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Waiting to come in now. Yeah.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57Fantastic.
0:17:03 > 0:17:04Oi!
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Go on. Come on then.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Come on. Come on.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13- Come on. - Brian, how are we doing out there?
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Not too bad. Just waiting for one more at the moment.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20Here he comes. Two.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25There should be one other female and two young cubs.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33- Calm down.- Have you got 'em?
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Yeah, I hope so.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Shall I put the padlock back on?
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Blimey! These are absolutely beautiful, the little cubs.
0:17:50 > 0:17:55- They're getting on really well, aren't they?- They're doing fine. - They look fantastically healthy.
0:17:55 > 0:18:00- You're happy that these guys are safely in now?- They're safely locked in, out of the way.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05So Mafui will disappear down the back. We won't see him, and next time he'll appear outside, yes?
0:18:05 > 0:18:10- He should be straight out in the paddock.- OK. Are there secret passageways in here?
0:18:10 > 0:18:15We've got a tunnel on the back, a transit tunnel, that we can move any lion past any other lion.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19- Without any contact? - That's what it was built for.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Oh, there we go. That's one of the girls that went first.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25That was Amy, now Lulu.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28- And Mafui.- And Mafui.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30So that's safely outside.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Yep, they should be on their way.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34- There they are. - Look, here they come.
0:18:36 > 0:18:41There it is. If you want to push that shut, Kate, then that's it.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Well done.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46Wow! I feel exhausted.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49That was quite a complicated manoeuvre.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51And you do that every day?
0:18:51 > 0:18:54- Every day, yeah. - Cor is all I can say!
0:18:54 > 0:19:00I'm not sure we were that helpful, but thank you very much for letting us see them. Thank you.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Back in Kenya, Bev Evans is helping Lewa's Head of Security Richard Moller
0:19:12 > 0:19:15with a critical vaccination programme.
0:19:15 > 0:19:22They're inoculating the highly endangered Grevy's zebra against an outbreak of deadly anthrax.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28So, Bev, this group up here, it's our last group.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30We know it's the last group.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32Because it's a group that's got several foals.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36They don't move far from here, so we've left this group till last.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38Are you darting the foals as well?
0:19:38 > 0:19:43No, definitely not. We don't want to stress them out too much.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46- Just the fully-grown animals.- OK.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52Finding the group is one thing, but getting close to them is another.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56- See, they already know. - Yeah, they're getting nervous?
0:19:56 > 0:19:59They already know what's up here.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02The zebra group head into an area of scrub,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05making it difficult for Richard to get a clean shot.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12- Do you think that hit the spot?- No. - No.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14- That was a clean miss.- Yes.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20What are we going to do now?
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Just reload and try again?
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Yep, we're going to
0:20:24 > 0:20:26reload another dart
0:20:26 > 0:20:30- and try again.- Will it be more difficult now you've already tried?
0:20:30 > 0:20:33Yeah, it is. But we've just got to keep on at it.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41Now we're just following up behind, pushing them like a herd of cows.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43Yeah.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51The zebra are now clearly avoiding the Jeep.
0:20:52 > 0:20:58We're certainly not in thick bush, but a lot of these whistling thorn,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02if the dart just touches them it will knock that rubber cover off
0:21:02 > 0:21:06and then we'll lose the vaccine. So we'll just stick with them.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Hopefully they'll move into more open ground.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15Even someone as experienced as Richard can't force wild animals
0:21:15 > 0:21:19to co-operate, but he'll keep trying for as long as it takes.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23As soon as you start to follow them in any way at all,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26they realise things aren't right.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Hence the frustration.
0:21:28 > 0:21:34They know something's amiss and we'll struggle, but if it doesn't work now,
0:21:34 > 0:21:39if we don't get any now, there's really just this last group left.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42You can hear the wind and what-have-you...
0:21:42 > 0:21:47the odds are stacking against us a bit now.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53But there's only one thing for it - to keep plugging on.
0:21:53 > 0:21:59We'll come back later on to see if Richard and Bev can accomplish their mission.
0:22:04 > 0:22:11Back at Longleat, many of the animals are acclimatised to human beings and not shy at all.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15Some of them even come forward to be given their medicine.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19This might be what you call a crush of Bactrian camels.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Hello, girls and boys.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24I'm up at the new area with keeper Kevin Nibbs.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27- They're all looking very keen, Kev. - They are.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30- They're not lining up for bananas? - They are.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33- Really?- They really are, they're that greedy.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36I didn't think Bactrian camels ate bananas.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Generally, no, they don't, but here they do.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42- Only because we need to give them some medication.- Right.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46A few here are quite arthritic. They're getting on in years.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50The wet winters aren't very good for them. So they've got arthritis.
0:22:50 > 0:22:57What we do is put some of this powder for their arthritis in a banana, then put it in their mouth.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02So it's basically like trying to persuade a child to take medicine, you have to disguise it.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05- Yeah. - It's like doing a cookery show, this.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08You split this one open and put a scoop of this in?
0:23:08 > 0:23:11One scoop in there and try to rub it around a bit.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15- So it's nicely all mixed up with the banana.- Yep.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Crikey, this gives a new meaning to banana split, doesn't it?
0:23:18 > 0:23:23Is this a tried-and-tested method? Did you try other ways and they wouldn't take it?
0:23:23 > 0:23:27We've tried many ways. This seems to be the quickest, most efficient way.
0:23:27 > 0:23:33We've tried it with their dry food but you have to add water with it to make it stick to their palates.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37It takes longer. This way, we're with them the least amount of time.
0:23:37 > 0:23:43I suppose, as you say, you're absolutely sure that each one is getting the required dose.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46- Exactly, yeah. Exactly. - OK. What do you think of that?
0:23:46 > 0:23:52- Will that do the trick?- That's good. Give that to Babs because she's greedy. That will go down in one.
0:23:52 > 0:23:58Do we need to take all them at once because they can get quite sort of...
0:23:58 > 0:24:00well, on cue, pushy, can't they?
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Wait, just wait. It's coming, it's coming.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Yeah, if we take them all together
0:24:05 > 0:24:07we can give it to the ones that need it.
0:24:07 > 0:24:13We've got a few left over for the camels that don't need it, but if they did need it in future...
0:24:13 > 0:24:20This is quite a good way of keeping an eye on them because I know with them...they're big animals.
0:24:20 > 0:24:25- Yeah.- They could be quite dangerous, I suppose.- Definitely, yes.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29They've got a big kick on them, very big feet, very powerful kick.
0:24:29 > 0:24:34They can bite and spit as well. We've got a gate between us for our safety.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39We can get up close. When they open their mouths, we can look at their tongues,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42make sure there's no injuries, make sure their teeth are there.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45So it's just a nice way to get close to them, but safely.
0:24:45 > 0:24:53But safely. Right, I think that is all four banana splits done. Right.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55I've got my two. You've got your two.
0:24:55 > 0:24:56So let's go over.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Reisha here, the big white one. She needs two of those.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03- This is Reisha?- Yeah, Babs needs two as well.- Ah, ah!
0:25:03 > 0:25:05- So they have two each?- Yep.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09- We'll give the others some later on. - No, no, it's not for you. Just wait!
0:25:09 > 0:25:11It looks like...
0:25:11 > 0:25:16hard to tell with all that slobber, you've got terrible table manners,
0:25:16 > 0:25:20but it looks like they haven't actually got teeth as such.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23They've got a half palate on the top of their mouths and below is the teeth.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27So they've got teeth at the bottom. So it is it like a sheep?
0:25:27 > 0:25:29They've got a palate at the top.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32- Very much.- Here you are. There's your other one. Ready? Yummy!
0:25:32 > 0:25:37- "Thanks, Kate." Not like she cares! - It doesn't last long.- It doesn't.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41It's obviously an effective way of doing it. Babs is the brown one here.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44Hello, Babs.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47Oi, oi, oi! This is the male, is that right?
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Yep. That's a love bite.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53I'm quite pleased I'm not getting any love from him!
0:25:53 > 0:25:56No, no, no. Babs, there you are.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58They're quite a challenge, aren't they, Kev?
0:25:58 > 0:26:00It's good fun, very good fun.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02They're great, great characters.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05They're all looking a little bit post winter.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09They grow fantastic coats in winter, don't they?
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Yeah. Their coats are really thick.
0:26:11 > 0:26:16It keeps them so warm. They can live in temperatures of minus 40 in the wild.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21- Wow.- We don't get quite that cold, but we get damp and damp causes arthritis with these.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25So the cold, they're more than able to cope with.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29- It's just that slightly wet Wiltshire weather.- That's it, yep.
0:26:29 > 0:26:36They're all dosed up. Can we give some bananas to the others so we don't get attacked by them?
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Right. Whose turn is it now?
0:26:38 > 0:26:44Kev, I hope the treatment does the trick and they're all scampering around when the spring weather comes.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48You've had yours, but you haven't. There you are.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Thanks, Kev, very much. There you go.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54Mm. You see, you're nice and polite.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Stop chucking your weight around.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06I'm out on the steam trains with railway manager John Hayton.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09- Hi, John.- Hello.- Tell me a bit about this steam train.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12- It's named after you, isn't it? - Oh, yes.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14This is the John Hayton.
0:27:14 > 0:27:15How did that come about?
0:27:15 > 0:27:18Well, I'd been here 30 years
0:27:18 > 0:27:21and came off my retirement.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24We had a new steam loco coming,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27so I wanted to know what to name it.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Back came the reply, "You."
0:27:30 > 0:27:34- So there we go.- It's quite an honour to be bestowed on you.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Yeah, it is really.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Yeah, not many people have one.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41How many steam trains are they here at Longleat?
0:27:41 > 0:27:42- Just the one.- Just the one.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45We had another, but I sold it and bought this.
0:27:45 > 0:27:50This is much bigger. We've got many people coming now. We need a much stronger loco, which this is.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Absolutely. Do you get out in it very often?
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Not as often as I'd like, no.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00I've got other chaps who drive it, they get all the pleasure.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02I push all the paperwork about.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06So today, coming out like this, is an extra pleasure for you?
0:28:06 > 0:28:08It's a holiday!
0:28:08 > 0:28:11John, thank you very much.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16Don't go away, here's what's still to come in today's programme.
0:28:19 > 0:28:25Can Bev and Richard get close enough to the Grevey's to administer the vital vaccine?
0:28:28 > 0:28:33We go into the bush on the trail of two white rhino.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38And we catch up with the otter pups, who've just learned how to swim.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45But first, Longleat and its animals have been here such a long time
0:28:45 > 0:28:48that they seem a part of the natural landscape.
0:28:48 > 0:28:53But in fact, much of the landscape isn't natural at all.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57Half-mile Lake, for instance, is entirely man-made.
0:28:59 > 0:29:04The first Marquess of Bath had the lake dug out in the valley 250 years ago,
0:29:04 > 0:29:07following the line of an existing stream,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10as estate manager Tim Moore explains.
0:29:12 > 0:29:17The name Longleat comes from the "long leat", or stream.
0:29:17 > 0:29:23You can see, looking up here, the stream that flows through the valley.
0:29:23 > 0:29:30This source of water then, over the centuries, is used to create this fantastic chain
0:29:30 > 0:29:36of lakes running all the way down past the house and contributing to the setting of the house.
0:29:45 > 0:29:50Inspired by the formal gardens of the Palace of Versailles near Paris,
0:29:50 > 0:29:56the 17th century saw the water being channelled into decorative canals and fountains.
0:29:56 > 0:30:01It was that landscape which Capability Brown, England's most famous landscape gardener,
0:30:01 > 0:30:08transformed in the mid-18th century, as curator Kate Harris explains.
0:30:08 > 0:30:13Brown's big idea was to turn everything into a natural-looking landscape park.
0:30:13 > 0:30:20So when he came in the middle of the 18th-century, he swept away all the formal gardens
0:30:20 > 0:30:25that were created by the first Viscount and maintained under the second Viscount
0:30:25 > 0:30:28and brought up to the fashionable rococo taste.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32He swept that all way and we just have a pastoral idyll.
0:30:32 > 0:30:39That meant woods, rolling meadows and, of course, tranquil expanses of water.
0:30:39 > 0:30:46Capability Brown was a remarkable man, and he did it with very simple techniques.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49He didn't have the ability to use anything mechanical.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51It's all done by hand.
0:30:51 > 0:30:57So it's digging it out, shifting each amount of earth into a cart,
0:30:57 > 0:31:00then taking it away to move it to a dam.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02Very, very labour-intensive.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05There must have been hundreds of men employed. Phenomenal achievement.
0:31:05 > 0:31:10Most of the work was done by 1800, but following in Brown's footsteps
0:31:10 > 0:31:1550 years later, England's second most famous landscaper
0:31:15 > 0:31:18arrived on the scene - Humphrey Repton.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21He regarded water as a very important part of the landscape.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24He writes of "the appearance and glitter of water"
0:31:24 > 0:31:27as being really important to the beauty of the scenery.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31Those are his words in the Red Books, so it's a very important element.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35He illustrates it in the Red Book with little yachts on it.
0:31:35 > 0:31:40It's what he calls a "riant" landscape, a jolly and peopled landscape,
0:31:40 > 0:31:42that is appropriate to the house.
0:31:42 > 0:31:49This is Repton's famous Red Book in which he set out his plans for Longleat.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52We'll sneak a peek inside later on.
0:31:55 > 0:32:00Back in Kenya, Bev Evans is helping Lewa's Richard Moller
0:32:00 > 0:32:05wrap up the final stage of a vital conservation operation.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09Anthrax has broken out 45 miles to the north of Lewa,
0:32:09 > 0:32:12killing 66 rare Grevy's zebra.
0:32:12 > 0:32:19Lewa is home to about 450 Grevy's, a fifth of the world's population,
0:32:19 > 0:32:24so as many as possible must be inoculated before the disease arrives.
0:32:24 > 0:32:29This is the very last group, but so far, these zebra don't want to take their medicine.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33- Do you think that hit the spot?- No. - No.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35- Clean miss.- Yes.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40Fortunately for Richard, the group has now moved into an open area.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Finally he should be able to get a clear shot.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48What the hell spooked them there?
0:32:48 > 0:32:55Because the wind is high, he needs a perfectly still target, but the zebras won't co-operate.
0:32:55 > 0:32:56Oh!
0:32:56 > 0:32:58I'm going to lose it.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01The dart drops short again.
0:33:01 > 0:33:06With this wind, the rifle is only accurate to 40m.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09At last, one zebra comes into range.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19- So are you happy with that shot? - The objective here is to get
0:33:19 > 0:33:21- as many animals vaccinated as possible.- Sure.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24Really, you want it on the rump or the shoulder.
0:33:24 > 0:33:29- That wasn't...first prize but second prize.- Excellent.
0:33:29 > 0:33:35After the drug has been delivered, the dart doesn't take long to fall out.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43One by one, the rest of Richard's darts find their mark.
0:33:48 > 0:33:54That group's finished now, so we'll basically draw a line under the Lewa phase anyway.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00It's been a massive undertaking to dart so many wild Grevy's,
0:34:00 > 0:34:03but it's vital for their survival as a species.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05We have to do something.
0:34:05 > 0:34:10An endangered animal, we can't sit back and not do anything.
0:34:10 > 0:34:15The fact that we've done at least 60%,
0:34:15 > 0:34:18it's a major step in the right direction.
0:34:18 > 0:34:24Yeah, I feel very privileged to be sat watching this as it happens.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27Such a big thing to do here at Lewa.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29And such an important thing as well.
0:34:38 > 0:34:43At Longleat, Pets Corner is home to the park's smallest residents.
0:34:43 > 0:34:48These leaf-cutter ants may be tiny, but they're incredibly strong.
0:34:48 > 0:34:53Each ant is able to carry up to 10 times its own weight in leaf.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57That's the equivalent of a human carrying a small car.
0:34:57 > 0:35:02The ants harvest bits of leaf in one enclosure, and then carry them down
0:35:02 > 0:35:06these clear plastic tubes all the way to their nest.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10Over time, the tubes get mucky, so I've come down to the hothouse
0:35:10 > 0:35:14to help keeper Rob Savin give them a clean.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18What we need to do first, I've put bits of tape and blue roll on the end
0:35:18 > 0:35:23because as we clean each section, we need to block off one end and the other end
0:35:23 > 0:35:28to make sure that if it's busy... luckily they're not too busy today.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32We're very lucky there's not too much going on.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36Otherwise, they'd be all over the place. Give it a good old shove.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40Push that bit out at the end and that should clean the inside a bit.
0:35:40 > 0:35:45In the wild, they go off to go and cut leaves for food, presumably.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49Yeah, they don't eat it directly. What they'll do is cut the leaf,
0:35:49 > 0:35:55the worker ants, the main ones you will see are the worker ants.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59- Right.- Their only job is to cut and carry.
0:35:59 > 0:36:06What they'll do is when they get it into the nest, they'll take it to a lot smaller worker ants
0:36:06 > 0:36:09which will cut it up into a mushy pulp.
0:36:09 > 0:36:16- Right.- They'll feed it to a fungus, which has evolved to live with them for millions and millions of years.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19It relies on them - whatever they give it, it grows.
0:36:19 > 0:36:24- Then the ants eat the fungus. - Amazing!- Very intelligent, very advanced species of ant.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27I need to get a bit of that off the outside later.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31We'll swing this one up which is connected to the other end.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34We should have a full working unit again.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37But we can now feed them properly on here, can we?
0:36:37 > 0:36:41If I swing this cupboard open... I should have some stuff ready.
0:36:41 > 0:36:47- What I'd like you to do, this is a little bit of planting you can put in there.- OK.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51If you pop them in the holes, they have got certain favourites as well.
0:36:51 > 0:36:56It sounds strange, even though they're not eating it themselves, they're really choosy.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59- One of their favourites is Rice Krispies.- How bizarre!
0:36:59 > 0:37:02I think it's because it's light to carry.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05When it breaks down, in essence, it's fine for them.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08- If you just tip a bit of that on there.- Like that?
0:37:08 > 0:37:10There's oats, flaked maize.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12They'll carry that as well.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14Amazing creatures.
0:37:14 > 0:37:19Look, we can see the first ones coming up there to take the oats.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23Enjoy your nice new, clean runway, ants.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27- Good job done, Rob, and fascinating. Thank you.- That's all right.
0:37:35 > 0:37:43Last year, five Longleat keepers came to Kenya to witness a remarkable conservation operation.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46Two white rhino were translocated from Lewa to Kigio,
0:37:46 > 0:37:50another reserve supported by TUSK 200km away,
0:37:50 > 0:37:54where rhino hadn't been seen for more than 20 years.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01The male and female were transported by road in separate crates.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05During the journey, they each knocked their horns off.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09Rhino horn is made of matted hair and the horns will grow back,
0:38:09 > 0:38:16but it was a tricky start for Kigio's new couple, who it's hoped will form the nucleus of a breeding herd.
0:38:19 > 0:38:25Now deputy head warden Ian Turner, and Jo Hawthorn from Pets Corner,
0:38:25 > 0:38:31have come back to Kigio to see how the translocated rhinos are settling in.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33I can't actually wait to see them.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37Seeing them in their natural habitat is better than anything else.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41But Ian and Jo will have to find the rhino first.
0:38:41 > 0:38:49To do that, they're being trained by guide Patrick Lengilili in rhino-tracking techniques.
0:38:49 > 0:38:50Here we go.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52- Oh.- Got some tracks here.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54- They're walking that way.- OK.
0:38:54 > 0:38:59- You can tell because this is the front toe here.- Right.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02They should be now down that way.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06Otherwise sometimes we can look for their droppings. There are some droppings over there.
0:39:06 > 0:39:07All right. Yeah.
0:39:07 > 0:39:14If you're an experienced tracker like Patrick, it's amazing how much you can tell from a lump of dung.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19How do we know whether this is white or black rhino?
0:39:19 > 0:39:22It's easy. Normally for the black one, there is lots of twigs
0:39:22 > 0:39:26because they eat leaves and trees and things like that.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28This one you can tell is the white rhino because...
0:39:28 > 0:39:30- It's just grass.- Just grass.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33Nothing like twigs here.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36We start from their water point where they drink water.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39- OK.- We start tracking there, then you follow from there.
0:39:39 > 0:39:44Right. How far could you be going? How far would would you be talking?
0:39:44 > 0:39:48Oh, you could be talking even like three or four kilometres.
0:39:48 > 0:39:49Oh, right.
0:39:49 > 0:39:55The other things what we can tell at Longleat is if you've got the large one,
0:39:55 > 0:40:00it's usually the females, because when the male does it, he stamps his feet and spreads it.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02That's right, yeah. So I'm sure now...
0:40:02 > 0:40:04- Just got to keep our eyes open. - Just keep going.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08- Just keep going and at least follow the tracks.- OK.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10- You lead on.- Yeah.- We'll follow.
0:40:13 > 0:40:19Rhino are most active at night, and as the day heats up, they'll find shade and rest.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23Then they will be even more hidden and even harder to locate.
0:40:23 > 0:40:30Patrick knows his thing and there's lots of signs that they've been around, so he seems confident.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32And he's the expert.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36The team have already been out looking for over an hour,
0:40:36 > 0:40:41and the rhino have 3,500 acres of reserve to hide in.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45It could be a long, hot day for Ian and Jo.
0:40:50 > 0:40:56Back at Pet's Corner, keeper Rob Savin is on to his next job of the day at the otter enclosure.
0:40:58 > 0:41:03Rosie and Romeo recently had two little pups.
0:41:03 > 0:41:09Amazingly, otter pups are not born knowing how to swim, they have to learn.
0:41:10 > 0:41:16But not long ago, the pups plucked up their courage and took to the water for the first time.
0:41:20 > 0:41:25I've been eager to meet them, so I went down to help Rob give them a little treat.
0:41:25 > 0:41:30- These are the new pups, are they? - Yeah, these are the pups of the Asian short-clawed otters.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34We've got Rosie's mum, and down the bottom there is Dad.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38Hard to tell the pups as they're close to the size of their parents.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41I can't get over how big they are.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44- This sort of thing is helping. - What are you throwing there?
0:41:44 > 0:41:45Prawns is their favourite.
0:41:45 > 0:41:50- Presumably that's why they're making all of this noise.- Yeah.
0:41:50 > 0:41:55That squeaking that they were doing, was that, "Give us the prawns!"?
0:41:55 > 0:41:58Pretty much, but they are one of the most vocal otters.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02Asian short-clawed otters are one of the most vocal otters in the world.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05So how old the pups are now?
0:42:05 > 0:42:07About six months now.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11There's no problem with them hanging around with Mum and Dad?
0:42:11 > 0:42:15Not at all. This is one of the few otter types in the world
0:42:15 > 0:42:18that will actually stay with their parents.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20They can stay with them for a very long time.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22They're very family orientated.
0:42:22 > 0:42:27Most other otters are solitary. They wander off, and that would be that.
0:42:27 > 0:42:32Even the parents wouldn't stay together, but they could go well beyond a year.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36I've known some groups numbering 12 parents and then 12 little ones.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39- Really? - That's even been known in the wild.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42So obviously they had two pups.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45What's the maximum number they could give birth to?
0:42:45 > 0:42:48They generally say they can have between one and seven.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52But two or three is normal, very normal.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54We would have been glad to have had one
0:42:54 > 0:42:59because it's the first time since the '70s we've had baby otters.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01- Really? Here at Longleat?- Yeah.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04We've had pairs that have got on, everything's been perfect
0:43:04 > 0:43:08apart from the fact that for some reason they just won't breed.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10So will all four stay here?
0:43:10 > 0:43:12That's them for good now?
0:43:12 > 0:43:17Pretty much. It all depends really on what happens as to whether we have any more.
0:43:17 > 0:43:19We've got a nice enclosure for them.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23I still think there's a limit to how many we can keep here.
0:43:23 > 0:43:29But what you can always do sometimes is, in the zoo community,
0:43:29 > 0:43:35if there's any zoos which are looking for male or female otters,
0:43:35 > 0:43:39it's good to share them if you do want to move them out,
0:43:39 > 0:43:42because it's very good for genetic diversity.
0:43:42 > 0:43:44Of course, to share all the blood.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47Yeah, and to keep good bloodlines as well.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50If we do get to a point where we do need to move any on,
0:43:50 > 0:43:53there's always plenty of places that will have them.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56- Have they got names yet?- No.
0:43:56 > 0:44:01What we're hoping will happen is a local school is going to come in and name them for us.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04- Good idea.- I hope they come up with some good names.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08- We've already thought of a few. - I'm sure.- Nicknames at the minute.
0:44:08 > 0:44:12- Smelly is one of them. - It is a bit whiffy around here.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15- One of the smelliest animals, I'm afraid.- Really?
0:44:15 > 0:44:18- But they're lovely, delightful. - They really are.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21We'll keep you updated on the progress of these two young pups.
0:44:31 > 0:44:37When Humphrey Repton arrived at Longleat 200 years ago, it was the age of the Romantic poets,
0:44:37 > 0:44:45when William Wordsworth "wandered lonely as a cloud and saw a host of golden daffodils beside the lake,
0:44:45 > 0:44:51"beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze,"
0:44:51 > 0:44:5750 years earlier, in the 1750s, Capability Brown had swept away the formal gardens,
0:44:57 > 0:45:04and now, as estate manager Tim Moore recounts, Repton wanted to add a more intimate touch.
0:45:04 > 0:45:09He wanted a landscape that was more romantic, more there for pleasure.
0:45:09 > 0:45:14He does, in some of his comments about others, principally Brown,
0:45:14 > 0:45:18he said the Brown landscape is practical.
0:45:18 > 0:45:22Where you have a building in Brown's landscape, it's a cottage or a barn.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26It does something. He said, "We shouldn't have that. We've moved beyond that.
0:45:26 > 0:45:32"My clients demand not barns and cottages, they want beautiful things in the landscape.
0:45:32 > 0:45:38"They want temples and grottos and buildings that reflect
0:45:38 > 0:45:43"the romanticism of the countryside, not its utilitarian use."
0:45:43 > 0:45:48As well as being a gardener, Repton was also a skilled artist
0:45:48 > 0:45:52and used a famous red notebook to lay out his ideas.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56Archivist Kate Harris has brought it up from the library.
0:45:56 > 0:46:01It's basically a very, very grand sales pitch.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03Not all his suggestions were taken up.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07Many of them, in fact, we are grateful that they weren't taken up
0:46:07 > 0:46:13because he perhaps was fonder of a very domesticated landscape.
0:46:15 > 0:46:22But Repton's proposals for making the house more imposing, by changing Half-Mile Lake, WERE acted upon.
0:46:22 > 0:46:30I think the most important change that Repton made to the water at Longleat must be the change
0:46:30 > 0:46:32to the Half-Mile island lake,
0:46:32 > 0:46:36where he lowers the water level so that one can...
0:46:36 > 0:46:43appreciate the drama of the house rising more dramatically above the lake.
0:46:43 > 0:46:51This illustration eight in this sequence in the Red Book, shows a before and after view
0:46:51 > 0:46:56with what he intends shown underneath the flap, with the tributary river,
0:46:56 > 0:47:00the appearance of a tributary river going towards the boat house.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04The house rising dramatically above the water.
0:47:06 > 0:47:11I think the before and after is a very, very sophisticated sales pitch.
0:47:14 > 0:47:18The second Marquess agreed to pay nearly £1.5 million
0:47:18 > 0:47:22in today's money to create the view of the house we see today.
0:47:22 > 0:47:29They spent money on navigators' work, which was to dig out what was the former Portico Pond
0:47:29 > 0:47:32to increase the height of the house above the water,
0:47:32 > 0:47:37and also to give the effect of a natural conflux of two streams,
0:47:37 > 0:47:44what he calls it, so they created that tributary to the main area of the natural river
0:47:44 > 0:47:48as an explanation for why the lake is so very narrow
0:47:48 > 0:47:53up at the waterfall end and widens out to such an extent at the far end.
0:47:53 > 0:47:58Repton also tried to disguise the artifice behind the "natural river",
0:47:58 > 0:48:01by creating an island.
0:48:01 > 0:48:07What they did was take a great bite out of what's called Hazel Cox Mead,
0:48:07 > 0:48:11and create the island where we now have the gorillas.
0:48:13 > 0:48:18200 years later, the man-made lakes look as though they've been here forever.
0:48:18 > 0:48:24Just as the designers intended, estate manager Tim Moore finds them a great source of enjoyment.
0:48:24 > 0:48:30Looking back at the origins of the lakes here, if you look at Capability Brown and then at Repton,
0:48:30 > 0:48:35they create water for pleasure whereas before it would have been the Marquess of Bath and his family
0:48:35 > 0:48:40maybe going out in a little skiff or a sailing boat, for their personal pleasure.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43So it's like the rest of Longleat really.
0:48:43 > 0:48:48Lord Bath and his father, by opening it up to the public, has shared
0:48:48 > 0:48:53what was purely private family enjoyment with thousands of people.
0:48:53 > 0:48:58I've probably had as much fun in the last five minutes as I have for quite some time.
0:48:58 > 0:49:02It's a long time since I fed the sea lions. Very long time.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18In Kenya, Ian Turner and Jo Hawthorne are out in the bush
0:49:18 > 0:49:23at Kigio Wildlife Reserve with guide Patrick Lengilili.
0:49:23 > 0:49:28They are on the trail of the two white rhino that arrived here a year ago.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32Tracks show that the rhino are in the area,
0:49:32 > 0:49:35but the team have searched for hours without a result.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42Then Patrick spots something.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47- There you go. You see?- Right, yeah.
0:49:47 > 0:49:48Just under there. You see?
0:49:52 > 0:49:55- That's the female. - And that's the male.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57- That's the male.- That's the male.
0:49:57 > 0:49:59You can see the ears going.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01Yeah.
0:50:01 > 0:50:06Imagine, there's two big rhinos there, and we still had a job to spot them. Just camouflaged.
0:50:06 > 0:50:13'Rhinos have very poor eyesight but rely on their excellent hearing and sense of smell.'
0:50:13 > 0:50:15They will be now...smelling.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18Would they smell us really good from there?
0:50:18 > 0:50:21- Yeah.- They would, I'm sure they will smell us.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23So we'd better go this way.
0:50:23 > 0:50:25OK.
0:50:25 > 0:50:31'Patrick leads Ian and Jo downwind to a safe distance from the animals.'
0:50:31 > 0:50:34- White gloves, Patrick.- Yeah.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36If we sit could in the shade here.
0:50:36 > 0:50:41I'm quite surprised, Patrick, that we managed to get so close to them.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43Yeah, exactly.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46They must be relaxed because they're settling down,
0:50:46 > 0:50:48they're not frightened.
0:50:48 > 0:50:50- Quite calm.- Yeah, not frightened.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54The ones at Longleat, when we let them out in the morning, they graze all morning
0:50:54 > 0:50:58and get to midday, and settle down and sleep for a couple of hours.
0:50:58 > 0:51:02At night time, they get back up and graze again ready to go home.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04These ones do the same.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06Same thing. They do the same thing.
0:51:06 > 0:51:10They lost both their horns when you loaded them up.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14- They seem to be looking really nice now.- Yes, exactly.
0:51:14 > 0:51:18If you look at the skin, they have at least grown,
0:51:18 > 0:51:20so they're doing very well now.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24- The horns are hollow, yeah? - No, no, like a fingernail.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27- Oh, OK. Right.- Matted hair.- Right.
0:51:29 > 0:51:34'Since their arrival, this pair have been inseparable.'
0:51:34 > 0:51:36They're always together.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38When they lie down, they lie down together.
0:51:38 > 0:51:44They drink water together, caress together, so they obviously do everything together.
0:51:44 > 0:51:50They've settled in so well, it's hoped that in the future there will be baby rhinos at Kigio.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54But for Ian and Jo, tracking down these adults has been a huge treat.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57It's been a brilliant day.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00We weren't sure we would find the rhinos. We were never that...
0:52:00 > 0:52:06Went to areas, found the tracks, followed the tracks, then Patrick, old eagle eyes, spotted them.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10I'm amazed at how close we've got.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13I never thought for a minute that we would get so close.
0:52:13 > 0:52:19It's amazing. For the size of them, that they could be so camouflaged in an area like this.
0:52:31 > 0:52:35The Longleat keepers have now come to the end of their visit to Kenya.
0:52:35 > 0:52:39They've seen some of the most amazing wildlife on the planet,
0:52:39 > 0:52:43and for all of them it's been an incredible experience.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47Really, really wonderful week.
0:52:47 > 0:52:52There's such a huge variety of animals and plants here, from the tiniest little bug
0:52:52 > 0:52:55to elephants, rhinos, giraffe.
0:52:55 > 0:53:01We even found a leopard tortoise! We're in the Savannah and we find a Leopard tortoise!
0:53:02 > 0:53:06To top it all, the people, the children, all the Kenyans, honestly,
0:53:06 > 0:53:11I'm going to take this to my grave. It's been an amazing, amazing time.
0:53:11 > 0:53:15The team trained with Lewa's anti-poaching unit,
0:53:15 > 0:53:19and experienced the sharp end of conservation in action.
0:53:19 > 0:53:23They can pay for looking after this stuff with their lives.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27When you see Michael come blasting round the side of a thorn bush,
0:53:27 > 0:53:30brandishing a rifle at you, it's pretty scary.
0:53:30 > 0:53:36That's what these guys are paid to do, just to protect the wildlife and the game that's here.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39That's pretty special, spending time with those guys.
0:53:39 > 0:53:44Each of the team has developed their professional expertise,
0:53:44 > 0:53:47and learned things they will be able to use back home.
0:53:49 > 0:53:56What I'll be taking back with me, I think, is to never take for granted the animals that are out there.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00I think I'll definitely go back to work wiser now.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04I'm not going back a different man, but you're never too old to learn.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08He's got a massive suck on him. Look at that.
0:54:08 > 0:54:09He knows what's in there.
0:54:12 > 0:54:16Coming out here and seeing the exact habitat and learning a lot more about behaviours,
0:54:16 > 0:54:21you just feel you haven't learnt everything. Books can't tell you everything.
0:54:22 > 0:54:27We have to aim to get our animals looking as good as these guys.
0:54:27 > 0:54:33There's always room for improvement. You should go to work thinking how to make your animal's life better.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36This gives you a yardstick to aim for.
0:54:46 > 0:54:51Kate and I have joined head of section Mark down by the lake in the Safari Park
0:54:51 > 0:54:53to help feed the pink-backed pelicans.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55Can we just throw fish to them?
0:54:55 > 0:54:58- Yes, just grab some fish. - They'll just catch them?
0:54:58 > 0:55:02Yeah. They've got a pretty big mouth so it's quite difficult to miss.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05The bell is almost like a net, isn't it?
0:55:05 > 0:55:09That's right, Kate. It does act like a net.
0:55:09 > 0:55:14How they'd fish in the wild would be to surround a shoal of fish,
0:55:14 > 0:55:18dive their head into the water, and their pouch is extremely elastic
0:55:18 > 0:55:22and it'll stretch and allow itself to fill with fish and water.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26So if it's got all this water in it, doesn't that mean that they'd end up
0:55:26 > 0:55:29drinking half the sea or half the lake in this case?
0:55:29 > 0:55:32No, they pull their pouch against their neck,
0:55:32 > 0:55:35squeeze the water out the sides and just keep the fish in.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38- So they sort of sieve the fish? - Yeah, absolutely.
0:55:38 > 0:55:42When they're fishing in shoals, will they work together as a team,
0:55:42 > 0:55:45or do they fish individually?
0:55:45 > 0:55:47The pink-backs fish individually.
0:55:47 > 0:55:49The whites will fish as a team.
0:55:49 > 0:55:53- Yeah.- But the pinks are more of a solitary individual feeder.
0:55:53 > 0:55:58- They're agile, aren't they? - I'm amazed there's lots of different sizes of fish.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00Is that the maximum size?
0:56:00 > 0:56:02No, absolutely not.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04These just happen to be quite small.
0:56:04 > 0:56:08They could probably swallow a mackerel twice that size easily.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10What sort of appetite do they have?
0:56:10 > 0:56:15- Will they eat a lot of these per day?- No, for a large bird they don't eat very much at all.
0:56:15 > 0:56:19Only about three-quarters of a pound each, which is not a huge amount.
0:56:19 > 0:56:23It's not that much, is it? Looking at them, they're dispersing now...
0:56:23 > 0:56:24Come back and show off!
0:56:24 > 0:56:28You've got some that have very distinctly brown feathers
0:56:28 > 0:56:31as opposed to the slightly beige, pinky-white feathers.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33Are those the young ones?
0:56:33 > 0:56:38Yeah, there's three really brown ones, the three we hand reared at the end of last year.
0:56:38 > 0:56:42- Any chance there might be some more this year?- Well, fingers crossed.
0:56:42 > 0:56:43We're hoping there will be.
0:56:43 > 0:56:47- That would be fantastic if there were.- Mark, thank you very much.
0:56:47 > 0:56:52We'll finish feeding the pelicans, but that's all we've time for on today's programme.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55Here's what's coming up on the next Animal Park.
0:56:55 > 0:57:00Romeo the otter has a problem in his mouth that could be life-threatening.
0:57:00 > 0:57:05He must see the vet, but he doesn't want to go.
0:57:06 > 0:57:13The rhinos like their mud nice and gloopy, but they don't have to worry about losing their wellies.
0:57:13 > 0:57:14You've lost your boot!
0:57:16 > 0:57:19And Kabir is raising hell over his cat flu injection.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23But the little cubs don't seem to mind.
0:57:23 > 0:57:26That's all coming up in the next Animal Park.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd, 2006
0:57:38 > 0:57:41E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk