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Today, we're loading up the feed truck | 0:00:04 | 0:00:07 | |
because the three new tigers here are about to get a meat feast. | 0:00:07 | 0:00:11 | |
And four keepers from Longleat are heading over to Tanzania | 0:00:11 | 0:00:14 | |
to work with a living legend of conservation. | 0:00:14 | 0:00:17 | |
All that and more on today's programme. | 0:00:17 | 0:00:20 | |
Coming up - the keepers in Africa are put to the ultimate test | 0:00:41 | 0:00:46 | |
as they fight to save the lives of some critically endangered wild dogs. | 0:00:46 | 0:00:50 | |
Meanwhile, the wolves in Wolf Wood have had a tough time of late, | 0:00:50 | 0:00:55 | |
so how are the new cubs faring now? | 0:00:55 | 0:00:58 | |
And does your cat ever scratch your furniture? | 0:00:58 | 0:01:01 | |
Well, that's nothing compared to what this lot can do! | 0:01:01 | 0:01:05 | |
But now, four keepers are about to set out | 0:01:10 | 0:01:13 | |
on the adventure of a lifetime. | 0:01:13 | 0:01:15 | |
Ryan Hockley from the giraffery, | 0:01:15 | 0:01:18 | |
Bev Allen who works in Pets' Corner | 0:01:18 | 0:01:20 | |
and Michelle Stevens who helps look after the lake animals | 0:01:20 | 0:01:24 | |
are going on a mission, | 0:01:24 | 0:01:25 | |
led by the safari park's head warden, Keith Harris. | 0:01:25 | 0:01:29 | |
They're going to Africa. | 0:01:29 | 0:01:31 | |
It's very nice that the keepers can actually go over | 0:01:31 | 0:01:34 | |
and see things in the wild and how things actually are. | 0:01:34 | 0:01:37 | |
We deal with captive animals and they react different. | 0:01:37 | 0:01:41 | |
You can get to know them. | 0:01:41 | 0:01:42 | |
It would be very good for the staff to see things in the wild, | 0:01:42 | 0:01:46 | |
see how they live, | 0:01:46 | 0:01:48 | |
see how they struggle for life sometimes. | 0:01:48 | 0:01:51 | |
In some ways, the staff and animals are pampered here. | 0:01:51 | 0:01:53 | |
But in the wild, every day is a struggle, | 0:01:53 | 0:01:56 | |
so it would be good for them to see that. | 0:01:56 | 0:01:59 | |
And this is where they're headed - | 0:02:01 | 0:02:04 | |
the Mkomazi game reserve in Tanzania, | 0:02:04 | 0:02:08 | |
1,600 square miles of pure wilderness. | 0:02:08 | 0:02:11 | |
The Longleat keepers aren't coming here just to go on safari. | 0:02:11 | 0:02:14 | |
They'll be working on wildlife projects | 0:02:14 | 0:02:18 | |
alongside the renowned conservationist Tony Fitzjohn, | 0:02:18 | 0:02:22 | |
known to one and all as Fitz. | 0:02:22 | 0:02:24 | |
Fitz has played a major role | 0:02:24 | 0:02:26 | |
in preventing the local elephant populations | 0:02:26 | 0:02:29 | |
from being wiped out by poachers. | 0:02:29 | 0:02:31 | |
He's built a sanctuary for the critically endangered black rhino. | 0:02:31 | 0:02:35 | |
And he's running a captive breeding programme | 0:02:35 | 0:02:38 | |
to preserve the desperately rare African hunting dog. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:41 | |
He also cleared a runway and learned to fly | 0:02:41 | 0:02:45 | |
in order to track animals from the air. | 0:02:45 | 0:02:47 | |
'I'm really looking forward to them coming here.' | 0:02:49 | 0:02:52 | |
Longleat, I mean... it was one of the first, | 0:02:52 | 0:02:55 | |
and I understand you've got some people | 0:02:55 | 0:02:57 | |
that have been there for decades coming out. | 0:02:57 | 0:03:00 | |
It would be lovely to meet them and see what they have to say, | 0:03:00 | 0:03:04 | |
and their call on it. | 0:03:04 | 0:03:05 | |
But I just know it's going to be great | 0:03:05 | 0:03:08 | |
because all animal people that I meet are good people. Yeah. | 0:03:08 | 0:03:12 | |
Fitz got his training as a conservationist from the best. | 0:03:18 | 0:03:21 | |
40 years ago, he was the apprentice of George Adamson, | 0:03:21 | 0:03:25 | |
the man made famous by the book and Oscar-winning film Born Free. | 0:03:25 | 0:03:31 | |
Adamson was one of the founding fathers of wildlife conservation, | 0:03:31 | 0:03:35 | |
working from his camp in Kenya. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:37 | |
He was the man, George. He was just... | 0:03:40 | 0:03:44 | |
When I saw George and got to know him over a few days, I thought, | 0:03:44 | 0:03:49 | |
you know, I want some of that. | 0:03:49 | 0:03:51 | |
Fitz became involved in the work Adamson was doing | 0:03:51 | 0:03:54 | |
to care for rescued and orphan lions, | 0:03:54 | 0:03:57 | |
return them to the wild and then protect them from hunters. | 0:03:57 | 0:04:00 | |
He gave me the chance to be anything I wanted to be. | 0:04:02 | 0:04:05 | |
There we were, sharing the lives of these incredible predators, | 0:04:05 | 0:04:09 | |
once again, with their big MGM reputation. | 0:04:09 | 0:04:13 | |
In fact, the lion in the MGM thing is yawning, he's not roaring. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:16 | |
Did you know that? | 0:04:16 | 0:04:17 | |
It was extraordinary. They were just such an integral part of us. | 0:04:17 | 0:04:21 | |
It's like saying, "How do you feel about your kids?" | 0:04:21 | 0:04:24 | |
They're great, I love them dearly and they're part of me. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:28 | |
But it took a wild lion to remind Fitz | 0:04:28 | 0:04:31 | |
exactly how dangerous these animals really are. | 0:04:31 | 0:04:35 | |
I'd just come back from a supplies trip and I got out | 0:04:35 | 0:04:38 | |
to say hello to the lions and they jump on my shoulder | 0:04:38 | 0:04:41 | |
to say hello and rub heads. | 0:04:41 | 0:04:43 | |
No-one saw this lion coming out of the bush. | 0:04:43 | 0:04:45 | |
He came for me, probably as the biggest threat. | 0:04:45 | 0:04:49 | |
He whacked me across the head, | 0:04:49 | 0:04:51 | |
a bit like Mike Tyson with six-inch nails in his fist. | 0:04:51 | 0:04:54 | |
I stuffed my fist in his mouth | 0:04:54 | 0:04:57 | |
and he started to bite harder on my head. | 0:04:57 | 0:05:00 | |
He sort of took a big chunk, all this muscle | 0:05:00 | 0:05:02 | |
out of my neck and shoulder and sort of ate it. | 0:05:02 | 0:05:05 | |
You become this sort of silent spectator of your own death. | 0:05:05 | 0:05:09 | |
I went down that tunnel. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:10 | |
There's nothing in the end of it. It just went black. | 0:05:10 | 0:05:13 | |
George came running out, he shouted at this lion. | 0:05:16 | 0:05:19 | |
The lion dropped me and ran off about 40, 50 yards, | 0:05:19 | 0:05:21 | |
and then crouched and growled at George | 0:05:21 | 0:05:24 | |
who didn't stop running, | 0:05:24 | 0:05:25 | |
just with a stick in his hand, just going for him. | 0:05:25 | 0:05:28 | |
It was enough bluff, bless him, just to see the lion off. | 0:05:28 | 0:05:34 | |
And I said, "George, am I dying?" | 0:05:34 | 0:05:36 | |
And George said, | 0:05:36 | 0:05:38 | |
"You probably are but we'll have a look at you first." | 0:05:38 | 0:05:40 | |
It was a close call, but after weeks in hospital, Fitz pulled through. | 0:05:40 | 0:05:47 | |
George Adamson died in 1989 and Fitz move to Mkomazi | 0:05:47 | 0:05:50 | |
to continue his conservation work. | 0:05:50 | 0:05:54 | |
Now, four keepers from Longleat are in the air. | 0:05:54 | 0:05:56 | |
We'll be back in Tanzania later when they arrive. | 0:05:56 | 0:06:01 | |
Luckily, the big cats of Longleat have never managed to savage anyone. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:12 | |
But that doesn't mean they wouldn't. | 0:06:12 | 0:06:15 | |
The three young tigers who arrived just a few months ago | 0:06:15 | 0:06:18 | |
are particularly feisty and unpredictable. | 0:06:18 | 0:06:22 | |
The keepers need to keep their wits about them, | 0:06:22 | 0:06:25 | |
especially at feeding time. | 0:06:25 | 0:06:26 | |
Kate and I are out in the feed truck, in the tiger enclosure | 0:06:26 | 0:06:30 | |
with deputy head warden Ian Turner | 0:06:30 | 0:06:32 | |
and we are about to feed the new tigers. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:34 | |
Look, look, look! One of them's absolutely chasing the truck, Ian. | 0:06:34 | 0:06:38 | |
-That's Sundari. That's the braver one. -Right. | 0:06:38 | 0:06:41 | |
Now this is a first. | 0:06:41 | 0:06:42 | |
They are used to being fed in a completely different way from this. | 0:06:42 | 0:06:46 | |
We fed them inside for the last nine months for the quarantine. | 0:06:46 | 0:06:50 | |
This is a good sign, because this is going to simulate | 0:06:50 | 0:06:53 | |
what they would do in the wild, which is chase prey. | 0:06:53 | 0:06:56 | |
When are we going to start to feed them, Ian? | 0:06:56 | 0:06:59 | |
-You can chuck one bit out now. -You do the first. | 0:06:59 | 0:07:02 | |
Let's see if she goes for it. | 0:07:02 | 0:07:04 | |
-Down the hatch. -Oi! Round the back. | 0:07:04 | 0:07:06 | |
-What was she doing? -She's trying to go for the tyres. | 0:07:06 | 0:07:09 | |
Hey! | 0:07:09 | 0:07:10 | |
Now she's realised that there's meat there, look. | 0:07:14 | 0:07:17 | |
-The other one's coming over, so that's a good sign. -There we go. | 0:07:17 | 0:07:21 | |
Now she is coming back towards us to have a look. | 0:07:21 | 0:07:26 | |
She's on a chase again. | 0:07:26 | 0:07:27 | |
-We need to move off, presumably. -So she's the really inquisitive one? | 0:07:27 | 0:07:29 | |
She's the one in the house who was always the confident one, | 0:07:29 | 0:07:33 | |
who'd come up to the bars. | 0:07:33 | 0:07:34 | |
I wouldn't say friendly, | 0:07:34 | 0:07:36 | |
but she would come over and was, not aggressive to the bars, | 0:07:36 | 0:07:39 | |
she's more mischievous. | 0:07:39 | 0:07:40 | |
Interesting that there's all that delicious meat there, | 0:07:40 | 0:07:43 | |
yet she's more interested in the tractor. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:46 | |
How often will you feed like this? | 0:07:46 | 0:07:49 | |
Because they're getting quite a lot of meat, | 0:07:49 | 0:07:51 | |
quite big chunks and two each. | 0:07:51 | 0:07:52 | |
Probably about three times a week. | 0:07:52 | 0:07:55 | |
She's going for the tyre again. | 0:07:55 | 0:07:56 | |
Oi! Behave yourself! | 0:07:56 | 0:08:00 | |
Otherwise you'll be put on starvation rations. | 0:08:00 | 0:08:02 | |
Rubber tyres aren't tasty! | 0:08:02 | 0:08:04 | |
Out of curiosity, could those teeth penetrate our tyres? | 0:08:04 | 0:08:09 | |
-Oh, easy. -We could break down in here? -Definitely. | 0:08:09 | 0:08:11 | |
We'd have to go out on a flat. | 0:08:11 | 0:08:13 | |
She's still there, she's still going for it. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:16 | |
She's determined to get that tyre. | 0:08:16 | 0:08:18 | |
The patrol man's coming in here, chasing her off. There she goes. | 0:08:18 | 0:08:21 | |
She's absolutely determined to get at us. | 0:08:21 | 0:08:24 | |
She does look like this glorious, playful kitten. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:29 | |
Unfortunately, an absolutely lethal one | 0:08:29 | 0:08:31 | |
as far as our tyres are concerned! | 0:08:31 | 0:08:33 | |
I'm quite pleased we're in this cage. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:36 | |
I'm still worried about those tyres. Let's hope we get out of here. | 0:08:36 | 0:08:40 | |
Ian, thank you very, very much for a great experience. | 0:08:40 | 0:08:44 | |
Sundari, carry on playing. | 0:08:44 | 0:08:46 | |
Meanwhile, almost 5,000 miles away at the other end of the world, | 0:08:56 | 0:09:01 | |
four keepers from Longleat are just coming into land | 0:09:01 | 0:09:05 | |
on a dirt strip deep in the African bush. | 0:09:05 | 0:09:08 | |
They will be spending a week in the Mkomazi game reserve | 0:09:11 | 0:09:14 | |
to learn more about the animals they care for | 0:09:14 | 0:09:17 | |
and help with some ground-breaking conservation projects. | 0:09:17 | 0:09:21 | |
Their host is the legendary conservationist Tony Fitzjohn, | 0:09:21 | 0:09:26 | |
known as Fitz. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:27 | |
Since I was a kid, I've heard about Longleat. I've never been. | 0:09:27 | 0:09:30 | |
But, welcome to the Mkomazi. | 0:09:30 | 0:09:32 | |
We're looking forward to showing you what goes on here | 0:09:32 | 0:09:35 | |
and looking forward to hearing from you guys. | 0:09:35 | 0:09:38 | |
For many years, Longleat has supported the work | 0:09:39 | 0:09:42 | |
of a British-based conservation charity called The Tusk Trust, | 0:09:42 | 0:09:47 | |
an organisation that's done much | 0:09:47 | 0:09:48 | |
to help save endangered African wildlife. | 0:09:48 | 0:09:52 | |
And there's certainly been a lot to do here in Mkomazi. | 0:09:52 | 0:09:56 | |
When Fitz first arrived, poachers had almost wiped out the wildlife. | 0:09:56 | 0:10:01 | |
The elephant population was in a very bad way. | 0:10:01 | 0:10:05 | |
The elephant count before I came was 11 individuals, | 0:10:05 | 0:10:07 | |
so the elephants had gone from 4,000 to 11 individuals | 0:10:07 | 0:10:11 | |
in five, six, seven years. | 0:10:11 | 0:10:13 | |
There was this massive slaughter of the elephants. | 0:10:13 | 0:10:16 | |
It all happened in the incredibly short period of time | 0:10:16 | 0:10:20 | |
that I've been in Africa. | 0:10:20 | 0:10:21 | |
Fitz has taken every opportunity to boost the numbers. | 0:10:21 | 0:10:25 | |
When a zoo here closed a few years ago, | 0:10:25 | 0:10:28 | |
he managed to rehabilitate their elephant | 0:10:28 | 0:10:31 | |
and then return her to the wild. | 0:10:31 | 0:10:33 | |
Ever since, she's been a frequent visitor | 0:10:33 | 0:10:36 | |
to the game reserve's headquarters. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:38 | |
I'd like you to meet someone rather special to us. | 0:10:38 | 0:10:42 | |
Now, the workshop doesn't really seem the place to do it | 0:10:42 | 0:10:46 | |
but come down and have a look anyway. | 0:10:46 | 0:10:49 | |
Meet Nina, the zoo elephant, the ex-zoo elephant and her baby. | 0:10:52 | 0:10:57 | |
So close! | 0:10:59 | 0:11:00 | |
Nina has adapted quite well to life in the wild. | 0:11:03 | 0:11:06 | |
Her baby is a little boy called Johnny. | 0:11:06 | 0:11:09 | |
-How old is the calf, Fitz? -Nearly four. | 0:11:10 | 0:11:13 | |
-Cool. He looks really healthy. -He does, doesn't he? | 0:11:13 | 0:11:16 | |
She was locked up in a place that wasn't much bigger | 0:11:16 | 0:11:20 | |
than where the machines are here. | 0:11:20 | 0:11:22 | |
She was right next to a main road and that was home. | 0:11:22 | 0:11:26 | |
And here she is, behaving like a completely wild elephant, | 0:11:26 | 0:11:30 | |
making all the right moves. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:31 | |
They're incomparable with anything else. | 0:11:31 | 0:11:34 | |
You know, lions are basically your house cat, zebra are horses, | 0:11:34 | 0:11:38 | |
all the rest of it, but there's nothing, | 0:11:38 | 0:11:40 | |
nothing that can sort of stand up with an elephant. | 0:11:40 | 0:11:43 | |
I agree with you totally, but I have known a few lions | 0:11:43 | 0:11:47 | |
that might take offence at that remark of yours about house cats. | 0:11:47 | 0:11:51 | |
I'm really sad that I don't have a couple around at the moment! | 0:11:51 | 0:11:55 | |
That was an amazing experience and it's the best thing, | 0:11:57 | 0:12:00 | |
for me to, sort of, be allowed into their world. | 0:12:00 | 0:12:03 | |
They're coming here, which means they are comfortable here | 0:12:03 | 0:12:06 | |
and they're allowing me to stand and watch them. | 0:12:06 | 0:12:09 | |
It's a real privilege to be able to do that. | 0:12:09 | 0:12:12 | |
I've never been to Africa before. It's quite moving. | 0:12:12 | 0:12:15 | |
I don't know if I'll get to experience it again. | 0:12:15 | 0:12:18 | |
So, I'm really pleased. It's just wonderful. | 0:12:18 | 0:12:23 | |
If I didn't see anything else for the rest of my time here, | 0:12:23 | 0:12:26 | |
I would be happy, because it's wonderful to see her doing so well. | 0:12:26 | 0:12:30 | |
From just 11 elephants in the reserve when Fitz came to Mkomazi, | 0:12:34 | 0:12:40 | |
now there are almost 1,000. | 0:12:40 | 0:12:42 | |
We'll be back in Africa later when the keepers take a walk | 0:12:44 | 0:12:48 | |
on the wild side. | 0:12:48 | 0:12:49 | |
A few months ago, the population of Wolf Wood grew | 0:12:58 | 0:13:01 | |
when some pups were born. | 0:13:01 | 0:13:03 | |
Having brought a huge piece of meat for them to get their teeth into, | 0:13:09 | 0:13:12 | |
keeper Stuart Sears and I | 0:13:12 | 0:13:14 | |
have come to check up on how they're getting on. | 0:13:14 | 0:13:17 | |
Good. You can see them starting to sniff, | 0:13:17 | 0:13:21 | |
but definitely looking a little bit kind of, "Get out of my way!" | 0:13:21 | 0:13:25 | |
And what sort of stage are they at now? | 0:13:25 | 0:13:28 | |
They're pretty much self-sufficient. | 0:13:28 | 0:13:30 | |
They're still suckling now and again. | 0:13:30 | 0:13:32 | |
OK. I can see a cub trotting into the sunshine, | 0:13:32 | 0:13:35 | |
just coming in behind the rest of the pack. | 0:13:35 | 0:13:38 | |
Who's going to be in first? Would it usually be | 0:13:38 | 0:13:40 | |
one of the dominant males that will come in first? | 0:13:40 | 0:13:43 | |
Mostly, we have found recently, | 0:13:43 | 0:13:45 | |
-it would be Frida that'll come in first. -So the mum? | 0:13:45 | 0:13:47 | |
The mum has been coming in first. | 0:13:47 | 0:13:49 | |
Whereas, the pubs are growing now, it all changes again. | 0:13:49 | 0:13:52 | |
OK, Stuart, pups seem to be coming in almost first. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:56 | |
-It looks that way today, doesn't it? -It does. | 0:13:56 | 0:13:59 | |
They're very wary of that piece of meat. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:01 | |
I'm slightly offended after all that effort. | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
They should be in there, ripping it apart! | 0:14:04 | 0:14:07 | |
Who's gone in first? | 0:14:07 | 0:14:10 | |
Someone's been brave. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:12 | |
This is interesting, the pups coming right up now going, | 0:14:12 | 0:14:15 | |
"Oh good, they've done the first bit of ripping." | 0:14:15 | 0:14:18 | |
My word, you really see a bit of competition there. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:23 | |
Oh, it is great to see them, Stuart, | 0:14:24 | 0:14:27 | |
looking so well and clearly thriving | 0:14:27 | 0:14:29 | |
amongst the pack. Congratulations on your latest wolves, | 0:14:29 | 0:14:32 | |
-they're just gorgeous. -Thank you very much. | 0:14:32 | 0:14:36 | |
Back in Tanzania, a tricky and dangerous mission is about to start. | 0:14:43 | 0:14:49 | |
One of the most endangered species in the world | 0:14:49 | 0:14:51 | |
is the African hunting dog. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:54 | |
They once roamed in packs across most of the Continent. | 0:14:54 | 0:14:57 | |
Now, they are on the very brink of extinction. | 0:14:57 | 0:15:00 | |
To try to save the species, | 0:15:03 | 0:15:05 | |
Fitz began a captive breeding programme | 0:15:05 | 0:15:07 | |
in the Mkomazi game reserve. | 0:15:07 | 0:15:09 | |
He now has six enclosures called bomas | 0:15:09 | 0:15:12 | |
that house nearly 70 hunting dogs. | 0:15:12 | 0:15:15 | |
Today, he's about to take the first vital step | 0:15:15 | 0:15:18 | |
towards returning a whole pack back to the wild. | 0:15:18 | 0:15:22 | |
We're going to dart this group of nine male dogs | 0:15:23 | 0:15:26 | |
and move them to this new holding compound | 0:15:26 | 0:15:28 | |
that we have on the Kenyan border. | 0:15:28 | 0:15:31 | |
We have too many so I have to start moving them. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:33 | |
We've just got permission, which is great. | 0:15:33 | 0:15:35 | |
Longleat's head warden, Keith Harris, is going to help. | 0:15:35 | 0:15:38 | |
He's had lots of experience moving wild animals, | 0:15:38 | 0:15:42 | |
though he's never done anything quite like this. | 0:15:42 | 0:15:45 | |
It's quite nerve-racking. | 0:15:45 | 0:15:47 | |
You've got to sedate them so there's the worries of sedation. | 0:15:47 | 0:15:51 | |
I think we're planning on flying them down. | 0:15:51 | 0:15:54 | |
It's going to be quite interesting, I think. | 0:15:54 | 0:15:58 | |
It's conservation at work. | 0:15:58 | 0:16:00 | |
If we can be a little part of that, and it is a little part, | 0:16:00 | 0:16:03 | |
that's what really appeals to me. | 0:16:03 | 0:16:05 | |
Just being able to put something back. | 0:16:05 | 0:16:07 | |
Wild dogs or hunting dogs | 0:16:08 | 0:16:10 | |
are in one way Africa's most successful predator. | 0:16:10 | 0:16:13 | |
Lions make a killing in only about every five chases they begin. | 0:16:13 | 0:16:18 | |
But when these guys start running, the prey doesn't stand a chance. | 0:16:18 | 0:16:23 | |
These dogs, they just go and go and go. They can run forever. | 0:16:23 | 0:16:27 | |
Eventually, the prey gives up and they pull it down. | 0:16:27 | 0:16:30 | |
They just rip at everything | 0:16:30 | 0:16:32 | |
until there's absolutely nothing left whatsoever. | 0:16:32 | 0:16:36 | |
Being such efficient hunters has given them an evil reputation | 0:16:36 | 0:16:40 | |
and so they've been massacred by people. | 0:16:40 | 0:16:43 | |
They say in the whole of Africa up there's 3,000 left. | 0:16:43 | 0:16:46 | |
They are very, very rare. | 0:16:46 | 0:16:48 | |
They have this incredibly undeserved reputation. | 0:16:48 | 0:16:51 | |
They've never, ever been known to harm a human being, ever. Ever. | 0:16:51 | 0:16:56 | |
To save them from extinction, Fitz plans to release packs | 0:16:58 | 0:17:02 | |
into protected areas in Tanzania and Kenya. | 0:17:02 | 0:17:05 | |
But just moving them is a high-risk operation. | 0:17:05 | 0:17:07 | |
Fitz and Keith will use anaesthetic darts | 0:17:07 | 0:17:10 | |
to put them to sleep for about an hour. | 0:17:10 | 0:17:12 | |
Just enough time to load them into a plane | 0:17:12 | 0:17:14 | |
and fly them to the release camp, 40 miles away. | 0:17:14 | 0:17:17 | |
So, once these darts start flying, the clock starts ticking. | 0:17:17 | 0:17:23 | |
The darts are pressurised | 0:17:29 | 0:17:30 | |
and the anaesthetic is supposed to be injected on impact. | 0:17:30 | 0:17:33 | |
It's not going in. That one's not going in either. | 0:17:36 | 0:17:40 | |
Even that one didn't go, Keith. I just don't know what's happening. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:47 | |
We're losing pressure. I think it's just because the darts are so old. | 0:17:47 | 0:17:52 | |
The more stressed the dogs get, the more difficult it is too dart them. | 0:17:52 | 0:17:56 | |
With 30 years' experience of sedating animals to draw on, | 0:17:58 | 0:18:02 | |
Keith won't lose his head now. | 0:18:02 | 0:18:04 | |
At the moment, we're out in the field. | 0:18:04 | 0:18:07 | |
We're not doing a clinical trial. | 0:18:07 | 0:18:09 | |
It's a job that got to be done and you've got to get on with it. | 0:18:09 | 0:18:11 | |
Whatever happens, you have to work round it. | 0:18:11 | 0:18:14 | |
At last, the darts start working and the drugs can begin to take effect. | 0:18:17 | 0:18:23 | |
It's quite something. | 0:18:23 | 0:18:24 | |
All the noise just now, it's actually a bit peaceful. | 0:18:24 | 0:18:28 | |
I think we've got to try and move them before they start coming round. | 0:18:28 | 0:18:31 | |
It's a race against time. | 0:18:33 | 0:18:35 | |
But the danger of the dogs waking up is not the only deadline. | 0:18:35 | 0:18:39 | |
Get them in the car and down the airstrip. | 0:18:39 | 0:18:41 | |
We're gonna move fast. | 0:18:41 | 0:18:43 | |
The anaesthetic drug has a dangerous side effect. | 0:18:44 | 0:18:47 | |
It can cause animals to lose control of their body temperature. | 0:18:47 | 0:18:51 | |
And now, the heat of the day is building up. | 0:18:51 | 0:18:54 | |
It's over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. | 0:18:54 | 0:18:57 | |
If they get too hot, the dogs will die. | 0:18:57 | 0:19:01 | |
Meanwhile, 40 miles away on the Kenyan border, | 0:19:02 | 0:19:05 | |
Longleat keeper Ryan Hockley and ranger Semu | 0:19:05 | 0:19:09 | |
have arrived on the landing strip, ready to receive the dogs. | 0:19:09 | 0:19:12 | |
It's a stressful time for everyone but the dogs in particular. | 0:19:12 | 0:19:16 | |
Obviously, you've only got a certain amount of time | 0:19:16 | 0:19:19 | |
to travel them while they're still under. | 0:19:19 | 0:19:21 | |
You obviously don't want them to wake up in transit. | 0:19:21 | 0:19:24 | |
The last thing the dog knew, he fell asleep in his home | 0:19:24 | 0:19:27 | |
and today he wakes up in the back of a plane. | 0:19:27 | 0:19:29 | |
That's got to be quite a shock for an animal, | 0:19:29 | 0:19:32 | |
It's very, very important that everything runs to the minute. | 0:19:32 | 0:19:37 | |
The flight to the release compound should take less than ten minutes, | 0:19:37 | 0:19:41 | |
but what state will the dogs be in when they arrive? | 0:19:41 | 0:19:45 | |
We'll be back shortly to find out. | 0:19:45 | 0:19:47 | |
Also hailing from the African plains but born in the English countryside | 0:20:03 | 0:20:08 | |
are five new stunning baby eland and Ben's heading over to meet them. | 0:20:08 | 0:20:13 | |
There's been some very exciting news up in the new area | 0:20:13 | 0:20:18 | |
and I've joined deputy head of section Kevin Nibbs | 0:20:18 | 0:20:21 | |
-to come and see some baby eland. -Baby eland, yep. | 0:20:21 | 0:20:23 | |
Four females and a male, so we've got five. | 0:20:23 | 0:20:25 | |
Five, that is fantastic news for Longleat, isn't it? | 0:20:25 | 0:20:28 | |
Definitely, the females are our future breeding stock, | 0:20:28 | 0:20:31 | |
but the little male, he'll be fantastic | 0:20:31 | 0:20:33 | |
for breeding all round the country or even Europe. | 0:20:33 | 0:20:36 | |
Really exciting for you. | 0:20:36 | 0:20:38 | |
So what sort of age are they all? | 0:20:38 | 0:20:39 | |
The youngest is only just under a week old. | 0:20:39 | 0:20:42 | |
-He's about five days old. -And which one is that? | 0:20:42 | 0:20:45 | |
He's the smallest one. | 0:20:45 | 0:20:47 | |
In that pack of four over there? | 0:20:47 | 0:20:49 | |
-Yes. -They just looked incredible. | 0:20:49 | 0:20:51 | |
So roughly what ages are we dealing with over there? | 0:20:51 | 0:20:54 | |
The oldest is about a month old. | 0:20:54 | 0:20:55 | |
So it ranges from a month-old to maybe three weeks, two weeks, | 0:20:55 | 0:20:58 | |
one week, and then a couple of days. | 0:20:58 | 0:21:00 | |
It's a nice little range. | 0:21:00 | 0:21:02 | |
They'll just hang around together, the five of them | 0:21:02 | 0:21:04 | |
as a group of babies. | 0:21:04 | 0:21:05 | |
-So it's nice to see them together. -Have they got names yet? | 0:21:05 | 0:21:08 | |
They have. The oldest one is called Fern after a beautiful TV presenter. | 0:21:08 | 0:21:12 | |
The youngest one is the male, we've called him Irwin, | 0:21:12 | 0:21:16 | |
in honour of Steve Irwin who died recently. | 0:21:16 | 0:21:19 | |
It's a tribute to him. We're chuffed with him. | 0:21:19 | 0:21:21 | |
We've got one called Sarah, one called Holly and one called Eva. | 0:21:21 | 0:21:25 | |
-So there's still not a Ben? -Not yet. | 0:21:25 | 0:21:27 | |
-I'll have to come back another year, won't I? -Yep! | 0:21:27 | 0:21:29 | |
Kevin, I can't help but notice all the camels in the background. | 0:21:29 | 0:21:33 | |
-Could they potentially be a hazard? -There's a chance, yeah. | 0:21:33 | 0:21:36 | |
With anything bigger than the babies, | 0:21:36 | 0:21:38 | |
that they could get trodden on or roughed up in play | 0:21:38 | 0:21:41 | |
but they're quick on their feet. | 0:21:41 | 0:21:43 | |
From a couple of hours, they can get up and run around really quickly. | 0:21:43 | 0:21:47 | |
The other thing they do is they play dead. | 0:21:47 | 0:21:49 | |
In the first 24-48 hours, they'll play dead. | 0:21:49 | 0:21:51 | |
If something comes up, they'll just lay completely still. | 0:21:51 | 0:21:54 | |
-Normally, they'll get left alone. -Fantastic. | 0:21:54 | 0:21:56 | |
Well, Kevin, thank you very much. | 0:21:56 | 0:21:58 | |
A huge success story for the safari park. | 0:21:58 | 0:22:01 | |
Back in Tanzania, Longleat keeper Ryan Hockley and ranger Semu | 0:22:11 | 0:22:16 | |
are anxiously waiting | 0:22:16 | 0:22:18 | |
for the African hunting dogs on Fitz's plane to land. | 0:22:18 | 0:22:21 | |
It's a hot and tense wait... | 0:22:21 | 0:22:24 | |
but finally, they arrive. | 0:22:24 | 0:22:27 | |
Here he is. | 0:22:27 | 0:22:28 | |
But the race against time is far from over. | 0:22:34 | 0:22:37 | |
They won't know if the dogs are all still breathing | 0:22:39 | 0:22:42 | |
until after they take them out of the boxes | 0:22:42 | 0:22:45 | |
inside the holding compound. | 0:22:45 | 0:22:47 | |
There's always a risk when you're sedating any animal, | 0:22:47 | 0:22:50 | |
whether it's a wild dog or a domestic dog. | 0:22:50 | 0:22:53 | |
The heat is not going to help us, | 0:22:53 | 0:22:55 | |
because they can very quickly overheat. | 0:22:55 | 0:22:58 | |
So we want to move as quickly as we can. | 0:22:58 | 0:23:00 | |
The holding compound is a quarter of a mile away. | 0:23:02 | 0:23:05 | |
Let's just get them out... | 0:23:08 | 0:23:11 | |
There's not a second to lose. | 0:23:11 | 0:23:13 | |
Apart from anything else, they could start to wake up at any moment. | 0:23:13 | 0:23:17 | |
It's now midday, and incredibly hot. | 0:23:17 | 0:23:20 | |
As they are taken out, the dogs are put in the shade | 0:23:20 | 0:23:23 | |
to give them the best chance of survival. | 0:23:23 | 0:23:26 | |
This is the last one. | 0:23:38 | 0:23:41 | |
They are all still breathing. | 0:23:41 | 0:23:43 | |
For me, this is like "phew", | 0:23:44 | 0:23:46 | |
because I've waited so long to get them, to start moving them. | 0:23:46 | 0:23:51 | |
The pack will stay here in the compound for one month | 0:23:51 | 0:23:54 | |
while they acclimatise to their new surroundings. | 0:23:54 | 0:23:58 | |
Then, they will be released into thousands of square miles | 0:23:58 | 0:24:01 | |
of protected bushland, where they can hunt and breed in safety. | 0:24:01 | 0:24:05 | |
I would love to be a wild dog here. There's a lot of game out there. | 0:24:05 | 0:24:10 | |
It's a wonderful place for a dog to be. | 0:24:10 | 0:24:13 | |
There's no tourist camps. It's just perfect for them. | 0:24:13 | 0:24:16 | |
I think these dogs are at a critical stage of their evolutionary history. | 0:24:16 | 0:24:23 | |
I think if we don't help them now, they will disappear. | 0:24:23 | 0:24:26 | |
-Here they come. -Yeah. Even the little ones. | 0:24:31 | 0:24:35 | |
This one's coming round, nicely. | 0:24:40 | 0:24:43 | |
That one, see, she's up now. | 0:24:46 | 0:24:49 | |
Steadier than the others were at the same time. | 0:24:49 | 0:24:52 | |
They've all come round really nicely. | 0:24:55 | 0:24:57 | |
They're beautiful little things, aren't they? Aren't they wonderful? | 0:24:57 | 0:25:01 | |
It's not until you get this close | 0:25:01 | 0:25:03 | |
that you realise how delicate they are. | 0:25:03 | 0:25:05 | |
Everything I knew as a kid was, "They're a ferocious pack, | 0:25:05 | 0:25:09 | |
"the most successful hunter." But extremely delicate. | 0:25:09 | 0:25:13 | |
It's been an interesting day for Ryan and Keith. | 0:25:14 | 0:25:18 | |
Animal moves in Wiltshire are nothing like this. | 0:25:18 | 0:25:22 | |
Being able to be part of a release programme... | 0:25:25 | 0:25:28 | |
we talk about it a lot in Longleat, in captivity. | 0:25:30 | 0:25:36 | |
But a lot of the time it's talk. | 0:25:36 | 0:25:38 | |
We try to do our bit, obviously, but coming out here now | 0:25:38 | 0:25:42 | |
and being part of a scheme to put these dogs back out there, | 0:25:42 | 0:25:45 | |
I think, is absolutely wonderful. | 0:25:45 | 0:25:47 | |
And I'm actually very privileged to have been able to have done it, | 0:25:47 | 0:25:51 | |
so I'm going to go home with a lot of memories on this trip. | 0:25:51 | 0:25:54 | |
Last year, we helped put up some giant cat toys | 0:26:14 | 0:26:18 | |
for the Longleat lions | 0:26:18 | 0:26:20 | |
but it didn't take long for them to rip them to shreds. | 0:26:20 | 0:26:24 | |
So, earlier in this year's series, | 0:26:24 | 0:26:27 | |
I helped put up some bigger, stronger toys. | 0:26:27 | 0:26:31 | |
Now Kate and I have come back up to the lion enclosure | 0:26:31 | 0:26:35 | |
with keeper Craig Faggeter to see what they've made of them. | 0:26:35 | 0:26:38 | |
They've done a pretty good job, Craig. | 0:26:38 | 0:26:41 | |
-Pretty much finished them off. -They did. -This is marine rope. | 0:26:41 | 0:26:45 | |
Ships ply the world with this and they've shredded it. | 0:26:45 | 0:26:48 | |
-They've just pulled it apart. -Unbelievable. Look at that! | 0:26:48 | 0:26:51 | |
This, Kate, because you didn't necessarily see it | 0:26:51 | 0:26:54 | |
in its former glory, was a swing. | 0:26:54 | 0:26:56 | |
Just down this way, we had a big ball | 0:27:00 | 0:27:02 | |
that seems to have totally gone. Is there anything left? | 0:27:02 | 0:27:05 | |
-Is this the remains? -That is the remains of the ball. | 0:27:05 | 0:27:08 | |
Was there one lion in particular | 0:27:11 | 0:27:13 | |
that you think did most of this damage or was it team work? | 0:27:13 | 0:27:17 | |
Mainly team work. The little ones mainly. | 0:27:17 | 0:27:20 | |
Kabir, he didn't pay it much attention. | 0:27:20 | 0:27:22 | |
He just sat in the background? This is gone as well! | 0:27:22 | 0:27:26 | |
This is actually remains of one of the balls. | 0:27:26 | 0:27:30 | |
That is... Joking apart, and it's quite funny, | 0:27:33 | 0:27:37 | |
but can you imagine if this was you? | 0:27:37 | 0:27:39 | |
It really shows you how powerful they are, doesn't it? | 0:27:39 | 0:27:43 | |
Last year, when we put them up, | 0:27:43 | 0:27:45 | |
we thought we had to build them even stronger this time, which we did. | 0:27:45 | 0:27:49 | |
And no difference at all. | 0:27:49 | 0:27:51 | |
-No, Fogle, you're hopeless. -Next year, they'll be this big! | 0:27:51 | 0:27:55 | |
Craig, thank you very much indeed. | 0:27:55 | 0:27:57 | |
We'll have to think of something new for the lions next year. | 0:27:57 | 0:28:01 | |
Sadly, that's all we've got time for on today's programme. | 0:28:01 | 0:28:04 | |
But here's what's coming up on the next Animal Park. | 0:28:04 | 0:28:06 | |
In pursuit of love, three tonnes of randy rhino goes on the rampage. | 0:28:07 | 0:28:13 | |
This might make a few cars move. | 0:28:13 | 0:28:15 | |
Will the new arrivals break the deadly curse of Meerkat Mountain? | 0:28:17 | 0:28:22 | |
And Bev takes her chances with killer snakes and scorpions | 0:28:23 | 0:28:27 | |
as she hunts for the elusive pancake tortoise. | 0:28:27 | 0:28:32 | |
All that and more next time on Animal Park. | 0:28:32 | 0:28:35 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:28:43 | 0:28:46 | |
E-mail [email protected] | 0:28:46 | 0:28:49 |