0:00:04 > 0:00:07We're out in the middle of lion country.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11We're safe for now because it's daylight and we've got keepers
0:00:11 > 0:00:15protecting us with guns, but at night, it's a whole different story.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19Yes, when the sun goes down, it's a lion's instinct to hunt
0:00:19 > 0:00:24so we're going to come back with a big feed to find out what they get up to after dark.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54Coming up on today's especially creepy show -
0:00:54 > 0:00:59we open the vaults on some of the estate's most terrifying tales.
0:00:59 > 0:01:05We swore we'd never ever go in there again and to this day I have never.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10Meet a savage predator that oozes toxic slime.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14And the lions do much more than go bump in the night.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16THEY SNARL
0:01:21 > 0:01:26At the park, lions are the king of the carnivores.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Just like there wild cousins, they only eat three to four times a week
0:01:30 > 0:01:32but when they do, the males consume
0:01:32 > 0:01:38the equivalent of ten average-sized family roasts at each sitting.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44They're fed from a meat wagon which forces them to chase their food,
0:01:44 > 0:01:46just as they would in the wild.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54Out on the plains of Africa, they are powerful hunters
0:01:54 > 0:01:56and they'll take anything that moves and breathes.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01As most of their prey can run faster than them,
0:02:01 > 0:02:05they work in well-organised groups, ganging up and then pouncing.
0:02:10 > 0:02:16But it's at night, when their senses are heightened, that they are at their most deadly.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21So back at the park, their keepers have decided to give Charlie and his pride of five females
0:02:21 > 0:02:25their dinner after dark.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29Why would feeding the lions at night be different from feeding them during the day?
0:02:29 > 0:02:34- A lot more happens at night. Cats are nocturnal and lions are as well.- Yeah.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37- In the wild, they would generally feed at night also.- Yeah.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40So I suppose, in a way, it's a form of enrichment...
0:02:40 > 0:02:42- Yeah.- ..by us doing it.- Yeah.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45- So it's something a bit different...? - A bit different from normal.- Yeah.
0:02:45 > 0:02:52OK. We are taking advantage of the fact that Bob and Brian are going to be feeding the lions later,
0:02:52 > 0:02:59which explains why we've got all this unbelievable amount of kit all around us here.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04What I'm going to do is ask you to look up there and you can see that
0:03:04 > 0:03:10there are some sort of brackets, magic arms they're called, clamped to the fence
0:03:10 > 0:03:15and those got cameras on them, they're infrared cameras, which means that they can film in the dark.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20Brian is doing a wonderful job of being our body double, almost literally.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24- That's where the meat is going, isn't it, Bob?- Yeah. - We'll put the meat down there,
0:03:24 > 0:03:28so those cameras will be able to film that meat.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Now, you may think, how do they work in the dark? They need sunlight.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34Well, we thought of that too.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37We've got this, which is an infrared light.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41You can probably just see a bit of red on there but this is brilliant,
0:03:41 > 0:03:48this stuff, because what it'll do is actually flood this area with light that's totally invisible to the lions
0:03:48 > 0:03:52and to us, but on a special infrared camera like those two up there,
0:03:52 > 0:03:54they can then pick up that light
0:03:54 > 0:03:58and it will almost look like daylight, only slightly spookily black and white.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02- And come and have a look at this, Bob, because it's brilliant.- OK.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05The left-hand camera is on what's called a hothead,
0:04:05 > 0:04:10which means it's remote control and, Bob, in fact let me... if you hold that...
0:04:10 > 0:04:14- OK.- You can see Brian, looking a bit shifty there, actually,
0:04:14 > 0:04:19and look, we can turn the camera to the left, to the right,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22we can pan it up and down,
0:04:22 > 0:04:27which means we can get really good lion action wherever they happen to be.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Do you think that they will be kind of excited by this, Bob?
0:04:31 > 0:04:37I should imagine there's going to be plenty of action because Charlie has got a girlfriend so...
0:04:37 > 0:04:38Oh, has he?
0:04:38 > 0:04:42Putting a feed out, he'll be protective of the food and of her, so we should get something.
0:04:42 > 0:04:50Because what tends to happen with Charlie's pride, or indeed with most of the Longleat prides,
0:04:50 > 0:04:55and probably in the wild, as well, is that the male always gets first dibs at the best bits.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58- He does, the lion's share as such. - Yeah.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00And yeah, Charlie's no different.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04He will try and get his best bit, and also look after her as well.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09So if he's got a girlfriend - who is the girlfriend? Who's the lucky lady?
0:05:09 > 0:05:13- Skye.- Oh. Skye. OK. Well, she's very beautiful.
0:05:13 > 0:05:14- She is, yeah.- Good choice.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18So, what will he do? Will he take a bit for her as well,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21or will he just kind of let her in before the others?
0:05:21 > 0:05:25We're going to stake 'em down well so that they don't run off with 'em.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29- Yes. So that we can get the best view possible...?- Wherever we can.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33- I should imagine he would let her get in there first and just keep an eye on her.- OK.
0:05:33 > 0:05:39- Even though there's no other males in this section, he will keep the females away from her as well.- Wow.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42- It'll be an interesting night. - Hopefully, yeah.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47Well, join us a little later to find out just how chivalrous Charlie is,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51and whether the lions really do like to feed at night. See you in a bit.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59This is the cane toad,
0:05:59 > 0:06:04a poisonous beast with a voracious appetite to compete with the lions.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09Originating from North and South America, its reputation as a big eater
0:06:09 > 0:06:11gave farmers an idea -
0:06:11 > 0:06:16get them to eat a nasty beetle that was destroying their crops.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22So some bright spark took a few to Australia,
0:06:22 > 0:06:27and they were growing sugar cane, and there was a bug called a cane beetle, and they thought,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31"Let's introduce something that'll eat the cane beetle"
0:06:31 > 0:06:33and so they bred them and let them go.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36This species has taken huge swathes of Australia by storm
0:06:36 > 0:06:41and it's probably not eaten many cane beetles in its life, but it eats everything else that moves.
0:06:41 > 0:06:47They were introduced to Australia in the 1930s and, 70 years later,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51rather than helping the eco-system, they're destroying it.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55Many native species, including birds and crocodiles, eat them
0:06:55 > 0:06:58and are poisoned by toxins released from their skin.
0:06:58 > 0:07:04And with ten toads for every human, the problem is not going away.
0:07:05 > 0:07:10The other thing about cane toads is that they breed very well in the wild.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14In captivity... Well, a lot of people don't want to breed them, but we,
0:07:14 > 0:07:17as part of our education programme here,
0:07:17 > 0:07:22we have to show the good and the bad, so we've had this idea of having a big display of cane toads,
0:07:22 > 0:07:26of an invasive species and I want lots. I want to put people off their tea.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30I want a vivarium full of cane toads swarming, eating everything in sight,
0:07:30 > 0:07:35and I can say to people, especially the children, "Look! If you let things get out of control,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38"if you meddle, this is what can happen."
0:07:38 > 0:07:46So for education purposes, Darren has decided that the time has come to kick-start the breeding programme.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50However, there's one minor problem.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54I got Michael in as an unsexed animal, so we didn't know if it was a boy or a girl.
0:07:54 > 0:07:59Over a period of time, we convinced ourselves it was a boy,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02and looking back now, it was probably rather ignorant of us,
0:08:02 > 0:08:07we were saying, "Right, it's Michael, it's a boy. Michael Caine - cane toad -
0:08:07 > 0:08:09"got to be a boy." He looked like a boy,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12and then, just recently, I've been looking at it
0:08:12 > 0:08:14and thought, "I don't know if it is."
0:08:14 > 0:08:16There was only one way to find out -
0:08:16 > 0:08:22introduce Michael to a female toad and, hopefully, let nature take its course.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28# I met a girl She was a frog princess... #
0:08:30 > 0:08:35So I got another cane toad and, of course, when I got them together,
0:08:35 > 0:08:40I suddenly thought, "I don't actually know if Michael is a boy and if the new one is a girl."
0:08:40 > 0:08:43We called the new one Valerie. They get on great,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47but now we're back to the age-old thing of, is it a boy, is it a girl?
0:08:47 > 0:08:50So we've been looking at ways of telling them apart.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52But this has only doubled the confusion.
0:08:52 > 0:08:58The problem is, male and female cane toads are remarkably similar in appearance.
0:08:58 > 0:09:04Darren has been doing some research, but he's still no nearer to reaching a conclusion.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10Boys are a bit smaller than girls in the species but we had nothing to compare him with.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15The other way is, boys have a dark throat pouch, supposedly, under here.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19Again I think that was quite dark on Michael, so I figured, well, hey ho, he could be a boy.
0:09:19 > 0:09:24So now that he's got Valerie to compare Mike to,
0:09:24 > 0:09:29can he spot any differences and work out which one is the male?
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Now, this is Valerie.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Come on, sweetheart. I'll just hold her by her...
0:09:35 > 0:09:40Now, she's quite a bit smaller. Can see the difference?
0:09:40 > 0:09:44But age difference might come into that. She's younger as well.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48The throat pouch on her, I actually thought was darker than Michael's,
0:09:48 > 0:09:53so instantly though, oh-oh, maybe Valerie is actually a little boy.
0:09:53 > 0:09:58Either this one is definitely a boy, or they could both be girls,
0:09:58 > 0:10:03and it never entered my mind that they could both be girls and this just be a young girl.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10So, the plot thickens.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12Is Mike really a Michelle?
0:10:12 > 0:10:20Fortunately, though, there is one final way for Darren to work out the sexes of this rather ugly pairing.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23To do this, he's going to need our help.
0:10:24 > 0:10:30I've been told that boy cane toads croak quite loudly and girls don't croak,
0:10:30 > 0:10:36so what we're going to do is, with the help of one of the crew here,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39he's going to help us fit up a little sound machine in here,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42and a camera, and see if we can hear any croaking,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46and if we can, yet again, it will tell us at least one of these two IS a little boy.
0:10:46 > 0:10:53If we don't hear croaking, then I'm going to lean towards we might have two girls here and no fella,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56so we won't get many baby cane toads out of it.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00But what I'll do is, I'll put her back and we'll set up the equipment and then we'll see
0:11:00 > 0:11:04if this can point us in the right direction.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08- Right, that's all set.- Fantastic. - If they croak, that will get it.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Stu, this will solve the international mystery. Thank you very much. Appreciate that.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14We'll be back with Darren later
0:11:14 > 0:11:19as he tries to solve the riddle of this croak-and-dagger plot once and for all.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35It's been 17 years since the safari park had a baby rhino
0:11:35 > 0:11:40but the keepers haven't given up as a few years ago,
0:11:40 > 0:11:47three young rhino arrived from South Africa, and deputy head warden Ian Turner was extremely hopeful.
0:11:47 > 0:11:52Well, it's got three new young rhinos - one male and two females -
0:11:52 > 0:11:57perfect for breeding, so down the line, we should have two young ones.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01Today, things are certainly looking promising.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04The youngsters are now sexually mature
0:12:04 > 0:12:08and the great news is that Injanu, the male, has been playing his part.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10There's finally been some mating.
0:12:12 > 0:12:19So Injanu's been doing the business but, so far, there's no concrete sign of a pregnancy.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25I've joined head warden Keith Harris to find out more.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28So, what's the issue with Merashi, then?
0:12:28 > 0:12:33Well, she hasn't been coming into season, she hasn't been cycling properly,
0:12:33 > 0:12:37and obviously, we want to try and look at see if we can find out a reason why.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40- A while ago, she was left in the yard overnight with a bull.- Mm-hm.
0:12:40 > 0:12:47- Now, as far as we were aware, she didn't do anything but... - You are talking about mating here?
0:12:47 > 0:12:53Yeah. She wasn't mated, but we're going to take a blood sample and send it off, just to make sure.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57And is the cycling of a rhino the same as many other animals? I mean, is it monthly?
0:12:57 > 0:13:05Monthly. I think it's 32 days, and, you know, they'll be mated and that's it.
0:13:05 > 0:13:11The biggest problem that we know within the rhino population throughout Europe
0:13:11 > 0:13:14is with these young rhinos, if they just keep coming into season,
0:13:14 > 0:13:18they just what we call flatline - they just stop coming into season.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21- Right.- Their reproductive system closes down.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24So it's very important that we get animals of this age breeding.
0:13:24 > 0:13:30'Duncan the vet is on hand to take the blood samples from Merashi's ear.'
0:13:30 > 0:13:35You're going for the ear because it's the thinnest area, presumably, and the veins are nearest the top?
0:13:35 > 0:13:40Well, it's just an area that we easily get a superficial vein, and that's...
0:13:40 > 0:13:44- Just putting this rubber band round as a sort of tourniquet.- Right.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46That'll just pool the blood in the veins.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51So that's like a tourniquet you would put around your arm, if you were taking blood from a human?
0:13:51 > 0:13:55Yeah, very similar, yeah. Just to try and raise a vein.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59And remind me, Keith, what is the gestation period if she was pregnant now?
0:13:59 > 0:14:05It's 15 to 18 months, so they tend to vary in between the two.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09- That's a long time to carry a calf, isn't it?- Yes, it is.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11So we need her a bit closer, don't we?
0:14:11 > 0:14:14I think she's going to go back to her nuts in a minute.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17- Be careful of that horn. - Have to be very careful of her horn.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21- That's an occupational hazard. The horn is their main weapon.- Yeah.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24- Even though she might not mean to. - So you've got the needle in there?
0:14:24 > 0:14:27Yeah, just letting it drip into the tube now.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32That's about enough in that one.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Let's get her in that thing, I think.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40'Merashi's becoming agitated, so for her and Duncan's protection,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42'she's moved to a smaller holding cage.'
0:14:44 > 0:14:51- Are you going to fill another one? - I'm not sure what the lab that we'll check the pregnancy with takes,
0:14:51 > 0:14:54so I'm just going to make sure I've got everything.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56- I suppose you don't want to do this again.- No.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00She doesn't want us to do it again, either.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03- I think we'll take it off her now. - All right, mate.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05- Do you want to? - Yeah, I'll take it off her now.
0:15:05 > 0:15:12- All right, girl.- So we're going...? - That's enough. If it's going to upset her there's no point in going on.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14There we go, so that's the needle out.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17- So we just have to get the tourniquet?- Yeah.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21- And you're constantly keeping an eye on how she's reacting and...- Yeah.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24- ..basically making a decision accordingly?- Yeah.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27Because we want to do this again in the future, it's no good
0:15:27 > 0:15:33- really upsetting her now, so she's, you know, she's getting a little bit agitated, so that's enough.- Yeah.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35- We'll leave her again. - Duncan, a sigh of relief?
0:15:35 > 0:15:39- Yeah, yeah. I just want to clean it up a bit.- Yeah.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Obviously, because the needle's there,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46- just drip, drip, drip sort of thing. - And there she goes.- There she goes.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51- Duncan, the process is that those are sent off to the lab, are they? - Yeah, we'll send them off today.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53And what sort of tests will you do?
0:15:53 > 0:15:59We can do a general profile, make sure everything's OK in terms of haematology and biochemistry,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03- but more importantly, we'll get this pregnancy check.- Guys, thanks very much and well done
0:16:03 > 0:16:07and we'll keep you posted on the progress throughout the series.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21The great house is set amongst 900 acres of spectacular grounds.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26In charge of its day-to-day running is land agent Tim Moore
0:16:26 > 0:16:29but the design we see today
0:16:29 > 0:16:35was drawn up 300 years ago by the man known as England's greatest gardener.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38The design is by Capability Brown,
0:16:38 > 0:16:43and so it's very much a sort of pastoral landscape
0:16:43 > 0:16:48with sheep grazing and deer, with water, key elements either side of the house,
0:16:48 > 0:16:52and what we've got here now is pretty well what Brown created.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59But there's one area of the park's landscape that needs
0:16:59 > 0:17:04a bit of sprucing up, and that's down by the model railway track.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09A few years ago, I suggested to Lord Bath one way to get some interest
0:17:09 > 0:17:16would be to have these enormous timber cut-outs of people who'd had a role at Longleat.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20Lord Bath came up with the sort of the guest list.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24That included the Grey Lady, who's the alleged ghost at Longleat,
0:17:24 > 0:17:28Capability Brown, Lord Bath himself right at the end.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30I think we've got a lion in there as well.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34They were all short term, they were never going to stay all that long.
0:17:34 > 0:17:39They've got a bit well worn, they've been seen by plenty of people, and were past their sell-by date.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42So the challenge was, what will we replace them with?
0:17:42 > 0:17:47So the gauntlet was thrown down to head of grounds and gardens Tommy Parker
0:17:47 > 0:17:50to come up with something a bit special...
0:17:53 > 0:18:00..and he took his inspiration from the park's smallest residents, the leaf-cutter ants.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05They may be tiny, but their bodies are amazingly powerful,
0:18:05 > 0:18:09able to carry pieces of leaf that weigh at least 20 times their own weight.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14That's the same as a human carrying a one-ton load.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18WOMAN SCREAMS
0:18:18 > 0:18:23To help him build his army of ants, Tommy turned to artist Alan Ross.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27Started off tinkering with bits of bicycle components like these,
0:18:27 > 0:18:31and that was fine for a while, and things started getting bigger.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34I started using bigger bits of material, and it's grown from there.
0:18:34 > 0:18:40This is the original model that Alan came up with
0:18:40 > 0:18:47and it's very much changed, because he built this in about two hours because he was so excited about it.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53Alan had certainly never done anything quite on this scale before.
0:18:53 > 0:18:59I looked at loads of pictures of ants on the internet and books, I've read books about ants,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03and I figured if I could just get the basic essence of what an ant is
0:19:03 > 0:19:07and expand that to four-and-a-half metres long, it would do the job.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09It's not just somebody's private collection.
0:19:09 > 0:19:16This is now for the public to see, and we'll have 20,000 people a day looking at it. That IS exciting!
0:19:16 > 0:19:20We'll be following the story as these terrifying creatures take shape.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33As the park closes and the sun sets,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36most of the animals are getting ready for bed,
0:19:36 > 0:19:42but for others, this is when they start stirring.
0:19:50 > 0:19:57It's about ten o'clock at night and I'm standing outside the lion house with keeper Bob Trollope.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01In my hand I've got a little infrared camera,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04and our cameraman is also using an infrared camera
0:20:04 > 0:20:09so that you can see me and Bob in the dark and, um what's our plan, Bob?
0:20:09 > 0:20:12We're going to go in and see what they're like.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16Because it's pitch black, there's no lights in there whatsoever.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21- Presumably this is not something you do on a very regular basis?- No, we're not allowed in there at night.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25- OK.- Because it is dangerous.- Is it? - Yeah.
0:20:25 > 0:20:33- Why are we going in?!- It's all part of enrichment...for us and them. - Right, yes, I think it is.
0:20:33 > 0:20:40- The door's over here, so, do you want to lead ahead?- Yeah. - I'm going to use this camera.
0:20:40 > 0:20:47Basically, the plan is, I'm going to use this camera to help Bob and I actually see what the lions are doing
0:20:47 > 0:20:51because, as he said, it is absolutely pitch dark in here,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54and there is no way we'll be able to see them.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57- Now, who have we got in here, Bob? - This is Charlie's pride.
0:20:57 > 0:21:02- OK. Bob, look, can you see the screen in here?- Oh, yeah.
0:21:02 > 0:21:08Presumably, they're going to be quite intrigued
0:21:08 > 0:21:11about why people are here in the middle of the night?
0:21:11 > 0:21:16Yeah. They're going to be very curious because this is something totally strange to them.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18THEY GROWL
0:21:18 > 0:21:25- Hear that great noise. - Growling.- It's amazing how well the infrared picks up these animals.
0:21:25 > 0:21:32Now, just in case you are thinking, "Oh, it's not really that dark in here.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35'It's very bright." Well, these are very clever little cameras,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37so I'm just going to shut mine off,
0:21:37 > 0:21:41and ask the crew to turn the infrared light off,
0:21:41 > 0:21:46and there, now you can see it really is dark in here, isn't it, Bob?
0:21:46 > 0:21:51You're aware of shapes moving but there is no way you could pick out
0:21:51 > 0:21:56- whether it's Charlie or one of the females moving past you, could you? - Yeah, that's right.
0:21:56 > 0:22:01While Kate and Bob prepare for the big feed, we're going back in time
0:22:01 > 0:22:05to bring you a spine-chilling story from the Animal Park Tales.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23A lot's gone on at Longleat over the last four-and-a-half centuries.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26Conspiracies have been hatched in these corridors of power,
0:22:26 > 0:22:32tragedies have unfolded, murders perhaps.
0:22:32 > 0:22:40Many believe that kind of history can soak into the very stones and fabric of the building itself
0:22:40 > 0:22:44so that sometimes, in the dark of the moon, things go bump in the night.
0:22:48 > 0:22:56In fact, it's said that seven restless spirits still linger in these ancient walls.
0:22:56 > 0:23:03A few years ago, head cleaner June Winders and a colleague recall a close encounter with one of them.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07It was in the old staff quarters at the top of the house.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10We both walked in with our equipment to start,
0:23:10 > 0:23:14and it was like walking into a freezer, it was that cold,
0:23:14 > 0:23:19and we both started shivering and all the hairs on the backs of our necks stood on end
0:23:19 > 0:23:24and we both turned at the same time to get out the door and we got stuck!
0:23:26 > 0:23:30But we got out of there and we swore we'd never, ever go in there again,
0:23:30 > 0:23:31and to this day, I haven't.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35I get my girls to go in there but I don't go in.
0:23:35 > 0:23:42When June enquired, she found out that, 100 years ago, there was a tragic death.
0:23:42 > 0:23:47A parlour maid or a housemaid that worked when the house was a family home
0:23:47 > 0:23:52got herself into a spot of bother with a footman and... because in those days
0:23:52 > 0:23:58it was a disgrace and, unfortunately, she threw herself off the top of the house.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00So very sad story
0:24:00 > 0:24:02but she's still here.
0:24:02 > 0:24:07The parlour maid isn't the only phantom supposedly trapped in a room.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11Some believe that the Red Library has its very own ghost
0:24:11 > 0:24:17but nobody told Pip Percival when she started working here as a house guide.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22I was walking from the ante library here through to the dining room,
0:24:22 > 0:24:26and as I walked through the Red Library, something moved in that chair down there
0:24:26 > 0:24:28and I couldn't tell you what it was,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31I couldn't tell you if it was a man or what it was,
0:24:31 > 0:24:34but something moved, and I walked through to the dining room,
0:24:34 > 0:24:38and Vivienne, who had been here a long time, I said, "Something moved in that chair,"
0:24:38 > 0:24:44knowing it was beyond the alarm, and she said, "Oh, yes, you are lucky. That was the Man In Black."
0:24:44 > 0:24:48They call him the Man In Black because no-one knows his name.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53House steward Ken Winders, now retired, was always a pretty down to earth sort...
0:24:53 > 0:24:58until the day he believed he encountered a spirit from the other side.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02There was just myself and one other person in the house,
0:25:02 > 0:25:08house totally locked down, we were actually in this room polishing these wooden floors.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12We happened to look round and there was a lady down in the breakfast passage...
0:25:12 > 0:25:1630 to 40 yards away,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19and we simply thought, in the first instance,
0:25:19 > 0:25:23how the devil did she get in, to begin with, and who is it?
0:25:24 > 0:25:31But looking closely, she looked like Lady Silvy, which was the then Marquess of Bath's daughter,
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Lord Henry's daughter,
0:25:33 > 0:25:37so obviously we stopped polishing, and it took both of us,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40it wasn't just me, there was two of us, to see this woman,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44and we went down to see if we could be of some assistance,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46because we thought it was Lady Silvy,
0:25:46 > 0:25:50and when we got down there, there was absolutely nobody in that room whatsoever.
0:25:52 > 0:25:57I know for a fact all the doors were locked, so nobody could even have crept in, even unbeknown to us,
0:25:57 > 0:26:02but I have never yet to this day found a logical explanation for that one.
0:26:02 > 0:26:07Lady Silvy is a very beautiful woman in her own right, and I have had people say to me that she looks
0:26:07 > 0:26:14very similar to Louisa Carteret, who is the ghost of Longleat that walks the top passages.
0:26:14 > 0:26:21Lord Bath hasn't seen any of the ghosts himself but he grew up with tales about the Grey Lady.
0:26:21 > 0:26:26The Grey Lady is Louisa Carteret, who married the second viscount,
0:26:26 > 0:26:33and this is around the turn of the 18th century, beginning. Queen Anne times.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37She arrived at Longleat to marry the second viscount
0:26:37 > 0:26:44with someone who might be described as a very faithful servant or footman or groom,
0:26:44 > 0:26:50and it was her habit to spend much of her time with him,
0:26:50 > 0:26:56which caused a great deal of jealousy in the rest of the household.
0:26:56 > 0:27:03I am supposing that they came to the second viscount and said,
0:27:03 > 0:27:09he's this awful person and, I don't know, perhaps the second viscount said, "Get rid of him!",
0:27:09 > 0:27:13possibly meaning just throw him out of the house,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16but something happened worse than that.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21He was probably thrown down those stairs there, and his neck was broken.
0:27:24 > 0:27:30They probably told her that he'd just packed his bags and gone, and she didn't believe that,
0:27:30 > 0:27:36so the ghost story arises then that she spent the rest of her days at Longleat,
0:27:36 > 0:27:38always searching all the rooms up in the top passage
0:27:38 > 0:27:44to find if he was imprisoned there, or whatever she might find.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47And there is a sequel to all that.
0:27:47 > 0:27:54When we put in the boilers for the central-heating system earlier in this century,
0:27:54 > 0:28:02a body was found, and it was a body wearing Queen Anne clothes.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07There wasn't much of it left. It was so crumbled away it was put in a hat box, I was told,
0:28:07 > 0:28:12and that was buried in the graveyard of the church.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16It's infuriating that some of my guests claim to have seen her.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19I don't want to have to fear that I'm going to meet a ghost,
0:28:19 > 0:28:24but anyway, as she's my grandma or my great-great-great-great-grandma, I am sure that we will get on fine.
0:28:24 > 0:28:29But I wish people wouldn't start claiming to have seen her
0:28:29 > 0:28:31in a way that worries me a bit sometimes.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38It's strange that while some people see ghosts others never do.
0:28:38 > 0:28:44Perhaps that's another mystery beyond our knowledge... like the spirits themselves.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Now it's back over to the lion enclosure
0:28:49 > 0:28:53because Charlie and his girls are about to get a midnight feast.
0:28:53 > 0:28:58Earlier, Bob Trollope and I were in the lion enclosure looking at
0:28:58 > 0:29:02well what looked really like a mass of cables and equipment.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06What we've done is set up infrared cameras and infrared lights
0:29:06 > 0:29:10because tonight the lions are being fed after dark.
0:29:10 > 0:29:15We have now stuck out the meat for them
0:29:15 > 0:29:20so their feed but, um whole carcasses, Bob, rather than chunks?
0:29:20 > 0:29:24Yeah, we've placed two half-carcasses together
0:29:24 > 0:29:28and staked them down to sort of simulate a whole carcass basically.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32Right, so should we, they're down in the house still,
0:29:32 > 0:29:34Brian's with them, is that right?
0:29:34 > 0:29:38- He's there, yeah.- So can we radio Brian and let them out and see...
0:29:38 > 0:29:39OK, we can do that.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41Line two, Brian.
0:29:44 > 0:29:49- Come in.- Everyone is in vehicles and it's safe to let them out.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52The big cats are not often let out at night
0:29:52 > 0:29:58as after dark they're much less predictable and more dangerous.
0:29:58 > 0:30:04Lions have a very strict pride structure which is best demonstrated when hunting and feeding.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08The females do most of the work during the hunt
0:30:08 > 0:30:11but the male takes charge when it's time to eat.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14Fights often break out at this point
0:30:14 > 0:30:17as it's when dominance issues are resolved.
0:30:17 > 0:30:22This is natural and helps maintain a healthy pride structure.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29In Charlie's pride, Sky is currently in season so he's mating with her
0:30:29 > 0:30:34and she'll probably get preferential treatment so there could well be
0:30:34 > 0:30:38a bit of fur flying tonight but it's all natural behaviour.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40- Oh, here's one, here's one. - Here's one, yeah.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44- Female. Who's this coming in? - That looks like Aysha.- Right. Gosh.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47Yeah, straight in to that.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49In fact, three females.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52Now where's Charlie? Is he letting them do all the work, is he?
0:30:52 > 0:30:54- No, he's just come up. - Oh, here he comes.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56He's come up to the carcass now.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58- Oh, this looks fantastic. - That's four of them.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01And straight in. GROWLING
0:31:01 > 0:31:04- Oops, a big of argy bargy.- Yeah.
0:31:04 > 0:31:09There's another one in the background. There she comes.
0:31:09 > 0:31:14Oh, now Charlie's trying, as you predicted, to pull the carcass away.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18This is really interesting because we never get to see them eat like this.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21Charlie! He isn't chivalrous.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24We did ask that earlier and I think he's answered the question already.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28So who's his girlfriend at the moment? You thought it was Sky.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32- Sky. Most probably the one that's eating opposite.- Right.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36So he is, he's really having a go at the other females, isn't he?
0:31:36 > 0:31:39And it is, it's all lovey dovey when he goes back to her.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41- He won't want to offend her obviously...- No, obviously not.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44Because he wants her.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47Sky is looking quite literally like the cat that's got the cream,
0:31:47 > 0:31:49or the carcass, at the moment.
0:31:49 > 0:31:54You can see how she really uses all the teeth, you know,
0:31:54 > 0:31:58front teeth, back molars, tongue, it is amazing.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00As you say though, it could be a wild pride.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02It could, it really could.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06- Apart from perhaps the oak tree in the background gives it away.- Yeah!
0:32:06 > 0:32:10Isn't it funny? Look at all these females lying patiently,
0:32:10 > 0:32:14just going, "OK, we'll let Charlie and the favoured one."
0:32:14 > 0:32:19Now this is a pride that...
0:32:19 > 0:32:21doesn't have cubs.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24No. Charlie is vasectomised...
0:32:24 > 0:32:26SNARLING Ooh, ooh...
0:32:26 > 0:32:28..someone dared to go in.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30- Took a chance there. Oh, look. - Quite a big scrap.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33You know it's more intimidation than anything.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35They're going to get a show,
0:32:35 > 0:32:39there's two half-carcasses there so there's plenty to eat.
0:32:39 > 0:32:40LOUD SNARLING
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Oh, even if... Oh, something is chased off into the dark.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47That was quite dramatic, suddenly he's left the carcass -
0:32:47 > 0:32:49so he was obviously furious.
0:32:49 > 0:32:54Yeah, they do have a hierarchy and you can see that,
0:32:54 > 0:32:58- Sky is obviously...- Oh, that's the power all right again.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02He's having the meat now, he's gone back to his meat.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04He's gone back for some more.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07Those females are fairly feisty though, aren't they?
0:33:07 > 0:33:10- Oh, if they ganged up together they could sort him out.- Yeah.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13He's obviously quite an intimidating sight.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16It's quite funny, as soon as he chases off someone
0:33:16 > 0:33:19the other two are like, "we'll sneak in for a quick mouthful".
0:33:19 > 0:33:23I think a lot of it is more noise than anything, it is intimidation.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27Like a lot of blokes, isn't it? Make a lot of noise.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29Oh, there he goes again.
0:33:29 > 0:33:36Now does this worry you if one of the females did get injured?
0:33:36 > 0:33:39It obviously does but,
0:33:42 > 0:33:46they're giving back as good as they're getting,
0:33:46 > 0:33:49and you do get cuts from time to time,
0:33:49 > 0:33:53and we've got a very good veterinary...
0:33:53 > 0:33:57They've come right up to the fence here, can we tilt the camera down?
0:33:57 > 0:34:01- We're getting it on this camera.- OK.
0:34:01 > 0:34:07They are metres away - not even - probably a metre away from the car!
0:34:07 > 0:34:09You can see a bit of Charlie there.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13- Got Charlie, right by the fence.- His girlfriend's down here, that's why.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15- Oh, is that what it is?- Yeah.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19By feeding them in this way,
0:34:19 > 0:34:22you're not putting any of them into adverse risk?
0:34:22 > 0:34:27No, no, no. During the day when we feed you do have little scraps
0:34:27 > 0:34:31- like that but that's all part of their hierarchy.- Yeah.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34You know, if they didn't do that,
0:34:34 > 0:34:39- there would be no character to them. - No, absolutely.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45It's all calmed down now. He's a bit grumpy but...
0:34:45 > 0:34:48- HE LAUGHS - ..he's still got his girlfriend.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51So will they stay out for the rest of the night now? Will you leave them?
0:34:51 > 0:34:56Yeah. Their house is open for them, if they want to go in they can.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58If not, they'll stay out here.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01Another little scrap going on.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Charlie! Behave yourself.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07SNARLING
0:35:07 > 0:35:10- He's just showing off.- He is. As you say, none of the females
0:35:10 > 0:35:13he's going for really look that concerned.
0:35:13 > 0:35:18- It looks more like play fighting, than any serious intent.- Yeah.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21- He's just gone off into the shadows. - Yeah.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25If we can go right I don't know whether our lights can pick up,
0:35:27 > 0:35:30can pick him up. Do you think that's it?
0:35:30 > 0:35:34Well, that, I mean, for me that was an absolutely fantastic experience.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36- Are you pleased that that's gone well?- Yeah, yeah.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39It shows all the characteristics of a wild pride -
0:35:39 > 0:35:42and ultimately that is what we try to get here.
0:35:42 > 0:35:48We don't interfere too much and hopefully they live as natural
0:35:48 > 0:35:50a life as you can give them.
0:35:50 > 0:35:55Well, I think we are going to leave the lions to their midnight feast
0:35:55 > 0:35:57but, Bob, if you don't mind,
0:35:57 > 0:36:00can we come back in the morning, in the light of day,
0:36:00 > 0:36:03and see just how much of these carcasses are left?
0:36:03 > 0:36:06- Yeah.- What's your bet?
0:36:06 > 0:36:09- Just bones. - Do you think?- Just a few bones, yeah.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11OK, well, let's see if Bob is right.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15Join us a bit later when we'll find out how well the pride fed
0:36:15 > 0:36:17in the middle of the night.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28As another day dawns at the park here's what's coming up
0:36:28 > 0:36:30on the rest of the show.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37Darren discovers if anything went "croak" in the night.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43And Ben helps put a bit more bounce into the lives of the vultures.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53Let's head straight over to the reptile house where Darren's been
0:36:53 > 0:36:56attempting to solve a puzzling mystery,
0:36:56 > 0:36:58to discover the gender of his rather revolting cane toads -
0:36:58 > 0:37:00Mike and Valerie.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02That might sound simple enough
0:37:02 > 0:37:07but actually sexing a cane toad is remarkably difficult.
0:37:08 > 0:37:13He's hoping the pair will reproduce but unless he's got one male and one
0:37:13 > 0:37:18female his breeding programme is unlikely to get off the ground.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21The most sure-fire way of telling them apart is that
0:37:21 > 0:37:23it's only the male who croaks.
0:37:23 > 0:37:28So last night Darren set up some recording equipment to eavesdrop
0:37:28 > 0:37:33on their night time activity and listen out for any telltale noises.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37This is really interesting actually.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40It's like a sneaky insight
0:37:40 > 0:37:43into what goes on in the exhibit at night.
0:37:46 > 0:37:48They're quite active.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50This is quite nice, they're both sat next to each other.
0:37:50 > 0:37:56I can see the throat pouches moving, can't hear any noise at the moment.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58Oh, I spotted something, what is he doing?
0:37:58 > 0:38:00- Oh! - HE LAUGHS
0:38:00 > 0:38:02I'm going to rewind that.
0:38:02 > 0:38:03He spotted something nice to eat.
0:38:03 > 0:38:09Bam! Oh, dear, goodness, that was definitely a little feast there.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15Bit of activity here. I can hear that jumping very clearly
0:38:15 > 0:38:21on these, I haven't actually heard any croaking at the moment.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24What I was hoping, was that I would hear...
0:38:24 > 0:38:27a loud, you know, a toad croak.
0:38:27 > 0:38:32So far there's a lot of shuffling but absolutely no croaking.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35- The thing is I've got... Oh! - TICKING NOISE
0:38:35 > 0:38:38At last there's a noise.
0:38:38 > 0:38:43Could this be the croak that Darren's been desperate to hear?
0:38:43 > 0:38:45Sounds like a grandfather clock.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48That's not a croak, is it?
0:38:48 > 0:38:50TICKING CONTINUES
0:38:50 > 0:38:53Ah, now, there you are, I can hear that again.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57It goes tick, tick, tick.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00It's getting faster.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10That is the thermostat, there is a thermostat in there on the wall
0:39:10 > 0:39:13and obviously it's just reaching temperature,
0:39:13 > 0:39:16that's what I can hear there.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22Ah, well, I thought that was going to be a croak but it's not a croak,
0:39:22 > 0:39:23that's not a croak.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26And look at, there's no behaviour going on here, there's no
0:39:26 > 0:39:30extended throat pouches, there's no raising up on their...
0:39:30 > 0:39:32hind legs.
0:39:32 > 0:39:33Yeah, that's power,
0:39:33 > 0:39:36that's the heater coming on and raising the temperature.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40Never mind! Let me stop that.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43Unfortunately for Darren the ticking of the thermostat
0:39:43 > 0:39:47was the closest he came to hearing a croak in the night.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51It may not be the outcome that he was after but at least
0:39:51 > 0:39:53it confirms his suspicions.
0:39:53 > 0:39:54I don't know, I think,
0:39:54 > 0:39:56taking everything into consideration
0:39:56 > 0:39:59I think I'm leaning towards - they're both girls.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03That won't help our breeding of an increased number of cane toads
0:40:03 > 0:40:08over next couple the years so I think I'll do a bit more research,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11and see if I can find and track down someone who's got a 100%
0:40:11 > 0:40:15verified male, have a comparison with a couple of photographs
0:40:15 > 0:40:18and then put out the feelers and see if we can't find a male.
0:40:18 > 0:40:23So, interesting for me as a keeper but research-wise,
0:40:23 > 0:40:24no croaks, no boys.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27Of course there is another positive side to all this,
0:40:27 > 0:40:31nine hours of no croaking but we know the thermostat is working.
0:40:43 > 0:40:48Back now to the park's impending invasion by an army of giant ants.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51Head of gardens and grounds Tommy Parker has
0:40:51 > 0:40:57asked artist Alan Ross to make seven giant sculptures of leafcutter ants.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01He has come down to Alan's workshop to see how he's getting along.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08- Hi Tommy, how's things?- Not too bad.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10- Good, good. - How are we getting on then?
0:41:10 > 0:41:12This is fine, this is leaf number four I think it is.
0:41:12 > 0:41:17- So have we got an ETA for getting done?- Should be a couple of weeks.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20- Can we have a look at the one's you've completed?- Yes.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22- I'll just get my hat.- Excellent.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28So far all Tommy's seen is a small prototype of one ant,
0:41:28 > 0:41:32just a fraction of the size of the finished article.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34Oh, wow, they're looking good,
0:41:34 > 0:41:37absolutely fantastic. Just what I wanted.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41Oh, we going to get some fantastic reactions from the public.
0:41:41 > 0:41:42I think people will appreciate this.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45- Yeah. They're really good. - They move with the wind.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Which should give them life when they're in the field which is nice.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50- Absolutely excellent.- Good, good.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54I mean, we get six of these and the big soldier ant will look fantastic.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57I mean he looks awesome. He really does.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00- Yeah, he doesn't look too bad. - He really does.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03The only thing is the position I want to put this one,
0:42:03 > 0:42:08I want it to look more aggressive as if it's attacking a nest.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12- OK.- Right so if we could maybe do something with the legs.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14You grab that leg I'll show you exactly what I want.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18OK, so where do we want it then?
0:42:18 > 0:42:21If we could lift it up so it's probably more up like that.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24- About like that?- Yeah. - I can modify the front legs.
0:42:24 > 0:42:26- We could get the head up a bit. - I can do that.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28Looking down at the train.
0:42:28 > 0:42:33This'll look at the train so it'll get a good reaction from the public.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36They are fantastic, I just can't wait to get them on site.
0:42:41 > 0:42:46Wait and see what happens when Longleat finally experiences
0:42:46 > 0:42:48the attack of the ants.
0:42:51 > 0:42:56They soar through the sky in search of death.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00These are the African white-backed vultures,
0:43:00 > 0:43:04a huge bird that preys on rotting flesh.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07In the wild vultures like these spend most of their time in the air
0:43:07 > 0:43:11but here at Longleat they spend most of it perching like these ones
0:43:11 > 0:43:14which can sometimes lead to pressure sores on the feet.
0:43:14 > 0:43:19But keeper Mark here has tried to come up with a way of avoiding this.
0:43:19 > 0:43:20What have you come up with Mark?
0:43:20 > 0:43:25Well, initially we had a problem attaching branches to trees
0:43:25 > 0:43:29because obviously straight branch, round tree was all a bit complicated,
0:43:29 > 0:43:30they didn't stay up very well.
0:43:30 > 0:43:35This is an entirely man-made aviary here so it's just the posts.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37Yes, all these were stuck in the ground.
0:43:37 > 0:43:41So I asked Tim the welder if he could come up with something just to attach
0:43:41 > 0:43:44a branch and we got a bit carried away along the line,
0:43:44 > 0:43:46and came up with this contraption here.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48What on earth is this?
0:43:48 > 0:43:52Well, this was originally just the bracket to hold it to the tree,
0:43:52 > 0:43:54but then from there we decided
0:43:54 > 0:43:57perhaps it would be quite nice if we could build an amount of springing
0:43:57 > 0:44:01into the branch so it would act more like a branch on a normal tree.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05So we've used a section of leaf-spring off the back of a truck
0:44:05 > 0:44:10so that it would allow an amount of flex in there.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13So basically, when the birds land on it it will kind of flex up
0:44:13 > 0:44:18and down and it acts like a spring for their legs and feet.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21Yeah, just as if they were landing on a normal branch.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23So we have to get it up on the tree and see how it works.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26OK. Well, at this point you'll probably notice there
0:44:26 > 0:44:29isn't quite enough room for all of you guys, the crew as well,
0:44:29 > 0:44:32so you're going to have to watch this on Ben cam.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35- I will help you and film proceedings, if that's OK?- OK.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38Wish me luck. So we've now kind of got to come in...
0:44:38 > 0:44:40Come in against a tree here.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44..a little bit. I'm assuming it's somewhere around here that
0:44:44 > 0:44:46we're going to want to put this up.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48Yeah, this is where we're going to attach our...
0:44:53 > 0:44:55I think it's that one.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58And just tell me, how...
0:44:58 > 0:45:03dangerous are these pressure sores that the vultures tend to get?
0:45:03 > 0:45:06It can cause big problems on the soles of their feet
0:45:06 > 0:45:09and they can swell up, become infected,
0:45:09 > 0:45:13and this is why we've had to come up with this idea.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15If this works we can then go ahead and build
0:45:15 > 0:45:19quite a few more and put a lot more perches in different places.
0:45:19 > 0:45:25So what do you think will be their reaction to this new contraption?
0:45:25 > 0:45:28Knowing vultures, they probably won't go anywhere near it!
0:45:28 > 0:45:34Vultures have very keen eyesight and on the open plains they can spot
0:45:34 > 0:45:38a metre-long carcass from four miles away.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41So are we now just missing a branch?
0:45:41 > 0:45:44We're missing a branch. I'm going to take some of this slack out of it.
0:45:44 > 0:45:49- It feels like the weight's taken, shall I take my hands off, ready? - Yeah.
0:45:49 > 0:45:51- Look at that.- Ta da.- That looks...
0:45:51 > 0:45:54So, as soon as they land on it you've got that springiness.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56There's a little bit of give in it.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00That is very clever, I'm really impressed with that.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04So, with us well out of the way, it wasn't long before we got a
0:46:04 > 0:46:10bird's eye view of the vultures enjoying a lighter landing.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26It's morning after the night before and, Bob, they look like...
0:46:26 > 0:46:30we've got some very sleepy, very well-fed lions.
0:46:30 > 0:46:32Yes, they're at their best.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34Now, of course, just to recap,
0:46:34 > 0:46:37last night Bob fed the lions in the middle of the night.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40SNARLING
0:46:42 > 0:46:44It was quite exciting, wasn't it, Bob?
0:46:44 > 0:46:47- It was all go, wasn't it? - I really was all go.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50Charlie really displayed a) the fact that he's probably
0:46:50 > 0:46:54the greediest lion in the pride and also that he is very, very much
0:46:54 > 0:46:56in love with his girlfriend now
0:46:56 > 0:46:58and wanted to keep all the other girls off the meat.
0:46:58 > 0:47:02Yeah, it was quite evident, wasn't it? It was really good stuff.
0:47:02 > 0:47:09It really was and this to me is the epitome of a happy lion scene.
0:47:09 > 0:47:14They are all very, very contented. They're all fine.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17As you can see they're all well-fed and just sleeping it off.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19Does that mean that we are safe
0:47:19 > 0:47:22and we could wander up and tickle one under the chin?
0:47:22 > 0:47:26- No, no, they're not fully asleep. - Right.
0:47:26 > 0:47:27- They have one eye open.- Yeah.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30And obviously they're quite dangerous.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34We've got Adam guarding down there and I'm reasonably confident
0:47:34 > 0:47:37we could get in there before they get over here.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41Well, I'd hope so because if you look over here,
0:47:41 > 0:47:47- this is the slightly sorry remains of a large carcass, Bob.- Yeah, yeah.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51I mean, there was a lot of meat down there and they really have,
0:47:51 > 0:47:55- well, reduced it to nothing more than a few bones.- No.
0:47:56 > 0:48:01Interesting that we can see bits of the carcass spread around
0:48:01 > 0:48:03so they obviously did do...
0:48:03 > 0:48:07the same that they do when you throw them out chunks of meat,
0:48:07 > 0:48:10they do go off on their own, take chunks off on their own.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13They've pulled off bits and then gone off and fed on their own
0:48:13 > 0:48:17and you can also see there's a bit of mane down here from Charlie's...
0:48:17 > 0:48:18Oh, yes, look at this.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22So he obviously got a bit of a beating as much as...
0:48:22 > 0:48:24- the female was getting.- Amazing.
0:48:24 > 0:48:26Gosh it's beautiful, beautiful hair actually.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29It's very fine. You'd think it would be much coarser.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31- I'd love to have hair that long. - THEY LAUGH
0:48:31 > 0:48:34Well, here you are Bob, we can organise that.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38Now, in the wild, presumably lions would eat the bones as well?
0:48:38 > 0:48:43They'd crunch them up. Nature has a way of finishing everything off.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47If the lions had their fill something else comes over.
0:48:47 > 0:48:48Right, jackals or...
0:48:48 > 0:48:51Jackals and vultures and all sorts and then insects,
0:48:51 > 0:48:53so there wouldn't be an awful lot left.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56Will you leave this for them to pick at throughout the day?
0:48:56 > 0:48:59- Do you think they will return to this?- Oh, yeah they'll come back.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03They're having a siesta now and also little birds come down there and...
0:49:03 > 0:49:07- And peck away at it.- ..pick bits off and they've obviously got nests.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10And just looking, it's a bit gory, sorry, everybody,
0:49:10 > 0:49:13but I think it is worth having a quick look at this, just how
0:49:13 > 0:49:17efficiently they have managed to clean off the meat from the bones.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19Yeah, it's incredible.
0:49:19 > 0:49:23They will use their tongue as much as their teeth and
0:49:23 > 0:49:26they grab the meat and pull as much as they can off.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29- Yeah.- And what they can't do with their teeth they lick.- Right.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32And this time tomorrow this will be as clean as anything.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34That will be completely clean.
0:49:34 > 0:49:39Well, what a happy pride of lions and it was an amazing experience, Bob.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42Thank you very, very much indeed for allowing us,
0:49:42 > 0:49:44as I say, to set up all our cameras and get
0:49:44 > 0:49:50those fantastic shots and I think we might just leave them to sleep off...
0:49:50 > 0:49:53- Yes.- ..their big meal and perhaps pop back into the car,
0:49:53 > 0:49:56because as you say, a lion never sleeps properly.
0:50:04 > 0:50:07Deep in the heart of the Wiltshire countryside
0:50:07 > 0:50:11Longleat stands on the brink of an invasion.
0:50:11 > 0:50:16Standing four and a half metres high, five metres long and
0:50:16 > 0:50:19500 times larger than in real life,
0:50:19 > 0:50:25these are surely the biggest beasts the park has ever seen.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30As the army is assembled,
0:50:30 > 0:50:33how will the rest of the park's residents cope with the invasion?
0:50:37 > 0:50:40They've gone together as they should do, there's no big problems,
0:50:40 > 0:50:41no bits gone missing.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43It's a relief to see them all up and finished,
0:50:43 > 0:50:46standing together in a field at Longleat is a huge relief.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53With these ants installed, Ben's gone to find out more
0:50:53 > 0:50:56about the minute monsters they were modelled on.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Pets Corner has its very own queen
0:51:06 > 0:51:11but this one doesn't have a crown but a very powerful set of jaws.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14It is, of course, a leafcutter ant and Kim Tucker here, you're one of
0:51:14 > 0:51:18the keepers for the many, many thousands of ants you've got here.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20- Yes.- She has many loyal servants, doesn't she?
0:51:20 > 0:51:21She has an awful lot, yeah.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25The maturity of the colony can be anything up to about five million.
0:51:25 > 0:51:26That's incredible.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29This is where they all live. I don't know if the camera can see,
0:51:29 > 0:51:32but you have to stare for a while and then you start noticing
0:51:32 > 0:51:34a very busy little area really.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38This is the feeding station so this is where they come to pick food up.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40OK, I'm assuming that's what I've got in my hand here then, feed.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43Yes, hawthorn is one of their favourite foods,
0:51:43 > 0:51:46- it's a light leaf so easy to carry back.- OK, how do we get this in?
0:51:46 > 0:51:50- We'll come through this door.- OK. I have never been in here before.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52- Well, this is off-show so... - Lucky me!
0:51:52 > 0:51:54Just pop the food into the holes.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56It means they can come and grab it.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59I don't really want these ants all over me.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03No. They can give a nasty bite when they want to.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07They've got quite large pincers at the front for cutting the leaves,
0:52:07 > 0:52:10if they do catch your fingers or any part of your skin,
0:52:10 > 0:52:13- it can hurt quite a lot. - Have you been bitten?
0:52:13 > 0:52:15Only by the little ants thankfully,
0:52:15 > 0:52:18not by the large soldier ants that we're looking for today.
0:52:18 > 0:52:22Now I can only see a handful of ants really in there, so where
0:52:22 > 0:52:25are the many thousands of others that look after this queen,
0:52:25 > 0:52:27and where's the queen?
0:52:27 > 0:52:29All that goes on in the tank behind the feeding station,
0:52:29 > 0:52:32so if we go and have a look at that now.
0:52:32 > 0:52:33- Right.- If I shut this door.
0:52:33 > 0:52:39That's hidden away, which these pipes aren't. What are they for?
0:52:39 > 0:52:42The pipes are for them to go quite a way to look for the food
0:52:42 > 0:52:44and take it back to the nest because out in the wild
0:52:44 > 0:52:47they travel quite a way sometimes to find the food,
0:52:47 > 0:52:49- so it replicates what they would normally do.- OK.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52Also it gives people a chance to actually watch what they're doing.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55- And see these very busy creatures. - Exactly.- And this is their tank.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58This is their tank up here, this is where they all live.
0:52:58 > 0:53:01- It's a bit of a squeeze in here. - It is very much so.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04So you're all going to have to go onto Ben cam for a minute.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07So this is, where are they?
0:53:07 > 0:53:09Oh, you can see a few but I can just see lots of soil.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12- Yep, well if you look in over the top...- Yeah.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14..you should be able to see them moving around.
0:53:14 > 0:53:18- It's off-show because you can't see a lot going on in there.- Right.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21But down in the middle, obviously right in the middle, is the queen.
0:53:21 > 0:53:24Right. And how big is the queen?
0:53:24 > 0:53:27She can... This colony is only 14 months old so she's not very big
0:53:27 > 0:53:32- now but she can become the size of a small field mouse.- What?!- Yep.
0:53:32 > 0:53:34- A mouse.- The size of a field mouse?
0:53:34 > 0:53:37That's like something from a horror film.
0:53:37 > 0:53:38It does sound like it, doesn't it?
0:53:38 > 0:53:40- And all the other ants are loyal to her.- They are.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43They're cutting all that food for her, are they?
0:53:43 > 0:53:47And the rest of the colony as they all need to be fed in order to work.
0:53:47 > 0:53:52- Is there a very strict hierarchy, is there a class system?- There is, yes.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55The queen is at the top and then all the eggs that she lays
0:53:55 > 0:53:57- technically are workers.- Right.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00- So the bigger ones that hatch are the soldier ants.- OK.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03- They can get to about 1.2 centimetres.- Wow!
0:54:03 > 0:54:05- So they're quite large. - Can we see any?
0:54:05 > 0:54:07- That is what we're looking for today.- Right.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09How will we see the soldiers then?
0:54:09 > 0:54:14It sounds really awful but we're going to threaten them a little bit.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16- How do we do that, do we RRRRargh! - No, they don't go on sound,
0:54:16 > 0:54:21so we'll...if I pick it up from down here we've got some spider skins.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23Oh, my god, I want to scream.
0:54:23 > 0:54:25These are from our Chilean rose tarantulas.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28- These aren't real, are they?- No, well, they used to be.
0:54:28 > 0:54:29They are real but not alive.
0:54:29 > 0:54:34- This is the moulted skin so there's no actual spider in it.- Right.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37We'll place that in the top of the tank, hopefully get a reaction.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40This would be a natural predator in the wild?
0:54:40 > 0:54:42- Yeah.- So would a spider like this eat the ants?
0:54:42 > 0:54:46Possibly not eat them but obviously pose a threat to moving the soil
0:54:46 > 0:54:48around on the top and all that sort of stuff.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51Right, OK. I'd volunteer to put that in but I'm not going to today.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54- That's quite all right, I shall do the honours.- You can do that.
0:54:54 > 0:55:01- Pop that into the top of the tank and that will illicit a response.- OK.
0:55:01 > 0:55:05What the soldiers do is that when there is a danger or they need to
0:55:05 > 0:55:09warn the other ants about anything they will secrete a certain type of
0:55:09 > 0:55:11pheromone, so a different smell
0:55:11 > 0:55:14that will alert the rest of the ants up to help come and protect.
0:55:14 > 0:55:15As their colony isn't under threat
0:55:15 > 0:55:18all the time she might not produce many soldier ants.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20- Right.- Because she produces the ants
0:55:20 > 0:55:23that she needs to keep the colony working at the right level.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26- So, no threat for the last 14 months...- Right.
0:55:26 > 0:55:27..not so many soldiers possibly.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30Who knows. Hopefully she's got soldiers in there
0:55:30 > 0:55:33she keeps going all the time in case she's got a threat.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36Fantastic. Kim, thank you very much for enlightening me...
0:55:36 > 0:55:38- That's all right.- ..on the whole world of leafcutter ants.
0:55:38 > 0:55:40- Wow.- Indeed. Thank you very much.
0:55:47 > 0:55:52Earlier we were at the rhino house with one of the young girls, Marashi.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56Well, we're back with the rhinos but this time we're seeing
0:55:56 > 0:55:59the old boy of the group, Winston, as he gets ready for bed.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04- How's he getting on Kevin? - He's doing very well now.
0:56:04 > 0:56:06We had a bit of a rough spell over the winter,
0:56:06 > 0:56:08his skin went a little bit iffy,
0:56:08 > 0:56:11very rough and it started to die off but we've used a lot of mud on him
0:56:11 > 0:56:15and that's brought his skin back to life and he's looking really good.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17Remind us how old Winston is now.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20He's 39 this year which is very old for a rhino.
0:56:20 > 0:56:24And obviously tucking in to his pre-bedtime snack.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26What have you got in the bucket here?
0:56:26 > 0:56:30These are high fibre cubes which the rhinos particularly enjoy it.
0:56:30 > 0:56:31- Can we put some in?- Go for it.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34You put them on the ground and he hoovers them up?
0:56:34 > 0:56:36Yes, exactly. Just like that.
0:56:36 > 0:56:41Now that we've got this wonderful view of him Kevin, he's a white
0:56:41 > 0:56:44rhino but white actually doesn't refer to the colour, is that right?
0:56:44 > 0:56:48That's right. It refers to the shape of the lips.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51- The white rhinos have a very square lip, almost brick-like.- Yeah.
0:56:51 > 0:56:55A black rhino has a prehensile lip on the top, like a little hook.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58And they'll browse the trees more than the whites do.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02So they would pull at bushes and things like that rather than grazing.
0:57:02 > 0:57:06That's right, yeah. It's amazing watching them, isn't it?
0:57:06 > 0:57:07They do look like dinosaurs.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10They are so prehistoric-looking.
0:57:10 > 0:57:14Oh, Kevin, it's great to see him looking so well and congratulations
0:57:14 > 0:57:16on bringing him back to such good health.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19Absolutely, and sadly that's all we've got time for on
0:57:19 > 0:57:23today's programme but here's what's coming up on the next Animal Park.
0:57:24 > 0:57:30Darren teaches Ben a thing or two about how to pick up a bird.
0:57:30 > 0:57:32Never done turkey wrangling before.
0:57:32 > 0:57:36There's an imposter in the flamingo enclosure.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38And Lord Bath's pride and joy
0:57:38 > 0:57:42goes on a hot date with Dandy the labradoodle.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:57:58 > 0:58:01E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk