0:00:11 > 0:00:18With 900 animals, 60 different species and over 30,000 metres of fencing here at the safari park,
0:00:18 > 0:00:23the keepers of the most dangerous animals have one massive fear, and that's of escape.
0:00:23 > 0:00:29We're going to find out how the keepers have managed to keep the animals inside over 40 years,
0:00:29 > 0:00:34but also what happened when one of the biggest and most ferocious got out.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01'Coming up on today's Animal Park...
0:01:01 > 0:01:05'I try to play goat herder, but the kids run me ragged.'
0:01:05 > 0:01:08- Go on, Ben.- Thrapper really doesn't want to be caught, does he?
0:01:08 > 0:01:12'I try to reunite a one-day-old ankole with her mum.'
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Oh. "Can I find my mum?"
0:01:15 > 0:01:19'And find out what happened when Africa's most dangerous animal
0:01:19 > 0:01:22'escaped into the Wiltshire countryside.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25'But first, it's straight over to Pets Corner,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27'where Kate already has her hands full.'
0:01:27 > 0:01:29Now, these wriggly things
0:01:29 > 0:01:32are not the latest residents of Pets Corner,
0:01:32 > 0:01:34but they are a favourite
0:01:34 > 0:01:37of one of the favourite residents of Pets Corner, the meerkats.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40What are we going to do with them, Darren?
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Hopefully, Kate, we're going to try and present them in a different way.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47If you can't have a picnic, if you always eat in front of the telly,
0:01:47 > 0:01:48life can be a bit boring.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Meerkats are active creatures. They like to look and hunt for their food.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56They spend the best part of their life digging for grubs and bugs.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58They've got very long extended claws,
0:01:58 > 0:02:00a great sense of smell and good eyesight,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04so rather than just scatter-feed them like we normally would do...
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Actually, this is brilliant.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08This is one that Darren set up for us
0:02:08 > 0:02:12and our camera team came up and put a camera right in by it
0:02:12 > 0:02:16and you can see that exact behaviour that you were talking about, Darren.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Putting his paws right in. And he obviously can't see the mealworms.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23- They're right down at the bottom of that tube.- It's all sense of smell,
0:02:23 > 0:02:26and you've got to think that if they're looking for termites...
0:02:26 > 0:02:29- He just got one.- Yeah. Absolutely brilliant.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33He's almost like using those claws like an extended fork
0:02:33 > 0:02:36and impaling the mealworms on it, isn't he?
0:02:36 > 0:02:39- Well, shall I take some and fill up others...- Please.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43..because, if you come with me, we've got a camera over here.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Sorry, guys, I know, I know you're in the middle of your feast,
0:02:47 > 0:02:49but we've also set up, as well as this camera,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51if you look down this tube,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54there's a little camera down there, so if I turn it to me...
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Hello, you should be able to see me on this camera,
0:02:58 > 0:03:01and if I drop in a couple of these mealworms,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03which really are very wriggly indeed,
0:03:03 > 0:03:09and I'm going to try and get a sort of worm's-eye view of the meerkats.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12I might try it. They're being so tame, Darren, these days.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14They're really chilled out.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Even the ones that aren't full they want to have a go at.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21The thing to remember is they're naturally very cautious creatures.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24I mean, they've got to look out for predators
0:03:24 > 0:03:26because we're in here and the food's on the go...
0:03:26 > 0:03:28Oh, can you see this, Kate?
0:03:28 > 0:03:31- Look at the babies! Oh! - This is why they're still being...
0:03:31 > 0:03:35They're OK with us but if there was a bird to fly over, or a plane,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38they'll all disappear, they'll dive back into the tunnel.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41See this one, not eating, keeping guard, watching out for danger.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45So doing that classic meerkat thing of standing on their back legs,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47being the kind of guardsman of the whole lot.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50And you have Mum over there, in front of you right now.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52- This is mum right here.- Yeah.
0:03:52 > 0:03:57She's got to take this opportunity, she's got to fill her tummy,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01she's got to produce the milk for the babies still and... Oh, well done...
0:04:01 > 0:04:04She'll go back and she'll keep one eye on the babies at all times...
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Oh, have some more. And again, the thing is that we can...
0:04:08 > 0:04:10It's such a mobile feeding technique.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13We've got bamboo sticks all over the place now.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15We can move these around, so they'll never know
0:04:15 > 0:04:19which tube's going to have bugs in and where the tubes are going to be.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22You are being very cheeky indeed. Let's put some more down here.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25This camera, Darren, is working really well.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28I mean, it is this sort of absolute natural curiosity
0:04:28 > 0:04:31that they want to be in everything, finding out about everything.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Kate, we've got a baby here, just coming over, just helping out, look.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37I was just looking at them all.
0:04:37 > 0:04:38- Brilliant.- Look at them.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40They're all intently watching.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Presumably, they're going to learn a huge amount...from adult behaviour.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46Without a doubt, it's how they learn.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48Most animals learn from, you know...
0:04:48 > 0:04:51These animals that are reared in this social group,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55it's crucial they learn from their parents and brothers and sisters.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58It's all about feeding and what's safe and what's not safe
0:04:58 > 0:05:02and I suppose it's... every day's an adventure for them.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04Well, it's an adventure for me, too.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08I've never seen them so tame and so happy and they all look so healthy.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11You must be completely delighted about their progress.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15I'm really pleased. The keepers do a great job and the results are there
0:05:15 > 0:05:18and if we keep their minds active as well... Look... Wait!
0:05:18 > 0:05:21I was going to say, you say...not dinner on a plate,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25- but look, dinner on a hand. Does that count, Darren?- Superb.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Ah.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Longleat is home to some of the world's deadliest
0:05:36 > 0:05:38and most ferocious beasts,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41free to roam around in their secure enclosures,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44but what would happen if one of these creatures
0:05:44 > 0:05:46broke through the barriers?
0:05:48 > 0:05:51An animal escaping from its enclosure
0:05:51 > 0:05:56is the absolute worst case scenario for any zoo or safari park.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07Today, the huge perimeter fences are checked daily by patrols
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and a head count is done over all animals
0:06:10 > 0:06:13at the beginning and end of each day.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18However, in 1966, when Longleat opened as the first safari park
0:06:18 > 0:06:22in the country, the fences weren't quite what they are today.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25So, greeted with famously ferocious lions,
0:06:25 > 0:06:30the first thought in everyone's head was, what if they escape?
0:06:30 > 0:06:33No-one had ever built a safari park before, so everything
0:06:33 > 0:06:37had to be worked out on the job, including the fencing.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41The man in charge at the time was ex-serviceman Mike Lockyer
0:06:41 > 0:06:44and he had to strengthen these defences
0:06:44 > 0:06:47to make sure the wild beasts couldn't get out.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50This fence is higher than the first ones we put up.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54We had fences that were about two metres and honestly, it wasn't enough
0:06:54 > 0:06:56and they did occasionally go over.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00We weren't that worried because they were still within the main reserve.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02To this day, none of the famous lions
0:07:02 > 0:07:06have ever made it out of the reserve, but unfortunately
0:07:06 > 0:07:11the same cannot be said about the animals kept at Half Mile Lake.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15You would think that an island in the middle of the lake is
0:07:15 > 0:07:17a nice safe place to keep animals.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21It certainly works with Nico the gorilla, who is resident today.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25But, back in Mike's time, deciding which species to keep on the island
0:07:25 > 0:07:28involved a little trial and error.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31At one stage we tried baboons on the island
0:07:31 > 0:07:33and they all swam away, they all swam off.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35We knew they could swim
0:07:35 > 0:07:39but we didn't think they would probably go that distance.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41But, anyway, that didn't work.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43Then we had chimps, of course,
0:07:43 > 0:07:47because chimps really do not like water, at all.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50And they don't go into it unless there's
0:07:50 > 0:07:52a very, very good reason.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05They were put on on a daily basis and taken off
0:08:05 > 0:08:07and we would put them in a boat,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10row over, put the chimps on the island for the day.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12They only funny instant I remember about that
0:08:12 > 0:08:15is one day when the chap was servicing the island
0:08:15 > 0:08:17and they looked out and the boat had gone
0:08:17 > 0:08:20and the chimp was rowing back to the mainland
0:08:20 > 0:08:23and the fellow was stuck on the island!
0:08:23 > 0:08:26It was quite amusing. The idea that the chimp had worked out...
0:08:26 > 0:08:30"This is what you do - get in, unhook that bit of rope and off you go,"
0:08:30 > 0:08:32and what's what it was doing.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37The chimps were relocated
0:08:37 > 0:08:41but they weren't the last to make a glorious bid for freedom.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50I'm out on the rounds with vet Paul Higgs and keeper Andy Hayton
0:08:50 > 0:08:53and today helping out with the pygmy goats.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55So, what's going on here, Paul?
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Today we're going to be giving all the goats
0:08:58 > 0:09:00a dose of two separate wormers.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02We're going to do injections for all of them
0:09:02 > 0:09:05and also try and get some down their throats, as well.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07And I'm assuming, Andy,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10that's why they're corralled into this small area here.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13It's a lot easier to chase them around in here than out there.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16I can imagine. I can see three extra keepers,
0:09:16 > 0:09:18so this is why we need lots of people.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21It's easier for us and the goats. The more people, the faster we can do it.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23It's less stress on the animals.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26- I will volunteer an extra pair of hands.- Fantastic.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28We'll stand back and watch you do it, Ben. Brilliant.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31So, Paul, what's the process then? What's the plan?
0:09:31 > 0:09:35The plan is, we just need to get some goats caught really, Ben,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37- and then we'll get stuck in.- OK.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40You try sticking this down their throats and I'll do the injections.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44Great. Lucky me. OK. So let's get going, then.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47The biggest brown one there. Good luck, Ben.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Nearly. Come on. There we go.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58This is Marcia. Do you want to draw the injection up for me, Ben?
0:09:58 > 0:10:00OK. Do I just pop this in here?
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Pop it in there, yeah. That's it.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06- I want to make sure there's no air. Is that right?- Pretty much. Yeah.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09- There we go.- Pull that. - We need to be at 0.3.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13Oh, 03! I was going to give her slightly too much, there.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16I don't think I'm quite qualified to do this, yet.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Nearly.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Shall I do this for the first one?
0:10:21 > 0:10:24- Have a go at the first one, and I'll do the injection.- Yeah.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28So, pop your fingers in the side there and then syringe down there.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32- Tilt their head back and off you go. - So this is an anti-wormer?- Yeah.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35- Is that what you'd give your dog or cat at home?- Yeah. Absolutely.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39- There we go. That's it.- That wasn't so bad, was it?- Lovely job.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41- Who's this?- That's Quaver.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45He was called Quaver cos he had a big curly ear when he was born,
0:10:45 > 0:10:47but unfortunately it's straightened out!
0:10:47 > 0:10:51- Cracker's a little bit nervous, I think.- Open wide.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53There we go. Good Cracker.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57Get Quaver, there. He won't run off. That's made you look good now, Ben.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00There we go. A bit of goat wrangling.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02- Shall we swap goats?- You can. Yeah.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06- You feel better if you're holding onto a big one, don't you?- Yeah.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09- I'll let you have Quaver. - There we go.- That one can go.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Is someone keeping tabs on who we've done?
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Hopefully someone is, cos I've already lost track.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- We haven't done you yet.- OK!
0:11:18 > 0:11:19Take your job over.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Always wanted to be a vet.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25- Just one more.- One more. Who's that?
0:11:25 > 0:11:28- That grey and white one down there. - Grey and white one.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31- What's this one called? - He's called Thrapper.- OK, Thrapper.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39- Go on, Ben.- Thrapper really doesn't want to be caught, does he?
0:11:39 > 0:11:42- That's why we left that one for you, Ben.- Thank you, Andy(!)
0:11:42 > 0:11:44- That's OK, mate.- Well done!
0:11:44 > 0:11:47I couldn't bear to see you running around any longer.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49That was my exercise for the day!
0:11:49 > 0:11:53- We could always let him go again. - So you left the hardest till last.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55There you go.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- Very good.- Well done.- Wow.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02That was actually surprisingly efficient.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05- How many sheep have we just vaccinated?- Goats.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09- We haven't done any sheep, Ben. - There you go. That's how tired I am.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13- How many goats have we just vaccinated?- That was 14.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16- Not a bad job.- You can imagine how it'd be with a herd of 300.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20- Thanks for your help.- If you need an assistant in future, I'm your man.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22- Absolutely.- Thanks, guys.- OK, Ben.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35The worst case scenario for any keeper of dangerous animals
0:12:35 > 0:12:37is one escaping
0:12:37 > 0:12:40and today we're looking back at some occasions
0:12:40 > 0:12:43when exactly that happened.
0:12:43 > 0:12:44But, of all the animals,
0:12:44 > 0:12:49there is one that you really don't want to make it out of the park.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53The hippopotamus is the most dangerous creature of the lot.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57They're extremely grumpy, have teeth like pickaxes,
0:12:57 > 0:13:02weigh in excess of two tonnes, and they're fast, running at 20mph.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07So, all in all, not the friendliest of animals.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11And, if one escaped, it would be an understatement to say it would be bad.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15In fact, it would be a nightmare.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18But, as former head warden Mike Lockyer recalls,
0:13:18 > 0:13:22some years ago, this nightmare did become reality.
0:13:22 > 0:13:28The lake wasn't as well shone up as it is now and it was relatively,
0:13:28 > 0:13:31I suppose, easy for them to get out and go walkabout.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35And when one's missing, an animal, it's quite used to people shouting
0:13:35 > 0:13:40and saying come on, give them a loaf of bread and that sort of thing.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43If suddenly one's missing, you think, where's that one?
0:13:43 > 0:13:46And we start looking further
0:13:46 > 0:13:50and as the time goes on and you think, "It's gone,"
0:13:50 > 0:13:52and wonder where it will turn up next.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59About a mile from the safari park is the village of Horningsham,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03where farmer Steve Crossman made a peculiar discovery.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07I came out one morning to check my cows...
0:14:07 > 0:14:09about 7.30...
0:14:09 > 0:14:13and I was walking down where I'm walking now
0:14:13 > 0:14:15and I came to the gateway
0:14:15 > 0:14:20and I noticed that there were some very odd-looking footprints on the ground.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24And they obviously weren't anything to do with my cattle.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26So...I went and got Father,
0:14:26 > 0:14:30and we had a look and we couldn't quite work out what was going on.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Anyway, we followed the tracks and they went up to the pond,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36up at the top there by the bridge...
0:14:37 > 0:14:39Something quite large had obviously got into the lake
0:14:39 > 0:14:44and then came back down and the footprints went back down there.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Worryingly, the footsteps led straight back to Steve's own farmyard.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52We had a phone call, I think it was someone called Crossman down at the farm here,
0:14:52 > 0:14:55who said I've got your hippo down here, I've shut it in the yard.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00Well, of course, he'd shut it in the yard in the same way that he would shut cows in a yard,
0:15:00 > 0:15:03by simply closing a wooden five-bar gate.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05So we went rushing down there
0:15:05 > 0:15:10and there was the sort of hinges on one side and the gate latch on the other
0:15:10 > 0:15:14and a more or less hippo shape in the middle where he'd walked straight through it.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19And eventually ended up in this wood here and then came back down into the lake again, cos he was only really
0:15:19 > 0:15:23interested in getting back to the water or coming out for grazing.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28He broke a couple of fences. Coming through a barbed wire fence is nothing to a hippo.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31But he didn't cause any lasting damage.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34Caused a bit of a laugh, bit of a stir around the village.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37With the hippo safely back in the lake,
0:15:37 > 0:15:39the keepers could breathe a sigh of relief.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43But that wasn't the end of the escapes from Half Mile Lake,
0:15:43 > 0:15:48as another resident would soon answer the call of the sea.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01Well, I'm out in the new area with deputy head of section Kevin Nibbs,
0:16:01 > 0:16:03who is a very, very excited man
0:16:03 > 0:16:08because on this beautiful spring day, Kevin, I gather that there is a new arrival.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11There is. We've had a baby ankole, as you can see, just over here.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Oh, my goodness. That's fantastic, but it's all by itself.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18- Where's the parent?- Mum is actually with the herd, just up here.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21She's probably taking a rest. It's similar to the antelope,
0:16:21 > 0:16:23they'll go and visit a couple of times a day.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27And then within a few days it will stay with the herd by itself.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31But, surely, if it's left by itself for most of the day,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33it's then in real danger
0:16:33 > 0:16:36because there are a lot of other animals in here.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39I mean, there's the rhino, the oryx, there's all the deer in here.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43I mean, doesn't it stand a risk of being attacked by something else?
0:16:43 > 0:16:44There is a small risk, yes.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47During the day we've got the rhino patrol on,
0:16:47 > 0:16:51making sure that the rhinos stay away from ANY baby, really,
0:16:51 > 0:16:53but this one as well.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55But also the oryx seem to have taken
0:16:55 > 0:16:58a real dislike to anything smaller than them,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01so any baby, even the Pere David baby, the ankole baby,
0:17:01 > 0:17:03and even when we had the baby camels
0:17:03 > 0:17:05they kind of went round and just bullied them.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08You'd think of the oryx, of all the animals in here,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11they look so sort of delicate and lovely
0:17:11 > 0:17:14and they're real playground bullies, are they?
0:17:14 > 0:17:18They have quite horrible characters sometimes, but we don't know why.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20At night, we'll put the oryx away,
0:17:20 > 0:17:24so that the baby is safe out here during the night, as well.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27And presumably, even if the herd are a bit of a distance away,
0:17:27 > 0:17:31they'll still be keeping an eye on it, will they?
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Yeah. If baby just makes one little squeak out here, they'll come running
0:17:34 > 0:17:38and they'll be there very quickly, which is why we're in the truck.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40If we were on foot and it made a little squeak...
0:17:40 > 0:17:45- Then we'd be trampled by a furious protective herd of ankole.- Exactly.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49I'm quite pleased to be in here, I have to say. Oh, it's so sweet.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53He's just walking up towards us now,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56right next to the bull, who's huge,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59the big kind of slightly paler chestnut fellow
0:17:59 > 0:18:01with the straighter horns.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Is she going to Mum? No. Doesn't look like it.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07Come on, little one.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09- Is that the right one?- No.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13No. "Oh, can I find my mum?"
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Oh, she's so sweet. Have you named her yet?
0:18:16 > 0:18:20I know you're slightly suspicious, and how old is she, in fact?
0:18:20 > 0:18:22This is her second full day, really.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25- Wow, so she's really new. - She's 48 hours old.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27But we haven't got a name yet.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30We'll wait maybe a week to make sure everything is OK.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32So this is Mum here, turning round.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35I think she's going to try and find her herself.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37Actually, she's going away from her.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Come on, tiny. Go and find your mum. Is she going round to see it? Yes.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44There's a little call there just to call baby to her.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Oh, look at her.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49What a lovely, lovely sight,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52on a spring day, in Wiltshire, to see a young ankole.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54That's very, very special.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59- That is what spring's all about. - No, you've got to go the other end.
0:18:59 > 0:19:00It always amazes me that,
0:19:00 > 0:19:04you know, young animals are sort of like babies.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06I mean, they are amazingly helpless
0:19:06 > 0:19:11and you'd think that something like an ankole would immediately know
0:19:11 > 0:19:13who its mum was and where the others are,
0:19:13 > 0:19:17but this one is proving perhaps not the brightest cookie in the jar.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Absolutely adorable, though.
0:19:20 > 0:19:26Let's hope that she flourishes and does well and Mum looks after her
0:19:26 > 0:19:29and she finds the right end to feed from, eventually.
0:19:29 > 0:19:30- Keep us posted, Kev.- We will.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37But now we're heading straight up to Wolf Wood,
0:19:37 > 0:19:39where big changes are afoot.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43The young wolves from the last two years' litters have grown up fast
0:19:43 > 0:19:45and are now reaching maturity.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47But, whilst they are a success story,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50they're threatening to destabilise the pack.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55Wolf packs have a very clear hierarchy, from the top alpha dogs
0:19:55 > 0:19:57to the lowest ranking omega dog.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02And as the youngsters become adults they'll want to establish themselves
0:20:02 > 0:20:06in this pecking order and this could mean fighting for position.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12For deputy head of section Bob Trollope, there's only one way to avoid this.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16Remove the young wolves from the pack and send them to a new home.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19It may sound like a drastic solution,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22but it's the only way to maintain harmony.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25It takes away a lot of tension because sooner or later
0:20:25 > 0:20:28these youngsters are going to have to find their way in
0:20:28 > 0:20:30and that will cause friction,
0:20:30 > 0:20:35because older wolves won't want them to step up into their place,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38younger wolves will want to go up into their place,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41so the middle-ranking animals tend to fight more.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44So, hopefully, that will avoid all that.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48There's also one other cause for immediate concern.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52It's breeding season, and if there's fighting in the pack
0:20:52 > 0:20:56it could seriously affect the chances of a successful litter,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59so Bob has had to act quickly and remove the wolves.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06It may encourage Freda to actually give birth to more youngsters.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10They tend to sort of curtail their own numbers
0:21:10 > 0:21:12in the way that they breed.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17If we have a big pack, you generally find we have fewer pups born.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Hopefully, we'll get another nice size litter this time.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23So, what we've done now is
0:21:23 > 0:21:27we've separated the youngsters from the main pack,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30which wasn't an easy task, I must admit.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33The hardest bit was getting them into the house,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35because they don't like going in there.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39The wolves are the wildest animals at the park and have almost
0:21:39 > 0:21:41no direct contact with the keepers.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44So, rounding them up was a risky operation
0:21:44 > 0:21:46for head of section Brian Kent and his team.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49We weren't allowed to film it
0:21:49 > 0:21:52because our presence may have added to their distress.
0:21:52 > 0:21:53Obviously, they'll be upset,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57cos you've got a whole pack and then suddenly you've taken six away.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00They can't work out why they're suddenly split up from the others,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03so there's going to be a few problems.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17The young wolves will remain in house
0:22:17 > 0:22:21until they've moved to their new home at Dublin Zoo in a few days.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26But Bob is concerned about their welfare, so he's checking on them regularly.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28Steady up. Steady. Steady.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34But, whenever he's around, they're displaying clear signs of agitation.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37They don't know how long they're going to be here for.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41Taken away from the rest of the pack. They don't know what's happening.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Obviously, they can hear the rest of the pack outside.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46They know they're still out there.
0:22:46 > 0:22:47The rest of the pack outside
0:22:47 > 0:22:51know they're in here, so there's a little bit of uncertainty
0:22:51 > 0:22:54in their behaviour. You know, they're a little bit stressed
0:22:54 > 0:22:56and they're bouncing off the walls.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00We don't know whether it's just because whenever the keepers come in
0:23:00 > 0:23:04here they react like that, or whether they're doing it all the time.
0:23:04 > 0:23:11You know, for our peace of mind as much as anything, we want to know whether it is like that all the time.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13But hopefully it's not.
0:23:13 > 0:23:19Bob is also worried that without the protection and order of the pack, they may fight amongst themselves,
0:23:19 > 0:23:22so he's setting up surveillance cameras,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25which will monitor them undisturbed around the clock.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31These wolves are totally wild, so it's a unique opportunity for Bob.
0:23:31 > 0:23:37This is his chance to observe their behaviour without disturbing them by his presence.
0:23:37 > 0:23:43To set the cameras up, he needs to get all the wolves into the den at the far end of the house.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47But they're visibly nervous, and one of them doesn't want to go in.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49Go on.
0:23:49 > 0:23:50That's it.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Good girl. Stay there.
0:23:57 > 0:24:02With the last wolf finally secure in the den, Bob can set up the cameras.
0:24:07 > 0:24:14With infrared lenses and a running time of nine hours, they'll be able to record the wolves all night.
0:24:16 > 0:24:22What I'll do is I'll set it running now to record and check it tomorrow morning.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26All that remains now is for Bob to let the wolves back out of the den.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35We'll be back with Bob later in the programme when he returns to analyse the footage
0:24:35 > 0:24:39and discovers how they behave through the night.
0:24:50 > 0:24:56It was about 200 years ago that our native wolves died out in Britain,
0:24:56 > 0:25:00so they've been greatly outlived by another native species -
0:25:00 > 0:25:02the fallow deer.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05Fallow deer have been encouraged on the Longleat estate for nearly
0:25:05 > 0:25:10half a century and today, there's a herd of over 100 animals.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15Ben is down in the deer park meeting some of today's young bucks.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18I'm out with this magnificent herd of fallow deer.
0:25:18 > 0:25:23- Now, Ross, they really are looking spectacular at this time of year. - They look fantastic.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26The most striking thing is their horns or lack of them.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28They look like just little furry stumps right now.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Yeah. Each year, they shed their antlers for the rut season
0:25:32 > 0:25:34when they're fighting each other,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38to get higher up in the hierarchy and get the females, obviously.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42And then after a certain period of months, they'll shed their antlers
0:25:42 > 0:25:45where they'll fall off and then they'll grow back up with this velvet...
0:25:45 > 0:25:50- Which you can see is on the top. - That holds in the nutrients that helps the antlers grow.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53And then when they're fully grown, the velvet will fall off.
0:25:53 > 0:25:54So this is all the males over here, is it?
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- These are all the bucks. Yeah. - Where are the girls, then?
0:25:57 > 0:25:59The does...just over in the distance all down there.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02- They're all on their own. - Fallow does, there.
0:26:02 > 0:26:03- It's like segregation.- Yeah, it is.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07- Men and women are definitely separate.- Yeah. They do separate.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10It's only during the mating season that they get together, they mingle.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12And do their coats tend to change much?
0:26:12 > 0:26:15They've got these fantastic spots. Do they moult like a dog?
0:26:15 > 0:26:18They do moult, not as much as say the camels would.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22- They moult slightly for the seasons - in the winter they have a thicker coat.- Brilliant.
0:26:22 > 0:26:27Well, thank you very much. Don't go away cos here's what's still to come on today's programme.
0:26:32 > 0:26:38Jo in Pets Corner has to blow the whistle as one of her monkeys makes a bid for freedom.
0:26:40 > 0:26:46- New head guide of the house Ruth Charles goes potty for her favourite things.- Ta-da!
0:26:46 > 0:26:51And with the hippos safely back home, find out what happened when
0:26:51 > 0:26:55a sea lion not only made it out of the park but out of the county.
0:26:55 > 0:27:00A few years ago, Mike and Michelle came to live in Pets Corner.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02They're Geoffroy's tufted-ear marmosets,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05an endangered species from Brazil.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09This pair were part of the international captive breeding programme,
0:27:09 > 0:27:13but at first, they weren't too successful in raising a baby.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16That was until 2004 when Mandu was born.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22So, a happy ending for the marmoset family?
0:27:22 > 0:27:26That was until Mandu did something totally out of character.
0:27:27 > 0:27:32There are no bars on the marmoset enclosure as they're naturally very territorial
0:27:32 > 0:27:35and so won't venture out of the area they think of as their home.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40Or that's the theory, anyway.
0:27:40 > 0:27:46But last year, their keeper Jo Hawthorne got some news she hoped she'd never have to hear.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Mandu had escaped.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52Oh, you're joking! Where is she now?
0:27:52 > 0:27:54It was early one afternoon last year.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58I'd been talking in the mine, in the bats, and I got this phone call
0:27:58 > 0:28:02from Bev in Pets Corner to say that Mandu, my youngest marmoset,
0:28:02 > 0:28:09had panicked and suddenly ran around in Pets Corner, ran over the parrot seating and escaped.
0:28:09 > 0:28:14She made a run for it, past the barn owls, towards the otters.
0:28:14 > 0:28:19She actually went into the otter enclosure, briefly, which was a bit scary.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24At this time there was a parrot show going on, which didn't help, so there was a lot of people around.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27And she went up behind the parrot seating and over the wall.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32For her to actually leave the enclosure that she loves
0:28:32 > 0:28:36and knows, with Mum and Dad, it had to be something really scary that scared her.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39At that moment in time, I thought, "God, she's only little,
0:28:39 > 0:28:46"she's two and a half years old, really scared without Mum and Dad, never before been away from them
0:28:46 > 0:28:50"and out of this little enclosure here, you know, and she must be so scared."
0:28:50 > 0:28:54And it was getting towards the end of the day, so that bothered me as well.
0:28:54 > 0:29:00Luckily, however, last year Jo had trained the marmosets to come to her when she blew a whistle,
0:29:00 > 0:29:04so that she could get them back into their house straightaway if there was an emergency.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08Now it seemed like this was the emergency she'd been preparing for.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12And Jo was hoping the whistle was the key to getting Mandu back.
0:29:16 > 0:29:21I thought I'd be able to find her by the end of that day, but...I was mistaken.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27Poor little Mandu was going to have to stay out overnight on her own -
0:29:27 > 0:29:30a big worry to head of section Darren Beasley.
0:29:30 > 0:29:34I was ever so concerned at that point, because to have the decision
0:29:34 > 0:29:37to leave an animal out overnight is a heck of a worry.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41I mean, there are foxes and buzzards and all sorts of things round here.
0:29:43 > 0:29:48The next morning, came in very early, went up again to the top of the parrot seating
0:29:48 > 0:29:50with my whistle, called her name,
0:29:50 > 0:29:56whistled and, at that point in time, I wasn't hearing anything still, so of course I was even more worried,
0:29:56 > 0:30:01cos I thought, "She really has panicked - she's gone away further than I think she's gone."
0:30:01 > 0:30:05I went with Jo and we walked down the railway track into the woods -
0:30:05 > 0:30:11there's a large wooded area - and the best thing we thought, really, was to listen.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14You use your ears, really, because this is thick woods
0:30:14 > 0:30:18down there and to see a very small monkey, small marmoset...
0:30:18 > 0:30:20almost impossible.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23Couldn't really pick anything up at all,
0:30:23 > 0:30:28so I sort of resigned to the fact that unless it makes a sound or makes a movement,
0:30:28 > 0:30:34who knows? I mean, at that point, it could have gone three miles from Pets Corner, let alone 300 yards.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38As another day passed with no sign of Mandu, Jo and Darren had to
0:30:38 > 0:30:44resign themselves to the fact that the young marmoset would have to spend another night out on her own,
0:30:44 > 0:30:49whilst Mum and Dad continued to pine for their precious baby.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53But then, next day, there came a small ray of hope.
0:30:53 > 0:30:59So in the early afternoon of the third day, when Darren had said to me, "Go and find her,"
0:30:59 > 0:31:04I came back down here and I stood out on the front here by the lake
0:31:04 > 0:31:08and I could hear her calling, very distantly,
0:31:08 > 0:31:10and it seemed like she was way down here,
0:31:10 > 0:31:13almost kind of at the end of the lake.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16And it was such a very faint sound but I could hear it.
0:31:16 > 0:31:22So I thought, "OK, this is no good, cos if I walk up and down whistling, she's just going to get so confused.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25"Best thing to do is just stay in one place."
0:31:27 > 0:31:32So, this is the very tree that I sat on for hours and hours, whistling.
0:31:37 > 0:31:42The time relapse between me whistling and her calling me
0:31:42 > 0:31:46got less and less, but louder.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50And then, I probably heard the most amazing sound I've ever heard in my whole life,
0:31:50 > 0:31:57and it was the cry of a marmoset above my head. And I looked up and I heard this "rustle rustle rustle"
0:31:57 > 0:32:03and I saw through the branches when I looked up, her little face looking down at me.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05She came down this branch.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07Really hungry,
0:32:07 > 0:32:12I could tell, you know, and kind of looking at me as if to say, "Oh, it's you, got food?"
0:32:12 > 0:32:17I held my hand out with some food in, and she was only too pleased to see...
0:32:17 > 0:32:20I'd like to think she wanted to see me but it was probably the food.
0:32:20 > 0:32:25I was over the moon, really over the moon. Probably crying a little bit.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31I didn't think she was going to get it. I phoned the head warden
0:32:31 > 0:32:35and as I'm on the phone, I looked on our CCTV monitor...
0:32:35 > 0:32:37"Oh, my goodness, hang on!"
0:32:37 > 0:32:41Jo's walking across with a big grin on her face, carrying this cage and she'd got it.
0:32:44 > 0:32:50You know, amazing to get a very tiny, tiny, smallest, one of the smallest monkeys in the world, you know,
0:32:50 > 0:32:54from hundreds of acre of forest, Longleat estate...
0:32:54 > 0:32:59getting her back in that carrier was, for me, the best thing that
0:32:59 > 0:33:01I could ever have done, really.
0:33:09 > 0:33:16There are millions of trees on the estate and they're home and lunch to countless native species.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18But there's a rather exotic animal,
0:33:18 > 0:33:25who enjoys a good munch on some home-grown vegetation, as Kate is about to find out.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29Now, why are we destroying this perfectly nice tree, which I have
0:33:29 > 0:33:36to say, given that you are Mr British Conservation now, is a very, very good species?
0:33:36 > 0:33:40It's a hawthorn. It's a very good species for British wildlife, so why are we cutting it down?
0:33:40 > 0:33:43- Well, one, the giraffe like eating it.- Right.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46Two, the giraffe lean over this fence here...
0:33:46 > 0:33:49You can see the top of the fence is crushed. ..and eat them,
0:33:49 > 0:33:52so what we do is we cut them every couple of years, trim them down.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56They'll shoot back up. In fact, hawthorn, the more you batter them, the better they
0:33:56 > 0:34:00come back and it'll thicken the bottoms out, so it won't damage the tree.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03So we're basically doing two things here. Pruning.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06- And feeding giraffes. - And food for the giraffes. Yes.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09- Can I just...? This bit that we've just chopped down...- Yep.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13Let's just have a look at it, cos we're wearing quite thick gloves.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16- Yep.- I mean, this is spiky old stuff, hawthorn, isn't it?
0:34:16 > 0:34:19- And you can see the thorns... - Yeah.- ..just in there.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23I mean, they're not enormous, but they're very, very sharp.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26- They're pretty savage when you get one jammed in your arm or leg.- Yeah.
0:34:26 > 0:34:31So what are you doing feeding this to a giraffe? That seems...
0:34:31 > 0:34:34Compared to acacia, this is baby food, to be honest.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37Acacia thorns that they would eat in the wild...
0:34:37 > 0:34:40- are kind of this long, they're really savage.- Really?
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Yeah. And a giraffe would get in there and strip the leaves off.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46So the hawthorn's good cos it takes them a long time to eat it,
0:34:46 > 0:34:49because they're obviously quite respectful of the thorn.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51So it kind of replicates what they'd eat in the wild.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54- So they don't actually eat the thorn at all?- No.
0:34:54 > 0:34:59They'll work their way in here and they'll pick through and strip the leaves off it.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02They will take some thorns, but a giraffe is actually
0:35:02 > 0:35:05designed to deal with food like this - really, really sharp stuff.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09So the plan now is to go and take this into the enclosure, is it?
0:35:09 > 0:35:13Yep. We'll bundle it up into a great big bundle, tie it all up,
0:35:13 > 0:35:17- because we have to tie this to hang it from the hangers.- OK.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21Plus we don't want it falling on the floor because of the camels.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23- They've got quite soft feet.- Right.
0:35:23 > 0:35:29So we don't want the camels jumping around in the middle of a load of hawthorn and getting spikes in them.
0:35:29 > 0:35:34Well, join us later on to see if the giraffes really do appreciate all our hard work.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43Earlier in the show, Bob set up infrared cameras to watch
0:35:43 > 0:35:47a young pack of wolves at night, but this was no reality TV stunt.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50There was an important reason behind it.
0:35:50 > 0:35:55You see, these young wolves have been separated from the main pack in Wolf Wood,
0:35:55 > 0:35:58prior to being moved to Dublin Zoo.
0:35:58 > 0:36:03Bob has been checking on them, but they were showing classic signs of stress as soon as he went near them,
0:36:03 > 0:36:07so he wanted to find out if they calmed down when they're alone.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11If they didn't, the move may have to be reconsidered.
0:36:14 > 0:36:20It's the next day and it's time to review the footage, but what will he find?
0:36:20 > 0:36:23Well, what I'm noticing at the moment is
0:36:23 > 0:36:30it seems to be there's a couple more stressed than the others.
0:36:30 > 0:36:31They're pacing up and down.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35It doesn't seem frantic pacing, but, you know, they ARE pacing.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38They've worn a bit of a pathway in the straw, that's for sure.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40They don't seem too fussed.
0:36:40 > 0:36:48It's very rare for Bob to get such an insight into the nocturnal activities of these wild wolves.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52But his secret filming may have been rumbled.
0:36:52 > 0:37:00Brilliant! He obviously can tell where the camera is and wants to stick his nose in there.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04So this one isn't pacing as much as they were earlier.
0:37:04 > 0:37:10It seems to me that they are much more relaxed when there's no-one around, obviously.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13But, you know, I'm quite pleased. They're not...
0:37:13 > 0:37:17too bad. Not as bad as I thought they would be at this stage.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21There's definitely a noticeable difference in behaviour between the wolves.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25This may be due to the fact that they all have different personalities,
0:37:25 > 0:37:26but Bob has his own theory.
0:37:26 > 0:37:32What you can actually see is not too dissimilar to what would happen in the park, anyway.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35They form their own little pack.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38And they have like a pecking order within that pack.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41Maybe the ones that are left in the box are quite relaxed.
0:37:41 > 0:37:47Maybe they're higher ranking than the ones out here pacing up and down in the pens.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49It's nothing...
0:37:49 > 0:37:52to worry about, I wouldn't have thought. Just nature.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00The journey to Dublin Zoo by road and ferry
0:38:00 > 0:38:06will take around 24 hours, so it's crucial that the wolves remain calm.
0:38:06 > 0:38:10It's therefore a great relief to Bob to see them finally looking more
0:38:10 > 0:38:14settled in time for their collection by the team from Dublin.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21We've done all the stressful side of things.
0:38:21 > 0:38:26Getting them in and separating them from the others. All that's out the way,
0:38:26 > 0:38:30so, hopefully, everything will go right and get them on their way.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34It's hard to move your animals on, but we know full well that we have to,
0:38:34 > 0:38:36to stop in-breeding and things like that.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40It'd be nice to get them in the boxes and on their way. Yeah.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45The plan is to load the wolves into the transportation crate one at a time.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48That's it. OK. That's good.
0:38:48 > 0:38:54The crates are positioned at the end of the run, while Bob and Brian encourage the wolves in.
0:38:56 > 0:39:02But coming into contact with humans again, how they'll react is unpredictable.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05The only problems that we can foresee is the fact
0:39:05 > 0:39:08that they won't go in the boxes, but hopefully that won't happen.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Come on. Come on, mate.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17Clear.
0:39:17 > 0:39:18Clear. Thank you.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23Once all the wolves are loaded, they'll begin their journey.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27Gerry Craten from Dublin Zoo is in charge of the move.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31It's a long journey by road, so we plan to drive as far as Chester.
0:39:31 > 0:39:36Tonight, we'll stay in Chester Zoo, just overnight and then head for the ferry early
0:39:36 > 0:39:40in the morning which is only an hour and a half drive from Chester Zoo.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44When we get to Dublin, we're literally only 15, 20 minutes from the zoo.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48Come on, then. Come on. That's it. Good on you.
0:39:48 > 0:39:53I don't think the journey at all will be stressful. They'll be in boxes.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56They'll be in a dark environment, which they like.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59'They feel secure in an enclosed space.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02'Be glad to get out the other end, but I don't think they'll be stressed.'
0:40:02 > 0:40:05'We'll have regular checks on them over the night-time'
0:40:05 > 0:40:09and make sure everything is OK and we'll check them yet again before we set off in the morning.
0:40:09 > 0:40:14We've done a lot of animal moves and we're confident that once they're in the boxes, they settle down.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20With most of the wolves loaded, the operation is nearly over.
0:40:20 > 0:40:25But the trickiest bit is always getting the last wolf into the crate.
0:40:25 > 0:40:30Alone in the house, it's feeling nervous and threatened.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33Go and join your mates. Go on.
0:40:33 > 0:40:39It's up to Bob to encourage him through the chute into the crate as quickly as possible.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41Come on.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44Come on.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47Good boy. Good boy.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50That's it.
0:40:50 > 0:40:52- All clear.- Clear clear clear. Excellent.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58That went really, really well.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02Walked straight in... how we wanted it to happen, really.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04Yeah. Brilliant. Really, really good.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08- Thanks very much.- Have a good trip.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10Thank you.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12You can hear it's dead quiet in the back in the lorry,
0:41:12 > 0:41:16so that's a good indication that they just sit down, they rest, they'll be very calm,
0:41:16 > 0:41:21very relaxed and the next time that they'll see out the box is when they're in Dublin,
0:41:21 > 0:41:23so something to look forward to.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27As the young pack of wolves leave the park and head to their new home,
0:41:27 > 0:41:30the keepers hope that the remaining pack will start to breed.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34We'll be returning to Wolf Wood later in the series.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43With packs of wolves, prides of lions and troops of monkeys,
0:41:43 > 0:41:47it would be very easy to forget what's at the heart of the estate -
0:41:47 > 0:41:50the great house itself.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54Now over 400 years old, it's not only home to Lord Bath himself,
0:41:54 > 0:42:02but also thousands of priceless treasures stuffed into no less than 128 different rooms.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06As a guide, the first job is to stop getting lost.
0:42:06 > 0:42:11The second is to learn as much as you can about the treasures inside,
0:42:11 > 0:42:16which is exactly what new head guide Ruth Charles has had to do.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19- So this is the Prince of Wales' bedroom.- That's right.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21The bed in here is huge.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23- So high!- So high.- Look at that.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25You'd need a good sort of hoick up.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28Or a pair of steps. A set of steps to get in.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31- But the magic of these steps is they hide a secret.- Right.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33- And I'll show you the secret.- OK.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37Because in here, there's something special that you might need at night-time.
0:42:37 > 0:42:42- Right.- Remember, no toilets in the house until about 1875.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44This has a potty inside.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46- Oh, wow, look at that!- Ta-da!
0:42:46 > 0:42:49Isn't that incredible? What a clever idea.
0:42:49 > 0:42:54What a very clever idea, as long as you remember to put the lid back on before you get back into bed again.
0:42:54 > 0:42:58- You'd really mess up your feet doing that.- You would.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01So, do we think any nobility would have actually used this, then?
0:43:01 > 0:43:04The bedroom's named after Prince of Wales, but it's named after
0:43:04 > 0:43:07the portrait, not after the fact that the Prince of Wales came here.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11So we can't say that the Prince of Wales sat on this potty.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13I don't think we can. No.
0:43:13 > 0:43:20So there's no proof that nobility used Lord Bath's secret latrine, but Ruth's next stop is a treasure
0:43:20 > 0:43:23that only the most eagle-eyed of top nobs would have spotted.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26What are you showing me in here, then? Where are we?
0:43:26 > 0:43:32- We're in the breakfast room, but what's very special in here are these door knobs.- OK.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34What's so special about these, then?
0:43:34 > 0:43:37Look closely. Can you see the face in the door knob?
0:43:37 > 0:43:41- Isn't that amazing?- Very, very special damascene lock plates.
0:43:41 > 0:43:47An ancient Islamic technique of creating a water effect on precious metals.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50And the only way I discovered them was because a little boy
0:43:50 > 0:43:54was looking at them one day, he was about eight years old, and asked me what they were.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58- I've been here five years and never noticed.- And are there similar door knobs like this across the house?
0:43:58 > 0:44:03There are a few downstairs, but the great comparison is to the wooden door knobs
0:44:03 > 0:44:07the servants had to use, which are over in the corner there, on the gold wall.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10- Right.- A wooden door knob leading into a servants' corridor.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12Completely different class.
0:44:12 > 0:44:18At one time, there would have been 50 servants working in the house and before modern plumbing was invented,
0:44:18 > 0:44:23a lot of their time would have been filling baths by hand in the bathroom, which is the next stop.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25So this is the bath bedroom suite.
0:44:25 > 0:44:32Yes, that's right. My favourite piece in the whole house has got to be this wash stand.
0:44:32 > 0:44:34- Wash stand.- Yes.- Very simple.
0:44:34 > 0:44:40Very simple, but look down the legs to the very bottom and look at the detail on the end of the shoes.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43Isn't that amazing? Like a three-legged person!
0:44:43 > 0:44:45- Yes. It's great. - In britches, I think.- Britches.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47Buttons on his britches and a garter.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50And we used to think it was a wig stand.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53I'm not sure how true that is, but wouldn't it be great
0:44:53 > 0:44:58if it had a wooden head in the middle and a big curly wig and then feet as if it were going to run away?
0:44:58 > 0:45:03And if you could have hung your jacket on this, on the outside, you've have had a mini person.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05- Yes.- With three legs.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09I look forward to catching up with you in another few months to find out what else you've come across.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11- It's a deal.- We'll shake on that.
0:45:19 > 0:45:26Earlier on, Andy and I risked life and limb to cut down large bits of hawthorn.
0:45:26 > 0:45:31A good pruning for the tree, but even better, as far as the giraffes are concerned, to eat,
0:45:31 > 0:45:35which seems extraordinary to me, but this is what they like.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38They can barely wait. We've got a camel coming in as well!
0:45:38 > 0:45:42I suppose camels would eat quite thorny deserty stuff, wouldn't they, in the wild?
0:45:42 > 0:45:46They say it's only sharks that have a feeding frenzy! I'll go for this one as well, Kate.
0:45:46 > 0:45:52So this is now winched right up onto this kind of, well, old tree trunk,
0:45:52 > 0:45:55but this obviously mimics a live tree, rather cleverly.
0:45:55 > 0:45:59Yeah. It's a lot easier, or better, for them to eat up high.
0:45:59 > 0:46:00That's what giraffe are meant to do.
0:46:00 > 0:46:06Well, as this is being winched up, there's actually a little camera hidden in here.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10And hopefully, what that will mean, if it doesn't get eaten itself,
0:46:10 > 0:46:15is that it will give us a great view of a giraffe's tongue.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18So where are we going to sit to be able to watch this?
0:46:18 > 0:46:23- We'll drive a little way away and then the giraffe will come in and we can watch them eat.- Brilliant.
0:46:23 > 0:46:28Well, as you say, it didn't take them long to gather up around that, did it?
0:46:28 > 0:46:32No. As soon as it comes... They hear it coming now cos the trailer rattles.
0:46:32 > 0:46:36..they'll all start pounding down, so we've got three hangers. We try and confuse them,
0:46:36 > 0:46:39but they normally get there before we're ready to start hoisting it up.
0:46:39 > 0:46:44It's just nice to see the giraffe gathered round and eating as they should do. It's pretty depressing -
0:46:44 > 0:46:48- the time we've taken to cut all that and they'll make really short work of it.- They'll strip it.
0:46:48 > 0:46:51You can see there's the one that... Poor old Henry!
0:46:51 > 0:46:54He's sort of left with the one that has been stripped,
0:46:54 > 0:46:58but it is extraordinary because they really are doing that, aren't they?
0:46:58 > 0:47:01They're stripping the leaves off, but leaving all the wood there.
0:47:01 > 0:47:06That's right. They'll work their way around the thorns, and you can see, a lot of the time,
0:47:06 > 0:47:09they'll work away with their tongue and just grab it and pull it.
0:47:09 > 0:47:17Well, you can see the one on the left, there - tongue coming out and it is sort of pulling the leaves
0:47:17 > 0:47:22away from the bark. It is amazing, even from a distance, watching that tongue.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25As you said, prehensile tongue, it really is.
0:47:25 > 0:47:28They really do use it like another limb, don't they?
0:47:28 > 0:47:30Yeah. And it's also blue.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34- They've got a blue tongue. - I always thought it was black.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36Bluey-black kind of colour.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38Let's not split hairs!
0:47:38 > 0:47:44One of the theories is a giraffe's tongue is black, or bluey-black, so it doesn't actually get sunburnt.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47- A sunburnt tongue must be a nightmare.- Very painful.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51Maybe that's why lions have always got their tongues stuck out cos they're actually sunburnt!
0:47:51 > 0:47:54- There's another theory.- And they have a special saliva as well.
0:47:54 > 0:47:59Very thick saliva, so the saliva acts as a slight barrier inside their
0:47:59 > 0:48:03mouth when they're chewing big mouthfuls of thorny food.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05And grooves on the roof of their mouth as well.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08That helps when they're chomping away.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11But their diet in summer - we feed them nettles as well.
0:48:11 > 0:48:13We go out and pick nettles and put those in boxes for them.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16It's good enrichment. That's full of iron.
0:48:16 > 0:48:22It's free. It doesn't cost us anything, and it's the best for them. This grass is absolutely fantastic.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25In fact, we need a lot more animals out here to knock this
0:48:25 > 0:48:29- grass off.- And they do obviously work very, very well as a herd.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33I mean, they are, obviously, naturally herd animals,
0:48:33 > 0:48:37but again, most of these animals have been born in captivity.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39- All of them?- All of them.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41They are all English giraffe.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44But that natural sort of herding instinct, that looking out for each
0:48:44 > 0:48:49other, is clearly very much part of that DNA that they're born with.
0:48:49 > 0:48:54Absolutely. We deal with them in as wild a way as possible. We want them to be giraffe.
0:48:54 > 0:48:59We want our visitors to come here and see giraffe and zebra acting as natural as we can...
0:48:59 > 0:49:04And watching this, I mean, you know, you could almost be in the Masai Mara, couldn't you?
0:49:04 > 0:49:07Almost. Just need a gin and tonic to sit watching them!
0:49:07 > 0:49:11I don't know what sort of safaris you've been doing - not like mine!
0:49:11 > 0:49:15Well, I'm very, very glad that all our hard prickly work has been
0:49:15 > 0:49:19- as appreciated as it is obviously being. Thank you very much, Andy. - OK. No problem.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36I'll stand up.
0:49:38 > 0:49:45The Californian sea lions that live in Half Mile Lake have always had a reputation for causing trouble.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51But one of the creatures that lurks in the lake has gone down in history
0:49:51 > 0:49:54as being the worst-behaved sea lion ever.
0:49:54 > 0:50:00As head warden Keith Harris's staff were doing their daily rounds, it was just going to be like any other
0:50:00 > 0:50:05day, but there's one July morning in 1988 that he will never forget.
0:50:05 > 0:50:10Every morning, all the staff in all the different sections go off and do a head count.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14So, the people that are looking after the lake at the time came down,
0:50:14 > 0:50:18counted the sea lions, noticed one was missing.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22For a sea lion, there was only one possible escape route.
0:50:22 > 0:50:27Normally, the water comes over and cascades all down this concrete.
0:50:27 > 0:50:33We think that she came down into the stream, and this stream goes into the
0:50:33 > 0:50:37River Frome, so we thought, "Oh, dear, we've got a chase on our hands."
0:50:45 > 0:50:49The missing sea lion was a female called Laddie.
0:50:49 > 0:50:56And as sightings came in from the public, deputy head warden Ian Turner was despatched.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59We got a call that a sea lion had been spotted in Frome,
0:50:59 > 0:51:01which obviously was a bit of a weird thing,
0:51:01 > 0:51:05so we rushed down here to see if we could see it and there was nothing.
0:51:05 > 0:51:11I spoke to a member of public that was here and he said the sea lion was last seen swimming that way.
0:51:11 > 0:51:18We couldn't quite believe what was going on, but we had a really good look round here.
0:51:18 > 0:51:22The chase was on to try and find out exactly where she is now.
0:51:22 > 0:51:26We had to try and follow her as best we could, which was not too easy because she can
0:51:26 > 0:51:31- move a darn sight quicker than we can getting round the roads.- We were just looking at every stream we could.
0:51:31 > 0:51:34We called at people's houses, knocking on people's doors.
0:51:34 > 0:51:39"Have you seen a sea lion?" Which obviously, some people thought we were, you know,
0:51:39 > 0:51:44from a funny farm. And we went to this house and we said, "Have you seen a sea lion?"
0:51:44 > 0:51:49He said. "Well, there's a bloke down fishing at the bottom of our trout farm and he said he saw the sea lion
0:51:49 > 0:51:52"there and he grabbed this massive big trout and just played with it."
0:51:52 > 0:51:55And literally, we went and saw the bloke and he said,
0:51:55 > 0:52:00"Yeah, he just came swimming along. I've been here fishing for hours and caught nothing -
0:52:00 > 0:52:04"the sea lion comes up and grabs this massive great fish, plays with it,
0:52:04 > 0:52:08"throws it to one side and just carries on." This bloke was starting to get worried,
0:52:08 > 0:52:13because she could end up following this river all the way and this goes to the sea,
0:52:13 > 0:52:16and once she gets that far, we'd never ever catch her.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19So, this was starting to get quite a bit of tension and a bit nervous.
0:52:19 > 0:52:24A sea lion's natural home is the sea, but just like the other ones
0:52:24 > 0:52:31in the park, Laddie lives in fresh water, so is given a daily salt tablet to compensate.
0:52:31 > 0:52:37If the keepers could not get Laddie back soon, she would start to become very sick.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40But suddenly, another tip-off came in.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44We had a phone call that she was in an ornamental pond in Trowbridge.
0:52:44 > 0:52:50How she got there, that bit we don't know, but she obviously followed the stream somewhere along the line.
0:52:50 > 0:52:58By this stage, Laddie had caused quite a stir and even cropped up on the local news.
0:52:58 > 0:53:03After swimming more than 17 miles, helping herself to fish on a trout farm and commanding the attention
0:53:03 > 0:53:09of the crowd of spectators, Laddie the sea lion wasn't about to give herself up easily.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11Are you optimistic that she's going to come back?
0:53:11 > 0:53:13We'll get her sooner or later.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17First, they tried to appeal to her maternal instincts.
0:53:17 > 0:53:22Her pup Lindy was brought in, but that didn't work.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25Eventually, it was fish that tempted her close,
0:53:25 > 0:53:29and then they soon had her cornered in a side channel.
0:53:29 > 0:53:35At the time, we were so relieved that we got her back without any injury or damage to her,
0:53:35 > 0:53:38but I think in some ways she was relieved to be back.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41As soon as we put her back out with the other sea lions, she was fine.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45So, with Laddie safely back in Half Mile Lake, Keith had to come up
0:53:45 > 0:53:49with a new way of keeping her there, and his idea was electric.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53Well, the sea lions have got extremely sensitive whiskers,
0:53:53 > 0:53:57probably one of the most sensitive whiskers of the animal world.
0:53:57 > 0:54:02And when we put an electric fence there, to this day I don't think one's actually touched it.
0:54:02 > 0:54:07Their whiskers are actually telling them that that is electric and they don't go near it.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09This might have worked for the sea lions,
0:54:09 > 0:54:14but it just goes to show that the keepers always have to be on their guard.
0:54:23 > 0:54:25As the park closes its gates for the day,
0:54:25 > 0:54:29Kate and I are out on one of the lake boats to help deputy head warden Ian Turner
0:54:29 > 0:54:35- with one of the most important jobs of the day - ensuring the animals are tucked up safely.- Correct.
0:54:35 > 0:54:39And of course, this is one of the most notorious areas for escape artists.
0:54:39 > 0:54:40Sea lions, yes!
0:54:40 > 0:54:42I can't believe she got to Frome!
0:54:42 > 0:54:46And further. Went towards Bath, then came back towards Trowbridge.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49We didn't spot it until the next day, so that was a major escape.
0:54:49 > 0:54:54- So this has become a ritual really, since then. Coming in, counting all the lake animals.- Yeah.
0:54:54 > 0:54:58And making sure everything's fine. Check you've got six sea lions. Check the hippos are in the lake.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01I can see both of them, actually, just tucked under a tree.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04Two sets of ears, so that's good news.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08Once the last boat's gone past, we'll give 13 a shout and they can put Nico to bed and make sure...
0:55:08 > 0:55:14This is of course the island where he lives, so presumably, Mark Tye is somewhere around there.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17- Waiting for the call. - Let me give him a shout.
0:55:17 > 0:55:23- Mark Tye, Mark Tye, this is Kate on the boat. Do you read me?- Yeah. Come in, Kate.
0:55:23 > 0:55:28Mark, we've had the clear for Ian that Nico can go to bed.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32- OK. Thanks very much.- OK. We're going to just sneak round the corner.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35He's usually just hiding under there, isn't he? That's where he'll go in.
0:55:35 > 0:55:39I have to say, Ian, just looking at the electric fence around here and the size of Nico, there he is...
0:55:39 > 0:55:44- that doesn't look like that would keep Nico on the island, though. - They can't swim.
0:55:44 > 0:55:50I mean, literally, it's a deterrent to stop sea lions jumping onto the island and upsetting him.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54- And just a warning for him when he's running about...- There he goes!
0:55:54 > 0:55:57- There he goes.- That's him into bed.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01We can see him. He's gone in from this side, Mark.
0:56:01 > 0:56:07Have you tucked him up nicely with his favourite television programme? That's what we want to know.
0:56:07 > 0:56:11That's our secret. You're not going to find out.
0:56:11 > 0:56:13Thanks, Mark. Good night.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17So, Ian, everything now is accounted for, present and safe.
0:56:17 > 0:56:22- Yeah.- Good. Good. Any little final escape stories you want to tell us?
0:56:22 > 0:56:26One of the ones that springs to mind down at the lake here,
0:56:26 > 0:56:29is we had some Cape buffalo, which we put in the hippo field.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33Now, Cape buffalo are big animals,
0:56:33 > 0:56:38- with those huge horns, like that, very dangerous, and you put them in this field here.- Yeah.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41- Then what happened?- They walked straight into the lake and swam off.
0:56:41 > 0:56:46- All the way down the lake. - Straight to the end to Lord Bath's lawn.- No!- Straight got out.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49Is that why you don't have Cape buffalo any more?
0:56:49 > 0:56:54We had to take them back into the lake, back into the hippo field and take them back to the jungle.
0:56:54 > 0:56:59- Send them back.- It's amazing! Just seems such a lovely tranquil place, doesn't it, and it has been
0:56:59 > 0:57:03the scene, as you say, of many, many great escapes.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:57:13 > 0:57:17E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk