Longleat Safari & Adventure Park Longleat Safari Park 2025

They actually didn’t go inside often they had a mud wallow which is just off the side of the lake and when it was cold they would retreat there. As on the wild hippo wouldn’t find shelter inside so they found their own way of keeping warm.
One of the funny stories the keeper was saying was once Spot and Sonia went to there mud wallow and found two swans occupying the space. So you would think the hippos would scare two birds off from the wallow, but no quickly the hippos came running back to the lake and left the swans in peace! So be interesting what these new hippos are like when let out on the lake in the autumn as it’s going to be a lot of trial with empty boats and certain sealion so not to scare the hippos!
 
According to Facebook ZigZag the male Grant's Zebra Stallion has just arrived on holiday from Hamerton Zoo to breed with the females before he returns home. Fingers crossed there'll be zebra foals next year for the 60th Anniversary of the Safari Park
 
Copied off Facebook, announcement is literally within last few minutes

One of the oldest lions in the UK has died here at Longleat in Wiltshire.

We're saddened to announce that Malaika, an African lion who was born at the estate, was just weeks away from her 20th birthday when she passed away peacefully in her sleep.

She had been experiencing age-related difficulties as documented in the current series of Animal Park being screened daily on BBC One this week.

Darren Beasley, Head of Animal Operations, said: “Malaika was the Queen of Harry’s pride, and we know she was much-loved by guests and keepers alike. She was found in the morning by our keepers having died peacefully in her sleep, which was a lovely way for her to go.

“While it is always sad when we lose an animal, the length of her life is testament to the care she has received over her years at Longleat as the average lifespan is around 14 years.”

Lions were the first animal to feature in our drive through safari when it became the first to open outside Africa in 1966 and there are now two prides, one with Harry and the other led by Klaus and Simba.
 
Statement also on the Park’s website.

I wonder if they’ll add a footnote at the end of the current series of Animal Park. Too late to edit now though I suspect.
 
Embu said:
Copied off Facebook, announcement is literally within last few minutes

One of the oldest lions in the UK has died here at Longleat in Wiltshire.

We're saddened to announce that Malaika, an African lion who was born at the estate, was just weeks away from her 20th birthday when she passed away peacefully in her sleep.

She had been experiencing age-related difficulties as documented in the current series of Animal Park being screened daily on BBC One this week.

Darren Beasley, Head of Animal Operations, said: “Malaika was the Queen of Harry’s pride, and we know she was much-loved by guests and keepers alike. She was found in the morning by our keepers having died peacefully in her sleep, which was a lovely way for her to go.

“While it is always sad when we lose an animal, the length of her life is testament to the care she has received over her years at Longleat as the average lifespan is around 14 years.”

Lions were the first animal to feature in our drive through safari when it became the first to open outside Africa in 1966 and there are now two prides, one with Harry and the other led by Klaus and Simba.
Click to expand...
It is really sad news and my memories about her is when she went out into the reserve with her father Kabir who is also sadly died in 2008 when Newquay Zoo used to have lion before they were moved to Paignton Zoo
 
Does anyone know the koala history at Longleat?
- Originals that arrived
- Deaths/births/arrivals
- Current holding
 
The main group arrived in Longleat around October 2018 koalas first came to Longleat.

I know there's been at least two Koala's that have died during that time, Wilpena and Burke.

Wilpena died in January 2019 shortly after they arrived due to Kidney disease, and Violet very nearly died from the same thing if I remember right.

Burke died 2 years ago due to old age at 17 years old, which is old for a male koala (usually it's 12 years for a male, 15 for a female). But had been at the park since 2019 after moving from a collection in Japan, and had a very big fan group too. Which I think he deserved after helping to give Longleat and Europe's first koala joeys.
 
Back in October 2018, we welcomed five new arrivals: Maisie, Violet, Coorong, Dennis, and Wilpina. A year later, in October 2019, Burke joined us from the Osaka Tennoji Zoo. Sadly, we experienced some losses; Wilpina passed away in 2019, and more recently, Burke in 2023. Coorong succumbed to kidney disease in January 2020, which led to Yani arriving in 2023 from ocean park zoo Hong Kong.
On a happier note, Hazel was born from Violet and Burke in June 2021. Maisie had Monty from a mating with Burke in June 2022. This means that Monty can potentially mate with Violet and/or Yani in the future.
Dennis is entirely unrelated to any of the females in our collection, making it crucial for us to ensure successful offspring from him with our current females.
 
Amazing, I had a vague recollection of all of this but I just wanted someone to fully make it clear. Was there originally two wombats or am I mistaken?
 
SealionLDN said:
Amazing, I had a vague recollection of all of this but I just wanted someone to fully make it clear. Was there originally two wombats or am I mistaken?
Click to expand...
Yep you're quite correct. Unfortunately the male, Deacon, died within a year of arrival due to a twisted intestine. They've been quite unlucky with them what with Ellie's health problems as well but at least she's still going strong
 
I’m confused. On animal park episode 12 it showed wolves teri and meg meeting for the first time, however e few episodes previous it showed them constantly mixed together and saying they could have wolf pups on the way. Does anyone know why there first meeting was shown after we had already seen them together previously in the series.
 
Willem123 said:
I’m confused. On animal park episode 12 it showed wolves teri and meg meeting for the first time, however e few episodes previous it showed them constantly mixed together and saying they could have wolf pups on the way. Does anyone know why there first meeting was shown after we had already seen them together previously in the series.
Click to expand...
. It seemed like they were stretching the content a bit, as we were all eagerly anticipating the arrival of Meg and Terry's pups since their initial meeting. However, it hasn't happened yet. That said, I do appreciate how they took us back to the beginning, recounting the journey from their first encounter to where they are now, three years later. It was a nice touch to see the evolution of their relationship, but does make me wonder what the keepers are planning to do next .. if they aren’t breeding a new pack
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top