Winter 2022
Longleat Safari & Adventure Park Longleat Safari Park News 2023
- Thread starter Kates89
- Start date
Winter 2022
Hi, I am so sorry that Sonia has passed away, her & Spot were my favourite residents.
What I have always wanted to know is, were Spot & Sonia given veterinary care & check ups like Rhinos & Elephant, or were they left completely wild. If care was given, how were the girls enclosed?. I know years ago there was a building called the Hippodrome next to half mile lake, & I never knew if that was a building where the girls would receive check ups, or if it was just a normal storage shed with a tongue-in-cheek name!. I’m also intrigued how Sonias body was removed from the lake, once it had come to the surface, & has Sonia got a proper burial site?.
I really hope Longleat get more Hippos, & never knew why they didn’t ever replace S & S companions. I know one of the girls had a baby boy, but I’m not sure who?. I would love to be able to chat with one of their carers.
A baby male Hippo was born at Longleat, sadly he died a few months old. I’m sure either Spot or Sonia were his mum, but a Hippo calf was 100% born in the late ‘60’s or early’70’s. I have lots of paperwork (somewhere) with all the Hippos names, sex & ages.Alright, I've done some (very much surface level) digging and I reckon I've found an answer to our hippo-based queries.
It would appear that in 1967, the year the boat first started running across the lake, the park acquired a group of 4 chimpanzees (assumedly to live on what would later be Nico's island), as well as 3 hippos. Having watched the episode and seen that there's footage of 3 of them in black-and-white, my conclusion is that 3 originally arrived in '67 followed by Spot and Sonia around a decade later. This lines up with the comment about the keepers being able to sit on the other hippos but not the recent two, which already suggested they were separate groups. So I'm guessing it's a mistake in the narration to say 5 arrived at once, and instead it was a maximum of 5 held in one go.
That's enough hippo research for one night
Edit: More excavation of old Zoochat threads has occurred and I've come across this video
from the year after the initial group arrived. Incredible and ever so slightly mental to watch
cerperal
Well-Known Member
Having just watched today's Animal Park, I feel compounded to say how much I've enjoyed this series so far. The past few series have felt a little off kilter in the tone and general editing (still enjoyable though) but the recent episodes seem to have had far better pacing and mix of species. Especially today, very openly dealing with the cheetahs passing and the mentioning of Evindi. Hamza and Megan feel completely integrated now and given their sections usually focus on the lesser discussed animals they're very enjoyable. It's also refreshing to hear the keepers talk openly
Best part of the episode was MORE hippo footage though. I'm not entirely surprised people used to feed them from the boat but it's still a tad mad to watch.
Best part of the episode was MORE hippo footage though. I'm not entirely surprised people used to feed them from the boat but it's still a tad mad to watch.
cerperal
Well-Known Member
Tim's previously shared the names and years the calves were born in the previous discussion, but speaking for myself and I'm sure everyone else any more info would be gratefully received
I couldn’t believe that footage, showing the boat tilting as everyone ran to one side, & people dropping cabbages into the Hippos open mouths! I would have loved to have had that opportunity, although it does look bloody dangerous!!!.
Current Cheetahs - 2.2
Rachel (from Boras, Sweden)
Xena (Wilma X Carl)
Bolt (Wilma X Carl)
Mo (Wilma X Carl)
So Mo & Bolt were born back in 2016 as part of quadruplets alongside a sister called Dina & another sibling called Flo(f?)
Presumably Flo was the runt & may not have survived
Rachel (from Boras, Sweden)
Xena (Wilma X Carl)
Bolt (Wilma X Carl)
Mo (Wilma X Carl)
So Mo & Bolt were born back in 2016 as part of quadruplets alongside a sister called Dina & another sibling called Flo(f?)
Presumably Flo was the runt & may not have survived
it is sad news about Carl and Wilma but condolences and thoughts are with the carnivore keepers at this sad time
Today's programme mentioned that Carl had died a few months before Wilma, also of kidney failure. It was a sad one today, but also a nice tribute to them with some lovely archive images including their cubs.
Mo, Bolt, Flo and Dina were born in August 2018. The most recent studbook (available online) confirms that Dina was sent to Basel in November 2020
hari Jones
Well-Known Member
What happened to flo
The editing and structure seem to certainly have improved in recent series, particularly since they replaced Screamin’ Jean with Hamza and Megan, who it appears the staff have a greater respect for and vice versa.
I would argue however that it still falls into the trap of over-humanising some stories and attaching an overly distracting soundtrack to them. The recent cheetah story is one example (did it really need Ed Sheeran?!?)
hari Jones
Well-Known Member
Give me hamza and Megan over jean any day
Personally, I’d like to see the return of African elephants to the park. They’ve got the space and, no doubt, got the budget to do a decent job, which they didn’t have with the original group. A shame they couldn’t rescue Howletts herd from their inevitable fate.
Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
It'll probably be discussed AFTER Anne passes. She's sixty-nine, so yes she is quite elderly. They'll probably wait a year or two before getting more elephants once she dies.
cerperal
Well-Known Member
The obvious issues are that Anne's Haven is firstly custom-built to her needs and secondly simply not large enough for further elephant herds. I do firmly believe they'll continue keeping them, if purely for the fact they have probably the most hands-on experienced keepers in the country now and as @Panthera1981 said have the funds. I remember the initial plan was to rescue more elephants. Perhaps the solution is to gain a herd of Africans for a seperate section of the park and use Anne's Haven for more rescue elephants? The seemingly infinite coffers at Longleat certainly make speculation fun.
I doubt they'd have enough space for the Howletts herd plus the facilities to keep a bull. Even if you removed the two adolescent bulls,Mchumba & Impy, there's still about 11 females which is too many for here.
Longleat have said they'd be a sort of retirement home and I'd love to see Belfast 2 females(who are both close to 50) move here but they'd have to be kept separate from Anne and that could prove detrimental to Anne's successful recovery.
Further to this, I remember at the time of Anne’s rescue Whipsnade and Longleat were heavily involved in the discussions establishing whether it was feasible to incorporate her into a herd. It wasn’t as it was felt the dynamics (particularly concerning boisterous calves) would have been too overwhelming for her. Thus, the decision was made to house her at Longleat.