Meet THE New arrivals at longleat
cheetahs
The first episode sees drama in the cheetah enclosure as mum Wilma looks like she might be pregnant. But can the cameras capture a birth for the first time at Longleat and will the newborn cubs survive?
‘There had never been any cheetah cubs during our time at Longleat until last year when Wilma and her mate Carl had cubs and that was incredibly exciting,’ says Kate. ‘There are cubs again this year but there’s all sorts of drama surrounding them.
’in the wild, just five per cent of cheetahs make it to adulthood and even in captivity the odds are stacked against
them.’
giraffes
There’s the pitterpatter of tiny hooves for the giraffes as well this year as a longed-for female comes into the
world…
‘There had been a run of about six boy babies and everyone is fed up with boys – they want girls. Hooray! We have a girl and she’s gorgeous,’ says Kate.
Ben smiles. ‘She’s so sweet – she’s a perfect mini-giraffe, like a children’s toy.’
tigers
amur tigers yana and redd also make their much-anticipated debut at Longleat as they join ageing residents Soundari and Shouri.
‘The new tigers are exciting,’ says Kate. ‘They are a boy and a girl who are three and have never met but we’re hoping for sparks and then there could be cubs because there haven’t been any here for years. Ben welcomes them to the park – if they don’t get together, it’s his fault!’