Longleat Safari Park

We went on the 19^th April 2024 and had a blast.

Seeing painted dogs in real life was such a privilege. Over the past decade, people have become aware that painted dogs exist, which have meant more documentaries, which have meant more love. It’s always great to see a great animal gain the recognition they deserve.

One of the giraffe keepers said that the bull has been retired. From mating. This concept is by itself funny, but the pride in the keeper’s voice made it almost too much. Their bull’s fathered over thirty offspring so he’s definitely done his part for the species.

I saw in the distance what I thought was a gemsbok due to its colouration and horn shape. Later we came to another oryx species, the scimitar: the white with the rusty-red neck and head was stunning.

 

There were Somali sheep in the lemur exhibit. Because Somalia is well-known for its lemurs? (If they get along, there’s no reason not to house them together.) Very striking looks.

On the way out of the lemur exhibit, we saw pygmy goats. They were definitely small enough to be immediately recognisable as such (from the size of their horns, they were clearly adults).

Whilst in lemur exhibit, we saw ostrich on other side and they had white dots on their feathers. I’d never seen this on an ostrich before. When we got around to entering the actual safari, the closer look revealed that it was dust, not pigmentation, making their feathers appear a different colour.

 

The netted enclosure of the flamingos and pelicans not only had a small square footage but it was rather short. Whilst it was sad to see this (especially when the other animals had much larger enclosures), I understand the reasons why.

            If it were any wider, there would be a lot of sagging and hence a higher entanglement risk. The only way to free these birds would inherently risk the others fleeing the enclosure. Also, if it were any taller, it would be more likely to fall down. Not only would this lead to more money and time spent repairing the structure, the birds would panic when it falls and fly into the net, entangling themselves.

            Plus, the birds get to fly around, an obvious bonus and enrichment for creatures evolved to fly. Without this kind of enclosure, this wouldn’t be possible. But does the benefit of flying outweigh the negatives of a smaller living space? Considering how crowded the enclosure was, these negatives would’ve been amplified.

 

Driving through the carnivores was interesting. The fact they had vans parked right next to the creatures was a bit alarming. I know they’re there for the safety of visitors and animals alike but being there and so close made it seem like there was an immediate danger.

The first tiger was curled up in its dark den under the dark sky and the second was lying in the open under the bright sunlight. The first’s colours blended in with its surrounding whilst the second seemed to glow.

The male lion of the first pride had a long face whilst the male of the second pride had a shorter face. I wasn’t expecting such level of individual differences in muzzle length. (It was really rather drastic.)

Also, all of the second pride’s members were huddled together bar one. We did worry it was being shunned. However, as we came into this enclosure, we saw two lionesses walking to the rest of the pride, so maybe they woke up then saw most of their family had drifted off? The lone lioness did look like it had just woken up. Hopefully it wondered over and we greeted nicely.

We could barely see the hyenas. It was dark and gloomy and they camouflage well against the ground, so being hidden was to be expected. The hyena enclosures angle and slope maximised our ability to see the hyenas, so the park had clearly thought how to counter hyena’s hiddenness.

 

In with the meerkats were a bunch of nearby enclosures.

It was unfortunate that we couldn’t smell the binturong’s unique popcorn scent. It was rainy, something known for dampening scents, so that’s not a surprise. They were fun to watch.

Below them were small clawed otters. Every time we looked, the otters had moved somewhere knew, but each time they were cuddled in the exact same configuration. That was beyond adorable.

the crested porcupine was snuggled up and asleep. I love them and think they’re underappreciate. So even if this one did nothing exiting, I want to big it up because I really appreciated seeing it.

The tortoise in the hyrax enclosure had its legs splayed out yet its head was retracted under its shell. Between that and my height/angle, it looked like it didn’t have a head!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the aardvark. It wasn’t in its outside enclosure and the wall between the public and the inside enclose was too high for me to see over from my wheelchair. No other barrier was this high so I wonder why this one was like this?

 

The train ride was nice.

At the entrance was an enchanting cherry blossom in full bloom. It was next to cascades and waterfalls, a relaxing sound that calmed down the inevitable clunking of the wheels. We could see the gorillas across the lake, great for those that lacked the sea legs or time to take the boat over (or both, as was the case with me).

There were also sculptures or leafcutter ants marching along, the final one with its head missing and thorax angled down, looking like it was entering its nest. Such a clever detail.

 

Some final thoughts.

            The sloth house had ropes all along the ceiling and the walls, meaning the sloth could move all around us. That would be fun. But all we could see was its hand: it was hiding in the only spot it could. I hope it wanted peace for sleep, not escape from people.

Seeing secretary birds and the red panda were a privilege. Yet we didn’t get to see either the prehensile tailed porcupine or the giant otters. That was a shame.

Considering we got there early and left practically at closing time, it was surprising that there was still quite a lot to do. The fact that the tickets counted for two consecutive days helps get rid of this issue, as long as people had two consecutive days available. Still, even if people only had one day available, the tickets were very reasonably priced.

 

So yes, a great day. Everywhere was fully accessible to the wheelchair (apart from the aardvark area). The animals looked healthy and happy. The park does work towards conservation. There was a great variety of creatures. What more could you want?