Animal Park S19E06 - Episode 6

Ben Fogle and Kate Humble are back for another sunny summer series following the remarkable lives of the exotic animals at Longleat Safari Park, and the keepers who care for their every need.

Today, we find out that building a relationship with an animal takes a huge amount of work and commitment, but the results can be spectacular. Over the last few years, Animal Park has followed the park's efforts to gain the confidence of the hyenas. They have had a history of being skittish and staying away from humans, but the keepers have worked slowly to gain their trust. This week, the park needs to tidy and maintain their enclosure, so the hyenas can remain active and in good health, but they can only do it if they can persuade the hyenas briefly into their house. It's a nerve-racking experience for the keepers as one false move could mean losing years of trust-building with the hyenas.

Also, the keepers have to carry out essential health checks on the park's new red pandas. The animals spend most of their lives in the treetops, so it's hard to see their feet, but the keepers have a plan. They are building a clever gadget that will show each panda's reflection, but only if they can be persuaded to stand on it. How will the keepers encourage these famously nervous animals to come near it?

Elsewhere in the park, Kate helps with the keepers' plans for a lads' day out for the lions. They are putting one of the prides into another lion's territory in an attempt to analyse the current pride structure. Ben challenges the donkeys with a dinner-time puzzle, Megan helps the keepers give an Argentine tegu a bath, and Hamza has been given a challenge to film one of the park's rhino horns very close up. It's an easy job when the subject is still, but the rhinos rarely are.