Vicky Pattison dog mum and on safari at Longleat

BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts The gates are opening. It's like we're going into some sort of compound. The electric kits have slightly gone back. Signed your horn for help. Big cats enter at own risk. I'm ticking the risk. I am ticking the risk. Hello and welcome to all right pet with me, Amary Wallace, and specialist veterinary surgeon Rob Adams as we celebrate animals of all kinds. This week we're out on the road again on Safari. We're not in Africa. We're in Wiltshire in England. Visiting Longleet, which first opened in 1966 as the world's first drive-through Safari Park outside of Africa. Also in this week's episode, Rob and I talk to dog mom, presenter, author and jungle queen Vicki Patterson, about her relationship with animals. Like having unhealthy obsession with animals. Like I literally, oh it's just a big kitty cat when it's like a massive leopard or a lion. So we are parked at the line tree car park at Longleet. We have walked towards a beautiful tapay that seems to be having some sort of Madhada's tea party and sitting on a lovely picnic bench is Kat Kelly who is the senior communications manager for Longleet Safari and Adventure Park. Hello Kat. Hello, very pleased to have you. We are so pleased to be here. This is my first time Rob have you been to Longleet before? Yes I have, but as a child, but I don't think I've been for many years. Okay well this is my first time ever being on a Safari. So Kat, what can we expect today? Oh my goodness, you have got an adventure in store for you. So I'm going to take you over to see our brand new baby koala Joey. What? You've started very high so I don't know how you're going to go beyond that. And absolutely beautiful, he's just been named so he's called Monty. Monty, why are you called Monty? That's a very good question. We'll have to ask John the keeper. So we'll see in the koala, that's what that's we're going to see today Kat. Oh the binterong. Yes. I love. Yeah I love the binterong. I'm looking forward to seeing the binterong. Yes and you're going to ask a very interesting fact about the binterong later on as well, aren't you? Almost certainly. The day's going to be full of them. So we're going to, I mean that's only a tester of what we're going to be seeing today. And obviously Rob and I are going to go run and run the place and just go wild. I suppose the best thing to do is for you to lead forward and take us on the start of our adventure. Okay so this is going to give us a tester of what is what we're going to say Rob, explain what we can see here. Looks like the gate's a Jurassic Park. Yes. Yes. It's slightly smaller but it's still grass is cool. You identify the animals there, you'll do a better job than I will. We've got meerkats, we've got red panda, anteater. Not quite sure what the other one is, maybe a lemur. Yeah and I think of this a lemur and there's some parrots as well. You didn't mention the parrots, is that a squirrel with a not just one? Yeah it looks like yeah. I have a chipmunk. Oh, there's John. John, how are you doing? So this is John Evans, you are the guy who's going to take us to Jungle King's, aren't you? Very nice to meet you, welcome to all right pet. Thank you for inviting us to Longleet. So John, tell us how long have you been working that long, Leet? I've been working at Longleet for just over 18 years. Which is shocking because you look about 16. Yeah I go with this fairy that I must have been abandoned here as a child and raised by wolves or something because I'm clearly not, don't look old enough to have worked that long. A lot of exciting to you, but fairer than are you? A little bit, yeah. Excellent, we always like the fairer people. So we just look admiring the sign going into Jungle Kingdom. So you're an expert in most animals in this area? Yeah, I would say a bit of a jack of all trades, expert of none, but yeah, I haven't worked here for a long time. I know a little bit about all the animals and like most jobs as you work there, you kind of hire a more senior. So I do less fun stuff and more boring stuff of normally looking after the keepers and their way more high maintenance than the animals are. Well, can I just say something? You're a liar. Right because we have heard that you're going to Australia tomorrow and that's times very fun. Yeah, that's that, yeah. Yeah, you caught me out on that one, yeah. It's a business trip. You can't see my, it's speech marks there, but it is a business trip. But yeah, I mean, absolute privilege to be able to do that. So very lucky. Same as us working so hard, having to go to Longleet. Safari Parking, that's very hard work, isn't it Rob? Absolutely, it's a real burden. I crossed a bear. Oh, you don't have burden up. It'd been in the car on me today and I kept losing my way and we still have lost our audio team as well. So that's not great. Yeah, they're on their way. They're on their way. Okay, so John, do you want to take us forward into this exciting kingdom? Yeah, we can. Is that all right? We can see some animals, yeah? Of course. But this must be the binger on it. This is a binger on, yeah. It's a pair of binger on. So a very unusual animal. They're known as Asian bear cats, but they're neither bears nor cats. But they look a little bit like a, almost like an animal that's been matched together by bits of leftover animal. So they've got a face a bit like a bear, but then also a body like a cat. They've got a prehensile tail so they can grip on when they're climbing around. So yeah, very unique animals. And not many people have ever seen a binger on or ever heard of a binger on. So that's what it's all about here at Longleet is showing people the weird and wonderful side of animals. I was lucky enough actually to go to Borneo just the end of last year. And it was very excited to potentially see binger on, but it was one of the animals that I didn't get chance to see there. So it's wonderful to be actually see them here. They've got these amazing little tufts just behind there he is. Yeah, just incredible animals. You know, very elusive in the wild. So not overly surprising that you didn't see them. I don't know if you smell them though, because one of the most well-known facts about binger on is they smell like popcorn. You go into their house and it's like a sort of smelly version of popcorn. But yeah, very unique animals and yeah, a big favourite here at the park. There is a smell coming through. There is a sort of sweet aroma coming through. Have you ever tried to lick them? I've definitely never tried licking binger on. That's definitely not to be a recommend. We've been asked to do nocy's training and we definitely get advised not to go around lick in the animals. That's sort of a rule 101. So yeah, you can smell it, but yeah, certainly don't taste. So they're really interesting, because yes, as you say Rob, they have these big tufts. They almost look like they could do with a good brush, but fluffy bits come on out everywhere. But they also have the face slightly like a furry otter, like the big long whiskers on an otter-type face, no? Yeah, I can see that. As I said, they're a very unique animal. They're almost an animal that is all on their own. Hence why they're called Asian bear cats, because people need to sort of relate them to something, but yeah, they're neither related to, to, even one of those animals. So they're, and again, perfectly example there using the prehensal tail to grip on, you know, expert climbers, these two, especially we've got a pair here. They get on okay, but as of yet we've not had any baby binter on, and that would be the dream, because they're beautiful animals. So we great to have a couple of babies and then sort of increase the population here in the UK and in Europe. They're absolutely beautiful. I use a keeper. Can you look after them? Can you pet them at all? Do they let you pet them, no? No, there are certain animals that, you know, you can certainly go in with them, but they're very much a hands-off. If you're lucky and they're in an okay mood, they'll take a little bit of food from you, but they're very much a hands-off. They don't like a cuddle, which is difficult because they look like big fluffy teddy bears. So, but yeah, they've got big teeth, big claws, so you certainly don't want to get on the wrong end of them. It's a bigger one, the boy. Or with, because obviously there's a furrier one. There's a big fluffy one up on the, on the big massive bird table thing. Yeah, this is the male lying down and the female's just, yeah, just climbing up. It looks like he wanted to go to sleep and now she's, yes, they know, you know, that's probably my spot. She's the boss. So, yeah, he normally gets to sit wherever she isn't normally. So, do you know if there has been any kind of union at all, or no it hasn't been Borough, Frutje, but have they got together at all? We've seen some okay, you know, promising signs, but as of yet, no, certainly no. I wouldn't use the word romance. Right. So, you know, you never know. They're a fairly young pair, so we're hoping a little bit of time and as they get to know each other a bit more, hopefully, yeah, level being there. How long have they been here? The male's been here a little bit longer than the female, so I think they've only been together for a year or two. So, you know, still fairly new to each other. You know, they'll come into season, you sort of see some promising signs, but then nothing comes of it. So, yeah, no rush. You can't rush these animals. When the time's right, they'll hopefully get us on, if I can say that. Oh, you absolutely can on this programme, but also when they get desperate enough, maybe, when they realise there's literally no other options. Yeah, maybe. Yeah, maybe when there are no other choices, there's no, you know, they can't swipe left or right, they just, yeah, they go with whatever's there, I suppose. They're absolutely fascinating. They're really beautiful with the huge whiskers that just go right down behind there is. And they's really white and they're going to the whole black side of the fur. And I'm amazed at how mobile they are. And you see them climbing, climbing on the ropes and up the tree, the female there is just climbed right at the top of. Wow, look at the fur. It's quite impressive. The way she could use his up tail is you were mentioning just to sort of wrap it round as a sort of fifth appendage. Yeah, they're big. They're big, you know, chunky heavy animals as well. So, you know, they had effort in the, I mean, that was looked effortless to get really good. It's so agile and I just said, having the four feet, you know, be able to grip on but also that tail gives them that little bit of backup as well. She's about the size, what would you say? She's about the size of what size is she? Because I mean, most people. listening at home have not seen these animals in real life unless they've been too long-leaked. So you know it's just by the size of what I got. - I'm. - Cocker Spaniel. - I can't understand your excellent, yes I can't understand. (laughing) And she's parched right at the top of the tree. It's just showing off way better as well. - There's a little bit of showing off going on. I think he, the male standing his ground a little bit in one of the favorite sitting spots. So yeah I think there's a little bit showing off going on. And to be honest you're very lucky to see them awake. You know if you came back in sort of an hour's time maybe sound asleep. So you know different animals here are active at different times of the day. And these two are certainly early risers. So once we get to lunchtime they're normally flat out snoozing. - So what do you feed them? - So Ben Swang has got a huge variety of diet. They'll eat fruit and veg but also insects and meat so pretty much anything to be honest. So mainly a fruit and veg diet we also give them chicks and mice and quail and you know a bit of meat as well. - They don't eat popcorn now? - They don't eat popcorn, no, no. The popcorn suddenly just comes from a sinkland on them. So yeah not down to their diet of mainly popcorn. - Right, certainly a different smell from the animal clans when they have to get tree into whatever you're a vet. - Well certainly when I was in the jungle and. - You mentioned Bordy or K&R? - Yeah, yeah, yeah, well that was there. - No but I was like we would track a civet poo in the jungle and it looked very different. It was quite a distinctive species because you could all eat seeds and everything that came out. It doesn't look like, well it doesn't really look like any other poo that I've seen before. - Like a protein bowl? - No, no, not at all. Would you tell us a bit more? - Yeah, I mean what favourite topic of a zookeeper is poo? It varies a lot depending on what they're eating so I remember they used to have blueberries on their diet sheet and the blueberries almost just went straight through them so they come out of your brain. So you've got this weird mass of brown with little lumps of blueberry in it so you know the wild diet generally would be a little bit different to the captive one anyway but yeah very unique and that definitely doesn't smell like popcorn either. - But it's like a fascinating thing right? Because it doesn't look like well you normal poo that comes in the toilet. - No exactly and you know especially if you're tracking them in the wild they're very easy to know that they're in the area because they have very unique feces. - Well I think it's important to add today we should always check our own poo as well when we go to the toilet so you're saying John today always check your poo. - Yeah, rule for the day always check your poo if you're not checking your poo check your animals poo. - Well we leave the animals of long late and join a girl who probably has said all right pet once or twice in her life Vicki Patterson are you all right pet? - No I'm really good thank you pet how are you guys? - We are great we are great I'm very pleased to have you on the show we've been looking forward to chatting to you for quite a while we've wanted you on some series one so it's great to have you on with us on all right pet. - This is the first time here in love it I'm going to sack me P.R. - I've got the request. - So today we're at Longleet for episode two of all right pet and have you ever been on safari? Have you been to safari park before? - So I actually haven't been to like a safari park but I did Amazon get me out of here for like Australian audiences so I did that out in South Africa and that's actually filmed in Kruger National Park. - Oh wow. - So yeah so we filmed it there so like is in the mix is you can get like one day we all got called to you know we have the Bush Telegra. - Yeah well an English one and the Australian one is called the Top Tokki I don't know why we all got called to the Top Tokki and we thought is it a trial is it a challenge like what's going to go what's happening and they're like oh no there's a lot of that income could you just all stay in here. So we're like oh no bother. I think all that the series is very different to the UK version it's put on slightly earlier it's more kind of like I'm a celebrity meets to Kishie's castle it's very weird lots. So it's not she's castle I mean that's a throwback from the past. - I love that. - Yeah honestly but it's very silly big stunts rather than like putting us underground they don't like any of that because it's more for family audiences. - So you've done I'm a celebrity then twice you've done the one for the UK and you've done one for Australia as well. - Yes I have I was really lucky. It's actually where they filmed the big legend series this year so it was nice to watch that and save me old stop and ground pop up. - And we made Queen twice? - Oh absolutely not. I did okay I think obviously came first the UK one but I came third in the Australian one. I think in quite rightly so they're very patriotic. They wanted an Aussie to win and I can't blame them. - But was it quite nice being surrounded by the animals? We scared of any of the white life there are you pretty balsy when it comes to making wild animals? - I actually feel like I should be more afraid than I am. I think I'm like having unhealthy obsession with animals like I literally oh it's just a big kitty cat when it's like a massive leopard or a lie and like always but no I definitely feel like I should probably have a more of a healthy respect for wild animals than I do. I am more of animals I'm a bit obsessed. I had a fact about elephants and I don't know if it's true. Do you know this fact? Can I tell you it and you can tell me if it's true? - I mean I wouldn't know it until you tell me to. - Right okay so I heard. - That the same chemical is released in an elephant's brain that gets released in our brain when we say puppies when they say us so they just think we're really cute. - What's that true? - I mean I don't know idea but that sounds amazing. - That's a great idea. - I know so I really liked. - How have they done that study? - Right there's just sort of we'll get some puppies and we'll sort of follow some humans and we'll watch their responses and then we'll do the same with elephants. - I have never even struck an elephant. Have you ever have you have you touched an elephant? - No I mean I have a very complicated relationship with like zoos and things like that. I don't really love them. So I've in all the places where you would normally say an elephant feels quite cruel to me. So there's a place in Thailand in Chiang Mai. It's like a sanctuary and you get to help the rescued ones and it's been on the book that lists for years mate but no we had it all booked but unfortunately COVID hit. So we have another chance to go back but we'll definitely we'll wander and I'll give them washes I'll give them yes scratches and like whatever that scratches the wand. - Well from the exotic animals to the domesticated animals you are really quite well known for your love of your dogs and you got you got a new doggy quite recently didn't you? - Yeah we adopted Max on Christmas Eve. Would you believe way I work with an animal sanctuary in Wales called many tears rescue and I sort of heard it planned to get down there before Christmas with full de donations for the fluffy boys and girls from some of my favourite brands and one of the women who worked there who like knows I'm dog obsessed but labs in particular are my Achilles heel we say and she said like they just had some like like 12 lab puppies dropped off and the woman just couldn't afford to feed them she wanted them all to go to good homes before Christmas I think this was potentially like the week before and it took the most extreme case of emotional blackmail you can potentially imagine to get my partner that's a great having other ones but it was so worth it I just kept randomly sending pictures of Max and I was like he's got no mummy he's got no mummy and no daddy and in the end I can't say I was going to do what you want so we drove it was a 12 hour round trip with a very disgruntled Mr Milo in the back to go and meet his new brother because you know like when you adopt they're if you have already have another one you can't until they've both met and there's no friction or tension or whatever and actually it was really shocked I'd expected this like fox and the hound style Disney friendship instantly between the two of them like I'd seen on Instagram it was just like painful indifference when you both first met each other another dog yeah and I got really tearful because I was he would draw so far and Max he was going to end up in the shell over Christmas if they didn't get on and they said no this is specifically what we look for if it had been to intense or if there'd been any aggression we wouldn't have let you take it home but this is perfect and he is the absolute best addition to our family do they get on well now or they are still painfully indifferent oh no there are absolutely savage now you should say them they're a typical big typical brothers aren't you? aren't you telling me? you want these balls though you don't want to give it up do you son? oh he adores you doesn't he really so as he always attached to you when you're when you're in the heist is he just always there with you yeah? Max is considering they're both labs like you'd think they'd have the same personality they absolutely do and so my little my biggest boy is two and a half your dog's trust baby aren't you? he is adventurous and bold and never tired and very strong and all the rest of it but only really wants you when he wants to go on his walk or both fetch like you'll have a little he sometimes have a little cuddle at night but he's only just settled into that now he's two and a half max on the other hand is like a cuddle monster but somebody did say that to me about um got mommy's hand somebody did say that to me about chocolate ones like there are more affectionate um and he is that you just looked over I'm like I'm talking about your son. Max is probably more of a mommy's boy than Milo. One of the greatest pleasures in life to watch them sort of a personality's developed and them get comfortable with her as well for the first time ever about two weeks ago Max rolled onto his back and slept with all of these tummy out. I see an ultimate sign of trust isn't it? And like, Milo's been doing it for ages, bless him. He's so content. We had the first time Max did it like I just burst into tears. But there is something about it isn't there? Whenever you take a dog in from rescue in particular, like obviously it's great to get any animal into your home, especially when you've really wanted one for a long time. But when you rescue a dog and you know that you're going to give them a lovely life, there is something even more special, isn't there? Yeah, our dog has run like I believe if you're going to provide a loving and airing home, it doesn't matter where you get your animal like, you know, I'm a huge advocate for adopting and rehoming and all the rest of it. Yes, I have enough space, I have enough time. Like that was important for me, but I'm certainly not one of these like super judgmental people like I myself experienced it before I even got a dog and was sort of saying that he put on me Instagram or plan on getting a dog like this is his name tagging owner and the onslaught of you better be adopted and you better you know, and I just think adopting is incredible and it is noble and it is brilliant and if you can please do it, you know, but also like some people do just want a little puppy from a breeder and that's okay too, as long as it's a good breeder and you give looked into it all, like I just feel like pets in general, animals in general need to be shown love regardless of where you get them from, but I like again a huge advocate for the old adoption thing like. I think if you always had dogs. So I always wanted a dog, I was always obsessed with dogs like like I'll cross the road to meet someone's dog like just absolutely like no bother at all. So yes, I always wanted to put my mom's I mean, I'm had two kids like you know, and she had full time job and I think my mom was really measured. She knew that having a dog such a huge responsibility. Something I didn't fully anticipate like I was really overwhelmed and I got my love. I was like, "Oh, I've underestimated this so what?" Well funny, I was listening to you the other night you're on. You've been on the podcast and it was actually repeated on Five Life. Just the other night in fact I was at last night whenever I was driving home bizarrely and you were talking about, you know, it was actually about a bit of anger and frustration and what an oesia. And I wondered then because I would get quite I rate, but Rob's really chilled out, cool guy and I'm like, "You seem really relaxed, Rob." I still don't like I know one of them. I'm all like you, I'm really I'm mad. Yeah, just like I'm really like I'm like a coil spring and I'm about to go with any second and I just like how I described myself a coil spring. And I just find, and I've got two dogs as well, a greyhound and a jack Russell and I just find that having those animals in my life just settles me, just levels me and it makes all a difference to me and Rob, you've heard me say this before, first thing in the morning before I do anything else, even sometimes before I have a shower, I'll just throw some clothes on and I'll just go out and I'll walk the dogs and I'll listen to music and walk the dogs and it sets me up for the day and stops me being, you know, temperamental or more temperamental in me. I know, maybe I am, you know. Do you find that having the dogs to help settle you as a person? That's like you have really lovely dogs. And where is I love Max and Milo so much? They're both sill puppies. So they're a hand. Well, I think first of all, I didn't realise how much I was neglecting, like that desire as a human is just get out and be in nature. That need we have like literally, I could easily spend all day just going like podcast or podcast inside on a photo shoot, film and on to an event and never do more than like a thousand steps. That used to be my life. Like it just wasn't high. I would go get as wrong. I'd go to gym. I'd do a class, but physically walk and get out in nature. I just never was on me radar. And then we got the boys and I realised like, gosh, this is so good for the mental health. Like I've clearly been really missing a trick and like to private themselves with something that it really needed. So in that sense, partly like dogs are so great. But in terms of relaxing, like I think maybe that stage is going to come later for us. And I just have to be really honest because I get so many people say, like, oh, I'm going to get another one or like, did you find labs or hardreads? Like the answer is just like puppies are really difficult. And it's like, how much exercise do I get and how well you train them? They're rambunctious and full of fun. And then I don't want like robot dogs like sit, stay, lucky in the kitchen, have a create. Like I want them to be my like my fluffy children. So I have made a rod for me own back with their behavior. And I'm so well aware of that. It kind of reminds me all the time that it's me. Hi, I'm the problem. It's me. But I'm sort of okay with it. Like I'm chaos, they're chaos. And this is just our life. So I know it'll settle down. And when it does, like I'll be devastated. I'll probably try and get another one because I could think I was born in chaos. And the boys are just the same. Yeah. They are lucky, lucky boys. You have, I mean, they're spoiled, but in the best possible way. And it's lovely to say, and they clearly adore you. I mean, they are clearly shown off for you. And it's a great relationship you have. Where are the now? Are lucky, just lie and time for side you. Good boy. What a good boy. Doing a little splooch right next to you. Well, thank you so much for joining us on all right, Pat. We, we, we, everything we had hoped you would be. So thank you. And I hope that you and the dogs are all right, Pat. Oh, thank you so much. That's the happiness guys. Sorry, it took so long. I had no idea. Pat, Pat, dog on a roll. You're listening to all right, Pat with Rob Adams and Amri Wallace. We are long lit and we are joined once again by John, one of the senior keepers here. Is that right? It's not my total John, senior. Yeah, see, yeah, it makes me sound old. But, yeah, lead keeper official, yeah, visual title. And we've come to Australia, haven't we? We have, yeah, it's not a particularly Australian day today, weather wise, but yeah, we're here at Koala Creek. It's still warmer than Northern Ireland. Let me tell you. But look, this is my first time ever encountering a koala. And of course, I should expect eucalyptus everywhere. And there's a lovely koala just hanging by a tree chomping away. Who's this? This is Violet. So Violet is one of our female seven koalas. And as you said, you first time you've ever encountered a koala. This is the only place in Europe that you can see a seven koala. So it, longly, is the only place that has them. So we're very, very lucky to have them here. Also the European Hub for Koala Life, which is a koala conservation organisation. So, greatly, you can come to long lit. You can see a koala, but it's a much bigger project than just looking at a cute fluffy koala. Can I just pick up on something you said there, John? You said seven koala. Does that mean there are other species of koala out there? Yeah, geographically, they're sort of split. So the north and the south, very different weather wise, the south is very extreme. So they have huge high temperatures of like 50 degrees. But if you go into their winters up into the Adelaide Hills, it snows, it gets down to minus five. So the seven koalas have to deal with much more extreme different ends of the temperature than a northern koala would. So, northern koala is quite small. They're not as big and fluffy. Whereas, servants have got that lovely big fit, almost woolly coat. And that's to help them with the slightly colder climate than their northern cousins would have to cope with. And is that why you've got the southern ones here? Because they fit better with the climate that we've got here in the UK. It works perfectly here. The probably favourite topic of a koala keeper is the Weber. We spend most of our life talking about the Weber because people were visiting today. It's an overcast, fairly chilly afternoon. People were visiting go, "Oh, these poor koalas, they should be in Australia, they're spoiling hot." Yeah, it's sometimes the year it is, but it was almost as match up with our Weber because we have more extreme summers now. The summer we've just had 40 degrees and then it very rarely gets much below minus five. So the southern koalas they can deal with our Weber probably better than the northern ones would be able to. So let's describe the enclosure today. First of all, how many koalas do you have? I'm losing count a little bit because which is a good thing because we've got more than we did have. So we have two males. Different ends of the spectrum with those. We've got a mature male called Burke who is 16 years old and then we have a young male called Dennis who's only six years old. So he's 10 years younger than Burke and then we have our mature female. So Violet who's out here now, Macy who are both, what are they? Seven, seven years old this year. We have a young female called Hazel who will be two years old in August and then we have a young male called Monty who is only 10 months old. We find out from their cat, her communication, some manager is that Monty is the baby, he's the new addition to the family. So what was it like whenever you had? Was it taken up here? So let's hear some of the mother off. No, Hazel is Monty's big sister. It gets very complicated. Koala family is a very complicated. So same, same dad, different mums. Oh, yeah. They're not very romantic animals. People assume that Koala is a lovely, cute, fluffy family animal. They're not. They couldn't be any less romantic if they tried. But yeah, we'll maybe go into that a bit later. But baby wise, Hazel who's our baby. from nearly two years ago, first ever Southern Koala to be born in Europe. Oh really? Absolutely, huge deal. You know, the, long ago we've been open for not far off 60 years now, had some incredible breeding success and wonderful breeding stories, but to have the first ever of an animal born on this continent of Europe is absolutely incredible. So she's a big deal, she knows she's a big deal, she's an absolute diva of a Koala, and sadly you probably can't help that because she's been in the spotlights since the day she climbed out of the pouch. Climb out of the pouch, okay, right? So you're going to have to explain how this works. So first of all, violence on the move, that's the first thing we need to say. She looks magnificent and she has got these wonderfully big pointy claws, because you think, oh, fluffy, fluffy, actually, she could probably do some damage with those. She could do some damage and she has done some damage. I've got some scars from, from Violet, you know, big sharp claws, they've got big teeth, they kick. Yeah, they're, from the outside, I often think people probably think that I don't like koalas, because spend a lot of my life telling people how horrible and smelly and bitey they are, but I love that because people have that she knows what we're talking about. She's not going to leave them, look, she just barely done. I'm sorry, Violet. Yeah, people have this preconception of a fluffy cute koala bear, you know, that people have been to Australia, they've held one, always all very lovely. You do get some nice koalas, you know, I'm not saying that, but you also get the flip side of that, you get some not so nice koalas and they are very different personality-wise. When Violet joined us, so she came from Madeleine, the Australian keepers had already nicknamed her Violet the Viper, so that says it all. She's one of our more challenging koalas that we have to work with, but she is Hazel's mum, so she was the mum of the first ever Southern koala to be born in Europe, so yeah, very, very special koala. And so then Monty, who's the mother of Monty? So Monty is Macy's son, yeah. Okay, and today with Macy and Monty are they quite close, you know, as a good born between the two of them? Yeah, they're very good at the moment, so, you know, koalas, musophiles, so they don't have their babies like any other mammal, you know, rather than incubating the baby very safely in the womb, they give birth to it after 36 days, basically to a fetus. It's not a baby koala, it's this little pink jelly being blind, naked worm. Yeah, rather than looking after it in your womb, you've basically give birth to it, it climbs out, it, mum releases a little bit of milk in the pouch, the young Joey, with baby koalas called Joey's, smells the milk, and it smells the milk, and it finds the pouch, and then does all of it's developing in the pouch. So baby koalas, very mysterious, you don't ever know that they're really there to start with, you know, most of our rival animals are lonely, you know, if we have a baby giraffe, the keepers go in the giraffe house in the morning, and they go, "Oh look, there's a big, big six-foot baby giraffe, we had a baby giraffe last night." Live the koalas, we know that male and female had a date, you know, they had some interaction, something may have happened. You heard some noise. You heard some noises, you heard, yeah, some, they scream. It's just brutal. Yeah, you want to go on YouTube and look at mating koalas, it would probably be fighting koalas. People often think that koalas fighting is actually mating, it's normally a male and a female that are fighting. Is it like foxes then? Are you not noisy here foxes? Yeah, that's awful noise. That's another level. It's about, worse. Because of fox, you know, coming from a fox, you can almost understand, but when that noise comes out of a koala, it's not, it's, yeah, it's not for the faint height. Can you do an impression of it? No. No. So the female scream, and the male's make like a big booming bellow, it's called a bellow, and that's a dominance, it's like, it's like, yeah. Oh, violence is interesting. Yeah, I don't know, I'm an exciting violet. So where are we at? A massive aside track by that. And yeah, so you don't know the boat, you don't know the better. So they're born after 36 days. You don't see the berth because it more than likely happens at night. The way the koala sits, there are things, you know, they're all cold up, and you can't see them. It doesn't weigh anything, it weighs like a gram. So even by weighing our koalas twice a week, you don't see any weight increase to start with. And then eventually, you'll start to see some movement in the pouch area, some wiggling, and then you might see a arm pop out or a leg. And then eventually, you'll see a little baby koala just stick a said. That one morning. So at what point then did you realise that you had a baby? Because presumably, you know, you're doing the weekly weigh-ins and all that sort of thing to check on them, but you weren't given that they haven't previously been bred here in Europe. You presumably weren't expecting that to happen. No, as a sub, we knew that, mainly for me, I spent some time together. So with both, uh, mazy and violet, they both spent nine months with Burke separately. The behaviour changes quite a lot. So, you know, when they're in season, there's lots of interaction and stuff going on, lots of shouting and bellowing. And then normally if something's happened, they completely isolate themselves from each other. So it's very little. So when we go in the koala house, they basically couldn't be any further apart. The one we're at one end, one at the other. And that's normally because female is pregnant and doesn't want any interaction with the male. And if the male approaches, she normally gets chased off. So you look at that initial sort of change in behaviour. And then yeah, you're just looking for some sort of slow, weight increase slightly and then. So you were suspicious then just from the fact that you were like, "I know they spent some time together. Now their behaviour has changed, but you've thought, "Actually, maybe we've got something going on here." Yeah, so then, you know, you then take the, in the wild, male and female, as I said, they'd have a date, they'd have an interaction and then they would go their complete separate ways. Male would never phone the female again. That is it. It's a one-date wonder. Male has absolutely no upbringing, you know, or part in the upbringing of the baby. And are we able to go and see some of the other co-op? Yes, so yeah, violence out here. Dennis, our other younger male is there, but I think the other girl's and the, Monty, the baby, is in sight, will he go to him? Dennis, the menace. Yeah. So Monty, still fairly reliant on mum. You know, he's been coming, he doesn't fit in the pouch anymore. He's far too big for that, but he generally stays with mum. Koala's just eat utiliptus. You know, that's the only thing they eat. So, they're a very specialist feeder. Worldwide, there's hundreds and hundreds of different species that you've utiliptus. Koala's will eat about 30 different types, so they're very, very bussy. Monty is solely eating utiliptus now, so that independence is starting to grow and he starts to climb away from me, so now I spend a little bit of time on his own. So, being a boy, he's growing a lot quicker than Hazel was at this same point two years ago. But he's doing really well, he's an absolute pro. And slightly in the shadow of Hazel, you know, Hazel being the first ever Southern Koala to be born in Europe, Monty is a proper middle child. Oh, I know, I know. He hasn't had the same focus. I think Hazel was global. She was on the news all over the world, absolute global superstar. I think Monty made it onto the page 12 of the World's Times, and that was about it, so. Oh, I'm so happy. But he's the first male Southern Koala to ever be born in Europe, so, you know, he's got his own title. But doing very well, you know, the future for Monty, he'll stay within the female group until he's about two years old. And then once he becomes sexually mature, he'll leave the female group and live on his own. So, as I mentioned, Koala's aren't a sociable animal. I think this is probably a good indication. You've got Hazel at the top there, mazy underneath, they don't care about each other. You know, there's no social interaction between them. As long as they've got enough food, they've got enough places to sit. And, you know, this leap for 20 hours a day, anyway, so there doesn't leave a lot of time for hobbies and anything else in between. So, yeah, so Monty will leave. And you can't keep males together, because males would fight and kill each other, and you have to have the ability for a male to be removed from a female group once breeding. And obviously with Monty, we don't want him breeding with the girls because he's played it to them. - Fair enough. - We also do, twice weekly, urine tests with them to make sure there's nothing going on inside. We count their feces. We're looking at the number of dropings every day, making sure the consistency of it's right. We work really closely with a teammate, notting a new university, who have been looking into the kidney issues and we've had some great breakthroughs but then, since the koalas have been here. So, you know, a much bigger project than just these couple of koalas that we have here is almost a global project as well. - That's fascinating. When you're sort of sampling urine, are you sort of, therefore, having to collect that off the floor? Are you actually sort of sampling that directly? Is it how do you. - Oh, yeah. - And you get urine from the koala. - I would say, out of any animal at longle, you know, I don't know how they get a urine sample from a lion, but probably not particularly easy. Koalas is actually quite simple. So, they only come to the ground once a day and that has to do one massive week. And that's the only reason really a koala will come to the floor. So, you start to train them from a young age to basically pee on a tray in space what they're doing. - Like hats? - Yeah. And so, as I said earlier, we wave them twice a week. So, after we've weighed them, we put them on the floor and they go, "Oh, I'm on the floor. I might as well have a weeb on them down there." So, you then pop a tray under their bum, they pee on the tray, and then you've got a lovely sterile, it's not off the ground. You're in samples, you can then look for crystals and any colada or anything that may be affecting their kidneys. - Whenever people come here, obviously, do they feel ever a bit disappointed that they can't coddle the koalas? Because I know that people always think, "Oh, you go on holiday, do you get Australia?" "You get to coddle the koalas." That's not a thing here. - No, it's not. And, you know, even in Australia, you know, state-by-state, certain states let you hold koalas, certain states let you touch koalas, certain states don't let you do either. So, it's a little bit of a political thing. And, you know, we've only got a handful of koalas, so it's no good to kick them up and let them people hold them. It's not white there here. I think we're very, very lucky. You see, you know, members that we have here at the park who are five years old, and they've already seen a baby koala. You know, I was in my mid-30s the first time I ever saw an actual real-life koala. So, there's no better way of getting people excited about animals and wildlife. And koalas are a very easy animal to get people excited about because, I mean look out. just incredibly cute and adorable. So you want that next generation of crazy koala people who are going to fall in love with her and hopefully take over our work with saving them in the wild. (upbeat music) - So you join us here in the sloth enclosure. - Look at the rob look. - Oh my gosh. - This is Chico. And Chico is hanging by his feet from a wooden beam and he's coming down and he's putting his hand right to the keeper here. He is the most amazing looking creature. It's almost like half man. He'd always imagined there's like a little child or something dressed up and furry outfit. - No, absolutely. The incredible strength it would take to do the level of aprobatics skills that he's got the absolute perfect control. - It's like the most insane sit-up, but a speed that you never see. - That was so funny. When you were talking there, a child came in and walked and didn't see the sloth above his head. And then the next thing the sloth came down and just it's like, there's a sloth and literally hanging above my head which doesn't happen to you every day, sure it doesn't. - Maybe it's just eating. I said, there'll be a celery maybe. - So I'm fascinated by sloths. I'm so glad that we got to come into this enclosure today. Just they are the most beautiful creatures. I did read up all of them, like they can swim underwater for 40 minutes without coming up. So they can lower their heart rate so low and they only come dying. And they've been talking about poo quite a lot but they only come dying from their trees to poo once a week. - Once a week, I didn't know that. - Well, now you can see, I'm learning something from me today, Rob. But yes, so they have this really, really kind of low metabolism and they just have slow metabolism. So it's like a slow metabolism. - A very low metabolic rate. - Oh, is that what it is? Like it is, there's the vet and you come away. - So it takes them like 30 days to digest a single leaf. - It's a 30 days, I thought it was like a few days. - 30 days. - So 30 days from now that we last got to come to, I dropped a bit, I dropped a bit of somebody get it back for it. But they have the most incredible nails, like really, remember you, whenever people-- - Well, that's the cool thing we've got to recognize with these and put people to understand. So this is a two-toed slow. So instead of us, like we have five fingers, these guys have just got two toes. So you get two toes closed, you get three toes closed. And you can see these enormous claws. They look like someone that hasn't cut their nails in about 10 years. - It's John it's like, as a child, the yesterday, the Guinness Book of Records program and people used to grow their nails, right? - To make these really, really long nails for the yesterday curl, it's a bit like that. They're just ridiculously long nails, like inappropriately long nails. Chico is really mobile. Chico has come along on a whole big roll of ropes and has moved all the way along. And then it's hanging upside down now and churn again on this piece of-- - Well, as the song goes, it's Chico time. (laughing) You remember that? - Not me, I'm too young. But I imagine now after he's done all this physical activity, he'll be asleep for three weeks. - Yeah, maybe he's got 30 days to digest that. But this animal, you really want to go and just cuddle, don't you? - I don't know, those toes kind of scare me. I've worked around animals enough, but yeah, that level of strength and those toes, no, I'm good with that, the cuddle. I can appreciate the natural beauty in here. - I thought you were gonna say, "Oh, that time in Borneo, whenever I was in the rainforest, I saw Sloth, no?" - Actually, no, they don't live there. - But they are a tropical species. - Right, I am very pleased to meet Chico today. - Oh, Rob's going to give Chico some sweet potato and he's gripped it. Oh, I'm hideously ambious again. I was talking about the sharp claws and he also has incredibly sharp teeth and he's gonna work his way through that sweet potato in no time at all, he's using some tongue action too. (laughing) - That's my day, mate, I have to say, even if I don't get to see any other animals at Long Lake today, seeing Chico the Sloth has made my experience complete. - That was great, I can't believe I just fed some sweet potato to a Sloth. (upbeat music) - All right, Rob, what is more terrifying than my driving? - I don't think there's anything more terrifying than you're driving. - Where? - However, we are about to go through the Safari drive through. So. - I assume you have been on a Safari before in your lifetime. - No, but it is something I'd really like to do. If the BBC would like to send me on Safari, I'm more than happy to go. - Well, they are, they are sending in your Safari. They're sending your Safari right now. We're about to go through the big gates that has a picture of an elephant, giraffe, lion, is that a wolf, Haina? - That does look like a wolf. - Excellent, we're gonna go through this and see what happens. - We're gonna go. - I'm gonna start this car, there we go. - Hey, remember to have a drive. - This is so exciting. I too have always wanted to go on a Safari and I've been to South Africa a couple of times. So at any moment, like something could just jump out of us. Is that basically what a Safari is? - Basically, it's like the drive down here where we saw a squirrel. - Yeah, exactly like that. So the sign here says, "Buckle up, window up, go slow." Oh, they're really building the excitement, aren't they? They're building the tension. - I'm not so over the capital grid. - Do not get out of the car. Signed horn for health. Oh, no, it actually is, like Jurassic Park, now you're right. - Yeah, and even now there's gonna be a T-Rex. - Oh, look, that says a bongo, what an earth is a bongo, bongo pass. - Bongo is a type of antelope. - Oh, excellent, I'm quite like it. - A antelope. I saw a wood pigeon. - Nice. - Okay. I don't know about you, but I secretly want to see, you know, like, like, like, is it you want to see? - Well, I kind of want to see, you know, look in those videos, you want to see, like, a monkey jumping onto the, the, the, the, the, the, the screenwipers and trying to chew them off, you know, or, (laughing) an elephant trying to push the, the car over. - I was stressed, this is a rental car, and that's probably not the best. (laughing) - I'm trying to explain that to the rental company. Sorry, why, then, we went, went screenwipers. There was a monkey involved. - Yeah. No, I'm sorry, this gear always had an elephant tusking us. (laughing) - So this is where the start of the Safari proper. - Oh. - Starts, we go over the next cattle grid, and right in front of us, we can already see some ostriches. - Oh look, oh, I want to open the window, I want to open the window so badly. - I just want to open the window. - Oh, look at them, there are people enter the window. But that's one of the work, that's one of the Safari. - Oh, and we've got some zebras just down there. - Oh, this is amazing. Oh. - Look, they're just looking in the window with that person sitting there having their lunch. - Now, the great thing about ostriches, look at their feet, right? They've got two toes. - Yes. - Just the two toes. It's absolutely bonkers. Some of them can run as fast as 45 miles an hour. - Should we test that like already fast and see if it'll chase me? - I don't think they will. - Oh. - They're very pecky, they're very, very pecky. - Very interesting, whatever he's got in there, in the back of his wheeled abeased. - Wheeled abeased. - I've always wanted to go to the Massimara and watch the passing of the wheeled abeased as they go through the Angada-Gada basin in Thutansania during the summer. And then the crocodiles jump up and eat them. - And you want to see that, do you? - Yeah. - Right. - Okay. - That would be just amazing. - I was wondering my people were stopping, but I realized people are actually stopping to see the animals. (laughing) I was wondering what was wrong with these people, but I keep going. - You keep going. - For the purposes of this podcast, so that it's not 14 hours long. This is hugely exciting. I really am getting such a thrill from this. Also, because you've got no idea what's coming next. Dangerous gate. - Monkeys are wild animals. They may bite and scratch and spread disease. The feeding of these monkeys is strictly forbidden. All right, so we're going to see some monkeys there. That seems-- - Yeah. - But if you'd be worried, then you'd knock one time. Thank you. - That's why they tell you to drive slowly. - Yeah, I'm going to drive super slowly today. This is the slowest I've ever tried. - That's just a stroke. - Obviously. - All right, pet on tour, and we're going to lose a few of us by, yeah. - Well, you need to be slow driving. - Just to am the reason. - We were a monkey mechanic. Is that work? Or do they like a little too? Look, look, look, look, look. There's monkeys in that car. Rob, there's three monkeys in that car. Oh, please, I don't want to get going. Oh, please, come here, come here, come here, come here. - I think maybe go right-- I'm not quite sure what that monkey's doing. - I know. - He's having a scratch. - Hello, sweetheart. - Yeah, they are definitely interested in what's in that car. (sighs) - Look, look, look, look, look. It was a-- That car is driving. - Where are you going? - Monkeys still on it. - No, the monkey was over the car. - He's on the roof. - Look, he's on the monkey. I'm raging, I don't have a monkey on me. (laughs) - Look, look, that car is driving on. They've got no idea there's a monkey on the roof. (laughs) - Please get on, please get on, please get on. I'm so happy, I've never been so happy in my life. I honestly, the monkey has just gone on dark. Oh, hello, what's the name? I take this something. - Totally looking in. He's on the roof. (laughs) - Look, there's a little monkey hand. - Print on the side of the glass. (laughs) - That almost that was all the greatest moments of my life. - The gates are opening. - It's like we're going into some sort of compound. The electric kids have slightly gone back. Again, signed your horn for help. - Big cats enter out of town. - Oh, risk. - Tick in the risk. I am tickin' the risk. You're entering Tagger territory. Well, it's just one. - I can't what's cool is the how much space they've got here. - Yes, yes, 'cause at any time you've ever seen a Tagger before, it's just pacing often, hasn't it? - Should we ever speak in the Carol Baskin? - Yes. - Do remember speaking to Carol Baskin, which is very interesting. - Super interesting. - Oh look, there's another one, much goes into us. Gosh, that's really close to us, nice. - It's majestic, isn't it? Absolutely stunning, orange coat stripes, white underbelly. They're such powerful creatures. If we look at their skeletons, their bones are so big, much, much bigger and thicker than we'd see in dogs, say, of a similar size. Absolutely, it's wonderful seeing comparative anatomy as we're sort of nerdy that moment. - I was gonna say you're such a vets. You're thinking about their scales and rodila. Oh look at their big paws, other lovely stripes, you're like, you know they're carcass. (laughing) But yes, you were going to say about their skeletal makeup. - They're very, you know, the same bones, the shape of their bones, a thicker and bigger. It's just part of that sort of full muscular build. You can see that one just wandering around there, just how sleek and muscular he is. Look at his one there coming there. - Oh yeah, I wonder if that one's been naughty 'cause it's inside a fence. Maybe it's a dune line. - That's a danger. - Yeah, that looks pacing up the dine. So there's quite a few in here and there's other enclosed, but within the safari. And they're just warm to run, they're just looking. It's like the menacing, gonna say, you know, as beautiful as they are. You know, I do not feel inclined to open my window here. (laughing) Look at you, hello. - Oh yeah. - Wow, that's not even a particularly big one. That's a lessened one I'd say, isn't it? - Yeah, teeth. - Yeah. - And his head is bigger than my head. - For sure. - Oh, yeah, I feel the way. When that tiger could take you, no bother at all. (laughing) - I've seen those cats are coming to my way to Brum can take me. (laughing) - I think you can get white ones as well. A white or gray tiger is can't you? - You can. - And where do they come from? Do you know? - I think that the Siberian, the white ones, but I might be wrong. - Gosh. - I think we're moving there for out of the tiger territory into the lion territory. - Can they not live together? - I don't think it's. - They're side by side. - Great for them to interact. They can actually interbreed. So I think they're related enough that you can have a ligar. That's a cross between a tiger and a lion. - Yeah, I got that. - Yeah. - I didn't have to explain it. - No, we didn't have to explain it to them for once. - So you're in the man's plane, did you? - Yes. - Oh, they're just the Mr. Hestory, and I off long wait until it says in 1966. - They started with 50 African lions, roaming in the heart of Wilton. - Wow. - Because when you look at the size of this place, you think even just to get it set up, just to start it. I'm like, okay, let's open a Safari Park, must have taken so much work and organization. You know, the family apparently are very much involved and come here and spent most weekends. - So this will probably be a nice example of sexual dimorphism. - Okay. - Which is where the males look different from the females? - Oh, yes, yes. So which one is which, the big furry, the herod one is the man? - We can see one of the males just there with a massive mane just behind one of the Linus, which don't have the mane. - Right. - Of course it's the females that do all the work. - What to get to move the guy? - No, no, in terms of in the wild. So the males will live with a pack of females, and it'll be the females that go out and do the hunting. Get the food. - So these two? - The males are typically lazy. - These two are obviously powered up anyway. - Well you say two, you have no. - Oh, so there's more. (screaming) - So are you the one. - That's what I'm saying. (laughing) - There are five lions out there. No one will judge this seven. Sorry, I keep seeing more lions. Wait, I didn't realize that. Is that the smell of lion? - Hmm, musk. - Ooh. - That's what you refer to, that is quite potent. If you have a sort of like, left the cat letter a little bit too long. - Right. - Yeah, that is, ooh. - I'm going to get you right in the back of the frog, doesn't it? - Oh, I got the joke on that. (laughing) - That's what it is, big with it. Oh. - I think this is the last of the electric gates now, so we're coming out here. - Looks like, we're back towards the house. - Oh, a beautiful house, once again. It's such a great day. Have you got a favorite from today? Do you think, especially from that last bit with all the. - I like it. - And I just took so many things to choose from. I think that this loft was a real highlight. Feeding this loft was amazing. Yeah, that was probably the highlight for me. - I have to say, the monkeys have been so exciting to see just, and I know we've all seen monkeys before and zoos, probably most people have, but to see a baby monkey and then a second baby monkey and then a third baby monkey, climb up onto the bonnet, and then one of them fall off. It's just so adorable thing ever seen. (laughing) It was just great. - It would be fair, I thought you were gonna cry at one point. - I mean, I've been very much in both laughing and crying all day, but it's just been, it's been a really powerful experience, been great. - It's been fantastic. (upbeat music) - And that's it for this week's episode of all right pet, a special coming from long late in Wilshire. Thank you so much to Kat and to John and to all the capers and everyone at the park who made us feel so very welcome today. Thank you also to our online team of Ryan and Jason. And of course to Rob Adams, my co-presenter and long-suffering friend. Now next week we head back across the Irish Sea and this time we're in the north coast of Northern Ireland in our boy, a little village called our boy and we'll be chatting to Gemma Chambers by dog agility classes. And Rob and I get to chat to JB Gil from JLS by being a turkey and pig farmer. So loads to come on all right pet, next week. (upbeat music) [Music]