May 2007
Amos the Tortoise and Lord Bath Share Landmark Birthday
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Lord Bath and Amos the Tortoise |
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Lord Bath will be celebrating his landmark 75th birthday with one of Longleat’s oldest animal residents.
The seventh marquess recently discovered he shared his birthday, May 6th, with a female spur-thighed tortoise, called Amos, who has been living on his Wiltshire estate for more than 12 years.
Lord Bath is planning to mark the milestone event with a party at home while keepers are arranging a more low-key celebration for Amos in the shape of a giant bowl of dandelion leaves – her favourite meal.
“I’m very much looking forward to the birthday and have no problems with being this age. My only hope is that I look a little less weather-beaten than Amos does,” he said.
“I’ve been told that 75 is little more than middle-aged in tortoise years which sounds like an excellent way of viewing things,” he added.
Longleat’s flamboyant owner was born in London in 1932 but has spent the vast majority of his time on the family’s Wiltshire estate, moving into Longleat House permanently in 1953.
During his time in charge he has overseen Longleat’s development into a thriving visitor attraction which welcomed more than 789,000 visitors last year.
As well as introducing a host of new attractions – including no fewer than six separate mazes and labyrinths – he has also opened up much of his private apartments where visitors can enjoy guided tours of his famous murals, a project he started back in 1964.
In recent years Longleat, Lord Bath and the estate’s many inhabitants, both human and animal, have become a familiar sight on our screens through the hugely popular BBC series Animal Park, which is currently back on location filming for the eighth series.
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BBC
Animal Park
