E-Newsletter 2, 2008
Easter Festivities Start Early at Longleat!

Easter came early at Longleat Safari Park when more than one thousand eggs arrived on it's doorstep as a gift from a Wiltshire farm.

The chicken’s eggs, which arrived in early February, were used as treats for a wide range of Longleat residents including meerkats, monkeys and otters.

Longleat’s Darren Beasley said: “The eggs have provided nutritional treats for a wide range of our animals. Some were boiled, others were mixed up with feed and we’ve given quite a number raw to some our animals - just as they would come across them in the wild.

“The monkeys definitely got the lion share of the spoils. We hard boiled some of the eggs and hid them around their enclosure in their own private Easter egg hunt and we also presented them with their own Easter basket of coloured eggs. Once they had got past their initial apprehension of this new addition, the whole troop moved in to feast on the Easter treat,” he added.

Richard Glindon, of J & J Longley, West Knoyle who donated the eggs said: “We didn’t want them to go to waste but it was difficult to think of anywhere that would be able to make use of such a large number of eggs.

“Luckily I thought of Longleat who were only too pleased to accept them and I’m delighted to hear that they were put to good use,” he added.

Watch out Kate Humble and Ben Fogle as Longleat Safari Park now has a young brother and sister team presenting their own online television show!

Annie and Joe Smith, aged 9 and 11, are part way through filming ‘Junior Rangers’, a 20-part series based from this award-winning Wiltshire attraction.

The five-minute shows have been put together with the help of dad Clive Smith, an experienced television cameraman, and the first edition was aired on the Longleat website on Wednesday, March 12th.

“Joe and Annie made a fabulous home-shot video featuring their family pets and approached us with it”, explained Jo Sparrow, Marketing Manager at Longleat.

“Within minutes of seeing the video, we knew that this was a must-have for the new website and we commissioned them to the 20-part series,” she added.

The shows cover a wide range of topics from camouflage to creepy crawlies and fairy tales to transport.

As Annie commented, “We have already had the most incredible time filming at Longleat and we’re really looking forward to tackling the next load of scripts. How many children can say that they’ve swept the roads in a tiger enclosure, polished a door handle with Lord Bath or tested the new equipment in the Adventure Castle before it opens for the season – we are loving every minute of it!”

Initially the new shows will go online every fortnight, however throughout the summer holidays they will be released on a weekly basis. All have been designed to cover topics in the national curriculum’s Key Stage One and Two but in a fun and entertaining style.

There will also be a range of downloadable make ‘n’ do sheets, competitions, fact sheets and discount vouchers available throughout the series.

“I am confident that the shows are going to be a wonderful and very exciting addition to the Longleat website,” advised Jo. “We’re all thrilled with the programmes we have watched to date and really hope that this series will give our visitors something really special that is uniquely Longleat,” she added.

Click here to view the show

Longleat will be welcoming back some familiar faces in the shape of TV presenters Kate Humble and Ben Fogle during the 2008 season as the pair return to film series nine of the hugely popular BBC documentary programme Animal Park.

Keep up-to-date with the television listings for BBC Animal Park by visiting the Longleat website… click here for further details

Longleat has just launched the first Longleat video podcast for 2008 on Tuesday 18 March 2008.

There’s some serious monkey business going on in the Safari Park as Longleat staff give them some special Easter egg treats.

Get to meet the latest inhabitants in Pets Corner as we are introduced to Jules the Rat and the Easter bunnies! Go behind the scenes as the Safari Boats are lifted into the water for the new season and get the latest on our lion cubs as they experience their first morning frost.

And so much more!

To view “Springtime at the Safari Park” please click here

Longleat Easter ChocTrail: Friday 21 to Monday 24 March 2008
Longleat will be running the highly popular Easter ChocTrail over the Easter weekend. Open daily from Friday 21 to Monday 24 March 2008 from 11am to 5pm in the Adventure Castle, the ChocTrail is open to all children up to 14yrs. Collect your Longleat Easter ChocTrail quiz sheet on entry into the Adventure Castle and find answers to the hidden clues. All correct answers win a chocolate prize.

Price: FREE with valid Longleat Passport (applicable to children of 14 years and under)
Tel: 01985 844400
Email: enquiries@longleat.co.uk
Website: www.longleat.co.uk