Animal Facts

Lions
Longleat is world renowned for its lions which have been an integral part of the Safari Park since its opening in 1966.

There are actually two separate prides at Longleat, made up of individuals originally brought here from many different zoological collections throughout Europe. Thanks to a careful breeding programme over the years, the Longleat lion is specially recognised for its particularly fine black mane.

Male lions can grow to over 3m in length and weigh more than 240kg. Although they appear lazy, the lions at Longleat keep a very close eye on what is going on around them, and their keepers are constantly on alert whenever they are in their enclosure.

The lions at Longleat are fed a diet of raw meat which is supplemented with vitamins and minerals to ensure that they receive the correct amount of nutrition. The keepers have initiated a series of techniques when feeding the lions to ensure that they have to ‘work’ for their food – from hiding meat around their enclosure, to utilising a mobile meat wagon which the lions have to chase.

As with some of the other enclosures in the Safari Park, Longleat has to ensure that the trees in the lion enclosure are kept protected from the lions as they use them as scratch posts and for marking their territories. Longleat lions hit the headlines when a giant scratch post measuring 12ft in height was introduced to their enclosure. This was a bid to try to tempt the lions away from the Estate’s ancient oak trees!