Catch up TV

Summer 2022: Episode 5

Kate Humble and Ben Fogle return to Longleat Safari Park for another glorious summer series, following the incredible stories of the exotic animals and the keepers who look after them. \n \nThe park’s Amur tiger breeding programme has been a huge success, with a male and female born three years ago. The precious cubs are now almost fully grown and nearing the age when they could be separated to start their own families. Before the keepers do this, they want to assess the male’s strength and determine if he has developed enough to cope on his own should he be moved to another breeding programme. They have built a massive spring to test the cub’s strength. Can the nearly grown tiger outmuscle his dad? \n \nIt’s always exciting when a new species arrives at the park, but it’s also a lot of work. The keepers have to do all their research and then create an environment that is specifically designed for that creature's needs. The latest addition to the park is one of the world’s slowest mammals, a two-toed sloth. They have to build an enclosure to meet her exacting needs, but can they create the perfect atmosphere with the exact humidity and heat she needs? If they can’t, her stomach will stop working, and she won’t be able to digest food properly. Wildlife cameraman Hamza Yassin takes his chance to get some amazing close-up shots of the sloth, but it turns out that trying to film one of the slowest animals on Earth isn’t as easy as you’d think. \n \nElsewhere, Ben joins in as a swing is hung up to keep the rhesus macaques entertained, and Kate helps build an assault course for the only southern hairy-nosed wombat in Europe. Also, zoologist Megan McCubbin continues to find out how the keepers entertain the animals and maintain their great condition. Today, she discovers how rabbits' teeth are trimmed.

Source: BBC 2