The Safari Park was home to the legendary female hippos Sonia and Spot for almost 50 years and visitors have been clamouring for a return of the breed since their deaths in 2023 and January respectively.
Now the Park wants to introduce a pod with a bull, and females with ample space to accommodate any resulting offspring creating a self-sustaining family group, known as a ‘bloat’.
In the plans submitted today, (Friday 15 November) it has asked Wiltshire County Council for permission to build a new hippo house on the site of the existing structure as well as make improvements to the grazing paddock and Half Mile Pond.
It will also feature indoor pools for the hippos and a classroom for educational talks, behind the scenes tours and group visits.
Simon Askew, Interim Chief Operating Officer, said: “We want to be part of the European Breeding Programme for this iconic species”.
“Our hippos were much-loved by visitors and staff alike and we want to enable their return as part of our commitments to conservation and education of this incredible species.”
“Hippos were first introduced to Longleat in 1967, just a year after the Safari Park first opened.
“Sonia and Spot were the most recent and could be seen living peacefully alongside other animals that reside in and alongside Half Mile Pond including sealions, gorillas and colobus monkeys. Plus, more recently, native beavers who made the area their home.
“If we are able to bring them back to Longleat, they would have access to the largest free range water habitat in the UK for hippos in human care and seven acres of grazing land. Advances in hippo care means we want to invest in the modernisation of the housing available.
“Continuing the story of hippos at Longleat would enable us to play an invaluable role in raising public awareness about conservation issues.
“Longleat has an opportunity to become a key part of the European breeding programme for this species. This plan uses the space we have to house one of the largest groups of hippos in Europe and be a UK and international leader in the care and conservation of Hippos.
“This is significant investment for conservation and for Longleat,” he added.
If planning permission goes ahead, the aim is to bring hippos back to Longleat in summer 2025.
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