Work starts on home for new hippos at Longleat

Longleat plans to bring hippos back to the park after the deaths of Sonia and Spot

The first spades have hit the ground amid construction of a new hippo enclosure at Longleat Safari Park.

The Wiltshire attraction's new Hippo House will soon become home to a bull and several females, with room to house any future offspring.

The project received planning permission last month and the works has been underway to lay out where the foundations will be.

The plans include indoor pools for the hippos and a classroom for educational talks, behind-the-scenes tours and group visits.

The safari park aims to welcome the new hippos to their enclosure by early summer

The plan to bring the animals back to Longleat comes after the deaths of female hippos Sonia and Spot, who lived at the park for more than 50 years.

Lord Bath, owner of the estate, said he grew up watching the pair frolic in the Half Mile Pond and "shared the sadness of guests" when they died.

"I am very keen to see hippos return to Longleat, and I know many of our guests are too," he said.

"As well as creating a new hippo house, we are also making improvements to the grazing paddock and Half Mile Pond itself.

"We're very excited to see the vision become reality."

Lord Bath said welcoming hippos back would enable him to "build on the legacy" of his grandfather

Lord Bath added the new enclosure will serve as "an important chapter" in their commitment to conservation, sustainability and education.

He said is hoped the new additions will form a "self-sustaining family group".

"Not only are we ensuring we are at the forefront of protecting vulnerable and rare species, but we are also using environmentally friendly practices with the build, such as moving the earth to other parts of the safari park," Lord Bath added.

Guests will be able to see progress every time they visit, as the enclosure is visible from the Jungle Cruise safari boat

David Leverett, facilities and development director, said: "The steel frame for the hippo house is being made off site and is due to be delivered in a couple of weeks.

"Before it arrives, we will excavate individual concrete bases which are more than seven feet deep, mainly due to the house's proximity to the lake. The frame will fit on these."

Joining Lord Bath and David for the ceremonial turf cutting was chief operating officer Simon Askew and co-owner of Minshall Construction Tom Minshall.