New attractions at Longleat

Longleat Safari & Adventure Park is officially launching two major new features as part of a £7million summer investment on Tuesday, July 24th.

The African Village features a new Giraffe Feeding area, a Lemur Walkthrough and a giant baobab tree with aerial walkways, viewing towers and underground tunnels. Two specially-constructed piers lead visitors out into the heart of the East African Game Reserve for eye-to-eye encounters with five-metre-tall Rothschild’s giraffes and the chance to feed them their vegetarian lunch.

At the same time the park is also unveiling a state-of-the-art new lakeside Gorilla Colony which is home to a group of four lowland gorillas.
Featuring more than a dozen mature trees in an extensive outdoor grassed area, the new enclosure overlooks Longleat’s Half Mile Lake and utilises natural boundaries wherever possible without the barriers of bars or glass. Keepers have also installed a selection of outdoor climbing logs and frames and there is a large indoor shelter with communal areas featuring ropes, swings and climbing apparatus.

As part of the opening ceremony Longleat has enlisted the help of a team of African dancers from the internationally-renowned Masai Cultural Arts which promotes and educates African culture through African performance and workshops. They will be joined by pupils from nearby Horningsham Primary School who will take part in a giraffe-feeding demonstration and drumming sessions before embarking on a boat trip to meet the gorillas.

Longleat CEO David Bradley said:

“Both the African Village and the Gorilla Colony are part of a £7m investment in new attractions at Longleat in 2012 which are designed to provide our visitors with unique, new experiences. The African Village provides a great new focal point at the beginning of their safari adventure and offers amazing new up close experiences like giraffe feeding and walking among free-roaming lemurs. The new gorilla area will allow visitors to enjoy extraordinary encounters with these awesome primates in a near-wild environment free from bars and viewing windows.”

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