Animal Park
| Animal Park | |
|---|---|
|
Title card | |
| Presented by |
Ben Fogle Kate Humble |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 9 |
| No. of episodes | 205 |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Longleat Safari Park |
| Running time | 15–60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC Two |
| Original run | 10 July 2000 – 25 March 2009 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Lion Country |
| Related shows |
Animal Park: Wild In Africa Animal Park: Wild On The West Coast |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Animal Park was a television documentary about the life of keepers and animals at Longleat Safari Park, Wiltshire, England, aired over 9 series on the BBC from 2000 until 2009. It also covered the daily life of workers in Longleat House, the estate and the gardens.
Main series
Animal Park was broadcast by the BBC on BBC Two, with repeats appearing occasionally on BBC One. It was presented by Ben Fogle and Kate Humble. The show's first series was aired from 10 July 2000, and there have since been eight additional series of the show, with the last (205th) episode airing on 25 March 2009.[1] It was also shown on Watch.
This programme replaced the previous BBC series called Lion Country, also filmed at Longleat Safari Park, which aired in 1998 and 1999 with a total of 55 episodes.
Content
The show primarily focused on the animals, keepers, and day-to-day running of the safari park. Some of the animals have truly captured the heart of the public, including the late Kadu the tiger and the late Babs and Winston the rhinos, and the silverback gorilla, Nico. The show regularly featured Lord Bath, the owner of Longleat. From time to time, the programme also included segments on the running of Longleat House and the treasures contained therein.
Spin off shows
There have been two spin offs from the main series. The first of which, Animal Park: Wild In Africa, originally aired from Monday 27 February 2006 to Friday 10 March on BBC2. The show followed wildlife experts in Namibia as they went about their work with the animals of the country, including examining injured lions and studying water holes.
The second series, titled Animal Park: Wild On The West Coast, followed a similar structure in San Francisco and California and aired on BBC2 from Monday 23 July 2007 to 3 August 2007.
Series guide
- Series 1: 10x60' first shown from 10 July 2000 – 21 July 2000
- Series 2: 10x60' first shown from 9 July 2001 – 20 July 2001
- Series 3: 25x60' first shown from 7 May 2002 – 26 August 2002
- Series 4: 25x60' first shown from 23 February 2004 – 2004
- Series 5: 25x60' first shown 6 September 2004
- Series 6: 15 x 60' + 20 x 30'
- Series 7: 15 x 60' + 20 x 30'
- Series 8: 10 x 60' + 15 x 45' first shown from 7 January 2008
- Series 9: 15 x 60' first shown from 5 January 2009 – 25 March 2009
Repeat showings of episodes from series 6 to 8 have been edited to run at a number of different run times, including 45, 30, 25 and 15 minutes, and are sometimes used as schedule fillers.