00:00We're just outside of Noah's Ark where the new lion habitat has opened.
00:04Let's step inside to find out more.
00:12Can you tell us a bit about the new lion habitat and how the felines have reacted to it so far?
00:19Yeah, so of course lions are quite cautious animals, so first intros were steady and slow.
00:26But now they've settled in, they're using all parts of the habitat and really enjoying it.
00:31We're able to really exercise them, which is in body condition, and they are just really enjoying having the mounds.
00:39So they can sit, they can see all around them, feel nice and comfortable.
00:43They're using the bamboo for shade and all the enrichment features from the location they're really enjoying.
00:48So we've redeveloped our lion habitat to make it really exciting for the lions.
00:54We've got lots of features built in that we're really proud of, that we love seeing the lions using and enjoying.
00:59Their favourite place is sitting up where we can see one there now up on the hill,
01:03taking a kind of lion's eye view of the whole place and keeping an eye on their surroundings.
01:08But there's loads of feeding enrichment and places for them to certainly explore.
01:12And can you tell us a bit about the new features that have been added?
01:16Yeah, so we've got feeding poles where you can put the meat in all different places so they get different sorts of exercise.
01:22Like grabbing things is really good for the way that they're built for catching prey,
01:25so climbing uses those same muscles.
01:27So reaching up these poles is really great for that.
01:30We've got other places to make it a little bit more challenging, so get up high or hidden.
01:35And we've tried to put in loads of places for them to kind of choose the environment they want to sit in,
01:41different substrates they want to walk on, they want to get out of the weather,
01:44they want to sit in the sun, all of that kind of built in for loads of choice for the animals.
01:50And we're also standing here in this nice viewing tower where we put full height windows in
01:54so that people can get a really great view of them and the lions can get a really good view of the people too,
01:59which they seem to like doing so much.
02:01So the large boulders in the lion habitat were sourced from a local quarry just outside Clevedon.
02:06It's actually the quarry where all the buildings then came from for building the M5 motorway.
02:11And there are some large boulders that the owners of the quarry actually allowed us to have as part of this
02:19habitat creation and it's really important for us to build sustainably so to be able to get the quarry rocks
02:26and also the timber that we've used for the feeding poles that's come from the local woods.
02:31It's brilliant that we've got so many local materials that we've used within that habitat.
02:36So overall it's part of the Project Carnivora. Can you tell us a bit about what are the next steps in the project?
02:43Project Carnivora is a multi-phase project so it's lasting over a few years.
02:48The lion habitat is the first phase that we're delighted we've completed that.
02:53Where I'm standing now is phase two and that's our tiger habitat.
02:58And beyond that we've got other species that we're going to be introducing including arctic foxes and also hooded vultures.
03:06And so we're going to be creating those new habitats over the coming year and growing our collection of carnivores.
03:14incredible animals. People are really inspired by them and they all have great stories to tell about conservation.
03:21nostalgia, conservation, conservation, conservation, conservation, conservation, conservation, conservation, conservation, conservation,��, sprawling, snap drawing.
03:25By not a highlight we've got any action after lots of the trafficking thatаем from the Caribbean.
