Longleat Safari Park launches new African painted dogs attraction

The Longleat Safari Park near Warminster has launched its first new animal tourist attraction since Ceawlin Thynn, then Viscount Weymouth and now the 8th Marquis of Bath, opened Koala Creek five years ago.

It has brought in six male African painted dogs from Port Lympne Safari Park in Hythe, Kent, as part of a European conservation programme to protect the endangered species, which are sometimes known as African wild dogs.

The African Painted Dogs arrived at Longleat Safari Park on Tuesday, March 26 and are its newest animal attraction. (Image: Longleat Safari Park)

Jon Merrington, Deputy Head of Animal Operations at Longleat, said: “They are all very new to us and the keepers are very excited. They have settled in fantastically well.

“With their detailed coat patterns and interesting social behaviours African painted dogs are one of the most striking and charismatic animals in the animal kingdom.

“Packs are tight-knit and incredible at working together as a team. This makes them one of the most effective hunters with an 80 per cent success rate compared to 30 per cent for lions.

“Despite this they are an endangered species. By holding a bachelor group of males and working with our conservation partner TUSK, we are supporting positive outcomes for African painted dogs, both in their African home ranges and in the European breeding programme.

“They are part of a bigger picture, a whole breeding programme throughout the whole of Europe. By us taking those boys, it frees up other collections to breed again.”

The African Painted Dogs arrived at Longleat Safari Park on Tuesday, March 26 and are its newest animal attraction. (Image: Longleat Safari Park)

The African painted dogs, whose names are Ru, Kuwinda, Kenya, Rafiy, Tassili and Tan, came from a pack of 17 at Port Lympne and are highly social animals with a wide variety of behaviours used for communication, hunting and play.

They will live within a new one-acre enclosure made up of multiple areas within the African Village, also home to Longleat’s Rothchild’s giraffes, Grant’s zebras, ring-tailed lemurs and more, as part of the Drive Through safari.

In a newly-built African Painted Dog Lookout, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, visitors will be able to learn all about the dogs’ characteristics and abilities and experience the opportunity to get up close to the pack.

The new arrivals are being supported by TUSK Trust, an African conservation charity that has worked closely with Longleat for more than 15 years.

Charlie Mayhew, president of TUSK, who founded the charity in 1990, said the African painted dogs are classified as an endangered species in the wild.

“It is incredibly important to conserve species like the African painted dog. Africa plays host to 25 per cent of the world’s remaining biodiversity. It is critically important.

Mr Mayhew said the African painted dog population has declined dramatically over the years with around 6,000-7,000 dogs left in the wild, including only 1,400 mature adults.

“The challenge and the largest threat to their population is loss of habitat through human settlement. As a species, they need vast landscapes over which to hunt.

“The other threats are persecution from humans, particularly farmers who incorrectly view them as a threat to livestock. The other big issue is that often the dogs get caught in snares.”

The African Painted Dogs arrived at Longleat Safari Park on Tuesday, March 26 and are its newest animal attraction. (Image: Longleat Safari Park)

Chris Mangham, from Wyvern Zoo Vets in Frome, will be looking after the medical needs of the new arrivals, saying: “My role is to support the keeper team with preventative medicine, such as worming and vaccinations.

“In veterinary terms, they are slightly distinct from domestic dogs but in terms of infectious diseases fairly similar, such as distemper, rabies and things that we vaccinate domestic dogs for.”