A BIG safari park is hoping to add hippos to its ever-growing list of animals by this time next year.

Longleat Safari Park, near Warminster, has today (November 15) officially submitted planning applications for a new hippo enclosure in 2025.

Submitted to Wiltshire Council, Longleat is hoping to introduce a 'pod' of hippos and, if approved by the council, the safari park would build a new hippo house and make improvements to the grazing paddocks and Half-mile Pond.

The new hippos would get indoor pools as part of the plan.

It is hoped that, with help from the new enclosure, the hippos would breed and form a self-sustaining family.

Two hippos named Sonia and Spot previously lived at Longleat for over fifty years. Sadly, Sonia died in 2023 and Spot earlier this year.

'We are sorry': Global IT outages force Longleat Safari Park to partially close: Read More.

Owner of popular Longleat safari park dies after testing positive for coronavirus: Read More.

Simon Askew, Interim Chief Operating Officer, said: “We want to be part of the European Breeding Programme for this iconic species.

"Our hippos were much-loved by visitors and staff alike and we want to enable their return as part of our commitments to conservation and education of this incredible species.

"Hippos were first introduced to Longleat in 1967, just a year after the Safari Park first opened.

"Continuing the story of hippos at Longleat would enable us to play an invaluable role in raising public awareness about conservation issues.

"Longleat has an opportunity to become a key part of the European breeding programme for this species."