WILD swimming - a pack of European wolves enjoy a cooling dip at Longleat as temperatures start to rise ahead of a predicted 30 degree Centigrade heatwave over the weekend.

The wolves, which were once native across the UK, were introduced to their Wiltshire woodland home in 2019.

Since arriving at Longleat the pack has grown significantly with the arrival of two sets of cubs.

Keeper Ian Turner said: “The wolves actually love the water, especially during the summer, and will spend quite a lot of time splashing about in their pond and using it as somewhere to cool down.”

Wolves live in a highly complex social structure and each knows its place in the pack hierarchy.

In the wild, the pack depends on this close cooperation for survival, both in hunting and in raising offspring.

Wild wolves were eradicated from most of western Europe in the 19th century and they have been extinct throughout the UK for more than 250 years.

Following a number of re-introduction programmes, the wild wolf population in Europe is now thought to be around 12,000 ranging over 28 countries.

There are established packs in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain and Italy with numbers also on the rise in parts of France and Germany. In 2011 wolves were also reported in Belgium and the Netherlands.