Safari so good in the Garden of England

AS Sir David Attenborough approaches his 100th birthday, next year marks a milestone for natural history storytelling. A new wave of documentaries is on the horizon - but what if you want to get a bit closer to the action yourself? Here JULIA KUTTNER heads to Port Lympne Safari Park in Kent to discover Britain's other "national treasures": the animals and the extraordinary people who protect them.

- JULIA KUTTNER

MY day begins with an unforgettable experience: holding up leaves to an 18ft giraffe - the gorgeous Gary.

I can feel his breath, and then that sticky, black-blue, half-metre-long tongue unfurls to collect the leaves from my hand.

I think I'm in love. He's so calming - and those huge eyes!

Gary is just one of Port Lympne's 900 animal residents across 75 species, including a few of the world's most endangered.