Capybaras and Patagonian maras: RAF personnel take a walk on the wild side

Personnel from RAF Brize Norton have swapped their day jobs at the base to become assistant zookeepers.

They volunteered for a day at the Cotswold Wildlife Park in Burford, which is less than five miles from the Oxfordshire base.

Blending in with the natural landscape dressed in their camouflage attire, the personnel spent the day maintaining and improving many of the animal enclosures at the park.

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"From our perspective, it's nice to help out with a family-run business," said Flight Lieutenant Jordan Jones.

"We've seen the rhinos, we've helped redo a couple of enclosures, we've built a beach today."

Leaves were raked, beaches were laid out, capybaras were petted and penguins were fed.

The change of scenery was very much welcomed by Cam Begbie-Dilks, an Air Specialist at RAF Brize Norton who spends most of his time working in a hangar.

"It's nice to actually go out and see some trees instead of a metal tin," he said.

The efforts were greatly appreciated by the permanent staff responsible for maintaining 160 acres with a small team.

"Doing these big jobs would take a lot of effort and time and we'd need a lot of personnel to do it," Natalie Horner explained.

"So just by having an extra 20 people for the day really does make a difference."

Personnel have been doing this for the last seven years and it's a partnership that's set to continue for many more to come.