Incredible moment as Donna Air’s daughter Freya Aspinall feeds treats to gorillas she has known since she was a baby at her father’s wildlife park
Donna Air’s daughter Freya Aspinall gave treats to a pair of gorillas she has known since birth in a touching video.
The conservationist, 20, from London, was seen sitting with the gorillas and handing out treats to them like little children.
Freya has known Silverback Kifu (36) and Tambabi (35) since birth and was introduced to the animals by her father Damian Aspinall, another conservationist.
In the adorable clip, Freya is seen handing treats to one of the gorillas as she lay on the ground with them.
The trio felt comfortable in each other’s company as they relaxed in the enclosure.
Donna Air’s daughter Freya Aspinall gave treats to a pair of gorillas she has known since birth in a touching video
One of the gorillas reached out to ask Freya for another treat in an adorable moment.
Kifu and Tambabi live at Howletts Wild Animal Park in Bekesbourne, Kent, which was founded by John Aspinall, Freya’s grandfather.
The video was filmed in the gorillas’ enclosure and Freya interacted with the pair for enrichment.
Her interaction with the animals comes after Freya spent decades building trust with the pair.
She and her father are the only people who can safely interact with the gorillas in this way.
Howletts Wild Animal Park said: ‘This kind of interaction takes years of trust, love and respect.
‘No one other than Freya or Damian enters their enclosure with them.
‘[Building this trust is done via] No tricks, no shortcuts, just years of love, mutual respect and trust.’
The conservationist, 20, from London, was seen sitting with the gorillas and handing them treats like little children
The trio felt comfortable in each other’s company as they relaxed in the enclosure
One of the gorillas reached out to ask Freya for another treat in an adorable moment
They added: ‘Freya has been interacting with animals this way since she was a baby.
‘Animals are honest. If the gorillas did not want to interact with Freya and Damian, they would let us know with their body language before entering the enclosure.”
Freya is the only daughter of Damian and Donna.
Donna was just 21 when she met and fell in love with the multi-millionaire, who was 40 at the time.
They were introduced at a dinner party in 2000 by their mutual friend, former It Girl Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, and began dating for seven years.
The couple famously made headlines when Freya was still a baby, announcing that they planned to place their daughter in a gorilla enclosure at Damian’s wildlife park and have her taken away by the female of the group.
Freya has joined the family business with her father Damian (right) and Donna supported their daughter’s decision to quit school and follow him into conservation
Freya is the only daughter of Damian and Donna (left), who was just 21 when she met and fell in love with the then 40-year-old multi-millionaire
It was a ritual Damian had performed with his first two daughters, Tansy, 33, and Clary, 30, from his 15-year marriage to Louise Sebag-Montefiore.
The couple placed baby Freya in the gorilla enclosure at Howletts Zoo and had the female of the group carry her away.
Aspinall described his plans for Freya to the London Evening Standard at the time: ‘It’s a ritual. I’ll probably give her to the dominant woman, who will strip her naked, have sex with her and introduce her to the others.
“I’ve done this with my other daughters, now it’s Freya’s turn.”
Air fully approved of the plan, as neither believed Freya would be in any danger.
‘Why shouldn’t I trust them? I know them, I grew up with them. They are my friends,” Aspinall said.
Freya feeds a giraffe at the Port Lympne Reserve in Kent, owned by her father Damian Aspinall, in 2018
Freya with the family cheetah Saba who slept in her father and stepmother’s bed every night as they hand-raised the cub
Freya at the Howletts family home in Kent with Saba the cheetah cub who the family hand-raised before being released into the wild in Africa
Damian has continued the legacy of his late father John Aspinall, who encouraged close contact between animals and keepers at Kent park Howletts and its sister site Port Lympne.
Damian’s father John bought Howletts with his gambling winnings in 1956 and moved his family there from central London.
After his father’s death, Damian manages the parks through the John Aspinall Foundation, a charity named after his father.
Now Freya has joined the family business, with Damian and Donna supporting their daughter’s decision to quit school and follow him into conservation.
It’s not the first time Freya has been spotted getting up close to exotic animals at the family wildlife park.
Freya spent time with female black rhino Salome and her baby at her family’s Howletts Wildlife park in 2018
Freya, pictured with Saba the cheetah, hopes to start a modeling career and use her profile to champion ethical brands, thanks to her family’s love of conservation
Freya is pictured snuggling with a cheetah named Saba outside Howletts, the grand Palladian mansion Damian inherited from his father.
In 2028, Damian revealed that they had hand-raised the cub in their home, sleeping in bed with him every night.
However, when the cub turned one year old, Saba was released into the wild in Africa.
Freya has described Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent, where she enjoys feeding the giraffes, as one of her ‘favourite places to be’.
However, the beauty is also involved in modeling after becoming the youngest model on the books of Storm, the agency that discovered Kate Moss, in 2018.