This Bank Holiday Monday, our brand new arrival went on show to visitors and made a BIG impression! ‘Smarty’ is an 11-year-old male Sulcata tortoise, weighing in at an impressive 8 stone!

The Sulcata Tortoise is the third largest tortoise in the world, outweighed only by the Galapagos ...]]>

10 year old Bradley with Smarty

This Bank Holiday Monday, our brand new arrival went on show to visitors and made a BIG impression! ‘Smarty’ is an 11-year-old male Sulcata tortoise, weighing in at an impressive 8 stone!

The Sulcata Tortoise is the third largest tortoise in the world, outweighed only by the Galapagos and Aldabra, and is native to Northern and Central Africa in a range spanning from the Sahara Desert to Ethiopia. They live in desert-like conditions where there is very little rainfall and are capable of digging extensive burrows in the ground to escape the extreme temperatures; sometimes digging up to 2 feet within an hour with their powerful front limbs.

We have built a brand new enclosure for Smarty which consists of a large outdoor grazing area, as well as a glass-fronted indoor hut, complete with underfloor heating and a ‘hotspot’ provided by a heat lamp, regulating an area at around 30 degrees. His environment has been designed to allow him the freedom to regulate his own temperature, with the option to freely move from indoors to outdoors when he wishes.

Adult male Sulcatas are nicknamed ‘death-heads’ because their head resembles the grim reaper, but they are regarded as quite gentle giants so there’s no need to be afraid!

10-year-old Bradley enjoyed a Keeper Experience and our Animal Keepers introduced him to many of the animals, including our latest big attraction. In Bradley’s words, “Smarty is amazing! I really liked seeing all the animals but I think he is my favourite”. This species does not hibernate so you’ll be able to enjoy seeing ‘Smarty’ all year round.

Say hello to Odin, our Raven chick! We collected him at 11 days old  from a specialist breeder on 16th April and our Animal Presenters, Heather Scott and Ben Coulson, who work with the birds here at the centre, are hand-rearing him. He is quite a demanding baby ...]]>

Odin at 14 days old

Say hello to Odin, our Raven chick! We collected him at 11 days old  from a specialist breeder on 16th April and our Animal Presenters, Heather Scott and Ben Coulson, who work with the birds here at the centre, are hand-rearing him. He is quite a demanding baby with feeds every two-three hours from 8.00am – 10.00pm, calling out the distinctive “caw caw!” when he is hungry, and has been growing rapidly. He weighed 503 grams when he was picked up on 16th April and, at 22 days old, he now weighs 950 grams, which is more than our adult Harris Hawks! He now has beautiful black feathers developing which he is starting to preen as they emerge and has become much more active in the last few days.

Ravens are one of the largest members of the Corvid family of birds, which includes species such as Crows, Jackdaws and Magpies, and grow to up to 25 inches long from beak to tail. They are omnivorous; feeding on carrion (dead animal carcasses), human food leftovers, as well as preying on invertebrates, amphibians, and small reptiles, mammals and birds.

Odin at 15 days old

The name Odin was inspired by the God of the same name from Norse mythology, who was father of Thor; the Norse God Odin was said to have two Ravens as his trusted companions who brought him information. Ravens are well known for being highly intelligent and for the ability to problem-solve and, when Odin is fully grown, the Animal Presenters will begin training him for the Aerial Antics shows. Odin has won the affections of all the staff already and we think he is sure to become a real favourite with visitors too!

Odin at 22 days old (taken 27th April)

White Storks and Little Egrets are both ...]]> Our Little Egrets; Vincent, Jules and Mia, and White Storks; Zeus and Athena, have moved into their new aviary! The enclosure used to be home to our parrots, who have now moved into their new aviary, and has now been completely transformed for its new residents.

White Storks and Little Egrets are both found in ranges across Europe, often near to water, so the enclosure has been totally re-landscaped to include a large shallow pool and to provide a ‘wetlands’ environment for them. In addition, the refurbished aviary includes nesting areas, additional shelter and separate feeding platforms for both species to make them feel right at home.

Zeus, our male White Stork, has been displaying his wings and clattering his beak in the last few weeks; this mating display is a sure sign that Spring has arrived and the Animal Keepers will monitor both the Storks’ and Egrets’ behaviour over next few months to see if breeding is ‘on the cards’.

Our two White Storks have appeared in the Aerial Antics free-flying bird displays several times already and, following a little break from performing in the shows, are now in training to start impressing visitors once again. Their flight feathers are still growing in so it may be a couple of months before Zeus and Athena soar high up in the sky, but, until then, they will soon be entertaining with their leaps, skips and some other ‘prey’-catching talents.

At only sixteen weeks old, these guys are only 7 cm long, but grow rapidly to their adult size and will reach 22cms plus within 6 months. By this time, the male ...]]> We’re pleased to announce the addition of two Panther Chameleons who moved into their new enclosure in the Butterfly House this week.

At only sixteen weeks old, these guys are only 7 cm long, but grow rapidly to their adult size and will reach 22cms plus within 6 months. By this time, the male will have his multicoloured coat, whilst the female will be more plain, wearing a uniform colour of pink.  Although they can change colour, they cannot match the exact colour of their habitat, but they are great at hiding.

Did you know a chameleons tongue is as long as its body? This allows them to catch their prey from quite a distance, their favourite foods are flies and other insects, yummy!

Panther chameleons are native to Eastern and Northern Madagascar and, with eyes that move independently from one another, skin that can change colour and a long tongue that can strike out to its prey in 30 thousandths of a second, they are certainly very unique reptiles!

We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Andrew Reeve as our new Curator and Zoo Manager!

Here he is pictured with Vernon, the Rüppell’s Griffon Vulture, who also recently arrived at the centre; both proving that, in Andrew’s own words, “Bald is beautiful!”

Andrew has worked as a consultant behaviourist/bird trainer ...]]>

We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Andrew Reeve as our new Curator and Zoo Manager!

Here he is pictured with Vernon, the Rüppell’s Griffon Vulture, who also recently arrived at the centre; both proving that, in Andrew’s own words, “Bald is beautiful!”

Andrew has worked as a consultant behaviourist/bird trainer for the Tropical Butterfly House for the last four years; visiting regularly to help the Animal Presenters train the parrots and birds of prey, and continually improve the popular bird displays with new ideas.

Andrew has worked professionally in this field since 1990, firstly for the Zoological Society of London, producing the most advanced mammals/bird demonstrations in the UK. His skills have also been required as a consultant at a number of collections within Europe and has attended conferences on the subject around the world.

Andrew’s wealth of knowledge and experience in the zoo industry will benefit the centre in many ways, including implementing improvements to existing animal enclosures and the development of new attractions and projects. Many of the staff at the Tropical Butterfly House already know Andrew well from working with him over the last few years, and those who don’t have already discovered how friendly, hard-working and enthusiastic he is.

We’d like to say a big Butterfly House welcome to Andrew and wish him many happy years working here at the centre!

We are very excited to announce the arrival of two Emperor Tamarins, who moved into their new home at the Tropical Butterfly House today.

The brothers; Pancho (nearly four years old) and Pepe (two and a half years old), look to be settling in well to their new enclosure, located in the Small ...]]>

We are very excited to announce the arrival of two Emperor Tamarins, who moved into their new home at the Tropical Butterfly House today.

The brothers; Pancho (nearly four years old) and Pepe (two and a half years old), look to be settling in well to their new enclosure, located in the Small Animal House. They have heated indoor quarters, with a mesh over-head walkway leading to their outdoor enclosure, allowing them to choose whether the British weather is suitable for outdoor play!

Emperor Tamarins are native to Peru and Brazil and are thought to be named after the Emperor of Germany, Emperor Wilhelm II, due to their long white moustaches!

Animal Keepers, Amanda Linley and Elisabeth Blezard have had their hands full with two baby Meerkats who are being hand reared after their mother abandoned them.

Amanda and Fizz have taken on the responsibility of taking care of ...]]>

Animal Keeper's Amanda Linley (left) and Elisabeth Blezard (right) with baby Meerkats 'Alexander' and 'Sergei'

Animal Keepers, Amanda Linley and Elisabeth Blezard have had their hands full with two baby Meerkats who are being hand reared after their mother abandoned them.

Amanda and Fizz have taken on the responsibility of taking care of the Meerkat pups, who have been name ‘Sergei’ and ‘Alexander’ after the popular TV advert characters. When the mother abandoned the babies, they were only around 9 days old and, at approximately 8cm long, were incredibly fragile and seemed unlikely to survive. The keepers rose to the challenge, though, and have been feeding the pups every two-three hours (day and night!) and keeping them warm in a heated brooder, which is usually home to newly-hatched chicks!

The babies are now around three weeks old and are looking very strong and healthy; they have even started to eat small pieces of scambled egg. Today, they made their first attempts at standing up too!

‘Meerkat Mansion’ is currently home to twelve Meerkats; the first three residents were a male, Stumpy, and alpha pair, Mr and Mrs. Meerkat. The other nine are Mrs. Meerkat’s babies from the last three years.  Mrs. Meerkat’s reasons for neglecting to rear her latest pups after just a few days cannot be known for sure, but the Animal Keepers speculated that she may have felt the ‘mob’ had reached full capacity.

Keeper, Amanda Linley, said about the babies, “It was a difficult decision to ‘rescue’ the baby Meerkats instead of letting nature take its course, but we wanted to give them the best chance of survival and it had become clear that Mrs. Meerkat had made her mind up that she wouldn’t be caring for them”.

Hand-reared Meerkats often grow up to be relatively tame but this is not always for the best as Fizz explains; “The longer the baby Meerkats spend time with humans, the closer the bond will become and, although that might seem like a nice idea, it would make it more difficult to re-integrate the babies with the other Meerkats when they are old enough”.

The keepers will continue to hand rear the Meerkat pups until they are able to feed by themselves and will, at that point, attempt to reintroduce them to the rest of the family. Animal Encounters with creatures from around the world take place daily at the centre, including our ever-popular residents of Meerkat Mansion.

The glass front to the aviary allows for better ...]]> We’re pleased to announce that our beautiful flock of parrots have now moved in to their stunning new aviary. The enclosure has been purpose-built and landscaped to provide an enriching environment for the birds, including a waterfall for them to drink from and bathe in.

The glass front to the aviary allows for better viewing for visitors and fantastic photo opportunities without cage bars. The twice daily Parrot Display will now take place in this new aviary, this also allows for generous seating for audiences the location is the same as our Aerial Antics display which features the free-flying parrots and birds of prey.

Animal Presenter and Photographer, Ben Coulson, has put together a short video to show the aviary and its new residents settling in – they certainly seem to enjoy their new home!

We will be filming and sharing lots more videos from now on so ...]]> Our ‘Looking Good’ event this February Half Term was a great success! For those of you who may have missed out, here’s a video showing some of the highlights from the ‘Free-Flying Bird Show Off’ – a catwalk style bird show.

We will be filming and sharing lots more videos from now on so subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up to date with them and if you have suggestions or requests for things you would like to see, let us know on our Facebook page!