Frogs come in all shapes and sizes – as these two demonstrate. Paignton Zoo photographer Eleanor Stobbart took this stunning image of a young Thao whipping frog on top of an adult of the same species to mark World Frog Day, on Wednesday 20th March. The species has just bred at Paignton Zoo for the very first time.
Like so many species of exotic frog, this one goes by different names. It’s the Thao whipping frog, Fea’s tree frog, or Fea's flying frog… The one thing we can agree on is the scientific designation, Rhacophorus feae.
With teeth like that, it’s hard to believe Western lowland gorilla Kiondo is a vegetarian. The 15-year-old, who weighs in at around 186 kilos and lives at Paignton Zoo in Devon, has an impressive set of gnashers.
He was spotted displaying to keepers and to his fascinated public by photographer and Zoo regular Miriam Haas.
Kiondo enjoys a diet of vegetables, including peppers, sweetcorn, tomatoes, chicory, cabbage, kale and lettuce. The giant vegetarian sets a fine example when it comes to healthy eating – though his table manners leave a little to be desired.
Bays Brewery are brewing a special orangutan-themed beer for Paignton Zoo. The guest beer, simply called Orangutan Amber Ale, is a new recipe with a handsome tawny colour to match its name and the species.
Orangutan Ale is being launched on Monday 4th March and will be available as a draught beer in selected local pubs until the end of May. The Paignton microbrewery is donating 10p for every pint sold.
Pete Salmon from Bays said: “We are delighted to continue our relationship with Paignton Zoo. Since 2013, our partnership has raised nearly £20,000, with beers themed around...
This is a vampire crab. With its purple body, orange pincers and piercing pale eyes, it’s a nightmarish vision. And a crab that’s also a vampire? Days out at the beach will never be the same…
You may not have heard of a vampire crab, though it’s a species popular with aquarists – in fact, illegal over-collection for the pet trade is a real threat to the species.
As alarming as it looks, this amazing photo, taken by Paignton Zoo photographer Eleanor Stobbart, betrays the true size of this tiny crab. It’s found in India, South East Asia and the islands of the Pacific. The...
Paignton Zoo has bred a species of venomous lizard for the first time. Two Mexican beaded lizards have hatched at the Devon zoo. Incredibly, the moment one egg hatched was captured by Zoo photographer Elliye Stobbart.
This CITES protected lizard (Heloderma horridum) is a venomous species found principally in Mexico and southern Guatemala. Heloderma means "studded skin", and with its dramatic black and yellow beaded body, this predator is quite a sight from the moment it hatches. Animal experts are unsure why it has venom at all, but scientists have found that it contains enzymes...
A tiger at Paignton Zoo in Devon has had a root canal – performed by one very brave veterinary dentist…
The patient is Paignton Zoo’s 11-year-old male Sumatran tiger Fabi, who is over 2 metres long and weighs over 100 kilograms. A Sumatran tiger has 30 teeth, including four very long canines. Canine teeth are important for biting, tearing and eating meat, for jaw architecture and display. As the adult breeding male tiger, animal staff want to make sure he’s in the very best of health for the future.
The man going into the tiger’s den is veterinary dentist Matthew Oxford....
What do zoo gardeners get each other for Christmas? A plant, of course – but not just any old plant. Gardeners at Paignton Zoo in Devon have given their colleagues at Marwell Zoo in Hampshire a Titan arum – one of the largest and smelliest plants in the world.
Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) blooms can be up to 3 metres high and 3 metres in circumference and smell like rotting meat. To be honest, this one looks a bit underwhelming right now – there’s no foliage, just the tuber, the swollen food store found underneath the soil. Big plants need big tubers – this one is more than...
Pete is the Environmental Officer for the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, the charity that runs Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, Living Coasts in Torquay and Newquay Zoo in Cornwall.
He’s busy overseeing a green revolution to save energy and save money. The charity is installing environmentally-friendly lighting in key buildings, with halogen and compact fluorescent lamps being replaced by high-efficiency LED lights.
Dozens of public buildings at all three zoos in the charity group have been upgraded, including shops and cafes. Over 200 bulbs have been changed in...
Paignton Zoo Environmental Park has become the only institution in the UK to keep a rare and special type of South American toad. The Devon zoo is now home to around 30 harlequin toads, Atelopus spumarius, after adding more individuals from Manchester Museum to its existing group. Atelopus is a genus – a group of species – of small, attractive true toads from Central and South America. Atelopus are just a few centimetres long, with narrow pointed heads, smooth skin and beautifully-coloured patterning. They live on the tropical rainforest floor and in the leaf-litter near streams; breeding...
This is the extraordinary moment the hatching of a rare Mauritius pink pigeon chick was caught on video – and the moment the hard work started in earnest for Paignton Zoo bird keeper Tom Tooley.
Senior Bird Keeper Tom is currently 6,000 miles away on the island of Mauritius. But if you think he’s dodged the English winter to relax on a tropical island, think again.
He’s spending time with local conservationists to help bolster the population of this bird, classed as an Endangered Species. That means hand rearing – and THAT means long days: “The first feed is at 6.00am, then...
