If animal training makes you think of tricks and shows, think again. Top zoos use training to improve animal welfare, reduce the need for risky general anaesthetics and to keep both animals and people safe.
For example, bird keeper Sam Gray has trained Alfie Junior the Southern cassowary – as tall as a person and part bird, part dinosaur – to follow a target, which means she can get him in his house easily and safely. For reptile keeper Tom Wilkinson, training Pierre the mangrove monitor lizard to walk calmly into his crate means you don’t need to catch him up – a procedure that...
A Devon charity is inspiring young people to change the world – and they’re doing it for free.
Wild Planet Trust is launching new sustainability workshops for schools. The six free workshops – called All Our Futures – aim to empower children and young people to make good choices for the future. Group Education Manager Steve Nash explained:
“As educators, we understand that the most important role for a teacher is to prepare pupils for the world beyond the classroom. It’s becoming ever clearer, however, that our world is changing. Our wildlife and wild places are in trouble...
Paignton Zoo bird keeper Lisa Jones freely admits that she has an interest that borders on obsession. She’s fascinated by feathers.
“During the summer months, lots of birds at Paignton Zoo start to moult… I think feathers are among the natural world’s most incredible adaptations. While I was cleaning out the Ural owls, who are moulting heavily now, I wondered if anyone else would be as interested in feathers as me!”
It turns out, yes. Feathers are the often overlooked wonders of nature. We might admire a bird, but do we stop to ask what feathers are, why they are like they...
Two vets from Indonesia are the first to benefit from a unique new scholarship programme run by a Cornish vet charity. OVAID – Orang utan Veterinary Aid – is run by Nigel and Sara Hicks, based in Launceston. They help hard-pressed orang utan rescue centres and sanctuaries with veterinary support and donations of equipment.
The new OVAID Bronwyn Scholarship meant that two South East Asian vets were able to make the 12,000 kilometre (7,500 mile) journey to the UK to exchange techniques and information on the care and welfare of orang utans.
A major South West conservation charity has announced its patrons. Both are star names regionally and nationally.
Naturalist Nick Baker and broadcaster Judi Spiers have been unveiled as patrons of Wild Planet Trust, the charity that runs Paignton Zoo, Living Coasts in Torquay and Newquay Zoo in Cornwall.
These are the first patrons that the Trust, previously known as Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, has ever had. Executive Director Simon Tonge said: “We are very proud to announce Nick and Judi as patrons of Wild Planet Trust. We’re extremely grateful for their support...
England’s chances in the Rugby World Cup would be greatly improved if they had this chap in the line-up.
Male Western lowland gorilla Pertinax lives at Paignton Zoo in Devon. He‘s around 6 feet from head to toe – modest for a professional rugby player these days, but he weighs in at a hefty 190 kilos - and it’s pretty much all muscle. At 37 he’s a bit of a senior now, but even the All Blacks might think twice about tackling him…
Impressively, this strapping lad follows a strict vegetarian diet that features peppers, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, beetroot, kale, leeks,...
The charity zoo has its very own branded blend – Zoorabica. It’s the first time the charity has offered its own named coffee. The new beverage is supplied by Coffeeworks, based in Exeter, an independent company with over 20 years’ experience.
Paignton Zoo Group Catering Manager Jennifer Proctor, who helped choose the final blend, said: “We have gone for this new blend because of taste, price, the support that Coffeeworks offer and the training they provide.” She visited the family-owned roasting business in Bristol to select the coffee.
The TB restrictions at Paignton Zoo have been lifted. The conservation charity has been constrained since August 2017, when a single case of TB was discovered.
A crucial final test has come back all clear. Head of Veterinary Services Ghislaine Sayers said: “We’ve been through a lot. Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to care for animals during this difficult time and to help get us clear!”
Paignton Zoo’s Executive Director Simon Tonge: “We are looking to the future with a renewed sense of certainty. Paignton Zoo plays such an important role in many European...
This Vietnam pheasant chick – and others like it hatched recently at Paignton Zoo – could be the future of its species.
Bird keepers at the charity zoo are based in the Avian Breeding Centre, commonly known as the ABC. The chick is being cared for here; while it’s preferable for chicks to be parent reared, keepers will step in to give nature a helping hand when needed.
Another six (unrelated) Vietnam pheasant chicks are being reared by their parents in an off-show holding area. A video taken by keeping staff offers a rare glimpse into this hidden world.
Local zoos are setting high environmental and ethical standards for their suppliers to ensure the quality of products in their shops. Questionnaires were sent to some 70 different suppliers asking about the environmental, ethical and recycling components of their businesses.
The initiative was launched by South West Zoo Enterprises, the retail arm of Paignton Zoo, Living Coasts, Torquay’s coastal zoo and aquarium, and Newquay Zoo in Cornwall.
Questions on the email evaluation forms included: “Is there a possibility of goods being delivered without using plastics for...
