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Norfolk’s annual winter wildlife spectacle is underway with the birth of the first grey seal pup at the National Trust’s Blakeney Point, home to England’s largest colony of grey seals. 📸 Hanne Siebers National Trust Images
In this film, Discover Animals’ Geoff Moore visits the RSPB’s Arne Nature Reserve on the edge of Poole Harbour to find out more about the project to relocate ospreys here from Scotland.
Spring is a busy time of year for the team at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo who have been hard at work preparing for the start of the Gentoo penguin breeding season.
Saving Wildcats, a European partnership project led by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, is offering the chance to sponsor a wildcat for the first time since establishing its breeding centre at Highland Wildlife Park.
It’s been a bumper year for grey seal pups at the National Trust’s Blakeney National Nature Reserve in Norfolk with rangers recording 3,012 born over the winter. This is the highest number of births since records began 30 years ago when the first grey seal pup was spotted on Blakeney Point in 1988. A rookery – or … Read more
A rare Scottish wildcat kitten has been born at Chester Zoo and cameras have captured the first footage . The female kitten is part of a breeding programme to save Britain’s rarest mammal and conservationists have welcomed the new arrival as “another lifeline for the species.” As few as 100 wildcats – also known as the ‘Highland … Read more
Yorkshire Wildlife Park has welcomed a special arrival in a bid to save the critically endangered black rhino from the brink of extinction. As part of an ambitious international breeding programme, two-year-old female Najuma was transferred from a German zoo. When Najuma is old enough, she will be paired with three-year-old Makibo, who arrived at … Read more
The latest addition to Yorkshire Wildlife Park’s family of animals is three year old giant anteater Tammy who recently arrived from Zoo de la Barben, in Provence, France. The female anteater wasted no time settling into her new home as she made herself busy, sniffing out food in bug-infested woodpiles. Tammy will join male Nikki … Read more
Royal Zoological Society of Scotland has announced that two rare Amur leopard cubs have been born at Highland Wildlife Park, offering hope for the first ever reintroduction of the big cats into the wild. The park’s Amur leopard habitat is not on view to the public, with little human presence helping retain the leopards’ wild … Read more
For the second time in a month West Midland Safari Park is celebrating the arrival of a baby Grévy’s zebra. The first foal, a female named Grace, arrived just three weeks ago, with the latest male making an appearance in the early hours of the morning on Sunday 12 August. The birth of the two … Read more
Passengers taking a flight from Dusseldorf to Edinburgh on Thursday night were surprised to find they were sharing the cabin with a koala. The 19-month-old Queensland koala, named Tanami, had his own seat throughout the journey and was on a 700 mile trip from Duisburg Zoo in Germany to join Scotland’s only koalas at Edinburgh … Read more
The first polar bear to be born in the UK for 25 years has been announced by The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS). The birth was confirmed by staff at Highland Wildlife Park after distinct high-pitched sounds were heard coming from female polar bear Victoria’s maternity den. Polar bear cubs enter the world blind, … Read more
Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire has welcomed a trio of endangered African penguin chicks to its collection, just in time for Christmas. The three fluffy new arrivals hatched late in November and have been doing very well within the park’s new, award winning Penguin Falls enclosure, under the watchful eye of their parents. Paradise is one … Read more
West Midland Safari Park celebrated the birth of a baby southern white rhino this month, the second for the park in 18 months. After a lengthy pregnancy of 16 months, first-time mum Keyah gave birth to the youngster on 8th September, with the female calf weighing in at an impressive 70kg (11 stone)! The first female calf … Read more
RZSS Edinburgh Zoo had a successful breeding season this year and welcomed 19 gentoo chicks and one northern rockhopper chick to its Penguin Rock enclosure. Penguin breeding season, which began in March, is now coming to a close and these once tiny chicks are now growing into adorably fluffy youngsters. The first gentoo chicks hatched … Read more
Keepers at West Midland Safari Park welcomed a tiny new addition earlier this month — a baby pancake tortoise. The little one, who hatched on 3rd July and is a first for the park, has been named Finn and is about the size of a 50 pence coin. The pancake tortoise is known for being slow … Read more
Twycross Zoo in the Midlands welcomed two female snow leopard cubs in April and the pair can now be seen venturing outside for the first time. The cubs and mother Irma spent their first months away from public view to allow them to bond together. They will continue to stay by her side for the … Read more
Paignton Zoo in Devon is home to a pair of Parson’s chameleons, the largest of the species in the world. Found only in isolated pockets of humid forest in Madagascar, the Parson’s chameleon has a strange appearance with swivelling eyes and a rapid-fire tongue longer than it’s own body which can hit prey in about … Read more
A rare Gentoo penguin has hatched at the National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham. The fluffy new arrival is a first for 2017 and part of a global breeding project aimed at increasing the declining penguin population. Spanning three continents, the programme saw 4 year old dad Pablo, a Gentoo from New Zealand pair with … Read more
Hazel dormice are one of Britain’s most endearing mammals but their numbers are in steep decline. Last week the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and Warwickshire Wildlife Trust released 19 breeding pairs of hazel dormice into a secret woodland location in an attempt to reintroduce them to our countryside. Loss of woodland and hedgerow … Read more
Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire are enjoying a summer baby boom as they welcome 20 monkeys, three rare Chinese deer, marmoset twins and two reindeer calves. There have been so many new rhesus monkey arrivals in recent weeks that even the dominant male, known as Phil, has taken to helping out with babysitting duties. Found … Read more
Keepers at West Midland Safari Park have been celebrating the arrival of a fluffy Humboldt penguin chick, the first to hatch at the park in its 44 year history. The appearance of an egg on 9 March provided much excitement at the park, with a tiny, cute grey chick hatching five weeks later on 19 April. … Read more
RZSS Edinburgh Zoo welcomed the arrival of their first rockhopper penguin chick in eight years last month – just in time for World Penguin Day on April 25th. The new arrival, which is the first northern rockhopper penguin to hatch in the UK this year, plays a vital role in the zoo’s captive breeding programme … Read more
RZSS Highland Wildlife Park in Scotland have recently completed construction work on a very large facility to help the rarest big cat in the world, the Amur leopard. The new enclosure, which covers a very large area of natural Highland habitat, has been created as part of a cold weather breeding programme designed especially for … Read more
Drayton Manor Zoo in Staffordshire welcomed the arrival of spring with the birth of two critically endangered cotton-top tamarins. Kit and Leo were born last month to proud first time parents Ellie and Bernie and weigh in at just 40-45g, which is roughly the third of the weight of a hamster! Twins are very common … Read more
Keepers at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo were delighted to discover that the first gentoo penguin eggs of the year had been laid last week. Penguin breeding season began in March when nest rings and pebbles were placed into the zoo’s Penguin Rock enclosure. The penguins then quickly set up nests using the pebbles provided to woo their … Read more
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