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Earlier this year, Plymouth announced £11.6 million funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to create the UK’s first National Marine Park in Devon. This will be part of a £22 million transformational five-year programme that will engage an entire city in its landscape and heritage. The project will revolutionise the way Plymouth interacts with … Read more
The trail of the ‘Exmoor Beast’ recently led Discover Animals’ videographer Geoff Moore to a zoo that was not quite the most westerly in the UK. Danny Reynolds was on hand to show him around Exmoor Zoo in Devon, located within dense vegetation high on the hills of Exmoor near to Bratton Flemming. Some 130 … Read more
Showing the true spirit of Christmas, leading British wildlife conservation charity Wildwood Trust has welcomed a bouncing bear cub into the family fold after he was rejected by his mother. Ten-month-old ‘Boki’ has spent his first few nights at the park, near Herne Bay, after following yonder star to the wise men of Wildwood with … Read more
The five resident red squirrels at Wildwood Escot have been enjoying the early signs of spring – including a bright carpet of daffodils – as they explore their woodland home in East Devon. Twiglet, Blossom and the other red squirrels are sure to get the most out of the flowers, as red squirrels also have … Read more
The Wildlife Trusts have announced that 2021 will be a record year for beaver releases. Plans developed by the Wildlife Trusts of Dorset, Derbyshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Nottinghamshire and Montgomeryshire will see new beaver families moving into these counties for the first time.
Ashleigh Ridler from the Discover Animals team enjoyed a day out at the zoo last week and shares her experience here: Located in Devon, Paignton Zoo is one of the South West’s most exciting visitor attractions. It’s a place to roam, discover and get in touch with your inner animal. With over 2,500 animals across … Read more
Wildlife parks and zoos around the country reopened their gates for the first time in months last week as the government eased its lockdown restrictions. This move was greeted with much excitement by the venues who could at last welcome back visitors to enjoy a great day out while raising vital funds to cover essential … Read more
Dartmoor Zoo conservation charity in Devon has welcomed two Northern Luzon Giant Cloud rats to its collection – just in time for Chinese New Year which celebrates Year of the Rat in 2020. The yet to be named male and female sibling rodents are a brand-new species for Dartmoor Zoo, with Northern Luzon Giant Cloud … Read more
Famous for its bright red feathers, the scarlet ibis is one of the most striking birds in the world. Keepers at Paignton Zoo have successfully bred this colourful wading bird – although the chicks are anything but scarlet at the moment. Originating from South America and the Caribbean, the scarlet ibis get their dazzling plumage from … Read more
Living Coasts – Devon’s coastal zoo – recently announced details of a new conservation project which has been set up on the Falkland Islands to help restore the native landscape. The Falklands – an archipelago of over 750 islands in the South Atlantic – is home to some of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. … Read more
Dartmoor Zoo is set within 33 acres of beautiful parkland just 20 mins from Plymouth, with an impressive collection of big cats, bear, wolves, meerkats, tapir and much more. The Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Mee wrote a book about buying the zoo called, We Bought a Zoo, which later became the subject of a major Hollywood … Read more
Living Coasts has welcomed some new arrivals as four bearded reedlings move from Newquay Zoo in Cornwall to the tranquil estuary habitat of its sister zoo in Devon. This small orange-brown bird with a long tail and yellowy-orange bill is found only in small pockets in the UK, mainly in the south and east. The … Read more
Paignton Zoo in Devon has successfully bred two protected Mexican beaded lizards – a first for the environmental park – with zoo photographer Elliye Stobbart on hand to capture the incredible moment one egg hatched. This particular species of beaded lizard – also known as Heloderma horridum – is venomous and found mainly in Mexico and southern … Read more
Well known for its flock of Chilean flamingos, Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in Devon has welcomed its first flamingo chicks in six years. Recently hatched, the two small, pale and fluffy chicks are now being looked after by their parents and protected from both the weather and predatory gulls. It will be a while before … Read more
Living Coasts, the all-weather attraction located on Torquay seafront in South Devon, is now home to native seahorses. These beautiful, serene and exotic creatures, also known by the Latin hippocampus – meaning “horse caterpillar” – live in the seagrass meadows just offshore in the Bay. Seahorses use their long, thin snouts to probe into nooks and … Read more
Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in Devon has become the first member of BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos) to have successfully bred a Chinese crocodile lizard. This small, semiaquatic lizard is found only in the provinces of southern China and northern Vietnam and is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to … Read more
Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in Devon has welcomed four blue tree monitor lizards to its reptile collection. One of only three zoo’s in the UK with the species, Paignton’s blue tree monitors are a first for the charity zoo. With long, slender claws, snaking tail and unnatural colouring, the blue tree monitor is as strange … 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
Staff at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in Devon have successfully bred an endangered Peruvian frog, making them the first zoo in the world to do so. Also known as the Summers’ poison frog, this particular frog was only named in 2008 when it was separated from the red headed poison frog and identified as a … Read more
Paignton Zoo, Devon, welcomed the arrival of a new baby giraffe last week. Born on the morning of Wednesday 19th April to mother Sangha, the young female joins a herd of six other giraffes at Paignton. The zoo’s giraffe house has been closed for the last few days, to allow mother and calf to bond. … Read more
A seal at Living Coasts in Devon has received crucial medical treatment from South Devon veterinary experts. South American fur seal Grace was first given slow-release implants in 2011 to control her immune system, which causes problems with her eyes. These implants were replaced in September 2014 – and now she has had the procedure again. … Read more
A new exhibit at Paignton Zoo in Devon aims to expose an unexpected side to an often misunderstood creature. The zoo has received 40 Indian social spiders from Reaseheath College in Cheshire. There are more than 50,000 species of spider in the world but just a few hundred of these exhibit social behaviours. Andy Meek, … Read more
The Jessops Training Academy has introduced its first ever ‘British Wildlife Experience’, a rewarding course designed to provide wildlife and photography enthusiasts with the opportunity to capture animals in their natural environment. “This new photography experience provides an amazing opportunity to encounter a variety of wild and beautiful creatures that are often too difficult to even catch a … Read more
A tiger named Fabi has arrived at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park. Eight-year-old male Sumatran tiger Fabi has come to Devon from Chester Zoo. Fabi moved to Chester from Prague Zoo in 2009. He is a proven breeder, having fathered seven cubs with Chester’s resident female, Kirana – who was born at Paignton Zoo in 2006. … Read more
Tis the season to be woolly… People love Christmas jumpers, so why not rhinos? Volunteers at Paignton Zoo in Devon have knitted an over-sized pullover for a life-sized rhino sculpture. A team of 13 volunteers started knitting and crocheting in July, in between their usual volunteer duties. Every knitter created at least 6 squares in … Read more
An injured wading bird has been rescued and given safe haven at Living Coasts in Devon. Torquay’s coastal zoo and aquarium can provide the ideal estuary habitat for the whimbrel, now thought to be the only one in a public zoological collection in the UK. The adult female bird was found on a roadside in … Read more
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