As we welcome new and returning students, we’re excited to share some updates of what has been happening at the Zoo over the summer.
This month, our Animal Management courses saw 187 new students begin their journey, joining 110 returning learners. With classrooms and facilities once again filled with activity, there’s an exciting buzz on campus as students begin their journeys in animal care and continue building their skills and experience.
We are delighted to announce that at the end of July, Blue and Kalara, our male and female Goeldi’s monkeys, welcomed a little baby after a successful breeding programme. Goeldi’s are listed as vulnerable in the wild so new births like this are incredibly exciting. We now have a healthy two-month-old baby who has just started to explore on its own, but they still don’t have a name. Head to our social media accounts to offer your suggestion!
We would also like to introduce you to our two new Pygmy Slow Loris: our male, Chuck (yes Chuck Loris), and female, Lang. They are getting on extremely well in our nocturnal house, so we will be watching closely for any developments in their family unit.
Pygmy Slow Loris’ are another important species in terms of conservation as they, like many species, are struggling from loss of habitat and being taken for the pet trade. They are native to Vietnam, Laos, eastern Cambodia, and China – east of the Mekong River – and are the world’s only venomous primate.
Sadly, as you may be aware, earlier this year we lost our noisiest pair of animals in the zoo, Stumpy and Shelley, our beloved Asian Short Clawed Otters. After a very quiet few months we decided we were ready to bring in some new otters and sourced two that were living at separate animal collections and looking for a new home.
A couple of weeks ago we collected a new male (Borneo) from Hadlow College and a female (Phi Phi) from Hemsley Conservation Centre. They have both settled into their new home very quickly, and have even been out trying to get snacks from anyone who would walk past.
We will be launching new Encounter dates shortly – keep an eye on our social media for when they come out so that you are some of the first people to come and meet our new animals.