General Heath and Welfare

General Health

In order to keep all of our animals in the best of health, certain procedures are carried out in and around the Park.

As well as regular visits from our local vet we have an annual health protocol in place, which includes regular health screening both by our vet and by trained keeping staff. This can allow us to catch signs of ill health before the animals show symptoms, enabling us to treat the animals much sooner.

Daily observations from the keeping staff are also vital for detecting any potential health issues.

Nutritional requirements

Just as a bad diet can have serious health implications for humans, the same is true for all other animals. An incorrect diet can cause both minor and major health complications and can also have an affect on behaviour, breeding success and even longevity.

Every animal species at the Park has a set diet which is monitored closely and any ‘treats’ are accounted for within their daily requirements.

Just as with human diets, knowledge continues to advance and whenever new advice/information comes our way, if we feel this will benefit the health of our animals we will adapt our diets accordingly.

Enrichment

Even the best diets are not enough on their own to keep our animals healthy; it is imperative to keep our animals stimulated both physically and mentally, living and behaving as naturally as possible.

For some animals this is much easier to achieve than others; providing the correct heat, humidity and environment for our colony of Leaf Cutting Ants and giving them access to the correct foliage is all it takes to get these guys behaving naturally.

For foraging species by scattering or hiding their diet you can encourage activity, making the animals ‘work’ for their food as they would in the wild.

Novel items or smells can be used to stimulate the more curious and intelligent animal species.

But without a doubt the best way to enrich animals is by keeping them in the correct social group, and providing them with the appropriate apparatus and environment to behave in a natural way

Want to Help?

A visit to the Cotswold Wildlife Park can now be even more worthwhile. By adopting an animal, you can provide a helpful contribution towards the costs of keeping and feeding the animals and supporting our conservation breeding programmes... click here for more information