Extremely exciting news this month as Cotswold Wildlife Park has welcomed a rather significant addition to the Chapman’s Zebra family. Not only is the newborn the tenth breeding success for parents Stella and Spongebob, but she is also the 50th Chapman’s Zebra to be born at Cotswold Wildlife Park – a remarkable achievement and testament to the Park’s commitment to its breeding programme. The adorable foal has been named Flora by her keepers and visitors can see the youngster alongside her family in the Zebra enclosure opposite the large Rhino paddock.
Curator of Cotswold Wildlife Park, Jamie Craig, said: “Repeating successes can be tricky when breeding animals, so to have reached the milestone of fifty foals since we opened is a real triumph for all the dedicated keepers, past and present, who have cared for our Zebras over the years at the Park”.
Elsewhere in the Park another little addition has arrived in our Little Africa exhibit, as the Kirk’s Dik-Dik welcomed a new male calf, who has been named Macadamia. He joins two big sisters, Pecan and Cashew, who were also born earlier this year.
Dik-Dik are a small antelope species, on average growing to 40cm in size and weighing just 15lbs. Their natural manner means they are often quite elusive, preferring to stay concealed amongst the vegetation in their enclosure.
Little Africa Keeper Dom said: “With the breeding success of the group this year it has meant that visitors have been able spot them more easily and it has been wonderful to see the new calves developing so well.”
You can see the Dik-Dik family in the outdoor enclosure of our Little Africa exhibit, opposite the Camel paddock.
Continuing the celebrations, Cotswold Wildlife Park has been named the winner of four awards this year, a new record for the Park! We were awarded ‘Best Family Attraction’ in the Red Kite Days Awards last month and have now won the same title in the Muddy Stilettos Awards!
We have also been named the winner for ‘Oxfordshire’s Best Attraction’ by Oxfordshire Live and ‘Best Place to Go With The Kids’ by The Cotswolds Awards 2023.
It really does mean so much to staff to be acknowledged for the hard work that goes into making Cotswold Wildlife Park such a wonderful place for families to visit, so a huge thank you to everyone who voted for us!
EXTRA, EXTRA!
2023 has been the first full year of the Word from the Wild blog! A big thank you to those that have been reading each month and hopefully the news updates have given you an extra insight into the goings-on here at the Park as well as what to look out for on your next visit.
VISITOR INFORMATION: In December, the Park is open daily* from 10.00 am and our closing time is 4:00 pm or DUSK (whichever is earlier), with last admission at 3:00pm (*except Christmas Day).
As of Monday 8 January 2024, our winter opening times change. Cotswold Wildlife Park will remain CLOSED on WEEKDAYS ONLY from 8th January until 8th February (re-opening on Friday 9th February 2024); EXCEPT FOR WEEKENDS when the Park will be OPEN from 10.00 am until 4:00 pm or dusk (whichever is earlier), with last admission being at 3:00 pm. This is to allow for essential maintenance to be carried out – thank you.
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR
FROM ALL OF US AT COTSWOLD WILDLIFE PARK!
