The baby boom at the Park continues into the summer. As well as our recent additions of a male Camel calf, Ring-tailed Lemur twins and Emu chicks (to name just a few), last month our Cotswold ewes gave birth to three lambs who are thriving in their paddock up at the Children’s Farm. Cotswold Sheep are a local and historic breed, having been kept in the region for nearly 2000 years. You can see them adjacent to our African Pygmy Goat enclosure, where our 6 kids will soon be joining the adults.
In the Walled Garden we have also welcomed a few new arrivals: twin Yellow Mongoose pups (who can be seen in their enclosure next to the Frog Breeding Room), a Long-nosed Potoroo joey inside the Tropical House and our adorable as-yet-unsexed Penguin chick has finally left the nest box and joined the rest of the colony. We’ll have more news about these new additions on our social media soon.
Lemur Week Success!
Thank you to everyone who visited and donated throughout the week! Over £2500 was raised to help the people, Lemurs and environment of Madagascar. Last year, money raised and donated supported charities HelpSimus and Impact Madagascar with the construction of new schools, the planting of nearly 100,000 seedlings and protecting species in these forests with the help of trained local rangers, and relief after a devastating cyclone that hit the southeast of the island in February 2023.
During Lemur Week we also held a competition to name our twin Ring-tailed Lemur babies, who were born on the 24th March earlier this year. Now 3 months old, they are becoming more and more independent, leaping around the undergrowth with many different members of the troop.
After a random draw, the names selected were Bramble and Badger! Congratulations to Leila and Dylan Craven who chose the winning names and thank you to everyone who entered.
It has been a busy month for the Gardens team here at CWP, with the summer changeover well underway. This process kicks off with the Cacti being moved outside. At the Park we have over 100 specimens of Cacti!
There are 24 areas across the Park that receive plant changeovers, and nearly 10,000 plants have now gone into summer bedding. This includes nearly 2000 sub-tropical specimens that live in the polytunnel and plant house over the winter, and 2000 that have been grown from seed this year.
Thank you to our Gardens and Grounds teams for their continued hard work making the gardens look stunning throughout the seasons!
EXTRA EXTRA!
On Friday 7th June, we hosted our annual Dreamnight – an invitation only event for children and their families from local charities. Dreamnight At The Zoo was the brainchild of zoo keeper Peter van der Wulp. In 1996, Peter went to the Director of Rotterdam Zoo with a special request to organise a free evening out at the zoo exclusively for children with cancer. Peter wanted it to be a joyous night for the whole family to enjoy and relax, without the worry of being treated differently. “Dreamnight At The Zoo” has since become an annual worldwide event which Cotswold Wildlife Park is part of (along with over two hundred zoos and aquariums from eleven different countries).
Thank you to all of our wonderful staff and volunteers for making it an unforgettable night for these families.
