The charity behind the region’s three top zoos has launched a new website with a new look and a radical new approach. Wild Planet Trust is the new name for the charity that runs Paignton Zoo, Living Coasts in Torquay and Newquay Zoo in Cornwall. The charity’s new website places a strong emphasis on highlighting the conservation and research work of the zoos. Trust spokesperson Phil Knowling...
Staff from a South West conservation charity have been on a 12,000-mile round trip to help secure the future of a strange nocturnal mammal.Animal experts John Meek (Newquay Zoo Curator) and Owen Taylor (Paignton Zoo Head Keeper of Mammals) and scientist Dr Andrew Bowkett (Wild Planet Trust Field Conservation & Research Programmes Manager) travelled to Vietnam recently on behalf of the...
Frogs come in all shapes and sizes – as these two demonstrate. Paignton Zoo photographer Eleanor Stobbart took this stunning image of a young Thao whipping frog on top of an adult of the same species to mark World Frog Day, on Wednesday 20th March. The species has just bred at Paignton Zoo for the very first time. Like so many species of exotic frog, this one goes by different names. It’s the...
With teeth like that, it’s hard to believe Western lowland gorilla Kiondo is a vegetarian. The 15-year-old, who weighs in at around 186 kilos and lives at Paignton Zoo in Devon, has an impressive set of gnashers. He was spotted displaying to keepers and to his fascinated public by photographer and Zoo regular Miriam Haas. Kiondo enjoys a diet of vegetables, including peppers, sweetcorn,...
Bays Brewery are brewing a special orangutan-themed beer for Paignton Zoo. The guest beer, simply called Orangutan Amber Ale, is a new recipe with a handsome tawny colour to match its name and the species. Orangutan Ale is being launched on Monday 4th March and will be available as a draught beer in selected local pubs until the end of May. The Paignton microbrewery is donating 10p for every...
This is a vampire crab. With its purple body, orange pincers and piercing pale eyes, it’s a nightmarish vision. And a crab that’s also a vampire? Days out at the beach will never be the same… You may not have heard of a vampire crab, though it’s a species popular with aquarists – in fact, illegal over-collection for the pet trade is a real threat to the species. As alarming as it looks, this...
Paignton Zoo has bred a species of venomous lizard for the first time. Two Mexican beaded lizards have hatched at the Devon zoo. Incredibly, the moment one egg hatched was captured by Zoo photographer Elliye Stobbart.
This CITES protected lizard (Heloderma horridum) is a venomous species found principally in Mexico and southern Guatemala. Heloderma means "studded skin", and...
A tiger at Paignton Zoo in Devon has had a root canal – performed by one very brave veterinary dentist… The patient is Paignton Zoo’s 11-year-old male Sumatran tiger Fabi, who is over 2 metres long and weighs over 100 kilograms. A Sumatran tiger has 30 teeth, including four very long canines. Canine teeth are important for biting, tearing and eating meat, for jaw architecture and display. As...
What do zoo gardeners get each other for Christmas? A plant, of course – but not just any old plant. Gardeners at Paignton Zoo in Devon have given their colleagues at Marwell Zoo in Hampshire a Titan arum – one of the largest and smelliest plants in the world.
Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) blooms can be up to 3 metres high and 3 metres in circumference and smell like rotting meat...
Pete is the Environmental Officer for the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, the charity that runs Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, Living Coasts in Torquay and Newquay Zoo in Cornwall. He’s busy overseeing a green revolution to save energy and save money. The charity is installing environmentally-friendly lighting in key buildings, with halogen and compact fluorescent lamps being replaced...
