A four-year-old girl from Walsall has picked, wrapped and delivered Christmas presents for her two favourite animals at the zoo. Harriet Beech, who has visited DZG since she was three months old with her mum Nichola Pemberton and dad Nicholas Beech, has just brought in the parcels for our youngest Bornean orang Sprout and Carpathian … Continue reading Harriet’s hand-picked gifts
Today is World Anteater Day and for our two, Romy and Bubbles, that means piles of fun rooting out treats from their termite mound. The giant anteater pair will spend the day exploring the artificial termite mound which keepers built to encourage them to use their 2ft-long tongues to get to the food inside. The … Continue reading All about anteaters!
DZG has put out a plea for spare sheets and leftover linen to provide hours of entertainment for our playful primates. The four Bornean orangs and our seven female chimps love making costumes and playing games with sheets, duvet covers, pillow cases and towels – but our stocks are running desperately low. Head of Upper … Continue reading Spare any sheets?
Capybara Pumpkin enjoyed a spot of male grooming after taking an afternoon mud bath in our South American paddock. Keeper Josh Luxton caught the capybara on camera rolling around in the mud amongst the colourful autumn leaves. And the natural beauty treatment will leave the creature’s coat in tip top condition as in the wild … Continue reading Pumpkin’s pamper time
Two of DZG’s giant beech trees have been felled and branches given to some of our tiniest creatures – three spiny mice. The 100ft-tall tree at the golden pheasant enclosure has been severely cut back and the beech near the giraffe feeding platform, which was around the same height, has been removed completely. Other offcuts … Continue reading Giant trees for minute mice
Our red pandas Yasmin and Gawa are in for a feast after bundles of bamboo plants were delivered to us by a kind-hearted couple. Gwen and Ken Edge have lived at their Bridgnorth home for 40 years and offered the excess plants to DZG after reading an appeal in the press. Gwen said: “The bamboo … Continue reading Thanks Gwen and Ken!
Bornean orang Jazz had a pile of pink parcels waiting for her as she celebrated her 27th birthday today. Gorgeous Jazz soon tucked in to fruit and veg treats hidden inside the boxes and took the sheet they were laid out on to make her own birthday outfit. And her seven-year-old daughter Sprout gave her … Continue reading Birthday boxes for Jazz
Our meerkat mob have been entering into the spirit of Halloween today and enjoying a spot of pumpkin playtime. Senior Keeper Sarah Evans added the hollowed-out fruit, carved with a castle design, to the meerkat enclosure and they soon got stuck in. She said: “The meerkats loved exploring the pumpkin and having a nibble on … Continue reading Halloween high jinks
Fallen leaves are providing piles of fun – and the odd snack – for our primate collection here at DZG. Keepers across our lower and upper primate sections collect leaf litter to make feeding times more interesting for the animals and many, including our black howler monkeys, like to munch on the crispier ones. Senior … Continue reading Loving the leaves
Keeper Josh Luxton is itching to try out new techniques with our sea lions after attending a workshop in Wales. The 24-year-old keeper has recently returned from the BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums) Seal and Sea Lion Workshop which took place at the end of last month at Welsh Mountain Zoo … Continue reading Studying sea lions
