There’s another new animal to add to Santa’s Christmas list as the first of our beautiful giant flower beetles have emerged from their cocoons. Back in the summer we posted how keepers were caring for a number of larvae, weighing them regularly as they prepared to pupate into pupal cells, formed from the mulch material … Continue reading Giant flower beetles emerge
There were smiles all round from Senior Keeper Jade Reddall who’s our latest fully-qualified recruit! Jade has received her certificate after successfully passing the demanding two-year Diploma in the Management of Zoo and Aquarium Animals (DMZAA) course, which is the industry standard for training zoo keepers. Jade, who has worked at DZG since 2013, said: … Continue reading Well done, Jade!
Keepers have sexed our newest yellow-breasted capuchin and it’s another boy, who they’ve named Deet. The baby was born in September to 16-year-old mum, Dinya and 12-year-old dad, Willow. Upper Primates Section Leader Pat Stevens, said: “Deet’s making fantastic progress and is proving popular with our visitors.” The critically endangered species form part of a … Continue reading Sweet Deet!
Our Winter Wonderland grotto is officially open after panto stars, Su Pollard and Jeffrey Holland, launched our Christmas festivities. The Hi-de-Hi celebs, who are starring in this year’s DZG sponsored panto at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, took time out of the Dick Whittington rehearsals to visit the zoo and meet Santa and his reindeer. DZG Marketing … Continue reading Santa’s here!
Senior Keeper Stacey Evans proved to be the flower of the flock when she was named our latest Employee of the Month. The Lower Primates keeper was nominated by Zoo Manager, Matt Lewis, for her help in the recent move of our bachelor gelada group to Riga Zoo in Latvia as part of an international … Continue reading Stacey’s the flower of the flock!
Our Countdown to Christmas has begun and our reindeer are eagerly awaiting Santa’s arrival later this week. Our eight girls have been enjoying trips to the castle with keepers as they familiarise themselves with the route from the reindeer paddock to the cobbled courtyard ahead of their all-important festive duties. Our reindeer are trained to … Continue reading Reindeer await Santa!
Training DZG’s three Asiatic short-clawed otters, Buddy, Kia and Minnie, is right on target thanks to the efforts of Senior Keeper Laura Robbins. Laura began target training our three otters just a few weeks ago, but the trio are proving to be very fast learners as she’s already managed to get them to stand … Continue reading Otter training on target
We’re extending our gratitude to our most loyal supporter who has been the only adopter of our guanacos for 30 years! Irene Lawson first started adopting our guanacos in 1989, when we had a herd of three, and has generously donated towards DZG’s ongoing conservation work every year since – and has recently renewed her … Continue reading Grateful to guanaco adopter
Keepers have discovered our gelada baby is another boy and they’ve named him Shire. The youngster was born on October 17 to 12 year-old mum, Addis and 14 year-old dad, Ebano and has been named after a town in Northern Ethiopia – the native homeland of the species – and he’s doing really well. … Continue reading Hello Shire!
When big cat keepers needed to distinguish the faeces of our Sumatran tigers, Daseep and Joao, they turned to edible glitter to help! Staff are feeding nine year-old Daseep chunks of meat sprinkled with the colourful cake decoration so they can spot sparkles in her samples. Acting Team Leader, Sam Grove, said: “We’re feeding Daseep … Continue reading Sparkling samples
