DZG’s animals were all ready for their close-ups when they had a special wake-up call from the winners of our 2016 calendar photo competition.
ABOVE The winning photographers with Zoo Manager Matt Lewis, back right, and competition judge Jason Skarratt holding the fabulous 2016 calendar
The competition winners were treated to a Wake Up the Zoo experience as a memorable prize and also took home a copy of the DZG calendar featuring their selected snap.
The talented amateur photographers, whose pictures were chosen for each of the 12 months and the front cover, got to go behind the scenes and get up close and personal with a variety of exotic and endangered animals.
Zoo Manager Matt Lewis said: “The morning went very well and everyone seemed to have a great time.
“This was our way of thanking the winners for their wonderful pictures as we really do appreciate the effort they went to.
“Some came on site numerous times to get the right picture to submit for the contest and the result is a superb calendar which has proved very popular with visitors.”
And DZG snapper Jason Skarratt, who selected the winning shots, was on hand to capture the VIP wake-up call on camera.
CLICK HERE to take a peek at our Winners Wake Up the Zoo gallery to see what they got up to!
And just in case you haven’t seen the chosen calendar images, here they are again
THE WINNERS ARE… FRONT COVER: Simon Brettell, black and white ruffed lemur (shown left); JANUARY Kathryn Willett, Sumatran tigress; FEBRUARY Roger Bowater, Bornean orang utans: MARCH Steve Weaver, meerkat; APRIL Stephen Walters, chimpanzee; MAY Vickie Fellows, Asiatic lioness: JUNE Helen Peoples, flamingo; JULY Natasha Jefferies,? Carpathian lynx; AUGUST Penny Hopkins, bearded dragon; SEPTEMBER Donna Lane, snow leopard; OCTOBER Chris Corbett, Humboldt penguin; NOVEMBER Karen Edwards, yellow-breasted capuchin; DECEMBER Jackie Sinclair, Asiatic short-clawed otters (all shown below).
JANUARY FEBRUARY
MARCH APRIL