Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens (original) (raw)
WORD FROM THE WILD: The Latest News From The Park
Written by Lorah, Education and Activities Officer at Cotswold Wildlife Park
June 2023
The tortoises have enjoyed a change of scenery this month, with the Hermann’s tortoises exploring the courtyard enclosure in front of the Reptile House on sunny days. Our three Aldabra Giant tortoises, George, Sheldon and Darwin, have also relished being able to graze in their outdoor enclosure more now that the weather has warmed up. You can often spot them relaxing in the sunshine soaking up the heat, or happily grazing on grass and weeds.
You can find several species of tortoise here at the Park; the Aldabra Giant tortoises are located in front of the Manor House, there are Hermann’s and Radiated tortoises housed in the courtyard and Reptile House, and Pancake tortoises can be found in our Little Africa exhibit.
In other news, the Chilean Flamingo chicks that were hand-reared by two of our Keepers have now joined the main group on the lake. Ten chicks in total were reared by Keepers Issy and Abbie, and have happily integrated with rest of the flock, settling well into life among their family members. Unfortunately, the lake area remains closed due to bird-flu restrictions for the time being, but you can still catch a glimpse of the flock from the hide opposite the Wallabies.
One of the conservation projects that the Park works closely with is the Great Bustard Group. The project focuses on increasing the wild population of Great Bustards once again, by strengthening the protection of their nesting sites and providing safe breeding opportunities within collections such as Cotswold Wildlife Park.Our main group of Great Bustards can be found in the Walkthrough and a pair have recently been relocated to the paddock in the Little Africa exhibit. By giving the pair their own space, this will hopefully lead to successful breeding and help continue the conservation efforts to support this species, after they were hunted to extinction in Britain in the early 1800s.
EXTRA, EXTRA!
Our trusty locomotive train Bella underwent some essential maintenance work for a few days, so the previous locomotive Otis dusted off his name plate and stepped in to cover. Bella has been reliably running visitors around our railway for the last twenty years so is definitely entitled to the odd ‘sick’ day. Luckily Otis, who was first built for the Park in 1985, is able to step in when needed to ensure our visitors can still enjoy a train ride around the Park.
Upcoming event: ‘Lemur Week’ from 27 May – 4 June 2023 at the Madagascar exhibit.
To highlight the plight of the world’s most endangered Lemurs, Cotswold Wildlife Park hosts its annual ‘Lemur Week’ to raise awareness and funds for Lemur conservation. There will be a dedicated Lemur stall, fundraising activities and the chance to officially name the newest addition to the Lemur troop – an adorable Ring-tailed Lemur baby. Please note: Normal admission price applies for visitors attending this event at the Park. Madagascar is open daily from 11.30 am – 3.30 pm with a keeper talk at midday.
Cotswold Wildlife Park nominated in local awards – please vote for us!
We’re thrilled to be one of the five finalists in the BEST FAMILY ATTRACTION category in the Muddy Stilettos Awards 2023. We’d like to ask our loyal supporters to help us win. Voting takes a few seconds – just click on this link and please remember to verify and confirm your vote: www.bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/vote/ (voting closes on Sunday 4 June 2023). Thank you so much for your support.