So, I’m sure most of you are now aware that we recently lost one of our beloved lions, Brutus to lung cancer. Naturally it is a heavy blow to all as he was definitely one of our most iconic residents. I mean what zoo is complete without the king of the jungle. A title his…
When you think of animals and venoms, your first thought is probably snakes. You wouldn’t be wrong! There are around 600 species of venomous snakes with about 200 being able to seriously hurt or even kill humans. We don’t hold any of these snakes at Wingham anymore. However, we do still have our venomous lizards,…
World Animal Day 2022 4th October is World Animal Day. A day designated to all animals, which strives to improve welfare for all animals all around the world. As a keeper at Wingham our animal’s health and welfare is always our top priority and there are a few aspects to consider. For my blog this…
For this blog I wanted to celebrate International Zookeeper Day on the 4th October. We are a dedicated and maybe crazy bunch for going down this career path. However, it’s one of the most rewarding and exciting workplaces you can get. I’ve chased down a few of the WWP team to find out why they…
For this edition of Matts travels we are jetting off around the world and taking 12-hour flight to South Africa. With travel restrictions a thing of the past hopefully, I found myself in a position where I had the opportunity to go back to South Africa. I’ve been very fortunate to have travelled there twice…
1st October is National Hair Day so, with this on the horizon and to celebrate I thought I would base my blog on some of the uses animals have for theirs (or rather their fur). Camouflage The most obvious reason for an animal’s fur is camouflage. This is extremely important for predators as they need…
We have been very busy training new behaviours including crate training with many species recently and I wanted to update you on what the animals have been learning. Macaws So, I’ve been making friends with the macaws and teaching them to follow the target. They’ve picked it up nicely and allowed me to move onto…
Our meerkat mob recently went from 6 to 10. Last year we welcomed 3 pups into the group however this year we went one better with 4 being born. The group includes Ken (Alpha male), Kiara (Alpha female), Pinkie, Axe, Bo, Koshka and then the 4 pups. However, we don’t know the genders at the…
I’ve got another Guess Who for you this week (find my previous Guess Who here). This time all the animals are found here at Wingham to give it a zookeeper week theme. All the answers can be found at the bottom for you. 1:• I come in lots of colours• I love to make a…
This blog is going to focus on training for blood draws. This is being undergone on several species at the park and hopeful many more in the future. Why do we need to take blood? Blood samples can give an insight into the health of the animal. They can be taken from a healthy animal…
