Hello Obi-Wan!
💡 Did you know... Long-eared hedgehogs are insectivorous, with bugs and other invertebrates making up a large portion of their diet.
✨ Adorable New Arrivals! ✨
✨ Adorable New Arrivals! ✨
We have just welcomed four Burrowing Owls from Dartmoor Zoological Society , and they might be the cutest owls around!
Burrowing owls are small diurnal owls native to open areas of North and South America. They nest and roost in burrows that have been escavated by other animals, such as Prairie Dogs. They can fly, but they have also developed long legs to help them sprint when hunting. Their diet typically consists of small birds, reptiles, fish, rodents and large insects.
💡 Did you know... Burrowing Owls collect and place animal dung around their nests to attract dung beetles, one of their favorite foods.
We think Mango loves his new rope-bridge!
Our keepers constantly find new and exciting ways to enrich our animals' environments - giving animals experiences they've never had before, stimulating them both mentally and physically.
Did you know you can treat our animals?
By donating gifts from our Amazon Wishlist, you can give presents directly to our animals - and many items are less than £10! Gifts from our Amazon Wishlist never fail to brighten our day, and are greatly appreciated by our animals and staff - we can't thank you all enough.
Check out our Amazon Wishlist here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/2R6SJK0WHTXSL?ref_=wl_share
We would like to thank you in advance for every purchase ❤
Who else squeaks when they're excited?
Jayne, our Gambian Pouched Rat, always gets super excited about a tasty mealworm treat!
💡Did you know... Gambian Pouched Rats have a highly developed sense of smell, and have been used in the detection of land mines and tuberculosis. In 2020, a Hero Rat named Magawa recieved the animal equivilent of the George Cross Medal - and was the first rat to win the award since it started in 2003. In his 5-year career, Magawa detected 71 landmines and 38 other explosives. clearing 225,000m2 of land in Cambodia, preventing many injuries and deaths.
Snow on a sunny day?!
Keeper Chloe treated our meerkat mob to a big pile of ice shavings as fun sensory enrichment!
Varied enrichment is a great way to keep animals entertained as well as mentally and physically stimulated! Ice based enrichment can also help cool you down on a warm day!
Vote for Lungfish Day 💙
Vote for Lungfish Day 💙
BIAZA have launched its search for a new animal awareness day - and our entry for Lungfish has made the shortlist! To vote please follow this link, and vote LUNGFISH!
https://www.cognitoforms.com/BIAZA1/NewAnimalDayBracketRound3And4
Voting for this round is only open Today - 28th May, and only takes around 10 seconds of your time
When the food's so good, you need to eat it again
💡 Did you know... Like all even-toed ungulates, dik-diks have four-chambered stomachs and use rumination (chewing the cud) to further break down partially digested food!
Breakfast is best served upside down
Nothing beats a rotting log!
Rotting logs make for the perfect bug hunt, you never know what tasty treats are hiding inside!
💡Did you know... meerkats are omnivores, always on the search for more food. From fruit and veggies to insects and meat, there's not much that a meerkat would pass up on!
Blossom Cam 🌸
Spring has landed 🌸
There's two types of birthday girls... one making the most of their birthday snacks, and the other making the most of their birthday naps!
✨️ A very Happy 18th Birthday to Fang, our Ring-Tailed Lemur and a very Happy 14th Birthday to Tara, our female snow leopard! ✨️
Broccoli is best! 🥦
You can ask anyone... especially our cloud rats!
Tag your fellow broccoli lovers - or even broccoli haters (not that anyone could possibly hate broccoli!)
Ever wondered how we weigh our meerkat mob?
Join Keepers Sam and Chloe with their weekly weighing of this crazy bunch
When your zookeepers made you wait for your breakfast!
Our Blue Dart Frogs go CRAZY for a tasty fruit fly - but this morning the flies were placed in a slow-release feeder cone to delay their foraging across a larger span of the morning.
When trying to steal someone else's food backfires...
Dan the dik-dik was caught cheekily trying to steal a taste of our Grey-Crowned Crane's food - but got an instant taste of karma. We definitely can't deny those incredible acrobatic skills though!
Jayne jumping in to wish you a Happy World Rat Day!
Whilst Jayne (our Gambian Pouched Rat) is nocturnal, lucky visitors get the chance to spot this cool rodent on her occasional day-time adventures.
Who else has spent the Easter Weekend feasting on tasty treats?
.... and no, this video has not been sped up!
💡 Did you know... Harvest Mice have a diet predominantly made up of seeds and fruits, but they also enjoy snacking on invertebrates - just like the mealworms here.
Not your usual zoo visitor!
Keepers, and visitors, were lucky enough to spot this cheeky mole having a tour of the zoo on Tuesday!
The site is rich with native wildlife, from a large variety of nesting birds, mice, voles and moles! Have you spotted any cool wildlife at the zoo? Why not record them on iNaturalist to add them to the zoo's BIAZA Spotted on Site Campaign.
You may have SEEN a Raccoon Dog... But have you ever ✨HEARD✨ a Raccoon Dog?
Raccoon dogs are vocal canids. Whilst you might sensibly have guessed they'd bark, Raccoon dogs actually whine, whimper or mew - these are coupled with friendly or submissive behaviours. They may growl when frightened or when being aggressive.
🔈 Sound On!
🎥 Credit to Keeper Chloe
