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Please keep visiting us as we plan to regularly add to this page. If you are a visitor to the zoo you might like to email us articles or photos you have taken here, we can include them on this page in the future. lintonzoo@hotmail.co.uk   December 2011 MARCH OF THE GIANT TORTOISES   This year we hatched a staggering 45 baby Sulcata Giant Tortoises from two clutches of eggs. The first batch of eggs were laid in March, the second in April. Hatching started in August although most appeared in September. As the largest species of mainland Tortoise, an adult male Sulcata can grow up to 90cm long and weigh up to 95kg. The record for the longest lived Sulcata is 165 years, although there is no way to know a tortoises age unless you know the exact hatch date, so it's possible they could live a lot longer. For the full story click here!       VISIT OUR EBAY PAGE!     We now have an eBay page that is raising money for the Linton Zoo Conservation Fund. Why not take a look and see if there is anything that takes your fancy?! We will be auctioning items donated by our loyal supporters, as well as current and past issues of our popular Zoo News. Visit our eBay page to see what items we have for sale, or to find out how you can help wildlife by selling some items on behalf of our fund. In our first two weeks, our eBay auction shop raised almost £50 from the sale of some stamps donated by one of our most loyal supporters. If you have any items you would like to donate for us to sell, please drop them off at the zoo, or telephone 01223 891308. October 2011 CELEBRATING WORLD ANIMAL DAY   On Saturday 8th October, we celebrated World Animal Day with the help of our visitors. As part of their World Animal Day Tour, Ventura Events stopped off to visit us with some of their furry friends. Visitors were delighted to meet a racoon, a racoon dog, a prairie dog and a ring-tailed coati, and some had their picture taken with the wriggly creatures! World Animal Day is celebrated annually, on or around 4th October. This date was originally chosen because it is the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, who was a nature lover and is the patron saint of animals and the environment. Today, it is observed by animal-lovers of all beliefs, nationalities and backgrounds throughout the world.   October 2011 RECYCLE AND RAISE MONEY FOR LINTON ZOO   We are working with Greensource Solutions to set up a printer cartridge and mobile phone recycling partnership, where every envelope returned will mean a donation to Linton Zoo Conservation Fund. So, if you use a printer at work or at home, or have a mobile device to recycle, please email conservationfund@lintonzoo.com with your contact details and how many envelopes you would like and we will send them out to you. Thank you for your support! September 2011 CONGRATUALTIONS KELLY AND ADAM!   Huge congratulations to Kelly Brooks and Adam Shipp, who were married at St Mary's Church in Linton on Saturday 10th September. Following the service, the couple and their guests celebrated with photographs and a reception at Linton Zoo. Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Shipp from everyone at Linton Zoo!   September 2011 BOUNCE TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT!   Visitors to the zoo can once again bounce, bounce, bounce to help save wildlife because our new bouncy castle - or elephant! - is here! For a donation of 50p, children under 13 years of age can enjoy themselves with a supervising adult.   August 2011 FUNDRAISING EVENING A HUGE SUCCESS!   Our first-ever fundraising evening held on Friday 19th August was a huge success, raising more than £1,700 for the Linton Zoo Conservation Fund! People travelled from all over the country to visit the zoo and to take part in the various activities on offer. One of the highlights of the evening was the big cat feed, where African lions Zuri and Safina couldn't wait to tuck into their dinner! Many visitors were lucky enough to get up close and personal to several of the animals during the Lemur Land tours and animal encounters. A huge THANK YOU to all the people who helped out on the night, and special thanks to the local companies who sponsored the barbeque and provided prizes for the tombola and raffle. Summer 2011 NEW BLOOD LINE   Pogo, the young male wallaby that joined us last year, has taken to his role as the dominant male very well - just five months later we have five new joeys hopping around! Once believed to be extinct, numbers of this species are gradually increasing due to conservation efforts. Despite this, however, they are still endangered and currently classified as 'Near Threatened'.   May 2011 WELCOME TO A BABY MONGOOSE LEMUR!   Another new addition! Our mongoose lemurs have also given us cause for great celebration. On the evening of Friday 13th May 2011, Maggie gave birth to a healthy little baby called Tia - the first to be born in captivity for more than four years! Conditions have to absolutely perfect for this species to breed in captivity. To mirror their natural environment - where lemurs are sadly in decline - diet, temperature and many other factors have to be carefully managed. As the EEP (European Endangered Species Programme) studbook holders for this species, we have worked very hard over the past few years to ensure every animal possible in the European Breeding Programme is paired with a breeding recommendation. What a fantastic reward for all our hard work!   April 2011 BABY LEMUR JOY!   Harriet, one of our White Collared Lemurs, gave birth to a beautiful little baby called Mirana on the evening of Saturday 16th April 2011. This is a major triumph for this species, which is critically endangered and very rare in captivity. Including this little one, there are only 13 individuals in zoos across Europe - seven of which are here at Linton Zoo. April 2011 QUEENIE ARRIVES!   On Monday 18th April, we were delighted to welcome a new species here at Linton Zoo - Queenie the Victoria Crowned Pigeon. Now that the Dodo is extinct, this bird is the largest member of the pigeon family and can grow up to 75cm from head to tail. Queenie attracted a lot of attention when she arrived, and has already found herself a sponsor thanks to Jake Farrimond of Chesterford. March 2011 TRIO OF TURKMENIAN EAGLE OWLETS HATCHED   This fluffy trio weighed in at just 50 grams at hatching in mid-March. The owlets were rejected by their inexperienced mother, so were removed for hand-rearing. The Turkmenian Eagle Owl is one of the largest and spectacular owls in the world. Sadly, it is believed to be extinct in its original wild range around Turkmenistan. There are also very few in captivity, so these three easter chicks are very important. 2011 OWL BABY BOOM!   Our owls have done us proud again! The Rufous Legged Owls, Brown Wood Owls and Spectacled Owls have all produced chicks. Owlets can look quite different from the parents, so take a look at the enclosure information signs to see which is which!   AND THE WINNER IS... We're delighted to announce that the winner of our photography competition is Chris Humphries of Haverhill for this fantastic picture of our Leopard Gecko. CONGRATULATIONS CHRIS!   February 2011     At first glance it may look like there has been a major incident at the zoo... ... but there is no need to be alarmed. The staff are all just practisisng their skills during a first aid course! Hopefully these skills will not be needed, but you can be assured that there are at least 12 members of the zoo staff that are qualified to offer assistance.   Ifyouthinkyousaw... a dinosaur heading towards Linton Zoo recently, you did! So all those mums that accused their children of making up fantastic stories - go back and apologise! These new members of our education team will help us focus on the word “Extinction”, sadly something we will hear more frequently in the near future.   COPING WITH FREEZING CONDITIONS The animals have heated accommodation, but spare a thought for our poor keepers!!   You may have heard that several times over the winter we were unable to open our gates to visitors due to the snow and ice. Unscheduled closures have quite a financial impact on us, not to mention the extra costs involved in providing the extra special care and heating the animals need during particularly cold periods. So we would like to take this opportunity to say an extra special thank to everyone for their generous donations, in lieu of a visit, during these difficult times. Animals that cannot cope with the freezing conditions have lovely heated accommodation to retreat to and the only complaints we get are from the keepers who have the arduous job of struggling around with buckets of water and lots more dry clean bedding and extra food and also from those that pay the bills as they see the electric meter spinning out of control!   The lions greet their new friend - how long did he last??? Just a few minutes.     WINDFARM APPLICATION DISMISSED! We're delighted that the Linton Wind Farm appeal has been turned down and we won't end up with eight 125m high wind turbines on our doorstep putting our animals and the important conservation work we do here at potential risk. Click here to see the full report, see page 27 for section regarding Linton Zoo. We would like to thank the Stop the Linton Wind Farm action group for all their hard work and dedication.   Now we know this won't be the view across our Zebra paddock!   STOWAWAY!! This little stowaway has caused a bit of excitement! This beautiful frog, measuring 3cm long, came to us from a Cambridge market fruit and veg stall. It was found in a box of bananas on Wednesday 8th September, which had just traveled across from the Ivory Coast in Africa. Stowaways are not a rare occurrence, although it is not as common to find the animal still alive. Being a stowaway is no easy task - they will often be chilled, gassed, frozen and have to go days sometimes even weeks without food. The last famous stowaway we had was Billy the Elephant Beetle who came via a box of bananas from Costa Rica, read more about Billy here. With hundreds of species of frog found in the Ivory Coast area it can be very difficult to identify the exact species, most of these frogs like subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, moist savanna, swamps, and marshes. This is something which we will recreate here at the zoo to make him as happy and comfortable as possible, as returning him back to the wild is unfortunately not an option.   BRAZILIAN TAPIRS PROUD PARENTS AGAIN - JUNE 2010 Introducing 'Tiana', our Brazilian tapir calf born here in 2nd June 2010. Tiana is the 11th calf to be born to parents 'Tanya' and 'Shannon'.   WORKING WITH THE WORLD OWL TRUST, RAVENGLASS, CUMBRIA ANGUS GETS HIS GIRL!!! A new addition to our owl collection is a beautiful young female Bengal Eagle Owl who has come to us from the World Owl Trust. The young female has been paired with Angus, who initially wasn't too impressed with being kicked out of his favourite nest box, but he has quickly adapted from his bachelor lifestyle, although it's easy to see who rules the roost! The Bengal Eagle Owl, also known as Rock or Indian Eagle Owl, is a large species of horned owl from South Asia. Their preferred terrain is scrub and light to medium forests but are especially keen on rocky places. The Spectacled Owlet makes his first trip outside of the nestbox.   SPECTACLES ARE BACK We're delighted that this year our Spectacled Owls have produced a chick, their first since 2006. This gorgeous little bundle of fluff is quite a colour contrast to the parents. The World Owl Trust has produced an Owlet for the first time in a few years too, so it looks like this one which we think is a female will be moving to Cumbria to make up a new pair. Native to the Rain forests and mangroves of Central and South America this species gets its name from the white “spectacles” around their yellow eyes The proud mum Spectacled Owl RENOVATION & REJUVENATION Building a new aviary or enclosure is not as easy as you may think, the planning stage alone is a long and arduous process as you have to take into account the many aspects of the animals varying needs, as well as any possible future needs of the animals or enclosures. These two beautifully upgraded aviaries will initially house Amazon Parrots, Toco Toucans and Turacos, although they also have the flexibility of housing lemurs or other animals in the future. The Yellow-Shouldered Amazons have moved into their upgraded aviary. The upgraded Turaco and Toco Toucan aviaries are ready to welcome their new residents. Dee Morton, Thomas and Joshua meet Bernard the Bearded Dragon   YOUR PICTURES OF YOUR FUN DAY OUT POSTED ON THE WEB!! Have you been snapped?? We have devoted a section of the home page for pictures of our visitors having fun at the zoo. Check the home page to see if your pictures have been posted up. If you have a nice picture or a funny picture of your fun time at the zoo (doesn't have to be with an animal) please email it to us with your comments and captions.   Brandon Peck enjoys a family day out visiting the zebra The Hyacinths, which often suffer due to trampling feet, have now made way for summer blooms. Thousands of summer bedding plants have been put into the gardens replacing the hyacinths, now we have a full time job keeping everything watered and alive whilst the heat wave hits us!! The beautiful giant tree ferns have suffered a little over the cold winter months and although have been slow to leaf up are now back with us and looking absolutely beautiful again. 'WALTER' THE RED KANGAROO Walter has come to us from Belgium where his mother rejected him and he had to be removed for hand-rearing to ensure his survival. Walter is now making the occasional trip outdoors, however he is very shy so you will have to be extra quiet and keep still for a chance to catch a glimpse of him bounding around his enclosure.   CHACO CHICKS The spring and summer is always an exciting time for staff here. After the drab and dreary winter months many of the new babies have arrived. The snowy owlets have just started to toddle around their aviary and the Chaco owlets now look just like their mum and dad. Don't miss the gorgeous tapir calf born on 2nd June, the 11th to be born to our pair Tanya and Shannon. Chaco chicks just a few weeks old. Chaco owlet, now fully fledged. VIEW THEM LIVE African lion cubs pictured in July 2009 Clouded leopard On 1st February 2010 we said goodbye to the three young lions born in May 2009. Parents Safina and Zuri have been the perfect parents and the result is three very well grown and beautiful offspring. The three youngsters Masai, Zulu and Louisa have been transferred to Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm click here to watch them where they will be cared for until one or more of them may move on to The  Ugandan Wildlife Education Centre where they will join their bigger sister Zara. It is always a sad time for keepers when we part with any of our animals but as the zoos all work closely together we will be getting frequent updates of their progress and of course we can visit them regularly too. On the other hand keepers are excited to receive a pair of Clouded leopards which have settled down well, but unfortunately these shy and elusive creatures only come out at night. You never know, you might be one of the lucky ones to catch a glimpse of these very beautiful cats. THE FEN TIGER Following an article in the Cambridge Evening News on 12th January 2010, there has been much debate about the so called mystery beast the "Fen Tiger". We have built a dedicated Fen Tiger page for those who have been following the stories over the years or who may have concerns, this page is completely our own opinion based on facts we have and the many decades of experience we can offer. Snow stops play February 2010! Toco toucan aviary begins to take shape. The maintenance team are always kept busy as there is a constant programme of repairs and renewels underway! We have been able to take advantage of the better weather and lots of painting and decorating has already taken place. We are now in the process of upgrading the house and aviary for toucans and Turacos Some of this work is carried out by volunteers so if you have a construction profession and you would like to volunteer your services please contact the zoo office. Our next project is leopard enclosures and needs volunteer general labourers, welders, brick layers, painters, carpenters and electricians!! If you are interested in volunteering please contact us on 01223 891308 or email us at lintonzoo@hotmail.com LION CUBS AT LINTON - MAY 2009 African lion cubs pictured 2 days old Proud mum Safina with her cubs Zuri, Safina and the cubs settle down for the night On Saturday 16th May 2009 Safina gave birth to 3 gorgeous and healthy little cubs! Having been unsuccessful as a mother in the past, something clicked and Safina is delighting us all, showing off her fantastic new maternal skills, Zuri is also proving to be an excellent father! The two boys and one girl are doing extremely well, suckling hard and growing fast. With both parents being hand-reared themselves, we are tremendously proud of both Safi and Zuri. WIND FARM THREAT - AUGUST 2009 Although the closest turbine would be just over 1km away, the blades will be clearly visible for much of the zoo Enertrag, a wind farm developer, has submitted the planning application to build eight 125 metre high wind turbines with the closest being approximately 1km from Linton Zoo. Whilst we fully recognise the threat that climate change poses to all species living on our planet, breeding endangered species is sensitive work at the best of times so anything that might upset our animals must be considered very carefully. We have kept an open mind since the original proposal but increasing evidence show that these large turbines may have a seriously adverse effect on our animals and our breeding programmes. Enertrag have said that they know Elephants, Cassowary and Okapi would be affected and also our local wildlife will be threatened too. Until we can be given a 110% guarantee that the proposed turbines will not be detrimental to Linton Zoo we have to oppose the development. To sign an online petition please visit www.stoplwf.org.uk and click on the ‘support us’ link on the left hand side of the page. For the latest Cambridge Evening News update click here To help us further and for more information click here COTTON-TOP TAMARIN TWINS - August 2009 Twins pictured 2 months still clinging onto their parents back. On 22nd November 2008 our newly paired Cotton-top tamarins, Kane and Medelin gave birth to two tiny twins. Tamarins are well known, along with Marmosets, for giving birth to twins although single births do occasionally occur. The gestation period is around 183 days and from day one the dad will be very involved in rearing the babies! The males usually carry the young giving them back to the female for feeding. The twins are now fully independent of their parents and on 20th August 2009 Kane and Medelin became proud parents again! INDIAN STAR TORTOISES - MARCH 2009 A few years ago Linton Zoo provided a home for some customs seizure of baby Indian Star tortoises, a species highly prized by collectors and endangered in the wild. Now fully mature we are delighted that they have successfully bred, with their first 2 tiny hatchlings emerging on 8th March 2009. BRAZILIAN TAPIRS PROUD PARENTS - NOVEMBER 2008 Yarah just minutes old Yarah with proud mum Tanya Yarah, 5 days old Congratulations go to Tanya and Shannon our pair of Brazilian tapirs. At 2.10pm on Wednesday 19th November Tanya gave birth to a healthy female calf, their tenth baby since the pair arrived at Linton in 1990. Keepers have named the baby "Yarah" meaning "Water lady" in Brazilian. Tapirs are strange prehistoric looking mammals and you may be forgiven for thinking they are related to pigs or elephants, in fact their closest living relatives are rhinos and zebra. All species of tapirs are threatened with extinction due to habitat destruction and alteration so this little baby will play a big part in the future survival of this very special creature. Both mum, dad and baby are doing well. BILLY THE SUPER BIG STOWAWAY BUG -JUNE 2008 Billy the stowaway elephant beetle Over the years we have been asked to home various “stowaways” which have accidentally been imported into the country, including a Gecko in the nose cone of an aeroplane, a Praying mantis from someone's suitcase after a camping holiday, tree frogs from supermarkets and much more. On 22nd May 2008 we were asked to take a beetle which had been found in a box of bananas at a fruit importers in London. When the beetle arrived we were amazed to see this huge bug. The Elephant beetle, Megasoma elephas, is originally from Costa Rica. This is one of the worlds largest beetle species, this individual weighs 35 grams and measures 12 cm. Elephant beetles may look aggressive, as the males have a magnificent set of horns, they use these horns to fight off competition from other males for food and mates, but they are vegetarian eating only fruit and rotting vegetation. The females are 2-3 times smaller and do not have the horns. Kieran takes a look at this amazing beetle Billy and Betty Elephant beetle larvae Elephant beetles are threatened in the wild, the ‘Slash and Burn’ destruction of their native forest home is causing their numbers to rapidly decline. Now that the beetle has settled in, zoo staff have affectionately named him "Billy". It is hoped that we will be able to find a girlfriend for him so that his long and arduous journey will not be completely fruitless! Giant beetles spend several years in the larval stage, once they emerge as adult beetles they live for only eight or so months. Following our appeal to find Billy a mate a female has been located in a private collection in Germany. "Betty" as she has been named, has settled in well and the pair have been observed mating. In September 2008, 22 larvae at various different stages of development were found in the vivarium substrate. This event was very exciting as it guarantees more Elephant beetles for you to see in the future! SOME BEETLE FACTS Beetles are very fascinating creatures, they come in all shapes and sizes. They range in size from 1-100mm. Most beetles require temperatures between 20- 23*C. One out of every four animals is a beetle. Beetles make up 40% of all the insect and beetle species. There are currently about 350,000 beetle species and new species are regularly discovered. There are over 40,000 known Leaf beetle species; about 1200 named species of Stag Beetle world-wide; approximately 600 bark beetle species. WHITE COLLARED LEMUR BIRTHS Baby lemur pictured just days old At the beginning of March 08 two White collared lemurs were born within just a few days of each other, which is fantastic news for this species as they are classified the second rarest primate in the world! Not only this, one of the babies marks the first of a second generation birth at Linton, which means we really have mastered the art of breeding this wonderful species from Madagascar, now ranked the second rarest primate in the World. First time mum Harriet is doing very well the baby looks fit and healthy and from what we've seen is believed to be a little boy. Hope, many time mum and now grandmother too, is showing us all that she's an old hand at raising babies and is quite happy to do her bit to help save this critically endangered species. AWARDS AND SUCCESS FOR LINTON ZOO Over the last year the zoos hard work and dedication has been rewarded with a number of national awards. The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria awarded Linton Zoo “Best new zoo enclosure” for the Rare Lemur Breeding Centre and "Best Education Project for Schools and Educational Institution" for “Fur, feathers, scales and dinosaurs”. 21st Century Tiger awarded Linton Zoo a “Gold” award for raising over £5,000 to help keep tigers in the wild. And finally it has just been announced that in an on-line pole organised by South Cambs Council, trying to find the locations and attractions across England that you are most proud of and would take a visitor if you had just one day, that Linton Zoo came top of the poll and is to receive the “Pride of Place” award for the region. What a great way to start the New Year! BOUNCING BABY BOY Just a few days old 1 month old 3 months old On 7th December 2007 Scarlet, one of our Red-bellied lemurs, surprised us all by giving birth to a baby boy and in the run up to Christmas what else could we call him but Robin. This is Scarlet's first baby and both she and partner Teddy are proving to be excellent parents. Robin has just celebrated his 1st birthday and already he is the same size as his mum and dad! NEWLY HATCHED SOUTHERN GROUND HORNBILL 21.08.07 Just hatched Just hatched 1 week old This is not a pterodactyl! but a series of pictures showing the hatching and rapid development of our latest southern ground hornbill chick. Several of this threatened species have been bred at Linton Zoo over the last 12 years. This chick was incubator hatched and is being hand reared, its progress is being carefully monitored and recorded to help other zoos maintain and breed this very charismatic species. Southern ground hornbills grow at an alarming pace. Weighing just 65 grams at hatching at six weeks old, the chick is now nearly 4 kilos and almost fully feathered. The hornbill has been transferred to Birdworld in Surrey where it has been paired with a female bred at Marwell Zoo.   2 weeks old . 3 weeks old 4 weeks old . NEWLY HATCHED ELONGATED TORTOISES Hatching Elongated Tortoises Valentine babies! These two cute elongated tortoises hatched on 14th June from eggs laid on 14th February 2007. A little Success story as their parents were part of a customs seizure a few years ago. They arrived at Heathrow airport in very poor condition and were brought to us for special care. Elongated Tortoises are originally from Vietnam and Cambodia, where they are threatened with extinction due to extensive collection for the local food markets and export to China. SALE OF TIGER HEAD PROCEEDS DONATED TO LINTON ZOO TIGER CONSERVATION FUND William Wells Presents Kim Simmons with a cheque for the Tiger Conservation Fund Over £1,000 raised from the sale of a 1930s tiger head in a Great Dunmow auction will help protect wild tigers in the Russian Far East. The head of the Indian tiger, which had been shot in 1934, was preserved and mounted by taxidermist Van Ingen of Mysore. It recently went under the hammer at Mullucks Wells’ auction rooms for £1,150. Both the owner of the item and the auctioneers Mullucks Wells have donated the proceeds of the sale to Linton Zoo’s Conservation Fund. Click on 'conservation' to find out more about this and other projects the zoo is involved with. LION CUBS BORN 9.6.07 On 9th June Riziki and Karla became proud parents again. Karla gave birth to her third litter, three boys and a girl, pictured one week old. This litter are now all grown up and were transferred to their new homes in february 2008. LINTON ZOO HONOURED FOR THEIR 'RARE LEMUR BREEDING CENTRE' IN 2006 BIAZA AWARDS On November 22nd 2006 Linton Zoo received one of the top commendation awards from the zoo world at a prestigious awards ceremony held at Dublin Zoo. A certificate was presented to Kim Simmons by Mr Simon Tonge  the Chairman of BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums). The award particularly highlights the Zoo’s efforts in maintaining high levels of animal welfare. This award-winning programme demonstrates how modern zoos can be a powerful force for conservation, tackling issues such as species extinction in the wild. Read on in the 'Lemur Diary' SNOW LEOPARDS Big cat fans will be pleased to know that on 18th April 2007 Snow Leopards returned to Linton after a short absence. Centurio, born 27th August 2005, has been joined by Lhamo a female born at Dublin zoo on 4th May 2006. Centurio and Lhamo will be part of the International Breeding Programme and will, hopefully, have their own young, in the near future. Pictures (left) of a young Centurio courtesy of Basel Zoo LEMURS LEFT: Akisa baby white -collared lemur pictured a few days old RIGHT: Rumble the baby red-ruffed lemur pictured a few weeks old Catch up with other lemur news by looking at the 'lemur diary'. HARTMANN'S MOUNTAIN ZEBRA On 6th April 2007 Goya and Hakim, a pair of Hartmann's Mountain Zebra arrived from Overloon Zoo in Holland. They settled very quickly and have now been joined by another mare, Heidi, from Marwell zoo. The group will be part of an international breeding programme aimed at saving them from extinction Hartmann's mountain zebra prefer to live in small groups of up to 12 individuals made up of mares, foals and a dominant stallion. They are agile climbers and are able to live in arid conditions and steep mountainous country. There are two sub-species of mountain zebra, the Hartmann's mountain zebra and the Cape mountain zebra. The Hartmann's are the largest of the two, they look whiter than the Cape mountain zebras because their black stripes are narrower and more widely spaced, the black stripes on the animals' sides do not meet on the belly. TORTOISES Baby Sulcata giant tortoises hatch. The tortoises have done quite well this year. The Sulcata giant tortoises breed every year usually producing between two to twenty babies, this year over forty have hatched from five clutches of eggs. Two pancake tortoises hatched after a ten month incubation and the elongated tortoises also have two babies. Hatching occurs after a 16 week incubation. We were very excited when the Aldabra giant tortoises laid an egg, we keep our fingers crossed for a baby later this year. The Indian Starred tortoises surprised us when three of the females laid eggs a few weeks ago. These animals arrived here two years ago as part of a large customs confiscation, the tortoises were in such poor condition due to the traumatic time they had experienced that we really didn't think they would survive, so to get them to egg laying stage is very pleasing indeed. A baby Pancake tortoise emerges from its egg after a ten month incubation. Pancake tortoises are so called because they are quite flat and have a soft underside. This enables them to jam themselves into rocky crevices and small holes by crawling and breathing out, protecting themselves from predators. See our hatchlings in the animals house. AFRICAN LION CUB ZURI Zuri (Swahili for Handsome) was born at West Midland Safari Park on 3rd July 06. He has been hand reared in the family home and joined Safina born here on 30th November 2005, on 4th March 07. The pair are housed in a fantastic new enclosure. Safina and Zuri produced their first cub Zara on May 13th 2008, making Riziki and Karla grandparents! AFRICAN LION CUBS Karla relaxes with her four cubs born on 7th May 2006. Pictured August 2006. This is her second litter and as you can see she has done very well , proving to be the perfect mum this time, these four cubs were placed in a new home and another litter of three girls and a boy were born on 9th June 2007. These have also now gone to their new home at Combe Martin Wildlife Park and the Wildlife Heritage Foundation in Kent. For more information about the lions at Linton Zoo see the 'Lion diary' AMUR TIGER CUBS The tiger cubs are growing fast This is the third litter of cubs for our pair of tigers Deja and Mirko. These cute and mischievous pair were born on 19th April 2006 and have been named Katinka and Makari. They are part of an International breeding programme aimed at saving them from extinction. On 31st October 2007 Makari moved on to his new home where he will be paired with a female for further breeding. Katinka, Deja and Mirko can still be see at the zoo. You can find out more about our tiger family at the tiger talk. Learn more about these and previous tigers at Linton Zoo in the 'Tiger diary' BRAZILIAN TAPIRS - Tela born 3rd March 2005 and Bella born 6th August 2007 On March 3rd 2005 Tanya and Shannon became parents for the eighth time. The new calf, a female was called Tela. All grown up, Tela has now left for a new home and Shannon and Tanya gave birth to yet another healthy baby girl "Bella" on August 6th 2007. You can find out more about our Tapir family at the Tapir talk and feed. Tela a few hours old Tela now up on her feet, pictured with mum Tanya Tanya and Tela ten days old Thank you. ************** Counter installed 04.02.10