WELCOME TO LINTON ZOO
Hadstock Road, Linton, Cambridgeshire, CB21 4NT. Telephone: 01223 891308
LATEST NEWS FROM THE ZOO
30th DECEMBER 2023 - CHRISTMAS TREES We have recently been asked whether we take Christmas trees as donations. Thank you for thinking of us and our animals in this respect.
We love to get your trees, if they are still in a pot and we can plant them on our meadow, but unfortunately due to the risk of COVID to our animals, we are not able to take any cut Christmas trees, which have been indoors at people's homes.
You may see some Christmas trees in our animal enclosures but they were kindly donated by a local garden centre. These are unsold trees, which have not been in indoor areas.
27th OCTOBER 2023 - THANK YOU Thank you so much to the anonymous family or person who has kindly donated a selection of very useful items from our Amazon wish list, they have just arrived. Thank you to all of you who have kept the donations flowing, we are very, very grateful!
5th OCTOBER 2023 - OPENING HOURS OCTOBER 2023 Our adorable albino wallaby joey is daring to be out the pouch quite a lot this week, the little one is growing so fast! He or maybe she is sooo cute
Our OCTOBER OPENING SCHEDULE is weekends and also the half term holiday from 10am to 4.30pm. Last admission 3.30pm Tickets are now available to purchase via our website Linton Zoo Conservation Park
4th OCTOBER 2023 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERRO!
Happy birthday Erro, one year old today!
Head over to our Facebook page to him playing in the pool with mum Tiana and big sister Tamara during the storm yesterday afternoon.:
23rd SEPTEMBER 2023 - ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS AT LINTON ZOO Our tapirs have three feeds a day of chopped veg, fruit, cereal, herbs and hay but their favourite is still always browse! Head over to our Facebook page to see them all enjoying this:
The weather is looking okay for the weekend, we’re open 10am to 5pm with the last admission at 4pm. Our education team will be out with some of the smaller zoo animals for you to meet at 1pm.
We. are still encouraging visitors to pre book tickets via our website but it is no longer essential, you can just turn up! Hope to see you soon.
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16th SEPTEMBER 2023 - ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS AT LINTON ZOO Lovely day for zoo visits! Our daily animal encounter with our education team and keepers is a great way to learn more about our wonderful animals. For some, especially children, it has been the first time they’ve had an opportunity for such a close encounter with amazing animals like Dennis our Sinaloan milksnake.
8th SEPTEMBER 2023 - HOW TO COPE WITH THE HOT WEATHER
After a hot dry day out on the paddock our Hartmann’s all think it’s the perfect time for a dust bath.
Head over to our Facebook page to see how our zebras are cooling down:
1st SEPTEMBER 2023 - OPENING TIMES FOR SEPTEMBER It will be back to school this coming week, a huge thank you to everyone who has come out to see us and support us.
Throughout September we'll be open on Mondays,Tuesdays and Wednesdays 10am-4pm and at weekends 10am-5pm (last admission will be strictly one hour before closing time on all days).
We still recommend to book online to guarantee admission as it is the easiest way to crosscheck the dates we will be open. But pre-booking is no longer essential and you can buy your tickets at the gate.
We are very much looking forward to seeing you soon.
28th AUGUST 2023 - Enrichment for Luki and Lakicia
Our Southern ground hornbills love a pile of dry leaves to rummage through. It’s great enrichment especially when we mix in some of their favourite fruit and veg pieces and also some tasty mealworms.
Head over to our Facebook page to see how two of our youngsters, Luki and Lakicia enjoyed their enrichment:
19th AUGUST 2023 - A NEW ARRIVAL Our visitors have been delighted to see the latest addition to our wallaby mob, Doreen has a very cute albino joey.
We believe the albino red-necked wallaby is a descendant of a trio given to Queen Elizabeth II, on a state visit to Australia in 1962.
Albinism occurs when an animal, even some humans, are born without colouring pigments in the skin. It is rare for us to have albinos in our wallabies, the first birth here was in 2013.
14th August 2023 - SUMMER OPENING TIMES!
Learn more about lions - Tuesday 15th August
Visitors will be able to listen to a couple of short talks at the lion enclosure tomorrow as we are joined by James Welch founder of the Safina Lion Conservation charity. James will be around for most of the day to answer any questions you might have about this very special cat!
James and his charity volunteers have raised over £20,000 to help  with lion conservation.
Pictured on the left; James meeting Masanja, an Ilchokuti 'Lion Custodian' working to monitor the local lions for KopeLion in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, one of the four organisations James supports to help wild lions.
This special interest James has for lions started when he was just 12 years old and he met our gorgeous boy Zuri as a cub in 2006. James later joined us as a trainee keeper and started his zoo keeping career, he now works full time at Cotswold Wildlife park.
Great work James we are very proud of you! We all look forward to seeing you tomorrow.
9th August 2023 - BRINGING VISITORS CLOSER TO OUR NATURAL WORLD! Our animal encounters team were out today inspiring the next generation and sparking a special interest in our natural world.
Michael, Sophie and Sarah brought out a snake, tortoise and tenrec for visitors to meet!
21st JULY 2023 - SUMMER OPENING TIMES! Good morning! Stella our mum Eastern Quoll is taking a break from her twin joeys. Doesn't she look gorgeous! Prehaps she knows we are open today at 10:15am
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Great news for our visitors ... We will now be open daily 10am to 5pm until further notice. Last admission is always one hour before closing and we encourage you to pre-purchase tickets via our website to guarantee admission.
Have a lovely day from all of the team!.
20TH JULY 2023 - Happy BIRTHDAY Anoushka! Happy 19th birthday to our beautiful Amur Tiger Anoushka!
Anoushka was born at Linton Zoo on 20th July 2004 and was transferred to Colchester Zoo on 8th July 2005. After calling 'Tiger Taiga' home for 18 years, Anoushka has built an amazing relationships with the Animal Care Team.
5TH JULY 2023 - IT IS RIZIKI'S BIRTHDAY! A very Happy Birthday to our gorgeous boy, Riziki 20 today! He is the oldest lion in the UK and you'd think he is a 10 year old; he thinks he is too
27th JUNE 2023 - OPEN ON WEDNESDAYS AND AT THE WEEKEND THIS WEEK! Thanks go to Mark Winger, one of our keepers who snapped this lovely image of two year old Magnesco (meaning cheeky which he certainly lives up to
This week we are open tomorrow, Wednesday 28th, Saturday and Sunday
The Critically Endangered white collared lemur is just one of over 94% of lemur species threatened with extinction, making lemurs the most endangered group of mammals on Earth. This baby is therefore extremely important for the European breeding programme, which we manage here at Linton Zoo; helping to save this species from extinction.
25th JUNE 2023 - UPDATE ON EASTERN QUOLL! We have some very exciting news to share with you.
Following permission, received from the Australian Government allowing us to participate in the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme for Eastern Quoll, a year ago we received a male Ted and two females Awa and Stella from Leipzig Zoo.
The Eastern Quoll has been extinct on mainland Australia for over 50 years. Tasmania is their last remaining stronghold. The Tasmanian Quoll conservation programme with the support of Leipzig Zoo has entered into a trial programme to re-establish this amazing little carnivorous marsupial back in highly protected reserves on mainland Australia.
To support the population at Leipzig Zoo we are honoured to be part of their Quoll programme.
We observed mating in December and on 5th March 2023 we were very excited to see that Stella was carrying two tiny joeys. On 18th of March, we were able to get our first good look at the super cuties and have shared a little video on Facebook. We will continue to add to our quoll story, and we will post more videos of the rapidly growing twins.
16th JUNE 2023 - A NEW ARRIVAL! Introducing our newest arrival, seven month old Grant. Born at Dudley Zoo, he is a Patagonian Cavy also known as Mara. From Argentina closely related to guinea pigs they are the third largest rodent. Grant is settling in well and is very used to people so anyone visiting over the next couple of days will have a good chance to see him.
Patagonian Cavy mate for life, a suitable lady friend may come soon as we were advised by the breeding programme co-ordinator about a young Mara lady, who may come to us over the coming months
Have a great weekend from all of the team!
30th April 2023 - The amazing colours of nature! Our male Temminck's tragopan has been impressing our visitors today with his fancy dance displays, his lady however looked much less impressed than us.
6th APRIL 2023 - OUR NEW PICNIC AND PLAY AREA IS NOW OPEN Just in time for the Easter weekend our new covered picnic area and children’s play area is now available for you to use too. . We are still encouraging visitors to pre-book tickets via our website but this is not essential.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
3rd APRIL 2023 - UPDATE ON TAPIR CALF ERRO For those of you following the progress of our adorable tapir calf Erro, 6 months old today, here he is this evening, as usual pictured eating
. If you would like to visit, we’re open daily now for the Easter holidays until 16th April. Have a lovely evening, from all of the team.
22nd MARCH 2023 - COMING OUT OF HIBERNATION
Spring is here
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18th MARCH 2023 - EASTERN QUOLL Some of you may remember 5 years ago when we announced the arrival of Eastern quoll in August 2017. This amazing little known species proved to be our most popular post ever with over 7.6 million views.
In July 2022, with special approval from the Australian Government and in conjunction with Leipzig Zoo, the European species coordinator, we received a male named Ted and two females called Ava and Stella. These are currently the only ones in the British Isles.
We’ll be keeping you updated on our quoll story with cute pictures and videos so keep checking back!.
17th MARCH 2023 - SOFT TOYS FROM RECYCLED MATERIALS ARE BACK!
Some of you have been asking when the recycled material soft toy snow leopard will be back in stock….we’re delighted to tell you we now have a limited number available at our gift shop together with some others in the same range.
13th MARCH 2023 - LOCAL COMMUNITY RECYCLING
8TH MARCH 2023 - A VERY SPECIAL EXPERIENCE! If you love cats as much as we do you might like our brand new experience just launched. It takes place on a normally closed day and is limited to only 10 participants and up to two guests each. Follow the link for the full details and information on how to book.
The first of these highly privileged experiences is Thursday 16th March 2023.
https://lintonzoo.digitickets.co.uk/event-tickets/46882...& ...
6TH MARCH 2023 - NEWS FROM OUR VULTURES! Our pair of critically endangered Rueppell’s griffon vultures have been very busy nest building over the last few weeks. On Saturday we were very excited to see that an egg has been laid. The pair have started the 55 day incubation and take turns to tend their precious package.
Fingers crossed they will be successful!
26th FEBRUARY 2023 - READY TO OPEN .... It’s a beautiful day perfect for zoo visits, Katinka tiger and Kali and Nabulaa are ready and waiting to welcome you all, we’re open in 10 minutes
24th FEBRUARY 2023 - GETTING READY FOR THE WEEKEND! Our Striated Caracara have made themselves a nice muddy puddle to bath in, they’re probably getting themselves all spruced up for the weekend so they look lovely for all the visitors planning to visit us. We are still encouraging you to pre-purchase tickets online via our website. Thank you for all the support shown over the half term holiday
19th FEBRUARY 2023 - IT IS A BOY! Our 2022 hooded vulture chick, the darker bird on the right in the background, has been sexed as a male using DNA technology collected from his feather samples. We’ve successfully raised five of this critically endangered species, the first four all being female. With a few days of sunshine and warmer weather the adult birds are preparing to breed again and are busy collecting sticks and vines to spring clean their nests..
1ST FEBRUARY 2023 - ALDABRAN GIANT TORTOISES! Good morning! It’s a very beautiful but breezy 1st day of February. Teddy one of our male Aldabran giant tortoises is surveying the situation and is off out for a days grazing
3rd JANUARY 2023 - THANK YOU!
3rd JULY 2019 - NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK! Say hello to Rosalie and Roselinde! These three year old Hartmann’s mountain zebra arrived with us from Planckendael Zoo in Belgium on 3rd July 2019.
Heidi, our 27 year old female born at Marwell Zoo, has taken the young girls under her wing, protecting them from the curious nature of Goya, our 23 year old female born in the Czech Republic. Both Goya and Heidi came to live with us in 2007.
13th APRIL 2019 - BINTURONG TWINS BORN
We are very proud to announce that Lulu and Toady became parents for the first time on 13th April 2019. Lulu has done a fantastic job raising the cubs who are entertaining visitors clambering all over their enclosure.
This large mammal from the forests of south-east Asia just has to be the original Gruffalo! The Binturong often walks on its hind legs like a bear and has many cat-like characteristics too, so it is also known as a bear cat, but that name is rather misleading since they are not related to either. It is actually a member of the same family as civets and genets; Viverridae.
Binturong are very strong climbers, watch how they use their prehensile tail to help them move quickly from branch to branch, even climbing upside down! The last time we had a breeding pair at Linton Zoo was in the 1980s.
11th APRIL 2019 - A VERY EXCITING BIRTH! On 11th April 2019 a very rare white-collared lemur was born, the only birth in captivity this year!
The Critically Endangered white collared lemur is just one of over 94% of lemur species threatened with extinction, making lemurs the most endangered group of mammals on Earth. This baby is therefore extremely important for the European breeding programme, which we manage here at Linton, in helping to save this species from extinction.
2ND GENERATION CHICKS
ANOTHER WELCOME RETURN - BALI STARLING
A FACE ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE!
THE RETURN OF THE WHITE BACKED VULTURE We’re delighted to have this wonderful species back at Linton. The last white backed vultures (Gyps africanus) we kept were loaned out to Colchester Zoo back in 2005. Numbers of white backed vultures in the wild have dropped 90% over just three generations (55 years).
Vultures provide an invaluable ‘clean-up’ service to the ecosystem, their unique digestive ability prevents the spread of disease and assists in the efficient decomposition of carrion. Without them disease would be rife and a boom in other scavengers would occur.
20th AUGUST 2016 - TAPIR CALF BORN!
On Saturday 20th August Tiana gave birth to a healthy male calf after a normal 13-month gestation. We are pleased to say that Tiana, Dad Thiago and new baby, a little boy, are all doing well.
As the calf was born during this years’ Olympics being held in Brazil, where this species is found in the wild, keepers are favouring the name Rio, but we’re open to suggestions….
16th AUGUST 2016 - MIRKO TURNS 18 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIRKO!!!
Mirko, photographed here by zoo visitor Jayne Eiffert, was born at Hamburg Zoo in 1998. The male Amur tiger is the largest cat in the world weighing up to 300kg! The Amur, or Siberian tiger is the largest of the 5 remaining sub-species of tiger. It’s thick coat is perfect for living in the cold forests of the Russian far-east. It is generally a solitary cat and each individual will have its own territory.
AUGUST 2016 - AZARA'S AGOUTI GO ON SHOW
Our Azara’s agouti have recently moved on show and are already proving extremely popular with our visitors. Our trio of adults came to us from Exmoor Zoo.
Azara's Agoutis are found in the rainforests and savannahs of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. They have an active, graceful gait which is either a trot or a series of springing movements, they are also good swimmers. If they are alarmed they will let out a bark.These animals are sometimes known as "jungle gardeners", as they often bury nuts and seeds and forget where they put them, therefore helping new plants to grow. agoutis are the only animal with teeth strong enough to open the grapefruit-sized seed pods of the Brazil nut and are therefore crucial to the survival of the tree.
Pairs of agouti are usually monogamous (stay together for life) and females give birth to 1 or 2 young, after a pregnancy of around 3 months. Living up to 20 years in captivity. They have five toes on their front feet, but only three toes on their hind feet.
There is not enough data to be able to accurately assess their current conservation status, however it is known that population numbers are declining due mainly to habitat destruction and hunting, in some parts of their original range they have become extinct.
14th AUGUST 2016 - HEIDI TURNS 24 TODAY PROMPTING THE QUESTION
Just like you know your friends in a crowd, we can recognise individuals by slight differences such as colour tones, build, size, vocals, behaviour even profile if they are in the distance. All stripy and spotty creatures are uniquely patterned, just like our fingerprints, sometimes the differences can be quite subtle, have a look at the photo of our three Hartmann’s face on and you can see the difference in the stripes.
Hakim is easy to tell as he has a dark circular splodge on his chest with a stripe arrangement around it, the thicker lower white stripes across Heidi’s chest do not meet in the middle and appear chaotic and Goya has a wide white stripe that is continuous all the way from one side to the other.
In profile, Heidi is the tallest of the three zebra, usually on her own and she has a quieter temperament. Goya is shorter, stockier and a little bit barrel bellied, which almost gives her the appearance of being pregnant. Our very handsome Hakim is fine, muscular and obviously a stallion(!) he usually looks like he’s just been bathed and the difference between dark and light stripes is very vivid.
5th JULY 2016 - RIZIKI TURNS 13 YEARS OLD HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIZIKI!!!
Riziki was born at Woburn Safari Park and came to live with us here at Linton in 2003. He and his mate Karla have had many cubs over the years, their first born being Safina, who of course is still here with us currently living with her mate Zuri and two cubs born in September 2015.
3rd JULY 2016 - ZURI TURNS 10 YEARS OLD HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZURI!!!
Zuri was rejected by his mum at West Midlands Safari Park and came to us for hand rearing at just 4 weeks old. Now a grandfather himself many of his offspring can be seen in zoos across the UK and even in an educational wildlife reserve in Entebbe, Africa.
29th MAY 2016 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY HENRY! Our male Mongoose lemur Henry turns 26 years old today.
At Linton we co-ordinate the European breeding programme for the Mongoose lemur and every single birth of this Critically Endangered lemur is especially important, as it provides a safeguard for the future of this very charismatic species. We are incredibly proud of Henry and his mate Maggie who have been one of the most prolific breeders in the programme.
14th MAY 2016 - WORLD BINTURONG DAY
APRIL 2016 - BACKCHATTING YOUR PARENTS Anyone who spends time watching our lion family will see them playing for hours on end. Although some of this may look quite rough to us humans, it is all a very important process for the young cubs to go through, learning how to behave like a lion and to recognise their place in the pride.
However, bonding is just as important and between playtimes you can see just how close and loving this young family of lions are.
19th APRIL 2016 - KATINKA TURNS 10 HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATINKA!!
Thanks to Lolly Watson for this lovely photo of our Amur tigress Katinka who was born here at Linton 10 years ago today to mum Deja and dad Mirko.
19th MARCH 2016 - 5 STARS AGAIN! Congratulations go to our coffee shop team!
Following a recent routine but unannounced inspection by a South Cambridgeshire District Council environmental health officer, our “Five Star rating” has been maintained.
6th MARCH 2016 - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY
We never need much encouragememt to share some cute photos so here's a few of our favourite mother and baby pictures submitted by zoo visitors over the past year.
Top left: Red kangaroo and joey by Caroline Mitchell
Bottom left: African lion Safina carrying cub by Sarah West
Top right: Laughing kookaburra and youngster by Bea Bellin Tani
Bottom right: Brazilian tapir Tiana with calf Tulio by Bea Bellin Tani
3rd MARCH 2016 - CUB UPDATE
Photos by Michelle Aylott
25th FEBRUARY 2016 - INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION At Linton we love to inspire children through our educational talks and activities.There is no point in us doing the conservation work we do, if the next generation is not interested enough to take things forward for us, that is why environmental and conservation education is so important. Thank you Burton End Primary Academy, Haverhill, for bringing the children out to see us yesterday, our first school visit of the year.
Left: meeting a young Sulcata giant tortoise. Right: meeting Dennis the Sinaloan milksnake.
JANUARY 2016 - CHRISTMAS TREES GALORE! POTTED, LIVING TREES ARE ALWAYS WELCOME!
We’ve had such a fantastic response to our Christmas Tree appeal, with over 200 trees already having been dropped off, that we are now only able to take live trees with roots which can be planted in aviaries, enclosures and around the grounds. The staff, lions and of course all of our other animals who enjoy the trees, would like to say a huge thank you to everyone for their support.
30th NOVEMBER 2015 - HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY SAFINA Our proud mummy is 10 years old today, Happy Birthday Safina!!! What a great reason to share one of our favourite photos of her when she was a cub. Safina was the first born to mum and dad Karla and Riziki, due to their inexperience as parents they rejected Safina who had to be removed for hand-rearing to ensure she survived.
Riziki and Karla, who both turned 12 this year, still live with us here at Linton.
NOVEMBER 2015 - STAFF TRAINING We’d like to say a huge thank you to Anne Gilbert from Basic Life Support Consultancy and Paul Doe from the East of England Ambulance Service for making the training so enjoyable.
We’re delighted to announce that in the early hours of the 30th September Safina, our younger African lioness, gave birth to two gorgeous cubs.
Both Safina and dad Zuri are being the purrfect parents and the cubs, a boy and a girl, are doing very well.
It will be some weeks before the twins start to venture out on their own from the security of their off show bedroom. However, some lucky visitors have already caught a glimpse, as Safi will occasionally take one with her, carefully carrying it in her mouth, as she goes to stretch her legs outside.
So are you ready for a super overdose of cuteness!!!!!
AUGUST 2015 - NEW SPECIES GOES ON SHOW
16th AUGUST 2015 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIRKO! Join us in wishing our boy Mirko a Happy 17th Birthday, here he is chilling out enjoying the sunshine in true tiger fashion this morning! Mirko was born at Hamburg Zoo and arrived here in July 2000.
The Amur, or Siberian tiger is the largest of the 5 remaining sub-species of tiger. It’s thick coat is perfect for living in the cold forests of the Russian far-east. It is generally a solitary cat and each individual will have its own territory.
10th AUGUST 2015 - HAPPY WORLD LION DAY!!!
Although there doesn’t seem much to celebrate as this majestic species makes its way towards silent extinction. With the recent trophy hunting of Cecil hitting the headlines recently, we’re hoping that some good can come out of the killing of this lion for sport, raising awareness of the need to protect these legendary animals from the many threats they face.
At the current rate some experts believe that lions will be extinct by the year 2050, so we’re working closely with the Lion Guardians, a conservation organisation dedicated to finding and enacting long-term solutions for people and lions to coexist across Kenya and Tanzania. Lion Guardians currently train and support a team of more than 80 East Africans who are actively protecting lions covering approximately 5,500km² (1.3 million acres). Spare just a few minutes to watch this beautiful film explaining more about the fantastic work done by the Lion Guardians.
9th MAY 2015 - IT’S THE WORLD’S FIRST BINTURONG DAY!!! Linton zoo was one of the first zoos in Britain to keep and breed this little known and understood species that originates in Indonesia, South East Asia. Although the binturong is sometimes called a bearcat, it is not actually related either to bears or to cats, they are more closely related to civets and genets.
Binturong are classed as 'Vulnerable', numbers in the wild are declining steadily due to many threats including habitat destruction for logging, deforestation, and conversion of forests to non-forest land-uses. Captures for the pet trade and illegal hunting for food and skins also threaten this species.
23rd NOVEMBER 2014 - RAIN FLOODS THE MAIN ROAD
We woke up the next morning to find all the flood water had gone and a sharp frost had visited during the night, this caught us by surprise after all the rain, but we’re thankful our outdoor tropical plant species have all survived.
The sunny weather brought all the animals, including the Aldabran giant tortoises (Teddy of course being the first through the door!), back out to enjoy the sunshine.
OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2014 - BOOKING.COM VOLUNTEER DAYS Booking.com your staff are brilliant!!!
25th OCTOBER 2014 - CLOCK CHANGE
4th OCTOBER 2014 - WORLD ANIMAL DAY
SEPTEMBER 2014 - NAME OUR BABY BUNNIES Through our Facebook page we ran a competition to name our two new gorgeous Giant Contiental Rabbits.
In case you didn’t know… Mable has the meaning "lovable" and is a variant of Mabel (English): short form of Amabel (Latin).
SEPTEMBER 2014 - JAMES COMPLETES HIS APPRENTICESHIP
6th SEPTEMBER 2014 - INTERNATIONAL VULTURE AWARENESS DAY
Vultures occur on all continents except Antarctica and Australia. 12 of the 16 species of Old World vultures (Europe, Asia and Africa) are now classified as endangered, including both species we hold here, the Rueppell’s Griffon Vulture (left) and the Hooded vulture (right)
Sadly the decline of this wonderful group of birds is largely due to humans, especially in Africa and now Asia. Carcasses of livestock killed by lions are laced with poison to kill the returning predators – placing vultures feeding on those same carcasses in harms way. The growing slaughter of elephants for their ivory increasingly involves poisoning elephant carcasses to keep swarms of vultures from circling overhead and giving the poachers’ location away.
25th AUGUST 2014 - ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE
10th AUGUST 2014 - WORLD LION DAY Thanks to keeper James’ enthusiasm, many of our visitors are now much more educated about the plight of lions and we now have more funds to support the wonderful work of the Lion Guardians (shown right), a conservation organization dedicated to finding and enacting long-term solutions for people and lions to coexist across Kenya and Tanzania.
Dr Geoff Downton was the lucky raffle winner who won the opportunity to help feed our younger pair of African lions ‘Safina’ and ‘Zuri’.
3rd JULY 2014 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZURI - 8 TODAY! To celebrate Zuri’s Birthday we are paying the annual salary for the second year running of Lion Guardian Mingati Makarot If you would like to give Zuri Birthday money and help us raise funds to support more Lion Guardians, please go to the donate tab on our website. For more information about the Lion Guardians go to their website or Like their Facebook Page.
JUNE 2014 - EGGCELLENT NEWS - THE RESULTS ARE IN!!
JUNE 2014 - BEE ORCHIDS RETURN TO LINTON!
JUNE 2014 - ZURI AND SAFINA GET WORLD CUP FEVER Safina and Zuri were both hand reared here at Linton Zoo and having grown up in the house watching it on TV they are both big football fans. Zuri even met Jamie Redknapp when he was just 4 weeks old.
Both lions picked England for the win, sadly the England team didn't keep up their end of the bargain!
3rd JUNE 2014 - SOUTHERN GROUND HORNBILL UPDATE - SECOND EGG HATCHES In the wild only one chick normally survives, the largest chick takes priority of all the food presented and the second chick is usually eaten by the older sibling.
We’re keen to know whether the little ones are boys or girls and we’ll let you know when the results are in.
2nd JUNE 2014 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIANA! The Brazilian Tapir is a large heavily built mammal of a strange prehistoric appearance. The tapir is in fact so well adapted to its environment that it has remained unchanged for about 30 million years. It lives deep in the Brazilian rainforest where, because of the destruction of its habitat and illegal hunting it is has already become extinct in part of its range. Next time you visit take time to look at these strange creatures because, although shy, they become curious of quiet observers and will often come up to the fence to investigate their visitors.
28th - 29th MAY 2014 - CRACKING NEWS - WE'RE ALL EGGCITED!!!
It takes tremendous energy for any hatchling to break out of its shell and even though this little one is in the safe environment of an incubator, the first few days are always a nail biting time for staff.
23rd MAY 2014 - HAPPY WORLD TURTLE DAY
7th MAY 2014 - SAFFRON WALDEN ROUND TABLE VISIT more updates to follow...
JULY 2013 - STRIATED CARACARA
JULY 2013 - INTRODUCING MARVINE.... Turacos are an amazing group of birds from equatorial Africa. Marvine is housed in an aviary near the Sulcata giant tortoises.
Next time you visit, please do stop by and give her some time, she is very inquisitive and gentle and is definitely a favourite for both keepers and visitors.
JULY 2013 - GIANT SULCATA TORTOISE HATCHLINGS
JUNE 2013 - OBOE GETS HER GUY(S?!)
Southern ground hornbills live in groups of up to 8 individuals, although some females prefer a solitary life and will move away from the group to live on their own. Until recently, Oboe appeared to be one of these females, refusing any potential mate that was offered.
Then came Red and Beaky, two males from Colchester Zoo and Oboe took to the pair immediately, Red in particular. Now the grounds are filled with their synchronised calls, which sound like African drums, as the three birds flirt outrageously with each other.
JUNE 2013 - LOOK WHO'S OUT OF THE POUCH! Matilda’s been raising this gorgeous little joey, who’s now fully out of the pouch, pictured (left) with mum ‘Tilly’ and big brother Sean, who was born last year.
The Kangaroo is the only large animal to hop rather than walk or run - using spring like stretchy elastic tendons rather than muscles it’s a great energy saver. When moving slowly, a Kangaroo ‘crawl-walks’, it supports itself on its tail and front legs then brings its hind feet forward.
23rd MAY 2013 - WORLD TURTLE DAY
This is an exciting programme which was initiated by local people themselves and involves the entire village. We know our support and expertise will have a positive impact on not just the turtles, but many of the regions other native species too.
20th MAY 2013 - OOH BABY BABY BABY - IT'S TRIPLETS FOR OUR PORCUPINES! Dad Henry, mum Halla and even older sibling Hasa have all been fantastic with the bristly little babies, who were making their own way outside before they were even one month old!
Porcupines are nocturnal being most active after dark. They spend most of the day sleeping, waking occasionally to eat.
12th MARCH 2013 - WHITE COLLARED LEMUR BIRTH At Linton we run the breeding programme for the White Collared Lemur and with 10 of the 14 living here with us, Linton Zoo is the only place in the UK where you can see them.
The White Collared Lemur has recently been upgraded to Critically Endangered, so every single birth is incredibly important to help safeguard the future of this very special lemur.
FEBRUARY 2013 - RARE ALBINO RED NECKED WALLABY JOEY
On 8th February we saw the exciting new arrival pop its head out of the pouch for the first time, which was caught on camera by some lucky visitors. It was a total surprise for keepers and it is the first time an albino wallaby has been born at Linton Zoo. Albino animals (including humans) lack pigment for colouring which means our little joey has pink eyes and will have white fur. Red Necked wallabies are usually grey-brown in colour, just like parents Kylie and Jason, aunty Dani and big brother Bonza but, on rare occasions, a white or albino is born, even after generations of normal coloured individuals.
We think our mob are probably descended from the original white wallabies given as a gift to Queen Elizabeth II whilst on a state visit to Australia in 1962.
JANUARY 2013 - PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION 2012 WINNING PHOTO
Thanks go to everyone who entered the competition, there were many great photos and a gallery will soon be posted on the photography day page on our website.
Here Martyn receives a framed copy of his winning print from wildlife photographer Colin Edwards, along with an anual admission ticket to the zoo, a winning certificate and sponsorship of any of our animals (Martyn chose Centurio the Snow Leopard).
JANUARY 2013 - WELCOME THIAGO Although the tapir looks like a cross between a pig and an elephant its closest relatives are horses, zebras and rhinos. Tapirs are as happy in water as on the forest floor and often forage along river bottoms.
They use water as an escape from predators such as jaguars using their long nose as a snorkle! Tapir are so well adapted to their rainforest environment that they have remained unchanged for about 30 million years.
JANUARY 2013 - FAREWELL ARNIE, YOU WILL BE MISSED!
On the morning of 9th January, after completing his staff greetings and doing his usual morning rounds to see his zoo friends, purring all the way, Arnie our Ginger Tom returned home for a spot of breakfast and then snuggled up on his bed and went to sleep. There he passed away peacefully.
Arnie came to live with us in 2000, he was a stray who made an immediate impression on all of us. Arnie had the most wonderful character just like a real live Garfield, he quickly settled in with our two other zoo cats and was definitely here to stay.
Arnie had a full and quality life. His CV included welcoming visitors, sharing their picnics, giving tours of the zoo and keeping everyone's spirits up. But his most special job of all, and one which he became very well known for, was as the baby sitter of abandoned new born animals brought into the house for hand rearing (he would occasionally find his own baby rabbit or moorhen chick and bring it home for us too), his favourite was of course lion cubs. Arnie baby sat all four of our adult lions when they were cubs and some of their offspring too, the last one he helped out with was Zara, first cub of Zuri and Safina.
A cat with an outstanding personality, Arnie was without a doubt a most extraordinary cat who had an extraordinary life, he will be missed by not only the people who knew and loved him, but by his many animal friends around the zoo too.
DECEMBER 2012 - OUR LITTLE STARS
DECEMBER 2012 - MORE PRICKLES THAN A CHRISTMAS TREE! The new arrival born on 10th December is proving to be bit of a distraction for our staff. Due to the infrared lamps in the bedroom area it’s easy for us to see in without the porcupines knowing we’re there. It’s fascinating to watch the interaction between parents and the new baby and we’re amazed at how attentative they both are, especially dad who’s often left to babysit while mum goes food forraging!
Watch a video of the porcupine family here
OCTOBER 2012 - KANGAROO JOEY FULLY OUT OF THE POUCH Our Red Kangaroo joey is now well and truly out of the pouch and bounding around with the rest of the mob.
In early October the youngster was seen completely out of the pouch, just a few weeks later mum Matilda has decided that it no longer fits into her pouch and looking at the size of the joey - who can blame her!!!
21st SEPTEMBER 2012 - ZARA GIVES BIRTH! Zara was born here at Linton on 13th May 2008, due to the inexperience of first time mum Safina, Zara had to be removed for hand rearing to ensure she survived. She then moved to the Ugandan Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe.
Zara is proving to be an attentive and very protective mum, her maternal instincts are so strong she’s even trying to look after the cubs of another lioness, who were born a few days earlier. The father, 'Kibonge' is quite an old man now, estimated to be 16 years old!
1st SEPTEMBER 2012 - BILLY THE BINTURONG MAKES HIS DEBUT Meet Billy the Binturong! This large mammal from the forests of south-east Asia just has to be the original Gruffalow! Billy was born at Artis Zoo in Amsterdam and will soon be joined by a female to make up a new breeding pair. The Binturong is a strange looking creature made up of all sorts of animal bits! At first it appears to be bear like often walking on its hind legs, but it has many cat characteristics too and this is where its other name of Bearcat comes from.
Binturong are rarely seen in captivity but have had a long association with Linton as they have been kept here since the early 1970's.
They are threatened in the wild due to the rapid destruction of their rainforest home and they are often trapped and killed by fruit farmers because they raid the plantations for an easy meal.
AUGUST 2012 - WELCOME CHOBBLER! This is the largest and possibly best known species of Toucan. Its bill is usually between 15 and 20cm long, it looks heavy, but as with other Toucans it is relatively light because the inside is mostly hollow.
What appears to be a brilliant blue iris is actually thin blue skin around the eye. This ring is surrounded by another ring of bare, orange skin.
6th AUGUST 2012 - A FIRST FOR LINTON! Soon after the female gives birth, she will mate and produce another embryo that halts development until the first juvenille leaves the pouch. If around males, the female kangaroo is usually permanently pregnant, except on the day she gives birth.
Amazingly - the mother is able to produce two different kinds of milk simultaneously for the newborn and the older joey still in the pouch.
JULY 2012 - THE PERFECT PORKY PAIR
As a last resort the Porcupine will charge backwards to impale with the spikes. The quills detach easily, giving rise to the myth that it can ‘fire’ the quills, which is untrue.
JULY 2012 - SACRED IBIS CHICKS After 21 days of incubation, our Sacred Ibis hatched two chicks. The shallow nest is on the edge of the cliff face provided and you can often see the little ones peering over the edge watching the other birds. Both males and females incubate the eggs and feed the young partially digested food. At around 40 days old the youngsters will leave the nest joining the rest of the group.
Courtship ritual of Sacred Ibis include displays with the heads and necks being stretched out by both adults. They bow and intertwine their necks while preening and calling out.
3rd JULY 2012 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZURI! Visit our Facebook page for a video clip of the present opening and subsequent fun!
Now a father himself, Zuri lives with his other half Safina in our award winning 'Lions Paradise', Safina's parents Riziki and Karla also live with us here in Linton.
Riziki celebrated a recent birthday too turning 9 on the 5th July.
JUNE 2012 - BABY BOOM IN THE OWL DEPARTMENT
Great Grey OwletOur owls have had a fantastic breeding season and all the youngsters are now out of the nest. The Snowy Owls, who lay more eggs than most Owls, have 3 owlets.
The Malayan Brown Wood Owls have one owlet.
The Turkmenian Eagle Owls, laid a second egg after abandoning the first which hatched in March and is now being hand reared. This time round they are proving to be the perfect parents.
The Great Grey Owls have surprised us all by also hatching an owlet. This is the first time our younger pair of Great Grey Owls have bred, the female is just 3 years old herself.
One of the 3 Snowy Owlets pictured here with mum 'Hedwig' (on the left)
MAY 2012 - PARMA WALLABIES By the end of the 1800s, the Parma Wallaby was believed to be extinct, and it was not until 1965 that a small surviving population was found on Kawau Island (near Auckland, New Zealand). Another wild population was subsequently discovered in Gosford, New South Wales, Australia in 1967.
It is from these few animals that the entire current population of Parma Wallaby descends.
APRIL 2012 - EASTER CHICK
On 29th March, Harriet, one of our White Collared Lemurs, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.
There are only 13 White Collared Lemurs in zoos around Europe; 9 of which are here with us in Linton!
Habitat loss is the greatest threat to this species in the wild, although it is also frequently hunted with shotguns, snares and slingshots particularly when it comes into coffee plantations. Due to their extremely endangered status in the wild and the alarming rate of destruction of their habitat, every birth of this species in captivity is vital in helping its survival.
The sound of the Laughing Kookaburra now echos loudly throughout the entire zoo! The bird starts with a low, hiccupping chuckle, before throwing its head back in raucous laughter. It’s a familiar sound to most of us after being used in many films, such as the old Tarzan movies, despite the fact Tarzan was in Africa and Kookaburras come from Australia!
The pair arrived in March from Leeds Castle Aviaries in Kent, which sadly closed its doors for the last time after over 20 years in operation.
We have also homed pairs of Scarlet Macaws, African Grey Necked Crowned Cranes and Yellow Shouldered Amazon Parrots.
Earlier this year we welcomed a trio of Red-Necked Wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus) who arrived with us from Woburn Safari Park.
Our young male and his two females have moved in with our mob of Red Kangaroo near the top of the zoo. The Red Necked Wallaby can be distinguished from other wallaby species by their black nose and paws and the white stripe along their upper lip. The males can reach around 90cm in height, the females are generally a bit smaller.
It would also appear that we were joined by a stowaway, shortly after their arrival we notice some movement in one of the females pouches. By mid-March the little one was poking its head out for its first view of the big outdoors!
Right: The young Joey trying his best to reach the fresh green leaves without having to leave the warm comfort of mums pouch.
On 1st October Tanya gave birth to her 12th calf, a little boy, with partner Shannon. Tapirs are pregnant for 13 months after which they give birth to a very spotty and stripy calf. The stripes and spots are moulted out at around 6 months old when they become the brown colour of adults.
MAY 2020 - ZOO NEWS MAGAZINE ISSUE 28
We are members of the following:
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 and William (4) meet a Sulcata Giant Tortoise baby.JPG)
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