As some of you may know, I have been in Bristol for the past couple of weeks on a work experience placement with the BBC wildlife magazine which was absolutely incredible and I have learnt so much in my time there. I have a few articles on the news section of their website that I have written which is pretty exciting (click the buttons below the read them!): Whilst in Bristol, I also visited Bristol Zoo (I should start making a checklist of the zoos I've visited!). It was here that I photographed this wonderful yellow-headed day gecko which was perfectly posed to show off its' reflection. Yellow-headed day geckos are an endangered species according to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) red list and are restricted to Madagascar so really, it's a privilege to be able to see them. Their population in Madagascar is fragmented in two distinct locations so the importance of conserving this species is high as they could rapidly diminish.
This gecko is reliant on bamboo and forest areas for a place to safely live. Slash-and-burn agriculture is therefore a major problem in the destruction of their habitats in Madagascar. There is some hope that as bamboo can establish in cleared land, it might eventually re-establish but whether it actually will or not is unknown. Thankfully, due to the captive breeding of this species, the gecko is no longer known to be subjected to the illegal pet trade as harshly as it previously has been. Commercial exploitation has also greatly reduced. Bristol Zoo is the coordinator of the European breeding programme that is organised as part of the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums' (EAZA) studbook species. This is a population management technique across all of the zoos in Europe that host the yellow-headed day gecko. The coordinator is responsible for keeping all the records to discover how well the species is doing in zoos so that it can be determined if more intensive measures need to be taken in their captive breeding programmes. As well as organising captive breeding programmes, members of EAZA also have a strong place in educating the public on the importance of conservation - both in Europe at the zoos, and in the native countries of the animals. This means that not only are populations being managed in captivity but steps towards improving the state of wild populations are also taken. If you are lucky enough to visit Madagascar, yellow-headed day geckos can often be seen in a small group basking in the sun but like most geckos, they will quickly dash if something gets too close. They are a stunning bright turquoise blue colour with a yellow head and black markings down their side so shouldn't be missed!
0 Comments
For my birthday, I was treated to an adoption of Ember, a red panda at Shepreth Wildlife Park and last week, I went to see her! As you may know, red pandas are my all time favourite animal and I've been slightly obsessed with them since I first saw one, my love growing rapidly when I got to feed a pair of them at Paradise Wildlife Park and now even stronger that I have a very strong affection for Ember (and her sister, Sundara). Just look at them!! (Left: Ember, Right: Sundara) So apparently Ember is really clumsy and has fallen from a tree once or twice (no harm done cause they're a massive bundle of fur) so I think she's a great match to me - I'm always tripping over myself! And Sundara is very, very food orientated. We were able to watch some training taking place which is done to give 'pretend' injections and for crate training in case they need to go to the vets etc so that it's much less stressful. They were both brilliant at this which is great to see! Red pandas are beautiful creatures and the only relation they have to the giant panda is that they both used to be carnivorous and over evolutionary time, they have switched to being a bamboo eater (the meaning of nigalya ponya in Nepalese). However, they do occasionally still eat meat so are still classed as carnivorous. The red panda is actually more closely related to racoons (the resemblance is uncanny from their tails). So it might surprise you, but the red panda was actually discovered well before the much more well known giant panda, 48 years before in fact. The red panda is on the red list of endangered species with numbers still decreasing. It genuinely upsets me that this is the case and I think more information needs to be in the media about these beautiful creatures. But I guess I could say that about a lot of species! Red Panda Network do so much work in the conservation of them and work closely with Shepreth Wildlife Park in their conservation. I'm a bit early in telling you about this event but on September 16th 2018, it is international red panda day so I urge you to donate for this event or visit a local zoo (especially Shepreth) on this day because its for such an amazing cause and it will be great fun! I'll do another post soon to tell you of some other events in 2018 that I think would be worth visiting in the UK, particularly in the midlands. For now, enjoy some more photos of Ember and Sundara. © As you know, I was in Edinburgh at the beginning of December. On our final day, we decided to go to Edinburgh zoo. The temperatures were at -6C and we had a cancelled flight home (due to snow in Birmingham) so it was a perfect way to de-stress! It is a wonderful zoo that truly appreciates the animals in it's care - they all had huge enclosures, excellent areas to get out of the way of visitors (and to keep warm!) and it felt very private and directed so much more at keeping the animals happy rather than being more focussed on visitors. Some would disagree, but I think this was brilliant, and would love more people to appreciate the importance of this. Also, the staff were extremely passionate and the talks were the most interesting I've been to as they used so much more than the standard 'interesting' facts that a zoo tends to use. So my absolute favourite part of the day was watching the penguins. They have Gentoo, King and Northern Rockhopper penguins who all happily interact and swim around their fantastic enclosure. It was rather entertaining watching them trying to find a suitable place to exit the water when it was very icy and they kept sliding back into the pool. It was like a brilliant 'You've been Framed' moment (they could get out though so don't worry!). You've also probably heard about the Penguin Parade at Edinburgh zoo; I was really looking forward to this and as all of us stood in a line to make a 'wall', we waited as any penguins that fancied a walk out of their enclosure were able to. Sadly, none did! But it's so important and I am so so glad that they are never forced or tempted out for the public but instead it is just on their ground whether they want to or not. We managed to see the Giant Panda around 3.30pm: apparently this is the best time to see them & if you keep your eye out on their online camera of them, you can spot when they aren't inside & make a run for it to go see them!! Although we only got a glimpse for about a minute, they really are beautiful creatures - even despite not doing much other than eating Bamboo! However, this is essential for China's bamboo forests in the wild. We also saw the koala bears, some incredible birds, including the Socorro dove which is now extinct in the wild and is only alive because of the efforts of zoos which I think proves how important they are in the preservation of species. Of course, there were also some of the more classic animals seen in zoos such as the Grevy's zebras, which I am mentioning because they're often overlooked in their importance and because it was my shot of the day!! Overall, this zoo was a brilliant place to visit and if I happen to be in Edinburgh again then I would definitely go back because I loved how well the animals were looked after! © ![]() I've visited many zoos, but Berlin zoo was the first outside of the UK that I have been to. I can easily say that it was one of the best even though they don't have red pandas which are my favourites and a common criterion when visiting zoos!! Many people would only spend about 3-4 hours at a zoo of this size but my friend and I stayed for the entire 8 hours that it was open, despite it being a rainy day. On arrival, you are greeted with the sight of some stunning pelicans which are in an enclosure full of greenery and a large pond. There are also many places for these birds to go to within their enclosure where they can escape from the view of the public. I've read many reviews of people complaining about not being able to see some of the animals in their enclosures, and although I didn't have this problem, I believe it to be a good thing. The animals should definitely have areas to go where they aren't in the public eye - they're wild animals and should be treated like that as much as they can be. What I also noticed about this zoo was the excellent enrichment which they gave to their animals in order to recreate an even more wild environment and to stimulate them. I believe that zoos either get this completely wrong or absolutely perfect. For example, some zoos simply change around where the food is placed in the enclosure so they have to search for it each day but I'm sure that this can become very repetitive and an easy task for the animals to complete. I understand that a completely new task cannot be thought up each day but some zoos will make hardly any effort at all. At Berlin Zoo, I was in awe when I was watching the Western lowland gorillas figuring out a new task. There was some food, I assume a treat of some sort in a block which had holes in one side. The gorillas first attempted using their fingers to prise the food out but although they could fit into the gaps, they couldn't reach far enough around the corner. You could see the concentration in them, trying to figure out how they were going to get their treat and soon determinedly walked off and returned with a twig; the first not bendy enough; the second, perfect and the treat was theirs. I watched them so intently during this motion and smiled like a proud mum when they worked it out! If there was to be a slight negative to the zoo, it would come from the 'big cat house' inside which, some of the enclosures were on the small side. However, I believe that they also have access to an outdoor area and so I am sure that overall, they have a decent amount of space to roam. I would expect that they were inside at the time (with access to the outside temporarily shut off) because of maintenance work on their enclosure which, obviously needs to be completed and would not be safe if the big cats could freely roam at the time! In summary, I could write so much about this zoo because of how incredible it was - the range of animals, the stunning enclosures, the visitor facilities, even the items they chose to sell in the gift shops! It was just a wonderful day out that I would recommend to any animal lover visiting Berlin. Whilst there, we also chose to buy tickets for entry to the aquarium which was just as good, so if you do want to make a full day of it, I'd recommend doing this as well. I will finish on a slideshow to try and show you just how wonderful this zoo is. © |
Categories
All
|