Watch the Meerkats

We've recently install these great new web cameras so you can now drop in and see the meerkats 24hrs a day.

This is the main enclosure. We'll be moving the camera around from time to time so you get to see the whole show.




This is where you'll find Sue and Timon tucked up at night in their temperature controlled house.





They've been getting down to the business of starting a family recently so make sure you keep a close eye on developments.

Update on the animals

We thought it was about time to given you an update on some of the earlier blogs.

The fallow deer had 5 babies which are now growing into healthy youngsters. We named one Mischief as she kept hiding from the keepers every day and it would take forever to find her. She was always in the most awkward of places!

The meerkat have settled in nicely to their new home. As soon as we put them in there they started mating but as of yet we haven’t seen any signs of young. All the keepers are keeping their fingers crossed that we get some babies soon! The meerkat have become a firm favourite with the keepers and the public as they are so entertaining, constantly doing something, even if it is falling asleep while sitting up.

Jemima, the runner duck, is doing well and she is growing lots. It’s now very hard to tell her apart from her parents. The guinea fowl are also sitting on some eggs and at last count it was 25 eggs so we are hoping that some of those will hatch soon.

Burrito and Chimicanga, our capybara babies have grown loads. When they were first born they wouldn’t come anywhere near us but as time went on they started eating things out of our hand, at first it was a green bean as they didn’t have to come too close for that but nowadays its bits of apple and pepper. They also let us scratch them on their head and they seem to enjoy it as they close their eyes and start to fall asleep. Their dad Taco loves nothing more than a good belly rub, he rolls over onto his side so we can give him a scratch so we think that the babies are going to be following in his footsteps.

Sita, the cheetah we had from Paignton Zoo has settled in great. She is such an easy cat to work with and very co operative. She loves to lie right on top of the mound in her enclosure so she can see everything. Although she is very co operative she is one of the fussiest cats we have on the park. Her food has to have no skin, feathers or fur on it and it has to be the freshest of meat otherwise she turns her nose up at it!

We mentioned that our rhea had been sitting on some eggs but unfortunalty due to the bad weather their nests got waterlogged and the rhea stopped sitting. Next year we are hoping for some better weather and then some will hatch.

Keep checking back on the blog as things are constantly being updated at the park and we will do our best to keep you up to date with what’s going on.

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

As it has been so hot over the past few days we have been thinking of ways to keep our animals cool.
A favourite with most of them is frozen fruit. We either freeze fruit such as melons, pineapples, apples and pear or blend up the fruit, mixing it with water and freezing it so it ends up like a fruit ice lolly.

The bears have a moat with water in and we often see them going for a paddle on hot days. To add to their enjoyment we throw some of the frozen fruit into the water so they have to fish about for it.

For some of our omnivores, such as the meerkat and mongoose, we freeze bugs into ice cubes which they really enjoy. It takes them a while to lick through the ice before getting to the treat inside.

The cats love blood bergs which we give them occasionally. These consist of blood or bits of meat mixed in with water which is then frozen. Sometimes when the weather is really hot the tigers decide to go for a swim in their moat. As tigers love water it is ideal for them to have this in their enclosure. An alternative to the moat is when we squirt water with the hose into their enclosure. The tigers start playing around with the jets of water, chasing after it and trying to bite the water.

First Steps

It seems fitting that in first tentative steps into the world of blogging we announce the arrival of a new addition to our collection here at DZP.

Earlier this week we were delighted to discover a new male fallow deer. Whilst he is undoubtedly cute and adorable, eager to explore the paddock he and his family shares with the lama, alpaca, and Pete the ostrich, he has some strong competition for attention in the shape of our newly arrived meerkats.

We recently introduced Sue and Timon to their brand new enclosure outside the Jaguar Restaurant. It's no overstatement to say that the enclosure is fantastic. With glass on all sides and an open top, visitors could not get any closer to these fascinating creatures.

Sue is the older and bolder of the two taking the lion's share of sentry duty whilst Timon spends most of his time foraging and bolting for cover. However, we're also pleased to confirm that he's been taking his responsibilities as the only male in the vicinity very seriously and we have high hopes of baby meerkats before the end of the summer.

We'll be here regularly to keep you posted on developments with these and other stories as they unfold. The world of blogging is quite new to us and we're looking forward to discovering where it takes us.