New Arrivals

The long awaited and very adorable baby meerkats*

There’s been lots going on at DZP over the past twelve months with new additions to the collection, new babies and lots of developments. Here’s a quick round up of some of the recent highlights.

New Babies!

We've had lots of new babies recently including pygmy goats and lechwe, but the real treat came just be for Christmas in the shape of three adorable baby meerkats.

Sue and Timon are long-standing residents at DZP arriving in the spring of 2010. Though they got on very well together, in all that time we never saw any kits. But with the recent introduction of feisty young female, Xena things got very interesting. She gave birth to two girls and a boy shortly before Christmas.

Sue was always the boss of the troop and, as hoped, Xena took a back seat to let Sue take over the care of the new arrivals. This is quite common among meerkats who are known for sharing the responsibility of bringing up the young.

The arrival of the youngsters brings the total number of meerkats to six. Just a few inches in length, they made their first public appearance in early January. The keepers are working on names at the moment so we'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments below.

Baby Tapir
April saw the arrival of baby tapir, Luta. His name means, "fighter" and you can find out why in this report from Head Keeper, Mike Downman.

Zebra, getting used to their new accommodation

Zebra Development

Over the past few months we have been very busy making preparations to receive three Grant’s Zebra from Longleat Safari Park. Staff and contractors have been working hard through the atrocious weather up-grading the entire perimeter fence and constructing a wonderful curved stable complex that many visitors say resembles an ark. It has three individual stables large enough to provide comfortable accommodation for the zebra as well as our herd of Lechwe Antelope and our two ostrich, providing much needed shelter from the chilly winter months.

This is the largest development we’ve undertaken for quite some time and it would not have been possible without the enthusiastic support of certain members of staff (who literally threw themselves out of a plane to raise money) as well as local businesses, MST Parkins who provided much needed heavy machinery and Tesco who made a generous donation.

The Zebra arrived safely in early December and are currently going through a settling period during which they’ll be kept within the perimeter of the new building. They will be able to enjoy the full run of the main paddock soon, but in the meantime they can still be viewed in the yards from the Jaguar restaurant and play area.

The zebra are a great addition to the collection enhancing a beautiful African vista; a piece of the African plains in rural Devon. Who’d have thought?

You can see more images of the development here and here.

Mongoose Development

In other developments, the old foundation shell of a Victorian greenhouse has lent itself beautifully to becoming the new enclosure for our three mongoose. They have spent most of their time here in an indoor enclosure but this new development gives them a heated house and a large outdoor run.

The house is raised off the ground to avoid the damp with a ramp for access. The walls of the original greenhouse have been retained for their naturally aged beauty but have been modified to contain the animals with a glazed extension. We’ve also provided an outdoor heated area to allow the mongoose to have some fresh air whilst still keeping warm as well as a covered viewing area to provide visitors with shelter from the Devon weather whilst viewing the mongoose through full height glass walls.

Like the zebra development, this project was also made possible by the very generous support of Cornwall Glass & Glazing Ltd who provided all the reinforced glass. There’s a little more work to do but the Mongoose will move in to their new home within a week or so.

Iberian Wolves

Raul and Carlos in their off-show enclosure

Also on the list of “new at the zoo” is the addition of our Iberian Wolves.

To assist with an on-going breeding programme we exchanged our Grey Wolves, Sarah and Parker, with Woburn Safari Park for a trio of Iberian Wolves, Carlos and his younger brothers, Gregorio and Raul (the latter two named with the help of our visitors). Since their arrival they have been housed in our quarantine facility which is an off-show area. This gave us the perfect opportunity to make some major improvements to the old wolf enclosure to welcome our new pack.

The work entailed bringing down several trees with which we were able to build a new “natural” platform to give the wolves a high vantage point as well as shelter. Beside this platform we built an underground den which gives the wolves privacy and also allows us to catch them should the need arise for veterinary treatment or similar interventions. The enclosure containment has also been improved and with the help of Grow for Good South West the entire exhibit has been planted out with meadow flowers to bring a blaze of colour to the site in the spring and summer.

As is often the case with major developments, it has not been easy. Our planned release has been delayed by the severe weather hampering our build and the heavy rains have flooded the den before we were able to complete! So for the time being, they will remain in the off-show holding area which has all the facilities to meet their needs. We plan to have them in their new home very soon. Watch this space!

You can see more images of the wolves and the development, here, here and here.

*Thanks to Steve Haywood for the meerkat photos.

High Impact Award for the Second Year Running

Volunteer Sarah with Head Keeper Mike and
Conservation and Research Officer, Adam

The Education Team at Dartmoor Zoo are celebrating again following confirmation that for the second year running they have won the Global Entrepreneurship Week, High Impact Award.

Organised by Youth Business International, Global Entrepreneurship Week celebrates entrepreneurship as a force for good through a wide range of activities.

The "High Impact Badge of Honour" is granted only to those activities which meet a range of criteria demonstrating the contribution the activity makes to the aims of the project.

Since its inception, Global Entrepreneurship Week has spread to 115 countries, with nearly 24,000 organisations planning more than 37,000 activities. In 2011 over 213,000 people attended 2,305 events, run by over 900 organisations as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week in the UK alone.

The award was granted to DZP for their Enterprise Challenge. Launched in 2011, the challenge is a unique activity developed by the education team designed to meet and exceed a range of educational goals in a challenging and engaging manner. It sees small teams of students assuming the role of a Zoo Development Team for an entire day.

"We're very proud of the Enterprise Challenge," explains operations manager, George Hyde. "It involves every department at the zoo from animal care through maintenance to marketing and customer service. It's a real crash-course in the demands of running a modern zoo."

The students' task, often in competition with teams from other schools, is to add a new species to the DZP animal collection. To complete the challenge, students must face and overcome a range of real-world development problems whilst keeping to a strict budget.

At the end of the day-long challenge the teams are required to present their plans to a panel of professional judges comprised of senior zoo management which sometimes includes zoo director, Benjamin Mee.

"The feedback we get from students and staff is amazing," says Benjamin. "We've even run Enterprise Challenge days as team-building exercises for teachers and university lecturers. They find it just as challenging and enjoyable as the kids."

The DZP Enterprise Challenge is just one of a number of major developments within the zoo's education department which have captured the imagination and support of local educators. The new Extended Diploma in Animal Management, delivered in partnership with Bicton College, is now well into its second year with new students already expressing an interest in enrolling next year.

The zoo’s fascinating Dissection Theatre, part of the Dartmoor Hill Pony conservation project, is also now very well established and attracting interest from educational establishments throughout the country.

The Enterprise Challenge is proving particularly popular with secondary school teachers who recognise that it exceeds the specified National Curriculum learning objectives for Economic Well-being and Financial Capability. It also gives higher ability students the opportunity to demonstrate and develop skills in teamwork, assessing needs, understanding risk, finance management and enterprise.

"We've known for quite some time now that the Enterprise Challenge was something special," explains George. "The whole team here have worked really hard to produce something of real value and this award shows that we achieved exactly that."

Educators in the region can see first-hand what the Enterprise Challenge is all about at an open evening at the zoo in January. It’s one of a number of events held throughout the year which provides teachers and youth group workers with an opportunity to see what the DZP Education Team has to offer and assist them in developing further activities.

Free Educators' Open Evening

In January, our education team will be welcoming educators and kids group organisers to view our latest range of education facilities and programmes.

For those of you who haven’t been to one of our teacher evenings, this is your chance to meet our team of staff and volunteers and see why DZP is the best place to bring your students for a wide variety of curriculum friendly educational experiences.

More importantly, it’s your chance to tell us how we can best meet your needs. Conversations at previous teacher evenings have given rise to some of our best offerings, so our door is always open to new suggestions from enthusiastic educators looking for exciting ways to hit curriculum targets.

Following a brief introduction and refreshments, the evening will include: 

• An introduction to our new prospectus
• A fascinating demonstration of our unique Dissection Theatre
• Bushcraft demonstration with links to STEM
• A chance to get up-close and hands-on with our Key Stage specific Close Encounters 
• A guided Tour of the zoo looking at all the highlights 

We’ll round off the evening with a lively Q and A session where you and your colleagues will get the opportunity to see just how far we’re willing to go to create the best educational experiences for your students.

Additional subjects up for discussion will include new Key Stage specific workshops, cross curricula programmes and bespoke visits and education sessions.

All delegates will be provided with a free information pack and a voucher for 10% discount on all bookings made before 30th January 2012.

Places are limited so please contact the education team now to book in advance.

Thursday 17th January 5:00pm to 7:00pm 
Booking/Information: Education Team - 01752 837 645

Living in Cold Blood

Andy with Maddie the 8ft Dumeril's Boa

On the 25^th of November 2012 Dartmoor Zoo will be entertaining some unusual visitors as Dartmoor Reptiles take to the stage. 

Dartmoor Reptiles are a small family team with a passion for educating others about the magic and beauty of snakes, lizards, spiders and other creepy crawlies. 

Andy, their lead handler, will be available throughout the day giving fun, educational talks about a selection of fascinating creatures such as, Spot and Stripe the Ball Pythons. 

Visitors will have the opportunity to get up-close and personal with a range of animals, learn where they live in the wild, how they catch their prey and how they escape predators. 

Throughout the day there’ll be plenty of opportunities to to feel the many legs of Millie the Giant African Millipede and see the weird and wonderful Tailless Whip Scorpion (as seen in Harry Potter).

Other special guests in show will include:

Western Hognose

Pink Toe Tarantula

Indian Sand Boa

Royal / Ball Pythons x 2

Young Corn snake

Baby Asian Forest Scorpions

Columbian Rainbow Boa

Crested Gecko

Leopard Gecko

Ackie Monitor

Chile Rose Tarantula

Then there’s Dartmoor Reptiles’ impressive star of the show Maddie, the 16 year old, very placid, 8foot long Dumeril’s Boa. 

All the sessions are interactive so questions and discussion are very welcome. But don’t worry if you just want to watch from a distance, that’s perfectly OK too!

Bushcraft Challenge

Craig eyeing up ingredients for sedge cake

On the 15th and 16th of September 2012 staff members at Dartmoor Zoo will be taking part in their first ever Bushcraft Challenge. For three days and two nights the team of five, including Zoo Director, Benjamin Mee, will be living off the land within the zoo, guided by Bushcraft expert Craig Grant.

Since re-opening in 2007 staff at Dartmoor Zoological Park have worked hard to treat the entire zoo and not just the animal exhibits, as a conservation project. Wherever possible wild spaces within the park have been managed to encourage local wildlife. Director, Benjamin Mee sees the Bushcraft Challenge as an opportunity to showcase the abundance of different life supported by the park’s grounds and is keen to take on the challenge set by Craig.

“It’s more than just an exercise in learning survival skills,” explains Ben. “Much of the on site conservation work we do is largely invisible to the uninformed visitor so we wanted to come up with a way of illustrating the fact that the spaces outside the enclosures are all part of broad conservation project.”

The team will be assisted in the challenge by, Craig Grant, an outdoor education specialist, artist and bushcraft practitioner with over 20 years experience. Born in Plymouth, his passion for bushcraft began on the moors of Dartmoor National Park and has since taken him around the world. Back on home soil Craig passes on his knowledge and skills to people of all ages using his experience to give them an enhanced understanding of themselves and the world around them.

“Dartmoor Zoo is a fantastic site,” says Craig. “I was expecting a well manicured park with tarmac pathways, devoid of wildlife other than the animals in the collection. It was a real pleasure to see the diversity of flora and fauna and the sheer volume of conservation areas.”

Shortly after his visit Craig suggested the challenge as an alternative way for the staff and visitors to experience the zoo.

The challenge will see staff using natural materials found in the zoo to build their own overnight shelter and supplement their basic ration of staple food. They will have to learn which plants can be eaten and which are to be avoided. They will discover the fascinating utility of things like stinging nettles as sources of food and material for making various items essential to their survival and comfort during the challenge. As they do this, they will be creating a ‘living enclosure’ to highlight the importance of the natural environment.

“The challenge fits very well with our overall aim here at DZP,” says Ben. “The chance to see endangered exotic animals is what attracts people, but we want a visit here to be a broader experience of nature. We want people to go away with an enhanced appreciation for conservation in all its forms.”

The event also fulfils the zoo’s obligations as an educational establishment. Operations manager, George Hyde, sees the challenge as a platform for expanding the zoo’s increasingly diverse offering to local schools and colleges.

“Education outside the classroom is an increasingly important aspect of schooling today,” says George. “The skills and experience kids get from this kind of activity meets a comprehensive range of learning objectives in a fun and engaging way which is why the schools we already work with are expressing an interest. Our relationship with Craig means we can present educators with new ways to meet their teaching goals.”

The challenge is also designed to be a public exhibit for the weekend. Visitors will be able to see the shelter being built as well as take part in various demonstrations of bushcraft skills. Kids can learn how to make basic utensils and have fun creating camouflage head-dresses.

Activities will run throughout the weekend and visitors will be able to follow the team’s exploits via Dartmoor Zoo’s Twitter and Facebook profiles throughout this unique 48 hour event.

Update:
You can see photos of the event on our Facebook page.