September is over, and so it is time to share some more visitor photos with you. We had a lot of wildcat photos pop up over the internet this month, many of which were of our kittens, but it is this photo above of their dad "Macavity" showing off what wildcats are best known for that we chose for our photo for September.
This photo was taken by Andy Lowe, and you can see more of his work by following the link in his name. Andy's photo will be on display in our coffee shop gallery next year, and he will be in with a chance of winning a photographic day here at the Centre if selected by our professional judge at the end of the year.
Below are a few more pictures from last month.
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| "Rutting Deer" by Irene Ford |
Hi Matt
ReplyDeleteJust want to ask, when will the new lizard's arrive? Also wondering on how the new Badger arrivals; when will they arrive roughly and when will they be on display?Also, within the next few years, will you be looking into getting some of the animals i've noticed you're missing, like: Beaver, Hare's, Chinise Water Deer, Wild Boar, Pygmy Shrew, A new Water Shrew, A Common Shrew And Bison. Of course, they'd all probably be difficult to find space for and a lot of them would be difficult to keep, was just wondering if you were thinking about adding any of these animals to the centre.
Thank's Matt.
Hi Reuben,
DeleteThat's a bit to cover, so I will keep it brief. The new lizards certainly won't be until next year. We are hoping to furnish their new enclosures early next year, and then look to source some lizards before the summer. We do have a lot of other plans higher on the list for this winter though, so it may be pushed back. We will of course share news on this blog when they are finally out on display.
New badgers - they are already here. We have had them since cubs for some time now, housed off display and doing very well. The extended enclosure is nearly complete, and the new badgers will be out there and on display before the end of the year. We then hope to introduce them to our others when they all become a bit more active when it warms up next spring.
We are missing a lot of animals if you include everything, we would never be able to house them all. We do have plans to add to the collection in the future, but are still focused on improving what we can offer the animals we have now for the short term. To answer your list briefly...
Beaver - not in the immediate future, but something we are thinking about. Hare - yes, but only when a hare/s become available that can't be released back to the wild and need a permanent home. Difficult to keep, but we have plans to adapt the squirrel walkthrough to accommodate them. Chinese water deer - No, difficult to source ethically, and very difficult to keep healthy in captivity. Wild boar - No, need a lot of space and time and create a lot of mess. Maybe in the distant future though. Pygmy/Common shrew - No to both, they are solitary and shy and not long lived so would not be a good exhibit in terms of space. Water shrew - yes, we had a group for many years but sadly last one passed away a couple of weeks a go. New shrews hopefully to arrive end of this season, or next year. Bison - No, we only want to keep animals you find living out int he wild of the UK today.
Hope that helps :-)
Matt