Paignton Zoo

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park

Paignton Zoo logo
Date opened	1923
Location	Paignton, Devon, England
Land area	80 acres (0.32 km2)
Coordinates	50°25′44″N 3°35′4″W
Number of animals	>2000
Number of species	>250
Major exhibits	Monkey Heights, Reptile Tropics
Website	http://www.paigntonzoo.org.uk

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, is a zoo in Paignton, Devon, England. The zoo is part of South West Environmental Parks Ltd which is owned by the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust (WWCT). It is a combined zoo and botanic garden that welcomes over half a million visitors a year. WWCT also runs Living Coasts in Torquay and Newquay Zoo in Cornwall. All three are registered charities.

Paignton Zoo has a collection of approximately 2,000 animals representing nearly 300 species. It also cultivates approximately 1,600 different species of plant. It currently employs over 100 permanent staff and an additional 120 seasonally. A registered educational and scientific charity, Paignton Zoo is committed to the highest standards of animal husbandry and welfare, to scientific research, education and the breeding and conservation of rare and endangered animal and plant species.

Animals

Animals at Paignton Zoo include: Agouti, Lowland Anoa, Armadillos, A large group of Hamadryas baboons, bats, Eastern bongo, capybara, Southern cassowary, cheetahs, Nile crocodile, Cuban crocodile, Saltwater crocodile, 1 African elephant; Chilean flamingo, gibbons, lowland gorillas, Rothschild giraffe, red river hog, hornbills, Western grey kangaroo, lechwe, lemurs, Asiatic lions, macaques, macaws, mandrill, meerkat, monkeys, Bornean orangutan, owls, red panda, Chilean pudu, black rhino, tamarins, Brazilian tapir, Sumatran tiger, giant tortoises, maned wolf and Hartmann mountain zebra

Plants

Garden themes and plant collections include a broad collection of temperate hardy trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants arranged by habitat type, Collection of naturally occurring taxa of the genus Buddleja, A number of themed garden areas: Mediterranean Climatic Gardens, Medicinal Garden, Economic Garden, Tropical House, Sub-Tropical House, Desert House, Wildlife Garden and the first public vertical hydroponic display house.

History

Paignton Zoo was one of the earliest combined zoological and botanical gardens in Britain and the first that was opened with education as its mission.^{[citation needed]} It was founded by Herbert Whitley, initially as his private collection. Whitley was an early conservationist and a contemporary of people such as Sir Peter Scott and Jean Delacour, the famous French ornithologist. Paignton Zoo first opened to the public in 1923. After various name changes, it became Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in 1996.

A five year redevelopment programme, funded by the European Regional Development Fund, refurbished large parts of the Zoo and was completed in 2001. A new 10 year plan is now in place to redevelop the remaining areas to ensure that all animals are housed in modern enclosures of the highest standard.

Key dates in the zoo's history include:

• 1923 – Paignton Zoo opened to the public
• 1955 – Herbert Whitley died
• 1995 – European Regional Development Fund grant started redevelopment of Zoo
• 1996 – became Paignton Zoo Environmental Park
• 1998 – Zoo Keepers BBC TV documentary series broadcast
• 2004 – Zoo Story ITV TV documentary series broadcast
• 2005 - Monkey Heights, the state-of-the-art monkey exhibit, opened
• 2006 - fire in the Giraffe House killed three giraffes
• 2007 - rare black rhino calf Zuri born - the first such birth seen on the World Wide Web
• 2008 - Crocodile Swamp exhibit opened
• 2009 – Creatures Like Us Animal Planet TV documentary series broadcast

Conservation

Paignton Zoo is a member of the British & Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). Its gardens are members of PLANTNETWORK, Plant Heritage (formerly NCCPG) and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). It works with partner zoos and gardens in these organisations on the management of captive breeding and plant conservation programmes for endangered species.

Education and Research

Paignton Zoo has a large education team which teaches approximately 40,000 students each year from under-5s to post-16s, as well as adult community groups.

Part of the redevelopment programme included the establishment of a Science Department in 1997. Now renamed the Field Conservation and Research Department, this has grown to become one of the leading zoo science departments in Europe, with staff engaged in a programme of projects within the Zoo, at WWCT's other sites in the UK, and at various sites overseas. Projects are carried out at 'A' level, undergraduate and post graduate level.

Projects

The Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust and its family of charitable attractions - Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, Living Coasts and Newquay Zoo – supports or is involved in conservation projects in the UK, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Madagascar, Vietnam and Sulawesi in Indonesia.

Rhino Birth

On 5 March 2007, Sita a Black Rhino gave birth to a baby girl called Zuri. The whole of the birth was recorded by cameras set up by the BBC natural history unit. This was the first black rhino birth ever recorded on film and also the first rhino birth at the zoo.

Red Panda Birth

In July 2010, two red panda cubs were born, 1 male and 1 female.

Crocodile Swamp

A new Crocodile Swamp exhibit opened on 3 March 2008. Designed to match as closely as possible the reptiles' natural habitat and climate, it houses three species of crocodile and a further three species of snake.

Death of Asian Elephant

On 9 March 2010, Paignton Zoo reported that the Asian Elephant (named Gay) was put down following prolonged difficulties with abscesses in all four feet. These were causing a serious reduction in quality of life; it was concluded that nothing further could be done for her.

External links

• Paignton Zoo
• Croodile Swamp