In a heartwarming blend of creativity and sustainability, the Princess Theatre in Torquay has donated its retired fly ropes to Paignton Zoo, where they now serve as climbing enrichment for lemurs. These ropes, once essential in raising backdrops and scenery during countless stage productions, have found a second life in the Zoo’s Lemur Woods, offering new opportunities for the energetic...
The 2025 International Agatha Christie Festival promises nine unforgettable days (13–21 September) of literary celebration across the stunning English Riviera. Set in Christie’s birthplace, this year’s programme is packed with theatrical performances, immersive experiences, and star-studded panels—truly an immersive journey into the world of the Queen of Crime.
A new and unusual animal has arrived at Paignton Zoo – a binturong. This curious animal is a small mammal that is often described as a ‘bearcat’ due to its striking similarity to both a small bear and a domestic cat.
The young female, named Fig after her favourite food, moved to Paignton Zoo from Cotswold Wildlife Park on Wednesday. She is now settling into her new home near the Ape...
A much-loved local zoo and conservation trust in South Devon is celebrating an unexpected windfall from leading housebuilders Barratt and David Wilson Homes, who have donated £1,000 to help it recover from the challenges of Covid.
Shaldon Zoo and Wildlife Trust, which carries out vital conservation work all over the world, has suffered major financial losses during the lockdown as it...
The RSPCA and fire services rescued a wild deer which was stuck in electrical fencing near Dartmoor Zoo in Devon on Saturday 10 October.
Inspector Becky Wadey and Animal Rescue Officer (ARO) Simon Kite along with the Camelshead technical rescue team from Devon and Cornwall Fire Service attended to help rescue the poor deer.
Inspector Beccy Wadey said: “The deer had become...
Despite shutting on the 23rd March due to the coronavirus outbreak, work at Shaldon Wildlife Trust continues. The zoo, based in Shaldon, houses over 50 species and is renowned for its success with endangered species and for the conservation work it does.
With the doors closed all visitor income has ceased and so a fund raiser has been launched to keep the zoo going through the...
Ingenious aquarists at Living Coasts, Torquay’s coastal zoo and aquarium, have trained strange fish to help clean their tank of a naturally-occurring pest.
Filefish, or leatherjackets, have been introduced into the charity zoo’s large stingray tank to help control an invasive anemone.
Aquarist Tom Fielding: “Aiptasia is a common temperate and tropical sea anemone. It comes in...
Wild Planet Trust is the Devon-based charity that runs Paignton Zoo, Living Coasts in Torquay and Newquay Zoo in Cornwall, plus several nature reserves in Devon. While 2019 was not a great year for the charity, there are, says Trust boss Simon Tonge, some reasons for optimism:
“Last year was not the best for visitor numbers, though we still saw 700,000 people come to our three zoo...
Paignton Zoo is sad to announce that senior male lion Lucifer has had to be put to sleep.
Zoo spokesperson Phil Knowling: “Lucifer was 17 years old, so he was a good age for an Asiatic lion. He was, like a lot of us, showing signs of wear and tear on his body. He had some weakness and ataxia – that’s wobbliness in his hind limbs – he would stagger occasionally, especially when going up...
Animals at Paignton Zoo will be getting their own festive dinners this Christmas – but you may not find them quite as appetising as your own…
So what’s on the menu? Well, the big cats could get a whole turkey, complete with feathers and entrails. Curator of Mammals Lisa Britton said: “It’s all good roughage, the bones, everything. It’s the sort of carcass they’d be eating in the wild...
