Last month, zookeeper Tom Wilkinson jetted off to Grand Cayman Island to assist with the Blue Iguana Conservation Programme: a National Trust-run project to reintroduce and sustainably conserve the wild population of blue iguanas to help ensure the species’ long-term…
Imagine walking up to the grand entrance of a Georgian manor, surrounded by lush greenery with the sound of exotic animals reverberating in the distance… This is the experience that visitors to Primley House, the former home of Paignton Zoo…
Disclaimer: This blog discusses the capture of wild animals for display in zoological collections, which is a practice that we do not support today. We recognise this made up much of the work of early zoos, but as a forward-thinking…
As we celebrate Paignton Zoo’s centenary year, we’ve been uncovering some incredible stories from our past. Did you know that Paignton Zoo shares a captivating connection with another British zoo? Familiar Origins Chessington Zoo began in a similar way to…
As the shadow of World War II fell over Europe, Paignton Zoo’s founder Herbert Whitley made plans to disband his treasured collection of animals to other zoos. His instructions were clear – everything must go; everything EXCEPT the pigeons. As…
Place of study: University of Manchester Course: BSc Biological Sciences (Zoology) Placement focus: Community Outreach & Badgers We caught up with placement student Adam, who’s project is two-fold: the first element consists of a local community survey to understand how…
Place of study: Plymouth University Course: BSc Biological Sciences (Zoology) Placement focus: Giraffe Behaviour We caught up with placement student Madi, who is using a judgement bias test to find out if there’s a relationship between behaviour, forelimb-bias and ‘optimism’…
Place of study: Plymouth University Course: BSc Biological Sciences (Zoology) Placement focus: Giraffe Behaviour We caught up with placement student Madi, who is using a judgement bias test to find out if there’s a relationship between behaviour, forelimb-bias and ‘optimism’…
Place of study: University of Manchester Course: BSc Biological Sciences (Zoology) Placement focus: Behavioural Observations in Individual Animals We caught up with our placement student Morgan, who is carrying out behavioural observations on individual animals to monitor their diet, enrichment…
In 1923, Herbert Whitley opened his private collection of exotic animals and plants to the public, however Whitley’s expertise with animals didn’t end with Paignton’s new zoo. In the midst of World War I, while many were called to serve…
