WELCOME TO LINTON ZOO Hadstock Road, Linton, Cambridgeshire, CB21 4NT. Telephone: 01223 891308
	To get all the latest news and cute pictures faster, just follow us on

Home

Visiting

Animals

News

Keeper experiences

Birthday parties

Animal Sponsorship

Outreach Programme

Photography Days

School Visits

Conservation

Vacancies

About us

Links

LATEST NEWS FROM THE ZOO FEBRUARY 2013 - RARE ALBINO RED NECKED WALLABY JOEY   On 8th February we saw the exciting new arrival pop its head out of the pouch for the first time, which was caught on camera by some lucky visitors. It was a total surprise for keepers and it is the first time an albino wallaby has been born at Linton Zoo.   Albino animals (including humans) lack pigment for colouring which means our little joey has pink eyes and will have white fur. Red Necked wallabies are usually grey-brown in colour, just like parents Kylie and Jason, aunty Dani and big brother Bonza but, on rare occasions, a white or albino is born, even after generations of normal coloured individuals. We think our mob are probably descended from the original white wallabies given as a gift to Queen Elizabeth II whilst on a state visit to Australia in 1962.         JANUARY 2013 - PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION 2012 WINNING PHOTO   Congratulations to Martyn Garvey of Portsmouth who has won our 2012 photography competition with this stunning image of our mischievous Amur Tigress, Katinka.   Thanks go to everyone who entered the competition, there were many great photos and a gallery will soon be posted on the photography day page on our website. Here Martyn receives a framed copy of his winning print from wildlife photographer Colin Edwards, along with an anual admission ticket to the zoo, a winning certificate and sponsorship of any of our animals (Martyn chose Centurio the Snow Leopard).         JANUARY 2013 - WELCOME THIAGO   We recently welcomed Thiago, a 3 year old male Brazilian Tapir born at Paradise Wildlife Park, to join our three year old female Tiana. Tiana was the last female born to our old pair Tanya and Shannon who successfully raised 12 calves in their years with us.   Although the tapir looks like a cross between a pig and an elephant its closest relatives are horses, zebras and rhinos. Tapirs are as happy in water as on the forest floor and often forage along river bottoms. They use water as an escape from predators such as jaguars using their long nose as a snorkle! Tapir are so well adapted to their rainforest environment that they have remained unchanged for about 30 million years.         JANUARY 2013 - FAREWELL ARNIE, YOU WILL BE MISSED!   On the morning of 9th January, after completing his staff greetings and doing his usual morning rounds to see his zoo friends, purring all the way, Arnie our Ginger Tom returned home for a spot of breakfast and then snuggled up on his bed and went to sleep. There he passed away peacefully.   Arnie came to live with us in 2000, he was a stray who made an immediate impression on all of us. Arnie had the most wonderful character just like a real live Garfield, he quickly settled in with our two other zoo cats and was definitely here to stay. Arnie had a full and quality life. His CV included welcoming visitors, sharing their picnics, giving tours of the zoo and keeping everyone's spirits up. But his most special job of all, and one which he became very well known for, was as the baby sitter of abandoned new born animals brought into the house for hand rearing (he would occasionally find his own baby rabbit or moorhen chick and bring it home for us too), his favourite was of course lion cubs. Arnie baby sat all four of our adult lions when they were cubs and some of their offspring too, the last one he helped out with was Zara, first cub of Zuri and Safina. A cat with an outstanding personality, Arnie was without a doubt a most extraordinary cat who had an extraordinary life, he will be missed by not only the people who knew and loved him, but by his many animal friends around the zoo too.         DECEMBER 2012 - MORE PRICKLES THAN A CHRISTMAS TREE!   First time mum and dad are proving to be the perfect parents, regularly feeding and grooming the little one, keeping it nice and warm under the heat lamp. A baby Porcupine is called a Porcupette!   The new arrival born on 10th December is proving to be bit of a distraction for our staff. Due to the infrared lamps in the bedroom area it’s easy for us to see in without the porcupines knowing we’re there. It’s fascinating to watch the interaction between parents and the new baby and we’re amazed at how attentative they both are, especially dad who’s often left to babysit while mum goes food forraging! Watch a video of the porcupine family here         OCTOBER 2012 - KANGAROO JOEY FULLY OUT OF THE POUCH   Our Red Kangaroo joey is now well and truly out of the pouch and bounding around with the rest of the mob. In early October the youngster was seen completely out of the pouch, just a few weeks later mum Matilda has decided that it no longer fits into her pouch and looking at the size of the joey - who can blame her!!!           21st SEPTEMBER 2012 - ZARA GIVES BIRTH!   We’ve just heard the fantastic news that Zuri and Safina, our youngest pair of African lions, have become Grandparents, of course making Riziki and Karla Great Grandparents! Their first born Zara, who now lives at the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre in Africa, gave birth to a beautiful little cub on 21st September.   Zara was born here at Linton on 13th May 2008, due to the inexperience of first time mum Safina, Zara had to be removed for hand rearing to ensure she survived. She then moved to the Ugandan Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe. Zara is proving to be an attentive and very protective mum, her maternal instincts are so strong she’s even trying to look after the cubs of another lioness, who were born a few days earlier. The father, 'Kibonge' is quite an old man now, estimated to be 16 years old!         1st SEPTEMBER 2012 - BILLY THE BINTURONG MAKES HIS DEBUT   Meet Billy the Binturong! This large mammal from the forests of south-east Asia just has to be the original Gruffalow! Billy was born at Artis Zoo in Amsterdam and will soon be joined by a female to make up a new breeding pair. The Binturong is a strange looking creature made up of all sorts of animal bits! At first it appears to be bear like often walking on its hind legs, but it has many cat characteristics too and this is where its other name of Bearcat comes from.   Binturong are rarely seen in captivity but have had a long association with Linton as they have been kept here since the early 1970's. They are threatened in the wild due to the rapid destruction of their rainforest home and they are often trapped and killed by fruit farmers because they raid the plantations for an easy meal.         AUGUST 2012 - WELCOME CHOBBLER! We were overjoyed when Chobbler the Toco Toucan came to live with us from ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. Hopefully it won't be long before a suitable female is selected by the studbook keeper as a mate for him. This is the largest and possibly best known species of Toucan. Its bill is usually between 15 and 20cm long, it looks heavy, but as with other Toucans it is relatively light because the inside is mostly hollow. What appears to be a brilliant blue iris is actually thin blue skin around the eye. This ring is surrounded by another ring of bare, orange skin.         6th AUGUST 2012 - A FIRST FOR LINTON!   On August 6th our Red Kangaroo joey popped its head out of the pouch for the first time and some lucky visitors were there to witness the moment and even caught it on camera (right). It won't be long before the little one is completely out of the pouch bouncing around with the rest of the mob, but with two boys for Matilda to choose from, who's the daddy.... Walter or Bruce???   Soon after the female gives birth, she will mate and produce another embryo that halts development until the first juvenille leaves the pouch. If around males, the female kangaroo is usually permanently pregnant, except on the day she gives birth. Amazingly - the mother is able to produce two different kinds of milk simultaneously for the newborn and the older joey still in the pouch.         JULY 2012 - THE PERFECT PORKY PAIR   Our male African Crested Porcupine Henry is over the moon with his new mate, three year old Halla. She came to us from the Welsh Mountain Zoo, the pair took to each other immediately and spent the rest of the day snuggled up together.   When feeling threatened a Porcupine can erect the quills on its back and rattle the hollow quills in its tail, before emitting a series of grunts and growls. As a last resort the Porcupine will charge backwards to impale with the spikes. The quills detach easily, giving rise to the myth that it can ‘fire’ the quills, which is untrue. JULY 2012 - SACRED IBIS CHICKS After 21 days of incubation, our Sacred Ibis hatched two chicks. The shallow nest is on the edge of the cliff face provided and you can often see the little ones peering over the edge watching the other birds. Both males and females incubate the eggs and feed the young partially digested food. At around 40 days old the youngsters will leave the nest joining the rest of the group. Courtship ritual of Sacred Ibis include displays with the heads and necks being stretched out by both adults. They bow and intertwine their necks while preening and calling out.         3rd JULY 2012 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZURI!   Our younger male African Lion turned 6 years old on July 3rd so we just had to give him a present to celebrate the big day! Zuri was born at West Midlands Safari Park and came to us just a few weeks old having been rejected by his mother needing to be hand reared.   Visit our Facebook page for a video clip of the present opening and subsequent fun! Now a father himself, Zuri lives with his other half Safina in our award winning 'Lions Paradise', Safina's parents Riziki and Karla also live with us here in Linton. Riziki celebrated a recent birthday too turning 9 on the 5th July.           JUNE 2012 - BABY BOOM IN THE OWL DEPARTMENT Great Grey Owlet   Our owls have had a fantastic breeding season and all the youngsters are now out of the nest.   The Snowy Owls, who lay more eggs than most Owls, have 3 owlets. The Malayan Brown Wood Owls have one owlet. The Turkmenian Eagle Owls, laid a second egg after abandoning the first which hatched in March and is now being hand reared. This time round they are proving to be the perfect parents. The Great Grey Owls have surprised us all by also hatching an owlet. This is the first time our younger pair of Great Grey Owls have bred, the female is just 3 years old herself. One of the 3 Snowy Owlets pictured here with mum 'Hedwig' (on the left)         MAY 2012 - PARMA WALLABIES   Our adult male Parma Wallaby 'Pogo' is taking his role as alpha male very seriously, as already the second wave of this years youngsters are emerging from their mothers pouches.   By the end of the 1800s, the Parma Wallaby was believed to be extinct, and it was not until 1965 that a small surviving population was found on Kawau Island (near Auckland, New Zealand). Another wild population was subsequently discovered in Gosford, New South Wales, Australia in 1967. It is from these few animals that the entire current population of Parma Wallaby descends.         APRIL 2012 - EASTER CHICK   Meet our adorable Turkmenian Eagle Owlet “Hüwi” which is Turkmen for “Eagle owl”. When keepers realised that “Rohan” the mum wasn’t paying her new chick enough attention it was necessary for them to step in quickly to remove the little one for hand-rearing. Both parents of “Hüwi” were also hatched at Linton Zoo, dad “Pip” is 23 years old this year and “Rohan” is now 5.   The Turkmenian Eagle Owl is one of the largest and most spectacular owls in the world, eventually reaching around 4.5kg and is closely related to the slightly larger large European Eagle Owl, Bubo bubo. Sadly though, it is believed to now be extinct in its original wild range around Turkmenistan, there are also very few pure bred birds in captivity so this little one is a very important individual, although he may not realise it!   29th MARCH 2012 - WHITE COLLARED LEMUR BABY   On 29th March, Harriet, one of our White Collared Lemurs, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. There are only 13 White Collared Lemurs in zoos around Europe; 9 of which are here with us in Linton! Habitat loss is the greatest threat to this species in the wild, although it is also frequently hunted with shotguns, snares and slingshots particularly when it comes into coffee plantations. Due to their extremely endangered status in the wild and the alarming rate of destruction of their habitat, every birth of this species in captivity is vital in helping its survival.       MARCH 2012 - YOU'RE HAVING A LAUGH   The sound of the Laughing Kookaburra now echos loudly throughout the entire zoo! The bird starts with a low, hiccupping chuckle, before throwing its head back in raucous laughter. It’s a familiar sound to most of us after being used in many films, such as the old Tarzan movies, despite the fact Tarzan was in Africa and Kookaburras come from Australia! The pair arrived in March from Leeds Castle Aviaries in Kent, which sadly closed its doors for the last time after over 20 years in operation. We have also homed pairs of Scarlet Macaws, African Grey Necked Crowned Cranes and Yellow Shouldered Amazon Parrots.       JANUARY 2012 - NEW ARRIVAL WITH AN UNEXPECTED ADDITION!   Earlier this year we welcomed a trio of Red-Necked Wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus) who arrived with us from Woburn Safari Park. Our young male and his two females have moved in with our mob of Red Kangaroo near the top of the zoo. The Red Necked Wallaby can be distinguished from other wallaby species by their black nose and paws and the white stripe along their upper lip. The males can reach around 90cm in height, the females are generally a bit smaller. It would also appear that we were joined by a stowaway, shortly after their arrival we notice some movement in one of the females pouches. By mid-March the little one was poking its head out for its first view of the big outdoors! Right: The young Joey trying his best to reach the fresh green leaves without having to leave the warm comfort of mums pouch.       1st OCTOBER 2011 - TAPIR CALF NUMBER 12!   On 1st October Tanya gave birth to her 12th calf, a little boy, with partner Shannon. Tapirs are pregnant for 13 months after which they give birth to a very spotty and stripy calf. The stripes and spots are moulted out at around 6 months old when they become the brown colour of adults.   ‘Shannon’, born at Edinburgh Zoo in 1989 and‘Tanya’ born at Southport Zoo in 1990, were brought here as calves and have lived together happily ever since.       Older news articles will be added soon. We are members of the following: