News

2020 was a bit of a rollercoaster for all the humans, but the animals at the Lake District Wildlife Park carried on as normal! The first lockdown saw a flurry of new animals. At the end of May, a Grants Zebra foal was one of the first arrivals. The bold leggy colt was soon up on his feet and feeding from mum. The Park held a competition to find him a name and the Keepers chose “Zoom” from around 250 suggestions.

In May we also welcomed a Bagot Goat kid and a Dwarf Zebu calf. June saw the arrival of a Patagonian Mara baby and lots of piglets! The first piglets to be born were three Tamworths and a few weeks later one of the Wild Boars, Thelma, gave birth to a litter of ten Iron Age piglets. Iron Age pigs are a hybrid of the Wild Boar and domestic Tamworth. The bigger and bolder the stripey piglets got, the more fun they were to watch running around!

In the Ring-Tailed Lemur troop, we welcomed two adorable youngsters that were named Hiccup and Charlie. Like many of the animals at the Lake District Wildlife Park, Ring-Tailed Lemurs like to play. The climbing frame in the Lemur enclosure became worn out and in need of repair. We had a great response from our supporters after we set up an Amazon wish-list and materials started to arrive for the new playground. We were still in need of some parts when, fortunately, 7 year-old Evie Rolls came to the rescue. Evie, participated in the Lakesman Lockdown Junior Challenge and raised an amazing total of £310, quite an achievement for a young girl! We are hoping to commence the rebuild of the playground very soon and we will let you know when it is completed.

It was a bit of a strange year for fundraising, but Gonzo the Hooded Vulture continued to show off his skills in our Bird of Prey displays and raise awareness for the International Vulture Programme. The Keepers completed a socially distanced Red Panda Run and the Park continues to support the great work of the Red Panda Network to protect these adorable but endangered animals. We also continued to support SEED Madagascar and it was Father Christmas this year who helped us to raise just under £70 for this fantastic charity that helps to protect Lemurs in the wild.

Fortunately, the Park was able to open for the summer months and we thank everyone that visited us and supported us. We hope that you benefitted from being out in the fresh air. Our animals constantly make us smile and remind us to remain positive and we continue to hope that they can do that for you too.

We are now making plans for 2021 and looking forward to the future. We are sure that there will be some new arrivals just around the corner. If you need cheering up, please visit our Facebook page where we post regular updates or have a look at our pictures on the website.