News
Find out about the Latest News from Wildwood here. You can also find up to date details of news and events on our blog
For further information and for copies of pictures accompanying press releases, e-mail fiona@wildwoodtrust.org
January 2012
New 2012 Education/Group visit info packs out now!
Click here to download PRIMARY SCHOOLS info pack
Click here to download SECONDARY SCHOOLS info pack
Click here to download the GROUPS info pack
January 2012
New 2012 Jan-Apr events leaflet & newsletter out now!
Click here to download the Jan-Apr 2012 Events leaflet
Click here to download the Jan-Apr 2012 Newsletter
July 2011
2 new little owls at Wildwood
Wildwood has welcomed it’s newest animals, a pair of young
little owls.
Little owls are Britain’s smallest owl and at just over 20cm
in length, are only half the size of a tawny owl, our most familiar species.
The owls, a brother and sister, were found in a workshop and
were the only surviving pair of their brood after their mother had sadly
died. They were rescued by the owner of the workshop and brought to Wildwood
where the keeper team have been taking care of them to build up their strength.
The owls are in excellent health are now on public display, but won’t be able
to go back to the wild as after being hand-reared they won’t be able to fend
for themselves.
The pair, now around 14 weeks old, have been named Tip-Ex
and Bostik, after the Wildwood keepers had to mark one of the owl’s claws with
a spot of Tip-Ex in order to tell them apart. They are both doing very well and
are settling into their enclosure, where visitors can see them as they practice
flying from perch to perch.
Head Keeper Paul Wirdnam said “We are really pleased with
how the owls are settling in, it’s hard to believe that they are almost fully
grown as they are such small birds, but that’s what makes them special.”
Say hello to Rodni, our new baby badger
Wildwood is proud to introduce our newest addition to the
park, Rodni the baby badger.
Rodni, who got her name after being found abandoned in
Rodmersham, nr Sittingbourne, was brought to Wildwood by 
the East Kent Badger
Group in April.
Before being officially re-homed at Wildwood, Rodni
underwent a series of medical checks to confirm that she was healthy enough to
join Wildwood’s existing clan. During this time Rodni lived with Wildwood
keeper Karen Price who enjoyed looking after her at her home.
“Rodni is quite boisterous as you would expect from a young
badger, unfortunately after being abandoned she doesn’t have the skills to go
back to the wild so we have been getting her used to being around people.”
Now that Rodni is at Wildwood she is currently living
part-time in the badger enclosure until she is used to the environment and is
able to hold her own with the other adult badgers.
Karen said “As Rodni is a lot smaller than our other badgers
we need to be sure that she will be able to look after herself so we are
introducing her slowly to the enclosure and the other badgers. Once she is a
little larger and at home with the clan then she will live with them full
time.”
March 2011
Wildwood receives funding for new wetland wildlife project
Wildwood is celebrating a generous donation of
£21,000 towards a new wetland wildlife discovery centre at the
park.
The funds have been donated by the W.G. Harvey Discretionary Trust, a charitable trust dedicated to the prevention of cruelty to animals and the preservation of wild animal and bird life.
The donation will help the Wildwood Trust create a new area at the park which
will be centred around a new otter enclosure, with a water shrew enclosure, water
vole viewing area and simple aquariums for British aquatic creatures. The area
will be used to educate our 100,000 plus visitors a year about the animals that
live in British wetland habitats, to help protect them in the wild and
encourage their re-population of our rivers.
It has been much published in recent months that
whilst otter numbers have bounced back across many areas of the UK, they are
still to make a recovery in Kent. A recent survey by The
Environment Agency has revealed that otters are now found everywhere
except Kent.
As a conservation charity, Wildwood is dedicated to the study of threatened British Wildlife and promoting awareness and education through allowing people to see our native animals in as natural habitat as possible.
Visitors will be able to view into the otter holt and the nest areas of the water shrew and water vole, and see the animals swimming in a near natural enclosure.
The otter enclosure will be the central feature, and will have a hospital area to keep otters separate should they need vet treatment, or when new otters arrive at Wildwood. The main enclosure will have a filtered pond and a large otter den, all constructed in natural woodland. The otter den will have special chambers with one-way glass, to assist behavioural studies without disturbing the otters, aiding research and giving our visitors the chance to see and learn about these beautiful and elusive creatures.
Peter Smith, Chief Executive of Wildwood said “We are extremely pleased
to receive these vital funds that will allow us to highlight the plight of the
otter and help us in our campaign to make our rivers a safe place that will
once again harbour our wetland wildlife.”
Feb 2011
Wildwood gets wild horses ready for move to
Scotland
The team at
Wildwood have been busy moving some of the charity’s wild horses from their
homes in Dover to the Wildwood Wildlife Park near Canterbury in readiness for
them moving to a new home in Scotland. The horses are being transferred to the
RSPB nature reserve at the Loch of Strathberg where they will live wild to improve the
wetland habitat through natural grazing.
In total 8
Konik foals have been transported from sites at Hospital Down and Western
Heights near Dover. Visitors can see the foals at Wildwood for the next few
weeks before they are moved to their new home in Scotland.
A team from
Wildwood went to Dover to move the horses and to check the health of the rest of
the wild herd. Head Keeper Paul Wirdnam
said “Konik horses are much tougher than domestic horses and are perfectly
suited to living wild. They require very little human intervention but this is
the ideal opportunity for us to give the herd a general check-up and ensure that
they are all happy and healthy.”
As a
conservation charity, The Wildwood Trust is committed to improving conditions
for wildlife throughout the UK. The
Wildwood Trust's vision is to bring back our true 'wildwood' by restoring
Britain's land to its natural state through conservation grazing by large wild
herbivores that restore natural ecological processes to help Britain team with
wildlife once more.
Konik horses
are the closest living relative of the extinct Tarpan, the wild forest horse
that roamed Britain in prehistoric times. They are hardy animals that live well
on wetlands eating weeds, reeds and grass. They help to boost biodiversity
through light grazing and natural fertilisation which keeps the land open and
encourages a wider variety of plants, birds and invertebrates to settle in the
area.
Wildwood’s
Chief Executive Peter Smith said “We are delighted to be working with the RSPB
to send these beautiful animals to the Loch of Strathberg . They are the ideal
conservation management tool and will boost the area’s
biodiversity”
The Konik
foals are currently at Wildwood and can be seen by visitors until they depart
for Scotland. Wild horses are just one of the huge range of British animals that
can be seen at the Wildwood Wildlife Park near Canterbury. For more information
visit our website at www.wildwoodtrust.org or telephone 0871
7820081.
Welcome to Wildwood's New
Year baby – cute baby boarlet is the first arrival of 2011
09/11/10Wildwood is proud to announce the arrival of our newest animals; 3 European bison.
The European bison is the largest
terrestrial mammal ever to live in
and were native throughout
Wildwood’s head keeper, Paul Wirdnam, who
has several years experience of
looking after bison said “it’s fantastic to
have
these magnificent creatures at Wildwood. Many people don’t realise that
animals
of this size used to live in the
Bison are the largest animals ever to be
kept at Wildwood and at up to 2m tall and weighing up to 1000kg; their arrival
has posed some challenges for the keeper and ranger teams.
Keeper Paul said “Despite their large size,
bison are very agile and can be quite wilful animals, so we have had to
specially design their enclosure to give them plenty of space and a natural
habitat whilst allowing safe access for staff and a good viewing area for
visitors”.
The specially designed paddock and log-cabin
style enclosure has been built by the Wildwood ranger team and volunteers to
allow visitors to see these amazing creatures in a natural
setting.
Bison are just one of the huge range of British animals that can be seen at Wildwood; the ideal day out for all the family where you can come 'nose to nose' with British Wildlife
19/10/10
Wildwood goes nuts this half term
Go nuts at Wildwood this half term
Visit the park this half term and enjoy free educational talks and feeds every day, plus collect up the acorns, sweet chestnuts and hazelnuts from around the park. All children handing in a full standard carrier bag of nuts will be given a FREE ticket to come to Wildwood again.
Wildwood are asking wildlife lovers to help us harvest the autumn nuts that fall on the paths around our unique Woodland Discovery Park!
Unfortunately, the acorns and sweet chestnuts are falling out of the trees faster than Wildwood's animal keepers can collect them, and Wildwood are asking for help collecting them to make sure we have enough to feed our animals this coming winter.
Wildwood's wild boar adore the sweet chestnuts and acorns that fall on the forest floor and our red squirrels can't wait to get their paws on this season's hazel nuts. But they need your help. As a big thank you we are giving away a free children's return ticket, or a special prize for members, for every carrier bag full we receive.
TV celebrity Boris the big wild boar, star of Blue Peter and Sir David Attenborough's Life with Mammals, loves acorns and cannot wait to be fed the acorns that visitors to Wildwood pick up.
As a charity we have to save every penny so we can spend it on our innovative conservation projects, that is why it is so important that we get help to harvest our natural food source.
To claim your free ticket simply hand in a carrier bag full of hazel nuts, acorns or sweet chestnut (only one type of nut per bag and no conkers please!) to the shop.
KEEP SAFE!
1. Don't feed any of the animals. Some of them may bite and if an animal is given the wrong food or too much food it can make them very ill.
2. Don't eat any of the nuts; they could make you feel very sick!
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19/10/10
Wildwood water voles are the stars of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2010.
Terry’s collection, the aptly titled “Water Vole re-introduction scheme”, showcases the behind-the-scenes work of Wildwood’s conservation experts.
As part of the
mandatory mitigation process for new development projects in Kent, all water
voles living in habitats that are due to be destroyed or disturbed are re-homed
at Wildwood. These are then bred and their offspring are released into habitats
in
You can find more information on the awards at www.bwpawards.co.uk
Wildwood is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come 'nose to nose' with British Wildlife. Wildwood offers its members and visitors a truly inspirational way to learn about the natural history of Britain by actually seeing the wildlife that once lived here, like the wolf, beaver, red squirrel, wild boar and many more.
Wildwood Trust runs a highly successful programme of Conservation Projects. We are the UK's leading experts in rescuing and re-establishing colonies of Britain's most threatened mammal, the water vole. Wildwood Trust has pioneered the use of ancient wild horses to restore nature reserve. Wildwood Trust has been at the forefront of efforts to re-establish the European Beaver back in Britain where they belong. European Beaver have been proven to help manage water ways to bring back a huge range of plants, insects and animals.
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