Wildwood Trust: Wildwood July Newsletter

Wildwood Newsletter - July 2019

Dormouse Release

On June 18th a total of 22 dormice were released into the wild at two secret woodland locations in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. The release was coordinated by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) in partnership with the Wildwood Trust, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, Nottinghamshire Dormouse Group, The Forestry Commission, Lincolnshire Dormouse Group, Natural England, ZSL (Zoological Society of London), Paignton Zoo and the Common Dormouse Captive Breeders Group. Wildwood played a major part in the release providing 16 of the 22 animals.

Wildwood’s conservation keeper Katie Prior and volunteer Lucy Bunyard both went to the Lincolnshire release. Katie said, “having not had much previous experience with dormouse, I am personally thrilled to have been involved in such an important and exciting project. I believe it is of utmost importance that we protect these species as they can be an excellent indicator of the health of forests and hedgerows.”

This year was slightly different in that the released dormice were used to bolster previously reintroduced populations in order to increase genetic diversity and maximise the long term survival of the population. The animals had spent 10 weeks in quarantine – half at the Institute of Zoology in London and the other half at Paignton Zoo. Here, all the animals were health checked and given the go ahead for release.

The animals were ‘soft released’ – this means that they are held in a release cage for over a week before a small opening is made and the dormice are allowed to make their own way out. Food is then provided in the cages for them over the next three months.

22nd July – 1st September

Looking for the perfect family day out this summer? Put a smile on everyone's face with a trip to Wildwood. Come and see our wolf pack in their huge woodland enclosure, watch our rescued bears play fighting in their pool and marvel at the acrobatic red squirrels leaping from tree to tree in the new red squirrel walkthrough. Grab a bite to eat at our cafe or bring a picnic as you let your kids run wild in our adventure play park with climbing walls, rope bridges, slides and scary drop slide PLUS we have over 50 species of native British animals from past and present in our 42 acre woodland and plenty of FREE medieval themed activities to keep everyone entertained throughout the summer holidays!

Find out more about summer at Wildwood

Say hello to our new residents

This month saw the addition of some new residents at Wildwood, two beautiful green lizards. The honour of releasing them went to our rangers, Geoff and Simon, who helped build their enclosure. They've settled in brilliantly and can be often seen basking in the sunshine.

Saving South Hoath Wood

Wildwood Trust are delighted to say a huge thank you to everyone that donated so generously to our woodland appeal. Thanks to your amazing support we have already raised over £19,000 to save South Hoath Wood and have been able to pay the next instalment needed by the end of June!

However, one more payment is still required to complete the purchase, so we are still asking for donations from anyone who is yet to donate and wants to help.

Please visit https://wildwoodtrust.org/woodland_appeal to donate online, alternatively you can donate by credit/debit card over the phone, post a cheque made payable to ‘Wildwood Trust’ or make a cash donation when you next visit.

Every little bit really will make a difference towards saving this ancient woodland and the rare wildlife it harbours, so no matter how much you can spare, please donate today.

Help save South Hoath Wood

Birds of Prey Flying Team

In preparation for our Flying Show in the summer holidays, we've been busy training up our flying team of Barnaby the barn owl, Gimli the tawny owl and our long-eared owls, Betty and Rusty. You can catch them in out outdoor arena next to the raven enclosure most days at 2.15pm.

Fallow Deer On The Move

Our fallow deer have moved location as we rotate the animals to allow ground to rest and recover. They're now up next to Caramel the elk. Go say hello!

Reindeer Update

Wildwood's baby reindeer is doing splendidly and growing fast! Come see the little beauty...

Bear Experiences

Our bear experiences for 2019 are available to book online until the end of September. Due to popular demand and the enrichment provided to the bears, we have introduced extra afternoon sessions.

Wildwood Bear Experiences are a unique opportunity to meet and learn all about Wildwood's two rescued bears with exclusive behind the scenes access. Walk through the bears' large enclosure to scatter a feed, before meeting the bears and giving them a treat in their smaller enclosure. Then let them out into their large enclosure, where they will sniff out and hunt down the scattered food.

Click here to book now

Wolf Experiences

Wildwood Wolf Experiences are a unique opportunity to meet and learn all about Wildwood's family of six European grey wolves with exclusive behind the scenes access. Participants will learn all about this intelligent species before getting up close to our pack and feeding them through the wire of their enclosure.

Click here to book now

Conservation Courses

Our popular Wildwood nature courses for the summer period are still available to book, catering from complete beginners and amateur naturalists through to wildlife professionals. We cover a variety of topics ranging from species ecology, conservation and handling to outdoor crafts. To find out more, visit https://wildwoodtrust.org/wildwood-kent/conservation/conservation-courses.

Click here to book now

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ABOUT WILDWOOD

Wildwood Trust opened in 1999 as a centre of excellence for the conservation of British wildlife, and was established as a registered charity in 2002. Wildwood is Kent's best British wildlife park. Home to over 200 native animals, past and present and set in 40 acres of beautiful ancient woodland where visitors can see bears, wolves, bison, deer, owls, foxes, red squirrels, wild boar, lynx, wild horses, badgers and beavers plus many more. As one of the leading British animal conservation charities in the UK, Wildwood Trust is dedicated to saving Britain's most threatened wildlife. Wildwood Trust have taken part in many ground-breaking conservation programmes to date, which include, saving the water vole, using wild horses to help restore Kent's most precious nature reserves, bringing the extinct European beaver back to Britain and returning the hazel dormouse & red squirrel to areas where they have been made extinct.