Wolves at wildlife park howl along to ‘clap for carers’

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Wolves at Wildwood Trust howl along to 'clap for carers'

In what has become a weekly tradition, the nation comes together each Thursday as part of the Clap For Our Carers campaign, to publicly recognise the efforts of the NHS workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic every day. Locals near Wildwood Trust in Herne Bay, have noticed the wolves at Wildwood are joining in and howling along. Surprised listeners lining balconies and porches on Thursday nights have hardly been able to believe their own ears. In amidst the beautiful clapping of people praising NHS workers during this time of crisis, the wolves at wildlife charity Wildwood Trust have joined in, howling against the sky. Wildwood has 6 wolves in an huge woodland enclosure.  The howl of a wolf in woodland can be heard up to 6 miles away so it is no wonder that it has been possible to make out their beautiful chorus. Wolves are more active at dusk and dawn, the time for hunting in the wild, and they are generally more alert and excited in the evening. Wolves will howl in many different circumstances and howling is essentially communication. In the wild it is used to contact other wolves over long distances or to show a claim to territory. Howling is also used for a wide range of social behaviour and howls can display everything from friendliness and triumph, to longing and sorrow.

Listen to the wolves (youtube)

''It is likely that the wolves thought there was another wolf pack nearby and that they wanted to mark their territory''. Said Sally Holt, wolf keeper at Wildwood Trust. ''A more beautiful, albeit slightly less likely, scenario is that the wolves were inspired by the praise to make their own evening choir. While they will hardly have known what they were listening to, it may have prompt them to howl together to strengthen their bonds as a family'', said Sally. ''It was just absolutely amazing when they started. It it so beautiful and it really felt like they were joining the praise'', said a resident on New Road, which lies right behind the wildlife park.  Wildwood's wolf pack consists of 2 adult: Nuna and Odin, and their 4 cubs. The cubs are turning two in early May, marking the transmission from pubs to adult wolves.

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Above is older footage of Wildwood's wolves howling, free to use for this news piece.

Contact: Wildwood Trust: +44(0)1227 712 111 Julie Luna Bayer: julie@wildwoodtrust.org or 07453 497086

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewildwoodtrust Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WildwoodTrust Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/thewildwoodtrust   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.

Wildwood Trust Herne Common Herne Bay Kent CT6 7LQ Registered Charity No: 1093702 Wildwood Kent: 01227 712 111 Wildwood Devon: 01404 822 188 info@wildwoodtrust.org

Lockdown diaries videos from wildlife park

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Cuteness alert: Lockdown diaries from wildlife park

While the world is in lockdown, the animals at the Kent wildlife park 'Wildwood Trust' still need love and care. Now keepers are making sure that supporters won't forget them, by posting daily videos and animals talks from the park on social media. With more than 40 species and over 120 animals to care for, there is no time to rest at Wildwood Trust, despite Covid-19 lockdown. Keepers work in special rotas, ensuring the most limited amount of human contact, all the while trying to cover the same work amount, with less people on site at the time.  While some animals don't much notice the difference, others actually really miss the daily interaction with visitors at Wildwood and keepers are making sure to give them that extra attention. A vet is also checking on animals regularly.

Watch and download raw videos from the park here

''With the videos from the park we hope to both show people, that we continue to take very good care of our animals and that we are still here, but also to highlight the pressure that we are under, if we can't secure funds to cover the essential daily work'' Said Paul Whitfield, Director General at Wildwood Trust.  Just keeping animals fed, healthy and happy costs about £11,000 a week. The park relies heavily on a membership scheme, but also on single donations.                    Donate to the park's appeal Wildwood officially went into lockdown closure on March 23, without knowing when they will be open again. It's the first time the park has had to shut like this, since opening in 2002. The wildlife park is also asking people to donate for an amazon wishlist for the animals.  The videos also appear on Wildwood Trust's Youtube Page

Feel free to grab video from our social media

Contact: Wildwood Trust: +44(0)1227 712 111 Julie Luna Bayer: julie@wildwoodtrust.org or 01227 209618 or 07453 497086

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewildwoodtrust Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WildwoodTrust Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/thewildwoodtrust   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.

Wildwood Trust Herne Common Herne Bay Kent CT6 7LQ Registered Charity No: 1093702 Wildwood Kent: 01227 712 111 Wildwood Devon: 01404 822 188 info@wildwoodtrust.org

We need your help now more than ever before!

Wildwood appeals to you in this time of crisis Wildwood appeals to you in this time of crisis View in your browser

URGENT APPEAL FOR WILDWOOD

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated already and to all of you who continue to support us with your memberships and adoptions. Your support means more than ever to us right now and we really appreciate whatever you can do to help us. Although making a donation is one of the best ways to support us, we really do understand that's just not possible for everyone. If you can spare anything at all, no matter how much it is, please donate today.

Donate today!

Another great way to support us, which means we can also give you something in return, is for you to join online and become a Wildwood member. By becoming a member you will not only be helping to support our work, but you will also get unlimited visits to both of our parks in Kent and Devon as soon as our doors are open once again. Alternatively, you could adopt one of our animals. Wildwood animal adoptions last for one year and are the perfect gift for anyone who loves animals. We have different levels of adoption available to suit all occasions and budgets, and you can choose from any of our amazing animals in Kent or Devon. As a conservation charity dedicated to preserving British wildlife, every penny you give goes towards the upkeep of our park, looking after our animals and our conservation projects to save some of Britain's most threatened species.

As so many of you are at home right now, there are lots of different ways you can still fundraise for Wildwood, either on your own or together with your family. Some ideas are suggested below or you can do something else unique to you. Check out the fundraising page on our website for everything you'll need including sponsorship forms and how to pay in the money you've raised.  You could have a danceathon at home on your own or as a family! Pick a time, get your playlist ready and keep dancing! You can get sponsored, post pictures and videos online or even stream the whole thing live. Even better you'll have lots of fun and get plenty of exercise at the same time. Do you have a Facebook account? Is your birthday coming up? Instead of getting presents this year, why not ask for donations to Wildwood Trust? It's really quick and easy to set up a birthday fundraiser on Facebook and to share it with your friends and family so they can contribute. Why not have a fancy dress day or face painting competition? You can do it on your own or as a family, post pictures and videos online and ask your friends and family to donate.

Understandably, many of us are doing lots more shopping online right now, did you know that you can fundraise for Wildwood at the same time? Whether you're buying groceries, clothes or even booking a holiday, Give as you Live is a free and easy way to raise funds. All of your purchases from thousands of participating stores will automatically generate funds for Wildwood Trust, simply sign up and start raising funds today! Please don't hesitate to contact us if you need any help or if you have any questions at all. Although our parks are currently closed to visitors, you can still contact us by replying to this email or if you would prefer to speak to someone in person, you can call us on 01227 712 111. However you choose to support us, we want you to know that we're extremely grateful, we couldn't do what we do without you and we really do appreciate your help, so once again a huge thank you from all of us at the Wildwood Trust.

Wildwood Trust | Copyright - © 2019 Herne Common Herne Bay Kent CT6 7LQ Registered Charity No: 1093702 Tel: 01227 712 111 appeals@wildwoodtrust.org  If you no longer wish to receive emails from us please follow this link