What's making the News at Noah's Ark?

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2011

Little feathered friends make the news

Oscar Jnr, our newly hatched Ostrich, has delighted staff and visitors by becoming friends with a little yellow chick called Otis, who shares his hatchery.

With our keepers celebrating the unseasonal arrival of cute Oscar, hatched to his African parents Olivia and Oscar Snr; it quickly became clear that this little Ostrich was happy to socialize lower down the pecking order, making friends with the inquisitive, fluffy chicken.

Pack your trunk for Elephant Eden!

Imagine a five-star spa hotel for elephants with health food, a 9 foot deep swimming pool and 20 acres of roaming space. Welcome to Elephant Eden.

Elephants are probably the trickiest of the big zoo animals to accommodate in captivity. These special mammals need specialist living conditions and Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm has recognized this by creating the Elephant Eden sanctuary.

Construction work will begin in Wraxall in September 2012, pending a successful fundraising campaign.

It is the most ambitious elephant project of its kind ever conceived in the UK and will be the largest elephant enclosure in Europe. The elephant ‘hotel’ will be run by a specialist team of zoo keepers who can tend to the elephants every need offering such services as daily skin rubs.

Elephant Eden has the capacity to hold 10 elephants and has been designed using the best techniques from other zoos in the country.

One Asian male elephant and Four Asian female elephants will also be pampered with a range of treatments including massages, mud baths and pedicures.

Elephants will not be taken from the wild, but will come from other zoos because these new facilities can benefit them here.

Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm owner Anthony Bush said: “We’re well aware of the issues surrounding captive elephants. However Noah’s Ark has spent several years researching all aspects of elephant care and we have incorporated these serious welfare considerations into our plans.”

Explore the plans for Elephant Eden

Donate to help us create Elephant Eden now!

'Strictly Come Digging... Ann Widdecombe starts excavation at the launch of Europe's biggest planned Elephant Sanctuary

Thursday 1st September 2011

Former Conservative MP and television personality the Rt. Hon. Ann Widdecombe visited Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm to help launch the development of Europe’s largest elephant sanctuary. Ms Widdecombe fed a tiger and met staff at the 100 acre family attraction in North Somerset, as well as digging the first turf on an eco-irrigation pond which will serve the new site for elephants and links recycled water from the existing Big Cat environment.

After several years of research and after planning permission was received in 2010, Noah’s Ark now begins development in earnest of a proposed revolutionary 15 acre elephant sanctuary to be called ‘Elephant Eden’, which will see zoo elephants in need of a new home given the largest habitat of its kind in Europe.

Designed to deal with the serious health issues currently faced by elephants in other captive environments, ‘Elephant Eden’ will encourage natural herd migration, feeding and social behaviours to help the animals live active and enriched lives, with 15 acres of grazing land and the largest indoor elephant house in Europe.

Building is planned to begin in 2012, Noah’s Ark is now to begin a busy period of project development and fundraising for the sanctuary, which for the first time in the industry meets important “Best Practise” recommendations for caring for elephants made by the ‘Coalition for Captive Elephant Wellbeing’, going beyond the basic guidelines for elephant keeping in zoos.

Further details on sponsorship opportunities and discussion of the project will follow today’s launch, with private consultations available with the zoos management. If you would like to donate or sponsor now, please call our office or email us on info@noahsarkzoofarm.co.uk Details will be available on our new website for Elephant Eden this week- we will annouce on our homepage when this is live.

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