Endangered Species Day at Noah’s Ark
15th May 2015
On Saturday 16th May, Noah’s Ark will join with zoos around the world to mark Endangered Species Day. The event was established in 2006 to celebrate the incredible diversity of the world’s wildlife, as well as to educate people on what action can be taken to protect the rarest and most vulnerable species. Our zoo is home is home to a variety of endangered animals, including the Bengal Tiger and Siamang Gibbon. We’ll be marking the occasion on Saturday with a packed line-up of events and activities throughout the day.
It all kicks off with the Big Cat Talk at 1pm, in which our knowledgeable keepers will talk about the Bengal Tiger, including why this majestic creature is at risk of extinction in the wild, and what can be done to help ensure this doesn’t happen.
There will then be the opportunity to get hands-on, with an enrichment craft session from 2-2.30pm. Our Siamang Gibbons, White Ruffed Lemurs and Cotton-topped Tamarins love toys and treats, and you’ll have the opportunity to make them some little gifts to play with. At 3pm, we’ll be allowing our lucky Facebook competition winners to go behind the scenes of the gibbon house and make a big Kerplunk-style game for the Siamang Gibbons.
If you haven’t already, there’s still time to get your entry in – head to our Facebook page and upload a selfie of your best gibbon impression to be in with a chance (the deadline for entries is 15th May, and entrants must be aged 6-16). At 3.45-4pm, there will be a special keeper talk at the Siamang Gibbons Gallery, where you can watch the gibbons enjoying the enrichment treats you made for them earlier in the day.
Finally, at 4.15 it will be the turn of the lemurs and tamarins to get their hands on their enrichment surprises, so you can head over to the monkey house to see what they make of their gifts! This year’s Endangered Species Day is more relevant than ever. Just last week, an international team of researchers published a report warning that some of the richest and most diverse ecosystems in the world, such as Africa’s grasslands and forests, are at risk of becoming ‘wildlife deserts’, if drastic action isn’t taken to turn around the fortunes of threatened animals.
We hope you can join us here at Noah’s Ark on Saturday, to see our incredible animals up close and learn about how important conservation efforts are to ensure they always have a home in the wild.