Does Colchester Zoo have any shareholders?
As a private company Colchester Zoo does not have any share holders, we do not receive any grants from the council or other charitable bodies. As a private business, Colchester Zoo also has to pay Corporation Tax, Business Rates and VAT. Colchester Zoo, also, has a charitable arm, Action for the Wild which funds conservation work in the wild.

What conservation projects does Colchester Zoo support in the wild?
‘Action for the Wild’ was created by Colchester Zoo in 1993 to carry out important in situ conservation projects. It was given charitable status in 2004. Our charity is dedicated to assisting conservation projects worldwide. We support and encourage conservation projects that address conservation priorities at both local and global levels. This is achieved through education, research and the provision of technical assistance. You can find out more about the work carried out by Action for the Wild at www.actionforthewild.org.

How do you encourage natural behaviours in the zoo animals?
Colchester Zoo is dedicated to encouraging natural behaviours in our animals. We do this by making the environment both enriching and challenging. This is carried out in a variety of ways including enclosure design and environmental enrichment. For more information about enrichment please click here.

How can I work in a zoo?
You must always think very carefully before deciding to work with animals. It may not be quite as you imagine. For more information about becoming an animal keeper click here.

There are other interesting careers to pursue in zoological collections other than the obvious choice of animal keepers. For example:

Zoo Educator (Education Officer)
The role of a zoo educator is to educate all zoo visitors through formal and informal education programmes. Education officers provide education services to visiting school children between the ages of 4 and 16, and even higher education students, by giving formal talks, workshops and encounter sessions with animals. This job is often varied and involves a lot of work with children of all ages and abilities. They also play an important role in designing zoo interpretation to pass on important information on the animals and their habitats.
What qualifications are needed? The minimal education requirements are a BSc in Zoology or Biological Sciences. Some zoos require their educator to have formal teaching qualification such as a PGCE.

Presenters/ Zoo Communicators
The role of a presenter is to communicate information to the zoo visitors about the
animals within the zoological collection. Presenters are the public face of the zoo and host daily displays and feed times alongside the keepers throughout the day. They are also present at animal enclosures on an ad hoc basis.
What qualifications are needed? Excellent communication skills are essential for this job role as well as a natural enthusiasm. Different zoo’s require different qualifications to become a presenter, the minimum requirements are good GCSE’s A-C especially in Maths, English and Science. Some zoos require a degree in zoology or biological science.

Research Officer
Some zoos have dedicated research departments which carry out research programmes on species within the zoological collection or have involvement with in-situ projects overseas. These help to co-ordinate essential research projects which is an integral part of the zoos operations.
What qualifications are needed? Most zoos require a first degree and postgraduate qualification such as a masters degree in a relevant scientific subject as a minimum entry requirement for this kind of position. Some zoos will require further qualifications such as a PhD for senior positions.

What is a breeding programme?
Here at Colchester Zoo we participate in over 70 breeding programmes. There are two types of breeding programme. The more intensive European Endangered Species Programmes (EEPs), and also the European Studbooks (ESBs). To find out more about these programmes, please have a look on www.eaza.net and click on the ‘animals’ link on the left hand side. We also manage two of the studbooks; one for yellow-billed storks and the other one for hamerkops. The species we have that are under EEPs and ESBs can be found by clicking here.

A lot of the animals that are bred here are endangered in the wild. Breeding ensures there is a potential for future reintroductions. Breeding also ensures a healthy gene pool that may be significant to conservation in the future.

How do you go about designing an enclosure?
In building an exhibit our aim is to provide a suitable environment which provides for all of the animals needs through all stages of their growth and development.
Such an environment might include:
– Bedding material
– Natural substrates
– Branch work
– Nesting boxes
– Plants and trees
– Water for bathing or wallowing

When designing an enclosure you have to think about several factors:
– What type of animal is it?
– How many animals the enclosure is going to house?
– Animal welfare (Physical and Mental)
– Keeper Safety
– Veterinary Care
Different animals have different needs, an enclosure designed for a carnivore such as a lion would not be appropriate for a primate such as a spider monkey.
You need to consider:
– the size of the animal
– The natural home range of the animal
– The animal’s natural environment
– The animal’s behaviour

A large animal generally needs a large enclosure. The animal must always have enough space for eating, sleeping, playing and so on.

If an animal has a large home range this can be difficult to replicate in captivity – but it is always important to consider why does it have a large home range?

An enclosure which is too small can cause animals to become stressed or unhealthy, especially in hierarchical groups where dominant animals can bully subordinate members of the group. The number of animals in the group therefore should give an indication of the size of the enclosure needed.

• You must always think about the safety of the keepers.
• They must have safe access to all areas of the enclosure
• They must be able to lock the animal in or out to carry out cleaning or maintenance.
• Must have crush facilities so that the animal can receive medical attention should they need it.
• The safety of the public is of up most importance.
• Enclosures must have barriers that do not allow the public to have contact with animals or allow the animals to get out.
• These can be electric fences, moats, wooden barriers, rocks and so on.

How would you move an animal to another zoo?
The main considerations for moving an animal to another zoo in the EU, are export health regulations. For more information, please follow these links:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/int-trde/traces/index.htm
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/int-trde/traces/euexports.htm

Other considerations include the CITES listing of the animal to be moved. If the species is listed on Annex A, then a special movement licence is required to enable the commercial trade of this species. This form and information on these requirements can be found here: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalhealth/Forms/cites/fed1012.htm

If the move is still within the UK, we do not need to do any official export paperwork for the move. However, the CITES regulations still apply. The only official paperwork for a move in the UK is to fill out an animal transport form: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/farmed/transport/documentation.htm#3, which we need to keep in our records for 6 months.

Other important regulations to abide by include, the welfare regulations produced by DEFRA which you can find here: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/farmed/transport/documentation.htm#1

BALAI requirements also need to be taken into account, particularly for primates: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/int-trde/eu/animals/balai.htm

Finally, IATA regulations need to be taken into account for air transfers. IATA produce set container requirements for the manufacture of crates for transporting animals.

Have you rehabilitated and released any of your animals?
To rehabilitate an animal means to care for a displaced, sick, injured or orphaned wild animal until it regains its health and the skills it requires to function normally and live self-sufficiently in the wild again. The rescue and rehabilitation of a single animal can involve the coordinated efforts of many individuals from within the community and from external charities/associations. Capturing and transporting the animal to rehabilitation facilities is only the start of the journey. There is then the provision of examinations, treatments and of course the continuous care and monitoring of the animal. Finally preparations have to be made for the release, which again not only involves the transporting of the animal but may also involve monitoring it out in the wild for a set period of time to make sure the animal can sufficiently care for itself.

Because the majority of zoo animals are born in captivity, there is a strong likelihood that they would not survive with the pressures of living in the wild, such as avoiding predators, hunting for food etc. Also sadly, in many areas the human pressures on animals, such as hunting and habitat loss, are still present and reintroduction is not recommended unless these problems can be controlled. Reintroducing a species into an area where it was once hunted to extinction has worked in the past. One such success story is that of herds of zoo bred Arabian Oryx that now live on reserves in the wild in Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia. These are areas where they were once hunted to extinction but now it is safe for them to live in the wild once more.

Captive breeding programmes, which Colchester Zoo are heavily involved in, provide insurance populations in captivity should an animal become extinct in the wild, or should circumstances allow for reintroduction.

Whilst we have not reintroduced any of our zoo animals into the wild, our charitable arm Action for the Wild has, and continues to, support many charitable organisations that have the facilities to do this.

Action for the Wild has donated to the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS). The work of BOS includes looking after wild orangutans that have been caught up in oil palm plantations. When orangutans lose their habitats to the palm oil industry the orangutans caught up in these areas are at risk of death from starvation and/or human conflict. So it is highly important that organisations like BOS are there to rescue these orangutans. The money we have donated funded the release of four orangutans back in to the wild. In the future we will also sponsor the release of rehabilitated orphaned orangutans. In the future BOS aims to release a minimum of 104-114 rehabilitated orphans and wild orangutans combined per year.

Other projects we have supported include the Painted Dog Conservation Project in Zimbabwe, a project that has supported the reintroduction of wild dogs. We have supported the Lion Tamarins of Brazil Fund since 1993, which helps protect a family group of Golden lion tamarin monkeys. This species once numbered less than 100 individuals in the wild, but through reintroduction attempts, its numbers have now increased to more than 1000.. You can find out more about the work we do to help animals in the wild on our Action for the Wild website: http://www.actionforthewild.org/.

Recently we have also created our own private nature reserve (UmPhafa), located in the KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, where we are helping to translocate native wildlife back to the area. To date ten species have been re-introduced onto the reserve, including zebra, giraffe and two female white rhino. We are now hoping to raise enough money to also release a male rhino into the park, so that in the future we can begin our own breeding programme. If you would like to find out more about Umphafa you can check out the website http://www.umphafa.com.

What are the Zoo’s views on animal testing?
Colchester Zoo is not directly involved in the animal testing debate. The topic of animal testing is a very controversial issue and it is important to look at all views on the matter. The topic of animal testing is very broad. There are many existing opinions whether or not to ban it completely. Organisations which are more directly involved in this work include The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) and The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF).

What do you feed the animals at Colchester Zoo?
Each of our animals has a very specialised diet that mimics their natural diet in the wild and gives them all the vitamins and nutrients they require. Different animals need different kinds of food to keep them healthy. Some animals are carnivores which means that they need meat, some animals are herbivores which means that they need vegetables, fruits, cereals or grasses, while other animals are omnivores which means that they must have a mixture of both types of food.

Another important part of feeding is the way in which the food is given to the animal. Food must be given in a way that mimics an animal's natural feeding behaviours in the wild. Scatter feeding is an example of one way in which keepers can provide food to their animals. By scattering food around an enclosure it encourages an animal to forage or search for patches of food which is how it would be in the wild. Scatter feeding is important for some animals that live in groups because it stops the bigger animals taking all the food and gives all members of the group an equal chance to get the food.

Some examples of animal diets include:

Sasha the White Tiger
Sasha is fed 9kg of red meat per day, six days a week. The seventh day, is kept as a ‘starve day’ to mimic feeding patterns in the wild to enable them to have a day to expel indigestible parts of their diet such as fur and bones. It costs £25 to feed Sasha each week.

Our White Rhinos
At Colchester Zoo we have four white rhinos, Simba, Flossy, Emily and Cynthia. Our rhinos are fed a varied diet consisting of up to 6 bales of meadow hay per day, as well as 15kg of pasture mix pellet of horse and pony nuts and a small proportion of fruit, vegetables and bread which are especially used for training. It costs us £25.00 to feed our four rhinos every day!

Our African Lions
At Colchester Zoo, we have an adult pair of African lions called Subu and Leoni. The lions are fed 6kg of red meat a day and it costs £20 to feed both lions for 3 days!

Spider Monkeys
At Colchester Zoo, we have 16 Colombian black spider monkeys split into 3 different groups. Stumpy is our dominant male. The Spider Monkeys are fed items such as corn on the cob, apple, parsnip, banana and bread, as well as boiled eggs and baked potatoes. It costs around £15 to feed each spider monkey each week.

Humboldt’s Penguins
At Colchester Zoo we have two groups of Humboldt’s Penguins; one housing eight individuals and one housing nine individuals. Our penguins are fed a variety of fish including herring, sprats and white bait. To mimic their natural feeding habits, the amount they are fed each day varies. On some days each group is fed up to 5kg of fish. On other days this is reduced to 1-2kg. They are also given vitamin and salt supplements each day.