Park Life - RZSS celebrates 30 years of running the Highland Wildlife Park.

H I G H L A N D WI L D L I F E PA R K

Early days at the Highland Wildlife Park, including Hercules the brown bear who was raised at the Park

PARK LIFE As RZSS celebrates 30 years of running the Highland Wildlife Park, Richard Rowe explores the Park’s evolution during that time – including some of the people and animals who have contributed so much to its development

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s Gary Batters gazed out of the train window at the Spey Valley opening up before him, he knew that life was about to be rather different. It was August 1988 and he was travelling north, leaving behind his previous role at London Zoo’s elephant house to take up the post of Head Warden at the Highland Wildlife Park.

“I was recently married and we were looking to get out of London,” recalls Gary, now Director of Conservation and Education at the Zoological Society of East Anglia. “I’d never been to Scotland before. Just being in such a different environment was a big thing. I was at the Park for four years and enjoyed it enormously.”

The Park was originally established in 1972 by four local businessmen Amur who wanted to create tigers a unique visitor arrived attraction displaying at the a range of Scottish Park in animals past 2008 and present.

The historical timeline was set at the end of the last ice age – a period when a diverse mix of animals expanded their range over a land newly released from an icy grip.

By the time Gary took up post, the collection had grown to include European bison, timber wolf, European lynx and brown bear. “We also had modern-day Scottish species such as capercaillie, ptarmigan and red grouse that were completely new to me,” he says.

Even now, the memories of that time remain vivid. “When the timber wolves howled, they could be heard across the nearby Insh Marshes. It’s a primeval sound that must have echoed around the area just a few centuries before.”

And there were a few oddities in those early years, too: huge, feral black cats that had been trapped in Moray and transferred to the Park, plus Felicity the puma – a tame big cat captured near Cannich where she had been left by the side of the road. Quite the opposite to the fearsome feral cats, Felicity would CONTINUED OVERLE AF> LifeLinks

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try to lie on keepers’ shoulders when they worked in her enclosure.

“Back then, the Park had around 50,000 visitors a year and closed for winter,” says Gary. “Having come from London, it’s fair to say that my first winter was quite an experience.”

Enter RZSS It was just before this time that RZSS began negotiations to acquire the Park, with the aim of developing a more comprehensive collection of Scottish wildlife. Following an appeal that met with an overwhelming response from members, RZSS took over the Park on 1 January 1986.

“During my time, I tried to move the Park forward with greater emphasis on environmental enrichment and improved enclosures,” explains Gary. “These efforts were helped greatly by the additional expertise that came from Edinburgh Zoo.” With RZSS at the helm, the Park expanded its collections and, more importantly, its horizons too.

New areas were created linking animals by habitat; keepers were encouraged to take zoo management courses; and the Park appointed its first-ever Education Officer, who subsequently developed close relationships with local schools.

In 1990, work was completed on the Dulverton Centre, including classrooms and an office for the Park’s Education Officer. The centre was officially opened in June the following year by HRH Princess Anne, a great supporter and patron of RZSS down the years.

One person who remembers those changes is Morag Sellar. Now Head Hoofstock Keeper, Morag began her career at the Park in the shop.

“In those days we used to close for winter and were about to cut back on jobs, so it was suggested I go over to the animal side,” explains Morag. “I did, but always expected to return to the shop. That was 25 years ago.”

At the time, Morag was one of just half a dozen animal wardens and the only woman on the team. Today, she heads up a five-strong team that looks after a growing hoofstock collection that ranges from European bison and Bactrian camel to European elk and musk ox.

From an animal husbandry perspective, the job is often challenging, particularly when looking after species such as forest reindeer and European elk, which are notoriously difficult to keep in captivity. But there is also plenty of fun to be had. “On a windy day, many of the animals go a bit crazy,” says Morag. “And when you see a deer wallowing in the mud, 20

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or a bison rolling … it’s just a cloud of dust with four hooves sticking out. We are surprised by our animals every day.”

Coming in from the cold Perhaps the most significant change during Morag’s time at the Park was the move to expand the collection to include a range of cold-weatheradapted species from around the world, many of which had significant conservation value.

Led by Iain Valentine, now Director of Giant Pandas at RZSS, the process began in 2007 with the arrival of a dozen Japanese macaques (snow monkeys). “It was an important moment,” explains Iain. “The Park really had to broaden its remit as the collection had stagnated.”

It was then the turn of the big, iconic species that signalled a major leap forward in visitor numbers. In 2008, the Park welcomed Sasha and Yuri, a pair of Amur tigers who moved from Edinburgh Zoo. Mercedes the polar Mercedes the polar bear bear arrived from followed in 2009, again from Edinburgh Zoo in 2009

The times they are a changing – a snapshot of the Park through the decades, including Terry Nutkins opening Wolf Territory in 1997 and a staff photo from the late-90s

Edinburgh Zoo, and was joined by Walker from Holland’s Rhenen Zoo a year later.

Douglas Richardson, current Head of Living Collections, joined in August 2008 just as these major changes were taking place. “The first dramatic shift in how the Park was perceived was the arrival of the Amur tigers,” he says. “It was a big story internationally and one that really put us on the map.”

And it was a male Amur tiger that left Douglas with one of his most vivid memories of life at the Park. When one of the tigers accidentally ingested barbiturates from a contaminated meat supply, Douglas used his experience of working with big cats to ensure it had access to plenty of water to help flush out its kidneys.

“His back half wasn’t working, but the front half was very much operational,” he recalls. “The tiger couldn’t be moved, so I had to go into his enclosure without annoying him too much. By the third day, he was much more lively. That was my cue to stop.”

In more recent times, the Park has expanded its cold-weather collection further to include species such as red panda, Mishmi takin, wolverine, Himalayan tahr and, in 2015, snow leopard – another major draw.

“When we started this process, we had around 65,000 visitors a year,” explains Douglas. “That number is now closer to 130,000 – so we’ve managed to double visitor numbers during the worst economic recession since the 1930s.”

“When we started this process we had around 65,000 visitors a year.

That number is now closer to 130,000 – so we’ve managed to double visitor numbers during the recession.”

Douglas Richardson, Head of Living Collections

Present day Today, the Park is a very different place even to when Douglas joined. “One of the most telling differences is that while the Park covers a naturally large area, back then there was too much Park and not enough zoo,” he explains. “Believe me, it’s no fun chasing a Przewalski’s wild horse around its enclosure just for a hoof check. We now have management pens that enable a degree of animal control, while still having the kind of large areas that are the envy of many other zoos.”

As a member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, Douglas also takes great pride in the Park’s contribution to conservation breeding programmes and research, including the provision of genetic data to support reintroduction efforts for threatened species.

The Park runs the European breeding programme for European bison, with one animal from the Park now part of a wild herd in Romania. Other research projects have seen detailed work on tiger, wildcat, Pallas’s cat and saola – a critically endangered species from South-east Asia that will never be part of the collection, but Park staff are actively involved with its conservation in the range countries.

“Conservation breeding is an area where I felt we once fell short,” says Douglas. “It’s very different now – we are involved at the very highest level, with other zoos routinely coming to us for advice.”

As such, today’s Highland Wildlife Park successfully marries two roles: one as an inspirational and educational visitor experience, and another as a leading light in global conservation efforts. “We are certainly not a wee parochial Park in the Highlands any more,” says Douglas. “We are a big hitter on the international stage.”

And with winter coming to a Park full of coldweather-adapted species, now is a perfect time to come and learn a little more about both. Δ About the author: Richard Rowe is a freelance outdoors writer based in the Scottish Borders.

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Your legacy, their future

A gift in your will can help RZSS safeguard species both in Scotland and around the world from extinction. As a registered charity, over 75% of our income comes from people just like you. To find out more about leaving a lasting gift for wildlife, call us for a free legacy pack on 0131 314 0323 or email supportus@rzss.org.uk

Image © Pamela Hay

RZSS is delighted to be partnering with law firm Gillespie Macandrew LLP on a new legacy campaign.

If you are an RZSS member, you can receive a 10% discount on will-making services through Gillespie Macandrew. Discount valid until April 2018.

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