Last New Arrivals in 2018...
19/12/2018
2018 really has been a fantastic year! A whole range of new animals have arrived at Hamerton Zoo Park, with so many unique to our Zoo. It is doubtful that any other Zoo has seen such a wide range of important new arrivals in just ten months!
Much of the planning for these moves has taken up to five years, and the actual timing of arrivals is often largely outside our control. Close contact with the other Zoos involved is obviously of critical importance; but the bureaucrats who control the permits for such shipments, especially long distance imports, often have no concept of time, interest in animal welfare or the concept of breeding programmes - so as soon as permissions and paperwork are in place, we must be ready to move very quickly.
The arrival of two Black-headed Pythons today from London Zoo, whilst still of course being carefully planned, was thankfully a much more relaxed process. Our animals are babies, born at Regents Park last year, and still quite small. When fully grown this very distinctive snake can reach lengths of up to 8 feet, and in the wild is found in northern Australia.