News from the British Wildlife Centre
 

SUMMER 2010 Newsletter now online

New Life in Abundance (June 2010)
We've had another bumper spring for wildlife newborns. Following last year's litter of two, Humbug the badger produced three cubs in May. Courtesy of Flo, our very friendly fox, we now have five fabulous fox cubs just starting to venture out with mum and delighting visitors. The month of May also saw our first baby deer of the season, a beautiful red deer calf born to Penny. More calves are due to the other females of the herd. And we have a pretty roe deer fawn, born to Willow. After a gap of five years we're thrilled to report the birth of Scottish wildcat kittens here at the Centre; Kendra had a litter of three and shortly after her sister Iona had one kitten. At the end of summer these kittens will be entered into an organised release programme in Scotland to boost numbers of this increasingly rare species. Red squirrel kits have added to our numbers and more are on the way. Many of these are destined for the Walk-Through Red Squirrel Enclosure. The new group will include females for the first time and we hope they will successfully breed in the Copse. We've been lucky enough to acquire two barn owl and three tawny owl chicks from other wildlife organisations, currently being hand-reared by our keepers. One or two may be destined to join Head Keeper Matt's free-flying team later in the year. For all the very latest animal news why not visit our Keeper's Blog.

Cubs Galore (April 2010)
We have recently provided a home to two pairs of rescued orphaned cubs this spring. Two female badger cubs and two male fox cubs were brought into the Centre. With some tender loving care by the experienced staff at the Centre they are growing stronger and more adventurous by the day. The cubs are currently delighting visitors when they appear at the badger and fox Keeper Talks held daily. Our own Centre-bred cubs and kits will soon be making news so watch this space!

BWC is Front Page News (April 2010)
After a visit by prestigious county magazine Surrey Life earlier this year we're very pleased to report that we've made their front page. This April's issue includes a beautiful red squirrel image on the front cover taken by our very own Head Keeper Matt. The issue includes a 4 page feature on the BWC and coverage of the Red Squirrel Enclosure launch by Dame Judi Dench (see below). The magazine is now on sale at all good newsagents. Visit Surrey Life online.

Dame Judi Launches Red Squirrel Experience! (March 2010)

View BBC South East TV Footage

After two years of careful planning and hard work by the BWC team we are proud to announce that our Walk-Through Red Squirrel Enclosure is now officially open. The first of its kind in this country, this exciting new venture was opened on 10th March by legendary actress and friend of the Centre Dame Judi Dench. Before cutting the ribbon she said "I'm thrilled to open this enclosure, this is a most marvellous place, so wonderful for children to visit. It's so exciting to see things happy in their natural habitats here at the Centre. What could be better?" Last year Dame Judi adopted Minnie the otter and took the opportunity of visiting her after the opening ceremony.

Dame Judi then helped to release two more red squirrels into the enclosure, to join the group of over 20 already in residence. More will follow. Owner David Mills said "The experience we want to recreate is the one we would have had 100 years ago, walking through the woods to see red squirrels in the trees".

Amongst those attending the launch were renowned wildlife artist David Shepherd and popular wildlife presenter Chris Packham, who, in an interview with BBC South East, described the walk-through enclosure as "Squirrel-tastic". We couldn't have put it better ourselves!

Countryfile Returns to the BWC! (December 2009)
Following a visit from the BBC Countryfile crew back in April of this year (see archive news), we were more than pleased to welcome them back early this December. Luckily, the sun shone and the day of filming exceeded expectations. They discovered what we already knew - that our animals are real stars! Popular Countryfile presenters Julia Bradbury and Matt Baker filmed footage that will be used to link highlights from their 2009 shows. This special 'best of' programme will aired on BBC1 on Sunday evening 3rd January 2010.  Among those 'acting up' for the camera were young vixens, Luna and Flo (see below), Minnie and Oscar the otters, Ethel the eagle owl, the wonderful red squirrels and some snarling Scottish wildcats, as well as owner David Mills and members of the Keeper team. Who'll have that X Factor? Judge for yourself. Don't miss it!

Welcome Flo the Fox (December 2009)
A young vixen has come to stay, and very welcome she is too! Flo came to us from a rescue centre. Though they had made two attempts to release her, she was back on their doorstep the next morning. Very playful and exceptionally fond of human company, her chances of survival in the wild would have been poor. Initially she shared living quarters with our hand-reared vixen Luna and they've bonded well. Both Flo and Luna have just been introduced to our dog fox, Frodo and his sister Pickles in their outdoor enclosure. It's early days and there's some jostling for position within the group, but it's going well. We'll be sure to report back with developments.

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Matt & Julia, Countryfile

Flo the Fox