It’s hardly surprising that Rihanna the reindeer has bought the sun with her given that she is named after the Barbadian pop star.

And like her namesake Rihanna the reindeer has been extremely confident – quickly taking to her new home at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm in Bristol.

Rihanna was born to mum Roxie and dad Rocky at our 100 acre family zoo which is located in Wraxall, North Somerset.

Rihanna was up on her feet quickly and is now enjoying the new sights, sounds and smells at the zoo.

Her keepers took her and mum Roxie on a short walk yesterday to explore and to meet new little orphan lambs who were also born this week.

Noah’s Ark has over 100 sorts of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates, including several important species classified as ‘endangered’ & ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List. These include Cotton Topped Tamarins (Critically Endangered), White Rhinos (Near Threatened), Brazilian Tapirs (Vulnerable) and Siamang Gibbons (Endangered).

The zoo is opening the UK’s largest elephant sanctuary this summer, the 20 acre ‘Elephant Eden’ which will offer welfare improvements to captive-bred elephants.

Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm is open this Bank Holiday weekend on Saturday and Monday, with special appearances by the popular children’s TV characters ‘Ben and Holly’ on Saturday. ‘Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom’ is a new stage show beginning at Bristol Hippodrome this month and the costumed characters will be strolling around the zoo to meet their fans at Noah’s Ark.

For more information and zoo news, please visit http://www.noahsarkzoofarm.co.uk/ or phone 01275 852606.

Children will be thrilled to see characters from this British television series which is set in an enchanted magical kingdom with fairies, elves and insects.

Ben & Holly is running at the Bristol Hippodrome this summer and you can meet the cast of this incredibly popular show between 11.30am- 2.30pm on Saturday, May 4.

There will be six Ben & Holly appearances of approximately 15 minutes each, as well as plenty of time for meet and greet and photo opportunities.

This BAFTA award-winning animation comes from the team that made Peppa Pig and this is a unique chance to meet Ben & Holly, and all the other characters, in person.

The half hourly appearances (factoring in 15 minute breaks for the performers) will be at:

• 11.30am
• 12pm
• 12.30pm
• 1pm
• 1.30pm
• 2pm

The Hippodrome appearance is the very first time that Ben & Holly will be on stage so be sure to bring your children here to see them for an unforgettable day out in Bristol! We look forward to seeing you here.

For more information about the event please visit www.noahsarkzoofarm.co.uk or phone 01275 852606.

Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm has always had a huge amount of internet traffic from people who are planning their visit here or researching what we have to offer.

Over the years our online presence has grown and last year we built an ecommerce shop to sell day tickets, keeper experiences and group visits online. The online shop proved incredibly successful last year allowing our guests to book their tickets before they arrived and beat the queues, and turning over approximately £100,000.

We have since grown our shop with animal adoptions, gift packs and copies of the autobiography of our owner, Anthony Bush, for sale online to give you the full scope of our South West attractions.

Part of the aim of the new website was also to refine our online presence, as the old site had grown unwieldy with too many pages.

Finally we also wanted to freshen up the look of the site to reflect that fact that Noah’s Ark is a modern zoo which is always at the forefront of the latest technology. We are very active on Twitter and Facebook, engaging with our legion of loyal fans and doing as much as possible to reward them.

We have also planned to create a mobile site soon, having seen how much of our existing traffic comes from mobile devices and tablets.

So we hope that you will log onto www.noahsarkzoofarm.co.uk to book your tickets now. You can also check out our educational school trips and keeper experience pages to find out more about what’s on offer at our one-of-a-kind zoo farm!

With nature waking up from its long sleep there is no better time to visit our fantastic farm which is also the largest zoo in Bristol.

As well as the usual crop of gorgeous baby lambs, chicks and rabbits, we have also just welcomed meerkat triplets, ideal for anyone who is looking to compare the meerkats!

With the long bank holiday approaching families will be looking for ways to enjoy days out in Bristol. Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm is ideal for all weathers as we offer indoor and outdoor play areas but we will be hoping for some spring sunshine during our annual Easter egg hunt.

Our zoo staff have painstakingly laid out a thrilling Easter trail for children and families to follow with lots of chocolatey and sweet surprises!

There will be chances to interact and play throughout the day – adults and children can take part in the novelty egg and spoon race which is always a barrel of laughs. You can also get creative making some fun Easter crafts with egg painting and face painting.

As always at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm part of the fun is the chance to get hands on with the animals, handling our sweet baby new chicks and bottle-feeding the new born lambs.

Noah’s Easter Egg Hunt takes place between Saturday, March 30 and Monday, April 1, we hope to see you here!

While visiting you can also see the progress of our fantastic Elephant Eden project. The deep sand yards are just being laid down now. While most elephant enclosures in Europe just use concrete, we have gone the extra mile to create a habitat that the elephants will really love and which will be beneficial to their health too.

For more information about our new arrivals, or the chance to book other activities such as our keeper for a day experiences, please visit http://www.noahsarkzoofarm.co.uk/ or phone 01275 852606.

See the meerkats at Noah’s Ark

Mika is a slender tailed Meerkat and she gave birth on February 4, 2013. The birth was monitored on a newly installed nest cam as part of our contribution to learning about species.

Mika the Meerkat

Zoo Keeper Clare Pearce said, “I’m delighted with the arrival of our new Meerkats, after only getting glimpses of them in the nest on the screen, it’s great to see them outside exploring their new surroundings and entertaining our visitors.”
The tiny meerkats had to spend their first month in the nest being closely cared for by proud mum Mika. Now the three babies are big enough to venture outside, having the run of the new meerkat enclosure which was recently built here.

The meerkats have now ventured outside

The rest of the meerkat family are all getting involved in raising the youngsters, who are already delighting the public with their comical antics. The new editions to Noah’s Ark can be seen by visitors out in their sandy enclosure.
It’s not yet known whether the pups are girls or boys as they’re still very small but mum Mika and Dad Malcolm are clearly proud parents.
The meerkat colony at Noah’s Ark is now nine strong; with three adult females, three males and three youngsters living together in a successful unit.
Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm is open Monday – Saturday 10:30am – 5pm and it’s extremely easy to get to our Bristol zoo as it is only minutes from the M5 motorway. The zoo is closed on Sundays.
For more information about the baby meerkats and the other new editions, please visit http://www.noahsarkzoofarm.co.uk/ or phone 01275 852606.

Tiana the tiger tunes in to Classic FM

Keepers at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm in Wraxall, Bristol, have been experimenting with audio enrichment for big cats, rhinos and giraffes by playing different radio stations and monitoring the effects on behaviour.

Classic FM has become a favourite of the felines, who have been noticeably relaxed – rolling playfully on the floor and snoozing when their Keepers play the station inside their house.

Classical music makes the big cats feel composed

Big Cat Keeper Emma Godsell has been monitoring her animals’ response to music. She said: “Audio enrichment is just one of the forms of variety we build into their daily routines to promote physical and mental wellbeing and stimulation.

“Crucial to the health of captive animals, enrichment at the zoo also includes finding novel ways to present food, puzzles and changes to the layout of enclosures or indoor pens. This encourages animals to stay alert and active.”

Rhino & giraffe keeper Emma Green also uses a detailed daily enrichment plan with each of her species.
But in contrast, Rumbull and Rumba the white rhinos prefer the more up-beat tempo of Kiss and Heart FM, sometimes standing closer to the fence so that they can listen to the radio.

The Rhinos like Heart FM

Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm is currently building a new 20 acre habitat for elephants to open this summer. ‘Elephant Eden’ will become the UK’s largest elephant facility and will use a range of enrichment techniques to encourage Indian elephants to actively search for food and interact as a herd.

For information about the animals at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm and the progress of Elephant Eden please visit http://www.noahsarkzoofarm.co.uk or phone 01275 852606.

To do the job you will be comfortable with all types of animals including large animals like zebras and small animals like meerkats and snakes. Ideally you will have had some experience of working with animals in a practical environment, such as at a vet or a farm.

Being a zoo keeper for a day is an incredibly rewarding experience which involves tasks such as:
-Helping with cleaning out and daily maintenance of the enclosure.
-Preparing meals and feeding the animals.
-Enrichment activities for the animals such as scent trails for the big cats.
-Environmental enrichment.

Zoo keepers require a number of skills to be successful. For instance they must work well both on their own and as part of a team. Having good communication skills with the animals and with your fellow zoo staff. In terms of qualifications you will need good maths and English GCSEs, with science preferred and preferably a national vocational qualification in animal care and husbandry.

There is a lot of training you need to go through to conform to Health and Safety regulations, and to act safely and responsibly, both for you and the animals.

It is also necessary to be able to think laterally and solve problems. For instance if the animals are not behaving in a way which is good for them or other animals, you may need to come up with creative ways to get them to change their behaviour. This is one of the most fun and rewarding aspects of being a zoo keeper, as well as the most challenging.

If you think that this might be for you then there are a number of zoos which run one off day experiences where you can try what it is really like to do the job. Consider doing one of these experiences and then you will have a better idea of whether the role is for you.

Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm offers unique Experiences for animal lovers of all ages. As a finalist for ‘Activity of the Year’ in the Bristol Tourism and Hospitality Awards 2011, Noah’s Ark provides a truly memorable experience.

Each experience is one to one and designed specifically to give the participant the rare opportunity to get up close and hands-on with some amazing animals and gain a better understanding the zoo keeper experience.

Whether they’re feathered, furry or scaly, these remarkable animals know no boundaries when it comes to saving the lives of their human friends. This just goes to show that even though we don’t speak the same language, we can certainly count on them when it comes to sticky situations!

The zoo recently reopened after its annual winter break and there have been a number of new arrivals to capture the imagination.

Hugo

One of the cutest, and definitely the hairiest, is Hugo the hoofed highlander. He looks like a teddy bear now, but will soon grow into an imposing bull.

His mother Marilyn is notorious for going on the run last year when she jumped a number of fences at our 100 acre farm to explore fresh pastures.

She has been a popular character so keepers were understandably thrilled when she began calving. Hugo’s shaggy hide is a rich brown colour, the product of a father with a black coat and mother Marilyn’s magnificent, blonde coat.

Hugo and Marilyn

Marilyn and Hugo are now resting out of the elements in deep straw inside the Animal Show Pens. The public can enjoy the sight of the pair bonding while Hugo gets stronger on his feet.

Highlanders are commonly found in harsh environments such as the hilly regions of Scotland where the breed was first developed. Highland cattle are farmed successfully in many other countries with similarly cold and wet climates.

Noah’s Ark was a dairy farm for 40 years and houses different breeds today including Jersey and Ankole cows which visitors can learn about and appreciate.

The family attraction offers educational animal workshops for schools which feature farmyard and exotic animals and is now open for the new season for educational visits and family day trips.

For information about 2013 prices, events and education visitors are encouraged to go online to http://www.noahsarkzoofarm.co.uk or phone 01275 852606.

Tallulah is a gorgeous baby girl Lowland tapir who was born live on the zoo’s 24 hour webcam on December 28. It was like a late Christmas present for our hard working zoo keepers and it prompted a stream of online well wishers, many of whom were lucky enough to see the birth for themselves.

News quickly spread further via social media with fans of the zoo taking to Facebook and Twitter to request photos of the cute baby.

Tallulah already has Twitter followers

One family even rang all the way from Canada to book one of our zoo keeper experiences – which is a chance for our guests to meet and feed tapirs and other animals for themselves.

The press were also incredibly keen to see the baby and a photo call that took place today, Friday February  1. Tapirs are classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Every effort is being made to conserve the species and Tallulah was born after a 400-day gestation as the result of successful captive breeding.

Tallulah is the second foal born to mum Tara and dad Toby, with brother Troy now living at Heads of Ayr Farm Park in Scotland.

Tallulah is being given lots of love and attention

Keeper Kelli Inglis works with the family of tapirs in the zoo’s South American section.

She said: “We’re all thrilled to have little Tallulah join the family – she’s doing very well and seems to be enjoying her new surroundings.

“We get lots of comments from webcam viewers and many tapir fans go online to book a Keeper Experience to meet them face-to-face which is great fun.”
“The camera is also useful for the Keepers as it’s helped us gain a better understanding of the breeding habits of an animal that is becoming increasingly rare in the wild.”

Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm reopens for visitors this Saturday, February 2, the first day of the new season, from 10:30am – 5pm. The zoo won a regional ‘Access for All’ award this week in the Bristol Tourism & Hospitality awards in recognition of its facilities and customer service.

We are set for a busy year with the opening of a much-anticipated 20 acre elephant exhibit later this summer called Elephant Eden.

To see the tapir family visitors can log on to the Tapir webcam.

Details of prices, events and attractions at Noah’s Ark can also be found on the zoo website or by calling the office.