Durrell Wildlife Park

Durrell (prev. Jersey Zoological Park)

The dodo is the symbol of the trust and the zoo. Statues of dodos stand at the gateways of the zoo.
Date opened	26 March 1959
Location	Trinity, Jersey
Land area	25 acres
Number of species	over 190
Website	http://www.durrellwildlife.org

Jersey Zoological Park or Jersey Zoo is a 25- acre (100,000 m²) zoological park established in 1959 on the island of Jersey in the English Channel by naturalist and author Gerald Durrell (1925-1995). It is now officially called Durrell after its founder. It has approximately 150,000 visitors per year, despite a lack of emphasis on large animals and its relatively out-of-the-way location; visitor numbers tend to vary with the tourist trade to Jersey.

Durrell began his career capturing animals for other zoos, but thought that the facilities needed to concentrate more on animal conservation rather than mere entertainment. He tells the story of starting the zoo in his book "Menagerie Manor".

Jersey Zoo has always concentrated on rare and endangered species. It has mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, comprising over 190 species.

Since 1964, the zoo has been home to the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (formerly the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust).

Site

The zoo is located at Les Augrès Manor, Trinity, Jersey, 5 miles north of Saint Helier. It officially opened on March 26 1959.

The zoo is situated in 31 acres of landscaped parkland and water-gardens. It has a strong commitment to looking after the Island’s native wildlife, and large areas within the grounds have been designated native habitat areas. A £1 million project to redevelop the central valley, completed in 2002, has created a haven for kingfishers, bank voles, butterflies, dragonflies and several species of waterfowl. The extensive planting of flowering and fruiting trees throughout the grounds also serves to attract a plethora of wild birds and insects. Included in the former are several species of bird which used to be commonly seen in Island gardens but have become increasingly scarce, including the house sparrow and song thrush.

There are over 50 nest-boxes positioned around the grounds, which are used by a variety of birds including barn owls, kestrels, swallows and martins. Other animals which are commonly seen within the grounds are the red squirrel, bank vole, and the short-toed tree creeper, which is not found in the UK.

New Vision

In January 2008 Durrell announced its new vision for the future with an emphasis on its 'Topspot' theme in conservation i.e. Madagascar. The plan is a five year £46 million pound project which would improve the visit to Durrell and improving the animal's welfare. All funds need to be raised. The first stage includes an 'African Bai' including a centered around a larger gorilla complex, showing more information and starting new programmes with animals from the same region i.e. river hogs and guernon monkeys. The other main project is 'Mascerena' with a central open exhibit for the bats and birds of Madagascar, Mauritius and Comores to fly free, and will be surrounded by other exhibits featuring the mongoose and various lemurs. The rest of stage one includes a visitor centre with restaurant, and plans for eco-lodges. The second stage would involve a new amphibian and reptile centre, improved medical and college facilities.

Jambo

Jambo was a gorilla who was born in 1961, in Basel, Switzerland. Jambo shot to international news stardom overnight on August 31, 1986, when five year old Levan Merritt fell into the gorilla enclosure and lost consciousness. Jambo stood guard over the boy when he was unconscious, placing himself between the boy and other gorillas in what ethnologists analyze as a protective gesture. He later stroked the unconscious boy. When the boy regained consciousness and started to cry, Jambo and the other gorillas retreated, and an ambulanceman and two keepers rescued the boy. Most of the drama was shot on home video by Brian Le Lion, and extensively photographed by bystanding zoo visitors. The publicity on major news channels and newspapers helped ease public fears about the potentially violent nature of gorillas.

Current breeding programmes at Durrell

Durrell primarily works with species from locations which are ecologically rich in diversity and not found anywhere else, such as islands and rainforests.

Mammals

Species	Status	Threats	Location	Programme
Western Lowland Gorilla	Endangered	Hunting and Disease	Congo	1959-
Sumatran Orangutan	Critically Endangered	Hunting and Habitat Loss	Sumatra, Indonesia	1968-
Celebes Crested Macaque	Endangered	Habitat Loss	Sulawesi, Indonesia	1963-
Lar Gibbon	Near Threatened	Habitat Loss	South East Asia	1997-
Ring-tailed Lemur	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss	Madagascar	1964-
Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur	Endangered	Habitat Loss	Madagascar	1982-
Red Ruffed Lemur	Critically Endangered	Habitat Loss	Madagascar	1982-
Alaotran Gentle Lemur	Critically Endangered	Hunting and Habitat Loss	Madagascar	1990-
Aye-Aye	Endangered	Deforestation	Madagascar	1990-
Silvery Marmoset	Least Concern	Deforestation, Logging	Brazil	1973-
Golden Lion Tamarin	Endangered	Deforestation	Brazil	1980-
Black Lion Tamarin	Critically Endangered	Deforestation	Brazil	1982-
Golden-headed Lion Tamarin	Endangered	Deforestation	Brazil	1980-
Emperor Tamarin	Least Concern	Deforestation	Brazil	1990-
Cottontop Tamarin	Endangered	Deforestation	Brazil	1975-
Pied Tamarin	Critically Endangered	Deforestation	Brazil	1989-
White-headed Marmoset	Vulnerable	Deforestation	Brazil	1988-
Goeldi's Monkey	Near Threatened	Deforestation	Brazil, Peru	1988-
Black Howler Monkey	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Argentina	2006-
Andean Bear	Vulnerable	Hunting, Habitat Loss	Peru	1962-
Ring-tailed Coati	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Central & South America	1998-
Oriental Small-clawed Otter	Near Threatened	Trapping	India, Bangladesh	1999-
Malagasy Giant-Jumping Rat	Endangered	Limited Distribution, Habitat Loss	Madagascar	1990-
Meerkat	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Botswana, South Africa	1999-
Narrow-striped Mongoose	Endangered	Habitat Loss, Logging	Madagascar	2006-
Livingstone's Fruit Bat	Critically Endangered	Deforestation	Comoros	1992-
Rodrigues Flying Fox	Critically Endangered	Deforestation	Mauritius	1976-
Maned Wolf	Neat Threatened	Habitat Loss	Brazil, Chile	2000-
Parma Wallaby	Near Threatened	Habitat Loss	New South Wales, Australia	1978-
Red-fronted Brown Lemur	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss	Madagascan Dry Forests	Autumn 2008-

Birds

Species	Status	Threats	Location	Programme
Northern Bald Ibis	Critically Endangered	Hunting, Habitat Loss	Morocco,	1968-
Chilean Flamingo	Near Threatened	Habitat Loss, Pollution	Chile	1976-
Greater Flamingo	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Africa, Asia	2002-
White-naped Crane	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss	Mongolia, Russia, China	1979-
Grey Crowned Crane	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Africa	1972-
Blue Crane	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss	South Africa	2004-
Congo Peafowl	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss	Congo	1976-
Edward's Pheasant	Endangered	Hunting, Trade, Habitat Loss	Vietnam	1976-
Vietnamese Pheasant	Endangered	Hunting, Illegal Trade	Vietnam	1999-
Palawan Peacock Pheasant	Vulnerable	Hunting	Palawan	1983-
St Lucia Amazon	Vulnerable	Deforestation	St Lucia	1975-
Echo Parakeet	Endangered	Habitat Loss	Mauritius	1987-
Wrinkled Hornbill	Near Threatened	Deforestation	Malaysia	2002-
Pink Pigeon	Endangered	Deforestation	Mauritius	1977-
Nicobar Pigeon	Near Threatened	Deforestation	Nicobar Islands	2005-
Emerald Dove	Least Concern	Deforestation	Sri Lanka	2005-
Mindanao Bleeding-heart Dove	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss	Mindanao Island, Philippines	2005-
Swan Goose	Endangered	Hunting, Climate	Mongolia, China	1970s-
Red-breasted Goose	Endangered	Climate Change	Scandinavia	1970s-
Madagascar Teal	Endangered	Deforestation	Madagascar	1993-
Meller's Duck	Endangered	Deforestation	Madagascar	1975-
White-winged Wood Duck	Endangered	Hunting, Habitat Loss	India, Bangladesh	2007-
Marbled Duck	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss	Spain	1999-
Ferruginous Duck	Near Threatened	Habitat Loss	Africa	2006-
Hottentot Teal	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Africa	2005-
Indonesian Teal	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Indonesia	2007-
White-backed Duck	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Central Africa	2007-
White-faced Whistling Duck	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Africa, South America	2007-
Black-winged Stilt	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Europe	1999-
Bali Starling	Critically Endangered	Illegal Bird Trade	Bali	1972-
Montserrat Oriole	Critically Endangered	Habitat Loss, Volcanic Activity	Montserrat	1999-
Red-crested Turaco	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	South Africa	1972-
Black Bulbul	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Madagascar	1999-
Blue-crowned Laughingthrush	Critically Endangered	Trade, Habitat Loss	China	2001-
Red-tailed Laughingthrush	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	China, Thailand	2003-
White-rumped Shama	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Malaysia	2004-
White-crowned Robin-chat	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	West Africa	2004-
Java Sparrow	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss	Java, Indonesia	2005-
Pekin Robin	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	China	2005-
Hooded Pitta	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Malaysia	2005-
Chestnut-backed Thrush	Near Threatened	Habitat Loss	Indonesia	2005-
Asian Fairy-bluebird	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	India, Sri Lanka	2005-
Grey-faced Liocichla	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss	China	2005-
Tropical mockingbird	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Trinidad	2008-
Brazilian Tanager	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Brazil	2007-

Reptiles

Species	Status	Threats	Location	Programme
Jamaican Boa	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Jamaica	1976-
Burmese Python	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	Myanmar	1985-
Eyelash Viper	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	South America	2002-
Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman	Least Concern	Habitat Loss	South America	2004-
Radiated Tortoise	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss	Madagascar	1976-
Marginated Tortoise	Least Concern	Hunting, Habitat Loss	Albania, Greece	1990-
Indochinese Box Turtle	Critically endangered	Habitat Loss, Trade	Vietnam, Laos	2004-
Malagasy Flat tailed tortoise	Endangered	Habitat Loss	Madagascar	1990-
Hispaniolan Slider	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss	Dominican Republic, Haiti	1999-
Spiny Turtle	Endangered	Habitat Loss	Malaysia	2006-
Rhinoceros Iguana	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss	Haiti, Dominican Republic	1972-
Lesser Antillean Iguana	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss, Hunting, Predation	Lesser Antilles	1992-
Utillan Spiny-tailed Iguana	Endangered	Habitat Loss	Utila Island, Mexico	2006-
Rio Fuerte Beaded Lizard	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss	Mexico	2007-
Jersey Common Lizard / Green Lizard	Near Threatened	Habitat Loss	Jersey	2005-

Amphibians

Species	Status	Threats	Location	Programme
Mountain Chicken	Endangered	Habitat Loss, Volcanic Activity	Montserrat	1999-
Mallorcan midwife toad	Vulnerable	Habitat Loss, Climate Change	Mallorca	1985-
Jersey Agile Frog	Critically Endangered	Habitat Loss	Jersey, Channel Islands	1998-
Trinidad Stream Frog	Vulnerable	Climate, Habitat Loss	Trinidad	1994-
Green and Black Poison Dart Frog	Near Threatened	Climate, Habitat Loss	Costa Rica	1997-2008
Blue Poison Dart Frog	Vulnerable	Climate, Habitat Loss	Surinam	1997-
Reticulated Poison Dart Frog / Strawberry Poison-dart Frog	Near threatened	Climate, Habitat Loss	Colombia, Surinam	1997-
Golden Poison Dart Frog	Endangered	Climate, Habitat Loss	Colombia	1998-
Mission golden-eyed tree frog/ Amazon Milk Frog	Least Concern	Climate	Brazil	2007-

It has been announced that there are six new species of frog set to be shown for the first time late in 2008. Plus for the first time a caecillian

Other

Species	Status	Threats	Location	Programme
Partula (genus)	Critically Endangered	Introduced Species	Palau, Micronesia, Guam,	1992-

Education Species

Located within The Royal Pavilion, an educational centre mainly for schools and the public to visit and learn about the behaviours of different species. Unlike the other species they are not considered to be under threat.

Species	Location
Corn Snake	United States
Rainbow boa	Latin America
Milk Snake	North, Central & South America
New Guinea Blue tongued skink	New Guinea
Giant African land snail	Africa, Asia, Introduced in French Polynesia
Giant millipede	West Africa
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach	Madagascar
Extatosoma tiaratum	Australia
Cane Toad	Central & South America, introduced in Australia

Local Wildlife Encouragement Programme

A programme set up by Durrell to encourage local Jersey wildlife such as red squirrels, bank voles and hedgehogs integrating them with the zoo. Centre piece is a pond encouraging waterfowl and insects such as dragonflies and damselflies.

Durrell is also working closely with local wildlife groups to help with the declining populations of Jersey's Sand lizard and the Jersey Crappaud / Common Toad.

Local rare and declining plant propagation

A long way from the usual animal conservation work at Durrell. Aim is maintain the genetic diversity of the locally rare plants. Currently four species are being grown in the propagation unit. Fragaria vesca or Wild Strawberry, Dianthus gallicus or Jersey Pink, Anogramma leptophylla or Jersey Fern and Linaria vulgaris or Common Toadflax. Other plant species will be propagated as seed or cutting material becomes available. As some of these plant species are so severely threatened, just finding specimens for propagation will be a real challenge.

During the valley restoration project in 2000/01 two species of locally rare orchid were encouraged, and first flowered in 2005. They are Loose Flowered-orchid and Southern Marsh-orchid.