Annual Report 2011

Inside Cover

The Gateway to the Wetlands will demonstrate to visitors the importance of preserving native biodiversity and explaining how they can be involved.

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Chairman’s Report 2

Director’s Report 3

Financial Report 5

Animal Report 8

Animal Collection 10

Veterinary Report 15

Conservation Welfare Report 17

Education Report 19

Marketing and PR Report 21

Visitor Services Report 22

Research Report 23

Sustainability Report 26

Human Resources and Work Experience 27

Staff Activities 28

External Representation and Presentation 30

Staff List 31

TZA Chairman’s Report 32

Wildlife Information Network (WIN) Report 33

Vision and Mission 35

Contacts 36

The paper used for this report is 100% recycled.Photographs kindly supplied by Twycross Zoo, Deborah Bardowicks, Erica Cartmill, Neil Dorman, Bex Hackney, Craig Lymm, Claire Pipe and Bhav Mistry.

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Contents

Chairman’s Report 2

CEO’s Report 3

Financial Report 5

Animal Report 8

Animal Collection 11

Veterinary Report 16

Conservation Welfare Fund Report 18

Research and Knowledge Hub Report 20

Education Report 23 Estates and Projects Report 24 Marketing and PR Report 25

Guest Services Report 26

Human Resources and Work Experience 27

Staff Activities 28

External Representation and Publications 30

Staff List 32

Wildlife Information Network (WIN) Report 33

The paper used for this report is 100% recycled.Photographs kindly supplied by Twycross Zoo, Kevin J Caley, Erica Cartmill, Zhao Chao, Sarah Chapman, Neil Dorman, Bex Hackney, Craig Lymm, Susan Muir and Claire Pipe. Cover Bonobo photo: Tim Flach.

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Chairman’s Report

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It might seem obvious, but it is also well worth remembering, that a Zoo has to function effectively every hour of every one of the 365 days of the year. Unlike many organisations, the lights are not switched off for the staff to go home at the end of the working day: at times their charges need 24-hour care. Since July 2011, when I took over as Chairman, I have been particularly struck by the obvious enthusiasm and commitment of all the staff I have met, be they keepers, caterers, vets, managers, groundsmen, admin or security personnel or volunteers. Having worked in a number of different businesses, I know how unusual this is and it is doubly impressive at this time of rapid change and development. I am keen to record my sincere appreciation of their dedication as my first comment in my first Chairman’s report and I very much look forward to meeting more of the team in the coming months.

Ensuring high standards of animal welfare is an important priority for all of us at Twycross and this was recognised when the Zoo hosted the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) conference in November 2011. Twycross Zoo won prestigious awards not only for “Best New Zoo Enclosure” but also “Significant Advances in Husbandry and Welfare”, both in relation to the snow leopard enclosure and the leopards’ welfare, enrichment, operant conditioning and diet modifications. Collaborations throughout the zoological world are important in improving zoo animal welfare globally and Wildpro, Twycross Zoo’s electronic encyclopaedia, is an invaluable information resource to assist this.

The Zoo’s role as an emerging centre of excellence in conservation, research and education has continued to flourish and receive recognition. By establishing the Conservation Welfare Fund (CWF), the Zoo has been able to support, to date, nearly 50 conservation projects worldwide, with a particular focus on endangered primates. “The Five Primate Vision: to help secure the future of five endangered primates in the wild by 2020” supports in situ conservation projects, often linked to care and management of species on site and participation in captive breeding programmes. A variety of research projects are carried out each year and a study of non-human primate infection received a 2011 BIAZA “Best Research Project” commendation. Twycross also won the 2011 BIAZA award for “Best Education Project: School & Educational Institutions” for the popular “So You Want to be a Vet!” days offered to young teenagers.

I am delighted to report that the Zoo is operating very well commercially, with a record number of visitors in 2011. This is testament to the continued high standards which the zoo strives to achieve in terms of operation, design and welfare. This was externally recognised as the Zoo won the Leicester and Leicestershire Excellence in Tourism award for “Best Large Visitor Attraction 2011”. Bookings for events at the Zoo are flourishing, including company conferences, weddings and parties and I can personally attest to the excellence of the new silver-service Sunday lunches.

2012 promises an exciting new exhibit. “The Gateway to the Wetlands” will open during the first half of the year, demonstrating to visitors the importance of preserving native biodiversity and explaining how they can be involved. Events to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee and reflect the London Olympics are also planned. Development of two innovative new exhibits for the future will be progressed, which will offer excellent public viewing facilities as well as observational research opportunities: one will feature lions, tigers, hyena and dholes, and the other, chimpanzees. I am very pleased to be associated with such a dynamic organisation.

I thank my predecessor, David Conner, for his much valued chairmanship and retiring Trustees Victor Manton and Tony Flint for their significant contributions over a good number of years.

The support of my fellow Board Members is much appreciated and I know we all look forward to continuing the positive development of Twycross Zoo in 2012.

Dr Mary-Lorraine Hughes BSc PhD MBAChairman

Dr Mary-Lorraine Hughes with Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata)

Our Commercial team continues to deliver successful, creative projects, such as the “Stay, Play and Explore” initiative. This has proved very popular and played a significant role in the Zoo winning the Leicester and Leicestershire Excellence in Tourism award for “Best Large Visitor Attraction 2011”. The first Twycross Zoo Christmas pantomime held in Himalaya was a tremendous success and 2011 also saw the introduction of Twycross Zoo to the high street with the launch of the first off-site stand at the Leicester Highcross Shopping Centre. Over the festive Christmas period, this increased awareness of the Zoo, its invaluable work and the benefits of membership to the organisation. The Twycross Zoo website has been restructured and improved and now offers the visitors the ability to purchase Zoo admission tickets on-line. The Programme for Cultural Change, with particular reference to performance management systems, based on behavioural competencies and SMART objectives, has had a positive impact on the organisation. It began by assessing current staffing and morale levels and then extensive training and on-going staff communication systems were established across the organisation. The establishment of the Twycross Zoo “Knowledge Hub” in 2011 enables the proactive managing of the organisational knowledge and the defining of performance measures at an organisational level through the effective facilitation of project delivery, funding and research. The Conservation Welfare Fund is administered via the Knowledge Hub and other key applications of the Knowledge Hub include the concept planning for new developments, such as the Oil-Palm Plantation exhibit and the “Gateway to the Wetlands” exhibit. The Knowledge Hub team have also led a series of discussions on the strategic direction of the organisation and many thanks are extended to Russell Prior, Head of Philanthropy at HSBC Global, who kindly hosted our Mastermind workshop this year in London, where the focus was on developing our successful role in conservation, welfare and research.

Our existing partnerships have continued to develop and flourish. I am proud to announce that in 2011, as a Clinical Associate of the Nottingham University School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, we welcomed our first veterinary undergraduates. This partnership is fundamental in educating the veterinary students about the importance of animal

CEO’s Report

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During 2011 Twycross Zoo won the the Leicestershire Promotions “Best Large Visitor Attraction 2011”“The Zoo performed well commercially in 2011, with over half a million visitors. This record number reflects the growing success of recent developments and their marketing. A number of new business support tools have been introduced, such as the Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) system allowing on-line ticketing and events booking. Such investments in our technology infrastructure have had a very gratifying impact on our Gift Aid donations.

Himalaya, as a regional visitor attraction, has continued to shine, not only through pioneering developments in animal welfare and enclosure design, but also by functioning as a high-class conference venue, whilst simultaneously helping to reduce our environmental footprint. In 2011, the first civil wedding ceremony was held at Twycross Zoo in Himalaya, along with several other major events, including the BIAZA ACE conference and the WildTech consortium meeting. In June 2011, two snow leopard cubs were born to the pair of snow leopards that only arrived at the Zoo in May 2010 as part of the international breeding programme. The Art Gallery, which was launched in May 2011, is already beginning to make a noticeable contribution.

Adjacent to Himalaya, there is a large waterways project area, which consists of a series of 19 ponds and reed beds that are used to purify and recycle a proportion of the waste water generated on site. The aim of “Gateway to the Wetlands” is to highlight to visitors the critical function performed by these waterways or wetland areas in removing contaminants from freshwater and to provide a unique habitat that can sustain a diverse range of native flora and fauna. In the Midlands area, wetlands are coming under increased pressure from urban encroachment, so the development and continued maintenance of our wetland area is vital to help support local biodiversity. Emphasising the importance of conserving our natural habitats and explaining the significance of wetland areas are fundamental to the preservation of native biodiversity. The existing wetlands area is being sympathetically developed to enable visitor access and orientation. It will open to visitors at Easter 2012.

The Oil-Palm Plantation exhibit is located adjacent to the Bornean orang-utan enclosure and will open early in 2012. The devastation caused by deforestation in Borneo and the threat to local orang-utan populations are demonstrated to visitors, portraying a strong conservation message.

CEO’s Report

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welfare and conservation; reciprocal benefits are gained through the analysis of diet regimes, enclosure design and environmental enrichment. A significant accomplishment of 2011 was the success of the veterinary team and the keepers in intensively nursing the baby gorilla, Okanda, when he became very ill. He made an extremely good recovery with the help of his dedicated team of carers and has since made incredible progress. Once he is in stable health, he will be taken to Germany to join another young gorilla to enable him to grow up in the companionship of his own species. His plight gained the attention of media from around the world and as a result, the Zoo received many messages of hope and support. Knowledge in science continues to be a focus of our research. WildTech is a four year EU funded (FP7) project that commenced in July 2009, with the aim of developing novel technologies for the surveillance of emerging and re-emerging wildlife diseases. Wildlife disease surveillance is crucial to safe-guarding biodiversity and reducing the impact of wildlife disease. The project is being led by the University of Nottingham and Twycross Zoo is one of the 13 partners involved. It is supported by the European Commission under the Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology Theme of the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development, grant agreement no. 222633. Through the innovative electronic encyclopaedia and library, Wildpro, Twycross Zoo provides information on the health and management of captive and free-ranging wild animals and emerging infectious diseases. The Zoo’s role in the WildTech project is to collate information on a set number of pathogens and diseases, so that it can be made readily available to wildlife professionals worldwide via Wildpro. Two WildTech consortium meetings are held each year, and, in April 2011, Twycross Zoo hosted its first WildTech consortium meeting in Windows on the Wild within Himalaya, gathering together an extensive worldwide network of wildlife health professionals. The involvement of Twycross Zoo in this important project illustrates the Zoo’s commitment to conservation and the preservation of native biodiversity, commitments which are also reinforced through the Zoo’s active annual contributions to worldwide conservation projects through the Conservation Welfare Fund. In May 2011, Wildpro was made open access worldwide,

ensuring that this valuable information resource was freely available to all via the Internet (www.wildlifeinformation.org). The Open Access launch of Wildpro was the culmination of over 15 years of hard work and dedication to this revolutionary venture. The launch fulfilled the long-term vision of the Wildpro project in “making high-quality information about wildlife health and management readily available to professionals worldwide”, in addition to providing valuable educational information for students. Wildpro is a key information resource base for the continued improvement of animal husbandry and welfare within zoos across the world. In November 2011, Wildpro also launched its new “Ferrets: Health and Management” volume, which gives information regarding the natural history and husbandry needs and requirements of ferrets, in addition to information about the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of their diseases. This volume was produced in response to research carried out by colleges and universities across the UK specialising in animal welfare courses, which identified a clear need for the resource. It also supports our work within the Zoo at “Pets at Twycross” where visitors are encouraged to learn how to care for pets and have the opportunity to handle and touch pet animals. We are looking forward to progressing with our exciting developments and planning for new exhibits in 2012, in addition to expanding our conservation and welfare work. I am very proud of our achievements and successes this year, which would not have been possible without the commitment and dedication shown by all Zoo staff, volunteers, supporters, trustees and advisors. My grateful thanks go to you all. Suzanne I Boardman BVMS MRCVSChief Executive Officer

Suzanne Boardman opening the 2011 BIAZA ACE conference at Twycross

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The 2011 financial year has been another exciting period for the Zoo, with a number of projects undertaken to structure the organisation so that it is well positioned to meet the challenges of the future while continuing to develop and enhance the delivery of its charitable objectives.

The year saw us achieve our objective of welcoming over half a million visitors to the Zoo, with the final figure being 506,244. Taking into consideration the economic uncertainty and the pressures on household expenditure, coupled with the strong competition provided by other regional leisure attractions, the Zoo is proud that it managed to increase the number of visitors against those of 2010, despite the inclement weather experienced on both Whit and August Bank Holidays, the Zoo’s two most important trading days.

The year was also the first full year of operation within Himalaya. New income streams have been developed as the organisation attempts to maximise its commercial potential. Himalaya hosted its first wedding in 2011, whilst bookings for events held within the Windows on the Wild conference room and exhibit have doubled throughout the year, a trend expected to continue as we enter its growth phase. May 2011 also saw the opening of the Twycross Gallery within Himalaya, which showcases and sells a variety of high-quality art from a range of talented artists. The Zoo has also invested heavily in the products being sold in the Gift Shop and Cafe Tibet. With an emphasis on quality and locally-sourced products, the average spend per head has continued to increase year on year. Himalaya has provided not only a venue that enhances the visitor experience, but also provides the Zoo with a separate business unit that will enhance future revenues.

The Zoo’s financial performance was again healthy making a surplus before depreciation of £130k. We have been able to keep a tight handle on operational expenditure, while moving to maximise income streams in operations within Himalaya. Zoo Park (Twycross) Limited has again performed strongly, with the Retail and Catering sections being enhanced by the income from the Events department and the Gallery and, for the first time, an off-site stand was opened for the Christmas period. Zoo Park made a net surplus of £350k which will be Gift Aided to the Charity.

The success of the investments being made in the Zoo are epitomised by the investment in IT infrastructure. The introduction of the Electronic Point of Sale system and web

sales in April 2011 has seen Gift Aid income increase by £200k. This is a direct result of increasing the speed and convenience of collecting gift aid information electronically. The finance department has also played a key role in the training of Guest Services staff in Gift Aid, to enhance their knowledge and, in turn, increase the take up of this valuable income stream.

With the budget designed to support the long-term strategic aims, a project budget book was developed and integrated into the operational budget, providing clarity on both the financial impact of future projects and capacity within the organisation to deliver on future projects. This will enable the Zoo to better manage its long-term financial requirements.

During the year we have repaid £200k of the principal sum on the total loan liabilities with HSBC. An additional finance facility of £750k with Lombard was drawn down in 2011, with £200k of this principal sum also being repaid over the year. The financing currently being undertaken by the Zoo is a result of the excellent relations with both financial institutions. Supporting this, the Zoo gratefully received an additional £200k as a donation from HSBC.

It has been very much a year of long-term strategic planning and development and I look forward to supporting the Zoo in 2012.

Thomas Owen MA FCCAFinancial Controller

Financial Report

It has been a year of long term strategic planning and development. “

8-spined Leafcutter Ant (Acromyrmex octospinosus)

Finance Report

UnrestrictedFunds

RestrictedFunds

Endowment Funds

Total 2011

Total 2010

INCOMING RESOURCES

INCOMING RESOURCES FROM GENERATED FUNDS £ £ £ £ £

Voluntary income: Donations & Gifts 315,870 268,645 - 584,515 634,634

Activities for generating funds: Retail and Catering

Activities for generating funds: Investment Income

2,857,941

453

-

-

-

-

2,857,941

453

2,601,964

644

INCOMING RESOURCES FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITY

Animal, Education & Conservation Welfare 5,739,627 - - 5,739,627 5,156,529

OTHER

VAT Refund

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES 8,913,891 268,645 - 9,182,536 8,393,771

RESOURCES EXPENDED COSTS OF GENERATING FUNDS

Retail and Catering 2,404,658 - - 2,404,658 1,981,380

CHARITABLE ACTIVITY

Animal, Education & Conservation Welfare 7,008,190 420,796 - 7,428,986 7,006,306

GOVERNANCE COSTS 124,350 - - 124,350 73,565

TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED

NET INCOMING RESOURCES

9,537,198

(623,307)

420,796

(152,152)

-

-

9,957,994

(775,458)

9,061,251

(667,480)

OTHER RECOGNISED GAINS AND LOSSES

Change in Market Value of listed investments (80) - - (80) 861

NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS (623,387) (152,151) - (775,538) (666,691)

Fund balances brought forward at 1st January 2011 15,726,736 3,153,773 100,000 18,980,509 19,647,128

Fund balances brought forward at 31st December 2011 15,103,349 3,001,622 100,000 18,204,971 18,980,509

Twycross Zoo - East Midland Zoological Society Limited (by guarantee) CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES For the year ended 31st December 2011

Snow Leopards (Panthera uncia) Pink-backed Pelican (Pelecanus rufescens)

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Sales in April 2011 have seen Gift Aid incomeincrease by £200k.“

Twycross Zoo - East Midland Zoological Society Limited (by guarantee) CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES For the year ended 31st December 2011

2011 2010

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible Assets

Investments

£

20,500,771

7,313

£

21,236,376

7,393

CURRENT ASSETS

Stocks

Debtors

Cash at bank and in hand

211,572

514,047

110,689

135,360

179,769

185,895

836,308 501,024

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year (2,781,504) (1,167,390)

NET CURRENT ASSETS (1,945,196) (666,366)

TOTAL ASSETS LESS

CURRENT LIABILITIES 18,562,888 20,577,403

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due after more than one year

(357,917) (1,596,894)

FUNDS

Endowment Fund 100,000 100,000

Restricted Funds 3,001,622 3,153,773

Unrestricted Funds: Designated 1,401,832 1,405,008

Unrestricted Funds: Other 13,701,517 14,321,728

18,204,971 18,980,509

Twycross Zoo - East Midland Zoological Society Limited (by guarantee) CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET For the year ended 31st December 2011

The above has been extracted from the Statutory Accounts of Twycross Zoo for the year ended 31st December 2011. A full set is available, upon application, from the Company Secretary.

Increase/Decrease2011 2010* Difference Percentage

Parties 77,964 89,164 (11,200) (13%)

Adults 215,180 221,548 (6,368) (3%)

Children 3-16 93,516 94,592 (1,076) (1%)

Children U3 50,985 37,191 13,794 37%

Senior

Citizens 30,658 31,862 (1,204) (4%)

Members 19,999 5,076 14,923 294%

Vouchers 17,942 20,114 (2,172) (11%)

Total Visitors 506,244 499,547 6,697 1%

Number of Visitors

* 2010 Restated

Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)

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A key driver throughout the department during the year was to continue to be a leader in all aspects of animal management and welfare. Much emphasis was put on softening the appearance of the majority of the animal enclosures to provide a more naturalistic and enriching environment for animals and visitors alike, including the use of forest bark as the substrate of choice and the theme continuing into visitor areas. There has also been a major review of the Animal Collection Plan to strengthen further our commitment to, and support of, species that are important to conservation. MammalsPrimates: Our vital contribution to the breeding of great apes continued with the birth of a female Bornean orang-utan Molly early in the year. The wild population of this endangered species continues to decrease in the face of major threats, thus every offspring born helps to secure the future for this species. Our newly-formed pair of gorillas, Oumbie and Ozala, gave birth to their first offspring in April. Okanda is the first offspring to be sired by Oumbie since his arrival from Port Lympne. Following his healthy start in life the skills of our keepers came to the fore when they observed slight changes in Okanda’s demeanour and alerted the Veterinary and Curatorial teams. Investigations showed that Okanda’s health was deteriorating and early intervention allowed us to secure his survival following intensive treatment. Upon his recovery, and in consultation with the EEP, plans were being made towards the end of the year to transfer him to the Ape Nursery at Stuttgart Zoo early in 2012. Our continued success in breeding bonobos has led us to initiate a surrogacy-training programme with several of the females. It is hoped that in the future this will assist us in the conspecific social rearing of any rejected infants, thereby reducing the need to employ traditional hand-rearing techniques.

One of the major actions of the year was to begin moving chimpanzees out of their older accommodation, and into larger social groups. Chimpanzees naturally live in large groups, with complex social dynamics, so the moves offer the chimpanzees more opportunities to display natural social behaviours. These moves will continue into 2012 and will have a significant positive impact on the welfare of our chimpanzees.

As the World Primate Centre we have seen some important monkey births during 2012, beginning with two male Francois langurs, born to 2 different females. The second of these infants had to be hand-reared, but, following an intensive and sensitive routine, he was successfully reintroduced to his natal group. Our new de Brazza monkeys also produced offspring with the first birth, to a first-time mother, being unsuccessful, but she went on to have a successful second birth towards the end of the year, rearing the offspring herself without the need for further support. This is the first successful birth of this species at Twycross since 1981! One of the most significant primate births of 2011 was that of a female variegated spider monkey. This is the first birth of this critically endangered species at Twycross for a number of years, so it is hoped that this is now the start of a social group which will go on to produce more offspring. We continued our participation in a large number of coordinated breeding programmes and this saw two of our bonobos, Jasongo and Bokela, leave Twycross for Leipzig Zoo. One of our male white-cheeked gibbons went to Paradise Wildlife Park, a male agile gibbon went to Besancon and a female crowned lemur to Zoo de Champrepus, both in France. All of these transfers put the animals concerned into potential breeding situations with new partners from other zoos. We also saw the welcome return of l’Hoest monkeys to the zoo, when we became a participant in the l’Hoest monkey European Endangered Species programme, having not held this species for a number of years. In recent years, this programme has seen a significant growth in the European population and it is hoped that Twycross Zoo can add further to that growth in the future. Due to our success in keeping primates, a number of animals in the zoo are founders from the early years of the Zoo. Living into old age brings with it various age-related health problems and we had some significant losses of older animals this year, including the female western lowland gorilla Bongo, three female chimps, with the oldest being almost 40, and a male brown woolly monkey.

Carnivores: Following the arrival of our young pair of snow leopards in 2010 we were delighted with the successful birth and rearing of twin cubs (a male and a female) early in the year. Although being partly hand-raised the female ‘Irma’ proved to be a perfect mother to the cubs and they have been a huge delight to the visitors, who have an uninterrupted

Animal Report

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We were delighted with the successful birth and rearing of two snow leopard cubs.“view of the large naturalistic enclosure from the adjacent restaurant. With the adult male arriving from Tokyo Ueno Zoo, Japan, the cubs are particularly important genetically and thus a valuable contribution to the European population of this endangered species. Our remaining aardwolf died during the year at 19 years of age, representing one of the oldest living individuals in captivity. A female bat-eared fox was transferred to Antwerp Zoo and several meerkats went to West Midland Safari Park, Brno in the Czech Republic and Debrecen, Hungary. Our pair of meerkats have been particularly prolific in recent years and, in conjunction with the veterinary department, a contraceptive programme was planned, so as to not breed more animals than we can comfortably house or transfer to other collections. Elephants: Without doubt, the event that overshadowed all others on the elephant section during the year was the sudden and unexpected death of the bull calf ‘Ganesh Vijay’. Showing classic symptoms of elephant herpesvirus, he died within a typically short timeframe (see Veterinary Report). On a brighter note, the pregnancy of ‘Tara’ continued uneventfully, with ongoing planning continuing through the latter months of the year in preparation for the birth in February/March 2012. The result of artificial insemination, the semen donor was the bull ‘Raja’ at Woburn Safari Park, which illustrates perfectly the cooperation between zoos in the interests of conservation breeding. Ungulates: Our breeding pair of Michie’s tufted deer continued to ensure growth of the captive population of this endearing species with, for the second year, a female fawn being born. This follows previous births of several male offspring and helps to balance the overall sex ratio throughout Europe. As such, the female that was born in 2010 was transferred to Wroclaw Zoo, Poland to help establish a new pair there. A male vicuña was transferred to Edinburgh Zoo. With animal welfare and joint cooperation being fundamental to all that we do, we made the decision to castrate our male giraffe ‘Justin’, following discussions with the programme coordinator and concentrate on managing a small non-breeding herd of sub-specific hybrid animals. This is in no small part due to acknowledgment that our enclosure is no longer suitable for maintaining a large breeding herd of

giraffe, though by providing space for hybrid animals we can still play an important role in the programme’s larger objective of maintaining pure subspecies. Following a successful anaesthetic and operation earlier in the year, we duly welcomed a second female ‘Harriet’ from Africa Alive! and although the three giraffe quickly settled as a herd, ‘Justin’ unfortunately died suddenly during the night towards the end of the year; the two females continue to do well.

Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)

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BirdsIt has been a productive year in the bird department, with a number of hatchings being recorded. As usual, chicks of several gallinaceous species were reared, including crested wood partridge, Temminck’s tragopan and grey peacock pheasant. Two demoiselle cranes were also reared, as was a Humboldt’s penguin chick, a striated caracara and several clutches of western cattle egret.

Following last year’s success with our Southern lapwings, the adult pair surpassed themselves this year with two clutches of chicks being reared. Two sunbittern chicks from two clutches were also reared in the Tropical House. Having kept yellow-shouldered Amazon parrots for a number of years, we have more recently made changes to the pairings that we hold, to stimulate breeding activity; as such we were rewarded during the year with our first chick, a female, being hatched and reared. Red-legged seriema was a new species joining the collection, with a female arriving from Blackbrook Zoo; a male will be arriving from Vienna to pair with her early in 2012. To make additional new pairings, other birds received during the year included a new male red-crested touraco from Paignton Zoo, three pied imperial pigeon and a pair of little pied cormorant from Burgers’ Zoo, The Netherlands. A male tawny frogmouth also arrived from Belfast Zoo and, with attempted breeding activity during the year, signs are looking promising that we will see chicks being reared next year. The male of a sibling pair of white-naped cranes was exchanged with Leeuwarden Zoo to give us an unrelated pairing and we also exchanged a female military macaw for a male bird with Leeds Castle to make a second pairing. A number of birds left Twycross during the year, with Wroclaw Zoo, Poland receiving a female tawny frogmouth and two female European rollers. A trio of Chilean lapwings and a small flock of western cattle egrets went to the Welsh Mountain Zoo and two pairs of yellow-shouldered amazon parrots were returned to Linton Zoo. As one of only a handful of collections breeding sunbittern, we were able to send a male that was hatched in 2011 to Chester Zoo to make a new pairing there. In addition to the European rollers that went to Wroclaw, other species that are no longer represented in the collection

include thick-billed parrots that went to Edinburgh Zoo in an attempt to increase the breeding potential of this species. A male raven also left for Colchester Zoo to pair with a lone female there. Due to some issues with the netting of the wader aviary adjoining Himalaya, pied avocet, redshank and Inca terns temporarily left the collection and demoiselle and grey crowned cranes were re-housed there until this has been resolved. Charlotte MacdonaldCurator, Living Collections Neil DormanCurator, Conservation Programmes and Planning

Animal Report

Western Cattle Egret (Bulbulcus ibis ibis)

Sunbittern (Eurypyga helias)

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Animal Collection

MAMMALS Common Name

Scientific Name Red List Status

DIPROTODONTIAGround Cuscus Phalanger gymnotis Least Concern

Red-necked Wallaby Macropus rufogriseus Least Concern

PROBOSCIDEAAsian Elephant Elephas maximus Endangered

PILOSALinné's Two-toed Sloth Choloepus didactylus Least Concern

PRIMATESCrowned Lemur Eulemur coronatus Vulnerable

Red-bellied Lemur Eulemur rubriventer Vulnerable

Ring-tailed Lemur Lemur catta Near Threatened

Red Ruffed Lemur Varecia rubra Endangered

Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur Varecia variegata Critically Endangered

Silvery Marmoset Callithrix argentata Least Concern

White-fronted Marmoset Callithrix geoffroyi Least Concern

Common Marmoset Callithrix jacchus Least Concern

Black-eared Marmoset Callithrix penicillata Least Concern

Pygmy Marmoset Callithrix pygmaea Least Concern

Golden-headed Tamarin Leontopithecus chrysomelas Endangered

Golden Lion Tamarin Leontopithecus rosalia Endangered

Emperor Tamarin Saguinus imperator Least Concern

Red-handed Tamarin Saguinus midas Least Concern

Coppery Titi Callicebus cupreus Least Concern

White-faced Saki Pithecia pithecia Least Concern

Black-and-gold Howler Monkey Alouatta caraya Least Concern

Spider Monkey Ateles X (hybrid) Data deficient/not evaluated

Colombian Black Spider Monkey Ateles fusciceps rufiventris Critically Endangered

Brown Spider Monkey Ateles hybridus Critically Endangered

Red-faced Spider Monkey Ateles paniscus Vulnerable

Brown Woolly Monkey Lagothrix lagotricha Vulnerable

Allen's Swamp Monkey Allenopithecus nigroviridis Least Concern

Diana Monkey Cercopithecus diana diana Vulnerable

Roloway Monkey Cercopithecus diana roloway Endangered

Hamlyn's Guenon Cercopithecus hamlyni Vulnerable

L'Hoest's Monkey Cercopithecus lhoesti Vulnerable

Lowe's Guenon Cercopithecus lowei Least Concern

de Brazza's Monkey Cercopithecus neglectus Least Concern

Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey Cercopithecus petaurista Least Concern

Crowned Guenon Cercopithecus pogonias Least Concern

Black-and-white Colobus Colobus guereza Least Concern

Javan Langur Trachypithecus auratus auratus Vulnerable

Francois' Langur Trachypithecus francoisi Endangered

Dusky Langur Trachypithecus obscurus Near Threatened

Agile Gibbon Hylobates agilis Endangered

Lar Gibbon Hylobates lar Endangered

Grey Gibbon Hylobates muelleri Endangered

Pileated Gibbon Hylobates pileatus Endangered

Northern White-cheeked Gibbon Nomascus leucogenys Critically Endangered

Siamang Symphalangus syndactylus Critically Endangered

Lowland Gorilla Gorilla gorilla Critically Endangered

Bonobo Pan paniscus Endangered

Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes (racial hybrid) Endangered

Long-haired Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii Endangered

Western Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes verus Endangered

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AnimalCollection

BIRDS Common Name Scientific Name Red List Status

RHEIFORMES Darwin's Rhea Pterocnemia pennata pennata Data deficient/not evaluated

GALLIFORMES Rufous-vented Chachalaca Ortalis ruficauda Least Concern

Guineafowl Numida meleagris Domestic Blue Quail Coturnix chinensis Least Concern

Crested Wood-partridge Rollulus rouloul Near Threatened

Mountain Bamboo-partridge Bambusicola fytchii Least Concern

Satyr Tragopan Tragopan satyra Near Threatened Temminck's Tragopan Tragopan temminckii Least Concern

Domestic Chicken Gallus gallus Domestic

Silver Pheasant Lophura nycthemera Least Concern

Animal Collection

MAMMALS Common Name Scientific Name Red List Status Bornean Orangutan Pongo pygmaeus Endangered

RODENTIA Black-tailed Prairie Dog Cynomys ludovicianus Least Concern

(Domestic) Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus Domestic

Long-tailed Chinchilla Chinchilla lanigera Critically Endangered

(Domestic) Guinea-pig Cavia porcellus Domestic

Patagonian Mara Dolichotis patagonum Near Threatened

Capybara Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris Least Concern

Degu Octodon degus Least Concern

LAGOMORPHA Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus Domestic

CHIROPTERA Seba's Short-tailed Bat Carollia perspicillata Least Concern

CARNIVORA Wild Cat Felis silvestris Least Concern

Amur Leopard Panthera pardus orientalis Critically Endangered

Snow Leopard Panthera uncia Endangered

Meerkat Suricata suricatta Least Concern

Striped Hyaena Hyaena hyaena Near Threatened

Aardwolf Proteles cristata Least Concern

Dhole Cuon alpinus Endangered

Bat-eared Fox Otocyon megalotis Least Concern

South American Sealion Otaria flavescens Least Concern

Oriental Small-clawed Otter Aonyx cinerea Vulnerable

Yellow-throated Marten Martes flavigula Least Concern

Ferret Mustela putorius furo Domestic

PERISSODACTYLA Donkey Equus asinus Domestic

Malayan Tapir Tapirus indicus Endangered

Lowland Tapir Tapirus terrestris Vulnerable

ARTIODACTYLA Domestic Bactrian Camel Camelus bactrianus Critically Endangered

Alpaca Vicugna pacos Data deficient/not evaluated

Vicuña Vicugna vicugna Least Concern

Reindeer Rangifer tarandus Least Concern

Michie's Tufted Deer Elaphodus cephalophus michianus Near Threatened

Giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis Least Concern

Goat Capra hircus hircus Domestic

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Animal Collection

BIRDS Common Name Scientific Name Red List Status Reeve's Pheasant Syrmaticus reevesii Vulnerable

Grey Peacock-pheasant Polyplectron bicalcaratum Least Concern

ANSERIFORMES Madagascar Teal Anas bernieri Endangered

Chestnut Teal Anas castanea Least Concern

Red Shoveler Anas platalea Least Concern

Common Pochard Aythya ferina Least Concern

Muscovy Duck Cairina moschata Least Concern

Ringed Teal Callonetta leucophrys Least Concern

SPHENISCIFORMES Humboldt Penguin Spheniscus humboldti Vulnerable

PHOENICOPTERIFORMES Chilean Flamingo Phoenicopterus chilensis Near Threatened

CICONIIFORMES European White Stork Ciconia ciconia ciconia Least Concern

Black Stork Ciconia nigra Least Concern

Scarlet Ibis Eudocimus ruber Least Concern

Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus Least Concern

Puna Ibis Plegadis ridgwayi Least Concern

Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita Critically Endangered

Little Egret Egretta garzetta Least Concern

Purple Heron Ardea purpurea Least Concern

Western Cattle Egret Bulbulcus ibis ibis Least Concern

Striated Heron Butorides striata Least Concern

Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax Least Concern

PELICANIFORMES Pink-backed Pelican Pelecanus rufescens Least Concern

Little Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax melanoleucos Least Concern

FALCONIFORMES Striated Caracara Phalcoboenus australis Near Threatened

GRUIFORMES Red-legged Seriema Cariama cristata Least Concern

Sunbittern Eurypyga helias Least Concern

Grey Crowned-crane Balearica regulorum Vulnerable

White-naped Crane Grus vipio Vulnerable

Manchurian Crane Grus japonensis Endangered

Demoiselle Crane Anthropoides virgo Least Concern

CHARADRIIFORMES Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta Least Concern

Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula Least Concern

Southern Lapwing Vanellus chilensis Least Concern

Redshank Tringa totanus Least Concern

Inca Tern Larosterna inca Near Threatened

COLUMBIFORMES Speckled Pigeon Columba guinea Least Concern

Green Imperial Pigeon Ducula aenea Least Concern

Pied Imperial Pigeon Ducula bicolor Least Concern

Diamond Dove Geopelia cuneata Least Concern

Bar-shouldered Dove Geopelia humeralis Least Concern

Black-winged Ground Dove Metriopelia melanoptera Least Concern

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AMPHIBIANS Common Name Scientific Name Red List Status ANURA Green-and-black Poison Dart Frog Dendrobates auratus Least Concern

Oriental Fire-bellied Toad Bombina orientalis Least Concern

White's Tree Frog Litoria caerulea Least Concern

Animal Collection

BIRDS Common Name Scientific Name Red List Status

PSITTACIFORMES Bourke's Parrot Neopsephotus bourkii Least Concern

Elegant Parrot Neophema elegans Least Concern

Turquoise Parrot Neophema pulchella Least Concern

Plum-headed Parakeet Psittacula cyanocephala Least Concern

Derbyan Parakeet Psittacula derbiana Near Threatened

Nyasa Lovebird Agapornis lilianae Near Threatened

Black-cheeked Lovebird Agapornis nigrigenis Vulnerable

Peach-faced Lovebird Agapornis roseicollis Least Concern

Vasa Parrot Coracopsis vasa Least Concern

Blue-and-yellow Macaw Ara ararauna Least Concern

Red-and-green Macaw Ara chloroptera Least Concern

Blue-throated Macaw Ara glaucogularis Critically Endangered

Military Macaw Ara militaris Vulnerable

Red-fronted Macaw Ara rubrogenys Endangered

Thick-billed Parrot Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha Endangered

Orange-winged Amazon Amazona amazonica Least Concern

Yellow-naped Amazon Amazona auropalliata Least Concern

Yellow-shouldered Amazon Amazona barbadensis Vulnerable

CUCULIFORMES Red-crested Turaco Tauraco erythrolophus Least Concern

STRIGIFORMES Southern Boobook Ninox boobook Least Concern

White-faced Scops Owl Ptilopsis leucotis Least Concern

Spectacled Owl Pulsatrix perspicillata Least Concern

Great Grey Owl Strix nebulosa Least Concern

Ural Owl Strix uralensis Least Concern

CAPRIMULGIFORMES Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides Least Concern

CORACIIFORMES European Roller Coracias garrulus Near Threatened

BUCEROTIFORMES African Grey Hornbill Tockus nasutus Least Concern

Silvery-cheeked Hornbill Bycanistes brevis Least Concern

Northern Ground-hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus Least Concern

PASSERIFORMES Pied Crow Corvus albus Least Concern

Common Raven Corvus corax Least Concern

Bali Starling Leucopsar rothschildi Critically Endangered

Gouldian Finch Erythrura gouldiae Endangered

Bengalese/society Finch Lonchura 'domestica' Domestic

Java Sparrow Padda oryzivora Vulnerable

Long-tailed Finch Poephila acuticauda Least Concern

Australian Zebra Finch Taeniopygia castanotis Least Concern

Montserrat Oriole Icterus oberi Critically Endangered

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INVERTEBRATES Common Name Scientific Name Red List Status

GASTROPODA West African Land-snail Archachatina marginata Data deficient/not evaluated

ARACHNIDA

Emperor Scorpion Pandinus imperator Data deficient/not evaluated

Red-kneed Tarantula Brachypelma smithi Near Threatened

Chilean Rose Tarantula Grammostola rosea Data deficient/not evaluated

INSECTA

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach Gromphadorhina portentosa Data deficient/not evaluated

Thorny Walking-stick Trachyaretaon brueckneri Data deficient/not evaluated

8-spined Leafcutter Ant Acromyrmex octospinosus Data deficient/not evaluated

FISH Common Name

Scientific Name Red List Status

CYPRINIFORMES Goldfish Carassius auratus Domestic

Common Carp Cyprinus carpio Domestic

Golden Ide Leuciscus idus Domestic

PERCIFORMES Freshwater Angelfish Pterophyllum scalare Data deficient/not evaluated

REPTILES Common Name Scientific Name Red List Status CHELONIA

European Pond Turtle Emys orbicularis Near Threatened

Red-eared Slider Trachemys scripta elegans Least Concern

Aldabra Tortoise Geochelone gigantea Vulnerable

Red-footed Tortoise Chelonoidis carbonaria Data deficient/not evaluated

African Spurred Tortoise Centrochelys sulcata Vulnerable

Bell's Hingeback Tortoise Kinixys belliana Data deficient/not evaluated

Pancake Tortoise Malacochersus tornieri Vulnerable

Leopard Tortoise Stigmochelys pardalis Data deficient/not evaluated

Hermann's Tortoise Testudo hermanni Near Threatened

Central Asian Tortoise Testudo horsfieldii Vulnerable

SAURIA

Eastern Bearded Dragon Pogona barbata Least Concern

Inland Bearded Dragon Pogona vitticeps Data deficient/not evaluated

Green Iguana Iguana iguana Data deficient/not evaluated

Leopard Gecko Eublepharis macularius Data deficient/not evaluated

Glass Lizard Pseudopus apodus Data deficient/not evaluated

White-throated Monitor Varanus albigularis ionidesi Data deficient/not evaluated

SERPENTES Boa Constrictor Boa constrictor Data deficient/not evaluated

Baird's Ratsnake Elaphe bairdi Data deficient/not evaluated

Cornsnake/red Ratsnake Elaphe guttata guttata Data deficient/not evaluated

Animal Collection

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16

Veterinary Report

Since September 2011, the veterinary team has been led by Sarah Chapman, Head of Veterinary Services, who joined the team after her predecessor, Lesa Longley, left to pursue a year-long stay in Japan. Sarah has previously worked at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park and Woburn Safari Park and has a Masters in Wild Animal Health and a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Certificate in Zoo Medicine. Sarah is the veterinary advisor for the Elephant Working Group and the Bongo Taxon Advisory Group and is working towards her Zoo Medicine Diploma (Mammals). A big change within the department is that we now have two full-time veterinary nurses. Bridget Fry was joined by Sophie Barnes as a permanent member of the team in November 2011. Sophie had been providing locum cover for nursing duties whilst Bridget assisted with the completion of the Wildpro Ferret volume. Following the completion of this volume, Bridget has now returned to clinical duties. The nursing rota has since been constructed to provide seven-day nursing cover for our animal collection, which will further enhance the level of care for the animals. The nurses will also join our firearms team, thereby increasing the number of trained staff available for this essential cover. The veterinary nurses are responsible for implementing preventative health strategies and training keepers in topics such as biosecurity. Training with regards to biosecurity and zoonoses has also involved the maintenance team. The Veterinary Department works closely with Charlotte Macdonald and Neil Dorman in relation to animal-planning issues, for example, imports, exports and contraception. The Veterinary Department also manages escape drills, organises firearms training and is proactive in team development. Resulting from the nature of her work as Head of Veterinary Services, Sarah has been cited in various press articles and has undertaken TV and Radio interviews regarding high-profile clinical cases this year. The veterinary team also represent Twycross Zoo at various veterinary conferences within the UK and abroad.

The department is continuing the relationship with medical cardiologists from the University of Wales, Cardiff, who assist Twycross Zoo with the cardiac assessment of our animals. This has been expanded from great apes to other primate species. The heart scans are part of the Great Ape Heart Project, an international effort to progress our understanding of heart disease in these special animals. We also to continue to work with other outside specialists, such as clinicians from Nottingham Veterinary School and Dr Peter Kertesz (ZOODENT International). Recent dental

cases include our breeding male Vicuña, which required root-filling of his incisors, and two male black-and-white colobus that required root-filling of canine tooth defects. We continue to work with the International Zoo Veterinary Group and Scarsdale Veterinary Group, who both assist with out-of-hours veterinary cover for the zoo and clinical visits as necessary. We are very pleased to have received a kind donation of a number of flexible endoscopes from Hinckley General Hospital, which will allow us to perform a full range of diagnostics on our patients and gain further vital information for the treatment of clincal cases.

Our elephant calf, Ganesh Vijay, died after receiving intensive round-the-clock care for elephant herpesvirus. This led to a collaboration with the School of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery at the University of Nottingham to further investigate this disease. The team, including Sharon Redrobe, Director of Life Sciences and Clinical Associate Professor, has secured a grant with Dr Rachel Tarlington, University of Nottingham, to learn more about the disease using quantitative as well as qualititative PCRs for example. The adults are trained to give trunk wash samples every week so that we can monitor the herpesvirus. We are also in the process of working on the birthing plan and calf-management plan for Tara, who is due to give birth in spring 2012; Tonzi and Mimbu have acted as blood donors to enable us to store plasma for the new-born calf, in case of emergency. Artificial insemination is being discussed for the future development of our elephant herd.

We have been busy performing health checks on various animals as they move between houses and also prior to external transfer from the collection, which links in with

Veterinary team scanning Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)

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The chimps get a full heart scan during their veterinary checks.“our work with the cardiologists and has enabled the early diagnosis and treatment of heart disease in various ape and monkey species. Our chimpanzees have benefited from this in particular and have had full health checks during their moves into new groups within the zoo.

Okanda, the baby gorilla, was a huge challenge for our team. When Okanda became very ill, he spent 11 days with Sarah receiving intensive veterinary care before being returned to a team of keepers lead by John Buchan. We are very pleased with Okanda’s progress and proud of the hard work by the whole zoo team, which enabled this animal to survive. The veterinary team continues to work with Kris Hern regarding animal training and the needs of the animals when receiving treatment. Notable training achievements include the perfection of the technique of injecting into the back of the hand that was used with Danny and Tommy, two chimpanzees, for anaesthesia purposes, to allow their stress-free movement to a new enclosure. This technique was used with the bonobos, which enabled swift access to a newborn bonobo baby that required vital care in the first hours of life. Training of our animals allows close inspection and weighing of individuals, so that we can monitor their health and treat accordingly.

Yinx, the Francois’ langur, is being closely moni tored after his recovery from medical issues and following his hand-rearing and subsequent reintroduction into the family group. This is a huge success for the zoo as Francois’ langurs are a critically endangered species and this is the first baby for this particular mother.

Final-year veterinary students, from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, have continued their clinical rotations on a fortnightly basis and enjoy the opportunity to learn about both exotic and wild animal cases. We teach over 100 students each year. The students are involved in clinical work, animal behavioural observations and projects, which include dietary analysis, case reviews and husbandry investigations. Their involvement in the zoo has helped us make improvements to enclosures and the students also work closely with the animal-keeping staff to learn about the animals in our collection. In addition, we have qualified veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses ‘seeing practice’ with us on a regular basis; they come to learn about managing exotic cases and what equipment is necessary to carry out appropriate clinical

work in veterinary practice.

Sad losses include Bongo, the female gorilla, who was 46 years old and had severe dental disease. Avian malaria was confirmed as the cause of death in one Humboldt penguin found dead, necessitating the treatment of the whole penguin group as a preventative measure. No further cases of avian malaria in this penguin group have since occurred. A young pileated gibbon suffered a severely fractured forelimb and, as a result, was euthanased. This event initiated a review of the pileated gibbon family tree and diet to look for a possible link with previous bone abnormalities seen in this species. Also, two woolly monkeys succumbed to heart disease, a condition which is unfortunately very common in this species. The veterinary team is working hard to health check all our animals, so that we can detect any sub-clinical disease and treat appropriately. This preventative regime plays an integral part in ensuring that all of the animals at the Zoo receive the necessary high standard of clinical care. Management of chronic clinical cases and elderly animals is a high priority, especially due to the high numbers of older primates in the collection. The veterinary team strives to give the animals the best care possible and continues to review regularly the treatment of animals to ensure that the highest level of animal welfare is achieved.

Sarah Chapman BVM&S MSc CertZooMed MRCVSHead of Veterinary Services

Hernia operation on Okanda, Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)

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Conservation Welfare Fund Report

Twycross Zoo’s Conservation Welfare Fund (CWF) has again contributed to a number of field projects in 2011. Through the fund, we aim to provide financial aid to projects that have a direct contribution to species conservation or projects that work to increase animal welfare. These projects fall into three different groups – those which we fund through the ‘Primate Vision’ initiative, such as those which fall under ‘Bonobo!’; those which we fund through our small grants programme, which can be for any worthy cause related to the conservation and welfare of wild animal species; and those that are funded by ‘pledge’ through our inclusion within a particular breeding programme for a specific collection species or membership to a certain organisation. We must make special mention that two of our ‘Five Primates Vision’ projects, i.e. Awely Greencaps and Fauna & Flora’s Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Programme, have received awards totalling €45,000 from the EAZA Ape Campaign, which ran until September. This money has enabled Awely to set up a veterinary infrastructure for their ‘self-sustainability’ livestock husbandry programme, thereby decreasing the region’s former hunters’ dependency on bushmeat, which included bonobo. In the case of FFI, the money has facilitated strengthening links with the local people, both in terms of interventions within the local communities and supporting their livelihoods, which together help to reduce habitat degradation, but it is also enabling the project to expand its detailed ecological monitoring efforts in China and further develop the collaboration between colleagues in Vietnam and southern China. In May of 2011, Susie Boardman, CEO of Twycross Zoo, and Neil Dorman, Curator, Conservation Programmes and Planning, visited two of our overseas projects, namely the Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Programme in Vietnam and the Siberut Conservation Project in Indonesia, exploring the needs of the projects and conducting due diligence on each. Primate VisionThe aim of this initiative is to help secure the future of five primate species in the wild by 2020. Currently, two species are on the list, with two other project groups in discussion. These cover Africa and Southeast Asia. 2011 has seen the continuation of funding for Lola Ya Bonobo, Awely Greencaps

(both concerned with the conservation of bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo) and FFI’s Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Programme (in Vietnam, and now also involving researchers from Southwest China). Lola Ya Bonobo (LYB): Bonobo (Pan paniscus)LYB continues its rehabilitation programme, with bonobos confiscated from markets being taken to their sanctuary. LYB’s wider education programme is involved with reducing the impact of the bushmeat trade in the area through development of micro-projects and general education initiatives. Being on the doorstep of Kinshasa, LYB is ideally situated to spread the word on the plight and conservation of one of our closest relatives. Major news items of the year include:-The purchase of a second island in January, which is being used as a release site for those bonobos which cannot be put back into the wild; the second phase of reintroductions on Ekolo ya Bonobo in March and April, with the transport and release of six more bonobos; the release of the film ‘Bonobos’ across France in April (and also in Kinshasa in August). This film told the story of Beni, one of LYB’s orphans, who is the bonobo depicted on their logo and is the emblem for their projects. August saw the development of a new nursery at the sanctuary, while October saw Claudine André (CEO of Lola Ya Bonobo) receiving the ‘Femme en Or’ award as ‘Woman for the Environment 2011’. Truly a busy year, if you include the intake of several more orphaned bonobos and their education programme!

Awely Greencaps : Bonobo (Pan paniscus)2011 has seen a census of the wild bonobos in the Basankusu area of the Democratic Republic of Congo, enabling Awely to get a clearer picture of how many are present, and where. They have expanded their DRC Greencaps programme to the South, going deeper into the forest, and thereby, into prime bonobo habitat. Their major new project, which looks at the development of livestock micro-projects, has been boosted by EAZA money, enabling them to improve their veterinary infrastructure. This year has also seen the development of a 36-page booklet presenting Bonobos and the existing biodiversity of the area, the role of the forest in the regulation of the local climate, and explaining

in avoiding escapes, as they can plan better for regular cage/enclosure maintenance, and, thereby, avoid compromising quarantine procedures. People Resources and Conservation Fund: contributing to support the land-use planning workshop in one of the endangered Francois’ langur (Trachypithecus francoisi) critical habitat sites in North Vietnam. Wildlife Vets International: supporting the Amur Leopard Reintroduction Veterinary Consultancy in Far Eastern Russia, in examining the cats and other wildlife / livestock for wildlife disease assessment, making detailed clinical assessment of cats caught, aiding the development of the only wildlife surveillance team in this part of Russia and adding to the veterinary database on the leopard, as well as providing veterinary advice to the reintroduction programme. We also received reports back from the 2010 projects, namely Snow Leopard Trust (Mongolia) and the German Primate Centre (Siberut, Mentawai Islands, in Indonesia). In addition to the above, Twycross Zoo has provided funds to le Conservatoire pour la Protection des Primates for the conservation of South American titis via Proyecto Mono Tocón. The goal of the project is the conservation of the endangered San Martín titi (Callicebus oenanthe, known locally as “el mono tocón”). During the year, if you visited the zoo, you would have seen information around our site regarding the EAZA Ape Campaign, as well as requests for donations and a variety of events, including our biggest event, the sponsored ‘Three Peaks Challenge’. When the campaign came to a close in September, EAZA awarded Twycross Zoo a ‘Silver’ certificate in recognition of raising more than €8,500 for the campaign, and we send our thanks to all those who contributed to this amazing feat - sponsors, visitors and staff alike! Dr Kevin Caley BSc (JHons) PhDResearch and Conservation Executive

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August saw the development of a new nursery at the bonobo sanctuary.“how people can work sustainably in the region and thereby live with wildlife, rather than over-exploiting it. Written in French and the local DRC language of Lingala, the booklet is also accessible to those who cannot read through the use of intuitive graphics. In terms of dissemination and outreach, Awely have also been able to show that local school children have a fairly good knowledge of the major threats to the bonobo population. Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Programme (FFI): Cao Vit Gibbon (Nomascus nasutus) The major change in 2011 was that Paul Insua Cao, the programme leader, moved on to work in Laos, passing the project to Ulrike Streicher, a veterinarian in the Vietnam region and a well-known wildlife biologist whose specialist area includes primates. We wish Paul well in his future endeavours, and look forward to working with Ulrike in the continuation of this important project, the aim of which is to study this, the second most endangered ape on the planet, and to manage the conservation programme in close cooperation with the local villagers and authorities to save the species from extinction. Gibbon surveys have continued in Cao Bang Province, within the protected area covering an area of 16 km² in Vietnam and 60 km² in China. Close collaboration between Chinese and Vietnamese experts in the species has been aided by the EAZA money that we jointly bid for in 2010. Operations to develop a sustainable agricultural system continue, so that villagers no longer depend on the protected forests for firewood. The project has seen a remarkable improvement in the amount of tree cover in the area. Small Grants ProgrammeIn addition to the Primate Vision, Twycross Zoo has a ‘Small Grants’ programme, offering up to £3,000 for individual projects. 2011 has seen the donation of funds to three projects – Orangutan Land Trust / Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, Nyaru Menteng: funding the construction of a transit enclosure at the Nyaru Menteng rehabilitation sanctuary for Bornean orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus), which can be used for animals whilst their own enclosures are being repaired. This enclosure will assist the foundation enormously

ResearchThe Research Department has continued to support students and keepers carrying out research projects. In line with previous years, behavioural issues, including some enrichment studies, have been explored. This year has seen a number of projects looking at cognition in primates, while our healthy ageing ape research stream has attracted a number of studies. In addition, we have taken advantage of the current moves of our chimpanzees into larger social groupings to explore and monitor how the animals integrate and the hierarchies develop. We have also been involved in a multiple-study research programme called ‘QBA’ (or ‘Qualitative Behavioural Assessment’), which is a novel method for the study of subjective experience in animals, previously used in Australia, Africa and Scandinavia in the study of farm animals, but with limited exploration of its use with wild animals, such as elephants. This appears to be the first set of studies on zoo animals in the UK, and should bring together the observations of behavioural scientists and non-specialists, in terms of seeing how close their skills match for future development, as well as providing a lot of information on the species involved. In addition, one of last year’s projects, that of Carl Regan, from the University of Nottingham (highlighted in last year’s Annual Report), received the award of ‘Commendation’ from the BIAZA Council at this year’s ACE (Awards, Communication and Education) conference. In his project he identified individual animals within groups through the use of non-toxic glitter, in conjunction with microscopic and DNA polymerase chain reaction (‘PCR’) techniques so that we could get an accurate analysis of the prevalence of the gut-dwelling (pathogenic) protist Entamoeba in our primate collection.

Dr Kevin Caley BSc (JHons) PhDResearch and Conservation Executive

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Research and Knowledge Hub Report

The Knowledge Hub The Knowledge Hub was established in May 2011, with the initial mandate covering the following areas: Fund-raising and Sponsorships, Project Development and Delivery, Scientific and Business Research, Knowledge Management, Performance Management, Relationships and Partnerships Management and Corporate Governance.

The team spent the summer and autumn identifying the key business processes across the organisation, identifying potential efficiency improvements in existing processes and developing processes for new business activity to be implemented in 2012. This work will lead to the identification of Key Performance Indicators across the organisation and in the future, more effective monitoring of performance.

Since May, the team has submitted two full grant applications and five expressions of interest. In the coming months, the team will be developing a sponsorship strategy, as well as identifying and perusing a variety of funding sources, to deliver the priority projects.

Over the summer we held a number of master-planning and concept-planning workshops. In these workshops the performance against the delivery of the 2005 masterplan was reviewed and a start was made to identify the key development areas for the next five years. We are continuing to develop concept plans for Chimps Choice and Consequence and further master-planning for the wider zoo, which will continue as one of the primary objectives for 2012.

With the Governance review well underway, we have been identifying the key business areas that will need to be developed after approval. A key priority that has been identified is branding across the identities. Thus, a priority in 2012 will be the development and implementation of a branding strategy.

Gill SmithermanHead of Development

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Research Projects

University or research institution(including collaborative partners)

Level Project Title

Twycross Zoo Research Internship

Creating a baseline survey protocol for Twycross Zoo: what native species do we have already present? (continuation of project)

University of Liverpool Postdoctoral Comparative biomechanics of limb function in primates and their predators

Twycross Zoo Research Internship Study of two chimpanzees prior to integration to a larger social group: analysis of ethograms for stereotypies and common behaviours.

Flamingoland Zoo / University of York Research Internship Penguin behaviour, space use and breeding success in relation to enclosure design, with specific reference to the Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti)

Royal Veterinary College

BVM A retrospective study of common causes of death in captive gibbon collections in the UK

Durham University MSc Enclosure use and environmental preferences of Asian Apes: Hylobates lar, Pongo abelii, Pongo pygmaeus and Symphalangus syndactylus

Oxford Brookes University MSc The influence of enclosure design on the behaviour of zoo-housed gibbons

University of Nottingham Postdoctoral Healthy Ageing Chimp

University of Derby BSc The comparison of vigilance in captive meerkats, Suricata suricatta, at feed times, while foraging with the public present or not.

Sparsholt College / Twycross Zoo BSc The development of a body condition score chart for guenons and its benefits

University of Birmingham PhD Planning of action sequences during physical problem-solving in primates

University of Wales Institute, Cardiff Postdoctoral Understanding great ape cardiovascular structure and function

University of Northampton MSc Do background and rearing style of zoo chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) relate to behaviour and personality in later life?

Aberystwyth University BSc Environmental enrichment of the plum-headed parakeet

Orchid Cellmark, Ltd. Postdoctoral Species identification using 12 r RNA

Twycross Zoo Research Internship Merging two groups of common chimpanzee at Twycross Zoo

University of Derby BSc The effect of group size on conspecific distancing in captive Bornean orang utans (Pongo pygmaeus)

Royal Veterinary College Msc Disease prevalence in captive great apes (Hominidae) in British and Irish Zoological collections

Royal Veterinary College MSc Cardiac disease in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) within UK Collections

University of Leeds BSc Auditory enrichment for captive howlers at Twycross Zoo

University of Derby BSc The feasibility and impact on welfare of utilising food-based enrichment with captive Bornean orang utans

Keele University BSc How do husbandry conditions affect breeding success in captive guenons?

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Research ProjectsResearch Projects

University or research institution(including collaborative partners)

Level Project Title

University of Nottingham BSc Qualitative behaviour assessment to determine the effect of an enrichment strategy on behaviour in captive spider-monkeys at Twycross Zoo

Twycross Zoo / University of York Research Internship How do chimpanzees converge on vocal labels for novel foods?

Twycross Zoo / University of York Research Internship When two cultures collide: how does social learning occur across chimpanzee groups?

Twycross Zoo / University of York Research Internship Observational study of chimpanzee integration processes

University of Nottingham BSc Qualitative behaviour assessment to determine the effect of an enrichment strategy on behaviour in captive Asian elephants at Twycross Zoo

Sparsholt College BSc An investigation into the variety of diets fed to Malayan tapirs, Tapirus indicus, in the United Kingdom, with reference to their fibre and protein utilisation.

Keele University BSc Do captive meerkats (Suricata suricatta) show equal alert behaviour towards aerial predators in their indoor and outdoor enclosures

University of Nottingham BSc Qualitative behaviour assessment to determine the effect of an enrichment strategy on behaviour in captive chimpanzees at Twycross Zoo

University of Nottingham BSc Qualitative behaviour assessment to determine the effect of an enrichment strategy on behaviour in captive chimpanzees at Twycross Zoo: continuation project

University of Exeter PhD How the social network structure of a group can be affected by behavioural traits of an individual and vice versa

Warwickshire College BSc Research into the social behaviour and interactions in singly and socially housed snow leopards (Panthera uncia)

University of Keele BSc How do pygmy marmosets and golden lion tamarins in a multi-species exhibit interact with each other?

University of Nottingham BSc Impact and relationship of nutritional status on reproductive endocrinology in captive African and Asian elephants

Reaseheath College, Cheshire BSc On hearing vocalisations of wild conspecifics, how does the behaviour of captive spider-monkeys change?

Chester University BSc Evaluating and minimising the effect of visitor presence on the great apes, with reference to the public’s perception of animal welfare

Universitat Pompeu Fabra PhD Gene expression variation by copy number variants

Keele University BSc How biological research can help with the conservation of the western gorilla

Royal Veterinary College Postdoctoral Musculoskeletal anatomy, pathology and growth of giraffe limbs

22

Education Report

2011 saw the implementation of the Vet Days programme. These sessions were designed to increase the passion students have for the sciences, particularly biology. The initial sessions, held in spring, were fully evaluated, with the results showing that students following the sessions were more likely to take their biology studies to a higher level, with half the respondents indicating that they had a greater interest in an animal-oriented career since the sessions. This programme currently operates a number of different sessions across various age groups and was awarded the award for ‘Best Educational Project: Schools and Institutions’, by BIAZA in November, 2011.

The Eco-Rangers After-School Club entered its fourth year in partnership with Twycross House School. Thirteen students joined Education Officer Amy Moore for this year’s sessions in which students studied rainforest ecosystems, sustainable living, invertebrates and how to care well for their pets at home. The team plans to carry out market research in early 2012 in the local area to assess whether expansion of the programme to other schools is viable.

The education department also ran a new summer scheme called Zooniversity, during which the students spent five days learning about zoo careers, animal training, behavioural research and native species work.

The Zoo Centre opened for the summer holidays as an activity centre for visitors. Craft activities were rotated each week to ensure that repeat visitors enjoyed a different experience. These activities were provided free of charge. However, donations were encouraged for the zoo’s annual campaign. To date, a total £1,100 has been collected through the Zoo Centre, which is an average of around £150 per week.

A new addition for summer 2011 was the Conservation Station. An area on the Cockatoo lawn was developed and manned by either an Education Officer or an Education volunteer. The station contained biofacts (skins etc.) and learning activities for children and parents and proved to be very popular, with a dwell time above that which was originally expected.

With the additional activities running throughout the holidays, it was necessary to supplement the education team with volunteers. A volunteer open-afternoon was run in July,

which 15 volunteers attended. 11 volunteers were selected out of this process to assist over the year at the conservation station, or wherever they were needed. In total, in 2011, Education volunteers will have provided nearly 600 hours, allowing extra engagement with visitors.

In November 2011, we hosted the BIAZA ACE (‘Awards, Communication and Education’) Conference for the first time in 11 years. The conference was very well received by around 120 delegates, representing zoos from all over the UK and Ireland. The speaker programme included experts from the fields of marketing and education and was launched by Steve Leonard, celebrity vet. The department has also seen the appointment of a new departmental Head, Claire Pipe. After joining the Zoo in 2003, Claire worked in the education department and as Conservation Officer, before leaving to manage a team at Leicester City Council. On 1st June 2011, after two years away, she returned to take up the post of Head of Education. Since re-joining the zoo in June, Claire has begun to represent the zoo on the BIAZA Committee for Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change, which aims to provide support and expertise to other BIAZA institutions on practical sustainability measures and she also travelled to Malaysia to assist the International Zoo Vet Group (IZVG) with a project to assess potential for a new zoo and forest discovery centre.In 2012, we will begin a full review of the teaching methods and subjects taught in the education department. It is our intention to run teacher focus groups in early 2012 to gauge what teachers currently like and dislike about our sessions and what they would like to change. The sessions will then be reviewed and a teachers’ familiarity day run during Easter 2012, with the aim of increasing bookings. Claire Pipe Head of Education

23Jo Plant, Education Officer explaining conservation to students on site

The change of structure in the Estates and Projects division towards the end of 2010 saw the Department become more focused on repairs, based on the skills, knowledge and ability of the team. A review of the skills and requirements within the Department, throughout the last 6 months, also identified areas for further improvement, and additional staff with specialist knowledge in heating and plumbing, horticulture and mechanics were recruited. The division made good progress during the year with the new skill set and the establishment of a programme for planned and cyclical maintenance, the results of which can be clearly seen in the overall presentation of the grounds.

Following the appointment of a Procurement Manager, the Zoo made significant progress in streamlining the procurement process, giving consistency and enhanced control over the Zoo’s buying, a task which was further simplified through new accounts and purchase order software packages. Bulk orders were established, which not only resulted in significant savings, but also reduced deliveries into the site, invoicing and general administration. Suppliers also reaped the benefits with a reduction in their own administration, invoicing and delivery costs. Further savings were made with the identification and rectification of long-standing water leaks, resulting in a reduction in our overall water usage. A conscious effort was also made to reduce our energy consumption by replacing light fittings with low energy units, while water and electricity meters and water-saving devices were fitted, where appropriate, throughout the zoo to allow better monitoring and provide savings across the site.

Following the creation of the new visitor attraction, ‘Himalaya’ in 2010, the zoo was awarded the regional ‘Local Authority Building Control Commercial project’ award and further won the ProCon awards for best Sustainable Project. During the year, further works were undertaken to the retail area of Himalaya to incorporate an art gallery, which opened in July.

The outsourcing of the Health and Safety audit has provided us with a focused action plan, with reviewed risk assessments and procedures in place.

A test programme of volunteers was carried out with the horticulture team. The process followed the same format as that of our recruitment process, where applications to become a volunteer were reviewed and suitable candidates selected for interview. The results have been very positive, providing the zoo with a keen, motivated volunteer team assisting our permanent horticultural team.

A browse-management scheme has been established with the keepers, both on-site and in partnership with Conkers. In turn, this has improved horticulture efficiency and provided time to look at projects such as our Oil Palm Plantation feature.

Significant projects undertaken throughout the year included the build of the Gallery within Himalaya, the construction of a new ‘train through aviary’ at Pets@ Twycross, a sand floor and irrigation system in the elephant house to improve facilities in line with BIAZA guidelines, a platform within our giraffe house to allow the veterinary surgeon and keepers to get high level access to the giraffes, and the development of the Kuno exhibition area, which provides visitors with information about Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in India and our plans to develop a new exhibit at the Zoo for lions, tigers, hyaenas and dholes, named after the sanctuary. Work also commenced on the new Wetland exhibit; due to open Easter 2012, this area will see the development of the zoo’s existing wetlands area to enable visitor access, educational activities and events to coincide with the Olympics, all complementing the natural beauty and biodiversity of the site.

Neil WoodwardEstates Director

Estates and Projects Report

The Zoo now has a keen, motivated volunteer team assisting our permanent horticultural team.“

24The Wetlands exhibit, under development in 2011

Marketing and PR Report

For the second year running, the TV campaign covered the West Midlands area, in addition to the existing campaign in the East Midlands area. A new re-edited version of the TV advert was created, featuring footage from Uda Walawe and promoting online sales. The campaign ran in advance of the main volume peaks, around bank holidays and school holidays. Outdoor advertising has also been used. We have taken 48-sheet-poster sites outside Dobbies Garden Centre in Atherstone, featuring food offers in Himalaya aimed at encouraging the over-60s market to visit us for lunch. The advert was replaced at the end of November to promote our Christmas offering and this was supplemented with a very prominent 48-sheet-poster site on the A5 road. To promote Himalaya as a stand-alone opportunity, we developed a campaign that included a host of events to encourage visitors, which ranged from talks for members, a farmers’ market, photography workshops and a food-and-wine- tasting evening, to name but a few. Furthermore, a Christmas events calendar was also established, providing festive events including ‘Breakfast with Santa’, Santa’s grotto, Santa’s Express, a Christmas Fayre and our first ever pantomime. ‘Friends of Twycross’ has become an important tool for creating secondary spend and repeat visits, in addition to developing customer loyalty. We ran two membership campaigns over the year, offering fantastic savings on becoming a Friend of Twycross, which were supported by pull-up banners in Himalaya and promotional leaflets being handed to visitors. The membership campaigns continued throughout the summer season. A programme of promotional discounts has been run throughout the year to encourage people to visit, which included an opportunity with Hinckley and Bosworth Tourism Partnership and a ‘2 for 1’ offer for entry with Leicester Mercury. Additionally, a ‘2 for 1’ offer in the Sunday Telegraph, as part of the Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS), provided national coverage. ‘Stay Play Explore’, (SPE), an initiative with Leicester Shire Promotions (LSP), has been a terrific success this year. We have committed to the scheme again for 2012, and with

winning the LSP ‘Best Large Visitor Attraction 2011’, plus the opportunities with SPE via the Olympics, we should continue to see great returns. Over Christmas, we took Twycross to the high street with our stand at the Highcross Shopping Centre in Leicester. The main aim was to sell our membership offers, but we gained the additional benefit of increased consumer awareness in this locality. With weddings becoming a focus this year, we have created a new brochure and dedicated website pages to promote this offering. Our civil ceremony licence application was accepted and generated a lot of interest in the press. Also, great testimonials were received from our first six couples. Social media is a key way of developing engagement with the visitors beyond their visit. This time last year there were only 709 monthly users on Facebook, but now we have over 5000 users, with many posting their own photos and videos, and over 1,000 users visit us daily. Also, on Twitter we now have 2,440 followers (previous year was 1,124), who receive and respond to daily tweets. With the development of the new website, and through focusing on the collection and collation of contact details, the e-mail database has leapt in size from 3,567 subscribers to over 19,000. There continues to be a high level of media coverage in both the printed and broadcast media, with some excellent coverage on national media, including Daybreak, ITV Central and BBC East and West Midlands. Coverage has also appeared overseas on ABC America. To date, this year, there have been over 575 pieces of press coverage, with a circulation of over 30 million people.

Lorraine ArianoPR and Marketing Manager

25

Guest Services Report

Seasonal recruitment was a major objective for the beginning of the year. All applicants were asked to apply online and complete a customer-service-based multiple-choice test. Applicants who passed the test were invited to attend one of several assessment days, where they were measured individually against Twycross Zoo’s competencies. Using this method of recruitment, we found that we were successful in attracting a bright and cheerful group of people, with good communication skills, who have fitted well into customer-focused roles at Twycross Zoo. Easter 2011 saw the implementation of a new till system at the main zoo entrance and, as a result, we have seen a dramatic reduction in queue time and an increase in Gift Aid percentages. Previously, it was possible to witness waiting times of around 70 minutes on busy days and this has now been reduced to a maximum of 18 minutes at peak times. Our paper-based Gift Aid system was replaced with an electronic one and this has seen a remarkable increase in the number of people willing to gift aid than in previous years. The new procedure has increased the percentage of visitors gift-aiding from an average of 40% to 70%. The system has also made it possible for us to sell advance tickets online for the first time. Our website customers can now purchase entrance tickets well in advance of their visit and real time reports enable us to monitor the numbers expected on any particular day or week. This additional information gives us the opportunity to forecast and react accordingly. With the number of online sales steadily increasing, we have introduced a fast-track entrance, which offers a great advantage to the pre-paying customer. In April, we saw a complete revamp of our membership package. The old and over-complicated ‘Gold’ and ‘Silver’ membership system was replaced with ‘Friends of Twycross’, which is a much simpler structure, but one that gives all our members the same privileges. These simple changes have proved to be a great commercial success: the number of members now stands at 3,495, a substantial increase from the same period last year and well above our target expectations. Visitor feedback for the membership promotions which ran throughout the school holidays was excellent, with our visitors finding our membership promotions extremely good value for money and a great incentive to increase their repeat visits. With this in mind, we targeted our Friends of Twycross with exclusive offers in

both the Bazaar and Himalaya, discounts on Sunday lunches and ‘members only’ activities in the zoo. We have included a 10% discount on entry for people accompanying members on a visit, which has encouraged people to introduce friends and family to the zoo, many of whom have become members themselves. The old-style quarterly magazine has been replaced by a monthly zoo news sheet, which is e-mailed directly to members and contains up-to-the-minute animal news, competitions and a ‘what’s on’ guide. August saw the launch of our entertainment package, ‘Tipsy and the Monkey Bunch’. On a daily basis, the team delivered a selection of activities: at zoo opening time they could be found entertaining guests as they arrived with song and dance routines, followed by a midday disco on the lawn outside the Cockatoo Cafeteria. Later in the afternoon, a more sedate half hour could be spent listening to a variety of stories either underneath our Story Tree, or in our Pets at Twycross area. At zoo closing time, Tipsy and the Monkey Bunch gathered by Himalaya to wave goodbye and wish all our visitors a safe journey home. The Monkey Bunch returned during both the Halloween and Christmas holidays with seasonal themed activities. As part of our focus on delivering for the customer, we increased the number of talks taking place around the zoo. Working closely with the Life Science Department we are now running seven different talks each day of the week. Over the holiday periods these have proven extremely popular, with crowds of visitors gathering to listen. A record number of children visited Santa in his ice cave this year and, on December 23rd, Himalaya hosted our first traditional festive pantomime. Chaplin’s Entertainment Limited presented ‘Jack and The Beanstalk’, specially written to entertain children from 3 to 12 years of age. Tickets sold out well in advance of the performance, which was watched by 115 adults and 81 children. Due to its popularity and success, we plan to extend future performances to four nights, including a Boxing Day matinee, for Christmas 2012.

Neil SatchwellOperations Manager

26

The Employee Survey was conducted for the second time in 2011 and we saw a significant improvement on our 2010 results. To confirm, the four main themes identified in the Employee Survey were: · Communication· Teamwork· Reward and Policy· Respect During 2011, we have aimed to improve our communica-tion with staff, as identified in the survey, and successfully re-launched the monthly staff briefings, with each department participating in the presentation. The briefing note is then distributed to all departments/sections and emailed to all employees. As a result, the number of staff reading the note increased from 39% to 92% in December. We have also seen the implementation of performance reviews, conducted in the second quarter of this year with all permanent employees. Managers also conduct bi-monthly one-to-one reviews to assess employees against objectives and current performance. The ‘Our Zoo’ on-line training induction went ‘live’ in 2011. The programme includes: · About Twycross Zoo· Customer Service· Customer Sales· Health & Safety Environmental· Food Hygiene· Performance Management· Competencies The recruitment process for seasonal employees and ani-mal keeper apprentices has been undertaken by conducting assessment centres to assess the candidates against our competencies. VolunteersIn 2011 we concentrated on recruiting in four main areas: Education, Horticulture, Pets@Twycross and Visitor Services and we now have a total of 21 volunteers.(Education 9, Visitor Services 5, Pets@Twycross 3, Primates 2, Horticulture 1 and Marketing 1).

Work ExperienceBetween January and December 2011, we offered voluntary work placements to 119 students of animal related subjects, from NVQ level 2 to postgraduate study, working alongside the keepers in our animal-keeping department. Karen ClarkeHR Manager

Human Resources and Work Experience

Readership of the staff briefing note increased from 39%to 92% in 2011“

27

'Our Zoo' on-line training tool

Twycross Zoo team celebrating success on the summit of Ben Nevis as part of the 3 Peaks Challenge for the EAZA Ape campaign

Staff ActivitiesConference, Course or Meeting Details Location Participants from Twycross

BIAZA ETC Meeting Various Jo Hardy

Level 3 Food & Safety Twycross Zoo Gareth Harding, Jan Shakespeare, Natasha Sampson

Promedical Oxygen Training Twycross Zoo April Bradley, Helen Wallace, Jenny Meers, Jordan Kelly, Linda Fisher, Malcolm Eyre, Sean Dunn, Suzanne Baumler, Tom Proctor

Chubb Fire Twycross Zoo Bridget Fry, Colin Ward, Gemma Britton, Hayley Freeman, Helen Wal-lace, Jan Shakespeare, Janet Finch, Karen Clarke, Kris Hern, Lesa Longley, Mandy Colledge, Mark Bishop, Mary Rodger, Matt Allen, Neil Dorman, Sean Dunn, Sue Braginton, Sylvia Jamieson, Thomas Owen, Wes Sutton

Promedical First Aid Course Twycross Zoo Glenda Thorpe, Janet Finch, Katie Waller, Lauren Edwards, Mark Bishop, Neil Woodward, Sue Bragington

BIAZA Elephant Workshop Port Lympne Marcus Barney

BIAZA Regional Meeting Shepreth Wildlife Park

Jo Hardy

Minute Taking Course Fircroft College Gemma Britton

Leicestershire Promotions Tourism Meeting Hinckley Mary Rodger, Rob Bracken

ABWAK Howletts/Port Lympne

Dr Debra Bourne, Greg Clifton, Rachel Pietragallo

UK Ireland Regional Environmental Enrichment Conference Howletts/Port Lympne

Penny Hopwood

Captive Great Ape Health - Part 2 ZSL, London Lesa Longley

NEC Education Show NEC Birmingham Jo Hardy

WMS Firearms Training Powys, Wales Bridget Fry, Charlotte Macdonald, Colin Ward, Keith Lloyd, Lesa Longley, Sarah Roffe, Suzanne Baumler, Trevor Barrs

FieldTag meeting Nordens Ark, Sweden

Neil Dorman

ASTA Powerproject Training Thame Sandra Cawthra

EAZA Directors Day & Spring Council Meeting Jerusalem Suzanne Boardman

Elephant Focus Group Meeting West Midlands Safari Park

Susanne Baumler, Gary White

EAZA Mid-Year Great Ape TAG Meeting Munich Charlotte McDonald

ABWAK Browse Workshop Paignton Zoo Sarah Roffe, Vicky Snook

Epizone Conference Arnhem, Netherlands

Dr Debra Bourne

ABMA Conference Denver, Colorado Kris Hern

BVZS Spring Meeting Howletts/Port Lympne

Dr Debra Bourne

CKF Project Leaders Coventry Jo Hardy

EAZA Plant Working group Meeting Arnhem, Netherlands

Neil Woodward, Tom Proctor

European Zoo Veterinarians Meeting Lisbon, Portugal Dr Debra Bourne, Lesa Longley

BIAZA Annual Conference and AGM Fota Wildlife Park Hassan Syed, Suzanne Boardman, Sharon Redrobe

International Zoo & Aquarium Marketing Conference Canada Gill Smitherman, Rob Bracken, Suzanne Boardman

Committee Meeting BIAZA in-fields Committee ZSL, London Dr Kevin Caley

BIAZA Research Commitee ZSL Dr Kevin Caley

28

Staff ActivitiesConference, Course or Meeting Details Location Participants from Twycross

BIAZA Parliamentary Reception House of Commons, London

Suzanne Boardman, Gill Smitherman

VisionXS Conference Oxford Suzanne Boardman, Sylvia Jamieson, Gill Smitherman

BIAZA Research Conference Bristol Zoo Bridget Fry, Charlotte Macdonad, Dr Debra Bourne, Kevin Caley, Sharon Redrobe

ICEE Conference Portland, Oregon Kris Hern

Employer contribution towards 19+ apprentice Heather Hill TZ / Brooksby College

Heather Hill, Kristian Jackson

Giraffe Seminar Knowsley Martin Allen, Nicky Williscroft, Sarah Roffe, Vicky Snook, Jen Wright, Craig Lymm

ABWAK Strategy Meeting Paignton Zoo Greg Clifton, Sarah Roffe

Bonobo Training Frankfurt Donna Smithson

EAZA Annual Meeting Montpellier Bridget Fry, Charlotte Macdonald, Niel Dorman, Sharon Redrobe

BIAZA Plant Working Group Paradise Wildlife Park

Derek Kendal, Justin Fozard, Neil Woodward, Pete Anderson, Tom Proctor

Induction for animal management courses Dudley Zoo Anna Westbury

CBSG Annual Meeting Prague Suzanne Boardman

PTLLS & CTLLS Course North Warks & Hinckley College

Amy Moore

WAZA Annual Conference Prague Suzanne Boardman

BIAZA Education Regional Meeting Woburn Safari Park Amy Moore

BIAZA Records Meeting Newquay Zoo Pat Milham, Zak Showell

BIAZA MWG Meeting Bristol Zoo Anna Westbury, Charlotte Macdonald, John Buchan, Neil Dorman, Nick Rowley, Pat Milham, Debra Bourne

Waves Conference Edinburgh Dr Debra Bourne

CIPP - Advanced Payroll Course Nottingham and Worcester

Sean Dunn

Elephant Welfare Group Meeting Knowsley Anna Westbury, Martin Kristen

BIAZA Environmental & Sustainability Committee BIAZA London Claire Pipe

BVZS Autumn Meeting / Conference Cheshire Bridget Fry, Dr Debra Bourne, Sarah Chapman

BIAZA ACE Conference Twycross Zoo Suzanne Boardman, Sharon Redrobe, Rob Bracken, Hassan Syed, Claire Pipe, Lorraine Ariano, Gill Smitherman, Iain Boardman, Niki Williscroft, Jo Plant, Amy Moore, Luke Hudman

Revit Architecture Birmingham Danny Campbell

BIAZA BWG Meeting Bridland Anna Westbury, Dr Debra Bourne

Raising Funds from the Rich Conference Westminster Gill Smitherman, Rob Bracken

BIAZA Field Programmes Research Meeting ZSL, London Dr Kevin Caley

BIAZA Research Commitee ZSL, London Dr Kevin Caley

29

External Representation and Publication

External RepresentationSuzanne Boardman – Chief Executivel Visiting Lecturer, University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Sciencel British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria (BIAZA) Veterinary Advisory Group – Memberl BIAZA Council - Memberl BIAZA Memberships and Licensing Committee - Memberl Captive Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG) Species Survival Commission – Member l IUCN – Memberl European Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians (EAZWV) Infectious Diseases Working Group – Memberl Hinckley and Bosworth Promotions Board, Leicestershire – Vice Chairl Frozen Ark – Trusteel Parliamentary and Scientific Committee – Memberl Leicestershire Strategic Partnership – Board Memberl Hinckley and Bosworth Local Strategic Partnership – Board Memberl World Association of Zoos and Aquaria (WAZA) – Member

Dr Debra Bourne – Senior Veterinary Editor, Wildprol The Wildlife Disease Association – Assistant Editorl EAZA Monotreme & Marsupial TAG – Veterinary Advisorl BIAZA Bird Working Group - Memberl BVZS Committee – Memberl The Zebra Foundation – Trustee

Robert J Bracken - Commercial Directorl Hinckley and Bosworth Tourism Partnership - Vice Chairman

Dr Kevin Caley - Research & Conservation Executivel BIAZA Field Programmes Committee - Memberl BIAZA Research Committee - Member

Sarah Chapman - Head of Veterinary Servicesl European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) Bongo l Taxon Advisory Group (TAG) – Veterinary Advisorl BIAZA Elephant Focus Group - Veterinary Advisor

Neil Dorman – Conservation Programme and Planning Curatorl BIAZA Mammal Working Group – Carnivore Focus Group – Lead Chair

l EEP (European Endangered Species Programme) Lowland Tapir Species Committee – Memberl EEP Emperor Tamarin Species Committee – Memberl EEP Bonobo Species Committee – Memberl EEP Dhole Species Committee – Memberl EEP Co-ordinator and International Studbook Keeper for Asiatic Lionl European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) Felid Taxon Advisory Group (TAG) – Memberl EEP Woolly Monkey Species Committee – Memberl EEP Amur Leopard Species Committee – Member

Bridget Fry – Animal Health and Research Managerl EEP Studbook Co-ordinator for the siamang gibbon

Tom Proctor – Horticultural Supervisorl BIAZA Native Species Working Group - Member

Charlotte Macdonald - Living Collection Curator l EAZA Great Ape Taxon Advisory Group – Memberl BIAZA Primate Focus Group – Co-chair Sharon Redrobe – Director of Life Sciencesl Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Zoos Forum representing welfare - Memberl Secretary of State-appointed Defra List 1 Zoo Inspector l Visiting Lecturer (MSc Wild Animal Health course), University of London l Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Zoological Medicine Board - Memberl BIAZA Veterinary Group - Memberl Trustee of Ape Action Africal Veterinary Advisor to the sandcat and white-faced saki EEPsl Veterinary advisor to the Cebid Taxonomy Advisory Group l Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine – Editorial Board Member

Neil Woodward – Estates Managerl BIAZA Native Species Working Group – Memberl BIAZA Plant Working Group – Memberl EAZA Plant Working Group - Memberl Royal Horticultural Society - Memberl Gloucester Moth Group - Memberl Bristol Natural History Society - Memberl Carnivorous Plant Society - Memberl International Carnivorous Plant Society - Memberl Midlands Moth Group - Member

30

In 2011 the Education Department launched a number of new initiatives.“PublicationsBourne, D. (2011). Wildpro – a new open access resource for wildlife health and management. Wildlife Disease July 2011: 1.

Clay, Z., & Zuberbühler, K. (2011). Bonobos Extract Meaning from Call Sequences. PLoS One 6 (4): e18786. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0018786

Crompton, R.H., Pataky, T.C., Savage, R., d’Août, K., Bennett, M.R., Day, M.H., Bates, K., Morse, S., and Sellers, W.I. (2011). Human-like external function of the foot, and fully upright gait, confirmed in the 3.66 million year old Laetoli hominine footprints by topographic statistics, experimental footprint formation and computer simulation. J. R. Soc. Interface doi:10.1098/rsif.2011.0258.

Sak, B., Kvác, M., Petrželková, K., Kvetonová, D., Pomajbíková, K., Mulama, M., John Kiyang, J. and Modrý, D. (2011). Diversity of microsporidia (Fungi: Microsporidia) among captive great apes in European zoos and African sanctuaries: evidence for zoonotic transmission? Folia Parasitologica 58: 81-86.

Bourne, D. (2011) African Horse Sickness. Veterinary Nursing Journal 26, 315-318.

Bourne, D. (2011) Physical and psychological needs of rabbits: a rabbit is not a cat. The Veterinary Nurse 2, 184 -189.

Bourne, D.C. & Boardman, S.I. (2011) “The Changing Face of West Nile Virus in Europe”: A Review. WAVES VIIth International Symposium on Wild Fauna, 20-23 October 2011, Edinburgh, UK.

Bourne, D.C. & Boardman, S.I. (2011) “Wildpro: Idea, Development and Open Access”. BIAZA Research Symposium, 6-7 July 2011, Bristol, UK.

Bourne, D.C., Fry, B., Caley, K. & Osuagwhu, J. (2011) Wildpro “Ferrets: Health and Management” Review Version. Access via www.wildlifeinformation.org

Bourne, D.C. & Boardman, S.I. (2011) “Wildpro - from Concept to Open Access” BVZS Spring Meeting, 30 April-1 May May 2011, Port Lympne, UK.

Bourne, D.C. & Boardman, S.I. (2011) “WIN and Wildpro: from Initial Concept to Open Access and Beyond”. International Conference on Diseases of Zoo and Wild Animals, 1-4 June 2011, Lisbon, Portugal.

Collaborations throughout the zoological world are important in improving zoo-animal welfare globally.“

31Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)

Ural Owl (Strix uralensis)

Staff ListAs of 31st December 2011 the Zoo employed the following 122 permanent staff. We also thank the many seasonal and casual workers who helped us during the year.

DirectorsSuzanne Boardman CEO

Robert J Bracken Commercial Director

Sharon Redrobe Life Sciences Director

Hassan Syed Resources Director

Neil Woodward Estates Director

CommercialLorraine Ariano PR & Marketing Manager

Nicola Barlow Administration Supervisor

Mark Bishop Team Leader, Visitor Services

Sue Bragington Unit Supervisor, Catering

Lynne Cook Cook

Janet Finch Retail Supervisor

Linda Fisher Senior Ranger

Alma Fox Housekeeper

Hayley Freeman Retail Assistant

Grace Gardiner Bookings & Sales Administrator

Natalie Gudger Press Officer

Gareth Harding Sous Chef

Kirsty Hatton Administration & Sales Assistant

Luke Hudman Marketing and PR Assistant

Amy Hulse PA to Commercial Director

Sylvia Jamieson Manager for Art & Design

Emma Nisbet Administration Assistant

Elizabeth Perry Senior Catering Sales Assistant

Tasha Sampson Cook

Neil Satchwell Operations manager

Jan Shakespeare Compliance Controller

Amy Simcock Graphic Designer

Glenda Thorpe Cook

Barbara Treadwell Retail Assistant

Dot Turner Senior Catering Sales Assistant

Debby Walsh Unit Supervisor, Catering

Laura Ward Administration Assistant

Estates & ProjectsJohn Beddows Carpenter & Maintenance Operative

Louise Bhara Procurement Manager

Richard Brownhill Carpenter

Paul Burridge Plant Driver

Fred Chetwynd Maintenance Operative

Paul Currall Compound Operative

Adrian Dalton Driver & Support Operative

Mick Deakin Painter & Decorator

Graham Eyre Horticulture Warden

Ian Gurney Heating & Plumbing Engineer

Darren Kelly Chief Electrician

Derek Kendall Horticulture Warden

Daniel Marshall Electrician

William Millar Maintenance Operative

Tom Proctor Horticultural Supervisor

Paul Shepherd Carpenter

Peter Taylor Horticulture Warden

John Thompson Head Gardener

Life SciencesMartin Allen Animal Keeper

Sophie Barnes Veterinary Nurse

Trevor Barrs Deputy Section Head: Birds & Tropical

Susanne Bäumler Section Head: Elephants

Debbie Blount Animal Keeper

Dr Debra Bourne Senior Veterinary Editor, Wildpro

Gina Boyt Animal Keeper

April Bradley Animal Keeper

Anneliese Braidley Animal Keeper

John Buchan Team Leader

Helen Burton Animal Keeper

Dale Busby Animal Keeper

Sue Butcher Animal Keeper

Sarah Chapman Head of Veterinary Services

Emma Chapman Animal Keeper

Tanya Clayton Deputy Section Head: Asian Apes

Greg Clifton Animal Keeper

Sally Coates Animal Keeper

Amber Cocks Animal Keeper

Sophie Cooper Animal Keeper

Sarah Chapman Animal Keeper

Neil Dorman Conservation Programmes & Planning Curator

Bridget Fry Animal Health & Research Manager

Ellie Goucher Animal Keeper

Ashley Hereford Animal Keeper

Kris Hern Animal Training Manager

Penny Hopwood Animal Keeper

Michelle Howes Animal Keeper

Lily Hughes Animal Keeper

Arun Idoe Section Head: Primates

Martin Kristen Animal Keeper

Lisa Langston Animal Keeper

Keith Lloyd Animal Keeper

Craig Lymm Animal Keeper

Charlotte Macdonald Living Collection Curator

Jason Mann Assistant Animal Keeper

Rachel Marson Animal Keeper

Teresa Martin Section Head: African Apes

Pat Milham Animal Records Registrar

Amy Moore Education Officer

Rachel Pietragallo Animal Keeper

Claire Pipe Head of Education

Joanna Plant Education Officer

Leanne Porter Animal Keeper

Lorraine Ridsdill Animal Keeper

Sarah Roffe Section Head: Hooves & Carnivores

Nick Rowley Animal Keeper

Mel Shorthose Animal Keeper

Zak Showell Deputy Registrar

Chris Simpson Animal Keeper

Emma Smith Animal Keeper

Donna Smithson Acting Senior Keeper

Victoria Snook Animal Keeper

Rebecca Spalding Animal Keeper

Clare Waite Animal Keeper

Katie Waller Animal Keeper

Anna Westbury Team Leader

Garry White Animal Keeper

Nikki Williscroft Animal Keeper

Jenny Wright Animal Keeper

ResourcesMatt Allen IT Assistant

Dr Kevin Caley Research & Conservation Executive

Daniel Campbell Architectural Technician

Sandra Cawthra Projects Executive

Karen Clarke Human Resources Manager

Sean Dunn Payroll & Accounts Administrator

Heather Griffin PA to Resources Director

Nicki Howarth Pollard Accounts Officer

Lorraine O'Carroll Finance Assistant

Tom Owen Financial Controller

Gill Smitherman Head of Development

Phillipa Weston Human Resources Assistant

32

Wildlife Information Network Report

The Wildlife Information Network (WIN), incorporating Wildpro® Multimedia, used much of 2011 to successfully embed itself into Twycross Zoo-East Midland Zoological Society (TZEMZS). WIN quite rightly still carries considerable weight within the international conservation and welfare

communities, as does the Wildpro brand. An integral part of maintaining awareness and ensuring that Wildpro is widely used is for a representative to attend conservation and wildlife conferences and scientific meetings throughout the world. As a result, we try and attend most of the international zoo and related conservation conferences throughout the year. In May, our long-standing wish to put the Wildpro information resource into the public domain became a reality. WIN hosted a press conference in the boardroom of the British Veterinary Association, where Suzanne Boardman (CEO of Twycross Zoo), Dr Debra Bourne (Senior Researcher for WIN) and Sharon Redrobe (Director of Life Sciences, Twycross Zoo) made the formal announcement that Wildpro was now Open Access and answered questions from the assembled press and guests. The distributed press release of the Open Access event made copy in most veterinary and conservation journals and newsletters across the world, including the broadsheets in the UK. The WIN researchers continue their outstanding work, led by Dr Debra Bourne. In late autumn, WIN published its latest volume “Ferrets: Health and Management”. This volume is the second in a series - the first being “Rabbits: Health and Management”- which was specifically requested by the then subscribing universities and colleges who offer veterinary and wildlife courses. The launch took place at the London Vet Show, Olympia, in November and has been very well received and critically acclaimed by the reviewers. Our other research commitments are well in to development and I expect the Bonobo Project to be completed in early Spring of 2012. Wildpro has been slowly, but carefully, developed over the years. Nevertheless, we believe that the time has come to re-visit the style and format of the system in line with this ever-changing world in which we live; the scientific data and content of detailed and highly-referenced information will not alter. I plan that, throughout the coming year, we will study

all aspects of the system and devise the way forward to improve the manner in which we deliver and disseminate our information. I will report further next year. Finally, I must share with you the fact that I continue to receive e-mails and letters from all corners of the world - often in very uncertain English - thanking us for making our scientific information freely available, and how they have been able to make great use of the Wildpro information system. Be assured, the Wildlife Information Network and Twycross Zoo-East Midland Zoological Society are making a measurable impact on the health and management of wild animals worldwide, and everyone who is, or has been, involved with the charity can be justifiably proud of our achievements. Iain M W BoardmanChief Executive Officer, Wildlife Information Network

33Sharon Redrobe and Susie Boardman celebrating the launch of Wildpro Open Access

Twycross Zoo - East Midland Zoological SocietyBurton Road (A444), Atherstone, Warwickshire, CV9 3PX

Tel 0844 4741777 Fax 0844 4741888 info@twycrosszoo.org www.twycrosszoo.org

Twycross Zoo - East Midland Zoological Society is a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales as company number 1060956 and is a registeredcharity in England and Wales (charity number 501841) The Registered Office is at Twycross Zoo, Burton Road, Atherstone, Warwickshire CV9 3PX

I am very proud of our achievements and successes this year, which would not have been possible without the commitment and dedication shown by our staff and Trustees, Suzanne I Boardman, CEO

“ContactsFounder MemberS N Evans

Members of the CouncilM-L Hughes BSc PhD MBA (Chairman)A D Conner BCom,D J Chivers MA, PhD, ScDA G Greenwood MA, VetMB, FIBiol, Dip ECAMS, FRCVSC CliffordS Bell OBE

CEOS I Boardman BVMS, MRCVS

Commercial DirectorR J Bracken

Resources DirectorH Syed

Estates DirectorN Woodward

Life Sciences DirectorS Redrobe BSc(Hons) BVetMed CertLAS DZooMed MRCVS

Registered OfficeNorton Grange,Norton Juxta Twycross,Near Atherstone,Warwickshire,CV9 3PX

AuditorsBaker Tilly UK Audit LLPSt Phillip’s Point, Temple Row, Birmingham, B2 5AF

BankersHSBC Bank Plc, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B72 1PU