Prairie dog pups come out to play at Bristol Zoo Gardens

Submitted by lucy on Tue, 2010-05-25 15:42

The first of this year’s prairie dog pups have come out to play in the sunshine at Bristol Zoo Gardens this week.

Prairie dogs are born in underground dens in April and May and do not appear above ground until their eyes open at around five weeks old.

The first four pups have now emerged and are already proving a hit with visitors as they can often be seen playing near their burrows. Keepers are expecting more prairie dog babies to emerge from their burrows over the coming weeks.

The pups are the latest in a host of recent arrivals at the zoo. Earlier this year two meerkat babies were born, as well as a howler monkey, a saki monkey and a tiny owl monkey.

Spring and summer is a popular time of year for animal births at the zoo, and the warmer weather means youngsters can often be spotted exploring their new surroundings.

For more information about Bristol Zoo Gardens, visit the website at www.bristolzoo.org.uk or phone 0117 974 7300

A young prairie dog shares food with its mother at Bristol Zoo

 

ENDS

Lucy Parkinson, T: 0117 974 7306, or email:  lparkinson@bristolzoo.org.uk
 Vanessa Hollier, T: 0117 974 7309, email: vhollier@bristolzoo.org.uk

 

Notes to the Editor:

 

Prairie dogs

  • Prairie dogs are rabbit-sized rodents native to North America's prairies and open grasslands.
  • They exist in only a fraction of their former numbers.
  • Prairie dogs live in underground burrows, extensive warrens of tunnels and chambers marked by many mounds of packed earth at their surface entrances.
  • Burrows have defined nurseries, sleeping quarters, and even toilets. They also feature listening posts near exits, so animals can safely keep tabs on the movements of predators outside.
  • Prairie dogs spend a lot of time building and rebuilding these dwellings. Burrows may be shared by snakes, burrowing owls, and even rare black-footed ferrets, which hunt prairie dogs in their own dwellings.

 

Bristol Zoo Gardens

  • Becoming a ‘Friend of Bristol Zoo Gardens’ costs £65 per adult per year.
  • Bristol Zoo Gardens is an education and conservation charity and relies on the income from visitors to support its work. 
  • Throughout 2010 Bristol Zoo will be running a series of events to highlight the importance of conserving the world’s biodiversity, as part of the international Year of Biodiversity. For more information visit the Zoo website at www.bristolzoo.org.uk/about/conservation/campaigns/iyob
  • To find out more about the UN’s International Year of Biodiversity visit the website at www.biodiversityislife.net
  • Bristol Zoo is open from 9am every day except Christmas Day. 
  • The Zoo is involved with more than 100 co-ordinated breeding programmes for threatened wildlife species. 
  • Itemploys 140 full and part-time staff to care for the animals and run a successful visitor attraction to support its conservation and education work. 
  • Bristol Zoo Gardens supports – through finance and skill sharing - over 12 projects in the UK and abroad that conserveand protectsome of the world’s most endangered species.
  • Bristol Zoo Gardens is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums. BIAZA represents more than 90 member collections and promotes the values of good zoos and aquariums.