News
Pembrokeshire zoo gives a new home to family of homeless penguins
A FAMILY of macaroni penguins have found a new place to call their own in Pembrokeshire after they lost their home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 12 macaroni penguins, from Living Coasts in Torquay, found themselves homeless and facing the possibility of having to relocate to Europe when the attraction announced its closure during the summer.
They were given a new home at Pembrokeshire zoo, Folly Farm, which has taken the family of six male and six female penguins under its wing.
Tim Morphew, zoo curator at Folly Farm, said: “In an ideal world, we would be welcoming these new penguins to the Folly Farm family under happier circumstances. Zoos across the UK and Europe have had a very difficult year. We’re sad to see Living Coasts close, but a small positive for us is that we’ve been able to able to lend a hand by giving these amazing birds a new home in the UK.”
Folly Farm’s keepers collected the penguins from Living Coasts in July. And, after a short quarantine period, the family have now settled into their new home with the zoo’s four male macaroni penguins and 19 Humboldt penguins.
The zoo is now the only place in the UK with macaroni penguins, which are classed as a vulnerable species. The rehomed family will now join Folly Farm’s existing male macaroni penguins as part of a breeding programme to help increase numbers in European zoos and, ultimately, the wild.
Tim continued: “We’ve learned from previous experience that macaroni penguins are very laid back, they aren’t fazed by much. We’re lucky at Folly Farm to have a purpose-built penguin quarantine area which gave us an opportunity to spend 30 days getting to know these new macaroni penguins before introducing them to their new housemates at Penguin Coast.
“They’ve settled in beautifully and we’re starting to see their characters and their personalities coming out. They’re a very playful species, they love hopping on the rocks, playing with bubbles and looking at themselves in the mirror. Spud is the grumpy old man of the family at 21 years old, he gets hangry if the keepers take too long to feed him. Yo-yo was hand reared, so he loves people – and himself. Violet is the smallest of the family, she’s very sweet and gentle and already a firm favourite with the keepers.”
Folly Farm’s keepers are hoping the macaroni penguin breeding programme will follow the success of its Humboldt penguin breeding programme, which has seen 34 penguin chicks born at the zoo over the past six years.
To make room for the new macaroni penguins at Penguin Coast, nine of Folly Farm’s Humboldt penguins have now been relocated to Flamingo Land in north Yorkshire, to join the breeding programme there.
Tim said: “The Humboldt penguins were quite excited by the new arrivals and came over to say ‘hello’, but the two groups have split out now and the macaroni penguins have already established their own area of Penguin Coast on the rocky part of the beach.
“Penguins have always been a popular attraction here at Folly Farm, visitors love watching them swim in the underwater viewing area. And, with these new arrivals, we’re expecting to see an increase in the number of sales of our penguin adoption packs in the lead up to Christmas.
“We’re looking forward to getting the breeding programme started next year and hopefully seeing more of these fantastic birds head to new homes across the UK.”
Clare Rugg is senior curator at Paignton Zoo and formerly at Living Coasts. She said: “When we heard that Living Coasts was to close, the first thing we needed to do was to ensure that we found suitable homes for the animals. We had previously worked with Folly Farm and they already held some of our Macaroni penguins from a previous move.
“Folly Farm was therefore an obvious choice when moving the Macaroni penguins. They have an excellent track record in keeping penguins and had a suitable enclosure for them. The move was also agreed by the European penguin TAG. We were of course sad to see them go but happy knowing they were going to a fantastic new home.”
THE PRESIDENT of the Union of Welsh Independent Churches has used his Easter message to highlight the continuing suffering caused by violence and war — and to call for a future where graves remain empty.
The Revd Jeff Williams, who represents more than 300 chapels across Wales, drew parallels between the hatred that led to Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and the modern-day violence that continues to claim innocent lives around the world.
He said: “The same hatred and systems of oppression that crucified Jesus are still killing countless thousands of innocent people by bullets and bombs today.”
In a heartfelt reflection on current global conflicts, Revd Williams spoke of the pain seen daily on television screens, as grieving families bury their loved ones.
“As we watch heartbroken relatives weeping over graves being filled with the bodies of their loved ones, we pray for the day when graves remain empty — free from the victims of war and violence,” he said.
The Easter story’s central image of an empty tomb was offered as a sign of hope and challenge.
“The empty grave of Easter speaks of a future where peace and reconciliation prevail,” he said. “It challenges every one of us — whether we have a religious faith or not — to do all we can to promote peace, beginning in our own hearts.”
The Union of Welsh Independent Churches, known in Welsh as Undeb yr Annibynwyr Cymraeg, is a fellowship of congregations rooted in the tradition of Welsh nonconformity, with deep historical ties to peace-making and social justice.
PLANS to convert a print works, and former church, close to Pembroke Castle to a holiday let have been approved after being refused last year.
In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Criag Odlin sought permission for a change of use of the Printing Works, The Green, Pembroke – in the town’s conservation area – to holiday accommodation.
The site is located within the 500m buffer zone of Schedule Ancient Monuments Pembroke Castle, Pembroke Town Wall and Priory Farm Cave.
A previous application was refused last year on the grounds “the nature of the proposed development is considered to have a potential to impact on the protected species and their habitats,” adding: “ Whilst the application includes a Green Infrastructure Statement and demonstrates biodiversity enhancements, the application lacks the provision of a protected species survey. In the absence of such information, the proposed development fails to demonstrate a positive approach to maintaining and enhancing biodiversity and thus fails to accord [with policy].”
An officer report on the latest proposal, recommending approval, said: “The development would provide new self-catering accommodation within the settlement boundary for the Hub Town of Pembroke, resulting in positive environmental and social impacts through the appropriate re-use of the building and the increase in availability of varied accommodation in the local area and positive economic benefits through expenditure on building materials and on labour during constriction.”
It went on to say: “With regard to ecology, there are multiple bat records in the area, with the building having the potential to support bats. A Preliminary Roost Assessment and a Green Infrastructure Statement (GIS) have been submitted, the assessment identifies that bats were not using the site and that no further survey work is considered necessary.
“The GIS demonstrates a stepwise approach to the development and proposes biodiversity enhancement measures.”
The application was conditionally approved.
PEMBROKESHIRE’S popular Business Bootcamp is set to return to offer a boost to local start-ups this summer.
Following the success of last year’s event and positive feedback from participants, Pembrokeshire County Council’s Business Support Team will host a two-day Business Start-Up Bootcamp in June.
Entrepreneurs at prestart, start-up or established business stages are encouraged to register for this free workshop offering an insight into business essentials.
Experts will cover key topics including idea generation, branding, marketing, finance, and pitching.
There will also be an opportunity to network with like-minded entrepreneurs, find out more about what support is available and explore potential business connections.
Pembrokeshire County Council’s Business Development Officer for Entrepreneurship Industries Alex Evans said: “Due to popular demand and positive feedback from the previous Bootcamp we ran, we were happy to run another Bootcamp to supply the growing demand of business support in the County of Pembrokeshire.
“With a specialist organisation running the Bootcamp and guest speakers attending, this is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to either kick start their business ideas or boost their business growth.”
The Bootcamp, funded by the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund, will take place on June 3rd and 10th 9am to 3pm at the Bridge Innovation Centre, Pembroke Dock, SA72 6UN. Places are limited and booking is essential.
To find out more please contact Alex on Alex.Evans@pembrokeshire.gov.uk or 07584642534.
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