Marwell Bites animal news September 2025

As summer fades, we’re kicking off a season of exciting animal action at the park. From tiny new arrivals to habitat upgrades, the park has been buzzing this month.

A new neighbour for the Hartmann’s zebra

Up at the old Eco Island, works are underway! We’ll be moving our red river hogs into this upgraded habitat, making space for a popular returning species set to arrive in 2026. Watch this space for more updates.

Marwell’s first potoroo joey

We were all delighted earlier this month when a teeny-tiny potoroo joey was spotted peeking its head out of mum’s pouch. As well as being born to fantastic first-time parents, Truffle and Neville, this new arrival also marks Marwell’s very first potoroo birth.

A rare award for our Head of Conservation Science

The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) has awarded Tania Gilbert, Head of Conservation Science here at Marwell for her outstanding long-term conservation work. This award followed hard on the heels of Scimitar-Horned Oryx Day on 16 August, a global celebration of a species Tania helped save from extinction.

Say hello to our newest crested wood partridge

We’ve been lucky to welcome several new chicks at the park this season and the latest is an incredibly cute and fluffy crested wood partridge chick. You can spot the new arrival with mum and dad in the Tropical House.

Spend the day with our zoo vet

The British Veterinary Association recently spent the day following our Principal Zoo Veterinarian, Elysé Summerfield-Smith. As you can imagine, no day at the zoo is the same for our vet team but head over to our Facebook to see a glimpse into an average day for a zoo vet.

And finally…

Warjun and Zaya

Back in May, we introduced our snow leopard pair, Warjun and Zaya. They have been given access to explore their whole habitat together and have since been seen having plenty of afternoon naps together. Is love in the air? Fingers crossed.

Stay up to date with news about your favourite animals over on our social media channels! You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and TikTok.