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Home > Our Animals > Native Species

Native Species

Conservation work of zoos should not be limited to exotic species from distant lands. They must also play a role in the protection of native endangered species of both flora and fauna through habitat management within their grounds and captive breeding programmes.

Even urban areas, when managed sympathetically for wildlife, can be havens to threatened species.

At DZG, management of the various habitats such as woodland, grassland and wetlands for native species is being undertaken and is part of our development plan.

The management of one small area as a habitat for rare amphibians such as Great crested newts, Triturus cristatus won DZG a BIAZA award for Best Field Conservation Project.

Much of our conservation work in these fields has been carried out by Native Species Co-ordinator Ian Hughes.

Other projects of which we are justifiably proud include:

  • Barberry carpet moth Pareulype berberata now introduced into the wild and thriving
  • Tadpole shrimp Triops cancriformis which was rescued from extinction in 1993.
  • Fairy shrimp Chirocephalus diaphanous which is found in just 20 pools within the UK.
  • White-clawed crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes a species threatened by its American counterpart.
  • Ladybird spider Eresus sandialatus which has been brought back from extinction by careful conservation management.
  • Kerry spotted slug Geomalacus maculosus which is now surviving thanks to a breeding partnership.
  • Mud snail Lymnea glabra now has a boosted population due to a rescue operation.

       

We also contribute to several other native species projects including:

  • Wart Biter Crickets, Decticus verrucivorus
  • Hazel pot beetle, Cryptocephalus corelli
  • Scarlet malachite beetle Malachius aenius
  • Fen raft Spider Dolomedes plantarius.
  • Red squirrel Scirius vulgaris a successful breeding programme has seen squirrels found conservation projects at other collections.

 

More information on Native Species projects at DZG can be found within our book Conservation and Research at DZG: Making Time for the World's Rarest Animals by Dr David Beeston, Jill Hitchman and Ian Hughes available to purchase at Waterstones.