AWCPGibraltar

Top bird-keeping tip of the day - from John, our ring-necked parakeet 🦜 (aka - wannabe fledgling zoo keeper) 👉even though peanuts are not in their diet, fruit eating black lory’s will happily eat them if you poke them into their enclosure - fact! PS .. don’t tell the Keepers 🤫 🥜 Don’t be like John, don’t feed the birds at the zoo! #birdsfeedingbirds #zookeeperintraining #feedthebirds #dontfeedthebirds #makeupyourmind #lorysdonteatpeanuts #ordothey🤔 #funnyanimememes #zoos #wildlife #birdsofinstagram #parrotslovepeanuts #everyonelovespeanuts

When you just want to share your favourite pebble with someone special ❤️ The rain and the windy weather are just perfect for getting cosy inside.. enjoy it while it’s here, the sun will be out again on Thursday ☀️ #otterlife #ottersofinstagram #otterlove #favouritepebble #sharingiscaring❤️ #wildlife #wildlifephotography #conservation #zoos #gibraltar 📸 credit: @almaleaperz

It’s International Primate Day! The perfect time to celebrate all our wonderful primates 💚 🐒 #internationalprimateday was established by Animal Defenders International to highlight the threats to and abuses of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom - the apes and monkeys. Nonhuman primates, our closest biological relatives, play important roles in the livelihoods, cultures, and religions of many people, and in the ecological balance of different habitats. They directly contribute to the regeneration of tropical forests and maintaining healthy ecosystems. The loss of primate species, in part due to overhunting, habitat destruction and disease is a crucial issue for many plants whose life depends on them. Here at the AWCP we have six species of primate; two species of macaque, the Barbary and long-tailed macaques, cotton-top tamarins, common marmosets and two species of lemur - brown and ring-tailed. Come and see our new Alameda Overground Tunnels, part of our initiative to further enhance the lives of our primates. Our Keepers also work hard to keep our primates busy with environmental enrichment and regular training sessions. Don’t forget to look up 👀 on your next visit to the AWCP! #weloveprimates #primates #primatesofinstagram #zoos #primatesnotpets #selflessselfie #savehabitatssavespecies #primatesrule

When you think there’s an intruder but realise it’s just your mate checking out the hibernation cover! 🐢 🍃 🍂 With winter hibernation only weeks away, our keepers have been preparing the ground for our spur-thighed tortoises. Every winter, the majority of our tortoises will enter hibernation. Given the mild weather we have here in Gibraltar, they do still tend to move about a little throughout the winter but they generally do not eat from late October to late March. Before they start to enter hibernation, we will check their weights and size to determine if they are fit enough to cope with the hibernation period. If any are found to be under weight or showing signs of sickness, we will try to get them as healthy as possible before the weather cools down. If not, they will have to be over-wintered indoors. We also add leaves and substrate for them to dig down into for hibernation. This species of tortoise can be found in North Africa, Southern Europe and Southwest Asia. The majority of ours came from the pet trade. They are often referred to as the Greek tortoise. They can be very long-lived, the oldest spur-thighed tortoise on record lived in the U.K. and lived to 160 years old! For now, our tortoises are loving warm weather and are very active throughout the day. You can find them in the open topped area in the centre of the park! 🐢 #tortoise #tortoiselife #summertime #wintersnotfaraway #hibernation #leavesonlyleaves #wildlife #zoos #conservation

This is John, he’s a ring-necked parakeet.. He’s currently in the dog house for chewing the railing and feeding the lemurs peanuts 🥜😂 🦜 You can meet John in our walk-through exhibit. Despite his less desirable habits, he is rather charming! #wildlife #wildlife #parrotsofinstagram #birdbrain #inthedoghouse #shameless #dontfeedthelemurs #hallofshame

This week we have said a sad goodbye to one of our Interns, Anna Merrett 😢 Anna joined us last summer, after the first lockdown. With a degree in ecology and experience in education, natural history and zoology were definitely of interest to Anna, but as the months went on, Anna was increasingly enthusiastic about the possibilities for a career within the zoo world. From elaborate enrichment for the animals, to helping to develop our education programs, taking school tours, school outreach sessions, animal training and filming for our series, you name it, Anna threw herself into every aspect of the AWCP and excelled every time! Thank you Anna! Your enthusiasm, skills and abilities have been invaluable to the park, its animals and team ❤️ 🌟 We wish Anna the very best in her new life in Germany and wish her every success in her future career! Good luck and Bon Voyage! 👋 🍀

Oh baby it’s hot outside ☀️ 🥵 Our macaques were offered a cool treat today - frozen watermelon 🍉 😋 🐒 Lá Vieja (as usual) was front of the queue and manages to gain far more than her share #grannyskills #grannysrule #macaquesofinstagram #macaques #frozentreats #hotsummer #zoos #wildlife #animals 🎥 credit: @steveprimate

It’s fantastic to have @microgaming @microgamingcsr here today to help with our Lemur Bypass platforms for our Alameda Overground Tunnel system! 🤩👏👏 After a tour of the zoo with Manager, Jess Leaper, they have been working hard with Head Keeper, Steve Bryant, to make a start on the platforms for the lemur tunnel system. These tunnels will provide the opportunity for us to move our lemurs into different areas of their zoo, and to get them up as high into the trees as possible! 🌳

Have you ever looked closely at how a snake moves? 👀 It really is fascinating 🧐 🐍 In simplified terms, snakes can be described as having four major modes of movement: rectilinear, lateral undulation, sidewinding, and concertina. Which do you think Charlie, our red-tailed boa is utilising here? #snakeskin #snakesofinstagram #boa #redtailedboa #slither #reptile #wildlife #conservation 🐍

We are delighted that our Intern, Anna Merrett’s fantastic photo of our tamarins has come in as Highly Commended in the @officialbiaza Photography Awards this year! Well done Anna!👏👏🙌 🌟 Our tamarins have been enjoying their overground tunnel for a few months now, thanks to generous funding from @gvcholdings and the hard work of our Head Keeper, Steve Bryant. Photo ‘Highly Commended - Anna Merrett, Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park, "Tunnel Vision"

When you realise it’s Monday tomorrow and you forgot to have fun on the weekend. 🤔🤦‍♀️ 🐒 This is Peachy-Lou, one of our long-tailed macaques. She was born here at the park after her parents, Macho and La Chica, were confiscated from a ship passing through the Straits of Gibraltar. These illegally, wild-caught macaques were thought to be destined for animal testing laboratories in Europe. 👉If you also forgot to have fun this weekend, remember, we are open every day of the week from 10am until 5pm (last entrance 4.30pm). See you soon! 📸 credit: @almaleaperz

Our group of seven long-tailed macaques are part of the reason the AWCP is here today. In 1996 they were found by Gibraltar Customs on a ship from Indonesia. They eventually came to the Botanic Gardens, where volunteers created enclosures for them and other confiscated species. Today, two of the original three macaques are still alive and well. The other five were born here at the park. Although not endangered, long-tailed macaques are still the most heavily trafficked species of primate in the world. The main reason for this illegal trade is for biomedical research. Due to their robust nature, these macaques adapt well to many habitats and can often be found close to human habitation. In some areas of Asia where they are from, they are highly regarded and provisioned for at religious temples. This close proximity to human settlements adds another dimension to their survival in the wild. The Long-tailed Macaque Project is a recently formed conservation charity seeking to protect, conserve and research this fascinating species, raising awareness of the different aspects of their existence. The AWCP looks forward to hearing more about their work and we hope to support their work in the future. #longtailedmacaques #macaques #species #asia #stopillegalwildlifetrade #biomedicalresearch #gibraltar #zoos #wildlife #nature 📸 credit: @almaleaperz