The Animals Of Twycross Zoo

In the heart of conservation for over 57 years, Twycross Zoo opened to the public in the 1960s from humble beginnings.

Twycross Zoo is set in the heart of England on the Leicestershire border. The zoo is an award-winning conservation charity, with an award-winning schools programme, and fun for all the family 364 days a year.

Set on more than 80 acres, Twycross Zoo has around 500 animals of almost 100 different species to see. Including many endangered animals and also native species in the Zoo’s Nature Reserve.

The Zoo was founded in 1963 by pet shop owners Molly Badham and Natalie Evans, after the pair’s increasing zoological collection outgrew their three-quarter-acre site in Hints, Staffordshire.

Twycross Zoo is now renowned as a World Primate Centre and has a wide variety of monkeys and apes including the UK’s only group of bonobos. They have breeding groups of many endangered primate species so we often have babies and toddlers playing around in our great ape groups and in many of their monkey groups.

The Bonobo

Bonobos are part of the great ape family. They are our closest relatives in the ape community, sharing around 98% of our DNA. They are physically different from the chimpanzee, as they are more slender, have blacker faces, central hair partings, and red lips. Bonobos live in fission-fusion communities of 30-80 individuals. They split and reform smaller groups of 5-15 individuals on a regular basis.

Bonobo population numbers are highly approximate as they are dispersed in small groups throughout the forest in a difficult-to-access country.
Poaching, the increasing human population, and movement of people, habitat destruction, and a lack of awareness are all important issues threatening bonobos. There are conservation projects in place but to truly protect the bonobo, hunting must be stopped. Education to change local attitudes will also be essential for the continued survival of this species.

Amur Leopard

common Marmoset

Eastern black Rhino

There are many more incredible endangered species living in Twycross Zoo. The aim is to raise awareness and prevent the wild from being tarnished and their homes becoming unliveable.

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