Need a Monday pick-me-up? How about a pair of wallabies munching on some carrots?
As grass, herbs and roots make up the bulk of the Bennett’s wallaby grazing diet, carrots and other vegetables are only offered as an occasional treat, but they certainly enjoy them!
On the topic of Bennett’s wallabies, our mob of wallabies has grown in size, with a grand total of six females and one male. Because of this we’re looking for name suggestions! Do you have any?
A ‘mouse’s-eye view’ of Grace the common kestrel hovering. As you can see a fanned out tail and rotating wings allows Grace to hold her position, making it easier for her to scan the ground for any prey, or in this case wait for a tidbit to be thrown up.
Unsurprisingly the burrowing owl is the only North American bird of prey that nests exclusively underground. To inform others of a burrowing being occupied, these owls are known to place dried animal manure, pieces of litter and other objects at the entrance and within their homes. Chaos is very skilled of entering and exiting his tunnels!
Merry Christmas from Imperial!🎄
Festive ferret
Our Christmas countdown continues. But what’s this, has one of our ferret got into their Christmas presents early?!
Our staff and volunteers have been busy making festive enrichment for our animals. This box allows the ferrets to search and explore whilst taking advantage of their ability to squeeze into tight spaces!
Think you might know someone who would enjoy meeting these playful ferrets. Then a meet and greet may be the perfect gift! More details can be found at https://www.imperialexoticanimalencounters.com/meet-and-greet
Look what we are up to?!
Have a look on channel 5 at 8 o’clock to find out!
Norman the turkey vulture truly has an impressive wingspan. Not only does this allow him to gain height a lot more easily, big swings also let him to soak up as much sun as possible!
As well as being strong flyers, Harris’ hawks are quite mobile on the ground. This is particular important when these ‘wolves of the sky’ are hunting quarry. If something runs into thicker vegetation, one of the hawks can flush it on whilst the other hawks wait at a height to strike!
Like the look of this hawk walking? We run a hawk-focused experience, where you will get the opportunity to fly one of our hawks in the fields surrounding the centre. To find out more details on our ‘hawk walk’ experience check out https://www.imperialbirdofpreyacademy.com/experience-days/hawk-walk/
Target training not only allows for us to stimulate our animals, it also makes it easier to perform health checks and relocate animals. With a tasty treat involved when the animal interacts with the target, there’s no wonder our meerkats have taken to the training so well!
We're always curious to see what kind of information our volunteers find the most interesting about our animals. This fact comes from Peter, which accompanies a video of Norman having an enriching 'carcass feed' quite nicely:
Whilst most birds of prey don't have the best sense of smell, vultures such as turkey vultures do. They can actually smell a carcass from over a mile away.
You may have heard quite a few Christmas carols and festive jingles already, but probably none quite like Dandy's song. The loud vocalisation of the red-legged seriema has even been utilised by South American farmers to protect livestock from predators!
The Imperial bird of prey academy is the leading falconry centre in Essex. Providing experience days Fun for all ages!
