No, they’re not part of Britain’s autochthonous fauna, but the baboons in Knowsley Safari Park have provided this arresting image of the winter’s heavy snowfall. Hot potatoes have just been distributed.
The troop of Olive baboons, over 100-strong, have all been born and bred in Merseyside and they augment their diet by hunting pheasants and rabbits that stray into their zone. Snow is therefore not an alien experience for them, although this winter is on course to be the hardest in 30 years.
Though many locals call it Jersey Zoo, this is not a fair description. The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust has been saving species from extinction for fifty years.While many think halting the terrifying rate of extinction of animal species is a lost cause, the trust has made it its mission to do what it can to protect endangered animals across the planet. Visit
They have so far saved a long list of species from extinction including the Mauritius kestrel, the Madagascar Teal, the Pygmy Hog and the Mallorcan midwife toad. More here