Attractions / Blackpool News Anniversary Year ends on a Mammoth High at Blackpool Zoo! 13 December 2017 by Visit Blackpool It has been an incredible year of celebration at Blackpool Zoo from babies to birthdays and big builds! In January, the award winning attraction announced a year-long programme to mark its 45th anniversary. First up was a birthday party for a 35 stone centenarian, also known as Darwin the Aldabran tortoise! He was one of the first animals to arrive at Blackpool Zoo and, although there are no detailed records of his history, keepers believe that this year would be likely to be his 100th birthday! In March the zoo celebrated World Water Day by taking delivery of a 55,000 litre water tank to harvest rain and surface water for its new elephant development. Project Elephant, which has been under construction throughout the year, is the single largest investment the zoo has ever made, and the massive water tank will enable staff to clean the house, power the sprinkler systems and fire the water cannons in the elephants’ 225 square metre pool. April saw the zoo welcome its 15th millionth visitor. Manchester mum Julie Splaine walked through the doors to a fanfare including prosecco, chocolates, free zoo membership for her whole family and a giraffe feeding experience! There was a triple celebration a few weeks later when the UK’s only father and son coalition of lions celebrated their 9th and 2nd birthdays in the same month, marking a decade since the grand opening of the revamped Pride of Blackpool Big Cat House. In July, TV favourite Alan Titchmarsh and his trusty team from ITV’s Love Your Garden descended on the zoo. The horticultural heroes transformed a piece of grassland outside the keepers brew room into a magical hideaway for resident keeper JohnPaul Houston and his colleagues to spend time in. August saw the announcement of the birth of the zoo’s first Giant anteater. The species is the most threatened in South America and in some parts of the continent there has not been a sighting for many years. Keepers are waiting to confirm if the pup is male or female, but have decided to name him Gorrie after a dear friend and loyal member of the zoo, Lynne Gorrie, who sadly passed away. September saw the retirement of one of Blackpool Zoo’s longest serving members of staff, following 44 years of dedication to all creatures great and small. Animal Manager, Peter Dillingham, joined the zoo when he was just 32 years old after embarking on his dream career on his 16th birthday. He started on the bird section of Chessington Zoo on 14th May 1973 and retired at the very top of his profession on Friday 29th September 2017. A few weeks later, a YouTube sensation arrived in Blackpool! Bornean orangutan Jingga became famous in 2015 after a video of her went viral. Her hilarious reaction to a magic trick has been viewed more than 20 million times. The seven-year-old female moved from her Spanish home to Blackpool Zoo to live with resident male Ramon as part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP). Blackpool Zoo also announced the sex and name of the newest addition to its gorilla troop in October. It was confirmed that the tiny baby, who was born on September 5th, is a boy and he has been named Makari by the zoo’s social media following. November saw the hugely anticipated announcement that Blackpool Zoo is set to become home to a herd of elephants from Twycross Zoo following the completion of its multi-million pound ‘Project Elephant’ development. Four females, who currently reside in the Leicestershire zoo, will be packing their trunks and arriving two by two in the New Year. The move comes after months of behind the scenes work with experts from the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) and Twycross Zoo’s team of specialists to secure the future of these magnificent animals. Project Elephant, which will open in Spring, is one of the UK’s largest indoor elephant facilities and has been built on previously vacant land at the zoo, opening up an additional three acres to visitors. Resident Asian elephant Kate, who was also one of the first animals to arrive at Blackpool Zoo shortly before it opened in 1972, made the short journey across the zoo to move into the new house in November and has settled in very well. The year has ended on a massive high with the arrival of a critically endangered baby Pileated Gibbon. The adorable little one was born on November 29th to experienced mum, Ivy. Both mum and baby are doing well and can be seen in the Small Primate House. Darren Webster, Managing Director of Blackpool Zoo, said: “It‘s been an incredible year of momentous occasions and we are all looking back on a very exciting, and busy, 12 months. I would like to thank all my staff for their hard work throughout this memorable year, and thank all our new and returning visitors for their continued support. And don’t forget, as we are only closed on Christmas Day, a visit to the zoo is a great way to walk off all those Christmas chocolates!”