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Paignton Zoo facts and figures

  • Number of full-time equivalent employees 175
  • Number of volunteers 153
  • Number of visitors last year 415,613
  • Area - about 80 acres (32 hectares)
  • Animals in collection - around 2,500 including (approximately):
    • 400 mammals
    • 1,000 birds
    • 1100 lower vertebrates and invertebrates
  • Animal species in collection 307
  • Animal species on the IUCN Red List 237
  • Animal species in breeding programmes 93
  • Animal species in European Endangered species Programmes 47
  • Animal conservation projects 20
  • Different sorts of plant in the collection 3110
  • Plant conservation - 219 IUCN Red List species, including 9 Critically Endangered

Conservation work in the UK

  • Hazel dormice – helping to reintroduce this popular native mammal
  • Cirl bunting – creating new populations of this farmland bird
  • Strapwort – the only place it is found in the UK is at Wild Planet Trust’s Slapton Ley – now also at Loe Pool in Cornwall, in partnership with the National Trust
  • Sorbus - research and conservation of Devon endemic whitebeam trees
  • South West white-clawed crayfish project
  • managing our Zoo sites for local wildlife

Conservation work in other countries

  • Nigeria – forest elephants and environmental education
  • Zimbabwe – antelope, rhino and cheetah research and conservation
  • Tanzania – antelope research and conservation; amphibian research
  • Sulawesi – primate conservation in Indonesia
  • Vietnam – small carnivore conservation
  • Mbe Mountains Cross River gorilla project – donation from the Great Gorillas Project

Zoo facts

  • Paignton was the first combined botanical and zoological garden in the UK
  • Over 45,000 school children come to the Zoo on visits every year
  • The annual food bill for the animals is in the region of £200,000
  • The Zoo produces 800 tonnes of well-rotted manure every year

The wild planet Trust

  • The Trust is a registered education and science charity
  • The Trust’s family of zoos and nature reserves includes Paignton Zoo in Devon, Living Coasts in Torquay and Newquay Zoo in Cornwall
  • The Trust has one of the largest and most productive zoo-based research department in the UK

South West Zoo Enterprises Limited

  • The charity’s trading company has a turnover of £3.67 million
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