Caracals...
15/12/2018
A further series of new enclosures and improvements are planned at Hamerton Zoo Park for 2019 and the coming years, as part of our continuing development. These plans include enclosures which will be used on a rotational basis, and another paddock similar to those currently used for the Lynx and Servals, to house South African Caracals. Sometimes called the Desert Lynx, these handsome cats are not actually closely related to the true Lynxes.
Our Caracals have been imported from South Africa and are the pure southern sub-species. For the winter they will be living in the barn section of our original tiger enclosure, and are already using the large new space. Later, we plan to use part of the old tiger paddock for the Caracals, and the majority of it for another new species due to arrive next spring.
As all of these new animals arrive others will move on, as mentioned previously on this thread. Our Zoo's collection of animals is continually evolving and changing, which we hope will always make for an interesting visit. Those few species which do move away, such as the Capybaras which left almost three years ago and the Coatis much more recently, are commonly seen in zoos and have no conservation importance, and will have already been replaced by others which need our help and are often a little different!