Colwyn Bay postcard: National Zoo of Wales
This granite postcard on the promenade at Rhos-on-Sea relates to the Welsh Mountain Zoo, which opened in 1963.
The zoo was the brainchild of wildlife enthusiast Robert Jackson. He and his wife Margaret negotiated with the local council to set up the zoo at Flagstaff Gardens, on a hilltop overlooking Colwyn Bay. Existing greenhouses were converted to house reptiles and tropical birds. Robert organised an airlift from Florida to Britain of animals and plants weighting 15 tons in total!
The zoo’s initial focus was on helping to sustain endangered and unusual species through breeding programmes. It also pioneered new ways of presenting animals to zoo visitors, such as snake-handling sessions and demonstrations of free-flying birds of prey.
Film-makers soon beat a path to the zoo, where the first screen star was the golden eagle named Lochinvar. In August 1964 Johnny Morris (who hailed from Newport, South Wales) filmed an episode of his BBC show Animal Magic at the zoo. The photo, from the zoo’s magazine, shows him with the zoo’s Chilean eagle.
The zoo quickly gained a reputation for rescuing common and grey seals – often pups separated from their mothers – which were found around the Irish Sea, and returning them to the sea after rehabilitation. The North Wales Seal Rescue Centre opened at the zoo in 1997.
The zoo was a private business initially. As it grew, Robert started the process of converting it into a charitable trust. He died in May 1969 and the change was delayed until 1983, when the Zoological Society of Wales was formed to oversee the zoo’s operation. The three Jackson brothers (Robert and Margaret’s sons) were directors, reporting to the charity.
In 1989 the zoo began breeding red squirrels for release into the wild, alongside research on the challenges facing the animals. This work was crucial to the revival of Anglesey’s population of red squirrels.
In 2008 the charity became the National Zoological Society of Wales and the zoo was recognised as the National Zoo of Wales. It remains one of the most popular attractions in the area, and is part of the inter-zoo programme for breeding species such as red panda, snow leopard, Sumatran tiger, white-tailed sea eagle and Eurasian brown bear.
Postcode: LL28 4EP
Click here for a map of the postcards' location.
Website of the Welsh Mountain Zoo
https://www.welshmountainzoo.org/
 |
  |
 |
  |