Win tickets to see new park arrivals
Blair Drummond Safari Park has been experiencing something of a baby boom.
Three Barbary macaques and two red ruffed lemurs have been born in the last eight weeks at Blair Drummond Safari Park.
The cute monkeys are not the only babies visitors will be able to see during the school holidays - there have also been antelope born and a penguin chick hatch to bring the penguin colony up to 11 penguins.
The three endangered macaque babies will bring the macaque troop up to 29 in their drive through reserve. All of them have been named after Scottish Islands Barra, Bute and Bressay.
Head Macaque Keeper Craig Holmes said:“All are full of mischief and are playing with the other juveniles, learning all the social skills needed to grow up in our troop. Barra was our first baby of the year, and he is already a handful. He spends most of the day being carried around by his mum and is occasionally seen being carried around by the males in the group. Bressay is the latest, just born on Monday to mum Liberty.”
Pets Corner head keeper Lisa smith is also delighted that mum Manja and dad Red are successfully rearing twins.
She said:“The six-week-old red ruffed lemur twins, named Niiro and Mena, (Japanese and Malagasy for Red) are becoming bolder every day and enjoy playing with their big sister Rua. They will be an important addition to the studbook and we are proud they will be contributing to the conservation of this critically endangered primate.
“Blair Drummond Safari Park is working with Barbary Macaque Awareness & Conservation to vanquish the Moroccan Barbary Macaque‘photo-prop’ trade through the education of local people and contributing to the building of a wild animal rescue centre in Morocco.
“We’re also planting over 600 trees with Treemad to re-wild indigenous forests in Madagascar, improving management of natural resources and protecting endangered lemur species.”
The Stirling Observer has teamed up with Blair Drummond Safari Park again this season to offer the chance every week of winning a family pass to the safari park.
Just answer the following question: The three new Barbary macaque babies are named after Scottish what ? Send your answers along with your name, address and contact number to: Safari Park Competition, Stirling Observer, 34 Upper Craigs, Stirling FK8 2DW. Deadline is Monday, July 10 at 4pm.