PICTURE SPECIAL
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“It has been a long cold winter,” admits Calderglen Zoo veteran Billy Mathieson.
But as we shiver away, how do the zoo’s animals cope and what do they get up to in the ice-cold temperatures?
With 35 years’ experience under his belt, zoo officer Billy is used to keeping busy even when the Scottish winter bares its wrath.
Now 61 years old, the Strathavenbased keeper has been working with animals since the day he left school. “It’s all I’ve done,” he said. “I left school at 15 on a Friday and on the Saturday I started at Glasgow Zoo.
“My famous story is that I said I would be at Calderglen for about six months. “I’m still here now!” There have been some new arrivals as the North African Fennec foxes spent their first winter in East Kilbride and Billy thinks they have gone down well with visitors.
“People really seem to like the foxes,” he said. “They look good with the big ears and people like that!
“We had three brothers but they weren’t getting on too well. We managed to re-home two and have a new female so hopefully they are a bit happier now.”
Despite the new additions, Billy says the meerkats remain one of the most popular attractions alongside firm favourites such as the guinea pigs and rabbits.
The meerkats have become synonymous with the park, even though there may be fewer popping up in the well-known enclosure.
Billy said: “The meerkats are a dad and his three sons – they were all born
People really seem to like the foxes.