IT is that time of year again when zoos and wildlife parks all over Britain celebrate Love Your Zoo week.

The Park has been a member of the British & Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) for many years now and they have joined in with this celebration every year.

BIAZA members work together to achieve high standards of animal care, to conserve the natural world and to educate and inspire their visitors.

The Association has come up with a great list of reasons why people should 'love their zoo'.

Some of these include:

  • zoos and wildlife parks offer a safe and fun way to learn about animals and how they live in the wild;
  • they contribute to research projects that help us to learn about wildlife and how animal welfare can be improved;
  • together they support more than 850 conservation projects every year;
  • they work hard to safeguard the future of many vulnerable, threatened and endangered species and together they enable people to engage with and see over 2,000 different species of animals. 

At the Lake District Wildlife Park, conservation is at the heart of our ethos and we aim to inspire our visitors to love and connect with the natural world.

PREVIOUS ZOO DIARY: 'Hooo!' - The Cumbrian gibbon who likes watching the sun go down

One of the ways we do this at the Park is to take the time to talk to our visitors.

Our friendly Keepers always have the time to answer questions or to spend time talking about the animals that they care for.

Times and Star: CONNECTION: A keeper feeds a red panda at the wildlife parkCONNECTION: A keeper feeds a red panda at the wildlife park (Image: Lake District Wildlife Park)

We also try make our daily talks and displays as informative as possible but also light-hearted and fun. Anyone who has watched John our bird keeper during his displays will know just how brilliant he is at engaging a crowd of people!

PREVIOUS ZOO DIARY: Paw patrol - Following in the footprints of Asian small-clawed otters...

The Park also does its best to keep its loyal supporters up to date and informed about what is happening.

Times and Star: CHARACTER: One of the park's ring-tailed lemurs looks quizzicalCHARACTER: One of the park's ring-tailed lemurs looks quizzical

Through this 'Zoo Diary' and posts on social media we try to give regular updates about our animals and any developments at the Park.

Our annual pass holders learn a lot about individual characters such as whether Frosty is in a talkative mood or a bit of a grump.

PREVIOUS ZOO DIARY: Rest, Restore, Rewild: People get mindful with animals at wildlife park

If they visit regularly, they will often be the first to see our new-born goat kids or zebra foals and they get to see their favourite animals on a regular basis.

Times and Star: CUTE: A red panda rests on a branchCUTE: A red panda rests on a branch (Image: Lake District Wildlife Park)

At the Lake District Wildlife Park we really appreciate the support we get from all of our visitors and followers on social media.

To know that we have many families in the local community who have been visiting as children and then they bring their children and grandchildren is very heart-warming indeed!