Free Highland Wildlife Park visit for drivers of red cars this month
A ZOO-SIZED conservation challenge, special presentations from keepers and free entry for the drivers of red cars are all part of Highland Wildlife Park’s celebrations for the first ‘Red November’.
The month-long programme of activities marks 50 years of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, a comprehensive resource which determines the global conservation status of the planet’s threatened species.
Kids of all ages are invited on a journey through the park to solve clues to uncover interesting facts about some of the residents.
Each successful participant of the free quiz trail will go in a draw to win a year’s season pass.
Keeper talks on various animals will focus on their Red List classification to inform visitors of the extent to which the animal is in danger of extinction.
Categorisations vary from least concern to extinct in the wild, with near threatened, vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered in between.
The presentations will also explain the threats to each animal’s survival and inspire action and discussion towards biodiversity conservation.
As an added bonus for park visitors, the driver of any red car visiting the Park in November will be given free entry.
Head of living collections at Highland Wildlife Park Douglas Richardson said: "The animal collection at Highland Wildlife Park is developed under the guidance of the Red List.
"Our primary focus is on species classed as vulnerable or worse. For some of our species, particularly those currently or historically native to Scotland, we have refined their Red List categorisation to determine their status within a local context.
"For example, the European wolf is globally of least concern but within the UK it is extinct in the wild.
"Combining these classifications, over 55 per cent of the species at the Highland Wildlife Park are in a high threat category, whereas in most zoos they would only represent about 25 per cent of the collection.
"The list isn’t exclusively doom and gloom. It has had a positive impact in regenerating the wild populations of threatened species."
‘Red November’ is an awareness initiative by the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
