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Military personnel from the 71 Engineer Regiment, working alongside a contingent from the South Dakota National Guard, have spent the last 10 days at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park helping with a number of hefty tasks at the Park, including two key projects that have a strong conservation application. The army have been hard at work building the foundations for an off-show Amur Leopard breeding facility, which will play a crucial role in the conservation of this critically endangered big cat, and a management area for our European bison which will help ease movement of animals for the reintroduction projects.
The Regiment concluded work at the Park on Wednesday 5 August and to mark this a handover ceremony between the Park and military personnel will take place on Thursday 6 August at 2pm. James Stewart, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland Director of Finance and Resources, will present commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Foulkes from the 71 Engineer Regiment with three specially commissioned commemorative Amur leopard prints as a thank you for the regiment’s work at the Park. Lieutenant Colonel Foulkes will also conduct the official handover of the work done on the Amur leopard enclosure and the bison area back to the Park.
The 71 Engineer Regiment and the South American National Guard have been instrumental in completing the very early stages of the Amur leopard enclosure by placing heavy, six metre high wooden posts into the ground to form the frame of the enclosure; the Park’s in-house team will later attach fencing to these to complete the job. In total, work on the enclosure is expected to last for a few months.
The Amur leopard enclosure will be home to a breeding pair of critically endangered Amur leopards, which are considered the most threatened cat in the world, with an estimated wild population of as few as 50 individuals. Importantly, the leopards at the Park will remain off show to visitors at all times, as the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland aims to breed these rare leopards for reintroduction back into their native habitat in Russia.
The regional breeding programme for European bison is managed by staff at the Highland Wildlife Park and a key role for the captive population is to provide animals for the various reintroduction projects. In 2014, a female born at the Park was part of a group of females born in British and Irish zoos that went out to Romania and are now living wild. The management area that has been started for us by the military will allow for easier health checking and loading of bison for transport out to Romania and other reintroduction sites. The bison became extinct in the wild in 1926 and the current wild population have all stemmed from captive herds, like the one here at the Park.
During their time at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park, the army have also created a new hardstand car parking area.
Stephen Plowman, RZSS Highland Wildlife Park Property and Estates Manager, said: “We are really grateful for the military’s help on these tasks. They have been instrumental in building the foundation for the new Amur Leopard enclosure and the bison area, and whilst there is still a lot of work to be done, their help will make the rest of these projects much easier for us. This is the second time that 71 Engineer Regiment have done work at the Park, as they were with us last year to help build a new enclosure for Victoria, the female polar bear, as well as 300-metre walkway.”
Commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Foulkes has said: “All the Officers and soldiers of 71 Engineer Regiment, together with our friends and allies from the US South Dakota National Guard, have thoroughly enjoyed working at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park again this year. We get significant training value from the tasks we complete; everything from enhancing our carpentry skills to using plant and machinery. The support from the staff of RZSS Highland Wildlife Park is excellent and the location could not be more picturesque. It is fantastic to think that visitors from all around the world will be better able to view the animals, and hopefully the animals themselves will enjoy an even better quality of life as a result of our work.”
Press are invited to photograph the handover ceremony at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park on Thursday afternoon at 2pm. The ceremony will take place at the bison holding area. Please arrive at the Park by 13:45 to allow for time to get to the ceremony.
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