In 2018, we overhauled our supply chain and removed the vast majority of single-use plastic items from sale. We did so by finding sustainable alternatives and working closely with food and retail suppliers.

As a conservation and education charity, protecting the environment is among our founding principles. Our breeding programmes for endangered species are world renowned and we deliver 80 projects in 30 countries worldwide to prevent extinction in the wild.

The single-use plastics battle is just one of a wide-ranging list of additional environmental achievements for us in 2018.  Food and beverage deliveries to our pre-existing restaurants were also reduced by more than 30% compared to last year, resulting in a 20% reduction in food miles, thanks to changes made by our catering managers.

In the retail shops, our zoo ‘bags for life’ and pens are now made from recycled plastic bottles, while sweets that were previously wrapped in plastic are now sold in compostable bags.

We also installed electric car charging pods in the visitor car parks as part of a long-standing Sustainable Travel Scheme, which already subsidises bus travel and offers 15% discount entry to the zoo for cyclists.  100% of the electrical energy used in the zoo is sourced from renewable sustainable sources, such as wind and solar power – whether from the national grid or from the zoo’s own solar panels.

For the first time – and in a bid to inspire other organisations to follow suit – we’ve published this list of environmental achievements in 2018 within our 125 acre site.

Dom Strange, Chester Zoo’s Director of Operations, said:

Lots of small changes can make a big difference to the planet. With around 1.9m visitors a year, water saving devices in our guest toilets and tweaks to the products in our restaurants and shops can have a huge impact.

We’ve been committed to this for a number of years now; it’s part of our DNA. But we’ve never celebrated the achievements so publicly before by releasing the data. We think it’s important to talk about the issues. We haven’t yet eliminated 100% of single-use plastic from our supply chains because the alternatives are hard to find in some cases. It can be a challenge to persuade suppliers to provide environmentally friendly products, but the more we talk about these issues, the more we can find solutions together as a nation.

The sustainability successes include features within new building designs.  We’ve recently built a new canteen for our 900 staff and 200 volunteers, partly from recycled crushed brick and stone from demolished buildings. Rain landing on the roof of the new building is now collected for use in the nearby Plant Project, where we care for highly threatened plant species.

Up-cycled second hand furniture has also been used to furnish our new restaurant, The Oakfield, after a major renovation project transformed the grade II listed family home of the zoo’s founder George Mottershead.

From water saving devices installed in visitor toilets to smart meters, energy efficient led lighting and high efficiency boilers, we have invested heavily this year.

The achievements come on top of long-running, high-profile efforts by our amazing conservationists to support and promote sustainable palm oil, to protect rainforest habitats for threatened wildlife like orangutans.  The city of Chester set to become the wold’s first Sustainable Palm Oil City in 2019 thanks to a major Chester Zoo led campaign.

SCOTTISH WILDCAT KITTEN BORN. They are Britain’s RAREST mammal and only 100 remain in the wild. That’s why this little kitten is so incredibly special… pic.twitter.com/NXxO2oDcsl

— Chester Zoo (@chesterzoo) December 7, 2018

The adorable kitten is part of a programme that is striving to save Britain’s rarest mammal from extinction.

As few as 100 wildcats – also known as the ‘Highland tiger’ – are sadly estimated to remain in the UK. As the only remaining wild feline species, wildcats are now protected under UK law but are still under huge threat from habitat loss, cross-breeding with domestic cats and disease.

Chester Zoo is one of a number of conservation partners which form Scottish Wildcat Action – a co-ordinated effort to bring the tenacious hunters back from the brink.

Conservationists have hailed the latest kitten as “another lifeline for the species” and it is hoped that future generations will be reintroduced to the wild.

Tim Rowlands, the zoo’s Curator of Mammals, said:

Unlike domestic cats who can have several litters a year, Scottish wildcats will usually only have one, so every birth is really, really significant.The kitten was born to parents Einich and Cromarty in August but, given their incredibly elusive nature, had not been caught on camera until now. It’s ever so special to see just how active the kitten already is and how she’s already starting to practise the skills that these magnificent, stealth hunters use to pounce on their prey.Conservation breeding in zoos is a key component in the wider plan to prevent Scottish wildcats from disappearing altogether – and each new arrival offers another lifeline for the species. The hope is that the safety net population being bred by our carnivore experts will be released into the highlands of Scotland in the future. We’re very much part of the vision to restore and maintain a wild population of the stunning Scottish wildcat for the long term.

Trail camera technology is revolutionising the way in which conservationists are able to estimate the population density and assess the genetic viability of wildcat populations. In tandem with the breeding programme, the zoo has also funded camera traps to support monitoring work in the Scottish highlands. Using 347 trail cameras, Scottish Wildcat Action recently conducted the largest every survey of the species in wildcat priority areas.The camera trap images allow experts to assess and score certain coat or ‘pelage’ characteristics of each cat – pelage being the cats’ hair. This process classifies each one as domestic, hybrid, or wildcat and will help target conservation action.

Three-year-old Nandita Hi Way and 18-month-old Aayu Hi Way – two much loved members of the zoo’s close-knit family herd of rare Asian elephants – both succumbed to the fast acting Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) today.

EEHV is known to be present in almost all Asian elephants, both in the wild and in zoos worldwide, but only develops into an illness in some elephants and when it does it is almost always fatal.

Dedicated elephant keepers at the zoo first detected signs of the virus in Aayu and Nandita on Monday. Utilising state-of-the-art technology in the zoo’s on-site science lab they were able to confirm the presence of EEHV at the earliest possible moment and immediately began treatment.

A team of expert scientists, conservationists, keepers and vets worked tirelessly to administer anti-viral drugs to help the young elephants to fight the illness. The team also performed ground-breaking elephant blood transfusion procedures to help their immune systems fight back. Despite the exhaustive efforts, their conditions rapidly declined and both calves passed away this morning.

The duo were part of an international conservation breeding programme for the endangered species.

The zoo’s director of animals Mike Jordan said:

Aayu and his half-sister Nandita were wonderful, confident and energetic calves, who loved nothing more than playing with the rest of the family herd – whether in the sand or the pool. They will be missed by their young siblings in the herd who will no doubt mourn for a short time. To lose them both is also devastating to all of us here who have cared for them day in, day out. We fought for them until the very last moments, but were unable to save them. It is just heart-breaking.

Relatively little is known about EEHV. As well as those recorded in zoos, conservationists have discovered fatalities in at least eight countries across the Asian elephant range in the wild – India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia (Sumatra & Borneo) and Myanmar.

Currently there is no vaccination against it but researchers are working to create a treatment that trains an elephant’s immune system in what to look for.

Chester Zoo scientists – backed by more than £220,000 of public donations, a major partnership with The University of Surrey, and an international collaboration of conservationists, have made real progress in the fight to find a cure – but sadly the battle is ongoing.

Scientists from Chester Zoo are at the forefront of this major international effort, which is critical if conservationists are to protect both wild and zoo elephant herds globally from the virus. If you would like to find out more information about EEHV, please read our frequently asked questions.

Three-year-old Nandita Hi Way and 18-month-old Aayu Hi Way – two much loved members of the zoo’s close-knit family herd of rare Asian elephants – both tested positive for the fast acting Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) on Monday 22 October.

EEHV is known to be present in almost all Asian elephants, both in the wild and in zoos across the globe, but only develops into an illness in some elephants and when it does it is almost always fatal.

Dedicated elephant keepers at the zoo detected signs of the virus in Aayu and Nandita early and, utilising state-of-the-art technology in the zoo’s on-site science lab, were able to confirm the presence of EEHV at the earliest possible moment and immediately begin treatment.

A team of expert scientists, conservationists, keepers and vets are working around-the-clock to administer anti-viral drugs to help the young elephants to fight the illness. The team have also performed ground-breaking elephant blood transfusion procedures to help their immune systems fight back.

Mike Jordan, the zoo’s Director of Animals, said:

EEHV is an incredibly complex disease. It affects the membranes in elephants, so it occurs in their saliva in their mouth, in their trunk and in their gut. The virus attacks those membranes and causes a haemorrhagic fever and intense bleeding very, very rapidly.

Aayu and his half-sister Nandita are wonderful, charismatic little calves and to lose them to this horrible disease would be devastating. Our teams have acted fast and we’re doing everything we possibly can to help them fight it off.

Despite the ongoing and extensive efforts, staff at the zoo have warned that there are no guarantees of either calf’s survival.

Relatively little is known about EEHV. As well as those recorded in zoos, conservationists have discovered fatalities in at least seven countries across the Asian elephant range in the wild – India, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia (Sumatra) and Myanmar.

Currently there is no vaccination against it but researchers are working to create a treatment that trains an elephant’s immune system in what to look for.

Chester Zoo scientists – backed by more than £220,000 of public donations, a major partnership with The University of Surrey, and an international collaboration of conservationists, have made real progress in the fight to find a cure – but sadly the battle is ongoing.

Scientists from Chester Zoo are at the forefront of this major international effort, which is critical if conservationists are to protect both wild and zoo elephant herds globally from the virus. If you would like to find out more information about EEHV, please read our frequently asked questions.

The new series is narrated for the first time by Tamsin Greig, acclaimed British stage and TV actress.Series six offers viewers another compelling insight into our natural world – from an intriguing soap opera revealing the social behaviour of rare Western chimpanzees, to incredible macro filming that takes viewers into the world of the dead leaf mantis.In this first episode, 37-year-old female Asian elephant and head of the herd, Thi, is pregnant with her ninth baby. Elephant pregnancies usually last an epic 22 months but keepers believe Thi could now be up to three months overdue! The risks for Thi and her unborn calf are growing by the day. Male clownfish, Polo, is injured while fighting with the other males for the attentions of dominant female, Rosie.  But clownfish have the amazing ability to change sex, and Polo’s recovery time away from the rest of the group leads to unexpected consequences.A young giant anteater, Oso, arrives at the zoo as a new partner for widowed older female Bliss.  But anteater first dates are far from straightforward.And rampant male Rothschild’s giraffe, Meru, is causing a stir in the zoo’s endangered giraffe herd – with his relentless chasing of the females.

Series Producer: Pip Banyard

Executive Producers: Alex Sutherland, Tanya Winston, Alistair Pegg, Edmund Coulthard

A Blast! Films production for Channel 4

Look how close this gibbon mum holds her NEW baby! pic.twitter.com/IMa8ukv6os

— Chester Zoo (@chesterzoo) 12 October 2018

The silvery gibbon was born to mum Tilu and dad Alven on Wednesday 10 October after a gestation of around 210 days and is among an unprecedented number of new arrivals at the zoo this year!

Other new additions include an Asian elephant calf, a black rhino calf, a sun bear cub, a greater one-horned rhino calf, an okapi and a baby West African chimpanzee. See more of our new arrivals here as we celebrate our biggest ever baby boom >

A grand total of 733 mammals have been born so far in 2018, far exceeding the previous highest total of 566 in the same time period.

Mike Jordan, the zoo’s Collections Director, said:

This new baby gibbon has arrived hot on the heels of a whole host of other important births. Indeed over the last few months we’ve witnessed a huge baby boom at the zoo – including the most mammal births on record. Silvery gibbons, as with the vast majority of the species born recently, face threats to their survival in the wild. Importantly, each new arrival is helping us to raise awareness of the issues they face and the conservation work the zoo is doing to try and protect them, as well as being a valuable part of their respective conservation breeding programmes.

Experts have put the unprecedented period of conservation breeding success down to a range of factors including natural habitats, skilled staff, ever improving levels of care and increasing scientific knowledge of threatened species.

The female cub, now 16 weeks old, delighted conservationists when she was born at Chester Zoo in June, not least given the remarkable survival story of her parents who were rescued from Cambodia.

Mum Milli and dad Toni were taken from the wild by poachers when they themselves were cubs and kept as pets. After being discovered by conservationists working for the Free The Bears organisation in Cambodia, the duo was then transferred to the UK to the Rare Species Conservation Centre in Kent and then to Chester Zoo.

Now the pair has had a healthy baby girl and zoo staff say the trio is doing fantastically well. Keepers chose the name Kyra as it means ‘sun goddess.’