Marwell Zoo opens zone protecting UK's threatened wildlife

On Tuesday, March 25, Marwell Zoo opened a new Native Species Zone, which features Hampshire’s first white-clawed crayfish conservation breeding centre.

Once abundant in Hampshire’s chalk streams, white-clawed crayfish have suffered a dramatic decline in the past 40 years primarily due to competition and predation from the signal crayfish, which also carries a deadly crayfish plague.

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The new breeding centre (Image: Stuart Martin / Marwell Zoo) Developed in partnership with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and Bristol Zoological Society, the conservation centre will play a crucial role in the Southern Chalkstreams Project.

Members from Marwell Wildlife, Winchester City Council and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust attended the opening, with deputy mayor Councillor Sudhakar Achwal cutting the ribbon after congratulating the team on the achievement. 

The Native Species Zone has been built in a disused area of the zoo, bring the former shop back into public use. 

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Dan Garrick, birds and herps team leader at Marwell Zoo, said: "We spent days, weeks, months and long nights sometimes in my case, planning how we were going to do it. That took several months, and we are really proud of what we have created.

"The crayfish have arrived, and they are doing well so far. Hopefully when we get to the breeding season, we will introduce males and females to create some baby crayfish."

Dr Ben Rushbrook, principal ecologist at Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, has worked with crayfish for 17 years. 

Dr Ben Rushbrook and Tom Selby (Image: Stuart Martin / Marwell Zoo)

He said: "It is an incredibly exciting moment for white-clawed crayfish in Hampshire. It represents a major milestone in helping to protect and restore our wild populations.

“By taking action now, we can ensure these wonderful native crustaceans continue to thrive in our rivers for generations to come, helping to safeguard the rich biodiversity – and incredible wildlife - of our chalk streams."

The facility will provide a biosecure environment to rear crayfish before their release into protected ark sites, helping establish new populations of the species.  

The Native Species Zone also provides a new home for sand lizards, one of the UK’s rarest reptiles. Marwell Wildlife has been instrumental in sand lizard conservation for over 30 years, helping to reintroduce the species across the south of England.  

Sand lizards will be on display to the public for the first time (Image: Stuart Martin / Marwell Zoo) Carla Broom, an ecologist at Marwell Zoo, said: "We have been doing this for a long long time, and we have never really shown it to the public before.

"It is really amazing to show people that Marwell isn't just a zoo - we do vital work. It is really good to be able to shout about it now."

The Native Species Zone includes a wildlife pond, bug hotel, natural play area and a Nature Nook library.