A couple of weeks ago myself (Marie, the education research assistant) and the other CIRCLE research assistants headed off down south in order to give presentations at the annual BIAZA (British and Irish Aquaria and Zoo Association) research symposium.

It is with great pleasure that I announce that all lectures went off without a hitch. We even came back with ideas to put into practice here at the zoo. And that is what it is all about – sharing ideas and information to ensure the maximum amount of research is taking part in our zoos.

One research proposal that is going on in the zoo is with our Scimitar-horned Oryx which I will be studying as part of my BSc at the University of York, once my internship has finished in September. I will be collecting data on the behaviour of the Oryx as well as their foraging and feeding behaviours and their use of the enclosure. Those of you who have visited our new Penguin Coast will see that this type of research was put to great use to design the ultimate enclosure for our Humboldt penguins. The same is now being done for our Oryxes and I am glad to be staying on at the zoo for a while longer.