iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

🐗 Wild pigs need our help - and conservationists are stepping up! We have joined an urgent call to protect species from a virus sweeping across the world. www.chesterzoo.org/news/action-... 🌏

chesterzoo.org

Chester Zoo │Asian Swine Fever Plan

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

🔎 New species record! 🕷️ We have confirmed the first ever wasp spider in Northwest UK – and we've called her 'Wendy'. 🕸️ European spiders are among many species finding it harder to persist in their traditional ranges as the climate shifts. More about Wendy: www.chesterzoo.org/news/first-w... 🌍

chesterzoo.org

Chester Zoo | Wasp Spider Discovered

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

🐾 New cat confirmed! 🐱 This wild feline has sparked international attention, and our researchers are not counting out the possibility there might be more to find in the forests of Bolivia... Read on here: www.chesterzoo.org/news/new-cat... 🌎 #tilcayo #feline #wildlife #science

chesterzoo.org

Chester Zoo | Meet the tilcayo

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

🌺 UK Gardens provide important pockets of biodiversity in agricultural and urbanised landscapes, but just 38% of people are willing or able to make their yards more wildlife friendly, a new study finds. www.chesterzoo.org/news/better-... #conservation #UKwildlife #UKspecies #zooscience #gardens 🌍

chesterzoo.org

Better planning could help gardens support UK wildlife, study finds | Chester Zoo

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

🐟 A cool way to protect pupfish! 🧊 Building cryopreservation into species conservation planning could improve outcomes for endangered pupfish populations - and other species. A new Nottingham Trent University/Chester Zoo paper sets out the case below 👇 www.ntu.ac.uk/about-us/new... 🌎

ntu.ac.uk

Cryopreserved sperm endangered pupfish

Using cryopreserved sperm alongside larger breeding populations in zoos and aquaria could dramatically improve the long-term survival prospects of endangered pupfish, according to new research.

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Just published! 🌵 Full circle from Chile to Chile: conservationist Paul Bamford explains how he came to care for cacti, and why the dangers facing these highly Endangered plants hit close to home... www.chesterzoo.org/news/field-p... 🌾🌎

chesterzoo.org

Chester Zoo | Blog: Full Circle from Chile to Chile

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

🗓️ One year 🌳 14,000 trees planted 🌿 1.6km of hedgerow laid and improved 💧 13 ponds created and enhanced 🪨 1km pathways laid 🍂 269 tonnes of invasive species removed 🗑️ 500m3 rubbish cleared 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 8,000 people involved 🪴 One project: Networks for Nature! www.chesterzoo.org/news/one-yea... 🌍🌳

chesterzoo.org

One year on: Networks for Nature delivers major wins for Cheshire wildlife | Chester Zoo

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Spot the similarities? 🐾 Pups Spud, Russ and Jackie have caused a rock hyrax hullabaloo! Their family tree demonstrates one of evolution's most surprising twists. They weigh just 350g, but are taxonomically related to some massive mammals. 🔎 Guess who! There are clues in their teeth and toes...

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

🥼 It's official! Our scientists ARE making a difference! 📖 Annabel Walker, Scientific Assistant in Conservation Physiology & Production at Chester Zoo, is in a new book out now. 🔬 Annabel analyses animal hormones to boost breeding success in endangered species (particularly tree kangaroos). 🦘 1/2

Photo shows Annabel, a blonde woman, holding a book open in front of a big image of a tree kangaroo

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

The quintet of new bush dog pups are getting rowdy! We're hoping they will help people understand why protecting wildlife and habitats in Latin America is important. This is our soy landscape monitoring project protecting bush dog (and other species) in Brazil: www.chesterzoo.org/conservation...

Bush dog pups (small, blackish-brown canines with pink rounded ears) squabbling beside a den. Their mother is sitting nearby patiently

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

🕊️ We provide funding and technical and advisory support to the Katala Foundation to help save the Critically Endanged Philippine cockatoo. We've supported safer nesting areas, monitoring for poaching and predation and building public support for the species, and things are changing... 🪽1/2

Photo shows a white bird with blue and red blotches on their wings. The bird is looking sidelong at the camera with a shining black eye.

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

🥶 We're preserving thousands of animal cells and tissue samples at ultra-low temperatures to safeguard precious genetic diversity. 🧬 Genetic bottlenecks occur when animal populations shrink in response to threats, leaving the remainder vulnerable to disease and rapidly changing conditions. ❄️ 1/2

Photo shows a scientist in protective padding lifting a rack of tubes out of a tank. Mist is rising out of the open tank neck

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

🌴 Our Chief Conservation Office Kirsten Pullen and Paola Nogales, Responsible Sourcing Manager at Ferrero, weigh in on how science can inform nature-positive land management and sustainable palm oil production. www.edie.net/why-investin...

edie.net

Why investing in biodiversity matters for supply chains and business security - edie

Building resilient supply chains means looking beyond traceability. Ferrero’s Paola Nogales and Chester Zoo’s Kirsten Pullen explore how biodiversity research and cross-sector partnerships can help st...

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Reposted by Chester Zoo Science

Cath Hodsman @cathhodsman.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Did u know? Moths are more like us than we think. We might not have four wings, but, just like moths, we shiver when we're cold. This beautiful Campion moth needed to warm up by vibrating its flight muscles in quick succession, after I released it from my moth trap yesterday morning. 🌿🌱🇬🇧🌱🌍🦋🪲

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

🧑‍🔬 Much of our conservation science involves tracking and monitoring wildlife to better protect species - but conservation is a human issue, so we also carry out research with people. 📋 It involves clipboards and digital surveys rather than binoculars and camera traps... 🧪 1/3 🌍🌏🌎

Photo shows two women (on each side of the image) gazing across a field. They are holding binoculars.

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Sweeeet! 🐝 🍯 We have just learned the Valle de Osos honey collective has been recertified under the Certified Andean Bear Friendly® program for the next two years. Our support for Andean honey producers is an important part of our conservation work to protect Andean bears. 🐻 1/2

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

The Terai region of India, a vital home for tigers, stretches roughly 5,000km². However, only around 1,800km² is currently protected, leaving tigers vulnerable. We're challenging supporters to work together and collectively cover 5,000km, a distance inspired by this landscape. 1/2 🐅 🌏

Photo shows two adult tigers nuzzling each other. They both have orange/brown fur and black stripes.

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

This is amazing news from our partners, the Katala Foundation - but we can't become complacent. We will keep supporting their work to build back the Philippine cockatoo population. 🪶 palawan-news.com/katala-popul...

palawan-news.com

Katala population rebounds in Palawan, but conservationists warn species remains at risk

Philippine cockatoo numbers have risen in Palawan after 25 years of conservation, but researchers say the species remains at risk.

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

We've reintroduced hundreds of tiny snails on a rocky Atlantic island after a zoo breeding programme pulled four species back from the brink. 🐌 Among them were 21 Geomitra coronula, perhaps the last of their kind, found clinging to life beneath a single rock... www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx-r...

youtube.com

Here’s how we rescued these critically endangered snails

YouTube video by Chester Zoo

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Are you watching Force for Nature on ITV? 🐆 These stories and images are an urgent call for action. 🔥 www.itv.com/watch/force-...

Image shows a snow leopard staring intently at the camera

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Enter the world of conservation endocrinology - otherwise known as poop science! Find out: 🦓 How hormone testing helps endangered animals 🐅 Which species 'contribute' samples 🐘 And what we do with the smelly stuff 💩 Read on here: www.chesterzoo.org/news/fighting-extinction-through-endocrinology 🧪

Photo shows small plastic baggies of brown, dried animal dung. The packets are labelled 'zebra'

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

It's #TestTubeTuesday, and you know what that means! 🧪 Walter the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo captured visitor’s hearts when he emerged from his pouch this year, but his species is declining in the wild, and very few are being born in European zoos. Our scientists want to change that... 🦘 1/4

Photo shows a tiny tree kangaroo, a brown and buff animal with a pointed face, nibbling on an orange vegetable. His mother is leaning over him. They are on a wooden platform

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

#Publication #alert! 📄 The paper outlining one of our biggest conservation success stories in recent years is now out. 🐌 "Successful reintroduction of the land snail Poecilozonites bermudensis on the Bermuda archipelago" is available to read here: www.cambridge.org/core/journal... 🧪🌎

cambridge.org

Successful reintroduction of the land snail Poecilozonites bermudensis on the Bermuda archipelago | Oryx | Cambridge Core

Successful reintroduction of the land snail Poecilozonites bermudensis on the Bermuda archipelago

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Have you heard the news? This week, we confirmed two of our projects will receive a crucial funding boost thanks to the Species Recovery Programme funded by the government and delivered by Natural England. Find out more at: www.chesterzoo.org/news/saving-orchids-and-invertebrates 🌍🌾 #Invertebrate

chesterzoo.org

Chester Zoo | Orchids and Invertebrates

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

🐸 For today’s #MalagasySpeciesSpotlight, I’d like to introduce one of Madagascar’s most colourful conservation success stories: the golden mantella frog. 🌿 Found only in eastern Madagascar, they tend to live in wet and swampy areas where aquatic plants provide essential shelter. 1/4 🌍

Photo shows a woman in a peaked cap standing beside a terrarium. There are lots of little golden frogs inside.

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

It's day three of our #MalagasySpeciesSpotlight with me, Laurea Samoelah, comms officer for Chester Zoo's Malagasy conservation partner Madagasikara Voakajy. 🌱 When you think of Madagascar, what comes to mind? For many people, it’s the majestic baobab. Six species occur only in Madagascar. 🌍 1/4

Photo shows a woman in a peaked hat and pink top. She is standing in front of a moulded baobab, which is two or three times human height

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Today’s #MalagasySpeciesSpotlight is all about lemurs! 🐒 Did you know that lemurs are found only in Madagascar? Roughly 100 species have been identified across the island, making them one of Madagascar’s most iconic groups of animals. 🌍 1/3

Photo shows a woman in a white hat, Chester Zoo branded top and jeans. She's crouching by a gang of ring tail lemurs in the Chester Zoo lemur walkthrough.

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Did you know: Chester Zoo's conservation partners sometimes come to the zoo in person? My name is Lauréa Samoelah, and I’m from Madagascar, one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, where over 85% of wildlife and plants are found nowhere else on Earth. 🌍 1/4

Photo shows Laurea, a woman in a blue jumper and black and white patterned scarf, standing next to a sign showing a Malagasy lemur. The sign reads: Madagascar is a nature hotspot

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

🔬 Our conservationists have been helping to stock up a seed bank in Chile. ☀️ They travelled to the Atacama Desert, one of the driest parts of the planet, to harvest seeds from seriously endangered Copiapoa cacti. 🌵 Find out more here: www.chesterzoo.org/news/seeds-of-change 🌎

chesterzoo.org

Chester Zoo | Saving Seeds

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Let's talk about the stinky stuff this #TestTubeTuesday. Since 2021 we have processed over 10,000 Asian elephant faecal samples from eight different institutions, enabling us to confirm 13 pregnancies. Our endocrine diagnostic lab supports elephant insurance populations all across Europe! 🌍🧪

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

🌏 "Teetering on the brink of extinction, Indonesia’s Javan green magpie may have a conservation lifeline." 🌿 Javan green magpies have all but disappeared from the wild. 📗 But now a conservation action plan, which we helped draft, is being rolled out to save them. news.mongabay.com/2026/06/on-t...

news.mongabay.com

On the brink of extinction, the Javan green magpie gets a conservation lifeline

Teetering on the brink of extinction, Indonesia’s Javan green magpie may have a conservation lifeline after national and international conservation NGOs launched an action plan to preserve it in the w...

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Introducing lioncam: 🦁 Our scientists constantly carry out animal welfare monitoring to supplement our keepers' expert observations. 📹 We capture thousands of hours of footage to evaluate how habitat design, enrichment activities, background sounds and zoo events impact the animals in our care.

Photo shows a woman with long dark hair looking at a computer screen. The screen shows a video of two lions lying together on the ground

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Here are the first videos and pictures captured as part of a three-year Biodiversity Research Forest programme in Borneo. Led by Hutan, our partners in Borneo, and supported by Ferrero UK and Chester Zoo, this research will shape future conservation efforts. www.chesterzoo.org/news/rainfor... 🌏

chesterzoo.org

Chester Zoo | Rainforest research Borneo

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

It seems this Bongo conservation story has a long tail... Coverage of the rediscovery keeps rolling on, with articles this week from ECOticias -El Periódico Verde and Good Good Good. It is always heartening to see evidence that people care about conservation. www.ecoticias.com/naturaleza/l... 🌍

ecoticias.com

Los científicos lloran de emoción: captan un bongo de la montaña, una extraña especie en peligro de extinción de la que solo quedan 100 ejemplares vivos en el mundo

Captan un bongó de montaña en Kenia tras años desaparecido: quedan menos de 100 ejemplares en todo el mundo.

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

#Womblemania is still taking place at the zoo - but did you know we have recorded wild aardvarks in the field? 🌍 Aardvarks are widespread in rocky ranges across much of Africa. 📷 They pop up on our camera trap footage in our species monitoring projects. 1/2

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

It's #MicroscopeMonday - and this week, we're looking at gametes. Our science and vet teams evaluate the concentration, health and movement of sperm - just like in a fertility clinic for humans. Like our endocrinology testing, this is all to support our conservation breeding work. 🌍🧪

Photo shows a scientist looking into a microscope. The scientist is wearing a white Chester Zoo branded lab coat and has her long brown hair tied back in a ponytail

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Last week, we announced a big butterfly survey by Malagasy and Chester Zoo experts. Here's some we've found so far: 🦋1: Danaus chrysippus 🦋2: Junonia goudotii 🦋3: Charaxes antamboulou 🦋4: Aterica rabena 🦋5: Papilio oribazus www.chesterzoo.org/news/biggest-malagasy-butterfly-survey-launched 🌍

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

🦎 Skink alert: The recent Ecological Genetics Meeting included a presentation by one of our scholars. He genetically sequenced 183 Bermuda skinks - that's ~7% of the entire wild population! This data will inform conservation work. Find out more: communities.springernature.com/posts/highli... 🧪🌎

communities.springernature.com

Highlights from the 70th Anniversary of Ecological Genetics Meeting (EGG 2026)

BMC Zoology and BMC Ecology and Evolution were delighted to follow EGG 2026 online. The meeting included 70 participants, 24 talks and 18 poster presentations over three days with time for discussions...

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Welcome to the inaugural 🧪#TestTubeTuesday🧪 updates from our Science Centre labs. It's June - and that means a sample surge! 💩 In the first week of every month, roughly 400 faecal samples a month, all recovered from animals living at Chester Zoo, are gathered for analysis. 🌍 1/2

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Did you catch the #bongos news yesterday? Here's the background: 👎 The bad news: our AI-powered cameras detected only 28 individuals in their Aberdares mountain stronghold last year (highly experienced Mountain Bongo Project rangers confirmed there are likely fewer than 40). 1/4 🌍

Photo shows a horned antelope on a trail cam image at night. The background is dark. The antelope's face and shoulders are pale.

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Uganda is in the top 10 most biodiverse countries in the world and is home to 7.5% of all mammal species and 10.2% of birds. But Ugandan wildlife faces serious threats from climate change, land use change and poaching. Conservation cannot be accurately evaluated without robust baseline data. 1/4 🦒

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Coincidentally, we were just reading up about bluebells for a piece about reconnecting habitats...

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

🐅🐂🐃🐗 *FREE SEMINAR* Conservationists, scientists and zoo professionals! Join the Collaboration Is Key seminar (Tuesday 9th June) on the conservation of Critically Endangered anoas, banteng, babirusas and Sumatran tigers. Register: chesterzoo-org.zoom.us/meeting/regi... #ActionIndonesia 🌏🦇

Photo shows a ginger bovine with short horns beside two calves

Photo shows a dark brown bovine with short horns beside a small calf

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Us, when the sun comes out. ☀️ (Pictured: Silvery gibbon (Hylobates moloch), found on Java. Conservation status: Endangered)

A gibbon sitting atop a poll. The gibbon's arms are outstretched and they are making a face at the sky.

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Chester Zoo Science @chesterzoosci.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

🌳 It's The International Day for Biological Diversity: time to celebrate the successful planting of 5,000+ trees on former farmland, made possible by The Mersey Forest and the Environment Agency. 🍄 The project also includes some fun(gi) woodland science! www.chesterzoo.org/news/5-200-t...

chesterzoo.org

Chester Zoo | 5,200 trees planted

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