Zaiya, an endangered Asian elephant calf born at Blackpool Zoo on 2 September 2025, has reached her first birthday after receiving intensive specialist care from over 30 staff members when she was unable to nurse from her mother. The calf has thrived and is now a confident, fully integrated member of the herd, receiving support from her mother Tara, matriarch Noorjahan, and other females in a natural social structure.
Three African lion cubs were born on 26 July 2026 to parents Hira and Khari at Blackpool Zoo, marking the first lion births at the facility since 2015. The birth is particularly significant as father Khari was himself the last lion cub born at the zoo in 2015, and the cubs represent an important contribution to the conservation of this vulnerable species.
Blackpool Zoo is home to multiple critically endangered songbird species as part of the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Silent Forest campaign, launched in 2019 to raise awareness of the plight of Asian songbirds. The zoo houses the Blue-crowned laughingthrush, Bali Myna (with only 50 individuals left in the wild), and eight other endangered songbird species in its Asian Songbird Aviaries.
Three Blue-crowned laughingthrush chicks have been successfully hatched and reared at Blackpool Zoo for only the second time, with parents Rupert and Melody hatching the eggs on 25 April. The chicks are vital to the species' survival, as fewer than 1,000 individuals remain in the wild and only 48 chicks were hatched globally in the past 12 months.
Blackpool Zoo has achieved a major collection milestone by reaching 90 bird species, driven largely by the efforts of Section Head of Birds Johnpaul Houston. The zoo plans to celebrate with a new social media feature highlighting resident birds during the upcoming breeding season.
Blackpool Zoo has recently acquired a colony of village weavers, which have moved into a new African-themed aviary alongside spreo starlings and blacksmith plovers. The arrival brings the zoo's total bird species count to 90, a significant milestone for the collection.
The zoo is hosting Love Your Zoo week from 28 May, featuring daily creative activities where visitors can make enrichment treats for animals, including rainbow fruit kebabs and heart-shaped fire hose toys. The week also includes special events such as World Parrot Day talks, a royal-themed trail, Californian sea lion birthday celebrations, and a conservation-focused World Environment Day programme.
Blackpool Zoo is home to several new arrivals including camels, lemurs, meerkats, and a lamb born at the zoo. Visitors can meet the young animals during the half-term holidays as part of a range of interactive activities.
Blackpool Zoo is offering a range of interactive experiences during half term including flying a barn owl, feeding a giraffe, and viewing the zoo's sea lion display. Visitors can also participate in the 'Love Your Zoo' trail and learn about the Pole to Pole climate change initiative.
Dr Alyx Milne, a keeper and animal trainer at Blackpool Zoo, has been awarded a coveted BBSRC Discovery Fellowship to research whisker movement in seals and sea lions, beating nearly 2,000 other applicants. Her research, titled "Super Seal Sense: Whisker movement strategies in Pinnipeds," will be conducted at Manchester Metropolitan University and funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
Blackpool Zoo is bringing back its popular Halloween mystery experience, transforming the zoo into a 1940s aerodrome where visitors solve the puzzle of a missing pilot and aircraft. The Mystery Pilot Trail runs from 16–31 October, with an immersive Dinosaur Safari, period clues, and the pilot's logbook to piece together.
Khari and his father Wallace have become the only father-cub lion group living together in the UK after Khari's mother Rachel died on Christmas Eve when he was seven months old. The pair have now bonded closely and keepers have successfully trained Khari for fence feeding to enable health checks, with the two now spending mealtimes together as a permanent unit.
Blackpool Zoo is hosting a Halloween event from 24 October to 1 November 2020 where visitors solve clues about a missing pilot from a 1940 aircraft that disappeared when the zoo site was Stanley Park Aerodrome. The Dinosaur Safari will be transformed into a spooky experience featuring the recovered aircraft, with separate trails for younger children.
Trainee Keeper Jake has spent 10 weeks training the zoo's male red panda, Tao Tao, using positive reinforcement techniques with grapes, a target stick, and a clicker. The training enables keepers to conduct health checks and weigh the animal while minimizing stress, and encourages natural behaviours across the zoo's animal collection.
Blackpool Zoo has earned TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice recognition, placing it among the top 10% of attractions worldwide. The multi-award-winning zoo spans 37 acres of mature parkland and houses over 1,000 animals.
Blackpool Zoo welcomed its 15 millionth visitor today, a family from Manchester who arrived during the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend. The Splaine family received celebratory gifts including prosecco, chocolates, free admission, Gold memberships, and the chance to feed giraffes.
The zoo has published a Valentine's Day feature highlighting 14 courtship and mating behaviours observed across the animal kingdom, from penguin pebble-gifting to gibbon song displays. The article encourages visitors to spend Valentine's Day at the zoo to observe these romantic animal behaviours firsthand.
Blackpool Zoo is highlighted as a premier wildlife destination for visitors from Leeds, located approximately 90 minutes away by car or train. The zoo houses over 1,000 animals representing more than 300 species across 37 acres, featuring interactive educational programmes and conservation initiatives.
Blackpool Zoo is searching for a mischievous elf who has gone missing and is causing chaos across the zoo grounds, with sightings reported at Active Oceans, Dinosaur Safari, Gorilla Mountain, and Orangutan Outlook. Visitors are invited to help locate the elf by collecting clues from admissions, with the search expected to continue until 24th December.
Blackpool Zoo has officially named its new £500,000 giraffe development at Giraffe Heights as the Kidepo Trail, inspired by the Kidepo Valley in Uganda where the zoo supports the Nubian Giraffe Conservation Project. The facility will triple the external habitat for giraffes O'Grady and Olympia, add sitatunga antelope, and open in Spring 2026 with African savannah experiences and extended viewing platforms.
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