Wildwood Kent has been recognised with the 2026 Great British Wildlife Restoration Award for over 20 years of water vole conservation and breeding, having released around 2,000 water voles across the UK. The award, decided by Members of Parliament from 26 native species projects, highlights the zoo's critical role in restoring water vole populations and combating biodiversity decline.
Wildwood Kent bred and released approximately 50 water voles into the Upper Hogsmill River and Chamber Meads wetland in Epsom & Ewell in July 2025, marking the historic return of the species to Surrey where it had been absent for decades. Early monitoring indicates positive signs with suspected breeding activity expected to be confirmed in Spring 2026.
Wildwood experienced exceptional breeding success in 2025, with one pair of hazel dormice producing three litters in a single year. Mild winters and warm summers are improving survival rates for young dormice that would normally struggle to build sufficient fat reserves for hibernation.
Wildwood Trust is a leading centre for captive-breeding hazel dormice for reintroduction to UK woodlands, with over 1,000 animals successfully released to date. The zoo serves as studbook keeper for the species and works with the national Common Dormouse Captive Breeders Group to maintain genetic diversity for the endangered population.
The Blean Bison Project is expanding the herd's roaming range from 50 to 200 hectares through the installation of the UK's first bison bridges, enabling wider movement while protecting public footpaths. The expansion will support genetic diversity and help establish further herds across the UK.
Three new bison calves have been born in the Blean woodland, bringing the total number of calves born at the site to seven since the herd's release in 2022. The births mark continued success for the Blean Bison Project, with the herd now numbering nine animals.
The Blean Bison Project has established a proven model for landscape rewilding and conservation across the UK, with documented changes in woodland structure and species recovery now informing future wilding efforts. The project demonstrates that bison act as natural land managers, creating open spaces and increasing biodiversity while building landscape resilience against climate change.
The matriarch of the UK's first free-roaming bison herd has died at age twenty-one, just days after three new calves were born in the Blean woodland. Released in 2022 under the Blean Bison Project, she led the herd's growth to nine animals and shaped the landscape through natural behaviours, becoming a cornerstone of bison rewilding in Britain.
The Missing Lynx Project, led by The Lifescape Project with Northumberland Wildlife Trust and The Wildlife Trusts, is exploring whether Eurasian lynx could be successfully reintroduced to the UK after more than a thousand years of absence. A major feasibility study is underway assessing suitable habitat, ecological benefits, and public attitudes, with 72% of over 1,000 people consulted in the project area expressing support for lynx reintroduction.
Wildwood Trust has unveiled a new, state-of-the-art lynx enclosure at its Kent wildlife park, designed to support future breeding programmes for potential reintroduction. The facility features over 300 metres of external fencing, a raised viewing walkway, and a naturalistic woodland environment, and is home to the charity's long-standing lynx residents Flossie and Torridon.
Thirty-seven adult white-clawed crayfish have been moved into a specially created pond refuge at Wildwood Devon as part of a major conservation effort to prevent extinction. The isolated ark site protects the species from invasive American signal crayfish and deadly crayfish plague, with plans to breed juveniles for reintroduction to safe coastal streams across Devon.
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