Cotswold Wildlife Park celebrates its 50th anniversary today, Friday 27 March 2020.
When it opened on this day in 1970, the park was home to 341 animals after John Heyworth transformed the overgrown Bradwell Grove Estate into a wildlife park.
It has since been visited by millions of people from Gloucestershire and beyond. Today the park is run by John’s son Reggie, and has over 260 different species of animal living there.
George the Aldabra Giant Tortoise was one of the park’s original residents and still lives there today. His keeper Roxy made a special anniversary cake from carrots, pellets, leaves and swede to mark the occasion.
Staff from the park will be sharing photos and memories on social media to celebrate the golden anniversary and are encouraging visitors to do the same.
Although the park is currently closed due to the Coronavirus outbreak, wildlife lovers can watch the meerkats and penguins from live streamed webcams.
For more information, visit cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk.
