Lotherton Wildlife World: Leeds zoo to reopen after heavy snow causes chaos and allows rare birds to escape

Lotherton Wildlife World, at the Lotherton Hall estate in Leeds, has confirmed it is set to reopen in a limited capacity after being closed for nearly a week.

Staff at the much-loved Aberford estate zoo discovered on Sunday (January 5) that a number of rare birds had escaped, after some of the biggest aviaries at the site collapsed or were badly damaged following heavy snow. Seven rare Inca Terns and two Waldrapp Ibis birds escaped the zoo.

Leeds City Council said that staff at the zoo cleared snow from the nets, which had been left with holes following the damage, and managed to prevent any more free-flighted birds escaping.

The staff are now thanking members of the public for their help in locating the escaped birds. So far, three Inca Terns and one Waldrapp Ibis have been returned.

Shannon Gill, animal keeper at Wildlife World, said: “Having looked after these birds for nine years, I have been very worried about them. All the keepers have been giving up their spare time following leads of where sightings have been in the hope that we can return them to Lotherton.”

The severe aftermath of the snowfall comes on the back of Wildlife World being formally commended for work it has done in the last year, which includes brand new mammal paddocks, a new penguin experience pool, a new forest floor exhibit and the return of wallabies to the collection.

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Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s executive member for climate, energy, environment and green space, said: “It’s devastating to see the damage to the aviaries at Wildlife World, especially after so much recent work has gone into making the site superb for animals and visitors.

“I want to commend the staff for their hard work in keeping the birds safe and working with the help of the public to recover the escapees.

“We’re glad to be able to reopen on Saturday, although in a limited capacity, and we will continue to work towards restoring all the aviaries as soon as possible.”