Reindeer And Elf Arrive At Bristol Zoo

By Lucy Parkinson

Bristol, UK - Santa’s reindeer are bringing extra magic to Bristol Zoo this Christmas.

The two new arrivals, called Jingle and Belle, are now at the Zoo, and will be there until Sunday, January 4, 2009 (excluding Christmas Day when the Zoo is closed).

Visitors can get up close to the live reindeer and stroke their velvety noses to make a Christmas wish, or feed them their favourite food – lichen.  
 
Bristol Zoo’s head of marketing, Heather Holve, said: “Reindeer are a traditional part of Christmas and have never before been seen at Bristol Zoo so we are thrilled to have them here for the festive period. Christmas promises to be extra magical at the Zoo this year!”
 
As well as feeding the reindeer, Zoo visitors can meet Santa in his Grotto, board Bristol Zoo’s Christmas train, meet the Zoo’s colourful Christmas characters or join the popular carol singing evenings.
 
Santa’s Grotto is open until December 23. The cost is £3.80 per child (price does not include Zoo admission) and each child will receive a personalised gift.
 
The Christmas Train is also running every day until Sunday, January 4. The fare is £1 per passenger. Visitors can meet the Zoo’s snow hare and penguin characters as they roam around the Zoo making new friends until Wednesday, December 24.
 
For more information about Bristol Zoo’s Christmas events please visit the website at www.bristolzoo.org.uk or phone 0117 973 7307. 
  
Reindeer facts
* Bristol Zoo will have two reindeer, called Jingle and Belle, over the Christmas period.
* Both reindeer are four-year-old females.
* A male reindeer is referred to as a buck, a female is referred to as a doe
* The word reindeer means "animal that pastures."
* The only place where reindeer roam wild in Britain is in the Cairngorms in Scotland, where they were re-introduced in the 1950s.
* Reindeer are excellent swimmers.
* Perhaps one of the most fascinating characteristics of the reindeer are its antlers - no two antlers are the same; every antler has its own shape and design.
* The reindeer is the only species of deer in which the female has horns as well as the male.
* The sound they make is referred to as a bellow. Each reindeer makes a unique call.
* Reindeer have four stomachs that are very similar to a cow's, they eat a wide variety of vegetation consisting of edible mushrooms, tough grasses and of course lichen (also known as reindeer moss) which is actually a symbiotic relationship of algae and fungi also being the favourite food of reindeer.
* Reindeer have unique hairs which traps the air thus providing them with excellent insulation. These hairs also help keep them buoyant in the water.
* Just a few days after birth, a calf can out run an adult human.
 
 
Bristol Zoo
* Bristol Zoo is open from 9am every day except Christmas Day. 
* The Zoo is an Education and Conservation Charity and relies on the income from visitors to support its work. The Zoo is involved with over one hundred co-ordinated breeding programmes for threatened wildlife species. 
* It employs 140 full and part-time staff to care for the animals and run a successful visitor attraction to support its conservation and education work. 
* Bristol Zoo supports – through finance and skill sharing - over 10 projects in the UK and abroad that conserve and protect some of the world’s most endangered species.
* Bristol Zoo is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums.  BIAZA represents over 90 member collections and promotes the values of good zoos and aquariums. 
  
Bristol, Clifton & West of England Zoological Society Ltd
Company registered in Endgand, reg no. 5154176
Registered office: Brisrtol Zoo Gardens, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 3HA