Heavy snow at Paradise Park in Cornwall

Snow is rare in Cornwall but February 2018 has seen several days of heavy snow here at the Park!

Here is a selection of photos and videos – hope you enjoy 🙂

The first flurries happened on 6th February 2018 – and our penguins, who’s species originate from the warm climate of Chile and Peru, enjoyed trying to catch the snowflakes in their beaks!

A beautiful shot taken by Director Alison Hales of a Red Squirrel, which are well equipped to deal with the fall of snow.

Then on the 28th February the heavy snow arrived – thanks to ‘The Beast from the East’ and ‘Storm Emma’. Here you can see a penguin out for a walk around the enclosure making little footprints, while others are snuggled up inside their dens.

Earlier in the day, before the snow arraived, Keeper Becky braved the -8 degrees in shorts while feeding the penguins. We have some hardened keepers here at Paradise Park 🙂

Red Pandas come from the Himalayas so a bit of Cornish snow is not too much of a problem.

Our pair of Great Grey Owls are quite at home with snow as the species comes from places as far north as Canada and Russia. They have layers of fluffy feathers which trap warm air next to the body, insulating them from icy winds – it’s just like wearing a duvet.

Two beautiful photos of Lang-Za enjoying the snow – taken by Keeper Leanne Gilbert

Below: Left we have Newton the Kea Parrot who many of you will have seen in the summer shows. Right is… well a T-Rex of course!

A young penguin taking a look at the snow and not sure what to do… ‘should I go out and play or stay inside my den?’

Video from Wednesday 28th February showing when heavy snow covered the Park in a blanket of white!

Eider ducks on ice! Some of you may be familiar with ‘Nuuk’ and ‘Ida’ the Eider ducks that share the penguin enclosure. They were out and about swimming, preening and enjoying themselves while the penguins were snuggled up in their dens. Nuuk is named after the capital of Greenland, a clue to why they are quite happy swimming around and preening their feathers this cold morning.