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Nature Gary Zammit who is the resident wildlife expert at Gwel an Mor, the 5 star holiday resort in Portreath, has been very busy lately looking after his new guests which cover a wide variety of animals, both local residents and some not-so-native to Cornwall. With Gary’s boundless enthusiasm and passion in helping to conserve local wildlife and educate visitors on the wonders and the beauty of the Cornish countryside he is often contacted to help injured or vulnerable animals. Mid-winter saw the first arrivals, a pair of slow worms who were rescued by Gary when builders in St Agnes demolished a hedge, where the slow worms were discovered. The slow worms were relocated to Gwel an Mor’s wildlife centre where they soon made themselves at home, being fed lots of slugs. The female was soon showing signs of pregnancy and at the end of April gave birth to 10 healthy young who after a few days were released at Gwel an Mor, where a thriving colony already exists.
Another resident at Gwel an Mor is Stinky, a mink who was captured last August as a youngster, most probably after escaping from a fur farm. Mink are not native to this country, and due to the immense damage they can cause to the indigenous wildlife they are not permitted to be released and usually have to be destroyed. Gary managed to obtain the special licence needed to allow Gwel an Mor to house Stinky who is now proving to be a real asset when talking to people about conservation and how devastating it can be to release animals into a country where they do not belong. It is also very rewarding for Gary to see how much Stinky the mink enjoys playing tag with him in the water. The latest wildlife arrival at Gwel an Mor’s nature centre is Tod, a fox cub who was found abandoned while still very young. After being reared on milk via a puppy bottle, he has now progressed onto solid food and is being introduced to Lady, Gary’s ten year old tame fox. “The two foxes get on really well and this means that after ten years of being alone, Lady finally has a play mate. Lady came to me after being hand-reared with dogs, meaning she can never be released back into the wild and following a series of mixed fortunes, she ended up with me in April of 2007”commented Gary. Other animals currently being homed at Gwel an Mor are a pair of male hedgehogs, one of which is due to be released back into the wild any day now. The remaining hedgehog is due to be joined shortly by another female from a local rescue centre and will stay at Gwel an Mor as she is not releasable. Gwel an Mor’s resident barn owl was bred in captivity, being hand-reared but was then was left in a shed and not trained. He was then welcomed by Gary to Gwel an Mor a year ago now and since then he has been flying loose every day. “He flies really well to children and loves to skim peoples hair” said Gary Zammit. As well as caring for all the animals who reside at Gwel an Mor, Gary also leads regular nature rambles, educational walks and gives talks on his work at Gwel an Mor. “The emphasis for Gwel an Mor’s nature programme is to educate visitors about the diversity of wildlife surrounding Gwel an Mor and to look into ways of conserving these precious natural resources. An example of just one of the projects underway is that Motion sensor cameras are currently being installed to monitor animal movement at Gwel an Mor so footage can be examined and results collated. The information collected will then be used to improve the living and breeding environments for the natural inhabitants to encourage them to thrive and through this conservation effort there is a hope that species such as Barn owls will be reintroduced into this area” said Gary Zammit, Wildlife Expert for Gwel an Mor, Portreath. |
The
storms in the spring brought an unusual casualty to Gwel an Mor in
the form of a young heron, who was so small and delicate when he
was found that he easily fitted into the palm of a hand. He was
housed in a brooder to keep him warm and fed a diet of small fish
and soon began to thrive and become a real character, so was named
Dude. As Dude was so young when he was found he became imprinted
which means he looks to Gary who reared him as his mum. This sadly
means he is not suitable for release, so now two months on, it
is Gary’s responsibility to teach Dude to fly. This involves Gary running
around the land at Gwel an Mor flapping his arms closely followed by Dude,
which has achieved amazing results with the young heron making his first
flight and growing in strength and confidence everyday.