Express & Star

Frogs and snakes among casualties of Chester Zoo fire

More than £130,000 has been raised in donations from the public following the fire.

Published
Chester Zoo fire

Cinammon frogs and tentacled snakes were among the species of animals that died in a fire at Chester Zoo, bosses have confirmed.

Visitors were evacuated from the attraction on Saturday and keepers were able to move all the zoo’s mammal species to safety – including a group of critically endangered Sumatran orangutans, Sulawesi macaques, endangered silvery gibbons and birds such as rhinoceros hornbills.

But in a statement on Monday, chief operating officer Jamie Christon confirmed there were a number of insects, birds and reptiles which they were unable to save from the Monsoon Forest habitat building.

He said: “Now that our teams have started to assess the site, we are devastated to confirm the small number of species that we were unable to save.

“These include a number of question mark cockroaches, Amano shrimps, betta hendra fish, cinnamon frogs, tentacled snakes and birds such as grosbeak starlings.

“These animals were all part of conservation breeding programmes and we will look to be part of those vital projects once again in the near future.”

He said new homes had been found within the zoo for animals that were led to safety and work to relocate them was ongoing.

More than £130,000 has been raised in donations from the public following the fire.

Bosses at the attraction say insurance will pay for fire damage and the cash, donated by more than 7,300 people, will be spent on conservation work.

The zoo described it as “one of the toughest days in our long history”.

(JustGiving/PA)

But within hours, hundreds of supporters had taken to social media asking how they could help and the zoo set up an appeal fund.

Mr Christon said: “We have been overwhelmed by the amount of spontaneous donations made to the Just Giving page.

“The generosity has been truly humbling and all the money given will go directly towards our conservation projects both here in the zoo, and around the world.

“As a wildlife conservation charity, we will continue our mission to prevent extinction.”

More than 15 fire crews and ambulance staff attended after the blaze broke out just before 11.30am on Saturday.

Eyewitnesses said high winds fanned the flames in the roof of the building and one person was treated for smoke inhalation, according to North West Ambulance Service.

The zoo, which had 1.8 million visitors last year and is home to around 21,000 animals, is working with Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service to complete an investigation into what started the fire, which is thought to have been accidental.

Some events were cancelled on Saturday, but the zoo reopened on Sunday.

Donations to the Zoo can be made at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/monsoonforest.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.