KEEPERS at the Cotswold Wildlife Park are having a bumper spring, with a host of new arrivals.

But staff at the zoological park insist the baby animals are not just cute to look at – they are crucial to efforts to save endangered species from extinction.

The park, near Burford, which celebrated its 40th anniversary earlier this month, is a significant captive breeding centre, helping to increase populations of mammals, reptiles and birds which are threatened in their natural habitats.

Among the species with new arrivals are camels, crocodiles, a horned oryx (a type of antelope), zebra, meerkats, wallabies, jaguarundi, ring-tailed lemurs and siamangs (a rare Asian ape).

The most popular with visitors are camels JH and Jimandy, and a miniature donkey called Eddie.

Curator Jamie Craig said: “It’s a busy time. The bird area in particular has changed dramatically – from being easy-going in the winter, to chaos with eggs everywhere. This time of year is the busiest.

“Everything becomes more active – and the public have been reporting lots of breeding behaviour; it can be quite graphic walking around the park.”

Chris Kibbey, head of small mammals and primates, said: “It’s always nice to see babies being born, and this is definitely the nicest time of year.”

He admitted the new arrivals presented challenges.

“Some of the animals do need managing differently,” he said.

“Some have to be moved around and others need more protection when young. They also need the right food – and we have to make sure their mums eat well.

“For a lot of animals, though, we just let them get on with it – just stepping in with a bit of hand-rearing if necessary.”

Among the success stories are the siamangs – tail-less lesser apes from South East Asia, who have greeted a new arrival into their family.

Young male Tiku is the sixth baby born to mother Spindle and father Xhulu. The primates are endangered in their native Malaysia and Indonesia, and the park is an important part of a global captive breeding programme.

“They make great parents,” said Mr Kibbey, 34, who lives at the park. “His mother never lets go. Some animals, however, make less good parents, or just have other ways of doing it.”

And the worse at parental care? “The reptiles,” said Mr Kibbey. “They just lay their eggs, leave them to hatch, and take no responsibility.”

He added: “Primates like siamangs are also endangered, which makes a new birth even more exciting. We’re keeping species going, and if people like us don’t do this, they will die out.”

And what do baby apes drink? Exactly the same as human babies – formula milk.

“It’s hard to get monkey milk around here,” said Mr Kibbey.

thughes@oxfordmail.co.uk