One of the babies

 Blackpool Zoo is well known for its success in breeding many rare and endangered species.  However, one of the recent successes has been with a much more familiar little animal – the guinea pig.

Guinea pigs or cavies, as they are also known, originate from South America, but are popular in the UK as pets. They are lively and “chatter” amongst themselves while scuttling round their enclosure looking for food.

Some of the Zoo’s guinea pigs have recently taken up residence in the new Children’s Farm along with the Giant rabbits and more regular-sized rabbits.  They live alongside each other quite happily in the same enclosure and are proving a great attraction, particularly for our younger visitors.

However, a small group still reside in the old Children’s Zoo area and several new babies have been born over the past few weeks.  They vary in colour from dark brown to almost completely white with various patterns in between.  The babies are born with a full coat of hair and look like perfect miniatures of the adults.  They are also quite independent from a very young age.

Make sure you take a minute to try to count them when you next visit. They’re between the new wading bird aviary and the aardvarks.