Visitors to the Wild Place Project on Blackhorse Hill have been treated to recent glimpses of three baby wolverines leaving their nests and now staff have shared new photos of them receiving their first health checks. The kits - one boy and two girls - have been spending much of their time in the nests their mother, Alice, has made for them.
But visitors waiting patiently have been able to spot the tiny trio, who are aged around a month old, when their mother occasionally carries them outside. They are Alice's second litter, following the birth of female Eunice in 2022 - she recently celebrated her first birthday.
The new family five, which also includes father Novo, live in the Wild Place Project's Bear Wood exhibit, where visitors can also find European brown bears, wolves and a family of four lynx. Joe Norman, senior animal keeper at Wild Place Project, said: "They were born around a month ago, however mum has kept them hidden inside the nest box where she has been feeding them and keeping them warm until they were strong enough to come outside."
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Joe went on to say: "Alice is a great mum - she's very attentive and allows them to roam away from her, to help them grow independence. Novo is a pretty hands-off dad, he just lets Alice get on with it, which is normal for the species."
Wolverines are the largest of the weasel family and can eat prey almost double their size. They, along with the other residents in Bear Wood, were once native in UK woodlands before deforestation and hunting wiped out population numbers.
The Bear Wood exhibit at the site transports visitors back to 1000BC, to educate people on how human behaviours impact the survival of native species. And, while wolverine, bears, lynx and wolves no longer exist in UK woodlands, many native species currently call it home - these include bats, mice, hedgehogs, birds and newts.
Bristol Zoological Society, the charity that owns and runs Wild Place Project, has a dedicated native species team who continually monitor the woodlands within Bear Wood, conducting annual surveys and observing footage from camera traps.
The three wolverine kits aren't the only additions to the Wild Place Project this Easter - the site has also welcomed a new animal resident, Drummer the ostrich. Visitors can visit Drummer - and the kits - and take part in a special Easter trail around the site, too.
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