The Castle Hill attraction has welcomed three new keepers in the last few months, all of whom are enjoying looking after the wide variety of exotic animals.

Cheyenne Darkins, aged 24, and 26-year-old Sally Sheridan joined the team in May and Stephanie Bignell, aged 25, came to us from Marwell Wildlife in June.

Stephanie has joined the Lower Primates section and said she was delighted to get the job so she could work with great apes. She’s also developed a soft spot for spider monkey, Valentine.

Both Cheyenne and Sally work on the ungulates and big cats section. Cheyenne, who has fallen for snow leopard, Taïga, came from nearby West Midland Safari and Leisure Park and Sally previously worked at Chessington World of Adventures. Giraffe-crazy Sally, who especially loves the zoo's female giraffe, Josie, said:

“What we all like about our new jobs here is working with such a varied selection of incredible animals, especially on ungulates and big cats which is a big section.

“I think we’re all just about getting used to the hills on site too. It’s a great work out!”