Theatre Guide

Two of Britain’s rarest species handed lifeline as Chester Zoo joins national species recovery effort

Chester Zoo awarded funding as part of the largest ever UK government investment in species recovery

New breeding programme launched for threatened native invertebrates, including a snail found only at one lake in Wales

 Zoo to intensify work to save critically endangered lady slipper’s orchid

Chester Zoo has been awarded funding through the largest ever government investment in species recovery, backing two ambitious conservation projects that will help pull some of England's most threatened wildlife back from the brink.

The zoo will lead work as part of Natural England's £60 million Species Recovery Programme, announced today, which is funding 130 projects across the country to protect 364 threatened species.

Chester Zoo's funding covers two distinct projects - a new Native Species Recovery Hub and work to save the Lady's Slipper orchid, one of Britain's rarest flowers.

Native Species Recovery Hub

Working alongside Wildwood Trust, Chester Zoo will establish new conservation breeding programmes for native invertebrates. Invertebrates are highly sensitive to environmental change and are historically overlooked in conservation, despite being foundational to ecosystem health.

The Recovery Hub will focus on glutinous snails (Myxas glutinosa), found only at Bala Lake in Gwynedd, Wales, which will be bred as part of a collaborative British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums project, and two other highly threatened species.

These insurance colonies will be bred at the zoo and used to restore wild numbers. Although the breeding centre will not be open to the public, experts hope news of the project will give zoo visitors a window into England's own wildlife crisis, highlighting that the animals under threat aren't only found in far-flung places - some of the rarest species on Earth live within a short drive of home.

Iri Gill, Chester Zoo’s General Manager for Ectotherms, said:

“We’re really pleased to receive resources to further support native invertebrates. Global conservation is important, but we believe conservation should start at home.

“We have the expertise of a talented team that have worked with invertebrates extensively and have supported conservation work around the globe, and I’m confident we will rise to the challenge of helping species on our doorstep.”

Lady’s slipper orchid

The funds will help drive forward Chester Zoo’s work to save the lady's slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus), one of the UK's most critically endangered floral species.

Once widespread through the UK, this delicate and colourful plant once had a wide range, particularly in the limestone districts of Derbyshire, Yorkshire, County Durham and Cumbria. However, habitat change, including the loss of UK woodlands, and over-collection by orchid enthusiasts in the 1800s and 1900s devastated the species.

It was considered extinct until a single plant was rediscovered in Yorkshire in 1930. A long-running partnership between Chester Zoo, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, BSBI, National Trust, Yorkshire Dales National Park, Plantlife International and RBG Kew has been cultivating lady’s slipper orchids behind the scenes, often in secret locations due to its rarity.

Phil Esseen, Head of Plants at Chester Zoo, said:

“Our partnership has prevented the extinction of the orchid, and we’re on the brink of achieving self-sustaining populations in the wild.

“Thanks to this support, we will be able to intensify the work we’re doing to research the species’ habitat preferences, how it interacts with soil microbiomes, how best to germinate seeds and in building community support for the protection of these beautiful orchids.”

More than 350 threatened species will benefit from the largest ever investment in recovering England’s wildlife, Natural England announced today, as part of the government's "Wild Again: Restoring England's Wildlife" initiative to turn the tide for England's wildlife.

Luci Rampling, Trusts & Foundations Manager at Chester Zoo, added:

“This funding will have a huge impact in helping conservation organisations like Chester Zoo safeguard these incredible species for generations to come.”