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Hello friends!

Lots has been happening the past few months…

On the move
Atlantis Safari trust has gone mobile! See if you can spot us in our new green animal ambulance! Our Animbulance! We will be taking our animals to schools and orphanages in this van as well. The van runs on diesel at the moment but we are hoping to run it on bio diesel from locally farmed rapeseed oil soon. It is speed restricted and is soon to be emission free!

Finding a Home
We have been working hard trying to find a base for all the animals. We want to make sure where we settle is the best possible place for our animals to spend the rest of their lives peacefully and happily. We’ll keep you updated as soon as we find a place.

Exotic Education
(or exoducation!!) We have put together education programmes, which is tailored to key stage levels and designed around the curriculum. The program provides fun and innovative packages to suit any schools learning requirements. Please e-mail us for details of how we can help in YOUR school!

Over seas
Atlantis Safari Trust has been looking at work that can be done abroad, to help animals in the wild. Part of the team went to Indonesia for 6 weeks, joining biodiversity research projects in the rainforest. Main focuses of the research included herpetology (reptiles), and chiropterology (bats).
Researching animals in the wild not only means we aid the projects but also to improve the conditions of our animals at the sanctuary.
We are hoping to continue complimenting the sanctuary with work with rare species in the wild, and to find some places that really need our help!

Going wild for Christmas
This December Atlantis Safari Trust will host its official launch party! It will be an evening of music and dance. We will be celebrating our first year working on the charity and making our first few steps towards our goals. Pictures will be posted up of the event, as well as news on the evening.

Jungle Room Files

Here are some updates on new animals in our sanctuaries Jungle Room for you to read about:

ROCKY
Rocky is a common boa (Boa constrictor) who came to us from a private collector. When his owner bought Rocky, he was in pretty bad shape. He had pneumonia and had to be tube fed for a long time. He is now healthy, much bigger, and very, very grumpy.

SIR KENNETH OF ASHFORD
Sir Kenneth, the bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps), was found in a back garden by Ken Brown. He had been attacked by a cat, and was suffering from severe dehydration, malnutrition and several wounds to his tail, all in cold weather. This meant he was very weak when he came to us, but with a new UV light, a lot of love and a few mealworms, Sir Kenneth is starting to look better. We’ll keep you updated on the website!

PINKY AND WINKY
Kept in a small tank for a number of years, with only enough room to float side by side, Pinky and Winky the terrapins (Trachemys sp.) haven’t had the best start to life. Now they’ve settled into their new pond nicely, and will even feed by hand! They now make the most of the room they’ve been given, and enjoy showering on the rocks under the fountain.

MARJORY STEWART BAXTER AND HUBERT CUMBERDALE
Marjory Stewart Baxtor and Hubert Cumberdale are Gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). They became too old to be sold at the pet shop where they lived, so they were adopted by Atlantis Safari Trust. They now have a vast tunnel complex which they frolic in, all made by them.

KINKY
Kinky is a Veiled Chameleon (Chameleo calyptratus). He was unable to be sold at a pet shop due to a birth defect which means his tail has a kink. He was adopted by AST as a baby, and since had tripled in size! He is massive now, but still very nervous. His tail doesn’t seem to be causing him any troubles, especially not with feeding!

Funky Facts

Here you can read about some of the animals we keep at our centre:

• The King Baboon Spider is one of the biggest tarantulas in Africa! Our centre houses two, one baby, one mummy!

• Kuhl’s Flying Geckos have two ‘wings’ made up of flaps of skin, tucked under their stomachs, and webbed fingers and toes. When they jump between trees, these extend allowing them to glide!

• When a tarantula sheds its skin, it not only gets a whole new exoskeleton, but new lungs, new fangs and a new stomach! This process can take upwards of four to five hours!

• Imperial Scorpions are one of the largest scorpions on the planet. Due to their large size they have very strong pincers, negating their need for a potent venom. This means they are gentle giants, who may look fierce, but are harmless to us.

• When the garter snake is nervous, he can let off a pheromone which smells (and tastes) disgusting. This allows him to escape from tricky situations, a bit like a skunk!

This was the first newsletter, we hope you enjoyed it. If you have any suggestions for the next newsletter, please email them in. Don’t forget you can adopt any of the animals you have read about in the newsletter. For further information see the adoption section of our website.

We are a small organisation with limited resources but we do our best! If you would like to get more involved with us send us an email and we will get in touch with you.

Thank you for your support

Jamie and Lucie