{"id":738,"date":"2020-05-15T14:33:44","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T13:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.jomec.co.uk\/life360\/?p=738"},"modified":"2020-07-12T18:24:43","modified_gmt":"2020-07-12T17:24:43","slug":"a-wild-animal-kingdom-in-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/a-wild-animal-kingdom-in-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"A wild animal kingdom in lockdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As people binged on \u2018Tiger King\u2019, a small zoo in Wales faced their own drama of big cats, animal escapes and deaths. What happens when one of Britain\u2019s most troubled zoos goes into lockdown?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The tree in Lilleth\u2019s enclosure hadn\u2019t been cut back. Extending her sharp retractable claws, she climbed to the end of the longest, most delicate branches and made a giant leap for freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Borth Wild Animal Kingdom made headlines in 2017 after their lynx escaped from her enclosure and was later shot dead by a marksman in a caravan park. A few days later it emerged that a second lynx had been strangled at the zoo in a \u201chandling error\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that stage Tracy and Dean Tweedy, who had no prior zoo experience or qualifications, had owned the collection of animals in mid Wales for less than six months. Three years in and the lockdown is offering little respite. Like most UK zoos, Borth relies on ticket sales to pay for the huge operating costs of maintaining its animals.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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