The Trust has introduced European Bison to Kent, the aim being to restore 600 hectares of ancient woodland.  It’s helping the European beaver return to Britain;  this is part of a fenland restoration project.  And last year, it released the first group Red-billed Chough to the Dover skies – this is the first time that the chough has been wild in Kent for over 200 years!  Red squirrels, water voles and dormice have all been bred and reintroduced, and the Trust is working towards the reintroduction of wildcats and pine martins. 

With parks in Kent and Devon, it is a very exciting conservation charity and you can visit these parks – it’s a great way to find out more about them.

For instance, there’s over 200 British species in Kent, including bears, wolves, otters and arctic foxes.  It’s a great chance to connect with wildlife in their natural habitats.

If only every bear could live freely in the wild!  But many are kept in private collections, or caged, or farmed, or bred to hunt or made to perform.  The Wildwood Trust is committed to giving bears a second chance of life:  they've build a home for them so that they can be safe and recover from their earlier terrible experiences, and start to heal.  They have a woodland haven to rediscover what it's like to be a bear.   

The Trust is now home to a number of bears:  Boki, Fluff and Scruff and Lucy and Mish (both from Albania, where they were abandoned by their mothers and needed rescuing before predators could leap in).  Diego who was the last bear after the Orsa Predator Park in Sweden closed in November 2022 came to the Trust for the winter whilst his new home was being prepared at Jimmy's Farm and Wildlife Park.  Diego would have been put to sleep, if the Trust hadn't stepped in to save him.   He actually arrived in the UK via Eurotunnel, in his own carriage, because it was at the time of Storm Ciaran and too risky to take him by sea. 

As you can imagine, this does not happen cheaply and it costs the Wildwood Trust £175,000 every year to care for these beautiful bears.   Food, medication, enrichment, improving the bears' welfare - you can help by donating here!

The bears at Wildlwood include Boki, a bear who is very much loved.  He came to Wildwood from Port Lympne at the age of 10 months, as he’d been rejected by his mother and keepers at Port Lympne had hand-reared Boki.

He settled in quickly and then met Fluff and Scruff, two bears who have taken him into their hearts.   All was going well.

But earlier this year, Boki – who is now a firm favourite at the Wildlife Trust – started to struggle with his health.  He’d been a happy bear, who enjoyed playing with older bears Fluff and Scruff, and changes to his behaviour in April kicked off the alarm.  It seemed that poor Boki had been suffering from seizures, and during the summer, Boki went off to Fitzpatrick Referrals (yes, Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick’s Referrals). 

The Wildwood Trust explained that Fitzpatrick Referrals were incredible in looking after Boki.  He became the first bear in the UK to have an MRI, which showed that poor Boki was suffering from fluid on the brain – hydrocephalus - which puts pressure on the brain. 

Enter Romain Pizzi, who’d done surgery on an Asiatic black bear in Laos, who had the same condition.  Romain Pizzi kindly offered to help, and it was agreed that the best chance for Boki to have a healthy, good life was to have surgery.   The operation will drain fluid from Boki's skull, by running a tube from the inside of his brain to his bladder.  Excess fluid can drain from there, and this should stop the seizures poor Boki has been having.   

Bless you Boki, and huge thanks to everyone involved and those taking care of this very special bear.   Watch the Wildwood Trust for updates! 

Images above copyright Wildwood Trust.