Yorkshire Wildlife Park's year in pictures: 12 photos of highlights of 2025

The popular attraction near Doncaster welcomed several new arrivals, celebrated births and once again hosted its annual winter illuminations trail.

2025 began with first birthday celebrations for Rocco the black rhino, one of the rarest mammals on Earth. The calf was treated to a boomer ball and a birthday cake in the park’s award-winning rhino reserve, “Into Africa!”. He is the first of his kind to be born in the park’s history, symbolising a major milestone in global conservation efforts.

The celebrations continued in February with the birth of a set of rare and critically endangered twin Cotton Top Tamarin monkeys. The distinctive, white-crested monkeys were born to mum Consuela and dad Maurice.

March saw the arrival of Altai, the Amur tiger. The young male travelled more than 1,135 miles from Norway to join the park’s resident tigress Tschuna, who watched with interest while he settled into his new surroundings. There is hope that in time they can contribute to global conservation efforts to protect the endangered species.

Spring’s baby boom kicked off with the birth of Lewis and Ali, the Amur leopard cubs, representing a big step forward in the battle to save the most endangered big cat in the world from extinction. The duo were born to mother Kristen and father Drake as part of the strategic international breeding programme to help save Amur leopards.

Visitor-favourites Kendi and Tafari the cheetahs celebrated their first birthday in May. With cheetah populations rapidly dwindling, the cubs represent a significant success for their species conservation. Their birth inspired fundraising efforts for cheetah protection, which continued throughout 2025.

In June, a Titi monkey was born to first-time parents Jessie and Javari, who arrived at YWP in November 2024. The baby is the first primate to be born in the South American Amazonas walkthrough reserve.

Summer was off to a great start as Aysa's trio of lion cubs took their first steps into the reserve. Aysa came to the park last March, rescued from Ukraine. The cubs had received their vaccinations so were able explore outside and enjoy the sunshine. They were curious at first and grew in confidence as the rest of the pride watched on with interest.

In August, the park welcomed two new endangered African painted dogs to the pack - males Blondie and T’Challa, both six years old. They settled in well and enjoy playing together in their new home.

September marked the rescue of three lion cubs who had been left stranded in war-torn Ukraine. The WildLife Foundation, the charity based at the park, raised the funds to cover the specialist transport costs for the 1,700 mile trip to bring the lions to safety. Oleg, Rafael and Shanti had spent months in a rescue and rehabilitation centre cowering at the daily bombings and have since settled happily into their new home. This is the park’s second lion rescue from Ukraine in two years following on from the original lion rescue from Romania in 2010.

The onset of autumn saw the arrival of a male Grevy’s zebra – the most endangered species of zebra. Gamba has joined female Katie in the “Into Africa!” reserve. It is hoped that they will breed in the future to support international conservation efforts.

Winter saw the return of the annual lantern trail, which had a mythical theme for 2025. Visitors had the opportunity to explore the park after dark and enjoy the walk-through experience, including an array of attractions, fairground rides and plenty of selfie spots along the way.

Brodie the polar bear arrived in December from Scotland’s Highland Wildlife Park. He has not yet been introduced to his big brother Hamish but is settling well into Project Polar, which has been designed to replicate the Arctic tundra found in North Canada during the summer and is home to boys Nobby, Hamish, Luka, Sisu, Indiana and Yuma.