A Game of Thrones theme has taken over Highland Wildlife Park with the birth of a new member to join the park’s most distinctive residents.
The Mishmi takin herd has a new calf which has been named Snow after the hit TV series’ character John Snow.
The keepers at the park are huge fans of Game of Thrones, as last year’s two female takin calves were named Arya and Khaleesi, after the keepers’ favourite female Game of Thrones characters. The Mishmi takin is a goat-antelope species, closely related to the musk ox.
Snow is the first takin calf born at the park this year and although still quite young, it is already very strong and can be seen running around.
Mishmi takin calves are able to walk and run confidently at just three-days-old, allowing the calf to scamper after its mother over rough, mountainous terrain to avoid predators and find food. Snow is not the only new addition to the herd, as the park recently received a new male takin from Berlin Zoological Garden.
The park manages the European breeding programme for the endangered species and been home to a Mishmi takin herd for seven years.
Head hoofstock keeper Morag Stellar said: “We are really pleased with the birth of Snow. He is doing very well and is really strong.
“His personality is really starting to show now and he is just an enthusiastic bundle of energy.
“Many of the keepers like to stick to a theme when naming animals, so decided to go with a Game of Thrones for the Mishmi takin, as quite a few of us are big fans of the show.”
They are native to Asia from the Chinese province of Yunnan in the eastern Himalayas to Bhutan and northern Burma and are believed to be the inspiration behind the mythical ‘golden fleece’.
Takin are built to withstand the cold, with a thick secondary coat, a long moose-like nose which warms up the air before it reaches the lungs, and an oily, smelly substance which they secrete, to cover their coats and protect them from rain and moisture.