International Women's Day 2026

The women who started it all...

Molly Badham MBE and Nathalie Evans - the UK's first female zoo founders and the inspiring duo who opened the gates to Twycross Zoo in 1963 🦍

🐒 Under their leadership, our charity became known for its innovative approach to animal care. Together, they pioneered new techniques in breeding, nutrition and enrichment, that were adopted by zoos around the world.

🌿 Leading changes to how animals were kept, by giving monkeys access to grass and producing gibbon and chimpanzee studbooks, which guided the safe breeding of species. They established a reputation for their dedication to conservation and protecting endangered species and were at the forefront of modernising the way zoos were operated, a legacy that remains to this day.

🌍 Today, we continue their legacy by leading vital conservation efforts across the world. With one million species threatened with extinction, we've scaled up our work, refined our mission, and are continuing to make a difference for wildlife every single day