Chester Zoo has brought a new rare big cat into town, and she’s one good-looking feline.
The tourist attraction near Greater Manchester introduced the world to Inka, a two-year-old black jaguar, over the weekend.
She’s been brought to the zoo to be a companion for Chester Zoo‘s resident male, Napo.
Videos shared by the zoo show Inka exploring her new habitat with her jaw dropped – not a cat body language expert but she looks pretty stunned by her new home.
The gorgeous animal still has those signature jaguar markings, but she’s in shades of black and grey rather than the classic browns and oranges.
It’s not just us falling in love with Inka either – Chester Zoo themselves described her as a ‘strikingly beautiful, bold and confident’ young jaguar. Which zookeeper’s been copying my Tinder bio?!
But then the zoo went on to say she has ‘short and thick set limbs’, which isn’t so complimentary.
Fans have been delighted to see Inka making herself at home at the zoo, with hundreds of comments calling her ‘stunning’, ‘beautiful’ and ‘gorgeous’.
One person wrote: “She is beautiful! I follow the big cat sanctuary and love seeing her there, looking forward to seeing plenty of pics of her at Chester.”
Another said: “Stunningly gorgeous, what a beautiful addition to a brilliant zoo. So lucky to have Chester zoo on our doorstep.”
Carnivore experts at the zoo say her arrival will help to put a spotlight on her ‘remarkable’ species and support a European-wide conservation programme.
Jaguars are native to the Americas and listed as ‘near threatened’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Their numbers are declining in the wild, mostly because of humans – habitat loss, illegal hunting and conflict with humans are putting them at risk of extinction.
Dave Hall, team manager of carnivores at Chester Zoo, said: “Inka is a strikingly beautiful, bold and confident young jaguar and she’s quickly taken to her new surroundings.
“The union between her and Napo, the resident male here in Chester, has been carefully orchestrated by carnivore experts from here (Chester Zoo) and The Big Cat Sanctuary and the coordinators of a programme that’s working in partnership to ensure a genetically viable population of jaguars across Europe.
Inka, a rare black jaguar, has arrived at Chester Zoo. Credit: SuppliedChester Zoo’s resident male jaguar Napo, who will be Inka’s companion. Credit: SuppliedInka inspecting her new home at Chester Zoo. Credit: Supplied
“We hope the two of them will go to form a strong and meaningful bond, and the early signs are positive.
“Like Napo, Inka is a wonderful ambassador for her species. Jaguars are remarkable animals and the two of them together will help us to raise more much-needed awareness of the survival challenges that they face in the wild, the work that’s already being done by zoos, our partners and the local conservationists and communities to protect the ecosystems that jaguars live in, and help us to inspire further action for their conservation.”
Paul Bamford, regional field programmes manager for the Americas at Chester Zoo, added: “Deforestation and habitat fragmentation are reducing jaguar populations across their range. According to the IUCN, close to 70% of deforestation in Latin America is driven by industrial agriculture, primarily for soy, oil palm and cattle production.
“Many of these products are exported to countries such as the UK, and therefore, our shopping habits can have a significant impact on global biodiversity loss. In our role as consumers, we are unwittingly contributing to the destruction of nature on our planet.
“At Chester Zoo we are working to influence policy, both in the UK and internationally, to address this. We are supporting efforts to improve production standards and legislation so that deforestation is minimised, or eliminated for good, and wildlife can live safely alongside productive areas.
“The goal is to create a deforestation-free economy, in which countries are able to meet their development needs sustainably. If we can break the link between habitat loss and production, then we have the opportunity secure a future for people and wildlife.”
Jason Manford has final word on ‘naughty’ rule that sparked unexpected Village Hotel experience
Danny Jones
Local comedian Jason Manford has shared “the last I’ll say on the matter between The People vs The Village Hotel”, after expressing his disappointment over a rule that saw him have a somewhat unexpected experience at one of their locations.
The Salford-born and Stockport-based stand-up was forced to share his room with another individual at The Village in Bournemouth after being told the hotel was fully booked.
Manford‘s room had essentially been resold, which led him to stay in a double with his friend and colleague; however, as explained in multiple videos, not everyone was fortunate enough to secure a last-minute solution.
Still, on the upside, at least they didn’t have to share a bed…
As detailed in the first of three posts seen above, Manford and co. arrived at the hotel late (as is typically the case with any touring comedian, especially a headliner) following his gig at the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre on Sunday, 29 June.
The 44-year-old is currently on his ‘A Manford All Seasons’ tour, which saw a flurry of new dates added back in November, and got underway back in February.
Although he assured that the staff did their job and were “lovely” through the whole ordeal, he reiterated that he found the little-known rule “very naughty” and “not on”.
He also mentioned that a doctor who arrived shortly after them at the hotel reception, sadly, had to be turned away from the Bournemouth branch.
Manford went on to add that the hotel manager did apologise for the situation, but as he notes in the clips, the worry is that it could cause even bigger dilemmas if it were a wedding, someone with kids, “or a million different situations that you could have been in which are much more serious than [his].”
Essentially, the duo were just lucky they turned up when they did and said as much.
Despite noting that he’d heard of airlines opting for similar policies in the past, he confessed he’d never come across such a rule in more than “25 years of touring” as a comic.
Echoing his frustration, surprise and concern, musician Georgina Jackson said in the comments: “That is so bad! As a touring lone female musician who uses hotels a lot, what are we expected to do? But the fact is… they don’t really care…
“Thanks for highlighting it, as they might actually start caring when the bookings drop off! And, I imagine the hotel/town was busy with your audience!! How blinking ironic!!”
The hotel group has since asked the Salfordian funny man to take the very public complaints down, but Manford has refused despite them requesting quite “politely”, insisting that he believes more people need to know about obscure and largely unknown rules like these.
You can see the most recent and final statement on the whole Jason Manford-Village Hotel situation in full down below.
Featured Images — University of Salford (via Flickr)/Jason Manford (screenshot via Facebook)
Travel & Tourism
All military personnel can travel for FREE on Manchester’s public transport this weekend
Emily Sergeant
All military personnel will be allowed to travel for free across Greater Manchester’s public transport system this weekend.
In case you hadn’t heard, this Saturday 28 June is Armed Forces Day.
Armed Forces Day sees Brits celebrate those who are currently serving troops, their families, serving reservists, veterans, and cadets, and Manchester will also be paying tribute to the hundreds who have ‘fearlessly served’ with day of commemorations in the city centre on Saturday.
Mancunians are expected to line the streets as a parade made up of armed forces personnel, veterans, and cadets will begin a procession that will proudly march through the centre of Manchester, starting in St Peter’s Square at 11:30am.
Manchester will be marking Armed Forces Day 2025 this weekend with a 'poignant' military parade through the city centre. 🎖🥁
You can also expect an afternoon of live performances by the lively Lancashire Army Artillery Band, alongside music hosted by BBC Radio DJ, Michelle Dignan, up until 4pm.
Historic military displays, and stalls from organisations including the NHS, Royal British Legion, and Manchester City Council’s own Armed Forces Covenant, will also be in attendance, as well giving visitors the chance to explore an engaging display of military vehicles, uniforms, artefacts, and personal stories that span the rich legacy of the British armed forces inside a pop-up Military Museum tent.
This year’s Armed Forces Day is also particularly-special because it marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE Day) which happened on 8 May, and the upcoming Victory over Japan (VJ Day) on 15 August.
All military personnel can travel for free on Manchester’s public transport this weekend / Credit: GMP | Bee Network
And so, in order to honour what an important weekend it is for hundreds in our region, the Bee Network has announced that all military personnel will be allowed to travel for free.
Free travel will be permitted on all Bee Network bus and tram services on both Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 June for any members of the Regular and Reserve Services carrying their MOD90 card, veterans who carry their Veterans’ badge or Veterans’ rail card, and cadets travelling in uniform.
To mark Armed Forces Day, we're offering free travel this weekend (28-29 June) for military personnel and veterans across bus and tram services in Greater Manchester.
“The Armed Forces community makes an invaluable contribution to our society, and we’re showing our appreciation with free travel on Bee Network buses and trams across Greater Manchester this weekend,” commented Danny Vaughan, who is the Chief Network Officer at Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).
The free travel is part of TfGM’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant – a promise from the nation that those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly.
Daisy Jackson -
6th August 2023 
