January 2014 Hi there, apologies for not updating the 'What's new' page. There have unfortunately been problems with the Website that have hopefully now been rectified, so look out for lots of exciting news over the next few weeks! thanks for your patience.   Jay
Maku all ready for Christmas	January 2014 Happy New Year! Hope 2014 is going to be a great one for everyone!
Jay and Maku go WILD	July 2013  Jay and Maku had a fantastic day out in Leeds taking part in a live episode of WILD. Maku was a real star as usual and demonstrated his Meerkat abilities right on cue. Well done Maku!
Maku's snowman Impression	February 2013  With most of Jay's Animals coming form hot tropical climates, they have not enjoyed the cold snowy weather that we've had lately, but the Meerkats did come out for a bit of fun in the snow and winter sunshine, Maku likes digging in the snow and does a great Snowman Impression. But they don't stay outside for long and soon go back under their heater in their indoor part of their enclosure most of them have been eating a lot more than usual to help them keep warm.
Male Frilled Dragon	January 2013  A great big male Frilled Dragon has just joined the Animal Team, he is a fantastic specimen with an enormous frill. The frill is an incredible adaptation that is usually held tightly folded against the lizards neck, But , should a predator approach the lizard as quick as a flash it extends his impressive frill like an umbrella to make him look so much bigger. He has been paired up with a female dragon so fiingers crossed for some dragon eggs later this year!
Christmas Meerkats	December 2012  Where did that year go!... well thanks to you lot, It's been the best Year ever for 'Jay's Animal Encounters' and I just want to say a personal 'Thank you!' to all the lovley people that we've met over the last twelve months. Next year promises to be just as much fun and there will also be some new exciting members joining the Animal team, so it just leaves me to wish you a Very Merry Christmas and I hope you have a fantastic year ahead, have fun! Jay and the Animals
Fennec Fox	November 2012 A beautiful baby Female Fennec fox has just joined the animal team. Fennec foxes are the smallest foxes in the World. They are found in North Africa in harsh habitats like the Sahara desert, that's where those incredible ears come in handy to help cool their blood, they also have fur on the soles of their feet to stop them burning on the red hot sand.
Jay looking Devilish!	Late October 2012 Jay and some of the spookier animals! were at Glasgow Science Centre for the Halloween event. It's always a Brilliant night, great costumes and so many things to see and do. Special thanks to Jo for all her co-presenting skills making it great fun!
The Dare Devil	September 2012 Jay and the animals spent the day filming in Liverpool for a new CBBC series called 'The Dare Devil' where familes are faced with a series of terrifying dares! And one of the family got an extremely close encounter with some Scorpions and Giant Tarantulas!...
Giant Cloud rat	Late July 2012 Even more new animals!!! A very special and unusual animal has just joined the animal team, he is a Northern Luzon Giant Cloud rat, from the Philipenes, the worlds largest rat species! at only 6 weeks of age he is already far bigger than a brown rat, he has the most gorgeous thick silvery fur with a chocolate undercoat. It has been a life long dream of Jay's to work with this species, so you can imagine how spoilt the new arrival has been!
Baby Barni	Early July 2012 More new animals! Barni, a fantastic baby male coati has also just joined the Animal Team, he is only 5 weeks old at the moment and likes nothing more than an afternoon nap as you can see, but once he is a bit bigger he will be a great new playmate for Bindi.
Green Anaconda	June 2012 New Animals! A fantastic female Green Anaconda has just joined the animal team, Anacondas aren't known for their gentle dipositions which is not such good news when you consider they are the heaviest snakes on the planet! But this little girl is a very laid back lady, with her amazing aquatic lifestyle, she will be a great talking point in some of Jays adaptation presentations.
Radio star!	May 2012 Jay and some of the animals were live on Radio Newcastle to promote an event at 'The Centre For Life' in Newcastle. As usual, Maku was at the centre of things even pressing a few buttons (when he shouldn't have done!) but it was great fun and Sue Sweeney was a brilliant and very funny host.
Hypo Burmese	April 2012 The new snakes are coming along nicely and have just started to take part in their first encounter sessions.
Jaguar	March 2012 Jay and the Animals will be at the Hancock (Great North Museum) on Saturday March the 10th from 6pm until 10pm as part of the Newcastle Science Fest 2012. "Visitors should expect to queue to meet the live animals, the ‘Animals in Danger’ shows are timed and tickets are issued on the day (first come first serve basis).  Tickets are available from the museum."
Baby Burmese Pythons	February 2012 Lots of new animals! I know how much you all like meeting the big snakes like Amber and Olive, and now joining the animal team are some fantastic new faces. Green/Patternless Burmese, Albino Green, Granite and Jays favourite Hypo Burmese Pythons. They are just babies at the moment, but you'll see how fast they grow!
Tom and Darwin	January 2012 Happy New Year! lots of exciting new things to look forward to this Year at 'Jay's Animal Encounters'
Baby Meerkats	18th October 2011 On Tuesday the 18th of October, after what seemed like the longest pregnancy ever! Meeka finally gave birth to a fabulous litter of 4 baby Meerkats. Maku, Meeka and all the babies are doing great!
Deadly Days Out	25th September2011 - Deadly Day Out! On Sunday the 25th of September, Jay and the gang joined the Deadly 60 crew for a fantastic 'Deadly Day Out' at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow. Thousands of lovely people didn't let the pouring rain dampen their spirits and a great day out was had by all. Jay and the Animals will also be at the Deadly Day Out at Saltwell Park in Gateshead on the 9th of October.
Jay at Radio Manchester Studios	19th August 2011 - Radio Manchester Jay and Maria (the Mexican Red Knee Tarantula) were live on Radio Manchester today to promote an up coming event (face your fears) for Anxiety UK. The event is aimed to help people overcome their fears and phobias and Jay will be running two sessions, one to help people with their Spider Phobias and one in the afternoon to help people overcome their Snake phobias. The event will be held in Manchester on Monday 26th of September.
Goldie the Patternless Burmese	17th August 2011 - New Baby Burmese Python A new baby Burmese Python has just joined the animal team - He is a 12 week old male patternless green Burmese called 'Goldie'. At the moment he is just over 30cm's but they are a fast growing species that don't stay small for long! Jay will be taking Goldie out for his first introductory encounters over the next few weeks, so hopefully, with your gentle handling you will get the chance to help him become a big friendly snake like Amber and Olive.
Hope and Poppy at Alnwick	15th August 2011 - Time flies when you're having fun! Hi there, apologies for the delay in updating the website, lots of new exciting news!!! things have just been so busy (not complaining!) that it's taken a while to get the chance to finally update things. I would just like to say a big thanks to 'The Alnwick Garden' I've been there a lot lately it is a fantastic venue and the animals and I have made lots of lovely new friends there.
Musang the Palm Civet	1st July 2011 - Palm Civets join the animal team! Two new arrivals have just joined the animal team, a beautiful unrelated pair of Asian Palm Civets. The female is called Musang (the Indonesion name for a Palm Civet) and the slightly younger male is called Moser, they are mainly fruit eaters but do enjoy the occasional insects and meat.
Furby	15th June 2011 - White faced Scops Owl! Furby, the White Faced Scops Owl has just become the latest member to join the Animal Team. She is only 9 weeks old and has the most incredible piercing orange eyes. This is one of Jay's favourite Owl species and hopefully she will add a nice new element to the presentations.
Little Candarel	20th April 2011 - Sweet new Baby! Tate and Lyle the Sugar Gliders, produced a pleasant surpise in the form of a little baby girl. Sugar Gliders are Marsupials (pouched Mammals like a Kangaroo) they usually give birth to twins, but when they have just one baby it is not as noticable in the pouch, so Jay got a nice suprise when he saw a little tail sticking out of Mums pouch. She is very tame already and has been named 'Candarel'
Family outing	27th February 2011 - Meerkat Update! The Meerkats are growing up fast! they are now quite good on their little legs and love exploring every nook and cranny of their enclosure. At the weekend they had their first family outing in the Sunshine, and you know how much Meerkats love the sunshine!
Baby Meerkats	15th February 2011 - Meerkat Update! As promised a quick update on the Meerkats! As you can see they have grown on nicely under Maku and Meeka's fantastic care, their eyes opened today and they have now got names, Kaloo (is the boy) and Louka (is the little girl)
Merry Christmas!	December 2010 On behalf of the animals and myself, I would just like to thank all the lovely, enthusiastic people that we have met over the course of the year. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year! Hopefully see you all again soon! Jay
Maku turns Deadly!	30th October 2010 Jay and the Animals meet the Live and Deadly crew up at the Alnwick Garden Tree House. Maku tried his best to look live and deadly, but as usual was more cute and cuddley!
The new Look!	8th June 2010 Look out for the new look designer range! Yep, the new Spring/Summer collection (lol...) has now hit the streets! sweat shirts, hoodies, caps and those always fashionable Bum bags  are now available!
Baby Bindi	17th May 2010 Jay collected a Baby Coatimundi 'Baby Bindi' to join the animal team, she was only a few weeks old and needed bottle feeding every three hours, but she has thrived and now is quite a little character. She is already used to wearing her little harness and walk beautifully on the lead. With that cute little face and funny antics, I think she's gonna be a bit hit!
Maku and Meeka	10th May 2010 'Maku gets a Girlfriend!' A baby female Meerkat (named Meeka) has joined the animal team. She is a partner for Maku and he has taken to her instantly. they love snuggling up in their hammock. Maku at the bottom and Meeka on the top!
Bunnyland Set-up	2nd to the 5th April 2010 Jays Animal Encounters will be at Glasgow Science Centres 'Bunnyland' for the Easter Weekend. I's always a brilliant Weekend with lots to do! From hatching chicks to baby Pygmy Hedgehogs and a whole host of animals in between, hope to see you there....
Maku Ready to Run	19th March 2010 Jay and Maku took part in the Sport Relief Mile at their local Primary School, Maku looked pretty cool in his high Viz running vest and took the big occasion in his stride, what a star!
Jay and Peanut	13th & 14th March 2010 Jay and the animals were invited to Alnwick Gardens for the weekend as part of a promotion for Science in Schools , the weather and venue were both amazing and we made some lovely new friends!
Jay meets the Hamiltons	28th August ' Lunch with the Hamiltons' As part of this years Edinburgh fringe, Jay was invited to 'Lunch with the Hamiltons' a live chat show in the Pleasance Dome. It was great fun and Neil and Christine were both superb with the audience and the animals.
Education Award	Thursday 1st June - 'Our First Award!' On the first of June ' Jays Animal Encounters' collected it's first ever award for forging links with Edinburgh Schools. It was a fantastic day, with some superb school projects on display. I would especially like to thank 'Davidson's Mains Primary School' for my nomination and their enthusiasm each time I visit.