Richard Gibson, who has a passion for fieldwork and says he 'eats, breathes and sleeps reptiles and amphibians', has joined the 110-acre zoo as Curator of Lower Vertebrates and Invertebrates.

He has taken over the position from Kevin Buley, who has become Chester's Head of Zoo Programmes.

The 37-year-old has moved to Chester from London Zoo where he spent over four years as Curator of Herpetology. Previously he has worked at Jersey Zoo where he started as a reptile keeper before becoming Head of Herpetology. Following that, he spent two years in Mauritius as the Fauna Conservation Manager for the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation.

"Chester's reputation for its conservation and fieldwork is growing rapidly and the zoo is also home to one of the biggest herpetological collections.

"There are exciting times ahead here as Chester continues to develop its projects and it's a great time to be part of the biggest zoo in the UK," said Richard.

Richard also plays a key role in the IUCN/WAZA Amphibian Ark, dedicating 25 per cent of his time to this project as Taxon Officer, helping to prioritise amphibian species for conservation breeding and catalyse conservation programmes around the world through training and capacity building initiatives.

Richard's appointment has been welcomed by Head of Zoo Programmes Kevin Buley who said: "Richard brings a wealth of experience not just of the 'zoo world' but also in the field of conservation. We have some exciting times ahead and are delighted to have someone of Richard's calibre on board."

Away from the zoo, Richard's interests include photography, scuba diving and travelling.