THE newest resident at Butterfly World and Farm Park is getting ready for summer with a weight loss and exercise plan.

Rigby the raccoon, who moved in this week from Clacton, Essex, is on the chubby side, so staff at the attraction near Wroughton are devising ways to help him get in trim.

Collections supervisor Julia Stewart said: “The idea is we are not going to put his food in a bowl. We’re going to bury it, hide it and get him to look for it.”

Rigby, who is thought to be about a year old, has been living in a small indoor enclosure, but is adjusting to life in a specially adapted open air home at the park.

The layout will be changed as he gets fitter so he can climb, but security is tight. “Raccoons are very good at escaping,” said Julia.

And although he looks cuddly, he isn’t too keen on some people. “He’s semi-tame, but he doesn’t seem to like men, he growls at them.”

“He was on his own. They are quite happy solitary animals” But she didn’t rule out the possibility of a friend for Rigby at some time in the future.

His new neighbours, a colony of meerkats, have recently welcomed some new arrivals of their own

Leader of the pack Louise gave birth to three babies, known as kits, five weeks ago. The babies, believed to be girls, haven’t been named yet, but they are already mimicking the adults.

Louise’s sister Thelma is helping to look after them. “They are very family oriented,” explained Julia.

The attraction at Studley Grange is home to a menagerie of creatures, from George the giant tortoise, pigs, chickens, sheep, otters and exotic snakes as well as rare and colourful butterflies.