Zoo-perstar Abigail swaps handing out treats for a tiara

BY day, Abigail Wood has the dream job of looking after more than 40 penguins at one of Wales' best-loved family attractions.

- ROBERT DALLING

Feeding “stinking” fish to the vulnerable flightless birds three times a day, the unglamorous nature of the job is second nature to the Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo keeper.

By night, however, things are completely different for the 25-year-old. Abigail has just been crowned Miss Earth Wales 2025, a beauty pageant entertainment contest, recently held at the Memo Arts Centre in Barry.

While to most these would seem polar opposite ventures, for Ms Wood, originally from Swansea, the contest's integral promotion of environmental awareness very much aligns with her own values which she has cultivated since she was a young girl, after going on three-week trips embracing nature.

Abigail holds a master of science degree in environmental biology: conservation and resource management from Swansea University, having studied there for six years.

Earlier this year, she joined Folly Farm as a seasonal penguin keeper, helping to care for their array of vulnerable Humboldt and macaroni species of penguins at their penguin coast exhibit.