Family to visit elephants at UK zoos in memory of daughter

A family from Swindon are embarking on a special two-day adventure to visit elephants at zoos across the UK in memory of their daughter.

Gary and Joanne Venton lost their daughter Chloë to Ewing sarcoma – a rare type of bone cancer – in 2020 when she was just 17.

She wanted to visit all the elephants at zoos across the UK, but she was unable to do so with lockdown during the pandemic, but then her condition deteriorated and she tragically passed away.

Joanne said: “Her favourite animals were elephants and she loved being on the back of her dad’s motorbike since she was three, so we’re going to combine the two and ride around England on the bike to visit the zoos.

“She had one of those microwavable elephant teddies and when she passed we filled it with stuffing and some of her ashes and it goes to a lot of places with us on family days, with her brothers Jack and Ryan. We’re going to take a photo with the teddy at every zoo, so she’s still there with us and we keep her memory alive.”

July marks sarcoma awareness month and on Tuesday, July 2 the family will travel to West Midlands Safari Park, Chester Zoo and Blackpool Zoo before travelling back to Swindon.

Then on Wednesday, July 3 they will get back on the bike to visit Whipsnade Zoo, Colchester Zoo and finally Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm in Bristol.

“She was full of life, driven and wanted to be a paediatrician. Even when she was ill, she was still studying for her GCSEs and A-Levels", Joanne added.

“She was misdiagnosed and there were many red flags with her symptoms and we knew something wasn’t right, but we would have pushed harder if we had known the symptoms.

“She had secondary cancer which took her life so quickly. It was a massive shock, we were obviously crying and the consultant came in crying too, because she couldn’t believe how quickly things had changed since she had seen Chloë the day before.

"Now we want to raise awareness of the signs of sarcoma and it was Chloë’s wish too, to help give others the chance of survival."

Their donation page raising money for Bone Cancer Research Trust has nearly reached nine thousand pounds and the family hope to raise more funds during their adventures next week.