South Lakes Wild Animal Park- NOT your average zoo! (South Lakes Wild Animal Park)

Member Name: jayne30

Product:	South Lakes Wild Animal Park
Date:	20/03/01 (342 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You can really get close to the animals

Disadvantages: not very wheelchair friendly

I vowed after seeing a documentary about some of the worst zoos in Europe that I would never go to one again. However after reading about the ethics of this zoo I decided to go along, attracted by the conservation work they do and the “Cumbria for Excellence” Visitor attraction award they won in 1999. Their work is dedicated to saving endangered species and they are involved in many projects around the world. The Sumatran Tiger trust is one of these, many of the staff there have worked in south Sumatra protecting the tigers from trappers and trying to raise money for the project.

The park is at Dalton in Furness near Ulverston and is open every day from 10-6pm, dusk in winter. Admission is £7 for adults £4 for children and when I visited there was a family ticket option to make it more family friendly. Wheelchair users visit free, although I think some parts of the park would be hard to access. The admission includes a guidebook for every 2 adults, which is really informative, giving you a map of the area and detailed information about each animal you will meet along your route.

The zoo aims to educate as much as possible, a lot of talks are given by the staff when visitors are gathered at feeding time. There is a schedule starting at about 12.30 with a chance to meet a snake, then giving you the opportunity to hand feed lemurs and witness some of the more unusual methods they have for keeping the animals alert as possible. The animals food is hidden or put in high places in order to make them work for their food as they would in the wild and sounds of their natural habitat are played to make them feel as though they need to look out for predators. The last feeding session is the tigers, preceded by a talk about the project in Sumatra and lots of interesting facts about the differences between the breeds they look after. The food for them is put at the top of a 20ft pole, in order to keep the tigers fit and active, making them use all
of their climbing skills.

The park is divided into areas of the world. I liked the Australia/Madagascar section best; most of the animals there are allowed to roam freely within the compound. You may find yourself being scrutinised by an Emu! There are barriers, but they are only a few inches high and are for the privacy of the animals, rather than to benefit the humans. Parrots fly overhead and lemurs swing from tree to tree around you.

Other animals at the zoo to name but a few - otters,meercats,rhinos,zebras,giraffe,bats,several kinds of monkeys and lots of wild cats.

I can’t recommend this park highly enough for a family day out. The kids will love it and the presentations are educational without being too long or boring for them. The staff are so committed and are only too happy to answer any questions you have. Please go and contribute to their work. Further information is available on this website www.wildanimalpark.co.uk

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