New Forest Wildlife Park facts for kids
.jpg) |
|
| Date opened | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Location | Deerleap Lane, Longdown, Near Ashurst, Hampshire, England |
| Land area | 25 acres (100,000 m2) |
| Coordinates | 50°53′10″N 1°29′54″W / 50.8860°N 1.4983°W |
| No. of species | 49 (2011) |
| Website | http://www.newforestwildlifepark.co.uk |
The New Forest Wildlife Park, once called The New Forest Otter, Owl and Wildlife Conservation Park, is a fantastic place located right next to The New Forest in England. It's close to the towns of Ashurst and Lyndhurst. This park is special because it focuses on animals that live or used to live in Britain. It also has many different kinds of otters and owls from all over the world. You can see four types of otters and ten types of owls here!
The park is well-known for its amazing work helping sick, injured, or orphaned wild otters. They also rescue and care for other wildlife, such as owls, deer, and foxes, when they need help. The New Forest Wildlife Park is a big part of many conservation projects. This includes special breeding programs for endangered native animals like Scottish wildcats, water voles, and harvest mice. These programs help protect these rare creatures for the future.
Contents
Discovering the Park's Past
The New Forest Wildlife Park has an interesting history! It first opened in 1981 as The New Forest Butterfly Farm. The main glasshouse building from those early days is still standing today. This butterfly farm closed in the early 1990s.
A company called Vardon Plc. then took over the site. They owned many Sea Life Centres in the UK. Vardon turned the area into New Forest Nature Quest, which focused on British wildlife. However, in 1998, another company called Merlin Entertainments bought Vardon. The park was then put up for sale.
Some of the animals went to a new park called Wildwood Discovery Park in Kent. The rest of the animals were taken care of by Roger Heap. He already ran the Chestnut Centre, a park in Derbyshire that specialized in otters and owls. Roger Heap and his family added many otters and owls to the New Forest site. This is how The New Forest Otter, Owl and Wildlife Conservation Park began.
About twelve years later, the park changed its name to The New Forest Wildlife Park. This new name helped show everyone that the park had a large and growing collection of native British animals, along with its many otters and owls.
Meet the Animals at the Park
The New Forest Wildlife Park is home to many amazing animals. Most of the animals you'll see either live in Britain now or used to live here a long time ago. The park also has various species of otters and owls from around the world. You can even walk through a tropical butterfly exhibit, which reminds visitors of the park's early days as a butterfly farm!
Here are some of the fascinating animals you can find:
- European otter
- Oriental small-clawed otter
- North American river otter
- Giant otter
- Badger
- Pine marten
- Polecat
- Ferret
- European grey wolf
- Red fox
- European lynx
- Scottish wildcat
- Red-necked wallaby
- Hedgehog
- European souslik
- European water vole
- House mouse
- Harvest mouse
- European bison
- Wild boar
- Red deer
- Fallow deer
- Sika deer
- Muntjac deer
- Adder
Our Feathered Friends: Owls
The park is also home to 15 different species of owls. These beautiful birds come from various parts of the world.
Park Facilities for Visitors
When you visit the park, you can enjoy the Woodland Bakehouse. This is the park's restaurant and tearoom. It's open to everyone, whether you're visiting the animals or just want to grab a bite to eat. Next door, you'll find the Wildlife Gift Shop. Here, you can buy souvenirs to remember your visit and even some local products. During the colder winter months, the gift shop moves inside the Bakehouse, offering a smaller selection of items.
