South Lakes Safari Zoo facts for kids
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| Date opened | 28 May 1994 |
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| Location | Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria, England |
| Land area | 51-acre (21 ha) |
| Coordinates | 54°10′00″N 3°10′07″W / 54.1666°N 3.1686°W |
| No. of animals | 1,000+ (pre expansion) |
| No. of species | 150+ (pre expansion) |
| Memberships | EAZA |
The South Lakes Safari Zoo (once called the South Lakes Wild Animal Park) is a large zoo in Cumbria, England. It covers about 51 acres of land. The zoo first opened its doors in 1994. Its name comes from being close to the beautiful Lake District, even though it's actually in the area of Barrow-in-Furness, near Dalton.
The zoo quickly became a very popular place for tourists to visit in Cumbria. Over the years, there were some challenges with how the zoo was run. However, since 2017, a new team has taken over managing the zoo. They have worked hard to make sure the animals are well cared for, and there has been a big improvement in animal welfare.
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Who Runs the Zoo?
The South Lakes Safari Zoo is currently owned by The Zoo Investment company, which bought it in January 2021. Since 2017, a company called Cumbria Zoo Company Ltd has been in charge of running the zoo. Karen Brewer is the manager of this company. Before this, the zoo was started and run by its founder, David S. Gill.
Zoo History
How the Zoo Started and Grew (1994–2000)
The zoo was opened by David S. Gill and his family in 1994. They built it on what used to be farmland. Construction began in 1993, and the zoo officially welcomed visitors on May 28, 1994.
The park grew steadily over its first few years. In 1995, about 55,000 people visited, and by 1999, that number had jumped to 220,000 visitors! In its early days, the zoo was special because it had both the world's smallest tiger, the Sumatran tiger, and the largest, the Siberian tiger. It even had a successful breeding program for the Sumatran tiger, which is an endangered species.
In 1997, there was an incident when a large, three-ton white rhino got out of its enclosure. It was later safely brought back.
Growing and Changing (2001–2012)
The zoo kept growing, adding more animals from Africa, as well as penguins and cheetahs in the early 2000s. In 2004, the zoo's owner, David Gill, thought about moving the park closer to the M6 for easier access.
In 2006, a parking lot was built to help with the zoo's expansion. Later, in 2008, the zoo welcomed two new baby white rhinos named Nyala and Zimba.
Sadly, in the same year, a fire broke out and affected some of the zoo's lemurs. The fire destroyed three wooden huts where they were staying. Many lemurs, including ring-tailed, red-ruffed, white-fronted, and black species, died from smoke. Staff were able to save 13 lemurs. This was a very sad event for the zoo and for the important breeding programs these animals were part of.
In May 2009, the zoo announced a big plan to make the park much larger. The goal was to grow from about 17 acres to 51 acres. This expansion would allow the zoo to bring in new types of animals and create bigger homes for the animals already there. The extra money from more visitors would also help the zoo donate more to its conservation charities.
After some discussions, the expansion plan was approved in February 2012. Work on making the park bigger began in 2014. In 2013, the zoo changed its name to the South Lakes Safari Zoo.
New Management and Improvements (2017–Present)
Since 2017, the zoo has been under new management. In January 2018, the RSPCA (a charity that helps animals) finished its investigations into the zoo. They were happy that the new owners had made big improvements.
The zoo was even featured in a TV show called 'Trouble at the Zoo' in February 2018. This show shared the story of how the new management team worked to improve the zoo. Another inspection in May 2018 confirmed that even more improvements had been made, with a "marked improvement" in how the animals were cared for.
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