I visited this small collection based in Devon for the first time yesterday and thought people might be interested in what I saw. The entry to the park is via a windy road through a railway-tourism attraction, and so quite an understated presence. After entering through the entrance/gift shop (not sure of price as I was there for work purposes), visitors emerge into a heated glasshouse for the butterflies. I have seen numerous butterfly houses previously, and given the size of the park I was impressed by the space and planting. Plenty of tropical butterflies (over a dozen species) were displayed with many active, probably in no small part to the sunny mid-20 degrees conditions outside. In the middle of the glasshouse was a landscaped pond containing koi/goldfish and the ubiquitous red-eared slider terrapins. There were two static displays of chrysalis ready for hatching, amazingly within easy reach of even the smallest child. Outside are five pens containing Canadian, European and short-clawed otters - I'd forgotten just how big canadian otters get (too used to seeing short-claws)! The pens were of a reasonable size and not showing too much erosion. All were fitted out with standard concrete-lined pools and the planting was mostly wild grasses/meadow plants and large trees. Two of the pens had an underwater-viewing area, which was pretty much a waste of time as the water was too murky. The only otters not out were the apparently very shy Europeans. I was told that they were part of a breeding program for possible release into the wild - I'm not sure whether this is just conservation-orientated propaganda for the public, or that they really believe that this might happen (it won't). And that was everything outside. Back through the butterfly house and giftshop and you are done. I am surprised that the park is able to survive given the limited collection (not sure why the owners came up with this combination) and space, but I was happily impressed with the butterfly area. Otters weren't bad either. No cafe, but that is probably due to the associated tourist attractions. If you are thinking of going I would give yourself a maximum of an hour's visit.
They did used to have them at Blackpool, but were swapped for Asian Short Clawed as they were rarely visible... I believe one went to HWP, and the other to an agricultural college somewhere...
I got really great views of the European Otters at Blackpool during feeding time. Its a shame they went.
Those two at Blackpool were unusually active for Europeans during daylight hours. They were hand reared.
As mentioned in the other comments they did have Europeans at blackpool but have since swapped them. Funny, Blackpool used to make a bit of a big deal about them as they were the only native species on display. Of course to the public they were just otters. Wasn't aware of them being hand-raised, but I didn't work with them. I don't think they were anymore social or active then other otters, and I have worked with other short-claws and Europeans previously. Although it was an older exhibit, I think it just worked well. The only argument would be that Blackpool was unable to get them to breed successfully. [Just to clear up any confusion I don't work at Blackpool any more, and haven't been up there since 2003.]
