We're heading down south at half term and thought I might detour off the A1 and visit Shepreth Wildlife Park. Anyone know if it's worth a visit?
To be honest neither had I until I spotted it in a road atlas yesterday. It does have a web site. If we go I'll have to file a review.
Shepreth is a nice little collection. Their residents are rescues and they have the most wonderful Puma in the whole world ever, his name is Tige, if you go would you take a pick of him for me? They have 2 wolves, tigers, Lynx,did I mention Puma?! Various other species. Its a nice place, they were building a new nocturnal house last time i visited. By the way, they have this male Puma, he is fab!!!!
Shepreth species list Jan 2008 REPTILES SNAKE-NECKED TURTLE Chelodina COMMON SNAPPING TURTLE Chelydra serpentina RED-EARED SLIDER Trachyemys scripta elegans SPUR-THIGHED TORTOISE Testudo graeca CHINESE SOFT-SHELLED TURTLE Pelodiscus sinensis CUVIER'S DWARF CAIMAN Palpebrosus palpebrosus LEOPARD GECKO Eublepharis macularis DABB LIZARD Uromastyx acanthinura GREEN IGUANA Iguana iguana TEGU Tupinambis COMMON TEGU Tupinambis teguixin COMMON BOA Boa constrictor ROYAL PYTHON Python regius CORN SNAKE Elaphe guttata GREY RATSNAKE Elaphe obsoleta spiloides CALIFORNIAN KING SNAKE Lampropeltis getulus californiae BRITISH GRASS SNAKE Natrix natrix helvetica BIRDS EMU Dromaius novaehollandiae WALDRAPP IBIS Geronticus eremita BLACK SWAN Cygnus atratus GREYLAG GOOSE Anser anser BARNACLE GOOSE Branta leucopsis DOMESTIC MUSCOVY DUCK Cairina moschata CAROLINA DUCK Aix sponsa CALL DUCK Anas platyrhynchos CAYUGA DUCK Anas platyrhynchos COMMON BUZZARD Buteo buteo DOMESTIC CHICKEN Gallus gallus POLISH CHICKEN Gallus gallus BLUE PEAFOWL Pavo cristatus GOFFIN'S COCKATOO Cacatua goffini COCKATIEL Nymphicus hollandicus BLUE AND YELLOW MACAW Ara ararauna BLUE-FRONTED AMAZON PARROT Amazona aestiva MEXICAN YELLOW-HEADED AMAZON PARROT Amazona ochrocephala oratrix BARN OWL Tyto alba INDIAN EAGLE OWL Bubo bengalensis SNOIWY OWL Nyctea scandiaca TAWNY OWL Strix aluco MAMMALS RED-NECKED WALLABY Macropus rufogriseus EGYPTIAN FRUIT BAT Rousettus aegypticus RING-TAILED LEMUR Lemur catta BLACK AND WHITE RUFFED LEMUR Varecia variegata variegata GREEN SQUIRREL MONKEY Saimiri sciureus WHITE-LIPPED TAMARIN Saguinus labiatus COMMON MARMOSET Callithrix jacchus GRIVET MONKEY Chlorocebus aethiops CRAB-EATING MACAQUE Macaca fascicularis RED FOX Vulpes vulpes GREY WOLF Canis lupus NORTH AMERICAN RACCOON Procyon lotor RING-TAILED COATI Nasua nasua FERRET Mustela putorius PINE MARTEN Martes martes ASIAN SMALL-CLAWED OTTER Aonyx cinereus MEERKAT Suricata suricatta NORTHERN LYNX Lynx lynx HYBRID TIGER Panthera tigris DARTMOOR PONY Equus caballus FALABELLA PONY Equus caballus SHETLAND PONY Equus caballus MULE Equus caballus x Equus asinus KUNE KUNE PIG Sus scrofa GUANACO Lama guanicoe LLAMA Lama glama WESTERN FALLOW DEER Dama dama RED DEER Cervus elephas GOAT Capra hircus WEST AFRICAN PYGMY GOAT Capra hircus SHETLAND SHEEP Ovis aries EASTERN CHIPMUNK Tamias striatus EURASIAN RED SQUIRREL Sciurus vulgaris ARABIAN SPINY MOUSE Acomys dimidiatus CAPE CRESTED PORCUPINE Hystrix africaeaustralis LONG-TAILED CHINCHILLA Chinchilla lanigera DOMESTIC GUINEA PIG Cavia porcellus MARA Dolichotus patagonum CAPYBARA Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris DOMESTIC RABBIT Oryctolagus cuniculus REX RABBIT Oryctolagus cuniculus
They now have a pair of Pygmy Slow Loris in the nocturnal house,its a great little collection vastly improved from the first time i visited with some very nice exhibits.
I visited Shepreth about a year ago and its one of the only times I've ever seen North American Raccoons that were fully awake and lively. I now live in the USA and the only raccoons I ever see are dead by the roadside or fast asleep in zoos. I think its ironic the only place I've seen them awake is at Shepreth.
Thanks for all the info. I took a trip down to Shepreth Wildlife Park the weekend before last and I was pleasantly suprised with what I saw. Considering I'd never heard of the place until about a fortnight before my visit I thought it had quite an interesting and varied collection. You can tell it's roots are in rescued animals and they take great pride in that, but the enclosures and the layout of the park prove that it's more than a run of the mill sanctuary. As you enter the park through the shop/cafe you see a paddock of domestic animals, a few aviaries, a greenhouse (the tropical House) and a play area off in the distance and it seems abit farm park. But once you explore a little you find all kinds of little gems - a nocturnal house with walk through bat display, tigers,lynx, puma, wolves, several islands with monkeys, lemurs and meerkats. The tropical house has a south American theme with reptiles and mammals. The park has an elevated Discovery Centre where we spent almost an hour. The staff there are knowledgable and enthusiastic and have a wealth of resources available to them. My son was able to handle a corn snake and a giant millipead and had a great time. I'm pleased that we visited Shepreth and if we're heading that way again I will certainly call in for an ejoyable few hours.
My Hubby took me for a surprise visit yesterday as a birthday treat to see Tige (The Puma). I cannot believe how big he has got!! I haven’t been for about 18months. As usual the staff were fab, I was able to say hi to Tige, and they took us in to fuss the wolves and then we went and fed their new troop of ringtail Lemurs, bit of a bus mans holiday but didn't have to clean out! The have done a lot of work, The nocturnal house is great although there were no signs of the Loris. Also saw a sign saying they are working on a new reptile house. The have some more Coatis, a couple of new owl aviaries and are currently working on an indoor play barn for kids. Such a pleasant place to visit, will post some picks on the gallery (Mainly of the puma!).
