Summer Opening

Don't forget, we are now open to the general public everyday until the end of the school summer holidays! So that is every day until Monday the 2nd of September! 

Why not come along and see us, the wildcat kittens are growing and doing strong, the stoat and polecat kits are now out and about, the deer fawns are growing fast and coming over for feed, the squirrel kittens are now active in the copse plus much more!

I alluded to a new addition to the team earlier this week... well, I bet none of you guessed it, but we now have a terrapin in our hedgerow pond!

Terrapins are not native to the UK, but are popular pets which had a boom in purchases after the fame of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" cartoon. Growing fast, many people then released these animals in to the wild to get rid of them, and much like other alien species... the terrapins are now taking over some of our habitats and causing many problems.

This chap is a "Yellow-Bellied Slider", or a cross of that family of terrapins. These are now arguably more popular than the red-eared terrapins that many people know off, and was brought in to us as a rescue a couple of weeks ago.

Our terrapin has been extremely popular with school children, as he is easily visible in his pond enclosure. Be sure to check him out next time you are here.

Heat Wave

One of the most common things I have been asked recently is "How do the animals cope this hot weather?"

We have had some extremely warm days over the past couple of weeks, and yes I think it does get to the animals a bit... they tend to shy away in to the shade to stay cool or stay undergroung. They usually all come out if we call them for a visiting school group, but as soon as we move on we let them go back to keeping cool for the rest of the day.

We can help of course though, and you find many of our animals enjoy our efforts in cooling them off.

Many animals enjoy having a bath to keep their temperature down, this may be a simple task like placing larger water bowls in to enclosures such as our hedgehogs to really allow themselves to have a good soak... Our badgers in particular seem to enjoy a daily bath in their large outdoor pool.

Some of our animals, such as our foxes, enjoy a little spray with the hose to help with the temperatures... even surprisingly our owl, Florence. Usually owls keep away from the water and it is quite rare for one to take a bath, like a bird would for example. But Florence seems to enjoy a daily bath after her flying session, jumping in to her water bowl to have a soak, and even flying under the hose if we have it going nearby.

Some animals may just lay flat out in the shade to cool off, even our snakes who are finding this weather a bit too hot for them... but with others we can offer alternative enrichment to help keep them cool.

The foxes and otters in particular seem to enjoy "iced" food... this may be something as simple as a little frozen blood, or something a bit more like fish frozen in ice blocks for the otters to try and eat.

It usually takes them a while to get used it, but they soon work out that by taking it in to the water it helps to melt the ice, before taking it back to the back to eat.

It looks like the temperatures are easing off a bit now, so we should be all set for the summer opening. I'll remind you of our openings later in the week, with news of a new "unusual" arrival who has already become a bit of a star with visitors!

New Mole

After a long hiatus, we now have a new mole living in our hedgerow! Our moles have always been a great exhibit, and draw much attention. I think many people are surprised at how small they actually are... especially when all you normally see to tell you they have been around is a large mole hill!

This mole came from the Devon Wildlife Photography Centre, and has yet to be named... maybe something along the lines of Digger, Hans or maybe even Bob?

Moles are fascinating little mammals, with little known about them... here are a few facts that you may not of heard.

 - Moles have tiny eyes and ears which they hardly use, but their sense of touch is amazing!

 - Their velvety fur can lay either forwards or backwards, making it easy to traverse either way through their tunnels without the fur snagging

 - To turn around in a tunnel, the mole will do a roly poly

 - The main predator of moles are owls

 - Moles saliva have a toxin which can paralyze earthworms and and other invertebrates



Make sure to keep an eye open for our mole next time you visit... they tend to be active for a couple of hours, before sleeping for a couple of hours, then awake again. You may need to be a little patient and pop back to have another look if he is not out first time you go to see.