Isle of Wight Zoo

...spent a morning at the Isle of Wight Zoo.

And there wasn’t a single horse in sight…thank goodness for that.

***GETTING THERE***

Hop on a ferry / fast ferry / hovercraft from Portsmouth or Southampton and within half an hour you’re there.

Wightlink (www.wightlink.co.uk) are the biggest ferry operators with approximately 200 crossings a day and offer three routes onto the Island.

...CATS*

The Isle of Wight Zoo is home to 20 Tigers, 3 Lions, 2 Jaguars and 2 Leopards. Most of the big cats live two to an area and whilst we were there, sat sunning themselves in the glorious sunshine.

There are so many Tigers at the Zoo because the Zoo has specialised to become known as ‘The Tiger Sanctuary’ as over 95% of the wild tigers in the world have vanished forever. Through ‘The Tiger Sanctuary’ the zoo aims ... more

I’ve been on safari and it was a brilliantly, wonderful experience. To see a lion in its natural habitat (well as natural as you can get surrounded by 20 Nissan Minibuses) is amazing. To follow a mother Cheetah as she hunts down an Impala (antelope) for her cubs to eat was an awesome experience. To panic over how I will ever be able to afford the chance to see it all over again has me breaking out in a cold sweat.

I know that the best place to see animals is in their natural habitat – been there and seen it – but it is also a worthwhile activity to see animals in a zoo as long as they are as well cared for as is humanly possible. Granted not as amazing as visiting Africa, but worthwhile for those who could never afford a safari experience. Visiting a zoo is a superb way of raising the awareness of our children – and of ourselves too – of the difficulties that animals face out is their habitat. Difficulties that we humans all too often cause.

Zoos work hard for conservation matters too. Chester Zoo, for instance, recently had a Barn Owl conservation project, rearing baby owls and setting them free in area they could survive in. Zoos help us understand what we need to do to protect and save our planet and it’s most vulnerable animals.

They might not be perfect – but they’re better than nothing.

Thanks to my participation on a recent school trip – and after a visit to Brickfields Horse Country – we spent a morning at the Isle of Wight Zoo.

And there wasn’t a single horse in sight…thank goodness for that.

***GETTING THERE***

Hop on a ferry / fast ferry / hovercraft from Portsmouth or Southampton and within half an hour you’re there.

Wightlink (www.wightlink.co.uk) are the biggest ferry operators with approximately 200 crossings a day and offer three routes onto the Island.

For example:
A sailing from Portsmouth to Fishbourne or Lymington to Yarmouth in the summer months will cost:

Cars etc up to 6 meters in length £37.00 (Day Return), £57.10 (1 day – 1 month stay) and £80.80 (flexible return).

Cars etc up to 6 meters in length plus a trailer £79.20 (Day Return), £98.00 (1 day – 1 month stay) and £123.20 (flexible return).

Obviously prices are higher in peak times and it’s far cheaper without a caravan or trailer. It’s far cheaper too to take a night time crossing though that means from Portsmouth after 11.00pm!

A fast ferry operates on the Portsmouth – Ryde route and is for foot passengers only so if you intend to travel round it’s the train (not a great network on the island), the bus, the taxi or hiring a car when you get there.

The fast ferry takes only 15 mins to get there and the ticket prices range from £8.20 Adult Half Day Return (£4.20 for a child aged 5-15 inclusive) up to £13.60 Adult Standard Return valid for 90 days (£6.80 for a child).

Once you’re on the Island make your way to Yaverland Seafront, Sandown on the Eastern side of the Island. The zoo is located on the B3329 (just off the A3055 or B3395) right on the seafront.

If you were a foot passenger on the ferry, the quickest way to get to the zoo is to take a ride on the Island’s rail network. Well, when I say network I mean the Island’s one mainline rail route. Take the train from Ryde Pier Head station right through to Sandown. It takes about 20 minutes and costs an adult £3.50 (£1.75 for a child) for a Day Return.

Otherwise there are good bus connections across the Island to Sandown Town Centre.

If you are driving to the zoo, there is a small – but more importantly – free car park right outside the main gates.

***ADMISSION PRICES***

The Zoo opens daily in March from 10.00am – 4.00pm.
After Easter and until October it is open until 5.00pm.

Admission Prices for 2004:
Adults £ 5.95. Children (5-16) and Senior Citizens £ 4.95. Under 5's Free.

Family Tickets are also available:
2 Adults
+ 2 Children £19.25;
+ 3 Children £22.90;
+ 4 Children £26.35:
+ 5 Children £29.50;
+ 6 Children £32.45.

Group rates also apply for groups of over 10 people and knock £1.00 off the standard admission prices.

***THE ANIMALS***

*THE BIG CATS*

The Isle of Wight Zoo is home to 20 Tigers, 3 Lions, 2 Jaguars and 2 Leopards. Most of the big cats live two to an area and whilst we were there, sat sunning themselves in the glorious sunshine.

There are so many Tigers at the Zoo because the Zoo has specialised to become known as ‘The Tiger Sanctuary’ as over 95% of the wild tigers in the world have vanished forever. Through ‘The Tiger Sanctuary’ the zoo aims to promote the survival of the species through conservation and raising awareness of the difficulties they face in the wild.

There are 14 Indian and 6 Siberian Tigers at the zoo, and there are two celebrities amongst there number.

Firstly there is ‘Diamond’ an Indian Tiger that due to his parents carrying the ‘white colour’ gene is not the striking colouration you would normally expect from a Tiger but is rather more of a ‘marmaladey’ colour – faint orange with light brown stripes.

Secondly comes ‘Zena’ a rare white Indian Tiger who looks like she should come from the Artic!

The Big Cats all seem happy to be lounging about in their enclosures – to be honest that’s what the big cats on safari did all day(!) – and there was a brand new Tiger Enclosure called ‘Out Of India – And Onto The Island’ where the environment had been based on the natural habitat of a National Park in India.

*PRIMATES*

As well as being as centre of Tiger Conservation, the zoo is dedicated to the work of Primate Conservation and in particular that of Lemur Survival, hence you will take a journey to ‘LemurLand’ without ever leaving the Isle of Wight!

LemurLand is home to four species of Lemur – The Ring-Tailed, The Black, The Black and White Ruffed and The White Fronted Brown. The difference is in the colour if you couldn’t work it out!!

The Lemurs all come from the Island of Madagascar on which there are many different environments from Dry Deciduous Forest to Tropical Rain Forest and the Lemurs are adapted to life in each environment. Their habitat is slowly being destroyed by the colonisation of the Island by humankind.

The zoo is part of a European Breeding Programme for several of the Lemur Species and is involved in several projects in Madagascar itself.

The zoo is also home to some smaller of the monkeys (Squirrel Monkeys, Spider Monkeys, Capuchin Monkeys and Vervet Monkeys) – no chimpanzees, orang-utans or gorillas here though.

*NATURES NIGHTMARES*

This is the part of the zoo that all the lads (and some of the girls) enjoyed. Home to lizards, snakes and other reptiles and insects from all over the world.

I was fine with the snakes, lizards and cockroaches but couldn’t look the spiders in their numerous eyes! Urgh!

*OTHER ANIMALS*

As well as the Big Cats, the Lemurs and the Reptiles they have a collection of Budgies, Cockatiels, Parakeets and Lovebirds.

So the main attraction will be the Big Cats then?!

***OTHER STUFF***

There are various talks and presentations around the zoo at various times during the day. These are well worth going to and hearing as our guide was excellent and really knew he stuff.

Big Cat Tour: 10.30am and 2.30pm.
Lemur Conservation: 11.30am and 3.30pm.
Natures Nightmares: 12.30pm and 4.30pm.
Tiger Conservation: 1.00pm and 5.00pm.
Primate Tour: 2.00pm.

There is a snack bar/restaurant which serves hot and cold food and drinks throughout the day. I didn’t use these facilities whilst I was there as I knew I had some sandwiches sweating nicely in cling-film on the coach!

The Zoofari Shop is excellent value and a good place to spend those pocket money pennies. Decent souvenirs and postcards at relatively good prices. I brought a cartoonish Porcelain Tiger Money-Bank for about £4.00.

The zoo has an adoption scheme running whereby you agree to pay to adopt an animal – the fee is based on the animals food and keep (almost like Board and Lodgings at a B+B!) – and you will receive a sponsorship certificate and a picture of the animal you are helping. Sponsor prices range from £5.00 per year for a Budgie right up to £4,500 for a Tiger. Don’t panic though Tigers can be sponsored in shares of £25.00!!

***THE WEBSITE***

The Isle of Wight Zoo website – www.isleofwightzoo.com – is excellent. It has detailed accounts of the conservation work they are involved in as well as specific information about all their animals. Well worth looking into if you get the chance!

***CONCLUSION***

The Isle of Wight Zoo has done incredibly well in shaping itself as a conservation centre for Tigers and Lemurs – which is good as that’s about all they have! If you’re looking for Elephants or Rhinos you’ll need to go elsewhere.

I really enjoyed my morning at the zoo – I can’t see anyone spending the whole day there unless you are REALLY interested in Tigers or Lemurs or you’re one of those people who wish to get their money’s worth!

The staff do a fantastic job with their efforts in the name of conservation and it is worth visiting just to the good stuff that is happening to make sure these amazing creatures continue to be found in the wild.

Zoos in general will never get anywhere near the experience of safari, but as long as they continue to get us close to the animals we would otherwise have pay a small fortune to see and combine this with the increasingly important message of conservation then, if I could, I would visit a zoo every week.

Well worth a visit if you’re ever on the Island and stuck for something to do.

Once again thank you so much for reading.

Take care,

C. : )
 

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