I have just been to the Isle of Wight and as it was October and sunbathing wasn't an option I decided to make the most of nature and wildlife both native and imported.
Location: ~~~~~~~~~~~ The Isle of Wight Zoo also known as the Tiger Sanctuary is located on Sandown front, it is accessible from the main beach road (B3395) and overlooks the sea and next to Browns Golf. There is a car park on the site.
My other half had visited the Tiger Sanctuary (Isle of Wight Zoo) 10 years previous and we wanted to go again, lucky for us we had booked a last minute deal with the hotel which included free entry in to the sanctuary.
We decided to go, thankfully the weather held out and we went at opening time 10am. The only bonus to going in October was everything was quiet and we got a lot more done, with a lot less people around.
Price: ~~~~~~~~~~~ (Admission in 2009) Adult - £5.95 Senior Citizens - £4.95 Children (5-16) - £4.95 Children under 5 - FREE
You can get discounts for family tickets and pre-booked tickets.
Parking
is £3 all day, and you can claim £1 back off your entry fee. Let them have it though, it helps them.
What is it? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Tiger Sanctuary as I will call it from now on, houses Tigers, Lions, Jaguars, Monkey's and Lemurs. (This is why I won't refer to it as a zoo - it isn't).
The sanctuary is publicly run and not funded; all donations are what keep the park going. The majority of the animals have either been rescued or accepted when UK and worldwide zoos did not want or couldn't look after abandoned/rejected cubs.
There is no breeding program, there did used to be as the last time my other half went, there were tiger cubs on site. I think things have changed since then, the zoo aspect has definitely gone, and it is now solely a sanctuary for animals to live out their days, think of it as an RSPCA for big cats, except they don't get re-housed.
There is a daily presentation schedule: 10.30 - Predator Prowl 11.45 - Lemur feeding & conservation talk 12.30 - Bug handling 13.00 - Jeepers Creepers 14.30 - Predator Prowl 15.30 - Jeepers Creepers 16.30 - Ask the keeper
What is there? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are the animals, picnic area, Zootique Cafe, Zootique Shop, Adoption area, Zoolittle Farm, and Sandown Fort.
Although this is classed as a zoo, it isn't massive and yes there are large cats available to see, but there isn't really a lot else to look at. I know other people have said that Amazon World and Flamingo World are better, I can't comment on Amazon World, but review on Flamingo World to follow, and I must admit, I think the sanctuary was better, it was cheaper, you get an experience with big cats and you can get quite close to them. If you go on the predator prowl you get to meet the cats (there is still a fence between you) but you also get the guided tour by one of the workers and you learn a lot more about each cat. It is informative and interesting and £5.95, whereas Flamingo World is nearly £8 per adult and there really isn't much there, the most exciting thing is the penguins, the rest of it is very much like a farm.
We arrived at 10am and left at nearly 12.30, so it took us over 2 and a half hours, the sanctuary recommend 2-4 hours and I think in peak times you would definitely need this as space is quite tight around some of the pens.
Overall ~~~~~~~~~ I enjoyed the experience and would go probably go back, but that is more due to my fascination with big cats rather than the sanctuary itself. It is nice and the predator prowl really does give you the chance to get personal with the animals as well as ask any questions.
It is a shame that there isn't more land and that the animals don't get bigger pens, but then I think that about any zoo, I hate seeing animals locked up.
I did feel sorry for the animals especially as many of them are from hot climates (especially the Lions) who hate the cold and wind. It is understandable why they were all a bit grumpy and didn't want to stand out in the cold. This is also why the predator prowl is good, it gives you a chance to see the cats that would perhaps be hiding otherwise.
I think this attraction is reasonably priced, I think they could definitely charge more, especially if the competition like Flamingo World is charging £7.85 per adult. I would be happy to pay more, and help them to do what they are doing.
Jeepers Creepers is a bit random, it is just a small area indoors where there are a few snakes, spiders and jumping rats. I wasn't overly bothered about this bit and it could quite easily have not been there.
I think younger children would like this as it really gives them a chance to see and appreciate the size of the big cats and learn about them.
I think the work done at the sanctuary is admirable and when you think about how much the likes of London Zoo charge and what profit they make, it makes me want to support the Isle of Wight Zoo further.
Website ~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.isleofwightzoo.com
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Oct 31st, 2009
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