South Lakes Wild Animal Park, Dalton

South Lakes Wild Animal Park is about 10 minutes away from us, so we visit at least twice a year, and we are never bored.

The park is fairly unique in that many of the animals are free roaming, or are allowed to roam within their own areas in amongst the visitors. The free roaming animals are found in the Australasia section of the park, with lemurs, kangaroos, emus etc, Food can be purchased at 50p a bag to feed the emus and the ducks. The lemurs are the only animals in that section that cannot be fed or stroked by visitors.

Also in that section there is a large walk in aviary, with parrot and vultures, visitors can watch the vultures being fed daily.

Another great feature of the park is the high walk ways. These allow visitors to see the animals from above, and in the case of the tigers on their climbing frame, the visitors can see them on the same level with no bars to spoil the view.

The owner of the park also began the Sumatran Tiger Trust, so every day there is a talk on the work of the trust just before the tiger feeding. The way in which th tigers and lions are fed is unique. Meat is attached to 6 metre poles and the cats have to climb for their food.

The park is great for kids, as well as being able to feed the emus, ducks etc, they are able to join in with the lemur feeding under the supervision of the park staff. They can also help to feed the penguins and giraffes.

It might not be the biggest zoo in the world, but I think it is the best thought out and the owner is interested in the conservation of animals not just creating a tourist attraction.

Prices for admission are
Adults £7.00
Children £4.00
OAPs £4.00
Under 3s FREE

Opening Times - Nov to Easter 10am-4.30pm, Easter to Nov 10am - 5pm. Last entry 45 minutes before closing time.

There is a large car park, but it often gets full during the summer, when it is full there is an overflow carpark approximately 1/2 minutes walk away.

The site is fully accessible for the disabled and wheelchair users

Previously published on Dooyoo