Travel Tuesday- New Forest Wildlife Park

New Forest Wildlife Park 

Butterfly sanctuary- not their season at the moment, they finish end if September. Butterflies need sodium for breeding & that's why they land on you. Butterflies are usually delicious & enjoyed by birds, snakes, lizards, rats & monkeys, but some taste foul & can be poisonous! 

There are several types of otters at the NFWC, some From the Pacific North West 

Otters fur is warm, thick & sleek which makes it highly desirable by humans and they're still hunted for fur because they're not endangered species. Two brothers/ bachelors or travel as families 

Eurasian otters, also known as the common otter, is the only otter native to Britain. We arrived about 11.00 which enabled us to walk along and see everything and arrive at the enclosure just in time for 

Feeding time! All the otters gather round screeching for food, then the keeper comes and feeds each pen chucking individual portions into each enclosure. They live until they're about 7 years old. Otters have to be taught to swim- drag by back of neck & until almost drowning & start to swim. Typical Otter menu: 

Chicks for breakfast

Mince & vegetables for lunch 

Fish (trout/salmon/tilapia) & shellfish for dinner 

Catch rodents & frogs in the wild as well for snacks 

Lucky animals! 

Owl sanctuary & deer roam free. There are hobbit owls, tawny, snow and many other types of owls. At each enclosure there are fun facts and questions for an interactive visit with older children. Dotty the deer is 11 years old and can live until she's 20 years old in captivity. She was hit by a car & nursed back to life. she was eating my pashmina! Very friendly & apparently clothing is a form if comfort to them. 

European Bison- closely resemble North American bison but more commonly called buffalo. Lady in Poland is in charge of all breeding, the population was reduced down to 12 with only 2 males & now through carefully monitored breeding there are over 4,000 bison scattered around Europe. These two males came from the breeding program in Ireland and were shipped over in a large metal cattle crate, they put several big dents in it but once the arrived at the centre it only took them a week to settle into park habitation. 

There are a couple play areas for all ages and picnic areas, so you can spend the entire day at the park or just a couple of hours. If you have an IKEA card you save 30% on entry fee, so it makes for a fun family day out!