Cotswold Wildlife Park
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| Cotswold Wildlife Park | |
 Cotswold Wildlife Park logo
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| Date opened | 1970 |
| Location | nr Burford, Oxfordshire, England |
| Land area | Wildlife Park: 48 acres (0.194 km²), Gardens: 160 acres (0.647 km²) |
| Coordinates | |
| Number of Animals | 2023 (2006) |
| Number of Species | 255 (2006) |
| Major exhibits | Walled Garden |
| Website | |
The Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens exhibits mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates from all over the world. The Park is set in 160 acres (0.65 km²) of landscaped parkland and gardens in the Oxfordshire countryside. Around 350,000 people visited the Park in 2005[1].
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[edit] History
The gardens and grounds are part of the Bradwell Grove estate. The manor house at Bradwell Grove dates from 1804 and many of the mature trees in the park were planted in the 19th century. In 1969, the owner John Heyworth decided to open the gardens to the public. When it opened the following year, there were 230 animals from 40 different species exhibited.[2] The Park has continued to grow to the present day, and is now one of the largest collections in the country.[3]
[edit] Animal exhibits
[edit] East section
The Walled Garden near the manor house houses a varied collection of animals. Renovations to the exhibits were completed in 2006, and the garden now houses several aviaries and an enlarged Tropical House for sloths, ground cuscus, Madagascan jumping rats and tropical birds such as sunbitterns, speckled mousebirds and blue-bellied rollers.
Mammals in the Walled Garden include meerkats, yellow mongooses, prairie dogs, jaguarundi and a breeding group of Oriental small-clawed otters. There is also a collection of small primates: squirrel monkeys, cottontop tamarins, pygmy marmosets, red-handed tamarins and emperor tamarins.
The entrance driveway to the Park passes by paddocks where herds of scimitar-horned oryx and llama graze.
[edit] West section
Larger animals from South America can be seen here, including Brazilian tapir, capybara and white-lipped peccary (Cotswold is the only place in the UK to hold this species). Canadian timber wolves moved into a wooded enclosure in 2006. Other enclosures in the West section house white-naped cranes, emus and parma wallabies.
Domesticated breeds are found in the Children's Farmyard.
[edit] South section
A large moated paddock here is home to a herd of Chapman's zebra and a solitary female white rhinoceros. Nearby are Cotswold's big cat enclosures which house Amur leopards, the world's rarest cats, and a pair of Asiatic lions which last bred in 2002.
The Reptile House is a converted barn formerly used as stables. Morelet's crocodiles are native to Central America and are kept nowhere else in Britain. Snakes include gaboon vipers and reticulated pythons which have recently laid a clutch of eggs. Other species include bearded dragons, poison dart frogs, Aldabra tortoises and rhinoceros iguanas. The Insect House is home to leaf-cutter ants, butterflies, scorpions and tarantulas.
Red panda, banded mongoose, Bactrian camel and a Bat House holding Egyptian fruit bats and long-eared hedgehogs are also located in the South section of the Park. Near the Reptile House are enclosures for white-handed gibbons and siamangs.
Birds in this section include a variety of owls, birds of prey and waterfowl.
[edit] Park and gardens
The sheltered Walled Garden was formerly a Victorian kitchen garden supplying vegetables for the manor house, but is now planted with exotic flora such as the giant honeysuckle (Lonicera Hilderbrandtiana) from Burma. In the Tropical House exotic plants are grown as well as crop plants such as papaya, sugar cane and banana.
Other areas around the manor house are planted with the more traditional herbaceous borders of an English garden.
[edit] Conservation
As of October 2006, Cotswold Wildlife Park holds 40 species which are part of either an ESB (European Studbook) or EEP (European Endangered Species Programme). It is the studbook holder for the red-crested turaco and Mount Omei babbler. In addition, both the crested pigeon and blue-winged kookaburra are monitored species.
[edit] Future developments
In 2007 the Park began the development of a new walk-through exhibit just outside the Walled Garden which will highlight the plight of endangered Madagascan species and island species throughout the world.[4] The Madagascar exhibit will feature ring-tailed lemurs, black lemurs and black and white ruffed lemurs, all of which are currently housed elsewhere in the park. Collared lemurs, mongoose lemurs, Madagascar teal and radiated tortoise will also be featured.
[edit] Gallery
All photographs below were taken at the Park
 Bactrian camel Camelus bactrianus |
 Ring-tailed Coati Nasua nasua |
 Morelet's Crocodile Crocodylus moreletii |
 Argentine Horned Frog Ceratophrys ornata |
 Waxy Tree Frog Phyllomedusa sauvagii |
 Banded Mongoose Mungos mungo |
 White-naped Crane Grus vipio |
 Black-faced Ibis Theristicus melanopsis |
 Scarlet Ibis Eudocimus ruber |
 Blue-winged Kookaburra Dacelo leachii |
 Southern lapwing Vanellus chinensis |
 Brown Wood-owl Strix leptogrammica |
 Black Stork Ciconia nigra |
 Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides |
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Cotswold Wildlife Park. UK Zoo Directory. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
- ^ A Little Piece of History. Cotswold Wildlife Park website. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
- ^ Days Out - #9 Cotswold Wildlife Park. icSolihull.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
- ^ News: Madagascar Coming. Cotswold Wildlife Park website. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
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