Manor House Wildlife Park
| Location | Pembrokeshire, Wales |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51.67491°N 4.776829°W |
| Land area | 52 acres (21 ha) |
| Website | www.annaswelshzoo.co.uk |
Manor House Wildlife Park is a zoo in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the B4318 road north of the village of St Florence. It is run by TV presenter Anna Ryder Richardson and is also known as "Anna's Welsh Zoo".[1]
History
In 2002 the park was called Manor House Wild Animal Park and included a museum, souvenir shop and restaurant as well as animal exhibits.[2]
TV presenter and property developer Anna Ryder Richardson and her husband Colin MacDougall took over the zoo in 2008 when it was in a "dilapidated" state and spent seven months renovating the park.[3] Richardson made a video diary of the redevelopment which became the TV movie Chaos at the Zoo, narrated by Ruth Jones.[4] Among the animals featured was a pair of endangered Siamang gibbons.[5]
In March 2012, it was announced that Richardson and her husband were to be prosecuted over alleged breaches of health and safety legislation after a mother and child were injured by a falling branch.[6] Subsequently charges against Richardson were dropped but her husband and the zoo pleaded guilty to four charges and were fined a total of £74,000,[7] plus costs.[3]
Animals
Large animals include rhino, oryx, zebra, tapir, camel and llama; there are also smaller wild animals such as meerkat, wallaby and lemur, and a variety of birds, principally ostrich, emu, rhea, macaw and guinea fowl; the park is also home to a number of native birds such as goldcrest.[8]
Endangered species
As well as the endangered Siamang gibbons, the park is home to the white rhino "Zamba", one of three Southern white rhino at the park,[9] and the first to be bred from artificial insemination in the UK. In 2015 the park learned that they had been allocated a pair of critically endangered Sumatran tigers to support the European Endangered Species Programme.[10]
Facilities
Facilities include a cafe, photography workshops and educational support programmes for teachers and pupils.
References
- ↑ "Anna's Welsh Zoo". Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ↑ "Geograph - Manor House Wild Animal Park". Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Anna Ryder Richardson heartbroken after £100k court fine". Mail Online. 25 November 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ↑ "IMDb - Chaos at the Zoo (TV movie 2008)". Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ↑ "No branching out for gibbon at Wild Welsh Zoo". Western Telegraph. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
- ↑ Anna Ryder Richardson to be prosecuted after a toddler and mother crushed by falling tree at her zoo Daily Mail, 20 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ↑ Stone, Antony (22 November 2012). "Anna Ryder Richardson wildlife park fined after falling tree bough hospitalised three-year-old boy". The Independent (London). Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ↑ "Manor House Wildlife Park - Animals". Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ↑ "Southern white rhino". Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ↑ "Rarest big cat in the world to be part of a new breeding programme at Anna Ryder Richardson's Zoo". Wales Online. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.