Exotic Mammals
Some of the first exotic mammals you’ll meet are the meerkats – our mob is always up to mischief! Even on rainy days you can stay under cover and watch them having fun in their heated house. Learn more about them and some of our other animals at their daily keeper talks. Watch Jango, our Asian Leopard Cat, make spectacular leaps across platforms whilst he searches for hidden food. Find out what the difference is between a primate and a monkey at the marmoset and lemur talks, or read more about all our animals from their information boards.
Beautiful Birds
Coming in a rainbow of stunning colours and ranging from tiny finches to tall rheas, you can watch exotic birds from around the world. Talk to our parrots – and Morris the myna bird – they love interacting with our visitors, so make sure you find a few minutes to chat to them all – they’ll keep you entertained as they whistle, dance and mimic lots of sounds and words, and you may not want to leave! You’ll find our smaller birds in aviaries surrounding the formal gardens where you can sit and relax in sun or shade and enjoy their beautiful colours and sounds.
Exotic Creatures
In the Reptile Realm you can be amazed by Aja the 14ft (4.2m) reticulated python with her beautiful iridescent scales. Spot the tiny day geckos opposite, and other lizards including Karma, our chameleon, as he uses his rotating eyes to hunt for insects with his long sticky tongue. Don’t miss the invertebrate room next door and see if you can count all our critically endangered stick insects.
Domestic Animals
Get up close with some of our domestic animals, many of them love meeting visitors – especially if they see you have purchased a bag of animal food. Our donkey, Jake, may even greet you with a very loud welcoming bray, but don’t forget our naughty miniature Shetland ponies, Merry and Pippin, or the greedy goats who will eat all your food – but be careful they don’t eat the bag too! Ronaldo, our alpaca is always ready to strike a pose – see if he’ll come over for a close-up selfie with you.