A Day at the Zoo

For our Saturday activity this weekend, Lizzie and I decided to head down to the village of Sparkwell, to Dartmoor Zoological Park. The park has a troubled history, with the welfare of its animals being the subject of greatest concern in 2001. Since then, however, the zoo has seen a remarkable turnaround; bought for over £1 million by the Mee family, it reopened in 2007 and was the subject of a BBC documentary entitled Ben's Zoo. The result of Benjamin Mee's five years in charge is a lovely, friendly, and very animal-focussed park, whose mission statement is to protect endangered species, promote biodiversity, and educate about the need for conservation.

Our visit started at the bottom of a hill with ostrich-like birds called rheas. These playful and fleet-footed creatures looked a little boisterous, and probably cover a fair few miles in their daily wanderings.

On the top of the hill, the zoo opens up with footpaths heading out in all directions. We stopped at the meerkats (always a popular animal), goats, and saw a strutting peacock. One of the lovely aspects of the park is the wildness of the location - the gardens are not pristine and immaculate, but it is all the more beautiful because of this. We felt as though we were enjoying both a day at the zoo, and a walk on the moors. As the zoo becomes more popular, I hope the owners retain this wild feeling; it is a lovely natural asset.

Towards the back of the park were the big animals that everyone likes to see - there were lions, bears, wolves, cheetahs, jaguars, and the undoubted stars of the zoo, the tigers. What I loved most about these animals was the space they had to live in - these were not the tiny caged enclosures of years ago, but big areas of land, filled with vegetation, rocks, and running water. The tigers had their own moat which, as well as allowing them to swim and drink, acted as a barrier to stop them escaping. This meant that they could be viewed without the need for a massive protective fence - I thought this was a brilliant idea, lending a more natural feel to the enclosure; I'm sure the animals feel the same way.

So what were my overall impressions of this zoo? I really liked it - the animals all seemed very content, and looked extremely well-cared-for, you can tell they are loved by their keepers. It was also very positive to see the ongoing work that the new owners are doing - some of the enclosures were empty, but this was because they are being refreshed, updated and rebuilt; in short, making them much better for the creatures who live in them. Some online reviewers have complained that the zoo was 'run down' but I don't accept that at all - these people want the manicured lawns and planned planting that you will find at the nation's largest zoos, but in my opinion they completely overlook the wonderful environment that this zoo is already set in. Dartmoor Zoological Park is a place that is so obviously cared-for, and when you consider the massive task that the Mee family took on in 2007, we thought they had done a wonderful job. We had a brilliant day out, and this resident certainly seems to feel at home there:

Benjamin Mee's book, We Bought A Zoo, details the zoo's transformation, and we bought a copy at the shop. The book is currently being made into a Hollywood film starring Matt Damon.