Thursday, January 11, 2018

Peak Wildlife Park

Just a few of the animals we saw last week at the Peak Wildlife Park near Leek.
 
Meerkats - great fun to watch.  I think the photo bottom right of the collage should be entitled 'Alexander and Sergei begin their journey to the centre of the earth'.  Apologies to those readers who don't know of the Meerkat adverts here on British television.

Fluffy Wallabies, their fur bushed out because it was so cold. It seems apt to have wallabies here as up until about twenty years ago there were wallabies on the Roaches in the Staffordshire Mooorlands and many people still remember seeing them.  They first arrived in the mid 1930s when Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Courtney Brocklehurst established a small private zoo in Roaches Hall, Upper Hulme.  Information from a label on on 'Wally' found in Lud's church 1st December 1993,  now in a glass case at the top of the stairs in the Nicholson Institute and Library in Leek.

Humbolt Penguins, charming creatures even though the aroma of their fishy dinner was overwhelming.  There is an area where you can watch them swimming underwater. The little visitors and their parents loved them and the viewing area was always busy.

A whiskery Otter of the Asian short-clawed variety.  When we last visited the Peak Wildlife Park there was one lone, male otter who had lost his mate.  Eventually, another one was found for him and when we visited there were now five otters in the little family.


There were three of these sheep in the paddock but this one seemed to take a shine to us and came down to the fence to meet us.  I think they are Swiss or Valais black-nosed sheep.  They have such cute faces.


Ring tailed lemurs - we spent ages watching them and their antics. There were also black and white ruffled lemurs and black lemurs, interestingly as with blackbirds the female is brown.  The latter two types were quite shy but the ringtail lemurs made up for that and played to the crowd - well us and two others.

Last but not least fluffy bunnies.  I do like a fluffy bunny and these were huge!  Each one had its own little home.

Hard to choose a favourite from these but I think the Otter would have to be at the top of the list. 

34 comments:

  1. Ohhhh, I love the bunnies! Especially the all white one. And that Black Nosed Sheep is the cutest thing!!!!!! :-)

    Thank you for taking me to Wildlife Park.

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    1. Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the visit. The sheep were gorgeous:)

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  2. Love the meerkats, think I wouldn't mind being one.

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    1. They are great characters aren't they?:)

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  3. Lovely portraits. I should think that the penguins find this weather more to their liking than the wallabies.

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    1. Thanks, John. Yes, it was more 'penguin' weather when we visited:)

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  4. What a great park, full of the most charming animals all spruced up for the visitors. The otter looks like a poster on a fence! 😊

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    1. Ha yes, does a bit. It was great when he came to the door of his home and then came out followed by his family:)

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  5. A lovely tour, always a joy to see animals. I am a great fan of sheep.

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    1. Thanks, the animals are well cared for and you can walk in with some of them and have visits to others. The sheep were so cute:)

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  6. I love the bunnies.What an interesting wildlife park.I have only been to Leek once but loved the look of it and vowed to return.On my list for a Spring visit.

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    1. I think you will like Leek, noted for its Arts and Crafts/William Morris connections and antique shops. There is a lovely arts centre and also small museum over the library, wonderful embroidery in the churches as well as all the glorious countryside around:)

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  7. Lovely outing & we also have those Meerkat adverts here in Oz, so know what you are talking about. Wallabies living in Tasmania face extremely cold conditions at times, but also the odd bout of very hot days too, so are quite hardy. Penguins are another southern inhabitant, but we only get colonies of Little Penguins here & blogged about them only a few posts ago. As a child I knew them as Fairy Penguins, but of course we live in a politically correct society now!!!! Thanks for the great animal post & take care.

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    1. I've learned a lot from your comment, thank you. I didn't know about the cold conditions in Tasmania for the Wallabies it's good to know they didn't suffer whilst running free over the Roaches over here. I read you post on the penguins with great interest. I did wonder if other countries had the 'MeerKat' adverts, I always find them amusing:)

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  8. Meerkats and lemurs are endearing but it's the sheep that does it for me! This one's gorgeous. x

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    1. The sheep are so cute and very inquisitive too:)

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  9. Gorgeous photos Rosie. The meerkats are my favourite. I just want to burst out laughing each time I see one. We have a wonderful new meerkat enclosure at Jersey zoo.

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    1. They make me smile too. Like the sounds of the new enclosure:)

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  10. Super photos - I love the Meerkats and the rabbits but the black-nosed sheep is the cutest thing ever :) Looks like you had a lovely day-out there.

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    1. It is quite a good day out especialy in summer - the sheep were so cute and very inquisitive, I think they have 'meet the sheep' sessions there too. The rabbits were huge:)

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  11. Lovely collection of photos. I've not been here for a while, not since they were newly re-opened as PWP. Did you hear that the Chestnut Centre closed at the end of the year? I had hoped to make one last visit, but couldn't squeeze it in. The owners have retired and gone to help on their other places now (there's a notice on the website).

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    1. The Chestnut centre was on our 'to do' list too. We got as far as the entrance once but there was such a queue of cars and buses to go in as it was summer we decided to go back another time but never managed it. I saw it not so long ago on Richard Wilson's programme where he drives around in an old car - it looked really interesting:)

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  12. I do like the friendly sheep. The Meerkats look very exotic to me - I've not seen one before.
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. The Meerkats are very funny to watch and quite endearing too. The sheep were very friendly and quite used to visitors:)

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  13. I love all the animals above but I think the otter has the sweetest face and the Meerkats have such interesting character! I think it is great when the Meerkats stand lookout for each other. Hope you are having a great weekend Rosie. x

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    1. The otter is my favourite because he was so lonely when we last saw him and now he has a little family. I too love the way the Meerkats look out for each other and there is always one higher up to protect the others:)

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    1. Thanks, Angela, the bunnies were so sweet:)

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  15. I love to see different animals. I used to enjoy seeing their activities. Love it!

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    1. Thanks Jene and thanks for visiting and leaving a comment:)

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  16. You took some great photos, Rosie. Thanks for sharing your visit. Marie x

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    1. Thank you, Marie, glad you enjoyed the photos:)

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  17. Some cracking photos here Rosie. Love the otter! Xxx

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    1. Thanks, Lyn, the animals were very obliging and didn't mind posing for the camera:)

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