The Lakeland Wildlife Oasis is a small zoological collection near the town of Milnthorpe,

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, with a science and evolution theme. Since April 2012 the zoo has been run by the registered charity Lakeland Trust for Natural Sciences.

History

The zoo first opened to the public on 14 April 1992 as a "part-zoo, part-museum". It featured a butterfly hall, aquarium and tropical hall which were home to common marmosets, brown rats, fish, amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates. The zoo expanded over the years and, in 2011, acquired its first

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus '' Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is es ...

, a male named Pavan, for which it had built an enclosure with a perspex walk-through tunnel, reportedly the UK's first walk-through big cat exhibit. Pavan was soon followed by a female named Tara. These produced two young during 2014, which were named Loki and Luna, the first successful snow leopard breeding recorded in the North of England. In 2015, the zoo closed to the public after it was hit by severe flooding during Storm Desmond. Many animals were able to reach raised areas, whilst others, including pheasants and Azara's agouti, were moved to safety. With a lack of visitor revenue, the zoo turned to crowdfunding for donations with the money to be used for repairing damage and upgrading the flood proofing of animal enclosures.

Overview

The centre is divided into several sections, including a

butterfly house A butterfly house, conservatory, or lepidopterarium is a facility which is specifically intended for the breeding and display of butterflies with an emphasis on education. Some butterfly houses also feature other insects and arthropods. Butterf ...

, tropical hall and aquarium, as well as outdoor enclosures. Its layout is designed to take visitors on an evolutionary journey, beginning with marine life, amphibians, reptiles, birds and then mammals. Over 100 species are on display, including fossa,

fruit bat Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera (bats). They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or—especially the genera '' Acerodon'' and ''Pteropus''—flying foxes. They are the only member of the ...

s, meerkats, armadillos, red squirrels,

lemur Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are wet-nosed primates of the superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madagas ...

marmoset The marmosets (), also known as zaris or sagoin, are 22 New World monkey species of the genera '' Callithrix'', '' Cebuella'', '' Callibella'', and ''Mico''. All four genera are part of the biological family Callitrichidae. The term "marmoset" ...

s, roul-rouls and black curassow. The centre hosts "animal interctives" and Keeper for the Day opportunities with some of these animals for an additional fee. As a member of

BIAZA The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) (formerly the Federation of Zoological Gardens of Great Britain and Ireland) is a registered charity and the professional body representing over 100 zoos and aquariums in Britain and ...

and through cooperation with European zoos, the centre has participated in breeding programs for several endangered species, including snow leopards, fossa, Rodrigues fruit bats and primates. Additionally, the centre has also contributed to overseas conservation projects, such as the Mountain Marmoset Conservation Programme, Money for Madagascar and the

Snow Leopard Trust The Snow Leopard Trust is the largest and oldest organization working solely to protect the endangered snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') and its habitat in 12 countries of Central Asia. The trust is a non-profit organization with its headquarters ...

. The main entrance features a gift shop and allows access to a café, named the Wild Café, which can be accessed with or without a zoo ticket.

References

External links

Official WebsiteThe Cumbria Directory - Lakeland Wildlife Oasis
* Zoos in England Aquaria in England Tourist attractions in Cumbria Buildings and structures in Cumbria Articles needing infobox zoo Zoos established in 1992 {{zoo-stub