British Wildlife Center Visit

Come 18th July this year and we had our first summer vacations. My elder son had his first ever summer break and as new parents we had no idea that every holiday activity had to be pre booked and planned well in advance. With nothing planned and all holiday clubs fully booked, it was all on both of us to keep the kids amused and occupied enough to keep the frustration and flying tempers away. On one of the trips to local farms, where kids can get close to farm animal, we have passed a big banner of red fox sleeping and a big label at bottom British Wildlife Centre (BWC). It looked like a great idea and a good way to get kids close to nature, as BWC website claimed that guest can get close to animals and keepers can explain the animal behaviour in detail during their keeper talk sessions. Plus the animals were so photo friendly that they actually posed for the guests and photographers with long lenses. I had my canon 350d with 75-300 mm lens and following are the results:-

Eurasian Otter:
This shy otter decided to come out of his hole and decided strike a few poses for me.

Same facts and figures about Otters: The Eurasian otter is the most widely distributed otter species, its range including parts of Asia and Africa as well as being spread across Europe. The otter is believed to be currently extinct in Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Otters are now very common in Latvia, along the coast of Norway and in Northern Britain, especially Shetland where 12% of the UK breeding population exist[citation needed] In Italy, they can be found in the Calore river area.

The otter's diet mainly consists of fish but can also include birds, insects, frogs, crustaceans and sometimes small mammals. In general this opportunism means they may inhabit any unpolluted body of freshwater, including lakes, streams, rivers, and ponds, as long as there is good supply of food. Otters may also live along the coast, in salt water, but require regular access to freshwater to clean their fur. When living in the sea individuals of this species are sometimes referred to as "sea otters", but they should not be confused with the true sea otter, a North American species much more strongly adapted to a marine existence.

Otters are strongly territorial, living alone for the most part. An individual's territory may vary between about one and forty kilometres long (about half to 25 miles), with about 18 km (about 11 miles) being usual. The length of the territory depends on the density of food available and the width of the water suitable for hunting (it is shorter on coasts, where the available width is much wider, and longer on narrower rivers).

These are rarely seen in wild now

Red Fox:
At BWC the senior most fox was Honey and she had six cubs which were really shy and were not coming out despite their favourite food was being distributed.

Some facts about red foxes: The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a mammal of the order Carnivora. In the British Isles, where there are no longer any other native wild canids, it is referred to simply as "the fox". It has the widest range of any terrestrial carnivore, being native to Canada, Alaska, almost all of the contiguous United States, Europe, North Africa and almost all of Asia, including Japan. It was introduced in Australia in the 19th century.[2] As its name suggests, its fur is predominantly reddish-brown, but there is a naturally occurring grey morph known as the Silver Fox; a strain of tame Silver Fox has been produced from these animals by systematic domestication.

Barn Owl:
This owl named Milo was at reception welcoming every body. A little stroking would make him dance this also made him the favourite of kids. There was a long queue to stroke Milo.

Some facts about barn owls: The barn owl is one of the world’s most widespread birds. It can be found throughout Africa, India, the Far East, Australia, USA, the Caribbean, South America and Europe, where Britain is the northern most tip of its range. Currently the UK population is in decline due to loss of habitat and prey species.

Barn owls live in open country with some trees for cover and nesting sites. They usually become active at dusk, when they can be seen flying low over the ground in a slow, wavering flight with occasional short glides.

The barn owl is an expert hunter with excellent vision and hearing that enables it to pinpoint its prey in near total darkness. It flies low, slowly and silently and swoops to the ground at he last moment to grasp its prey with its sharp claws. Small rodents make up most of its diet. They are swallowed whole and later any indigestible parts are regurgitated in the form of pellets.
Barn owls do not ‘hoot’ - but both young and adults make snoring and shrieking noises when at the nest.

Green Frog:
Not a special exhibit but it is found in almost every enclosure where it can find some water to float and croak about.
Nonetheless these are marvellous creatures and share this planet with us and have the full right to our attention.

Red Deer:
Native to UK, once hunted to extent they need protection. Red deer are Britain's largest native land mammal and, together with the roe deer, are our only native deer species. All other deer species have been introduced.

Some facts about red deers:
The Red Deer (Cervus elaphus), commonly called hart in the United Kingdom, is one of the largest deer species. The Red Deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor and parts of western and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Algeria and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being the only species of deer to inhabit Africa. Red Deer have been introduced to other areas including New Zealand and Argentina. In many parts of the world the meat (venison) from Red Deer is widely used as a food source.

Red Deer are ruminants, characterized by an even number of toes, and a four-chambered stomach. Recent DNA evidence indicates that the Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) and the East Asian and North American Elk (Wapiti) (Cervus canadensis) represent two distinct species. They give also hint for an additional primordial subgroup of Central Asian Red Deer[1] . The ancestor of all Red Deer probably originated in Central Asia and probably resembled Sika Deer.

Roe Deer:
Roe deer are one of only two native species of deer in Britain and the most widespread today. They are rare in Wales and absent from eastern Kent and parts of the Midlands, but in southern England they are increasing in number.
They are active day and night, browsing in mostly woodland areas but may also be spotted in larger gardens in rural or suburban areas. Roe deer are fiercely territorial and the males, or bucks, will aggressively defend their territory, especially through the summer.

Threats in the wild are few, as their natural predators, the wolf and the lynx, are now extinct in Britain. Young fawns may fall prey to foxes or eagles, but most casualties are from traffic or farm machinery. Many young fawns will not survive the cold of their first winter, but those that do may live up to ten years in the wild.

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