Twycross Zoo

27.07.2018

Today I met up with my friend Holly and we went to Twycross Zoo for the day.

I’ve never been to Twycross Zoo before, but I’ve heard from a few different people that it’s really good. So I’ve been meaning to go for quite a while but never managed to get round to it, until today.

We had a really lovely day, even if it was a bit hot! I remembered to put on lots of sun cream, but that didn’t make it any cooler when we were walking around! There was so much to look at though, and as usual I took a lot of photographs! Enjoy!

I had never even heard of these cute little animals until today. When I read the sign “Prairie Dog” I was expecting to see.. a dog? So imagine my surprise when one of these popped their head up out of the ground! They look like a cross between a guinea pig and a meerkat, and they’re very sweet.

I always enjoy seeing the giraffes. There were some people feeding them when we saw them, so I’m guessing you can buy an experience where you get to feed them and learn more about them with a keeper. They look so surreal up close.

There was only one otter out and about when we looked, but he was still very cute. He disappeared behind a waterfall right after I took this photo, so I think we caught him just in time.

There were plenty of these guys swimming around! They were all swimming with their wings raised like the one in the photograph. I’m not sure if this is to do with how hot it was or if it’s a way of impressing a mate, but it looked very odd!

I really like this photo. The penguin enclosure was packed with people because it was right next to the picnic area so there were a lot of families about. We stood near the very edge and managed to get a few photos, including this little guy who was doing a pit of preening.

Meerkats are one of my favourite animals to see when I visit a zoo or wildlife park. Usually, there’s one on the lookout and the others are either underground or running around on the floor. Today, nobody was on lookout duties! We think it should have been this guy, but he was too thirsty to look out for potential predators!

This tortoise was tucked away in the corner of his enclosure. As we were watching him, a pair of butterflies flew past his face and then fluttered upwards above his head. They must have caught his eye because he watched them move around him and then his gaze followed them up into the air. I managed to get this cute photo of him looking up at them.

We didn’t expect to see the leopard out and about. Whenever I’ve visited zoos before, the big cats are always sleeping in a corner somewhere, away from prying eyes. So it was a real treat to see him exploring. A bird flew into his enclosure, and for a moment we thought he was going to pounce because he seemed really interested in it. But I think it was too hot for hunting.

Yes, I took a photo of a pigeon. I paid to go to the zoo and took a photo of a bird that I can find in my back garden any time. But he was stood in our line of vision and he was striking a lovely pose, so it would have been rude to ignore him!

I love the colours of this bird. I like the way that his beak and legs stand out against his body. He didn’t move much at all, only to ruffle his feathers and do a bit of preening. At first glance, he didn’t even look real!

I always find it very surreal to see an elephant in our country. They look so majestic and powerful, and it takes a while to take in just how big they are. There was another, smaller elephant in the enclosure, and the keepers were spraying them with a hose to keep them cool. They looked like they were really enjoying it.

I really enjoyed myself and I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who hasn’t been before. Take your time and really look at each animal because there were lots of lovely little moments today that could easily be missed!

-Holly