Zoo review: Dartmoor Zoological Park

Here it is guys, my first ever zoo review! 

Dartmoor Zoological Park, a zoo I have visited a couple of times whilst being at uni in Plymouth, is a 33 acre zoo situated in the Southwest of England. Many of you may have heard of Dartmoor Zoo with it being the subject of the Hollywood movie and book We bought a Zoo that tells the story of Benjamin Mee and his family who bought the zoo in August 2006 and undertook the epic task of refurbishing the site. 
Also the winner of the Eden's Channel Top Wildlife Attraction of the year 2011, Dartmoor Zoo has beautiful views and a wide variety of animals including the widest variety of big cats in the southwest! Other animals that can be seen at the zoo include; Bears, wolves, tapir, racoons, meerkats, monkeys and so many more! 

One of Dartmoor's Tapir that I had the pleasure
 of meeting on one of my visits.

Being an animal lover I have been visiting zoos all of my life but, when I first visited Dartmoor Zoo in my first year of University, I was surprised to see that it was unlike any other zoo I'd visited before. Usually large and unrealistically clean, it is easy to see that most zoos' priorities lay with the members of the public that visit them. Dartmoor zoo, being noticeably smaller than other zoos, is situated in woodland and does not appear to have been as commercialized as the other attractions I have visited. Now this may sound like a negative point but I admire the fact that, in this zoo, the animals seem to come first. The enclosures are much more natural looking than in other zoos I have visited and they provide a much more up-close-and-personal experience for visitors. They even offer the chance for some fantastic, unobstructed, wildlife photography. 

The zoo has an award winning educational team that provide an excellent Close Encounters experience where visitors can meet some of the really interesting animals such as stick insects, snakes, tortoises and many more! 
The zoo also run some fantastic experience days with their Big Cat Keeper for a day being an absolute favourite. 

In my experience the keepers and other members of staff are all very friendly and happy to chat, and you can often see them about the zoo, something else I have never really seen at other zoos. 
Even Benjamin Mee himself can be seen walking about the zoo, giving the visitors a warm, at-home, feel about their visit. I bet you've never seen the owner of any of the other zoos you've visited?

Myself and some of my Uni course mates with Benjamin Mee
on one of our trips to Dartmoor Zoo. 

For those of you that haven't visited Dartmoor Zoo, I strongly suggest that you visit whenever you get the opportunity!
For me, Dartmoor captures exactly what a zoo should be all about and a lot of much larger, more popular attractions, could learn a few things from them! 

You can also DONATE here to help save Dartmoor Zoo. Being so small, they rely a lot on their visitors to keep the zoo open so please help if you can!