zootrippingdaily
Member
On the way back from Dartmoor Zoo today, I popped into Otters and Butterflies. Its a small collection which was closed for much of Covid but for the first time ever, they opened over the winter.
Now signs for the place, will tell you its Otters only, but today they have opened up the Butterfly House again and it looks as if that will be the case going forwards.
Otters and Butterflies is technically not a Zoo, as its a rescue sanctuary and family run, but its close enough to Dartmoor or Paignton Zoo to suggest a visit.
They do feeds at 11.30 and 2pm at present and in the summer again at 4pm. I would recommend the afternoon feed at 2pm, as by then the Otters are a bit more alert.
I actually like the Butterfly House, as its been converted into somewhat a Tropical House, that houses a lot of Terrapins, a large number of Koi Carp and Goldfish and according to one of the keepers there are Axolotl in one of the ponds, although I was unable to see them, which is a shame as I find them fascinating. The Tropical House / Butterfly House also has a wide variety of trees and plants, including fruit plants and frogs and newts can be seen if lucky. There is also a rescue Iguana, but he doesn't like you getting close to the glass which he is behind as he gets stressed out.
The Otter part consists of a pen for Male Eurasian Otters, North American River Otters, A Female Pen of Eurasian Otters and 2 pens of Short Clawed Asian Otters, of which there are two family groups, one of 11, and another of 3, including the youngest otter who is 7 months old and was the first pup for a recently paired couple. There were three in the litter but sadly the 2 female pups didn't make it.
Each of the Otter exhibits are of a decent size with excellent viewing and the feeding talks allow you to get really good views up close, and be well informed by the keeper. Its great to be able to see Eurasian Otters and North American River Otters and be able to get nice photos. The exhibits are a similar size to that of what The Chestnut Centre (Now closed) used to have. The feeding talks are excellent and last a good half an hour going to each exhibit and telling you about each group of otters, and their backgrounds and their plans with them. The keeper invites visitors for questions at the end of the talk/tour.
For £9 admission, I think whilst small, it is a place of good value, given how close to the species you can get and you feel a real passion for the animals from the family who own and run the centre. They put a lot into the talks and there are a lot of Butterflies soon to hatch so I suspect the Butterfly house will be rammed with Butterflies in a few weeks. I managed to spot 4 varieties today, although the keeper who was in there spraying water on the paths and trees to help with humidity, said they have 11 species at present and around another 11 species due to hatch. There are boards in the Butterfly House that list and show you all the species.
I really enjoyed my hour there and whilst its not big, and could easily go round in an hour even allowing for the talk, it is worth a visit and for anyone interested in getting close to otters, they do offer a hands on experience with the Otters for 2 people at a fair £125. Which involves getting up close and dirty with the Otters and hand feeding them and learning about the species in a 1 to 1 environment. I try to do a lot of experiences when I can, and this is one I have not done, but I hope to book it at some point. Only annoyance is its the same price for 2 people as 1, so if you're a singleton like me, you feel like you lose a bit of value, but it looks from the leaflet like a different type of Otter experience than you get at most Zoos, as there is actual contact with species and you are able to have a full mornings experience rather than just the standard 20-30 mins at most Zoos where you pay about £60 per person, so an Otter fan who has a friend, this looks something that is good value for money and more to the point, you know that you are helping a rescue sanctuary which no one can begrudge.
I would definitely recommend a visit if you are in the area.
Now signs for the place, will tell you its Otters only, but today they have opened up the Butterfly House again and it looks as if that will be the case going forwards.
Otters and Butterflies is technically not a Zoo, as its a rescue sanctuary and family run, but its close enough to Dartmoor or Paignton Zoo to suggest a visit.
They do feeds at 11.30 and 2pm at present and in the summer again at 4pm. I would recommend the afternoon feed at 2pm, as by then the Otters are a bit more alert.
I actually like the Butterfly House, as its been converted into somewhat a Tropical House, that houses a lot of Terrapins, a large number of Koi Carp and Goldfish and according to one of the keepers there are Axolotl in one of the ponds, although I was unable to see them, which is a shame as I find them fascinating. The Tropical House / Butterfly House also has a wide variety of trees and plants, including fruit plants and frogs and newts can be seen if lucky. There is also a rescue Iguana, but he doesn't like you getting close to the glass which he is behind as he gets stressed out.
The Otter part consists of a pen for Male Eurasian Otters, North American River Otters, A Female Pen of Eurasian Otters and 2 pens of Short Clawed Asian Otters, of which there are two family groups, one of 11, and another of 3, including the youngest otter who is 7 months old and was the first pup for a recently paired couple. There were three in the litter but sadly the 2 female pups didn't make it.
Each of the Otter exhibits are of a decent size with excellent viewing and the feeding talks allow you to get really good views up close, and be well informed by the keeper. Its great to be able to see Eurasian Otters and North American River Otters and be able to get nice photos. The exhibits are a similar size to that of what The Chestnut Centre (Now closed) used to have. The feeding talks are excellent and last a good half an hour going to each exhibit and telling you about each group of otters, and their backgrounds and their plans with them. The keeper invites visitors for questions at the end of the talk/tour.
For £9 admission, I think whilst small, it is a place of good value, given how close to the species you can get and you feel a real passion for the animals from the family who own and run the centre. They put a lot into the talks and there are a lot of Butterflies soon to hatch so I suspect the Butterfly house will be rammed with Butterflies in a few weeks. I managed to spot 4 varieties today, although the keeper who was in there spraying water on the paths and trees to help with humidity, said they have 11 species at present and around another 11 species due to hatch. There are boards in the Butterfly House that list and show you all the species.
I really enjoyed my hour there and whilst its not big, and could easily go round in an hour even allowing for the talk, it is worth a visit and for anyone interested in getting close to otters, they do offer a hands on experience with the Otters for 2 people at a fair £125. Which involves getting up close and dirty with the Otters and hand feeding them and learning about the species in a 1 to 1 environment. I try to do a lot of experiences when I can, and this is one I have not done, but I hope to book it at some point. Only annoyance is its the same price for 2 people as 1, so if you're a singleton like me, you feel like you lose a bit of value, but it looks from the leaflet like a different type of Otter experience than you get at most Zoos, as there is actual contact with species and you are able to have a full mornings experience rather than just the standard 20-30 mins at most Zoos where you pay about £60 per person, so an Otter fan who has a friend, this looks something that is good value for money and more to the point, you know that you are helping a rescue sanctuary which no one can begrudge.
I would definitely recommend a visit if you are in the area.
