This delightful 2 acre attraction is just about the nearest I have to a 'local' zoo, so needless to say I visit a few times every year. I've been doing this since 1996 - and can honestly say that yesterday's visit was my best EVER!
For anyone not familiar with Mablethorpe, it is predominantly a rescue centre that takes in abandoned seal pups, rears them and releases them back into the wild. Those that can't be put back out are given a permanent home in a massive pool which forms the centrepiece of the collection. They also have an excellent collection of native seabirds such as gannets, guillemots and various gulls, again many of which are returned to the wild. Other British animals that have been allowed to stay on due to being unable to fend for themselves include badgers in a massive enclosure with indoor viewing of their sett, kestrels, and a good selection of owls including Barn Owls in an attractive barn setting. One of my many highlights is a naturalistic enclosure for Scottish Wildcats, which have bred well here.
Originally Mablethorpe was mainly for exotics, and they still have a few although these are declining in numbers somewhat as old age sadly catches up with the residents. One of the star attractions is the acclaimed Lynx Cave, there are also Emus in a recently completed enclosure, a single Vervet Monkey, some Cockatoos, Iguanas, and a recently acquired Rhea which was previously someone's pet!
However, the reason that my latest visit was so good was due entirely to Vixie the fox cub! She's one of a litter of five foxes that are being cared for after their mother was killed. The other four are all fairly wild and are to be released, but Vixie has had a few problems and got picked on, so she has been handled a lot more and is now too tame to release. Her 'mum' sometimes brings her out to meet friends and she is unbelievably well-behaved, sitting very quietly and calmly, and is happy to be stroked. At one point she was carried into the gift shop and took great interest in the soft toys on sale there!
For anyone in the area or passing through, Mablethorpe comes highly reccomended, although only small they have some superb enclosures which have been very imaginativley designed and built, with most of the work being done by the owner Paul King who is also extremely friendly and talkative. The lynx exhibit was deservedly a runner-up in a major zoo awards when it opened, losing out only to Marwell's Penguin World, quite an acheivment for a small place! My description of the sanctuary would be '2 acres of heaven' - check it out if you can.
For anyone not familiar with Mablethorpe, it is predominantly a rescue centre that takes in abandoned seal pups, rears them and releases them back into the wild. Those that can't be put back out are given a permanent home in a massive pool which forms the centrepiece of the collection. They also have an excellent collection of native seabirds such as gannets, guillemots and various gulls, again many of which are returned to the wild. Other British animals that have been allowed to stay on due to being unable to fend for themselves include badgers in a massive enclosure with indoor viewing of their sett, kestrels, and a good selection of owls including Barn Owls in an attractive barn setting. One of my many highlights is a naturalistic enclosure for Scottish Wildcats, which have bred well here.
Originally Mablethorpe was mainly for exotics, and they still have a few although these are declining in numbers somewhat as old age sadly catches up with the residents. One of the star attractions is the acclaimed Lynx Cave, there are also Emus in a recently completed enclosure, a single Vervet Monkey, some Cockatoos, Iguanas, and a recently acquired Rhea which was previously someone's pet!
However, the reason that my latest visit was so good was due entirely to Vixie the fox cub! She's one of a litter of five foxes that are being cared for after their mother was killed. The other four are all fairly wild and are to be released, but Vixie has had a few problems and got picked on, so she has been handled a lot more and is now too tame to release. Her 'mum' sometimes brings her out to meet friends and she is unbelievably well-behaved, sitting very quietly and calmly, and is happy to be stroked. At one point she was carried into the gift shop and took great interest in the soft toys on sale there!
For anyone in the area or passing through, Mablethorpe comes highly reccomended, although only small they have some superb enclosures which have been very imaginativley designed and built, with most of the work being done by the owner Paul King who is also extremely friendly and talkative. The lynx exhibit was deservedly a runner-up in a major zoo awards when it opened, losing out only to Marwell's Penguin World, quite an acheivment for a small place! My description of the sanctuary would be '2 acres of heaven' - check it out if you can.
