Best Animal Experiences in the UK

Tea with Tigers

Remember the Tiger Who Came to Tea? He ate all the food in Sophie’s house, drank all the water in the taps and then left never to be seen again. Now the tigers are inviting you to join them for tea, and the good news is that there’s plenty of food to go around. At Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne, visitors can take afternoon tea in the Treetops Café after enjoying a special guided tour with a member of the park’s Cat Team. The team will provide interesting information on tigers (like did you know that their skin is striped as well as their fur?), and they’ll also answer any tiger questions that you might have. Afterwards you can walk across the Big Cat Walk to get some close-up souvenir snaps of these majestic cats before exploring the rest of the park.

Walk with Wolves

If you’ve ever wanted to meet a wolf close up this is your chance. On the outskirts of Reading, volunteers at the UK Wolf Conservation Trust head into the surrounding countryside with two fully grown wolves on metal leashes in front of them. The Trust owns the surrounding countryside – it has to take precautions to make sure that the wolves don’t encounter any dogs. Larger canines often like to play-fight, a fight that could potentially be fatal to them when faced with a tooth-baring wolf. While on the walk, there are plenty of photo opportunities and visitors may even get the opportunity to stroke the wolves, not as you would a dog. Wolves must be stroked on the underside of their stomach so that you’re submitting to them.

Meet the Meerkats

Not everyone likes their wild animals, well, wild. If you’re interested in meeting some of Africa’s cutest critters, there are several experiences that allow you to get up close and personal to meerkats whether it’s in Hertfordshire, Chester or Preston. Although the experiences differ from location to location, most experiences will have you chatting to members of the meerkat team and preparing the meerkats’ lunch for them. When you walk into their pen sprinkling food, you’ll see the naturally inquisitive meerkats are more than happy to pop up and say hello. After you’ve met the meerkats, you can take a stroll around the rest of the safari park, and meet the rest of the animals.

Whatever type of animal you like, you’re bound to find an animal experience that suits your needs. So before you start planning exotic trips to experience your favourite animal first hand, why not look at the experiences available closer to home?