11th April 2024, Sandown, Isle of Wight
A visit to the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary is always a highlight of my trips to the island but this trip has got to be the best. All the enclosures of well maintained and the animals well looked after.
My day started with a monkey talk. These are held daily with a keeper. The passion for the animals was felt through the entire talk. Got to see the monkeys get fed and the type of food explained. We was even shown the different facial expressions and the meanings, completely different to humans!
The next talk was with the Lions. This was with the rescued lions, Vigo and Kumba. We was told why they have no manes. This was because of the treatment they received in the circus. The Lions then got fed with chicken The keepers locked them temporarily in their night hut, while they walked around the enclosure explaining the details inside. The 2 lions then got let out, and went straight to finding the chicken.
Next up was the Meekat talk. The keeper explained the dynamics of the mob and what they eat throughout the week. It was fascinating watching them eat their food, covered in newspaper to make it harder and more fun.
After this it was a visit to the Lemur dome for the lemur talk. This was a really interesting talk, with the lemurs helping and getting very close to the keeper and the rest of us in the dome. In the dome , the lemurs are all free to wonder, with a strict path to follow for visitors. At one point there was a queue to leave as one of the residents was blocking the door while trying to escape!
After the talks i went round to see the sanctuary's most famous residents, Casper and Frosty. I was lucky enough to witness the keeps tidying the enclosure and also hiding food. They let Casper out first who made a bee-line of some chicken first, then Frosty was let who hesitated at first and tried to get some chicken, bit Casper quickly turned and roared at her which resulted in a chase around the enclosure.
Next up was the rescue Tigers, Zoppa and Softi. They was getting jealous of the Lions being feed opposite and started running around and play fighting in the corner of the enclosure, trying to get the attention of the keepers. I also go to witness them walking on their new bridge that crosses the lake in their enclosure.
Overall i spent over 5 hours in the sanctuary and the entire time it was brilliant. The entire place is well-maintained with clear signage at each enclosure. The keepers you could tell cared a lot about the animals in their care, and could tell each individual out with different characteristics and behaviour. The admission price to the sanctuary is reasonable with return entry a £1 within 7 days. If you only visit one attraction on the island, i highly recommend the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary!