Ponderosa Zoo

Geoff’s ready for the start of the weekend and the start of December!
Maybe we should give him an advent calendar filled with fish!! 🤔

With the weather getting colder and colder we have decided to keep our marmosets in their indoor area of the enclosure.
However this doesn’t mean you can’t see them, you will just have to go into the bunny barn where they will usually be found warming themselves up under their heat lamp!!!

Another Wings and Wildlife Wednesday with our favourite wild resident, the heron!
Have you ever noticed how small herons look when flying but how tall they stand when landed?!?

Trivia Tuesday!!!
Did you know that Egyptian fruit bats live in colonies of up to 50,000?!?
We only have a small group of 11 here at Ponderosa but they still eat A LOT of fruit between them!!!

Due to us going down to winter hours we no longer have any talks or handling sessions on during the winter months other than during our Christmas event!
With the shortened days our keepers are busier than ever, so are unlikely to have time to get animals out to show customers. Feel free to ask them, however please be aware they may decline due to time constraints.
Thank you for your understanding!

It’s Scaly Sunday!!!
Malaki our Argentine black and white tegu is loving his grapes, even if he isn’t the smartest when it comes to eating!!!!

It was Rovine, one of our 4 alpacas!
Rovine is quite the grump so don’t get too close or she might spit!!!

Friday Night Quiz!!!
Who does this fluffy do belong to?
Answer revealed tomorrow!!!

Another cold and wet day here at Ponderosa. But the wallabies, even though from Australia, are out and about around their enclosure!

We have another Wildlife and Wings Wednesday!!!
One of the most common wild birds we get is the pheasant, we see plenty of them on morning check and after all our visitors have gone home!!! Some even use the playgrounds!!!

*Competition* Share this post and like our page with a chance to win free tickets to this event for a family of 4!
Christmas is coming to Ponderosa! The Grinch has stolen some of our animals Christmas presents! Can you find them all and return them to the elf workshop ready for Christmas? Don't forget we have some other festivities along the way!
Book Now by calling 01924 235 276!
... 12pm: Raccoon Dog Talk 1pm: Reindeer Feed and talk 2pm: Small Mammal Encounter 3pm: Scottish Wildcat Feed and Talk
12pm - 3pm: Elf Workshop Where you'll receive a present, write a letter to Santa and make your very own environmentally friendly reindeer food to take home ready for Christmas Eve. Extra prizes are also hidden in some of the presents including free family passes!
Prices: Under 2's: £6 Child: £9.95 Adult: £5.50
Price Includes: Zoo admission, present hunt, indoor soft play admission, animal talks and encounter access, a present from the elves and environmentally friendly reindeer food to take home for Christmas Eve.
This event will run on the following weekends: December 8th + 9th/ 15th + 16th/ 22nd + 23rd
We'll be open from 10am - 4pm with last admissions at 3pm. Remember the elf workshop closes at 3pm so make sure you make it in time to receive your present.
*Regular zoo admission tickets can still be purchased on these dates if you're not wanting to take part in the event. * Indoor soft play is suitable for ages 8 and under only.
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Trivia Tuesday!!!
Did you know that porcupines cannot shoot their quills? They moult their quills like a cat or a dog would, as they are modified hairs!
Even though they don’t shoot them, they still know how to use them! You don’t want to be caught behind an angry porcupine!!!

For those that have visited in the past year, you may have noticed some empty tanks in our nocturnal room. Well now all the enclosures are all filled!!
We didn’t want to rush what we put in our enclosures and this is why there was a delay in our nocturnal room being complete!
So now, along with our bats, sugar gliders and chinchillas we have some scaly and creepy crawlies animals for you to enjoy!!!

You may have noticed we didn’t post anything yesterday. So to make up for it we will post two things today!!!
Even our meerkats don’t like Mondays!! And who can blame them with the wind and rain!!!

It was one of our coatis!
They use their long snout to dig through dirt to find tasty bugs and grubs!

Friday Night Quiz!!!
Who does this little nose belong to?
It’s a nose that likes to snuffle around in the dirt!

With winter fast approaching the weather seems to be getting colder by the day!
Our keepers may be cold but it’s perfect weather for our reindeer!

It’s Wings Wednesday!!!
We have 3 blue and gold macaws in our parrot aviary, and all of them have the ability to mimic speech!
However these three are very reluctant to talk so you’ll be very lucky to hear a “Hello” from these colourful characters, even if you keep saying hello to them!!!

Trivia Tuesday!!!
Did you know that cockroaches have a hard exoskeleton that they have to shed away in order to grow? When insects moult their exoskeleton they become very soft and squishy and are quite vulnerable until their skin hardens up again!
So next time you see a purely white insect, it has likely just moulded and is not an albino like you may have suspected!

Wow what an absolutely beautiful place. So many animals to see and so nice to see fabulous enclosures and so much space. These are some very lucky animals. Several play areas for the little ones too. Which are fantastic. I Seriously can’t believe it’s so cheap. Worth every penny and more. Will definitely be back.

Visited today with my son! We had a lovely day! Ate lunch in the restaurant which was really good food! Home made lasagne! All of the animal areas are much improved and fab! The play areas were great. The bouncy castle is a good touch. The staff were all lovely. My only comment would be that there doesn’t seem to be enough staff in the cafe/ ice cream shop as we considered eating lunch there but the queue was mega and only 1 person serving.

Had my son's 5th birthday party here and it was fab! Lots of fun had in the play barn followed by an hour in the party room finished with lovely ice creams! Although party was 10-12 the price includes admission to the zoo for the rest of the day for all guests. Many (including us) spent hours having lots of fun on the outdoor playgrounds, beach area and looking at the animals! Fab service and great value! X

Had a lovely afternoon at Ponderosa. My son really enjoyed the animals and loved the "beach". He could have spent hours there. The staff really care about the animals - we were there close to closing so saw the reindeer being fed and cleaned out and the goats being tended. No horrible shop full of tat to walk through on your way out, lots of picnic tables and excellent playgrounds for younger and older children.

Great day had yesterday, loads to keep the kids entertained, the buffet style food in the restaurant is a great idea, this meant we could all look and choose what we wanted and help ourselves to sides, all tasted good too. It’s a shame the pony rides have stopped though, my 3 year old granddaughter would have loved that. We will be back again soon. Good value day out!

We really enjoyed our visit to ponderosa today. A lot of new animal and parks. There was pets out of their cages such as snakes � for the children to touch. The assistant in the horse paddock brought the pony to the children to be stroked, which was lovely. The customer service assistants in the ice cream parlour was very polite and friendly as well as other staff. Fairly priced also, took a while to be served but this didn’t bother me, will definitely visit again.

Plenty to see and do, lots of places to sit with a picnic and plenty of opportunities to learn a bit about the animals and to meet them. Probably better for younger kids, at 9 we might be a bit too old. Food was as you’d expect for these places, a bit overpriced for what you get but that’s normal, decent coffees served. All the staff were friendly and helpful, and the place was clean and tidy. I’m personally glad that the pony rides have been replaced by a proper riding school, I always felt sorry for the poor ponies, especially on warmer days with the queue snaking round the path.

My little boy really enjoyed seeing the animals (especially the meerkats) and also enjoyed the outside play areas.

We did go into the indoor play area and that’s what has really disappointed me.

For a start there is no gate to the play area so kids can dart out of the front door very easily. The bathroom also had no lights.

There was also a little boy who was being very aggressive to the other children, dragging them around by their heads, pushing and pulling their hair.

Myself and other parents reported the first two incidents to members of staff and nothing was done about the little boy, many of the families left because of how aggressive he was being. He then dragged my little boy around the ball pit by his head, I removed my son and reported it yet again. The little boy and the adults he was with were then asked to leave.

The staff should have been much more vigilant and responsive to the complaints from many of the families who were using the play area.

We will probably go again but will not use the indoor play area at all in the future.

Cant really tell what improvements have been made other than fencing. I also think its unfair you have to pay to go on the bouncy castles, children want to run around and be free to go between the climbing frames and castles they dont understand you have to pay for 5 minutes of time! Its just confusing!