Peak Wildlife Park
53°03′40″N 1°55′25″W / 53.06111°N 1.92361°W
| Peak Wildlife Park | |
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| 53°03′40″N 1°55′25″W / 53.06111°N 1.92361°W | |
| Date opened | 1991 (as Blackbrook Zoological Park) 2015 (as Peak Wildlife Park) |
| Location | Winkhill, Staffordshire, England |
| Land area | 75 acres (30 ha) |
| No. of species | 17 |
| Website | www |
Peak Wildlife Park is a zoo in central England. The nearest towns are Leek, Ashbourne and Stoke-on-Trent.
The zoo was originally known as Blackbrook Zoological Park, but entered administration in 2014 and closed. It was purchased by Jake Veasey and Colin MacDougall and reopened under its current name in 2015.[1]
History
Blackbrook Zoological Park was established in 1991 by Diana Holloway and her son, Mark Rubery.[2] Holloway was already experienced in running a wildlife visitor attraction, having owned and run Hillside Bird Oasis in Mobberley, Cheshire since 1974. Blackbrook quickly developed into a large bird collection in its own right. Following Diana Holloway's death in 2006, running of the zoo passed to her son Mark. Development and expansion continued in subsequent years: in 2006, a new entrance, gift shop and café were constructed, and in 2008, a £500,000 penguin exhibit was added. Hillside Bird Oasis was forced to close to the public in 2002 following complaints from local residents over increasing traffic levels, but it was still maintained by the owners as a private breeding facility. In 2008 the zoo became a charity and begun to focus on conservation and education. The zoo received no government grants.[3]
Blackbrook held over 200 species of bird and around 40 mammals and reptiles. It had large collection of cranes, pelicans, and waterfowl. Some of the animals that were exhibited are listed below:
Birds
- Humboldt penguin
- Grey peacock-pheasant
- Great argus
- Siamese fireback
- Boat-billed heron
- Magellanic steamer duck
- African spoonbill
- Hammerkop
- Red-crowned crane
- White naped crane
- Sarus crane
- Wattled crane
- Demoiselle crane
- Black-necked crane
- Sandhill crane
Mammals
- Meerkat
- Black and white ruffed lemur
- Visayan warty pig
- Wallaby
- Maneless Zebra
- Brown Lemur
- Flemish Giant Rabbit
- Patagonian mara
- Ring-tailed lemur
- Red panda
- Cameroon Sheep
- African Pygmy Goat
- Valais Blacknose Sheep
- Dik-Dik
- Otter
- Polar Bear[4][5]
Notes
- ^ Hargreaves, Belinda (1 April 2015). "The site of Blackbrook Zoological Park is set to re-open as Peak Wildlife Park". Leek News. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ^ "Park History". Blackbrook Zoological Park Website. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
- ^ "Award-winning tourist attraction forced to close". This is Cheshire archive. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
- ^ "Polar bear family relocate to Staffordshire park". BBC News. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- ^ "Polar Bears". Peak Wildlife Park. Retrieved 16 July 2023.