We're Going on a Bear Hunt

We're going on a bear hunt. We're going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day. We're not scared.

So goes the classic children's story but because this is the British midlands (and not the Romanian woodlands where friends of ours did have a close encounter with furry bears), we headed off to  to say hello to Viktor and Pixel of Project Polar Reserve at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, voted Yorkshire's Most Magnificent Attraction in 2012. And rightly so, for no child is either too young or too old to appreciate what it has to offer.

The meerkats greeted us by the entrance of the park and Isaac who's nearly two excited shouted "pusa" (Tagalog word for cat) while clapping his hands, well-pleased with himself. He would do this for every other animal he sees where for any four-legged creature he would call out either "pusa" or "ask" (dog) and a two legged creature is 'manok' (chicken).

We headed towards the woodlands and came across the Lemur Woods, one of the walk-through enclosures all over the park. Inside, we walked along the path while lemurs playfully jumped on top of the trees overhead or hopped alongside us. It felt like we were exploring the woods of Madagascar, if only by imagination.

Outside the enclosures we walked past the red river hogs, admiring their striking colour (and having a slangy shot), on our way to the Polar Bear Reserves which are sign-posted so you would not likely miss it. Though Doncaster is hardly a tourist destination we couldn't help but smile at the thought of people looking out from their plane window before landing at Robin Hood airport and seeing the polar bears on the ground. And it was more surreal on foot, watching the two wonderful creatures go about with their daily life within the reserve while educating visitors of the plight of their brothers who are increasingly being threatened in their native habitat because the Arctic sea ice is fastly disappearing due to climate change.


Leaving the polar bear reserve, we encountered the South America Viva, another enclosure which displayed several South American species, which includes a giant rodent (capybara) having his early morning nap. We also said hello to a group of maras, large relatives of rodents who sat like hares (and which reminded me of the British classic Watership Down).

Then off we headed towards the Land of the Tigers, but they were asleep so we didn't spend much of our time there. But we saw an Amur Leopard up close just before the little lad started getting restless but I did manage to take a moving (he was moving very quick!) photo.

Then just as we were going to take a break with a cup of coffee, the giraffes came out of hiding and started walking towards us. That was a most magical sight (and plenty of photos ensued).


We had our break at one of the picnic benches beside the giraffe enclosure and walked along the African Plains which houses the zebras and cattle amongst others.

We didn't bother with the Baboon Reserve, saving it for next time but we sat down to watch an Animal Show before heading off to the Lion Country which houses a pride of 13 African lions lazying around in the midday sun and who can't blame them, it was a rare nice spring day when we visited. But sleeping lions mean no photos although we do know what they look like so that wasn't a disappointment.
On the way back, we got close to the ostriches (or "manok" as Isaac fondly called them, even making "cluck-cluck" sounds).
Then before heading back to Sheffield, we had lunch at the picnic site by the lake where ducks were racing each other, Isaac got that one right at least ("pato, quack-quack").

So yes, it was certainly an enjoyable day trip and a great place for educating young people (but most especially adults) about the importance of conservation efforts in ensuring that our planet's ecological balance is maintained.

Other Important Details: 
We arrived just as the park opened at 10:00am on the Wednesday before school holidays, hoping to avoid the large crowds. If you book online, two adult tickets would cost £15.50 each but to avoid further costs, you can bring your picnic basket as there are plenty of picnic sites to eat your packed lunch.