Development
For 35 years, Noah's Ark proprietors Anthony and Christina Bush worked Moat House Farm as tenant dairy farmers. In 1995 they purchased the farm, sold the Friesian herd, and converted the farm's 310 acres (130 ha) to arable land and sheep raising.
In its early years, the zoo exhibited farm animals, small domestic animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs, and some exotics such as wallabies, rheas and llamas. In the early 21st century, the collection expanded to include tamarins, lemurs, marmosets, a "finch fountain," meerkats, camels, tigers, african lions, white rhinos, bison, giraffes, capybara, zebras, tapirs, prairie dogs, emu, ostriches, agoutis, coatis, maras and various reptiles. The zoo promotes animal protection and conservation, especially emphasising white rhinos, Siamang gibbons, and black and white ruffed lemurs. A webcam at the zoo showed the live birth of a male Brazilian tapir in April 2009. New animals to the zoo in 2011 included five poison dart frogs.
Other attractions include twelve indoor play areas, a stage and seating for 500, and an indoor "Beehive Maze". In 2009 a wind turbine was installed to cut energy costs and reduce the zoo's carbon footprint. The zoo reports more than 130,000 visitors annually.
On 1 September 2011, Ann Widdecombe launched the zoo's "Elephant Eden" facility, an elephant sanctuary designed to house four elephants. It is set to become the largest elephant sanctuary of its kind in Europe at 20 acres (80,000 m2). The Born Free Foundation has criticised the scheme as being to small for its purpose.
Read more about this topic: Noah's Ark Zoo Farm
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