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Wildlife in Devon

4th June 2018

Categories: Visitor News

Wildlife in Devon

Devon is the ideal place if you want to experience some of the region’s diverse wildlife, from the dolphins, whales and many breeds of sea birds you can spot around the coast, there are also otters to be scouted out in the many rivers (the Tarka Trail after all did inspire one of the most famous literary otters).

If you’re lucky enough to be staying in some of the more rural parts of the county, you’ll be able to listen out for and see birds of prey, as well as foxes, badgers, rabbits, dormice and more, some sites offer birdwatching experiences and will be all too happy to talk to you about the range of animals you can see on your visit.

Devon has a variety of small holdings and adventure parks with petting areas for the youngsters to learn more about the wildlife around them, Pennywell Farm is a popular choice, where families can bottle feed the baby animals, watch the pig racing or meet hedgehogs. There are also a number of working farms that offer accommodation and allow families to watch lambing, milking and even get involved with egg collecting. If you’re put off of the idea of staying on a farm for your whole holiday, but you are interested in meeting some of the animals, especially the Devonshire breeds, there are plenty of attractions offering alpaca walks, like Woolley Animals where you can take a leisurely stroll with their herd or the opportunity to be beekeepers for the day at Quince Honey Farm, where you can take part in talks about bees, make some beeswax candles and sample some of the honey on offer! Or, for something a bit different, you can watch some sheep racing at The Big Sheep.

Perhaps you’d like to spend the day learning about animals from a little further afield, in that case, Paignton Zoo Environmental Park is easy to get to from several locations around the county, Exmoor also has a zoo that families can visit, Exmoor Zoo boasts some of the world’s rarest animals and has an interactive activity. If you prefer your wildlife a bit more scaly than furry, National Marine Aquarium is the perfect place to learn about some of the fish that you can find in the region. You can even go on one a boat expedition and see their natural habitats.

Perhaps the most impressive animal in Devon’s history though was Tommy the elephant, who visited the region in May 1871 as the guest of the then Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Alfred Ernest Albert. He had been on a world cruise and arrived in Plymouth with a baby elephant. The crew of the ship marched through the streets with Tommy leading the way. These days, animals like Tommy aren’t permitted to sail into port and wonder around the villages, so anyone wanting to spot an elephant on their trip, should probably head to Paignton or Exmoor!

If you’re a budding photographer, we’d love to see some of you pictures of the rich wildlife Devon has to offer, tag us in your images on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and don’t forget to tag your post with #VisitDevon so that others can see how wonderful the area is!