FABULOUS COMMENTS FROM FIRST WEEK OF OPENING AT SEAVIEW WILDLIFE

“ Such a super place – the best animal and bird park on the Island!  Great day out”

“  A lovely day out (added bonus the sunshine!).  The boys loved doing the Mystery Quiz Trail”

“  What a lovely place to walk around, with fantastic views added”

“ What a lovely place.  We were blessed with blue sunny skies.  All of the staff are so friendly making our visit so special – thanks you”

“  This place is ace!  We have had a brill day despite the cold”
“ Lovely food, lovely animals and great cake – a fantastic day out”

Second Penguin Encounter this Easter weekend!

The encounters are proving increasingly popular with our visitors this year. Today, Tony Durow from Portsmouth joined us for a Penguin Encounter. Tony has always loved penguins and their cheeky characters so he was given this encounter as a Valentines gift. It was the first time he has been up close and personal with his favourite animal and he really enjoyed it! Skipper one of our friendly Humboldt penguins even took a bit of a liking to Tony!
 

Easter Weekend Penguin Encounter!

Today we were joined by Monica, Patrick and Alistair Jenkins from Hertfordshire, who are on an Easter holiday break here on the island.
Patrick is penguin mad and as a birthday present for Monica and himself, they decided to take part in one of our Penguin Encounters!
Patricks brother Alistair also joined in the fun and all three had a great time feeding the penguins some lovely fresh sprats.
Patrick and Alistair had lots of excellent questions for the keepers to answer, and we were even able to show them the penguins nests behind the scenes!

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GREAT OFFERS TO SEAVIEW WILDLIFE THIS EASTER

Check out our discount voucher and come and visit super special Seaview Wildlife this Easter!
Print off or display on your IPHONE at reception... (not to be used in conjunction with any other offer) or choose from these travel operators for discounted all inclusive tickets to this beautiful Wildlife Park by the Sea.


http://www.hovertravel.co.uk/attractions/seaview-wildlife-encounter/index.php

http://www.redfunnel.co.uk/island-guide/days-out-to-shout-about/seaview-wildlife-tickets/

http://www.wightlink.co.uk/isle-of-wight-guide-and-events/attractions/animal-parks/seaview-wildlife-park

CHOOSE A SPECIAL PLACE TO HAVE A CRACKING EASTER

First Meerkat Encounter of 2013 – a huge success!

Today mother a daughter Hazel (left) and Nicky Halford (right) were the first participants of the year for our  ever popular Meerkat Encounter. Holidaying to the Island from Kent, it was their first visit to the park in almost 40 years. A lot has changed in all those years and they were very impressed with how the park has progressed.
Nicky and Hazel had a wonderful time and said that “they were looking for an experience with a difference.” The Meerkats were star performers as usual and a great time was had by all.
If you would like to have an up close and personal encounter with our gorgeous gang of Meerkats, please visit our website for more details. www.seaviewwildlife.com

First Penguin Encounter of 2013!

Today we welcomed Huma and Usman to the park for the very first Penguin Encounter of 2013!

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They both had an amazing experience getting up close and feeding our lovely Humboldt Penguins this morning, despite the freezing cold weather!

HAVE A CRACKING EASTER AT SUPER SPECIAL SEAVIEW WILDLIFE

It’s a serious egg laying extravaganza at Seaview… the incubators are filled with special breed eggs from our sweet apricot call ducks to the more exotic Hawaiian Geese (Ne Ne).  We remove the eggs around the nests in the Park and incubate as the rooks, crows, seagulls and herring gulls swoop down and take the eggs and young.  They stand a better survival rate safe and in a warm, temperature controlled environment.




Once the ducklings or goslings are hatched they are moved to warm brooders and monitored for a month or two until old enough to go out in specially designed enclosures with a pond so they can get their feathers waterproofed and start looking after themselves.  Once large enough they are manoeuvred down to the lower lake where our visitors can enjoy feeding them by hand.


Come and have an egg-citing Easter with us here at Seaview it will be an amazing Wildlife Adventure……

Activities and Animals triumph in Trip Advisor Top Ten Attractions

Activity and animal-themed attractions take four of the top five spots in the latest popularity index produced by TripAdvisor in its partnership with Wightlink  http://www.wightlink.co.uk/isle-of-wight-guide-and-events/attractions/animal-parks/seaview-wildlife-park  Sally’s riding school in Bembridge tops the poll of Island attractions, which is updated regularly to reflect current opinion.

Described by one TripAdvisor reviewer as having “lovely horses, great friendly instructors and an amazing location.  Sally’s riding school is followed by Seaview Wildlife Encounter which along with three other attractions in the top 10 is included in Wightlinks Wight world Days out Programme.  Rated ‘excellent’ by 76 per cent of reviewers, the wildlife attraction in Seaview offers hands-on animal experiences with penguins and meerkats as well as the chance to Be A Keeper For A Day.

Wightlink – part of Island Life…… http://www.wightlink.co.uk/isle-of-wight-guide-and-events/attractions/animal-parks/seaview-wildlife-park

Holly returns as a Keeper

This is my second time working here at Seaview Wildlife Encounter as an Animal Keeper, I feel extremely lucky to have been given this opportunity once again. 
I love travelling and have just come back to the Island after spending two months backpacking in Asia with my best friend Charlotte, also a keeper here at Seaview. We had an incredible experience, we were fortunate enough to snorkel with Green Sea Turtles in Bali. The trip was a total culture shock and assault on the senses; I would recommend it to anyone.


I have been back almost two weeks now and it feel like I haven’t been away. I feel part of the family again and I am really enjoying working with all the animals again, especially my little babies the Harvest Mice. I would like to thank everyone for making me feel welcome. I have a really good feeling about the coming season, it’s going to be great! 

Super Special Seaview Wildlife…..

‘Whether it's  sailing  a luxury yacht, combining the thrill of a helicopter ride with dining at a top Island restaurant or a festival weekend in stylish luxury, the Isle Of Wight offers a growing range of experiences for those who enjoy the finer things in life’ … writes Sarah Sims for Island Visitor Magazine 2013.

Sarah Writes….
Wild Encounters…. Getting mobbed by wallabies and meerkats might send some people running but animal enthusiasts will be in seventh heaven, getting close-up to furry, feathery and scaly friends in absolute style at Seaview Wildlife Encounter.  In addition to plenty of animals to coo over, the multi-award winning wildlife park also has long views out to the sea.

One-to-one encounters don’t come much better than this.  http://www.seaviewwildlife.com/summary/wildlife_encounters/


Guided by an expert, VIP guests can go behind the scenes as a Keeper for a Day to spend quality time with their new friends.  Children love the Junior Wildlife Experience, a face-to-face encounter with enchanting penguins, meerkats, wallabies, pigs and rabbits (and lots more!).  Hardier young visitors can also meet some of the resident bugs and reptiles.  You have photos taken too as proof of your incredible experience as well as receiving a DVD.



Couples can enjoy a bespoke visit exclusively designed around any special occasion, be it a first date, honeymoon, anniversary or birthday.  The wonderful element of the ‘ Wildest Dates’ is that as well as a tour and encounters with your favourite animals, you are also served a fabulous champagne lunch on the patio with breath taking sea views.’
Red Funnel Ferries offer a fantastic offer to include car and entrance to Seaview Wildlife Encounter
http://www.redfunnel.co.uk/island-guide/days-out-to-shout-about/seaview-wildlife-tickets/

Whistle while we work!

All the staff at Seaview are busy busy busy this week as we prepare for the grand opening of the Park this Saturday (23rd March) for the coming season. 

The Keepers are sprucing up all the Animal enclosures  inside and out……

….whilst Sally is unpacking all our exciting new stock to display in the Gift shop and the Catering staff are busy cooking up some tasty delights to tempt you with in the Cafe!

After a long cold winter all the Staff are really looking forward to welcoming all our visitors to the Park and hopefully some long awaited sunshine too…fingers crossed!       

Name the Penguin Competition- Winner Announced!

Thank you to everyone who took part in our Name the Penguin Competition last week!
We had lots of brilliant entries and after much deliberation we are pleased to announce that the winning name is…

Kiki

Congratulations to Sophie Hale from Ryde- a Family Pass is on its way to you in the post!
It was a very tough decision as there were so many great suggestions, but finally we can stop calling her Red & Yellow, and now refer to her as Kiki!

Locke and Kiki are a lovely pair of penguins, and it is fantastic that she now has a fitting name to go with his!
 

UNIQUE EASTER GIFT IDEAS AT SEAVIEW WILDLIFE

KEEPER FERN ARRIVES SAFELY HOME FROM TRAVELLING DOWN UNDER

Our lovely Keeper Fern has started back today at the Park after five weeks off travelling ‘ down under’ to Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.  Fern said she had a fantastic time and is still trying to get over the jet lag!



First day back and the heavens opened – what a surprise !  No not really this weather pattern is crazy but certainly not putting a dampner on our team spirits here at Seaview.  We are all raring to go with our opening date fast approaching ( March 23rd) and the Park is looking fantastic.  Dare I say we are almost there and up to opening standards, just a few tweaks here and there and it will all come together.  Exciting plans coming to fruition and what a fantastic team on board this season.  Thanks to everyone for all the hard work and effort you put in – you are all very much appreciated!

BABY PENGUIN PRODUCTION LINE IN FULL SWING…..

BABY PENGUIN PRODUCTION LINE IN FULL SWING AT SEAVIEW WILDLIFE ENCOUNTER!


An explosion of the cutest of chicks is anticipated once again this Spring at Seaview Wildlife that house an impressive collection of endangered Humboldt Penguins. Last year the breeding pairs produced 18 chicks for a new penguin exhibit being opened at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire and this year the Park has been asked to mirror image last years successful strategy of producing healthy chicks for the world famous Zoo.
In the wild Humboldt Penguin numbers are dwindling due to environmental factors, human interference and the harsh conditions that they live in. Not so at Seaview where the pampered conditions are second to none! With no expense spared and Longleat providing state of the art incubators and equipment to ensure that the chicks have the best possible start.


Lorraine Adams Park Director said... 'the penguin egg assembly line had started in earnest with to date 8 eggs laid with an estimated 12 more possible pairs successfully producing two fertile eggs each . Hatching will start around the beginning of April and into early May where the chicks will be hand-reared in their early days at Seaview and then moved to Longleat where their keepers will take over the responsibility of rearing these precious penguins.

Name the Penguin Competition!

Can you help name one of our cheeky penguins?
We have many breeding pairs of Humboldt Penguin here at the park, one of which is Locke and his partner…who hasn’t got a name yet! She has always been known to the keepers as Red and Yellow, due to the colour of her identification tags as you can see in the photo below.
Locke is the male on the left with a Black & Yellow Dot tag, with his female partner on the right with Red & Yellow:

Whoever puts forward the chosen name will win a Family Day Pass for four people!
Please email entries to info@seaviewwildlife.com  by Sunday 17th March 2013. The winner will be announced soon afterwards!
Don’t forget to give your name, phone number and address!

Good Luck!

Springtime Snow at the Park

Here are some images of the park and the animals taken in the snow over the last two days! 

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The meerkats also enjoyed digging around in the snow to find their mealworms:

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Mr and Mr Rattie off to the Vets…..

Our resident rats Templeton and Rizzo are off to see ‘ Doc Green’ our Vet this morning as all is not harmonious in the rat camp here at Seaview!
If you remember our blog from last year a little young rat appeared in our mealworm delivery box!  We decided to keep Rizzo and sourced a mate that we named Templeton.  So… all has been well for many months with the little critters blending together in perfect, peaceful harmony!  Not any more… hormones have kicked in, male dominance resides and the bickering has begun! 

Immediate action has been sanctioned and after much deliberating (sorry boys) castration is calling…… A mild sedative will be given and hopefully after a month separated a 70% chance of  the pair resuming a healthy, heart warming, harmonious reconciliation will reconvene….. will keep you posted!

STUCK ON A UNIQUE GIFT IDEA FOR EASTER?

Snowy Flamingos….

It’s snowing on the Isle Of Wight and the Park looks beautiful… We are getting out and about with the camera and snapping away.  Just when we thought the cold winter weather was a distant memory it turns around and surprises us all over again.  The poor Keepers enduring the incessant icy cold days really makes it quite challenging working conditions but they are all wrapped up in multiple layers to keep out the cold!  Roll on the summer…..

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY……

I hope all you lovely Mums out there are relaxing and being spoilt on your special day. 
We are expecting and anticipating many new Mums this Spring of the  feathered and furry kind within our wonderful animal kingdom  here at Seaview Wildlife!  Spring has Sprung  and love is in the air!  Come and visit us soon – Park opens March 23rd…..

New Flickr Account up and running!

Check our amazing  new Flickr account to see some fantastic pictures of the park with some glorious weather! Keep checking for more updates. New pictures coming soon!!!! 

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dippyseaview/