The time has finally come to tour the complete Sitlington Animal Park! Before we get into it, here's an overview on the background and lore.
Background
I started this zoo not long after the release of the Barnyard Animal Pack because it gave me a chance to finally build a type of zoo I see so often where I live.
In the UK and elsewhere, it's not uncommon for some farms to start their own zoos as a way of getting extra income. Most of them are small but some do grow into bigger zoos: Johnsons of Old Hurst has a huge tropical house, sloth bears and lions, Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife Park has one of the largest polar bear reserves in Europe and Noah's Ark Zoo Farm has the UK's largest African elephant facility. There's actually so many zoos that originated from farms, from Whipsnade Zoo to Yorkshire Wildlife Park, although you wouldn't notice a farm link with those zoos today. You'll probably find similar zoos in other countries as well. In the US, for example, there's the Lewis Adventure Farm & Zoo and in Germany the Mundenhof Animal & Nature Park.
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| This project is inspired by the many farms that have made their own zoos over the years, like Noah's Ark Zoo Farm, which has the UK's largest African elephant facility. |
In fact, if I ever found myself somehow in possession of lots of money, buying a farm and turning it into a zoo would probably be one of the first things I did. I guess this project gives me a chance to indulge that fantasy.
I wanted this to be a quick little side project but, of course, it became something much bigger (this is fast becoming a bad habit of mine). It took me a whole year to build since I could only play about 6 hours a week. I did restrain myself by limiting it to about 40 species, all of which are quite small and common. I wanted this park to be as much of a farm as a zoo and I wanted it to be lower budget to match the farm aesthetic.
I also tried to challenge myself by building as much of it by myself and with as few references as possible. Everything you'll see is my own work and my own design (aside from a few things which I'll point out).
History
Just for added realism, here's some history and lore!
Sitlington Animal Park was built on some farmland in the early 2000s by a family that had farmed the land for many generations. The family had already opened a farm shop, an ice cream shop and a small country park on the same land but their passion for wildlife soon led them to open a small zoo.
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| Looking towards the farm house |
The zoo began with rare breeds, like the Hill Radnor sheep and the Tamworth pig but it eventually took on more exotic species like meerkats, wallabies, lemurs and tortoises. By the 2010s, it had become a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) and grown to include otters, camels, deer, zebras, ostrich, raccoons, skunks and reindeer.
It fell into financial difficulties in the 2020s, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was ultimately sold to Apex Zoos (the fictional operator of all my zoos), who made investments in new species, like dik-diks, Eurasian lynx, binturongs, red pandas and most recently lar gibbons. The family are still involved in operations and still farm the land around it.
Overview
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| The zoo's logo, inspired by Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife Park |
The park has three parts: the country park, the zoo and the farm.
The zoo houses 42 species, including free-roaming Indian peafowls and wild mute swans on the lake. These are kept in large paddocks, low-walled enclosures or wooden cages that were built on a budget but are functional for their species. For closer animal encounters, there's two walkthrough enclosures and a Petting Barn where guests can touch and feed a variety of farm animals. Besides the Petting Barn, the Reptile House is the only other indoor section. Some species have on-show indoor housing but most don't.
The zoo was mostly built on flat agricultural land but there's a patch of natural woodland used for forest species like red deer and Eurasian lynx. Some of the animals, namely the binturongs and gibbons, are involved in breeding programmes.
The country park features a large boating lake, with other small attractions built around it, including a children's playground, a zipline, a maze and a tractor ride. The entrance includes a farm shop, a gift shop, an ice cream shop and two car parks, with an overflow car park for extra capacity.
The farm comprises several arable fields, an apple orchard, two greenhouses, a blackberry trellis, three vegetable patches and pastures for free-range chickens and dairy goats, plus the necessary facilities to support them.
The park is based in rural Wakefield and gets its name from a historical township called Sitlington (it actually had a ruder sounding name before they changed it!). Emley Moor Mast is a local landmark that can be seen for miles around, including from the within the park.
Touring the Park
I'm going to do a written tour on this site, with a more detailed commentary, as well as my own walkthrough video (which may or may not have a voice over). ZHSplays will also be touring it on his YouTube channel.
Click here to see the next part of the tour (coming soon)
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