Sitlington Animal Park Tour - Part #4 Zoo (2/3)

This is the fourth part of a series of posts touring Sitlington Animal Park, my low budget British zoo built on the side of a farm.

In this post, we'll be continuing our tour of the zoo and seeing the cranes, wallabies, emus, camels, zebras, ostriches, llamas, rheas, capybaras, donkeys, dik-diks, tortoises and the food kiosk.

Starting from where we left off at the Reptile House, the concrete path turns to dirt as the zoo becomes a little less refined and a bit more open. On the left, I've built a large wooden cage for red-crowned cranes that's very basic in its construction to make it look low budget. There's a large pond which I've planted heavily to make it look natural and to harbour insects for them to eat. I've also added a small fountain to aerate the water and prevent it from freezing in winter. For the housing, I've added a garden shed to show that the zoo is repurposing domestic furniture to keep its budget down, something a lot of real zoos do. For a habitat, it's nothing fancy but it's at least green and spacious, and of course in line with the zoo's budget.

Opposite, I've built a walkthrough habitat for a mixture of red-necked wallabies and emus. I gave it a small looping path that winds itself through the habitat, passing grassy areas, shelters, trees and a pond. I added a wooden railing along the path that's tall enough for the wallabies to pass under but too tall for the emus to jump over; I've never seen emus in walkthroughs here, at least fully free-roaming ones, so I've kept them behind a fence. From outside the habitat, you can see into their housing, which is a large wooden shed filled with straw bedding. Since zoos are all about environmentalism, I added a solar panel on the roof for the power supply.

Before we see the rest of the animals, I just wanted to share this little area which is tucked between the Reptile House and the camels. The building contains toilets and there's actually a toilet facility buried deep underground to make it functional. I made the signs on the door using font pieces — the first time I've done it and I don't think it looks bad. The double gate lets vehicles in and out of the zoo, which is important for things like transporting animals or bringing in maintenance vehicles. Every habitat at the zoo is accessible to vehicles and sometimes the access roads are visible like this, whereas other times they're hidden.

From here, we can get a nice view of the tortoise house in the distance but we'll be seeing that at the end. For now, let's carry on passed the toilets towards the camels.

Bactrian camels are a species you might be surprised to find at some farms in the UK. Here, I've given them a huge grassy paddock that's got a wooden shelter, a feeder, some stables and a holding pen. Since they can give a nasty bite, I've kept them away from the fence using some hotwire. As with nearly all the habitats at the zoo, I've used a post-and-rail fence as they're relatively cheap and widely used at low budget zoos like this.

I call the next habitat the "Africa field" but that's probably a grander name than what it actually is. It's basically home to the zoo's zebras and ostriches and the largest habitat at the park. I got the idea from Bridlington Animal Park which has a similar habitat. To keep the animals in, I used a ditch with a low fence supported by hotwire, which means guests can get a clearer view than if I used mesh. I added a shade structure/shelter, a fallen log, some rocks, a watering hole and of course lots of grass. I've used a thick wall of vegetation to provide a background, making it look green and natural. Overall, it's nothing state-of-the-art but, in fairness, I was aiming for basic and low budget. What is slightly higher budget is the housing: I built some stables at the back, along with a few holding pens, but it's a bit over-the-top for such a small group of animals. Let's just say the zoo is planning on adding more in future!

Next to the Africa field, I've built a little food kiosk that serves pizzas, chips, salads and the staple of my diet these days: tuna melts! The exterior was inspired by something I saw at Wolds Wildlife Park, while I filled the interior with items from the Steam Workshop. I added some tables for people to eat on and some of these overlook the Africa field so people can eat whilst watching the animals. The bins are from the Steam Workshop too.

Around the corner, you'll find the llama and greater rhea habitat, which is another grassy paddock surrounded by a post-and-rail fence. There isn't much to it but again, it's what you often find at lower budget zoos.

Sticking with the South American theme, I built a habitat next door for the ever-popular capybara. I gave them lots of grass and of course a huge natural pond to swim in. Since they like wallowing in mud, I used some mulch pieces on the surface of the water to simulate a mud wallow. I gave them a little shelter, which was inspired by something I saw at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, as well as a shed.

In Part 3, we explored the Petting Barn where we could see some donkeys. Of course, they've also got an outdoor habitat which you can find opposite the capybaras. Donkeys aren't usually given extravagant habitats in real zoos, especially lower budget ones like this, so I just gave them a grass paddock. Like the alpacas, they've got a fenced-off hardstanding that they can use in winter.

Across from the donkeys is a little habitat for one of the park's smallest mammals: Kirk's dik-dik. I refrained from a post-and-rail fence this time, instead opting for an undulating log wall. I made the habitat quite private because, from what I know, dik-diks are quite delicate and shy animals. I've given them lots of tall grass to hide in, as well as a thick row of vegetation for the background. Since they're sensitive to cold (and the UK can get very cold at times), I thought it was wise to build an indoor enclosure so guests can still see them when they're sheltering indoors. Like the rest of the park, the aim was to make it look basic and low budget, so there's bare breeze block walls and some basic items for decoration, like tree cuttings and wooden boxes. I recoloured some confetti pieces to look like wood shavings. I added an open window for ventilation and a heater in the corner for when temperatures drop. I once added a PVC curtain over the door too, just to block wind, but then I figured it would be too heavy for them to push through. I also added an airlock so keepers can get in and out without the animals escaping.

Next, let's take a look at the neighboring African spurred tortoises. I was so happy when we got these as they're such a common sight at low budget zoos like this. I've given them a rectangular habitat, surrounded by a low wall, with some grass, some bushes and a small pool to soak in. I also built them an indoor enclosure, inspired by one I saw at Wolds Wildlife Park. The tree is meant to look artificial and the walls are meant to look like they're painted with a desert landscape.