If you are looking for a gift with a difference, then look no further than Paignton Zoo.
We have lots of ideas for unique gifts for everyone.
You can experience life behind the scenes at Paignton Zoo with our highly qualified staff.
We are pleased to offer a number of different experiences from being a keeper or a vet for a day to feeding meerkats and rhinos. They make great gifts, so why not surprise someone? Or use them as incentives for your staff. Or simply treat yourself.
Choose from:
- Annual membership
- Animal adoption
- Plant adoption
- Keeper for a Day at Paignton Zoo - Spend the day behind the scenes with some of our zoo keepers, but be warned this is not just the chance to meet some of our animals close up, you will be expected to ‘muck in’ and ‘muck out’!
Length of experience: 1 day
Cost: £250
Days: Tuesdays and Saturdays
- Crocodile Feeding Experience - Join us after hours in the steamy atmosphere of a tropical swamp and get up close to three species of crocodiles – Nile, Cuban, and the world’s largest, the saltwater. Once inside Crocodile Swamp, experience the thrill of seeing our crocodiles being fed, including our saltwater crocodile who almost tail walks out of the water to get her food!
Length of experience: 1½ hours
Cost: £49
Dates and time: From 6.00 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. on:
Days: Various dates
- Vet for a Day at Paignton Zoo - This is your opportunity to get a taste of veterinary work in a zoo and have a look behind the scenes. Spend a day with the veterinary staff and observe any cases seen that day. During the day you will get the chance to load some darts and see how good your aim is with the blowpipe, take and develop a radiograph, dispense a prescription, try out the anesthetic monitoring equipment, and much more.
Length of experience: 1 day
Cost: £250
Days: Tuesdays (variable but not weekends)
- Be a Zoo Gardener for a Day - This is a rare chance to get behind the scenes of the zoos botanic garden work. The department offers a wide range of experiences that cannot be found anywhere else. These include growing crops using the latest technology in our vertical hydroponic nursery, cultivating a wide diversity of plants in one of our indoor exotic glasshouses, helping check the inventory of plants in one of the main established collection areas and if required preparing the botanical labels to help interpret the collection.
Length of experience: 1 day
Cost: £150
- Meet the Meerkats
You’ve seen them on TV – now come and meet them for real. This is a unique opportunity to get up close with our mob of loveable meerkats and to hand feed them.
Our knowledgeable keepers will introduce the species and our individual animals, explaining their habits and their characters. Then you’ll be able to help out at feeding time.
Length of experience: 20 minutes
Cost: £49
Days: Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2.30 p.m.
- Feed the Rhinos
Most of us can never hope to get close to creatures like black rhinos – but here’s a way. This experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity to go behind the scenes of the Paignton Zoo Rhino House. Find out more about this charismatic but critically endangered species before feeding mother and daughter Sita and Zuri. Truly amazing!
Length of experience: 20 minutes
Cost: £69
Days: Sundays at 3.30 p.m.
- Feed the Giant Tortoises
Did you know giant tortoises to grow to 227kg in weight and the oldest recorded giant tortoise lived for 152 years? This is your opportunity to meet and feed our magnificent Aldabra giant tortoises in their enclosure. Our keepers will tell you more about these amazing animals before letting you feed the tortoises with fruit or browse.
Length of experience: 20 minutes
Cost: £49
Days: Wednesday at 11.45 a.m. from 31st March to 6th October
Booking information
To book an experience, please click book on the experience you wish to book for or telephone us on 01803 697500.
Please note: You must be 15 years or over to take part in any of our experiences.
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