Cotswold Wildlife Park

Cotswold Wildlife Park in Oxfordshire was the brainchild of John Heyworth, who in 1969, transformed the overgrown Bradwell Grove Estate into a wildlife park, which has seen over 12 million visitors since it officially opened in 1970.

John’s son Reggie now runs the park and it features over 260 different animal species with highlights including white rhinos, with the park’s first baby white rhino in its 44-year history born in July 2013. These iconic animals were one of the first large mammals in the collection. White rhino ‘Bull’ arrived from Africa in 1972 and lived to the very respectful age of forty two.

The park works closely with The Tusk Trust to promote vital rhino conservation work and it also holds the EEP (European Endangered Species Programme) for Lar Gibbons and the ESB (European Studbook) for Red Crested Touracos. The park also does a huge amount of conservation work with Sifaka and Bamboo Lemur in Madagascar.

An interactive walk-through lemur exhibit, where lemurs roam freely, and a giraffe walkway that allows you to get eye-to-eye with giraffes are also popular experiences. The park is believed to have the only collection where there is just a ha-ha between visitors and rhino.

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Wildlife you might see at Cotswold Wildlife Park

Asiatic Lion

Their habitat once ranged from the Mediterranean to north-west Indian subcontinent. Today they're found only in the Gir Forest of…

Giraffe

A large African mammal with a very long neck and forelegs, having a coat patterned with brown patches separated by…

White Rhino

The largest and most numerous species of two-horned African rhinoceros. Has a broad, straight mouth and the widest set nostrils…

Chapman Zebra

Is a subspecies of the plains zebra. They eat mainly grass and occasionally shrubs and live in herds of up…

Morlet’s Crocodile

Modest sized crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Central America and along the Gulf of Mexico stretching through Belize, Guatemala…

Red Panda

Native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China, it is a small arboreal mammal classified as vulnerable with an estimated…

Scimitar-horned Oryx

Now extinct in the world, they are bred in captivity in reserves in Tunisia, Morocco and Senegal. Distinguished for their…

Wolverine

Stocky and muscular carnivore with a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size. Able to kill…

Family and group offers at Cotswold Wildlife Park

Groups

Animal Encounters, Keeper for the Day or Junior Keeper for the Day experiences are great options for visiting group members, all of which need to be booked in advance.