A little bit of heaven

I returned today to one of my most favourite places - The New Forest Wildlife Park. This has been my third visit this year and it is the one place I can come again and again and take different photos every time. The place is like my little bit of heaven because despite not being far off the beaten track - I can come and walk around feeling totally relaxed. I love it. For those who have been following my blip - I have had my conscience playing with me over the last few months about going to see animals in captivity, zoos etc making me feel uncomfortable.

Although this may make me appear hypocritical - this place certainly feels more like a sanctuary, a place for animals who have been in trouble or have been hurt in the wild and need taken care of, rather than breeding in captivity. This park is a lot smaller than a zoo and there are less keepers who know their animals inside and out. Maybe I am a hypocrite but this place feels different than a zoo to me.

But despite this, this park truly does seem to care for their animals and they seem incredibly happy, no pacing around their pens looking bored or unhappy. Maybe I am wrong and I am not criticising zoos and I will aim to find out more about the conservation work they do, so I can help in some way. Animals mean a lot to me and I just want to see them happy and cared for.

A good day spent with my hubby with some surprise sunshine.
I know there is a blue reflection top right of this photo but cropped it as much as I can. Its someones coat and I need to invest in some photo editing software to try and get rid of this type of thing. I just love being able to capture an otter under water.