Every week, Lake District Wildlife Park's Lucy Dunn takes our readers on a virtual journey around the world.

On the final leg of our journey around the world, we have arrived back in the UK.

As lovers of wildlife, many of us dream about visiting far-away lands full of exotic plants and unusual animals.

Over the winter months, it can be easy to forget about the amazing wildlife that we have on our doorstep. The Lake District Wildlife Park has the luxury of both!

One of our favourite quotes by Sir David Attenborough is: “No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will ever care about what they have never experienced.”

At the Lake District Wildlife Park, we are passionate about conservation. A big part of what we do is to inspire people to care about wildlife and help people to connect with nature. We do this through our keeper talks and displays, where we enthuse visitors to the park about the wonders of the natural world.

Our animal experiences take it a step further where you can get up close and personal with our animals. You can engage with our animals, experience their individual personalities, and learn all about conservation. When we run events such as Cumbria Wildlife Week, we can show you some of the wonders that can be found here in the UK. Scrumpy, our resident tawny owl, who often flies in our bird of prey displays, has won the hearts of many.

Living amongst the animals that we house from all over the world are some very special native species. The flamingo pond is visited frequently by a beautiful kingfisher. On morning rounds, the keepers often see flashes of blue as he or she fishes for breakfast.

Every evening at dusk we are treated to a spectacle as a barn owl hunts across the fields. As the daylight fades away, different species of bat take flight. Further into the night the sound of wild tawny owls calling can be heard throughout the wider estate.

In the woodland walk, we have invested time in building Bugingham Palace hotel and spa for all the important small bugs and insects to keep the world buzzing. There is also a hedgehog hotel, a bee bungalow and a squirrel snack shack!

With interpretation boards and large embossed insects hanging in the woodland, it is a wonderful quiet area to inspire young and old about what is hidden amongst the undergrowth.

On the wider estate, the upland hay meadows are buzzing with butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, and bugs. They are joined by otters, roe deer, badgers, fox, and squirrels.

The estate extends to the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake, a Site of Scientific Special Interest. In the deeper waters swim Vendace, a rare species of fish. And every year for the past 20 years, osprey have returned from Africa to nest and have had many successful breeding seasons.

We are looking forward to opening again and seeing you very soon. As you are walking around the park, we know that you will enjoy seeing our animals, but please do take a moment to think about all the wonders of our local wildlife.

We want to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you who have supported our crowd funding campaign. Your generosity will help us to continue with our conservation work. If you would still like to help the campaign has a few days left!

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/our-animals-conservation-in-the-lakes-need-you