Amazon World Zoo Park
Watery Lane Nr Arreton PO36 0LX
Zoos don’t have across-the-board appeal, but many do good work in conservation and education and the best of them are international partners in endangered species breeding programmes. Amazon World, given a Top Attraction award by Isle of Wight Tourism, is one of the good guys. Specialising in smaller, tropical mammals, reptiles and birds, many of them in a large, walk-through areas, the zoo is largely under cover, so it makes a good rainy day outing for families. Unusual species include a breeding group of arboreal tamandua anteaters, flying foxes (with the other bats in a nocturnal area), three species of lemur, poison arrow frogs, flamingos, 10 species of huge-billed toucans from South America and a satisfying selection of exotic insects and giant spiders.
