Feature: Inside the new reptile room at BCA zoo

The zoo at BCA boasts an eclectic mix of creatures.

In one enclosure a family of meerkats shares with a very shy porcupine. In another, three squirrel monkeys clamber over one another to snatch pieces of apple and sweet potato from each other, and a few yards away a five-and-a-half-foot monitor lizard lays hidden, buried under some loose soil.

“We know it hasn’t escaped,” says Emily Wiltshire, education officer at the animal centre, “because there would be a massive hole in the wall.”

Me and Ian, the photographer, give each other sideways glances. We trust her, but there really is no sign of the lizard in its fairly small enclosure.

We are at the animal centre to check out a few new areas set to open to the public.

Although it is mainly used by students, the small zoo is open for all on weekends and school holidays, with up to 700 people passing through on a busy day.

The largest new area opening to the public is a reptile room, home to a variety of snakes, lizards and even a few fish.

The room is generally used as a classroom for the students during the week and is home to the centre’s friendliest reptiles.

This was put to the test when Emily took a large snake out of its bed and placed it in my arms, I barely had time to give it a second thought, which was probably for the best.

The snake, uninterested, lazily weaved its way around my wrists, tying itself in knots as it sniffed my shirt, then turned its attention to Ian’s camera lens, feeling it out with a quivering forked tongue.

This is the kind of opportunity the zoo is currently offering to visitors as part of it’s ‘reptile encounter’.

It also offers similar experiences with its meerkats and monkeys, giving people the chance to step inside the enclosures and do what the zookeepers would do, up close and animal.

Since the centre registered itself as a zoo about six years ago, it has certain obligations to educate people, hence why it runs a variety of zoo days and kids clubs throughout the year, meaning that many children who may never have any contact with animals at all can feed and get familiar with the wildlife there.

“We had a child come from London who had never seen an animal before,” said Emily. “She thought unicorns existed!”

“She came to the kids camp and now she keeps coming back.

“Now she is happy to really get stuck in and is a lot more aware of the animal world.

“She’s more involved and even goes out on toad patrols at home.”

The zoo has also become a place where children with disabilities and mental issues, who often struggle to focus, can come and learn in a calming way.

Emily said: “We have teachers saying their students struggle to pay attention in school but they engage here.

“You get a lot of emails from parents saying you don’t even notice while they are here because they are so engaged with what’s going on and get stuck in.”

For information on zoo tours, which cost £5 per person and run on the first and third Sunday of every month, or to find out more about the different animal encounters, visit www.bca.ac.uk/the-college/campus-facilities/animal-centre