Mum Alison Moore has always been perfectly happy to let her four children play next to a pack of wolves. The family are regular visitors to Wildwood Escot, an animal park and wildlife charity in Ottery St Mary.
The Moore children – aged between 16 and one – can often be spotted picnicking, playing or chatting alongside some of their favourite creatures, including squirrels, birds of prey, lynx and Wildwood’s famous wolf pack.
In fact, the family love this place so much that the youngest member, Ralph, one, got his name because it’s derived from the Old English word meaning ‘wolf-counsel’.
“I spent the majority of my pregnancy walking around Wildwood, often next to the enclosure that it had to be done,” says Alison. “The name just stuck.”
Alison, husband Russell and their children Tia, 16, Max, 14, Jasper three and Ralph, one, became Wildwood annual pass holders nearly four years ago and have visited the attraction pretty much every week since.
“We go there all the time,” says Alison. “We live not far away so it’s on our doorstep – we’re so lucky. There is literally something for all the age groups to do.
“The older two like the zip wire and the death slide while my three-year-old is animal mad. It feels as though the animals have got to know us all quite well!”
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Denne historien er fra Summer 2020-utgaven av Devon Life.
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