GO WILD

If Noah was alive today he would be thrilled to visit the Somerset zoo farm which proudly bears his name

- BERNARD BALE

Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm has not only been a welcome addition to Somerset’s great array of places that must be visited but has also been welcomed by international conservationalists because of its breeding programme. It has already contributed greatly to the preservation of the world’s wildlife.

Anthony and Christina Bush were dairy farmers when Moat House Farm was part of the famous Tyntesfield Estate, which is now under the umbrella of the National Trust. Anthony and Christina have been there since 1962 and nursed the idea of opening a farm visitor attraction for some time before finally it happened in 1998.

As soon as it opened the visitors loved it and that encouraged Anthony and Christina to get ever more ambitious and further create a haven where animals of all kinds could live peacefully and be enjoyed so much more by appreciative visitors.

In two decades Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm has had many amazing milestones. During those early days there were camels, llamas and wallabies, as well as pets and farm animals. Much happened in 2004 for instance when the reptile house opened and preparations were well underway for even more bigger and perhaps more exotic animals to be added to the collection. Indeed a year later the two white rhinos arrived, a new Animal Village was created and the whole project gathered even greater momentum.

Today, visitors to Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm are thrilled by Elephant Eden, Britain’s largest elephant enclosure, which now provides superb facilities for Janu, M’changa and Shaka. Elephant Eden was opened in 2014 by HRH the Princess Royal, who was clearly impressed by the great enclosure and its African elephants.