BCA Zoo is located within a small part of the College’s beautiful 400-acre campus. The zoo has historically been known as the BCA Animal Management Centre, as its primary use was as a training facility for those students enrolled onto the various Animal Management courses that the College offers. The zoo is still (and will continue to be) a highly regarded practical training resource for our students. It provides our students with the opportunity to learn and develop practical skills that are so essential for making it in the animal industry.
In August 2015, the BCA Animal Management Centre was awarded its first ever zoo license and with that BCA Zoo was ‘born’. A huge amount of hard work, commitment and investment went into the development of the zoo and that was reflected in the glowing feedback from our first inspection. Shortly after obtaining our license, the zoo became full members of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) which outlined our commitment to having the best standards possible for our animals, students and visitors.
BCA Zoo is now home to over 100 species of animal ranging from scorpions to lemurs. A number of the species housed at the zoo are at risk in the wild and are part of European Endangered Species Programmes (EEP’s) which include our critically endangered Bali Starlings and Pygmy Slow Loris.
BCA Zoo is first and foremost an education and training centre for our students and as such, we only offer public encounters and events on a pre-booked basis during weekends, bank holidays and student term breaks.
When visiting, you will have the opportunity to look around our zoo courtyard which houses the majority of our mammals and birds. Here you will be able to see species such as Meerkats, Squirrel monkeys and Lemurs. The zoo also has a nocturnal room where you will be able to observe animals in the dark when they would naturally be most active. You can find the Brush Tailed Possum and our Armadillo living here.
The exotics house is home to our diverse collection of reptiles and invertebrates. A number of the species are on public display like our Cuban rock iguana and Elongated tortoises but if you want the opportunity to see much more then look into booking onto one of our fantastic Reptile Encounters.
