Name of walk	Dalton Safari Zoo
Date of walk	2017-09-15

Dalton Safari Zoo is free this month so my sister, Ness and I paid a visit. I’ve not been for about eight years. I have never liked animals in cages, but this zoo has made a good effort in disguising this by using perspex and creating more natural habitats within the enclosures. The free roaming areas are excellent. After the zoo we visited Cumbrian Cow Ice cream and then went up to Birkrigg summit and stone circle.

The only way to reach the grass is to do the splits!

There is a section of the zoo where both humans and animals roam free.

Ness and a couple of wallabies.

Sunbathing kangaroo.

Numerous bird species including Ibis.

I love lemurs!

Ecstacy is being fed pineapple!

A tangle of Ring-tailed lemurs.

Having a scratch!

Prairie dogs.

I can't be the only one that hears "Alan! Alan! Alan!"?

Time to hang around....

....and see the world from a different perspective.

Minus a smoking jacket.

Spoonbills.

Not a lot of point having "Do not cross the barrier" signs when penguins can't read.

Giant Otter. So fast that this was the best photo I got.

"No photos please!"

Here kitty kitty!

Steamy jungle.

I'm being eye-balled by a jaguar!

Pretty in pink.

Going into the vulture enclosure, which wasn't here the last time I went, was great. We spent a long time talking to one of the keepers, who was from the Wirral.

They were feeding on carcasses.

Then he came over to pull on the keeper's shoe laces.

Playing peek-a-boo with a Teddy Bear! (Red Panda) So cute.

Time to slow down the pace of life.

Dick Turpin? Fancy seeing you here!

'Bear'-back riding.

Summit of Birkrigg.

Birkrigg stone circle and Morecambe Bay.

Close up of Bardsea.

The zoo has made some big improvements. The small cat cages with animals exhibiting stress behaviour have gone. They do have a small enclosure that contained red squirrels, where the squirrels were repeating small movements at a rate of over 120 times a minute, which was disappointing to see. Other than that, the management and appearance of the zoo and the contentment of the animals seemed much improved.

Jo.