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Paignton zoo Feeding EXPERIENCE


In our ‘We Tried That’ feature we send our reporter Steph Woolvin to try local sporty, adventurous and unusual experiences that are on our doorstep. This time she packed her apples, pears and cucumber sticks and went in search of black rhinos and giant tortoises!...


tickle the chin of a tapir! Paignton Zoo’s feeding experiences are equally popular with the young and old who bravely step into the animal enclo- sures at its 80-acre site just behind Morrisons. I was thrilled and a little apprehensive when I discovered my first animals of the day were among the biggest at the zoo; the two black rhinos Manyara and Sita. These amazing animals from south and east Africa weigh in at 1,000 kg and can charge at up to 34 mph. I meet keeper Brian outside the rhino yard and he leads me up to the huge metal gate where I catch my first glimpse of Manyara or ‘Manny’ as he is fondly known. He certainly knows it’s lunchtime as he expectantly paces back and forth against the bars. Just as a dog greets its owner, Manny heads straight over to his keeper and lowers his head ready for an ear tickle, Brian is quick to oblige and offers him the first piece of fruit from the bag. “Just hold it through the bars, don’t be scared,” Brian says. I hold out my offering. Manny soon spots it and comes plodding over until I’m literally face to face with him. He takes the pear so gently, wrapping his tongue around each piece and pulling it into his huge mouth in one easy motion. The temptation to touch him is so great, but I


T


He takes the pear so gently, wrapping his tongue around each piece and pulling it into his huge mouth in one easy motion.


wonder if that privilege is reserved only for his keepers. “You can stroke his horn or scratch his ears if you like,” Brian says, as if reading my mind. I seize my chance as


here aren’t many places in Britain where you can feel the tongue of a giraffe and


Manny brings his huge head through the bars for a piece of apple. His horn


wasn’t as smooth as I expected; more like the bark of a tree than a polished stone. He patiently waits until I have finished stroking him, nibbles a few more apples and then moves off. Brian says that’s our cue to go next door and meet Manny’s female companion Sita.


We tried that...


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