Wildlife & Animal Attractions in Cornwall

Cornwall’s wildlife offer is anchored in its geography - a peninsula with substantial coast, a marine zone, and enough undeveloped inland habitat to support species that have retreated from much of England.

Newquay Zoo holds over 1,000 animals from 130-plus species in Trenance Gardens, including red pandas, Californian sea lions, and a colony of Humboldt penguins. At 13 acres it is one of the larger attractions in the county, with keeper talks and animal encounter sessions running throughout the day.

The National Seal Sanctuary at Gweek on the Helford River rescues and rehabilitates grey seals. The site takes in pups found stranded on Cornish beaches each winter, cares for them through the nursery and rehabilitation pools, and returns them to the sea when recovered. Resident sea lions and penguins live here permanently. Dogs are welcome throughout.

Screech Owl Sanctuary and Animal Park near Indian Queens holds over 60 owls across 33 species, with twice-daily flying demonstrations. The site also keeps wallabies, lemurs, and raccoons in open enclosures, and handles wet weather better than most outdoor attractions.

JungleBarn Cornwall near Hayle combines a bird and wildlife park with an indoor soft play barn. The wildlife section focuses on parrots, flamingos, free-flying tropical birds, and red squirrels - one of Cornwall’s few red squirrel populations. The indoor barn makes it a reasonable wet-weather option for younger children.

Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay centres on a walk-through underwater tunnel with reef sharks, a rescued loggerhead turtle, and over 40 marine displays covering tropical and Atlantic species. It runs daily feeding demonstrations and handles any weather.