Animal Encounters

Animal Encounters Inspiring curiosity, confidence and a love of nature through amazing hands on animal experiences across North Wales and the boarders.
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Wellbeing, connection, education Animal Encounters covers North and Mid Wales and its surroundings like the Wirral, Chester, Shropshire, Liverpool. We offer bespoke experiences for individuals, groups, education settings, care homes, parties, weddings. We create parties for children aged 3+ With a whole host of animals to meet and hold. We also have certificates and goodie bags available! Our li

terature can be in Welsh or English too! With our vast experience in animal care and decades of supporting people in a variety of settings, we offer support with the aid of our animals. Check out our website for so much information. We also do have capacity to take on animals needing homes, we have rescued many animals from sheep to ponies, geckos to snakes we just can't take cats or dogs.

Thanks so much to Shootforthesêr for taking these images, we are back at the tribute fest! It maybe wet but the atmosphe...
30/08/2026

Thanks so much to Shootforthesêr for taking these images, we are back at the tribute fest! It maybe wet but the atmosphere is amazing, get muddy, get wet, just enjoy the amazing music The Big Tribute Festival

🦉 Our beautiful owl..... WHY CAN'T WE STROKE HIM? 🦉Roots, is our Northern White-Faced owl, he is possibly one of the nos...
19/08/2026

🦉 Our beautiful owl..... WHY CAN'T WE STROKE HIM? 🦉

Roots, is our Northern White-Faced owl, he is possibly one of the nosiest owls you'll ever meet 😂. He's constantly watching what's happening, looking at people and generally making sure he's involved in everything!

Recently we've had a few people ask: “Why can't we stroke him? Other places let us stroke their owls.”

Different organisations have different policies, but we make a conscious decision not to allow routine stroking of our owl.

And there are some really important reasons why. 👇

🪶 THOSE FEATHERS ARE PRECIOUS

An owl doesn't simply grow a new feather every time one becomes damaged.

Owls replace their feathers through a natural moulting cycle, so maintaining the feathers they currently have is incredibly important.

Think about Roots meeting hundreds of people.

One person gently stroking him might not seem like much, but then imagine 100, 500 or 1,000 hands doing exactly the same thing.

🦠 Our hands naturally carry oils, dirt and microorganisms, as well as potentially hand creams, perfumes, sunscreen and other products.

Repeated unnecessary contact can contaminate and affect the condition of plumage that Roots works very hard to maintain himself through preening.

And those feathers aren't just there to make him beautiful.

They provide insulation, protection, camouflage and flight, and specialised structures on owl flight feathers help them move incredibly quietly through the air.

He can happily sit with us, watch everyone, investigate what's happening and allow people to get an extraordinary close up view without hundreds of hands touching him.

We actually think there's a really important lesson in that:

💚 You don't have to touch an animal to connect with it. Sometimes respecting wildlife means simply watching.... And while you're watching Roots, there are some AMAZING things to look for...

👂 THE “EARS” ON HIS HEAD AREN'T HIS EARS!

Those wonderful tufts on top of Roots' head are feathers.

His actual ear openings are hidden underneath the feathers at the sides of his head, and his facial disc helps funnel sound towards them.

🔄 HE CAN TURN HIS HEAD ABOUT 270°

Owls can't move their eyes around in their sockets in the same way that we can.

That's why you'll see Roots doing those brilliant head movements and turning to investigate something.

🦉 HE CAN CHANGE HIS WHOLE APPEARANCE

White Faced Owls are sometimes nicknamed “transforming owls.”

When threatened they can alter their posture dramatically, puffing themselves up to look bigger in some situations or pulling their feathers tightly against their body and becoming incredibly tall and thin in others.

So if you meet Roots, don't worry that you can't stroke him.

Instead, get close. Look at those incredible eyes. Look at the tiny details in his feathers. Watch his head movements. Ask us questions.

And see whether you can catch our very nosey little owl watching YOU! 👀😂🦉

🌍 If they can appreciate it, they will respect it.
If they respect it, they will protect it. 💚

It's time to get ready for winter! 😵 let's get the hay baled and in the dry before the rain comes.
14/08/2026

It's time to get ready for winter! 😵 let's get the hay baled and in the dry before the rain comes.

14/08/2026

🌏 ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS WALES IS GOING TO BORNEO! 🦧🌿

This September, we are heading to Sabah, Malaysian Borneo! 🇲🇾

Over the last few years, Animal Encounters Wales has grown into something much bigger than simply bringing animals for people to meet. Our aim has always been to help people appreciate animals, understand them and care about the world they live in.

Because we truly believe:

🐍* If they can appreciate it, they will respect it.
If they respect it, they will protect it.* 🐸

So this time, we're taking our learning right to the rainforest. 🌳

We'll be spending time with the team at 1StopBorneo Wildlife learning about the incredible conservation work happening in Sabah and meeting some of the people working to protect its wildlife and habitats.

We'll explore Tawau Hills, travel along the Kinabatangan River, and Beluran safari to learn about conservation and reforestation and, of course, look for some of the reptiles, snakes, insects and other weird and wonderful creatures we love! 🐍🦎🕷️🐛

🎤* Lexi also has a very special job.*

After sharing her love of animals on S4C, she's going to become our little conservation reporter, filming parts of our journey and interviewing some of the guides and conservationists we meet.

She'll be asking questions from a child's point of view and bringing what she learns back to the children and groups we work with here in Wales. 🥰

We want to come home with more than photographs....

We want new stories, knowledge, conservation messages and real experiences that we can build into our school visits and educational sessions.

Because meeting an animal is amazing. But understanding why it matters whether that animal still exists in the wild in 50 years' time is even more important.

🌿 So we're incredibly excited to announce something new for 2027…

From every Animal Encounters Wales encounter booked in 2027, a percentage will be donated to 1StopBorneo Wildlife to support their conservation work. 💚

That means when you book us for your school, party, care home, community group or event, you're not only helping us provide educational animal encounters here in Wales, your booking will also be helping wildlife and conservation projects thousands of miles away in Borneo. 🌏

We absolutely love the idea that every encounter we deliver can have a little ripple effect much further afield.

So when a child meets a snake, holds a minibeast, learns why forests matter or discovers an animal they didn't even know existed, that experience can help protect wildlife too.

Meet them. Appreciate them. Respect them. Protect them. 💚

So today it all kicked off! African Leopard tortoises love this weather, however... Big the tortoise took a bit of a shi...
12/08/2026

So today it all kicked off! African Leopard tortoises love this weather, however... Big the tortoise took a bit of a shine to one of the lady tortoises and tried flipping one of them over! Today we were with the Police at the open day in Newtown and there was only one thing for it! Arrested for GBH, indecent exposure and trying to urinate on a police officer 🤦‍♀️🙈

12/08/2026

It was great to have Animal Encounters join us in The Hub recently. What a fantastic experience! We had the chance to see and hold a range of animals, including snakes, a bearded dragon, an owl and a tortoise. There were also some interesting animals on display, including a tarantula. A great afternoon and a chance to learn more about some fascinating animals. A big thank you for coming along and giving everyone the opportunity to get up close to them.

Roedd yn wych cael 'Animal Encounters' i ymuno â ni yn The Hub yn ddiweddar. Profiad anhygoel i bawb! Cawsom y cyfle i weld a dal amrywiaeth o anifeiliaid gwahanol gan gynnwys neidr, draig gyda barf, tylluen, chrwban. a thwrteisen. Roedd hefyd rhai anifeiliaid diddorol yw gweld, gan gynnwys tarantwla. Prynhawn gwych a chyfle i ddysgu mwy am rai anifeiliaid diddorol. Diolch yn fawr am ddod ac am roi cyfle i bawb fod yn agos i'r anifeiliaid.

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