Tropical hall

The Tropical Hall is situated within the original BBC transmitter hall that dates back to the early 1930’s. We heat it with waste heat from the BBC Radio Wales transmitters that are situated in a room just behind the Caiman enclosure. These don’t always generate enough heat though, especially during the winter, so we also have a gas burning ducted air system that starts to work if the temperature falls below a set level.

The Tropical Hall has a number of enclosures around the outside which mainly contain reptiles. There is a waterfall and stream flowing through the middle of the hall containing several species of fish. There are a number of free-flying birds, which can be difficult to spot when they hide in the roof space or in the denser foliage. A great challenge for anyone trying to spot all our species. The birds are mainly African in origin. Also at liberty in the hall are several rare Standing’s Day geckos, a small lizard from Madagascar , that lives primarily on vertical surfaces such as tree trunks and stone walls.

Seating is available in the middle of the hall, where people can get close some of our animals during our animal handling sessions, or during the quieter periods just to relax and listen to the birds.