Attraction Review: Wildlife Reserve Review

This Northern attraction is the only reserve on the island, some may call it a zoo but we think reserve is a much better and informative term. The Wildlife Reserve has been open since 1983 and is run by Jean Baulu along with his friendly and hard working staff.  To give you a little background on Mr. Baulu, he is a primatologist and came to Barbados to study the behaviour of the monkeys and assist in controlling the population of these animals. They ended up assiting the Government and stabilizing the population and in the meanwhile created this santuary. 

The Barbados Wildlife Reserve does not only house monkeys (even though they are most popular animal on the reserve) but as you wander through the reserve, you will catch a glimpse of the Cuban iguanas that stroll through the cactus and stare at you with their mischievous eyes,  blending in with some of the surroundings making it hard to find at times.

As we walked through the caged area in the Wildlife Reserve, you can easily spot the reticulated python, which has to be at least 20 feet long! This monstrosity of an animal was just lying down relaxing in its cage while I am sure amused at everyone ooh-ing and ahh-ing at him. The python’s skin gave off a somewhat rainbow colour as the sun reflected on him. He was definitely a sight to behold!

The reserve also has a bird sanctuary, which accommodates green wing macaws, parrots, love birds and jendais; their musical notes filling the air. As we were walking along the trail, we spotted a very perculiar animal; It was a Mara. Coming from South America they have a very interesting appearance of a cross between a rabbit and a deer.

My favourite part of the reserve was the animal feeding at 2:00PM where all the animals crowd into one area on the Wildlife reserve to eat. The tortoises mind their own business, while the monkeys hop from tortoise to tortoise to “steal” their food. The deers also are a part of this feeding with them sneaking in on the sides to get their days worth of food. The peacocks don’t get too involved in this crazy fight, remaining on the outer skirts enjoying the view and knicking what food they can without distracting the other animals. 

If you are an animal lover, we would highly suggest you take a trip to our Northern Coast to see the Wildlife Reserve as it offers a unique and personal experience, allowing you to get close to these animals- closer than you ever thought!