The New Forest’s Big Five Wildlife Safari

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Swap your African safari ‘Big Five’ for The New Forest National Park’s ‘Top Five’ for this year’s staycation

With Coronavirus smashing many of our holiday dreams this year, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a fantastic wildlife holiday closer to home. Safaris all over the world shout about seeing and photographing their favourite ‘Big Five’ animals. If you’re yearning for a quick and easy alternative, think about England’s New Forest National Park on the south coast to see magnificent wildlife and wonderful scenery.

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With autumn on the horizon, it’s the optimum time to visit. The summer crowds have melted away, leaving a landscape that feels as wild and dynamic as the African bush. The New Forest sustains an astonishing variety of wildlife to explore on foot, bike, or horseback.

Soak up the sounds, sights, and new experiences each day as you explore the park’s 193,000 acres of lowland and gently rolling hills that for those who aren’t keen on steep climbs will love. There’s a sense of peace and calm that comes with being surrounded by wild woods turning a rich tapestry of colour against blue skies, with melodies of birdsong from a profusion of forest and migratory birds. High above, birds of prey swoop and twirl, so bring binoculars to spy super rare honey buzzards, Goshawks, Hobby hawks and hen harriers. Don’t fret about missing out, book a staycation in one of our New Forest Cottages, take time to explore the area and see the New Forest National Park’s ‘Top Five’ animals.

Swap Zebras for New Forest Ponies

Perhaps the most famous of residents of the New Forest is the park’s free-roaming ponies. You’re guaranteed to see them all over the National Park and on the roads, lanes, and streets of many of the New Forest’s pretty villages. They are incredibly hardy animals and fend for themselves finding food by grazing, which is critical to maintaining the National Parks landscape. If luscious green grass becomes sparse, they’ll have a nibble on the plentiful gorse bushes and holly trees which would otherwise overrun the forest. The ponies are rounded up during the year to check they are in good health, and if they are struggling, are kept inside for winter. The New Forest Pony is a registered pure-bred breed in its own right, and now also rare breed, but you’ll see that they come in a spectrum of colours, height and size with bloodlines through the years of Welsh, Thoroughbred, Arab, Hackney, Dales, Highlands, Dartmoor and Exmoor.

See New Forest Cottages in Beaulieu

Swap Buffalo for Highland Cattle

You’ll see plenty of cows including the huge shaggy ginger cloaked Highland Cows quietly grazing in small groups all over the forest. They too venture into towns and villages with Brockenhurst being a favourite haunt. You’ll often spot them sedately plodding about grazing on the grass verges swaying their tails in the sunshine and saying hello with the odd moo. There are lots of different varieties of cow in the New Forest including the common black and white Freesian, Galloway and Hereford crossbreeds, Dexter, Charolais and Devon, plus rare breed British White – one of Britain’s oldest breeds of cattle.

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Take solace in the knowledge that bulls are not allowed out on the forest. But do bear in mind that although cows are typically gentle creatures, mums are keen to protect their young calves, so keep dogs under strict control and stay a safe distance away.

See New Forest Cottages near Brockenhurst

Swap Antelope for Deer

The New Forest is teeming with deer and is home to Fallow, Roe, Red, Sika and Muntjac who prance, tiptoe, jump and feed in the woods, ferns, meadows, and sprawling heathlands. Although they are shy and somewhat timid, you can still easily see them, especially at dawn and dusk when they are most active. It’s a case of dressing in natural colours and being as quiet as you can. If you don’t spot any deer while out walking, a good place to view them is the deer meadow in front of Burley Manor Hotel in the village of Burley.

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Autumn for male deer (bucks) is an important time of year when they engage in ferocious battles called The Rut. The woods are filled with guttural roars and barks of the bucks attracting and then defending their posse of females (does) from other bucks. A lot of posturing, strutting, and sizing up precedes powerful charges and clashing of horns until one concedes and a victor stands triumphant. Rutting takes place over a matter of weeks until the bucks have seen off all the contenders and calm blankets the forest once again.

See New Forest Cottages in Burley

Swap African Wild Ass For New Forest Donkey

Forest donkeys are regulars outside the pubs and tea rooms of the New Forest – a good place to see them is Hyde Common near Fordingbridge. That said, they are dotted all around the National Park, but not in such prolific numbers as the ponies. The girls are known as ‘Jenny’s”, and the boys are known as ‘Jacks’. Unlike the ponies who love to munch on sweet, luscious grass, the New Forest donkeys much prefer juicy hedgerows, trees, and bushes. Remember though, as much as they look soft and cuddly, treat them with caution and give them a wide berth.

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See New Forest Cottages near Fordingbridge

Swap Warthogs for Pannage Pigs

An autumn visit to the New Forest coincides with the excitement of the unexpected, which is known locally as ‘Pannage’ season. This is when hundreds of domestic pigs owned by locals are released into the forest for six weeks or more. They do this so that the pigs can forage and gobble up green acorns and beech mast nuts, which when eaten in large quantities make the ponies, donkeys, and cattle ill. While the pigs scamper all over the New Forest, if you’re out on a walk around Bramshaw, near Lyndhurst, it’s fairly likely you may see them. That’s if you don’t hear them first as they are noisy little oinkers, falling through bushes, trotting up and down the lanes and mooching around the woods. You’ll often see them snuffling along under the trees and along the roadside – and be aware that they have absolutely no road sense so if you see them, drive carefully and slowly.

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See New Forest Cottages near Lyndhurst

Don’t miss out on your wildlife holiday fix this year. Book a staycation in the New Forest National Park and see some of the best wildlife and nature the UK has to offer. To see the full portfolio of New Forest Cottages click here.