Newquay Zoo Is Building New Worlds, and a Rare Primate Is Coming

Visitors arriving at Newquay Zoo this summer will start to notice things shifting. The site is entering a new phase of development, with new habitats, immersive experiences and major changes beginning to take shape across the grounds. The plan is to turn the zoo into somewhere built around exploration and closer encounters with wildlife, rather than viewing animals from a distance.

📷Newquay Zoo Savannah Pathway Development

A new Savannah route

The first big change visitors will see is a new Savannah route running through part of the zoo. It has been designed to open up fresh viewpoints and bring people closer to the animals as they move through the site. New habitats are being developed along the route for species already living at the zoo, including meerkats, porcupines and turaco, with a caracal among the planned new arrivals.

“This is the beginning of a really exciting new phase for Newquay Zoo,” said Steven van den Heuvel, Transition Manager for Newquay Zoo. “We want visitors to feel like they are stepping into new worlds, rather than simply viewing animals from a distance. The new Savannah route is one of the first visible examples of that direction, creating a much more immersive experience as visitors move through the zoo.”

📷Newquay Zoo Savannah Pathway Development

A Madagascar experience taking shape behind the scenes

Work is also progressing on a major new Madagascar experience, currently being built behind the scenes. Plans include a walkthrough habitat with free-roaming lemurs and a new nocturnal environment inspired by Madagascar after dark. That space will eventually become home to the aye-aye, a rare primate that recently arrived at Paignton Zoo, Newquay’s sister site, where it is being housed temporarily before its move to Cornwall.

“The aye-aye is such an unusual species, and people are immediately fascinated by it,” Steven added. “It feels like the perfect animal to introduce this new direction for the zoo. We’re starting to create spaces that feel more immersive and natural, both for the animals and the people visiting them.”

📷Ring Tailed Lemur

What comes next

Plans for the next phase of Savannah development are already underway, including early designs for a future giraffe habitat. Work is continuing across parts of the site, and more announcements are planned through the rest of the year.

Newquay Zoo is Cornwall’s biggest zoo, home to over 130 species, and runs breeding programmes for endangered animals alongside its conservation and education work. It is operated by Dutch leisure company Libéma, which together with Paignton Zoo in Devon welcomes around 400,000 guests a year. Both sites are members of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

📷Aye aye

📷black lemur

📷caracal

📷Meerkat

📷Newquay Zoo Chapmans Zebra

📷Oriental Garden

📷white faced saki

📷Newquay Zoo Savannah Pathway Development