Tropiquaria

About

Tropiquaria Zoo is a small tropical house and zoo in Somerset, England. It is located at Washford Cross, 16 miles (26 km) from Taunton and 9 miles (14 km) from Minehead. It is based in a 1930s art deco BBC radio transmitter hall of Washford transmitting station, which became a Grade II listed building in 1984.

Tropiquaria opened on the site in 1989. The majority of the old transmitting station building became surplus to the BBC's requirements in 1981 when new, smaller equipment was installed in a separate building to the rear. In 1987, a £100,000 scheme to transform the unused part of the building into an aquarium and reptile house was proposed by the consortium Ark Enterprises Ltd, headed by Stephen Smith.

Both a 21-year lease on the building and planning permission were acquired in 1987. There is a mainly African theme to the tropical hall and aquarium as well as the large number of outside enclosures. The zoo is a member of BIAZA, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and has successfully bred a number of endangered species of mammals, reptiles, birds, and fish.

Tropiquaria includes a Tropical Hall with a variety of snakes and lizards, and birds. The zoo also features...