Most people never have the chance to visit a rainforest, but you can get a taste of one at the Tropical Butterfly House, Wildlife and Falconry Centre in Sheffield – the ideal place for a great family day out.
Butterflies, with their bright colours and fluttery flight paths are probably the world’s favourite insects, and the Tropical Butterfly House has exotic creatures such as the Emerald Swallowtail from East Asia with a 4-inch (100 mm) wingspan, the Malabar Tree Nymph from India with its 6-inch (150 mm) wingspan…
…and the Peleides Blue Morpho and Owl Butterflies from Mexico, Central and South America – both of which can have a wingspan of up to 8 inches (200 mm), and lots more (including Monarch, Flame, Glasswing, and Zebra longwing butterflies).
And the Butterfly House is home to lots of other creatures too – including leaf-cutter ants, stick insects, scorpions, tarantulas, tree frogs, chameleons, iguanas, a caiman (a small member of the crocodile family), fruit bats, weaver birds (Northern Red Bishop), rainbow lorikeets (brightly coloured members of the parrot family).
As well as all the above exotic creatures, there’s also:
Meerkat Mansion
Surprisingly, meerkats were popular long before a certain insurance website discovered them, and it’s no wonder their adverts used such interesting and heart-warming creatures to sell their services. Visitors can watch the Centre’s marvellous meerkats close-up from specially made viewing sites at different levels, one of which has a Perspex window mounted so that visitors can see without crouching what’s happening below ground (when the meerkats are in their burrows), and they may even get the opportunity to feed the creatures a pot of mealworms.
Small Animal House
Here you can see some of the Centre’s smaller residents, including rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, degus (also called brush-tailed rats), and spiny mice – none of which are native to this country (it’s believed that the rabbit was introduced to England from France in the Middle Ages, and guinea pigs, degus and chinchillas come from the Americas. The spiny mice come from Turkey). And there are some of our native species the harvest mice – although not a rare creature it is seldom seen in the wild. The Small Animal House is always a favourite with the kids.
Prairie Dog Camp
These creatures, originally from the plains of North America, live in highly developed social communities. They are fascinating to watch, not least because they like interacting with humans and watching us right back. They can live up to 8 years in captivity and they are the Centre’s latest cuddly recruits. The prairie dogs share their enclosure with a striped skunk called Bumbles, who has his own sleeping quarters. Right next to the Prairie Dog Camp is a chipmunk-run built into the trees and hedges to provide as natural environment as possible, Chipmunks too come from North America, but from wooded regions.
Farm Barn
Kids of all ages will love the animals in the Farm Barn – pigs, goats, chickens, turkeys and geese – it’s a great opportunity to see familiar faces close up. And your kids can help feed the chickens and goats – and their kids (the baby goats can be bottle-fed at certain times of day, accompanied by a member of staff).
Birds of Prey Centre
Meet our birds
The Centre has lots of different birds of prey including barn, tawny and two little owls, a Lanner falcon, two Harris hawks, black kite (called Jet), a snowy owl, and a turkey vulture. Members of staff give talks (usually twice a day) about the Centre’s raptors and sometimes visitors have the chance to handle one of the birds.
Aerial Antics
Sit and watch one of the displays from the Centre’s own “flying arrows” – incredible birds of prey, trained to swoop to catch their prey in mid-flight as it’s tossed up to them. Twice a day a different display takes place in front of the Centre’s Butterfly Café featuring Alfie and Bonnie – astounding green-winged macaws – a kookaburra (from Australia), a barn owl, the black kite, Lanner falcon, and a Harris hawk. They will soon be joined by Athena and Zeus, a pair of white storks who have recently come to the Centre. Athena and Zeus are only a month or so old, at the moment, but when they’re ready they’ll be part of the entertainment too.
Play Park
Sometimes kids like to let off steam and the Centre has provided the ideal place for them to use up some of their energy. They’ve got a sandpit, a pedal car, an aerial glide, a musical flute, air cannons – and, for when they start to flag, a hammock to chill out in. The kids can also go for a ride on the Centre’s tractor trailer at weekends and during the school hols.
Activity Centre
If the weather takes a turn for the worse the Tropical Butterfly House, Wildlife & Falconry Centre has the ideal place to take the children – an indoor activity centre with puzzles, games, and loads of things to do for small kids, teenagers and in-betweeners.
Butterfly Café
And when it’s time for a pit stop to replenish the energy levels, the Butterfly Café is the place to head to, with a range of hot and cold drinks, freshly made hot and cold meals, snacks and sandwiches.
Jungle Gift Shop
And before you go, you might want to pop into the Jungle Gift Shop with lots of gift ideas for friends and relations – or just as souvenirs for you and the kids. There’s something to suit every purse right down to pocket-money level – books, toys, cards and treats.
Kids’ Parties and Group Rates
The Butterfly House is a fantastic fun place to hold a children’s birthday party, and is all geared up to make your child’s special day one in a million – including your own tour guide. There are also special rates for groups of 15 or more.
Entry costs
There are a range of prices for individuals, families and larger groups. See the Butterfly House’s website for full details.
Membership Packages
With so many creatures to see and so many things to do, you’ll probably need to come back to the Butterfly House, Wildlife and Falconry Centre several times a year to get your full value, and there are three types of membership packages starting from £49 per year. All three offer entry from £1 per person per visit. Full terms and conditions can be found on the Butterfly House website.
The Butterfly House, Wildlife and Falconry Centre is open from 10 am every day of the year apart from Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Closing times vary according to the time of year – please check the site for details.
Special Events
Watch out for news of some special events coming up throughout the year. At the end of October, the Halloween Spooktacular is very popular, and in December there’s a special Stables and Sleigh Bells theme. Sheer delight for all.
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