Amazon World Zoo Park is a medium-sized zoo located in Newchurch, Isle of Wight on the outskirts of Sandown, England. The collection is based around the animals of the Amazon rainforest and as such features a variety of exotic animals from South America, including Giant Anteaters, Ocelots, Armadillos, Sloths, Capybara and Tapirs. The zoo originated as a private bird collection and grew into a Zoo Park open to the public all year round. It was once home to the largest collection of Toucans in the United Kingdom, holding 9 species in all; the collection has dwindled through the years leaving the sole remnant as a single Plate-Billed Mountain Toucan. The zoo has several rescue animals from the private pet trade, other zoos & collections, where they would have been destroyed for varying reasons, and airport seizures & wild caught animals that are unable to be returned to the wild. The zoo also contributes to several breeding programmes and is a leading breeder of Tamandua and Two-toed Sloths. In 2005 the zoo was subject to a nationwide media coverage after a baby penguin was stolen from the zoo overnight. The penguin chick was never found but is presumed to have died after being released into the Solent around the Isle of Wight. Since undergoing new management, the collection has improved remarkably. The zoo is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) for which it undergoes routine inspections to ensure that it is up to standard and providing correct animal welfare in an ecological way.
