Nature Safaris

Nature Safaris
on the
Furzebrook Estate

Join us for a Guided Tour around the Furzebrook Estate. Explore one of the most ecologically diverse habitats in the country. Our Nature Safaris introduce you to wild ponies, 'Mangalica' pigs, Sika deer, bees and much more.

£15pp (minimum four people).

Our Nature Safaris on the Furzebrook Estate can be booked for anytime of day. Depending on the Season and the habits of both flora and fauna on the Estate, we will endeavour to introduce you to some of the wildlife and rare species that inhabit this beautiful place. Designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty the Isle or Purbeck is home to 4% of the UK's Sand Lizard. Smooth snakes warm themselves in the sun, ants build huge mounds and Sika deer watch from the undergrowth. Join us for this 1 Hour Guided Tour.
Email: info@furzebrookestate.co.uk

Ponies Nature Safaris
Wild Ponies

Natural grazing on the Furzebrook Estate. A close resemblance of the extinct wild horse, the Tarpan. The use of ponies as conservation grazers fills a different ecological niche to that of cattle grazers. Selective grazing means some areas within the reserves may be left untouched. Encouraging a wider variety of plants and invertebrates.

Pigs Nature Safaris
Mangalica & Tamworth Pigs

Natures ploughs! We are delighted to have introduce Tamworth Pigs onto the Furzebrook Estate. Rootling is important because it creates bare ground – an important habitat – and disturbs the soil, which encourages the regeneration of vegetation. This way, the Tamworths play an important role in rewilding the site.

Nature is wonderfully wild and we would not have it any other way! Because of this our Nature Safaris vary from tour to tour. Will will endeavour to show you the best that the Furzebrook Estate has to offer. You may have to be ‘quiet’ you, you may get grubby, you will have to be fit enough to walk over rough terrain. Good walking boats and clothing in natural colours help.

We look forward to seeing you. 

Why Re-Wild ?

‘Rewilding, unlike conservation, has no fixed objectives, it is driven not by human management but by natural processes – allowing nature to find its own way’. George Monbiot – Feral

Rewilding offers an abundance of not so obvious, but equally as important ecological, social and economic benefits. Here are some reasons why rewilding is so important to us.

  • Keystone Species
  • Reduce Natural Disasters
  • Fight Climate Change
  • Trophic Cascades

‘Imagine the lives we no longer lead, but might, the species that no longer exist, but could’. Robert MacFarlane

Ecological Argument

  • Rewilding aims to restore ecosystems and reverse biodiversity declines by allowing wildlife and natural processes to reclaim areas no longer under human management.
  • Misunderstanding of the rewilding concept has led to applications that harm communities and biodiversity, and threaten to undermine an approach with enormous conservation potential.
  • Well-applied rewilding can restore ecosystems at a landscape scale, help mitigate climate change, and provide socio-economic opportunities for communities.
  • Evidence-based rewilding principles will guide practitioners to rewild safely, help assess the effectiveness of projects, and incorporate rewilding into global conservation targets.
  • Have ecologists failed? Perhaps, attempting to preserve the ecosystem as if it were static prevents it from adapting to changing conditions such as global warming!