What your donations helped us to achieve in 2025!
2025 was a year filled with extraordinary rescue stories, huge achievements, and moments that moved us all. None of this would have been possible without the support and kindness of people like you. Your donations – whether in time, money, produce, materials, or expertise from private individuals or local businesses, have powered all that we achieved, and for this we are thankful with all our hearts!
Benji & Balu: a rescue story that captured hearts across the Isle of Wight and the world.
In June last year, after a complex international rescue mission, we welcomed two European brown bears called Benji and Balu to our Sanctuary from Azerbaijan. Thanks to over £250,000 raised in donations and the support and generosity of a huge number of local businesses and contractors, we managed to build a state-of-the-art, 3,000sqm habitat complete with woodland, ponds, climbing structures and enrichment in under 12 months – a monumental undertaking that also took the time and dedication of numerous volunteers who have worked tirelessly to help us complete this project.
Since their arrival, Benji and Balu have:
- Delighted over 90,000 visitors with their daily antics.
- Generated over 2 million webcam views worldwide. Our webcams were generously donated by our Wildheart volunteer John Cooper.
- Won the ‘Tourism Heroes of the Year’ Award at the Red Funnel Isle of Wight Awards.
- Raised national and international awareness of the plight of brown bears in Europe through the BBC One Show, BBC South, and a multitude of global media coverage, bringing both them and the Isle of Wight as a whole into the spotlight.
An impactful year made possible by so many
In 2025, the focus was not only on our rescue of Benji and Balu. With the help of our staff, volunteers, Trustees, and our supporters, we have accomplished a number of other amazing projects too. Here are just a few of our achievements:
- Delivered free educational sessions to every school on the Isle of Wight, reaching over 4,000 students.
- Installed a new Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SuDS) with an interactive educational trail, sponsored by a grant from Southern Water.
- Rescued another marmoset called Kiki.
- Welcomed Isax the serval to join our male serval, Xirus. Both are victims of the illegal pet trade.
- Advanced our SERVIVAL Campaign at the Houses of Parliament, supporting DEFRA’s push to ban the hybridisation of exotic cats in the UK.
- Constructed and opened the new Bear Lookout, which is now available to hire for suitable events.
- Improved accessibility around the Sanctuary with newly tarmacked paths.
- Nominated for a Great British Wildlife Restoration award for our White-tailed eagle schools outreach programme, a scheme run by BIAZA.
We are also so proud to be recognised for our work having achieved the following:
- Finalists in the Beautiful South Awards (Regenerative Tourism Category).
- Gold Award for Best Large Attraction at the Red Funnel Isle of Wight Awards.
Celebrating 50 Years of Animal Care and Rescue…
How your donations can help…
It costs nearly £2 million every year to care for the animals who now call Wildheart home.
Here are just some of the ways your donation can help:
- Ensure vital veterinary care: keeping our animals healthy costs more than £20,000 a year. Our rescue animals often come to us with a number of physical and psychological concerns after their difficult starts in life. This means they have unique health issues that require specialised care to allow them to live long and healthy lives.
- Create enrichment: to help our animals thrive, we provide stimulating enrichment opportunities, like innovative toys and treats that help to keep them active and tap into their natural instincts.
- Improve habitats and maintain our site: just like us, our animal residents sometimes need home improvements, from small adjustments to huge overhauls, like our recent lemur dome installation. Your donation allows us to keep our residents safe and happy in their habitats.
- Purchase food: our animals eat more than £40,000 of food every year! Your donations, including food donations, help to ensure we meet this huge need!
2026 – Celebrating 50 Years!
2026 is a monumental year for the Sanctuary, as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary since the Corney family took over what was then called the Isle of Wight Zoo in 1976. So much has changed since Jack Corney’s time, where memories of his days of walking tigers along Yaverland Beach are ones that few can forget!
We are reminded that every rescue, every school visit, every habitat, and every life transformed all begins with you! Without your help and support, the Sanctuary simply would not be what it is today.
If you would like to be part of our ongoing legacy, please consider making a donation today. Whatever you can give will make a huge difference, helping us to provide sanctuary to our existing animal residents and give forever homes to more exotic animals in need.
Your support keeps our Sanctuary alive. Please consider donating today. Thank you for being part of our family!
Our Roarsome Supporters…..
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