THERE aren't many places on earth that you can meet a dinosaur, experience an earth- quake or take a trip into space – all in the same day!

And probably the last place on earth that you would expect to see a wolf getting a cuddle would be North Devon.

But that's the joy and excitement of a visit to the Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park – you never know what to expect around the next corner.

It could be some of the primates – marmosets, tamarins, lemurs, langers or gibbons – playing happily in their enclosure or some of the brightly coloured birds looking down at you from their perches.

What you might not be ready for is being confronted by life-size animated dinosaurs, which roar and spit.

These enormous lizards seem so real that it's hard to believe that they were constructed by local companies, using the latest animatronics technology to re-create T-Rex, megalosaurus, and dilophosaurus to the park's specifications. They are all computer-driven, although T-Rex is run by hydraulics, and dilophosaurus and megalosaurus are run by pneumatics, or high-pressured air.

And if you want to see where the real ones all came from, there are genuine dinosaur eggs in the nearby museum.

There are various different primates living happily on the park, and they all have one thing in common – they are extremely intelligent and it's necessary to provide them with enough challenges to keep them active both mentally and physically. Various items such as swings, ropes, perches and climbing frames are incorporated into their enclosures, as well as items used for behavioural enrichment purposes such as hanging baskets where food or bamboo can be placed.

Set within the stunning countryside of North Devon, The Combe Martin Wildlife & Dinosaur Park is a unique theme park experience. Thrilling rides such as Into The Light and Earthquake will challenge the bravest of the brave, while Shaun Ellis – the world famous wolf man who looks a bit like Tarzan – gives daily talks and howling shows.

Shaun is a wolf behaviour expert who researches wolves in a unique and sometimes controversial way – by living with the wolves and becoming part of their world.

He is involved in research projects in Poland and at Yellowstone National Park and is the author of two books. Watch him give these dangerous and mysterious creatures a cuddle – but don't try it at home!

If you're more "hands on", why not swim with the sea-lions in their purpose-built pool or attend one the daily handling sessions.

Beautiful gardens and magnificent birds of prey round off the perfect day out.

The park provides a home for some creatures which have been abandoned by owners who find them too difficult to keep. Take the parrots, for instance – social birds, they pair-bond and will move in flocks and groups. Although these groups split up and re-group with other birds, a bonded pair will stay together. The majority of the parrots on show have a mate and the aim is to introduce breeding partners to the remaining birds in the future.

Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park is also a haven for indigenous birds including house martins, tree creepers, goldcrests, bullfinches, chaffinches, blue tits, coal tits, song thrushes, mistle thrushes, great spotted woodpeckers and green woodpeckers.

Then there are the more exotic species like the jackass penguins which are found nowhere in the world apart from South Africa, but unfortunately, their numbers have declined rapidly – by about 90 per cent in the past 60 years.

This decline is mainly a result of harvesting of eggs for human consumption, reduction of food supply by commercial fishing, oil pollution from tankers and the large-scale removal of guano (bird droppings which have accumulated, forming a hardish substance, sometimes several metres deep).

This nutrient-rich substance is removed from their nesting grounds to use as a fertiliser.

Unfortunately, in the past it was removed with bulldozers at the height of their breeding season, which obviously had a devastating effect on the penguin population, smashing eggs and killing young birds.

Factfile

Combe Martin Wildlife & Dinosaur Park, Combe Martin, North Devon, EX34 0NG email: info@dinosaur- park.com

Take the M5 to junction 27. Go west along the A361 towards Barnstaple. Turn right on to the A399, and then follow the signs for Combe Martin and Ilfracombe.

Barnstaple 20 minutes, Exeter and Taunton 80 minutes, Clovelly and Minehead 45 minutes.