Wee Critters

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Wee Critters

Wee Critters is a mobile & professional interactive animal education service which operates in NI!
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Our mission is to bring the wonder of wildlife straight to your classroom, living room or event with the aim of providing a unique, fun, memorable and educational experience which will inspire a lifelong appreciation for wildlife and a commitment to playing an active role in the protection and conservation of animals and the natural environment. We offer school visits (with a range of curriculum-b

ased school topics available), group visits, birthday parties, animal assisted therapy sessions, events and much more!

20/08/2025

🐢🎈𝗔 𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗧-𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗟-𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗘! 🎈🐢

Today is a very special day as 10 years ago we welcomed Tortie to our family (before we even started visiting you all as Wee Critters)!

Tortie is a sulcata tortoise, which is the third largest species of tortoise in the world! When she first arrived Tortie could fit in the palm of my hand but she is now around 18 inches in length!

Sulcata tortoises are also known as African spurred tortoises due to the sharp protrusions on their legs.

Tortie is the ‘tortle’ package but she has her own very distinct personality which is usually a wee tiny bit grumpy unless you come bearing treats especially red peppers or strawberries. It's her way or no way and we respect her for it!

Tortie may only be ten years old now but she can live for between 70 to 100 years!

A number of our Wee Critters have joined us as they were unwanted pets or uncared for including Tortie's friends, Theo and Esio Trot. In fact, we are approached several times a week about rehoming unwanted animals. Unfortunately, we can’t give them all a home but we are lucky to share our lives with these tortally amazing wee friends.

16/08/2025

🐢🛁 𝗧𝗨𝗕 -𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗦! 🐢🛁

Our tortoises (Tortie, Esio Trot, Beetroot and Theo) have been loving the recent warm weather and today I decided to bath the gang so that they could enjoy the sunshine and a quick dip.

While tortoises are land-dwelling reptiles (unlike turtles that live the majority of their life in water) there are lots of benefits to regular bathing. Bath time gives them the chance to cool down, rehydrate and it is also important that their shells regularly get a good wash to remove dirt, debris and dead cells which helps their shells to grow strong and beautiful.

Tortie is a massive fan of bath time and (despite their reputation for being slow) she speeds over to the tub when she sees it come out. She loves to soak and relax but Esio Trot simply can’t be bothered staying still for that long and, without doubt, as soon as her bath is finished she usually heads off to get herself dirty all over again.

14/08/2025

🦎🌍 𝗜𝗧'𝗦 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 𝗟𝗜𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗗𝗔𝗬!🌍🦎

Lizards are reptiles and are found on all continents except for Antarctica. With more than 7000 species, they live in many habitats on Earth from wildlife rich rainforests to arid deserts and they vastly range in size from the smallest nano-chameleon (measuring only 2cm) to the majestic Komodo dragon (measuring 3 metres)!

AND they have some of the most amazing (and unusual) adaptations from the thorny devil's ability to shoot blood from its eyes to the chameleon's ability to move its eyes independently giving it 360 degree vision or the green basilisk lizard that can run on water!

However, many species are facing increasing threats from habitat loss, pollution, hunting and much more.

Here at Wee Critters we are home to a number of amazing lizards and our cold-blooded crew will certainly warm your heart. They help us to deliver a range important messages and topics during our interactive animal education sessions including rainforests, animals in danger, classification, animal adaptations, habitats and more!

Geck'yo act together and invite Wee Critters to visit your class, group or party today!

💻 www.weecritters.org
☎️ 079 1278 5047
✉️ [email protected]

13/08/2025

🌿𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗢 𝗗𝗔𝗬…🌿

but we need no excuse to celebrate our arma-dorable friends!

Our armadillos are three-banded armadillos. This species is found in South America and their name comes from the Spanish word 'armado' which means 'armoured'. The plated armour isn't this species only protection against predators as three-banded armadillos are the only armadillo species that can roll up completely into a ball.

We named Arthur after King Arthur and the knights of the round table (as knights also wear armour). Arthur lives at Wee Critters with his partner Bella, his daughters and Albie.

Our armadillos may have a hard exterior but they melt all hearts with their personalities. They are not only very much loved members of our family but they are ambassadors for their species delivering important educational messages about a range of topics including rainforests, adaptations, classification and animals in danger!

04/08/2025

🦉🌍𝗜𝗧'𝗦 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗢𝗪𝗟 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗗𝗔𝗬!🌍🦉

There are more than 200 species of owl in the world! They are found on every continent except Antarctica. Our own wee country is home to three species of owl (barn owl, long-eared owl and short-eared owl).

Dobby the white-faced owl and Pepper the white-breasted barn owl, are important members of our Wee Critters family!

𝗗𝗢𝗕𝗕𝗬 𝗜𝗦 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗧!
White-faced owls are a small species of owl but Dobby certainly has a big personality.

White-faced owls have a rather magical defence mechanism. When faced with a similar-sized predator they flare their wings to appear larger. When faced with something much bigger, they elongate their body and narrow their eyes to thin slits to camouflage into the branches of the tree. It really is quite a transfiguration!
We think he is so ‘magic’ that he was named after Dobby the house elf from Harry Potter!

𝗜𝗧'𝗦 '𝗢𝗪𝗟' 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗣𝗘𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥!
Pepper is a white-breasted barn owl. Sometimes when we think about animals at risk it’s easy to think about large animals from far off countries but the truth is that it’s happening on our own doorstep.

There are fewer than 30 breeding pairs of barn owl left in our wee country.
Pepper is not just a much-loved member of the Wee Critters family but is an ambassador for her species during our interactive animal education sessions.

Dobby and Pepper help us to deliver important curriculum-based topics including the world around us, nocturnal animals, animals in danger, native species and more.

📸𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝗯𝗯𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹, 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆, 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄👇

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢 𝘞𝘦𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩! 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳.

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗪𝗲𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀
💻 www.weecritters.org
☎️ 079 1278 5047
✉️ [email protected]

30/07/2025

💛𝗜 𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗕𝗬 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗠𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦...𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬!💛

Most of you will recognise my ugly mug from my visits to your schools, groups or parties but the reality is that there are so many people supporting me (and Wee Critters) behind the scenes.

This week my wife, Cathy, received a phone call from our 9 year old nephew Tom who wanted us to come and play with him and his brother at 'Granny's house'. She explained that we would love to but I was busy cleaning out the wee critters, she was painting the tortoise house and we then had some admin to catch up on including promoting some of our upcoming events.

Tom thought for a minute before informing her that we could work on the cleaning out and painting and he and his brother would help out by designing posters to let our followers know all about our event at Carrickfergus Castle and then we would all have time to play in the afternoon. His granny informed me that he spent quite a long time designing this masterpiece and putting knight's helmets on everyone's heads (except the lizards because that was apparently too difficult).

So here is Tom's masterpiece to let you all know that we will be at the castle on 17 August 2025.

𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘛𝘰𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯:
https://www.facebook.com/events/769677418963276

From sitting at my Nanny and Grandad's kitchen table planning the start of Wee Critters to my poor mum who painstakingly sewed together 9 ikea soft toys to allow me to show all of the little explorers how long the biggest snake in the world is and of course my dad who has built everything from hedgehog houses to custom made armadillo accommodation - I wouldn't be able to do it without all of them behind me so big shout out to our family that make it all possible!

06/07/2025

🐢𝗔 𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗦𝗣𝗘-𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗚𝗜𝗙𝗧!🐢

I meet so many amazing little explorers and their families at our Wee Critters interactive animal education sessions.

This is our wee friend Sophie! Sophie and her family come along to most of my events and it’s always fantastic to see them. Sophie also loves creating art and I am often gifted with an amazing artwork or colouring in sheet that she has created.

During my recent visit to Ballycopeland Windmill, Sophie presented me with this tort-ally amazing keyring that she had created. It is now displayed in pride of place on my car.

A massive thank you to not only Sophie’s family but all of the families who support Wee Critters and invite us to visit or who come along to our events!

03/07/2025

🦨🐍☀️𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗘 (𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳)!☀️🐢🦉

I am currently taking some time off to spend with my family (both human and of course all of the wee critters) over the start of the summer period.

I would like to say that I will be kicking back and chilling out during this period but this is the perfect time of year that I spend getting up to date with some important tasks now that our school friends are all out for summer. Today we are getting our annual PAT test carried out and some electrical work completed, tomorrow it's time to repaint the reptile room, over the next few days I am making some renovations to Pepper the barn owl's home and the armadillo accommodations and lots of other little refreshes, painting and maintenance jobs.

However, I will also be prioritising some family time. After cleaning out all of the wee critters yesterday, I decided to pop to Castle Espie with my grandad for his 91st birthday! We had a lovely time pottering around the site in the sun and we couldn't believe our luck when we spotted two native long-eared owlets. My Grandad Bill has been on this planet for 91 years and this was the first wild owl he has ever seen in Northern Ireland. It was such a great moment to share together and I hope you and your families are taking the time to get outdoors and 'rewild' yourself this summer!

With this in mind I just wanted to let you all know that I may be a bit slower getting back to messages, emails, phone calls, etc so please bear with me and I can't wait to see everyone who has booked this summer.

01/07/2025

🐍🖊𝗪𝗘𝗘 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬!🔍🦔

When the team at Carrickfergus Castle first invited me to visit with my Wee Critters a few years ago, I can't deny that I was really excited to become a very small part of this iconic landmark's history (especially as my lovely wife is from Carrick).

Last week I saw a wee notification pop up on my instagram from a local artist, Laura McKenzie Atkins . Laura creates incredibly intricately inked Wimmelbild drawings.

Wimmelbild is a German word meaning 'teeming picture' and these artworks tend to depict complex scenes with humans, animals and objects just waiting to be discovered.

When I looked at the picture I was tagged in I couldn't believe it. Laura has created an amazing drawing of Carrickfergus Castle depicting scenes, areas, characters and historical references that we are all so familiar with; from the story of Buttoncap to the giant chess set that I actually taught my nephews to play chess on...and if you zoom in you can even spot me and some of my animal family.

Since I started Wee Critters there have been so many wee moments, opportunities or experiences that have really taken me by surprise and I have to admit that this is one of them. How lovely that Laura thought to draw me and my wee friends and I'm pleased as punch to be captured in this little bit of Carrickfergus Castle's history!

You can check out more of Laura's work on her facebook, insta or website!

27/06/2025

🦨🦜💛𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧'𝗦 𝗔 𝗪𝗥𝗔𝗣 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 / 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗟 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥!💛 🦔🐢

It's hard to believe that another school year has come to an end and what a year it's been!

I have had the pleasure of meeting so many teachers and their little explorers during this school year. It has been fantastic to see so many young people developing their knowledge of the natural world, the animals we share it with and the wee ways that we can all help make a difference. I am so proud that the Wee Critters and I can play even a small part in helping to inspire future generations, within our own wee country, to live in a more sustainable and environmentally aware way.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the schools and groups who have booked a Wee Critters interactive animal education session this year.
We hope all of the teachers, principals, school support staff, group leaders, volunteers and the little explorers that we have met (and are yet to meet) have a fantastic summer and we can’t wait to visit you all in the 2025 / 2026 academic year.

I would also like to wish a happy retirement to several super school staff that we have worked with over the years who are leaving and who have supported us in our wee journey!

Stay tuned for our 2025 / 2026 school programmes!

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http://www.weecritters.org/

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All about wee Critters

Wee Critters is a fully mobile and professional interactive animal education service which operates throughout Northern Ireland.

Join Allan the Explorer as he takes you on a wild adventure and introduces you to his amazing animal friends along the way.

Our mission is to bring the wonder of wildlife straight to your classroom, birthday party or event with the aim of providing a unique, fun, memorable and educational experience which will inspire a lifelong appreciation for wildlife and a commitment to playing an active role in the protection and conservation of animals and the natural environment.

A WILD time awaits you with Wee Critters!