A peculiar zoo situated on a fortified island, accessible only during low tide, has been forced to close permanently after its mischievous monkeys repeatedly escaped and terrorised a local beach. The zoo, located on St Catherine's Island off the coast of Tenby in Pembrokeshire, housed around 100 animals within the walls of a Napoleonic fortress, which was also rumoured to be haunted by the ghosts of its former military occupants.
The Batt Family and Their Unusual Zoo
Christopher and Marion Batt discovered the Napoleonic fortress on St Catherine's Island and decided to transform it into an animal sanctuary. Arriving in Pembrokeshire in 1968, they brought with them a collection of exotic creatures, including otters, badgers, an alligator, and mice. Their daughter Ginny was born shortly after, and the family shared the island with these animals.
The monkeys, in particular, were notorious for breaking free from their enclosures. They would scale down the cliff face and wreak havoc on the local beach. On one occasion, a particularly bold monkey snatched a man's false teeth straight from his mouth, according to Wales Online.
Monkey Mischief on the Beach
Andi Jones, who now manages the island as a wildlife sanctuary, recalled the monkeys' antics: "They'd go after anyone's hats, scarves, handbags, they would pile them up, sit in a little circle on the sand and play with what they had stolen." Local residents soon learned that clapping hands and shouting would prompt the monkeys to abandon their loot and return to their cages in the fort. "They were very territorial," Jones explained. "They wouldn't escape, insofar as they wouldn't go any further, because they knew where their safe shelter was."
Closure and Hauntings
By 1979, the Batts were forced to abandon the zoo due to relentless salt spray damaging the animals and the high cost of transporting supplies to the island. The zoo fell into serious disrepair, and visitors' recollections were grim. Ginny Batt also recalled unsettling incidents linked to the island's past. She remains convinced the fort is haunted: "There was always noises here. It was always the sound of soldiers marching up and down singing. It was quite eerie. Or there were unexplained things which used to happen. Animals would mysteriously get loose or the fire would fall over and set fire to something. They were completely unexplained and there is definitely something here."
History of the Fortress
The island formed part of a network of coastal defences built across Britain during the Napoleonic Wars in 1870. It wasn't until 1886 that it became fully armed, with six massive guns positioned in the gun deck within the fort and three additional guns mounted on the roof battery. After serving as a defensive installation during the Second World War, the fort was acquired by wealthy Tenby businessman Graham Fry in 1962, who continues to own it to this day.
The Zoo's Enclosures and Inhabitants
The Batts kept their animals in enclosures built within the fort's chambers and across the flat rooftop. These enclosures were basic wooden structures covered with heavy gauge wire netting, furnished with perches, shelves, and shelters, meeting the acceptable standards of that era. More delicate species were housed indoors, including a tree shrew, a pair of night monkeys, a breeding group of common marmosets, a pair of vervet monkeys, blotched genets, stump-tailed macaques, bushbabies, striped skunks, and a single lesser Indian mongoose. On the principal roof area, there were pairs of African civets and coatis, a trio of red foxes, and some ferrets, positioned next to aviaries for larger birds. The former gunpowder storage rooms housed a nocturnal display area and an alligator exhibit.
Visitor Numbers and Current Status
Annual visitor numbers to the zoo reached approximately 45,000. Today, the island operates as a seasonal heritage site and historic military stronghold. It can be reached on foot from Castle Beach when the tide is out. Visitors can explore the maintained military defences, observe traces of the 1970s zoo period, and enjoy seaside vistas.
