Suffolk’s Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park has turned to ISEKI UK & Ireland tractors to help care for animals and maintain Europe’s largest polar bear reserve.
The Wildlife Park has grown from a small attraction into one of Suffolk’s most unique conservation sites, and at the heart of that transformation are four ISEKI tractors, a pair of TLE 3410s and two TXG S24s, that help the team care for more than 100 animal species every day.
Over the last decade, Park Director Stevie Sheppard has overseen the site’s remarkable evolution. Founded by Jimmy Doherty and inspired by his background in entomology, the park began with butterflies before expanding into a fully fledged wildlife park. Today, it’s home to animals from all corners of the world, including rescued polar bears and brown bears.
“In 2023, we rescued a polar bear named Eva from Orsa Predator Park in Sweden after the site was forced to close,” explains Stevie. “We built Europe’s largest polar bear reserve to give her a new home, and soon after, raised funds to save a brown bear called Diego. He now lives happily here with his companion, Brunhilda.”
Caring for animals on that scale requires more than passion, it needs reliable equipment that can handle heavy workloads in confined spaces. That’s where ISEKI came in.
“We contacted ISEKI because they’re based here in Ipswich, right on our doorstep,” says Stevie. “We needed a tractor for the bears, something compact enough to move safely around the park but tough enough to transport hundreds of kilos of meat, fruit and veg. The ISEKI tractors have been an absolute godsend.”
Each of the four machines has become an essential part of the Jimmy’s Farm workforce, taking on a diverse range of jobs across the 16-acre site.
“They cut the grass, move rocks and logs, tow bowsers to water the trees, and even help bark up the playgrounds,” Stevie adds. “When the maintenance team saw what they could do, they wanted one.
Then the estates team wanted one. Now they’re all over the park, from the bear reserve to the car park, doing every job imaginable.”
That daily workload comes with its share of knocks, not least from the curious animals themselves, but the service support from ISEKI UK & Ireland has been just as dependable as the tractors.
“We’ve got bears trying to push bits around and the odd reindeer that wants to scratch up against them, so we do break them, but the service has been fantastic,” says Stevie.
“They’re simple to operate and simple to fix, and if anything goes wrong, we just call the team in Ipswich and they get us going again straight away. That kind of local support is priceless.”
From polar bear feed deliveries to new habitat construction, the four ISEKI tractors have become an integral part of life at Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park, helping care for some of the world’s most extraordinary animals while keeping one of the UK’s most loved wildlife attractions running smoothly.
