A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge. Most narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) and 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in).
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structure gauges, and lighter rails, they can be less costly to build, equip, and operate than standard- or broad-gauge railways (particularly in mountainous or difficult terrain). Lower-cost narrow-gauge railways are often used in mountainous terrain, where engineering savings can be substantial. Lower-cost narrow-gauge railways are often built to serve industries as well as sparsely populated communities where the traffic potential would not justify the cost of a standard- or broad-gauge line. Narrow-gauge railways have specialised use in mines and other environments where a small structure gauge necessitates a small loading gauge.
In some countries, narrow gauge is the standard; Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Australian states of Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania have a 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge, whereas Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand have metre-gauge railways. Narrow-gauge trams, particularly metre-gauge, are common in Europe. Non-industrial, narrow-gauge mountain railways are (or were) common in the Rocky Mountains of the United States and the Pacific Cordillera of Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslavia, Greece, and Costa Rica.
The Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens exhibits over 260 different species of animals. The park is set in 160 acres (0.65km2) of landscaped parkland and gardens 2 miles south of Burford, on the A361, Oxfordshire, England. Walled Garden houses aviaries, including a Humboldt penguin enclosure and a Tropical House with exotic plants and free-roaming sloths, and tropical birds such as great blue turacos, Bali starlings and bleeding heart pigeons. Penguin feeding and talk is held daily at 11 am and 3 pm. Mammals in the Walled Garden include meerkats, yellow mongooses, prairie dogs and a breeding group of Oriental small-clawed otters. There is also a collection of small primates, including squirrel monkeys, pygmy marmosets, red-handed tamarins and emperor tamarins. Madagascar, opened in 2008, is a walk-through exhibit which draws attention to the plight of endangered lemur species. The mixed exhibit features ring-tailed lemurs, collared lemurs, mongoose lemurs, crowned sifaka, Madagascar teal and radiated tortoise are also on show, and were brought into the collection especially for "Madagascar". The breeding record of the lemur collection is very good with the ring-tailed lemurs giving birth regularly since their introduction in 2009, and the red-bellied lemurs also having bred successfully. Lemur feeding and talk is held daily at noon. Woodland Walk houses a number of larger animal species from South America including: Brazilian tapir, capybara, Patagonian maras and giant anteaters, as well as Visayan warty pigs. Other enclosures in the walk-through include Canadian timber wolves, white-naped cranes and parma wallabies. The entrance to the woodland walk is via a bridge over the lake, which has a wide variety of ducks and Chilean flamingos. Large mammals - Large moated paddocks are home to a trio of giraffe, a herd of Chapman's zebra, a group of ostriches and breeding groups of white rhinoceros and Bactrian camels. Nearby are the park's big cat enclosures which house clouded leopards and Asiatic lions. Reptile House, Bat House and Insect House - The Reptile House is home to species such as black mambas, crocodile monitors, bearded dragons, poison dart frogs, and rhinoceros iguanas. The reticulated pythons, and anacondas are particularly large specimens. The park achieved the first UK breeding for Morelet's crocodiles in 2007, with 12 eggs hatching successfully. The Insect House is home to leaf-cutter ants, scorpions and tarantulas and other species of invertebrates. The Bat House holding Seba's short-tailed bats, Egyptian fruit bats and Turkish spiny mice are in the Reptile Courtyard. and nearby are enclosures for white-handed gibbons and siamangs. Around the manor house and next to the 600-year-old oak tree outside the orangery, is home to the red pandas. In front of the manor house, next to the rhino paddock, is the Aldabra giant tortoise enclosure. Behind the manor house is the Skymaze adventure playground, picnic area and restaurant. Around the railway station includes a variety of owls and birds of prey, such as the great grey owl, snowy owl, and turkey vulture. Nearby is an enclosure for black-and-white colobus. Next to the railway station entrance is the wolverine enclosure. In 2012 the park's wolverines gave birth to the UK's first-ever cubs to be born in captivity. The Park is the only collection in Europe to have successfully bred wolverines. Next to the wolverines are the pheasant aviaries.