Colchester Zoo A first trip to Colchester

Crowthorne

Crowthorne

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10+ year member
After getting such excellent advice for other zoos, I've decided to consult the Zoochat hive-mind once again for another new collection to me - Colchester

From what I've read on here, Colchester seems to be a bit of a unique experience. The spotted hyenas and Blue duikers are my must-sees (if they are still there?). Sun bears and African elephants also high on my list. Are the aardvarks as active as the ones at Blackpool? :)

I was wondering if it was worth getting the membership pass? As it sounds like good value for visiting other zoos, much better in a way than my ZSL pass.

Many thanks in advance :)

Edit: Zootielriste tells me there are Asian palm civet and Black-backed jackel at Colchester! Please tell me they're easy to see!
 
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The only time I've seen the Aardvark awake was when they were filming them. If I lived closer, i'd go there more often, but the membership is a great deal if you are going to visit the other zoos too.
 
Crowthorne said:
The spotted hyenas and Blue duikers are my must-sees (if they are still there?).
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Definitely both present and correct - both a little prone to sleeping somewhere invisible so would be worth planning a route that will allow you to double back if needed! I'm not sure if they're on the map but if not the duikers share with the cranes opposite the mandrills so are quite close to the hyaenas. There is also a rather pleasing mix of l'Hoest's Monkey and Syrian Rock Hyrax in that part of the zoo.

The Black-backed Jackals are tricky - they can only really be seen by taking the Madagascar Road Train and they're in a paddock between the wolves and wild dogs.

The palm civet wasn't on show a month ago - if it's there it must be off show or a show animal.

Don't miss the bearded sakis opposite the sea lions. :)
 
Crowthorne said:
The spotted hyenas and Blue duikers are my must-sees
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These two, together with the bearded saki, are my three favourite species at the zoo.

I suggest you attend the spotted hyaena talk as this normally ensures an excellent view of the hyaenas which otherwise are often hard to see. (Best double check the time when you arrive but I think this talk is at 4:00pm.)

Worth noting that one of the blue duikers only has three legs...

Don't miss the maneless zebras as they are rather unusual too; they're the only ones I've seen outside the Czech Republic.

Probably missed by most visitors but I especially like the European minnows in the sun bear pool; these make a nice display.
 
Thank you all so much for the feedback! Blue duikers and spotted hyenas seem to be very popular! I missed the Tufted deer at Twycross, so don't want to miss the duikers here. Will definitely look out for the other species too, not sure if I've seen bearded saki before, and Syrian hyrax will be nice to see now I've seen Cape hyrax at London. Maneless zebra will be a highlight, I have fun comparing zebra species and this will be a new one!
 
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Don't forget that unlike other zoos you can hand feed the elephants and giraffes for free if you attend the keeper talks!

The membership is well worth it also! You can get free entry into Belfast, Dublin, Chester, Marwell, Twycross, Edinburgh, Paignton, Living coasts, Rotterdam, Bristol, Exmoor!

Let us know what you think of the zoo!
 
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Badgerman91 said:
Don't forget that unlike other zoos you can hand feed the elephants and giraffes for free if you attend the keeper talks!

The membership is well worth it also! You can get free entry into Belfast, Dublin, Chester, Marwell, Twycross, Edinburgh, Paignton, Living coasts, Rotterdam, Bristol, Exmoor!

Let us know what you think of the zoo!
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Possibly Newquay as well then if you get Living Coasts and Paignton.
 
According to ZTL, Colchester is one of only two zoos in Europe with a Sumatran rhinoceros hornbill and a Mindanao rufous hornbill. It is the only zoo in England with a red-backed saki, Mt Kilimanjaro guereza and silverspot squirrelfish and the only zoo in Europe with a Victoria cichlid (Haplochromis xenognathus).
 
If your budget stretches to it I can highly recommend the aardvark keeper shadowing experience - my other half has done it twice and it was fantastic.
 
I think the unusual thing about Colchester is that it can be rather disorienting, but not in a bad way. The paths wind around through a fairly bumpy terrain without many long views and the arrangement of species seems almost random, so that you never know what what you will see next when you turn a corner. Expect the unexpected :)
 
I would definitely say yes to the membership pass if you are likely to visit the other collections included. My other half and I have platinum passes and they are massively good value.
 
I went to Colchester Zoo in August (2017) and spent several long hours writing down (*near enough) all the animals that were out on show to the public on that day that i could see..!

And yes,the zoo lay-out can be a little disorientating,and a perhaps a little tiring as theres quite a few up & downhill paths & steps,but don't let that put you off.It's a beautiful zoo & uniquely designed.

*= It's clear from other ZooChat members recent visits,there's a few i must admit i missed out,or ran out of time to see,notably the Bush Dogs being right next to the queue for the Train ride.
 
Thank you all!

In my head I want to visit or revisit some of those collections. The Devon collections especially are favourites of mine :) and Belfast has been on my radar for a while now
 
Have finally visited colchester zoo, spent 5 hours there today, so thought I'd give a little of my views.

First the negatives. The place is a maze, with more dead-ends and doubling back than I think I've ever come across in a zoo before. The map is ok, but I'm sure we spent more time checking it to find out where we were and whether the path led to a dead-end or another area, than we did looking at animals. It actually felt a bit claustrophobic at times, especially as some of the paths are very narrow and hemmed in feeling (maybe I'm just used to the wide openness of Whipsnade or the clear paths of London or Bristol). We have definitely missed areas, which isn't surprising at all. Missed the Jackals and the Bush Dogs (didn't go on the road train)

Now the positives. I saw the Spotted hyenas, Sun bears, Maneless zebras, Andean condors, Bearded sakis, and had a glimpse of the Blue duikers (they were shut in their off-show yard at the back), and was very pleased to see Cherry-crowned mangabeys, nice active Aardvarks, my first Patas monkeys, the L'Hoest's monkeys, some nice relaxed Chimps, Greater Kudu, plus some nice active lions, cheetahs and tigers. I could have watched the little flock of Weaver birds for ages, and the Rufous Hornbills were lovely! I was pleased with the generally high quality of the enclosures, they all felt of good size and with good enrichment and planting.

We upgraded to the Gold pass so will be sure to return, but on a quieter weekday, maybe it will feel a bit less manic and confusing.

Also, the ladies loos at the chimp complex are some of the nicest I've come across in any zoo!
 
Crowthorne said:
The place is a maze, with more dead-ends and doubling back than I think I've ever come across in a zoo before.
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Isn't it! And it's actually better than it used to be in terms of easy-to-miss side alleys.

Glad you had a good day!
 
I'm sure the place will grow on me once I get used to it and feel less lost! To be honest I didn't notice any music, just recorded bird sounds and ambient jungle noises. Either it wasn't on or it wasn't at the volume Chessington has theirs :D
 
Crowthorne said:
I'm sure the place will grow on me once I get used to it and feel less lost!
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I'm sure it will - once you have your bearings it is not difficult to navigate at all. I'm glad you enjoyed it though - it is one of my favourite zoos :)
 
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