Doesn't that mean the penguins will also be returning to the collection alongside the Black leopards?
Drayton Manor Theme Park Drayton Manor Theme Park Zoo
- Thread starter Cat-Man
- Start date
Yes, that's true. Does anyone know when the penguins left?
Zooreviewsuk
Well-Known Member
I popped into Drayton today on my way back from Twycross and I was massively disappointed.
For £39 to go into what I would described as a poor Theme Park, it is priced a lot higher than Flamingo Land which has a far better selection of rides, and species of animals. For me Drayton is miles worse than Flamingo land.
First of all I went into the reptile house, but half of it was closed off as they are expecting baby Dwarf crocodiles imminently so their exhibit and neighbouring exhibits were closed off.
The Green Anaconda exhibit you could barely see into from the inside, but from the outside could see it was in the water.
The Tamarin section was small but was a very good range of species and I got a couple of good photos.
Around the corner was 2 Red Panda's who had arrived from Longleat and they were mainly sleeping, but I was fortunate to be around at feed time, so managed to get some good photo's.
There were two Lynx in opposite exhibits and both were sleeping on their platforms.
The Lar Gibbon's were out playing, as were the macaque's.
The Parrot section was closed off due to building work going on.
I walked up and down the tiger section several times, but failed to see either tiger and they were not in the house. The keeper said they had a back area in the inside quarters and they were probably in there, so not visible. Which was a shame.
Round where the train station is, there was Capybara, Ostrich and Rhea, I couldn't see any Tapir and there was no signposts for them on any of the paddocks, but on the Map where it showed Tapir, was Reindeer in the paddock, so I don't know if they've been replaced.
As I was leaving I saw four signposts, which showed they were due to build a new Lemur enclosure, as well as a Penguin Rock, A new Macaque's enclosure, and they were to build a massive Leopard enclosure as well. Judging from the designs I couldn't work out where each were going, but they were impressive drawings and the Penguin section would have two ponds with a bridge over (Similar design to Edinburgh), from the drawing it looked like one side was King Penguin's but that may have just been the drawing.
I must admit I was rather disappointed with the collection overall and also disappointed by the amount of areas closed off, but it's promising the amount of future developments they have planned.
For £39 to go into what I would described as a poor Theme Park, it is priced a lot higher than Flamingo Land which has a far better selection of rides, and species of animals. For me Drayton is miles worse than Flamingo land.
First of all I went into the reptile house, but half of it was closed off as they are expecting baby Dwarf crocodiles imminently so their exhibit and neighbouring exhibits were closed off.
The Green Anaconda exhibit you could barely see into from the inside, but from the outside could see it was in the water.
The Tamarin section was small but was a very good range of species and I got a couple of good photos.
Around the corner was 2 Red Panda's who had arrived from Longleat and they were mainly sleeping, but I was fortunate to be around at feed time, so managed to get some good photo's.
There were two Lynx in opposite exhibits and both were sleeping on their platforms.
The Lar Gibbon's were out playing, as were the macaque's.
The Parrot section was closed off due to building work going on.
I walked up and down the tiger section several times, but failed to see either tiger and they were not in the house. The keeper said they had a back area in the inside quarters and they were probably in there, so not visible. Which was a shame.
Round where the train station is, there was Capybara, Ostrich and Rhea, I couldn't see any Tapir and there was no signposts for them on any of the paddocks, but on the Map where it showed Tapir, was Reindeer in the paddock, so I don't know if they've been replaced.
As I was leaving I saw four signposts, which showed they were due to build a new Lemur enclosure, as well as a Penguin Rock, A new Macaque's enclosure, and they were to build a massive Leopard enclosure as well. Judging from the designs I couldn't work out where each were going, but they were impressive drawings and the Penguin section would have two ponds with a bridge over (Similar design to Edinburgh), from the drawing it looked like one side was King Penguin's but that may have just been the drawing.
I must admit I was rather disappointed with the collection overall and also disappointed by the amount of areas closed off, but it's promising the amount of future developments they have planned.
The African dwarfs known to which ssp they belong?
(probably the regular that most other zoological collections in Europe have)
(probably the regular that most other zoological collections in Europe have)
Visited Drayton Manor yesterday for the first time.
The reptile house has some great species, their newest additions being 5 blue-legged mantilla! I managed to spot one late in the day. The keeper we spoke to said they'd only had them a month and they were normally quite showy. Other amazing species were the two giant zonure, maranon poison frog (didn't see) and the vine snake.
The parrot area was also a welcome surprise, with some amazing species: grey breasted parakeet, swift parakeet, blue-throated conure, derbyan parakeet and the best of the bunch - the horned parakeet.
The rest of the zoo was very dated, but they are making progress in updating the collection. They had a number of signs for new animals, either new species or male/female to pair up for breeding, including 2 black hornbill, brown wood owl and pair of male saki monkeys.
The final news is that they had 5 baby capybaras earlier this month.
The reptile house has some great species, their newest additions being 5 blue-legged mantilla! I managed to spot one late in the day. The keeper we spoke to said they'd only had them a month and they were normally quite showy. Other amazing species were the two giant zonure, maranon poison frog (didn't see) and the vine snake.
The parrot area was also a welcome surprise, with some amazing species: grey breasted parakeet, swift parakeet, blue-throated conure, derbyan parakeet and the best of the bunch - the horned parakeet.
The rest of the zoo was very dated, but they are making progress in updating the collection. They had a number of signs for new animals, either new species or male/female to pair up for breeding, including 2 black hornbill, brown wood owl and pair of male saki monkeys.
The final news is that they had 5 baby capybaras earlier this month.
Do you know where they came from? Would they be from Chester?
Could they have come from Shaldon?
A few updates from Drayton Manor's website;
-0:3 Black-headed Spider Monkey have arrived to join the zoo's current male called 'Snarfy'. The new arrival are called 'Maya', 'Luna' and 'Lizzy'.
-The pair of Flame-bellied Zonures have bred. This brings Drayton Manor up to 7, they also state on there website that they are the first zoological institution in Europe to breed the species.
-0:3 Black-headed Spider Monkey have arrived to join the zoo's current male called 'Snarfy'. The new arrival are called 'Maya', 'Luna' and 'Lizzy'.
-The pair of Flame-bellied Zonures have bred. This brings Drayton Manor up to 7, they also state on there website that they are the first zoological institution in Europe to breed the species.
When I saw this post last back end I was intrigued. I hadn't seen a swift parakeet since 1972 and I had never seen a horned parakeet at all. Finding such rare and beautiful species at a theme park seemed as unlikely as finding a half-truth in a Jose Mourinho press conference
However as Xmas and winter intervened, I didn't get the chance to check them out for myself, until today.It's not really my sort of place: a greybeard with a camera stands out among the families with young children. And it is all rather tatty and tacky, unless you have a fixation on Thomas the Tank Engine. Actually that's not fair - the Gents Toilets near the Zoo are splendid, indeed so magnificent that I was tempted to take some photos - but that seemed in poor taste, so you'll have to take my word for it.
As you enter the Zoo section, there are reindeer cows on the left and meerkats on the right. I didn't stop for either, I headed directly for the sound of the parrots. Past the umbrella cockatoos and opposite a large flight for a mixed group of macaws, there they were 2 horned parakeets and 3 swifts, in the same range were Derbyans, blue-throated, grey-breasted and sun conures and roseate cockatoos. Plus 15 African greys in another large flight, which were making more noise than all the others, and a pair of Moluccan cockatoos too.
The design of the aviaries made photography difficult and poor light made it worse, so my images of these birds may take some time to post, but I was very pleased to see them. Swifts are quiet little birds, but one of them did a nice little whistling song - not really what you expect from a parrot. The horned parakeets are fantastic, wonderfully coloured, active and curious. I had imagined they would be rather like cockatiels or kakarikis, but they seemed larger and more robust than those species. They made my day.
The rest of the zoo did not really stand comparison. As Pertinax wrote recently about Chester, zoos look their worst at this time of year. Paddocks are muddy and worn before spring arrives. Exhibits may have suffered during the winter and zoo maintenance staff are getting ready to repair and refresh them before Easter comes. Although it was Sunday afternoon, one worker was building a new bamboo climbing frame for the lar gibbons, and it was nice to see them using it before I left. I did like the Tamarin Trail and the large aviaries for the owls (snowy great grey and spectacled). A new aviary is under construction for tarictic hornbills and what looked like the old penguin pool had been refurbished as an aviary for Hawaiian geese and Laysan teal. I was also impressed by the signage and by some of the reptiles and I was pleased to see their pig-tailed macaques - another nice species that I haven't seen for years.
Photos to follow
Actually that's not fair - the Gents Toilets near the Zoo are splendid, indeed so magnificent that I was tempted to take some photos - but that seemed in poor taste, so you'll have to take my word for it.
I was pleased to see their pig-tailed macaques - another nice species that I haven't seen for years.
Photos to follow
Need another Gallery category for that perhaps?
I can't remember the last time I saw a Pig-tailed Macaque either- probably not since the large group at ZSL disappeared...
A couple of bits of news from my first visit today.
A Tarictic Hornbill must have gone on show today, the cage was empty with a 'coming soon' label in the morning, but later in the day I saw a single bird it's transport box on the ground.
There was also a coming soon sign on the wooded paddock opposite side of path to the ostrich for Lowland Anoa .
I won't write a review , as there have been a few not long ago, but will say it was roughly what I expected . A few rarities , enclosures mostly average , none awful . Liked Tamarin Trail and got to see everything when a Fishing Cat finally appeared at 4pm. Shame they're down to 3 cat species !
A Tarictic Hornbill must have gone on show today, the cage was empty with a 'coming soon' label in the morning, but later in the day I saw a single bird it's transport box on the ground.
There was also a coming soon sign on the wooded paddock opposite side of path to the ostrich for Lowland Anoa .
I won't write a review , as there have been a few not long ago, but will say it was roughly what I expected . A few rarities , enclosures mostly average , none awful . Liked Tamarin Trail and got to see everything when a Fishing Cat finally appeared at 4pm. Shame they're down to 3 cat species !
Is that in the old reindeer enclosure, or are the reindeer still there?
I think the Reindeer have been moved to the area by the zoo entrance where the macaque cages used to be at. I'm not sure if both the Rhesus and Pig-Tailed Macaques are still in the zoo somewhere, but just hearing that they are getting Lowland Anoa is great news!
No Rhesus Macaque seen or signed yesterday.I think the Reindeer have been moved to the area by the zoo entrance where the macaque cages used to be at. I'm not sure if both the Rhesus and Pig-Tailed Macaques are still in the zoo somewhere, but just hearing that they are getting Lowland Anoa is great news!
The new Reindeer paddock by the entrance was also empty, no sign up and rolls of wire fencing on the ground
Last edited:
According to the website, in the animals section the zoo now has Lowland Anoa.
I'm presuming this means they no longer have Reindeer in the collection?
I'm presuming this means they no longer have Reindeer in the collection?
I wonder why Drayton Manor would want the Lowland Anoa