Chester Zoo If you could, how would you change Chester Zoo!

what do you think about my suggestion of a type of bear enclosure being given built on the site of the giraffe and forest buffalo enclosures. The giraffe would then move to over by the zebra/roan antelope to by the painted dogs. I would think it would be more likely for Chester to get black or brown bears however I’d like to see polar bears at the zoo
 
Personally I think that Chester is well represented with two species of bear and believe that Polar Bears would be far too expensive to provide suitable accommodation. I would rather that they brought in another canine such as a wolf or hyena species.

With the proximity to the monorail I don’t think it would be suitable to move the Giraffe to current Zebra or Roan paddock. The old Oryx paddock would be too small. The current Giraffe paddock seems more than fit for the current herd and improvements could always be made on their enrichment. I know that in the past they mixed oryx in with the Giraffe and would welcome another species sharing the paddock.
 
redstarsmith said:
Personally I think that Chester is well represented with two species of bear and believe that Polar Bears would be far too expensive to provide suitable accommodation. I would rather that they brought in another canine such as a wolf or hyena species.

With the proximity to the monorail I don’t think it would be suitable to move the Giraffe to current Zebra or Roan paddock. The old Oryx paddock would be too small. The current Giraffe paddock seems more than fit for the current herd and improvements could always be made on their enrichment. I know that in the past they mixed oryx in with the Giraffe and would welcome another species sharing the paddock.
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The monorail is being decomissioned anyway. Talking about bears, Chester does have 2 species which is a lot compared to most zoos. However that does not rule out the possibility of other species in the future. Imagine if Chester had Giant Pandas :rolleyes:
 
PaleoMatt said:
Imagine if Chester had Giant Pandas :rolleyes:
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Although I'm not necessarily one of them, I think there's a lot of people who wouldn't want to imagine this occurring! Might give some sleepless nights!
 
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Was thinking about this thread as we visited Chester last weekend - and the area that I felt needed a bit of attention most was from the lion enclosure upwards. I really liked the ambience (I'm no expert but get the impression it is in keeping with the zoo historically) but it all seemed a tad neglected.

What I would like to see is this area focused on British wildlife e.g. wolves / brown bear / wolverine / lynx / pine martin / doormice / red squirrel / water vole etc. Ideally it would also have a 'coastline' element. Obviously there is limited space and you wouli have to factor this in - but it felt like a theme that would fit with the existing ambience - which I think is a nice constrast to the newer developments.
 
Zia said:
Was thinking about this thread as we visited Chester last weekend - and the area that I felt needed a bit of attention most was from the lion enclosure upwards. I really liked the ambience (I'm no expert but get the impression it is in keeping with the zoo historically) but it all seemed a tad neglected.

What I would like to see is this area focused on British wildlife e.g. wolves / brown bear / wolverine / lynx / pine martin / doormice / red squirrel / water vole etc. Ideally it would also have a 'coastline' element. Obviously there is limited space and you wouli have to factor this in - but it felt like a theme that would fit with the existing ambience - which I think is a nice constrast to the newer developments.
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I like the sound of that. Maybe even Scottish Wildcat ... ;)
 
pipaluk said:
Although I'm not necessarily one of them, I think there's a lot of people who wouldn't want to imagine this occurring! Might give some sleepless nights!
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No need to worry Pipaluk, Chester will never get giant pandas under the current management.
 
pipaluk said:
Am I the only person who thinks Chester's Lion enclosure is ok? I think it must be more like the Gir Forest than London's £6m effort surely?!
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You are not alone, I think it's great and, even though you can walk all around it, in the summer the the trees obscure the far side. It's also spacious but it just doesn't look pretty with the fencing so I think that's why people dislike it.
 
bongorob said:
No need to worry Pipaluk, Chester will never get giant pandas under the current management.
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People have been talking about Chester + that funny Chinese bear for years, decades (I remember talking to Michael Brambell about it) and the answer has always been the same.

To paraphrase, "we can be doing more important things".

And for the likes of us, just imagine if they acquired a pair (commitment £x million) how much we would complain about the increased crowding and commercialisation ... :D
 
I love these kinds of speculative threads, but I've been following this one with increasing horror!
The giraffe house is such a picturesque, iconic enclosure; I really hope it is kept as a heritage building even if the inhabitants are moved into the 'savannah' area.
ROTRA and SOTJ can both claim to be the best in Europe. They should be used for their original purpose until they outlive their usefulness. I'm sure ROTRA isn't understocked but why not simply bring in another breeding pair of jaguars, or at least another female, for SOTJ? If you really want to add variety I would accept Pumas and another gibbon species as reasonable additions.

I think the best suggestion so far has been Maguari's reimagining of the Tropical Realm as a temperate Sichuan House, which was nobly embellished by Brum. Perhaps the Red Panda could be moved to here, and Takin and Clouded leopard added in addition to Francois' Langur.

Zia's suggestion of a native wildlife zone at the top of the map also has a lot of merit I think.
 
FunkyGibbon said:
ROTRA and SOTJ can both claim to be the best in Europe. They should be used for their original purpose until they outlive their usefulness.
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I'm inclined to argue that ROTRA is no longer the best orang-utan facility at Chester - it feels a little unloved in comparison to Monsoon Forest (which is not without its faults either).
 
HGibbins said:
I'm inclined to argue that ROTRA is no longer the best orang-utan facility at Chester - it feels a little unloved in comparison to Monsoon Forest (which is not without its faults either).
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I've never really taken to ROTRA, that it was an improvement on what it replaced is damning by faint praise.
 
Pipaluk I totally agree that the Lion paddock is good and particularly like that it has a small wooded area. I think that it covers a bigger area than many people realise and would rather it was extended than torn down. I would agree that the cage/fence isn’t pretty and should be updated. Also the failure of any cubs seems to lead people to right off their accommodation but the SOTJ proves that state of the art accomadtion doesn’t mean success.

I would hope that Chester never get a Giant Panda. The cost to reward ratio doesn’t seem to be there. I would doubt that Giant Pandas would bring in significantly more visitors to off set the fee. If they were free i’d Take them in a heart beat but

I love the idea of Cloudies and other mammal species been moved into the Tropical Realm.
 
Planning to write a whole paragraph or more of ideas soon. Stay tuned! Also more mammals in the Tropical Realm would be great. Tamandua would be interesting.
 
The names of the buildings/exhibits barely register with me; is the Tropical Realm where the Mouse Deer are? I'd love a better view of them.
 
littleRedPanda said:
The names of the buildings/exhibits barely register with me; is the Tropical Realm where the Mouse Deer are? I'd love a better view of them.
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Yep they are there. I have seen them everytime since they moved as their enclosure is small enough to see them and they move frequently enough that the foliage isn't an issue. You shouldn't be having a priblem unless you're incredibly short.
 
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