Chester Zoo Fire in the Chester Zoo Monsoon Forest habitat

I think the positives are by the pictures seen it looks like some greenery and the majority of the building had survived and by the press conference it suggests they’ve found only a few bird carcasses. The deaths of the inverts and fish is obviously devastating however it could of been much worse had the fire happened at night. Maybe then, the keepers or fire crews wouldn’t of been able to get the orangs,gibbons and other animals to safety. In all the crews and staff didn a great job and I’m sure we’re all excited to see it when it’s re done.
 
To whomever is repeatedly moving the bulk of Chester's Asian bird species to former holdings on ztl, should you be a member of the forum, please stop. As repeatedly mentioned above not all of the birds perished, but regardless the zoo hasn't confirmed whether any species have been entirely lost. Additionally, there are only three bird species held Monsoon Forest that aren't also held elsewhere in the zoo so even if all of the birds had died not all of the species would be gone from the zoo. Finally, you're changing holdings for species that aren't kept anywhere near Islands, let alone Monsoon Forest. Your edits have been reverted at least twice now, please do not make it a third. Thank you.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
To whomever is repeatedly moving the bulk of Chester's Asian bird species to former holdings on ztl, should you be a member of the forum, please stop. As repeatedly mentioned above not all of the birds perished, but regardless the zoo hasn't confirmed whether any species have been entirely lost. Additionally, there are only three bird species held Monsoon Forest that aren't also held elsewhere in the zoo so even if all of the birds had died not all of the species would be gone from the zoo. Finally, you're changing holdings for species that aren't kept anywhere near Islands, let alone Monsoon Forest. Your edits have been reverted at least twice now, please do not make it a third. Thank you.

~Thylo
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The core 'problem' with the Internet, of course. The voice of the ignorant is equal to that of the informed; be it on ZTL, ZooChat or anywhere else; be they individuals, Governments, or the media - and, the published miss-information potentially stays there (and available and repeated) for ever. At least ZTL can be quickly and simply corrected, and the incorrect data is overwritten and disappears...
 
From facebook

The road to recovery...

Saturday was one of the toughest days in Chester Zoo’s long history. The remarkable efforts from the zoo team and the emergency services meant the fire was extinguished as quickly as possible and all visitors safely evacuated.

All of our mammal species - such as critically endangered Sumatran orangutans, Sulawesi macaques, endangered silvery gibbons and even birds such as rhinoceros hornbills were led to safety by our conservationists in partnership with the emergency services.

However, now that our teams have started to assess the site, we are devastated to confirm the small number of species that we were unable to save. These include a number of question mark cockroaches, Amano shrimps, betta hendra fish, cinnamon frogs, tentacled snakes and birds such as grosbeak starlings.

These animals were all part of conservation breeding programmes and we will look to be part of those vital projects once again in the near future.

In a more positive light, new homes have been found within the zoo for all of the animals that were led to safety and our teams are working around the clock to relocate those animals and get them settled. Our conservationists will continue to move animals into their new habitats over the coming days. Some species such as the Sunda gharial crocodiles, painted batagur turtles and giant Asian pond turtles remain inside Monsoon Forest in an area unaffected by the fire, and remain in good health.

The investigation into the fire and its cause is ongoing, and we will continue to work hand in hand with the relevant authorities in the coming days and weeks.

As a world class visitor attraction, we are fully insured and we will be working with our insurers in the coming weeks as we look to start rebuilding the UK’s largest zoological building, Monsoon Forest.

And finally, the whole Chester Zoo team have been humbled by the incredible amount of support and kindness from the local community, our members, visitors and the general public. On one of the toughest days, it reminded us all that the zoo holds a very special place in the hearts of so many people, and lifted spirits of the whole team here.

We have been overwhelmed by the amount of spontaneous donations made to the Just Giving page. The generosity has been truly humbling and all the money given will go directly towards our conservation projects both here in the zoo, and around the world. As a wildlife conservation charity, we will continue our mission to prevent extinction.

Jamie Christon – Chief Operating Officer
 
I don't think its been posted on here or if anyone knows yet, but will ask anyway-

1. Have the Sumatran orangs been relocated back to ROTRA, or are they staying put where they are during the renovations?.

2. How badly damaged were their areas- was there damage to the enclosures or just the surroundings?

3. I wonder if this gives any opportunity for them to redesign the cramped viewing areas and make them larger?
 
jde7582 said:
I think the viewing areas are limited by the design of the footprint of the building, maybe able to make some changes, but don't believe anything drastic.
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Yes, I can imagine that. I wasn't sure how bad the damage in that area is though.
 
The offshow Orangutan and Gibbon dens are directly underneath where the main fire was (tripa research station). So I would suspect with the water and smoke damage that they won't be habitatable currently. The large glass viewing windows were also destroyed. So that means the show dens are off limits to them as well. Hence I would think it likely that they'll be placed in Rora (if they haven't already moved) until the repairs are done. At least Chester has the space to accommodate them elsewhere - very few collections would at such short notice..
 
Pertinax said:
I don't think its been posted on here or if anyone knows yet, but will ask anyway-

1. Have the Sumatran orangs been relocated back to ROTRA, or are they staying put where they are during the renovations?.

2. How badly damaged were their areas- was there damage to the enclosures or just the surroundings?

3. I wonder if this gives any opportunity for them to redesign the cramped viewing areas and make them larger?
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I have been thinking about questions like this too. I think it will take some time before the detailed answers become clear. But I think we can make some tentative conclusions now.
  1. I don't think there is any question of the Sumatran orangs going back to the Monsoon Forest before the reconstruction is totally complete. To judge from the photos of the upper keepers level and the public viewing area, there may also be considerable damage to the orang's off-show areas underneath. In view of the intensity of the fire, it is also possible that the webbing straps and bark on the floor of the enclosures also caught fire, causing further damage.
  2. I presume that at the moment the first priority must be establishing the cause of the fire, then assessing the damage, followed by the demolition and removal of all the irreparably damaged parts of the building.
  3. I would expect that the designers (dan pearlman) will be consulted if changes are required to reduce the possibility of another fire, depending on the results of the investigation. Perhaps heating systems will have to be modified and less flammable materials may need to be used. I agree that it would also be sensible to reconsider the layout of the 'Tripa Research Station'. I presume it was a deliberate decision to restrict the size of the windows overlooking the orang and gibbon areas - partly to avoid the gridlock that used to happen when Emma and Subis would sit beside the windows in RotRA. However the presence of so many smaller exhibits for the frogs, fishes etc also caused obstructions to the flow of visitors. I would be happy to see some changes to the design (much as I love frogs and fishes as well as orangs and gibbons). Perhaps different theming would be appropriate too.
At this stage I don't think anyone can know how long it will take to reopen the Monsoon Forest, but I would not be surprised if it takes a year. Fortunately I suppose that the rest of Islands can be opened again quite soon.
 
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Nisha said:
The offshow Orangutan and Gibbon dens are directly underneath where the main fire was (tripa research station). So I would suspect with the water and smoke damage that they won't be habitatable currently. The large glass viewing windows were also destroyed. So that means the show dens are off limits to them as well. Hence I would think it likely that they'll be placed in Rora (if they haven't already moved) until the repairs are done. At least Chester has the space to accommodate them elsewhere - very few collections would at such short notice..
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Wow! Is the 'tripa research station' the part by the viewing window with all the wooden props'?

I imagine they will soon be seen by someone who posts on here if they have been moved to ROTRA. As you said, few zoos have the luxury of that additional accomodation available to house so many Orangutans at short notice like that.
 
Pertinax said:
Wow! Is the 'tripa research station' the part by the viewing window with all the wooden props'?

I imagine they will soon be seen by someone who posts on here if they have been moved to ROTRA. As you said, few zoos have the luxury of that additional accomodation available to house so many Orangutans at short notice like that.
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They are also lucky that they haven't demolished the old orangutan house either , so there is hopefully space for the gibbons and macaques too
 
Nisha said:
Confirmed by Cheshire Fire Service that an electrical fault caused the fire

Chester Zoo fire due to electrical fault

To answer Pertinax's question - yes, "Tripa research station" is the main Orangutan viewing area with the wooden cladding and vivs etc
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That article shows a picture of the black-browed barbet... Seeing as this is/was the only one at Chester and UK in a public collection, it would make the losses even more devastating. I know they said they lost some of their Grosbeak starlings, I wonder if they lost any others....?
 
ISOE2012 said:
That article shows a picture of the black-browed barbet... Seeing as this is/was the only one at Chester and UK in a public collection, it would make the losses even more devastating. I know they said they lost some of their Grosbeak starlings, I wonder if they lost any others....?
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Yes, the press release said "species including grosbeak starlings", which neither means "all the starlings" or "just the starlings". I suppose it depends on smoke density, flame ingress (although the area in general didn't look too destroyed), roof loss etc. I hope there weren't too many avian casualties.
 
Chester Standard (newspaper) has an aerial photograph of Monsoon Forest after the fire. I've not been able to find an on-line version, but the path of the fire appears to follow the entrance route through Tripa and ends midway across the free-flight area, approximately half the roof, of which about 80% is really badly damaged. It's hard to clearly see how much damage is inside, but Tripa is effectively gutted, and the entrance-way also badly damaged.
 
SMR said:
Chester Standard (newspaper) has an aerial photograph of Monsoon Forest after the fire. I've not been able to find an on-line version, but the path of the fire appears to follow the entrance route through Tripa and ends midway across the free-flight area, approximately half the roof, of which about 80% is really badly damaged. It's hard to clearly see how much damage is inside, but Tripa is effectively gutted, and the entrance-way also badly damaged.
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There are images in this Daily Fail article Chester Zoo blaze which killed insects, birds and reptiles was caused by electrical fault | Daily Mail Online
The good news is that the outer walls do not appear to be damaged and the indoor orang and gibbon enclosures seem largely to have been spared: I am glad that the fears I expressed yesterday were not completely borne out, but I think SMR is right to say that the whole Tripa area has been destroyed.
 
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