Best UK Bush Dog enclosure

[britishzoofan]

This is just a bit of fun to judge the general consensus on the best enclosure for Bush Dogs in the UK. I have added a few photos from the gallery to make it easier for members to compare the different exhibits. If anyone wants to make an argument for a particular enclosure, please feel free to do so. Also, I would encourage people to perhaps list the enclosures in order of what they determine to be the best.

If anyone could provide photos of Knowsley's enclosure or a description that would be extremely useful as I understood it is relatively new and a good quality exhibit.

Axe Valley

Exmoor

Chessington

Chester

Colchester

Dudley

Kirkley Hall

Knowsley

Unfortunately, there are no photos of this enclosure in the gallery. It would be extremely useful if someone who has visited can describe the exhibit and give an evaluation on its quality.

Port Lympne

Twycross

 

[taun]

The most pressing question is, do they use the swing at Port Lympne?

 

[Shorts]

The most pressing question is, do they use the swing at Port Lympne?

More than that, how do they dodge the tiger in "their" enclosure at Chessington?

 

[The_melford_manatee]

Exmoor has an ‘OK’ enclosure but the theme is spoilt by the fact which that same theme can be found everywhere else in the zoo.
Colchester’s, similar to the Aardvark enclosure does seem to put more into theming than anything else but it is better than the Aardvark enclosure because it can afford to put effort into animal care as well.

That may just be my perspective but it is how I see it and I have voted Colchester.

 

[Ned]

Knowsley video

 

[Jedd Cullinan]

I'll go for Chessington because last year when I went yes there are bush dogs now

 

[banham.tiger]

I'll go for Chessington because last year when I went yes there are bush dogs now

The idea is you vote for the best enclosure not just the one you have seen.

 

[pipaluk]

That isn't the main Port Lympne enclosure, it looks like the one by the old discovery centre part way around the safari truck ride, you couldn't get off the trucks any longer the last time I was there. There is a much better enclosure in the walk around area.

 

[britishzoofan]

That isn't the main Port Lympne enclosure, it looks like the one by the old discovery centre part way around the safari truck ride, you couldn't get off the trucks any longer the last time I was there. There is a much better enclosure in the walk around area.

That's interesting to know. Does anyone have photos of this other superior enclosure?

 

[The_melford_manatee]

I thought only Chester,Exmoor and Colchester exhibited Bush Dogs.The fact that they are present in so many other zoos is news for me!

 

[TNT]

Exmoor has an ‘OK’ enclosure but the theme is spoilt by the fact which that same theme can be found everywhere else in the zoo.

I don't quite see how this "spoils the exhibit"? Having a cohesive theme throughout the zoo is actually quite refreshing, and by no means a negative. Before seeing the Knowsley exhibit last summer, the one at Exmoor would have been my favourite.

Whilst Exmoors is by no means bad, and actually a very good exhibit, the larger paddock and better housing at Knowsley gives them the win IMO.

*Edit* Knowsley is probably helped by the fact that they have one of the largest groups in the UK, whereas Exmoor only received a pair of the species recently; having one pup last year (shown below).

 

[The_melford_manatee]

I don't quite see how this "spoils the exhibit"? Having a cohesive theme throughout the zoo is actually quite refreshing, and by no means a negative. Before seeing the Knowsley exhibit last summer, the one at Exmoor would have been my favourite.

Whilst Exmoors is by no means bad, and actually a very good exhibit, the larger paddock and better housing at Knowsley gives them the win IMO.

*Edit* Knowsley is probably helped by the fact that they have one of the largest groups in the UK, whereas Exmoor only received a pair of the species recently; having one pup last year (shown below).

It’s because Exmoor zoo have created three unique areas-the Marmoset House(although it is small),the Waterfowl Lake and the Nature Trail-which are unique and I love for that reason.

There are also exhibits such as the Black Leopard enclosure,Yellow throated Marten enclosure and Prevost’s Squirrel enclosure which are great because the concept of the exhibit and species exhibited suit the classic Exmoor theme.

I think that the Bush Dog enclosure is none of those and is certainly not my favourite in the zoo.It is also certainly not my favourite Bush Dog enclosure.

 

[tetrapod]

I don't quite see how this "spoils the exhibit"? Having a cohesive theme throughout the zoo is actually quite refreshing, and by no means a negative. Before seeing the Knowsley exhibit last summer, the one at Exmoor would have been my favourite.

Whilst Exmoors is by no means bad, and actually a very good exhibit, the larger paddock and better housing at Knowsley gives them the win IMO.

*Edit* Knowsley is probably helped by the fact that they have one of the largest groups in the UK, whereas Exmoor only received a pair of the species recently; having one pup last year (shown below).

Exmoor have kept bush dogs on/off for decades. Might be referring to the current pair.

 

[TNT]

Exmoor have kept bush dogs on/off for decades. Might be referring to the current pair.

They certainly had a long spell of not holding the species, and can confirm that this is a new pair.

 

[tetrapod]

From the above photos Exmoor, Colchester and Twycross look like what you would hope for a bush dog exhibit. Not saying that any of these are the best as I haven't seen them all.

 

[TNT]

From the above photos Exmoor, Colchester and Twycross look like what you would hope for a bush dog exhibit. Not saying that any of these are the best as I haven't seen them all.

The Twycross exhibit has certainly improved over the years - it used to seem very barren, but has developed very nicely.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

From the above photos Exmoor, Colchester and Twycross look like what you would hope for a bush dog exhibit. Not saying that any of these are the best as I haven't seen them all.

The Chester exhibit is significantly better than the selected image gives it credit - it is, I suspect, the largest of the exhibits in question and contains indoor dens, open areas of grass and more densely wooded/vegetated areas, along with a decent-sized pool which the dogs can regularly be seen swimming in and, in the winter, playing with the resulting ice. Moreover, large portions of the exhibit are pockmarked with burrows and dens which have been excavated by the dogs themselves, along with other artificial pipes and burrows. The group breeds on a yearly basis and is actually the source of the animals at several other UK holdings.

This image from a slightly different angle to the above photograph shows the pool and indoor house a little more clearly, and represents perhaps a third of the exhibit.

Frustratingly there are no images in the gallery showing the woodland segment of the exhibit, which represents the other two-thirds. Looking at Google Maps, the exhibit as a whole covers 920 m² - which is far bigger than the 270 m² exhibit at Colchester Zoo!

As noted, the group size at Chester regularly fluctuates as animals are sent to other collections, but there is usually something in the range of between 10 to 15 animals in the pack at any given time.

 

[The_melford_manatee]

The Chester exhibit is significantly better than the selected image gives it credit - it is, I suspect, the largest of the exhibits in question and contains indoor dens, open areas of grass and more densely wooded/vegetated areas, along with a decent-sized pool which the dogs can regularly be seen swimming in and, in the winter, playing with the resulting ice. Moreover, large portions of the exhibit are pockmarked with burrows and dens which have been excavated by the dogs themselves, along with other artificial pipes and burrows. The group breeds on a yearly basis and is actually the source of the animals at several other UK holdings.

This image from a slightly different angle to the above photograph shows the pool and indoor house a little more clearly, and represents perhaps a third of the exhibit.

Frustratingly there are no images in the gallery showing the woodland segment of the exhibit, which represents the other two-thirds. Looking at Google Maps, the exhibit as a whole covers 920 m² - which is far bigger than the 270 m² exhibit at Colchester Zoo!

As noted, the group size at Chester regularly fluctuates as animals are sent to other collections, but there is usually something in the range of between 10 to 15 animals in the pack at any given time.

That is very impressive, although the penguin thread proved you cannot always trust Google Maps for size measurements.

 

[taun]

That is very impressive, although the penguin thread proved you cannot always trust Google Maps for size measurements.

You can if you know the exhibit well enough to measure it correctly. Tools only as good as the user!

 

[pipaluk]

I don't think size of the enclosure should be the only determining factor really. If it was and everyone used that as their main criteria, all we would have to do is look on Google maps and all vote for the same enclosure, making these threads pointless.