Best UK Spectacled Bear enclosure

Best UK Spectacled Bear enclosure?


  • Total voters
    37
  • Poll closed .

britishzoofan

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
This is just a bit of fun to judge the general consensus on the best enclosure for Spectacled Bears 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.

Chester

full


South Lakes

full


Port Lympne

full


Noah's Ark

full

full


Jersey

full

full


Belfast

full

 
Well this is another one that Chester has essentially automatically won. I dont know how their indoor area looks (it could be horrible, but this is Chester we are talking about...), but I reckon its outdoor wins it by itself. Nice, if a bit sparse, vegetation, god slopes to imitate the Andean mountain forests, and a good-sized pool fed by a small waterfall, the cherry on top. It is also much larger than the others with the exception of Noah's Ark. the one issue is there isn't enough in terms of climbing opportunities and one could criticise the slight lack in vegetation, but this is a widespread problem across the board in Northern countries.

South Lakes... well.. I guess there's grass :D

(Is that all the South lakes exhibit or is there more in the line of trees?)

Port Lympne is nice but not enough vegetation and the climbing frames are too small and the exhibit is smaller than Chester. The viewing also seems a bit strange?

Noah's Ark has what seems to be a massive exhibit, but not much vegetation and not much of a slope, but the climbing opportunities are the real problem. However, other than that, it is (almost) on par with Chester, with really nice pool area, some good enrichment areas and good viewing for the visitors. However, the indoor exhibit really lets it down, and the less said about it, the better.

The Jersey exhibit is the best in terms of climbing opportunities except maybe Belfast. The indoor enclosure is however quite small. The Belfast exhibit is similar in some ways, with great climbing opportunities but the exhibit is quite small, depending on where it actually ends, and is probably better than it looks at first glance. It looks quite bleak, but I'm not sure the bears care too much about that. It is a bit too rocky and stony, but overall a good exhibit. However, I reckon Chester has the edge over it and all the others due to just:

full


:)
 
Port Lympne exhibit is an old Elephant paddock, now within the safari area and only viewable from the trucks.
 
South Lakes... well.. I guess there's grass :D

(Is that all the South lakes exhibit or is there more in the line of trees?)
]

They have access to the small woodland/trees.

However, the indoor exhibit really lets it down, and the less said about it, the better.

There are two on show sections like the image provided above, which both look much larger in person. Off show, there are a further three dens, with one acting as a "Cubbing den". Currently, I believe one off the offshow dens is used for the Coati.

There is also a substantial off show bear exhibit, designed for a mother and cubs when the time comes. An areal image is shown below, with the off show exhibit highlighted:

upload_2020-4-21_21-46-25.png
 

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At the moment Chester is miles ahead of the rest with over 90% of the vote. Coupled with their current lead in the Sun Bear poll Chester has two excellent Bear exhibits.
 
Port Lympne exhibit is an old Elephant paddock, now within the safari area and only viewable from the trucks.
To be fair it is a massive enclosure on a hillside! As natural as any enclosure you could find, no indoor enclosure (like Chester) and poor viewing from safari truck count against it!
 
To be fair it is a massive enclosure on a hillside! As natural as any enclosure you could find, no indoor enclosure (like Chester) and poor viewing from safari truck count against it!
I would add I have voted Chester anyway, I just thought I should point out that there isn't too much wrong at port Lympne!!
 
I would add I have voted Chester anyway, I just thought I should point out that there isn't too much wrong at port Lympne!!

Yes, PL's is certainly a decent enough enclosure- just you can't see them properly- if they are not out the truck just whisks past without comment!
 
Results are in. Congratulations to Chester on a strong win in the poll for Best UK Spectacled Bear enclosure. This is Chester's 5th win overall (with a 6th to come) and their 2nd Bear exhibit win, demonstrating their superiority in the UK zoo field. I would be interested to hear if people prefer Chester's exhibit for Sun or Spectacled Bears?

Chester: 83.8%
Jersey: 10.8%
Noah's Ark: 2.7%
Belfast: 2.7%
 
Results are in. Congratulations to Chester on a strong win in the poll for Best UK Spectacled Bear enclosure. This is Chester's 5th win overall (with a 6th to come) and their 2nd Bear exhibit win, demonstrating their superiority in the UK zoo field. I would be interested to hear if people prefer Chester's exhibit for Sun or Spectacled Bears?

Chester: 83.8%
Jersey: 10.8%
Noah's Ark: 2.7%
Belfast: 2.7%

Personally I prefer the Spectacled bear exhibit but I think the Sun bear exhibit was more thought out and functional, with better climbing opportunities than the spectacled bear exhibit, although I prefer the latter because it is a nicer-looking exhibit.
 
port lympne appears to have put the bears first. Chester and others use moats which are a waste of space and give the animals less space and are only there so visitors can get good photos and makes the exhibit look more natural.
 
port lympne appears to have put the bears first. Chester and others use moats which are a waste of space and give the animals less space and are only there so visitors can get good photos and makes the exhibit look more natural.

Waste of space? I have seen bears taking a dip in the moats and can used as extra enrichment with feeds placed in the water.

Certainly not a waste of space in my opinion.
 
port lympne appears to have put the bears first. Chester and others use moats which are a waste of space and give the animals less space and are only there so visitors can get good photos and makes the exhibit look more natural.

I believe you're talking complete nonsense :p that barren and undersized exhibit is not "putting the animals first" in comparison to larger and better-quality exhibits elsewhere!
 
I believe you're talking complete nonsense :p that barren and undersized exhibit is not "putting the animals first" in comparison to larger and better-quality exhibits elsewhere!

It may be barren, but undersized? Not so sure about that, it's bigger than a lot of bear enclosures I've seen!

I'd have to agree with @pipaluk here. "Undersized"? Now that is "nonsense" :p
 
It may be barren, but undersized? Not so sure about that, it's bigger than a lot of bear enclosures I've seen!

I may be recalling the position and size of the exhibit incorrectly, but I didn't recall it being all that big at all from memory. I may well be wrong, of course, as it is about 6 or 7 years since my last visit.
 
I may be recalling the position and size of the exhibit incorrectly, but I didn't recall it being all that big at all from memory. I may well be wrong, of course, as it is about 6 or 7 years since my last visit.
If ZTL is correct, Port Lympne only got the bears in 2016, so you won't have seen it!
It is the former elephant paddock on the hillside, certainly not undersized.
 
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