Best UK Spectacled Bear enclosure

[TeaLovingDave]

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.

Ah, not at all the exhibit I was thinking of then though now I am trying to work out which exhibit I *am* thinking of!

 

[pipaluk]

Ah, not at all the exhibit I was thinking of then though now I am trying to work out which exhibit I *am* thinking of!

Possibly the former snow leopard further along the same hill, but for snow leopards that wasn't small either.

 

[lintworm]

(Water) moats are very much a waste of space if they are simply a large, horizontal and inaccessible barrier, like many a 'monkey island'.
If the animals use (and can use) the water, like bears - then they are very much part of the enclosure and not a waste of space at all.

While I agree up to a certain extent, water moats CAN be an integral part of landscape architecture and greatly enhance aesthetics and visitor experience if used correctly. I can think of a large number of enclosures where that is the case. To name an extreme example, Apenheul would be much the lesser if the Gorilla Island was a wood and wire cage.

 

[Andrew Swales]

While I agree up to a certain extent, water moats CAN be an integral part of landscape architecture and greatly enhance aesthetics and visitor experience if used correctly. I can think of a large number of enclosures where that is the case. To name an extreme example, Apenheul would be much the lesser if the Gorilla Island was a wood and wire cage.

Yes, absolutely, Apenheuls Gorilla Island is wonderful. I cant remember the figures off the top of my head, but IF it is 5 say acres and therefore around half a mile in circumference, and the moat itself (which the Gorillas dont use) is 30' wide - this means the barrier itself takes up over 8000 square yards. This might not be a 'waste' in Apenheul's extreme case, but it certainly is a huge area of land to enclose one enclosure, and an example many zoos could not copy. Such islands at the other end of the scale, seen in many zoos, are a handful of poles and some rope on a small patch of grass, with the water moat taking up far more space than the 'island'.

 

[Pertinax]

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.

Yes, 2016 would be about right... The ex African elephant paddock is big, well-appointed with climbing apparatus, pool etc and all-mod cons for the new residents. Only trouble being, like some other things in their 'safari area,' you have little chance to see them properly. I would think the % of visitors who actually see them at all is extremely limited.

 

[UngulateNerd92]

Chester Zoo and Jersey Zoo are my top two choices.

 

[Rajang-GOAT]

Chester then Jersey for me!