Best UK Wombat enclosure

Best UK Wombat enclosure?

  • Total voters
    44
  • Poll closed .
B

britishzoofan

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

Hamerton

full


Longleat

full






 
In my opinion, Hamerton is the better one for a few reasons.

1. Hamerton has softer substrate to allow the wombats to dig as they would in the wild - this is one of the most important things in a wombat exhibit.
2. More space. Also important. Wombats look pretty lazy but they can run significantly faster than humans if they need to.

Is the enclosure beyond the one closest to the camera another wombat enclosure? If so, that is an added bonus because they can see each other and interact through the wiring.
 
amur leopard said:
In my opinion, Hamerton is the better one for a few reasons.

1. Hamerton has softer substrate to allow the wombats to dig as they would in the wild - this is one of the most important things in a wombat exhibit.
2. More space. Also important. Wombats look pretty lazy but they can run significantly faster than humans if they need to.

Is the enclosure beyond the one closest to the camera another wombat enclosure? If so, that is an added bonus because they can see each other and interact through the wiring.
Click to expand...
That is another wombat enclosure:)
 
Should quickly hop in and mention that Longleat’s is also soft substrate; they can dig! Just not as far as Hamerton’s can.

For me it’s a no-brainer: one zoo has managed to keep not only a pair successfully but also breed them, and the other have had one of their pair die mere months after arrival. Hamerton win IMO.
 
Zia said:
Was the death of the male at Longleat as a direct result of the enclosure design? I am aware he died but I don't know in what circumstances.
Click to expand...

My understanding is it was due to husbandry issues same as their dead Koala.

~Thylo
 
I don't like to be critical but given these threads are limited to 2 a week, I think this and the koala (bear!) polls have been pointless, Longleat was always losing and there are plenty more species that might actually stimulate debate....
 
pipaluk said:
I don't like to be critical but given these threads are limited to 2 a week, I think this and the koala (bear!) polls have been pointless, Longleat was always losing and there are plenty more species that might actually stimulate debate....
Click to expand...

I understand your point. However, the Koala vote was far from a complete whitewash. In addition I would add the close competitions don't always result in better debate. I will however, ensure to include some polls which I deem to be closer in the near future. To be honest the reason I included a less close one this time around was because I knew there would be plenty of discussion around the reopening of zoos in the UK.
 
britishzoofan said:
I understand your point. However, the Koala vote was far from a complete whitewash. In addition I would add the close competitions don't always result in better debate. I will however, ensure to include some polls which I deem to be closer in the near future. To be honest the reason I included a less close one this time around was because I knew there would be plenty of discussion around the reopening of zoos in the UK.
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Maybe the koala wasn't your definition of a whitewash, but 3:1 is pretty much a hammering in my book in a 2 way fight and wombat is currently more than 8:1, that is a whitewash I'm afraid!
 
ThylacineAlive said:
My understanding is it was due to husbandry issues same as their dead Koala.

~Thylo
Click to expand...

Husbandry issues relating to the day to day care of the animal(s) rather than the design / management / maintenance of the enclosure? If that is the case ( and I am not saying it is as I have no idea how accurate your information is or what the circumstances actually were) then it raises the question as to whether it is of any relevance to this poll. Outside of not voting for a collection on principle - which is a fair enough approach - then I guess we would need more information to know in this instance.
 
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Zia said:
Outside of not voting for a collection on principle - which is a fair enough approach - then I guess we would need more information to know in this instance.
Click to expand...

Of course, there is a difference between not voting for a given collection out of principle (which is fair enough) and actively voting for the opposing collection regardless of exhibit quality (which I reckon is not playing fair :p )

If the latter was kosher I imagine the Malayan Tapir vote might have gone differently with the number of people voting for Chester purely because they disapprove of Damien Aspinall!
 
Zia said:
Husbandry issues relating to the day to day care of the animal(s) rather than the design / management / maintenance of the enclosure? If that is the case ( and I am not saying it is as I have no idea how accurate your information is or what the circumstances actually were) then it raises the question as to whether it is of any relevance to this poll. Outside of not voting for a collection on principle - which is a fair enough approach - then I guess we would need more information to know in this instance.
Click to expand...

Wait...I thought that there weren’t any rules as to which criteria people choose when voting for which exhibit is better? Certain that’s what you told me in the koala thread. Hmm...
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Of course, there is a difference between not voting for a given collection out of principle (which is fair enough) and actively voting for the opposing collection regardless of exhibit quality (which I reckon is not playing fair :p )

If the latter was kosher I imagine the Malayan Tapir vote might have gone differently with the number of people voting for Chester purely because they disapprove of Damien Aspinall!
Click to expand...

I agree... and not gonna lie, a big part of me didn't want to vote for Damien Aspinall / Port Lympne in that poll. Not only do I not approve of him but PL is probably my least favourite collection to visit - but I was trying not to let that cloud my opinion.

ShonenJake13 said:
Wait...I thought that there weren’t any rules as to which criteria people choose when voting for which exhibit is better? Certain that’s what you told me in the koala thread. Hmm...
Click to expand...

Hence why I said not voting for somewhere on principle is a fair enough approach.

Do you understand that a question and a rule are totally different things? It is going to get very boring if we can't discuss how and why people are voting.

For me - a rumoured (as in - I don't have first hand knowledge of it) husbandry issue not relating to enclosure design would not come into my 'rating' of an enclosure design. Maybe for you it would.

BUT if I had all the facts about a husbandy issue and felt strongly about it I might come to the conclusion that the enclosure is the best but still would not vote for it on principle. Maybe you still would.

For me - I am trying not to let breeding history influence my opinion heavily as I'm pretty sure I don't have all the information needed to understand why some collections have not done well. I believe you can just be unlucky in this resepect with fertility issues and such that are unrelated to enclosure design. Chester's jaguars are a prime example - great enclosure, never going to successfully breed the current pair. Maybe you are putting more weight on successful breeding as a rating factor.

These are all questions / discussion points. They are not rules.
 
amur leopard said:
Hamerton has softer substrate to allow the wombats to dig as they would in the wild - this is one of the most important things in a wombat exhibit.
Click to expand...

Panthera1981 said:
Hamerton’s enclosure certainly doesn’t look as pristine now as in the photo! ;)
Click to expand...

amur leopard said:
but that proves that they have made use of the soft substrate! I
Click to expand...

Going purely from memory of what we were told at the IZES meeting previewing the exhibit, the exhibit is about 6 foot deep with mesh and concrete underlying this, so there is a LOT of scope for the inhabitants to burrow; as indeed they have, as the exhibit is now pockmarked with holes like Swiss cheese!

It is also worth mentioning that the indoor housing for the wombats is pretty dark and spacious, with little viewing windows hidden by wooden flaps, allowing people to lift the shutters and peer at the sleeping wombats.

Still curious what to hear what has swung matters for the pair of Longleat voters I cited above - and @Joshua Forster given he is Australian and has seen neither exhibit in the flesh, so potentially is going from experience of other exhibits? As far as I can tell there really is no contest between the two exhibits, and much has been said about the Hamerton one, but no one seems to want to make a case for the counterpoint.
 
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