I know exactly the chap you are referring to, great guy with loads of info on Hamerton but he can talk for days! One time he genuinely appeared out of a bush and got straight into another chat with meI've just gotten back from visiting Hamerton for the first time today and I absolutely loved it! It's one of those places that you could visit again and again (which I plan to do in the future) and the amount of new species I've never seen before I saw today was staggering. It's not often that in the UK you get places like that but Hamerton is definitely the centre for the most UK only and rare animals.
I bumped into a very friendly and knowledgeable staff member a couple of times and ended up having a very long chat with him for ages about how amazing the place is and potential and current plans for new animals which I'll mention below.
The layout of the zoo is really well done, with not much room for error at all since you can more or less get round it all without missing anything. Obviously I was going in there not expecting to see absolutely all the wishlist species but I saw plenty despite the heat.
Most of the animals were either inside their respective houses or sprawled somewhere shady outside so this was the case for the Binturong which I assume was of the Javan subspecies, the staff member mentioned to me that there's some interesting genetics which may mean that some of their Binturongs at Hamerton are rarer than most in other collections but they don't know much yet.
In most zoo visits I tend to gloss over the 'commoner' species that you can see easily in other collections like Meerkats, Otters, Marmosets/Tamarins, Wallabies and even the more common Ring-Tailed Lemurs but I'll still give them a look if they're displaying interesting behaviour but since I am so used to seeing them I usually walk straight past to the rarer and more unusual species - a trait which I'm sure a lot of us do on here
Even with all that being said I always make sure I don't miss any hidden new species around the more obvious ones and I'm glad I checked back a couple of times as I was able to see the Ring-Tailed Possums, one was sitting just outside its nest box in the Marmoset House and the other was poking through behind it. Aside from that I didn't manage to see any of the other Possum species unfortunately.
Another new species for me was the Australian Brush Turkey which both male and female were out and easily visible. One of the highlights was seeing one of the Sumatran White-Bearded Civets resting in the shade (all of these animals just happened to be out on my first walkaround) so that was great!
The bird aviaries before them were nice to see with the Barking Owls and Tawny Frogmouths specifically and I got some good photos which I will post later. There was also a young Two-Wattled Cassowary lazing in the sun but I didn't see the Johnson's one at all.
The Outback Aviary was great and I particularly liked the way you had to pull down the viewing windows on the Wombats so they get an extra level of privacy. Both of them were sleeping inside but I still got to see them.
Just as I was exiting the Australian area having seen the Squirrel Gliders, I was very lucky to see the Greater Grison running about for a few seconds before disappearing just as I was walking round. I think I had some incredible luck with the timing of this as I waited for ages afterwards and never saw it again.
The Ringtail wasn't anywhere to be seen but I did see both of the White-Nosed Coati. I did my best to spy for the Echidnas and Cuscus but the enclosure was so dark and reflective, coupled with the intensity of the heatwave I didn't see them. I saw at least three Corsac Foxes but no Cheetah.
Both the Malayan and White Bengal Tigers were resting in their indoor area in perfect view and they got up and yawned a few times. I still forget just how enormous they are compared to Sumatran Tigers which I'm so much more used to seeing.
The Syrian Bears were playing and keeping cool in the water which was a delight to see and I almost completely missed the Jaguarundi enclosure but managed to catch a glimpse of it as it wandered around for a bit. No sign of the Dingos or Maned Wolves unfortunately but I guess they were just keeping hidden and in the shade.
No surprises here but I didn't see the Jackal. As for other species I missed were the Rusty Spotted Cats and Lynx but with the help of a staff member I saw the Oncilla. Other notable species I managed to see were the Tayra and Yellow-Spotted Hyrax.
As for the future plans which I mentioned above, seeing how the staff member was completely open to talking about them to a visitor like me I would assume it would be ok to share them here unless any of you have objections, but there are some very exciting developments to share if you want me to tell them.
It was such a great day though. Could've done with having it be a tad cooler but otherwise I'm not complaining!
Hamerton Zoo Park Hamerton News 2022
- Thread starter pipaluk
- Start date
He was amazing to talk to, I wish I could stay talking to him for longer!
littleRedPanda
Well-Known Member
I'm sure he'd give up on all of those plans if pangolins were offered to him 
Yep agreed - he knows a lot and it’s always great to hear about the plans for the zoo.
Brown Hyena would really take Hamerton to the next level though wouldn’t it! I actually mentioned them as my choice of species to improve a collection in a post earlier in the year funny enough - and our friend didn’t actually mention that one to me!
Pure speculation but I wonder if they ever looked much into Tasmanian Devils too - short lived like Quoll but I’d assume easier to get hold of as there’s at least a handful of holders in the UK, and wouldn’t take up too much space.
Pure speculation but I wonder if they ever looked much into Tasmanian Devils too - short lived like Quoll but I’d assume easier to get hold of as there’s at least a handful of holders in the UK, and wouldn’t take up too much space.
It's certainly possible, he was fairly confident about the Brown Hyena as a replacement species for the Aardwolves and I'd love to see Tasmanian Devils.
From memory they nearly did get the species a little under a decade ago - when Damian Aspinall was getting shot of the species and listed the PL animals as surplus, the possibility was seriously considered but dismissed as there would have been nowhere vacant for them to go.
Not feasible methinks - the ones on the continent are all part of an EAZA programme, and an import of unconnected stock would require even more hoops to be jumped logistically/politically than those species that *have* come in.
Interesting to hear what could of been. Guessing you may of been able to guess my mistake but I meant to say “handful of holders in Europe” rather than “UK” when referring to the Tassies.
Just to clarify a few things, after discussion with the zoo's owner:
Historically, Hamerton doesn't release information about new arrivals and plans, and given current logistical delays following Brexit and Covid, I very much doubt that they'd do so now. Some of this ‘news’ appears to be a mixture of speculation and some personal 'wish-list animals' of an uninformed volunteer, padded out with old news. For example - Hamerton has actually thrice turned down the offer of Brown Hyaenas (including those from Cornwall); so even though there is plenty of space, clearly the zoo has no plans in that area. The tortoise house has a pool area at the back for the Sulcatas, which is hardly suitable for a (supposed) crocodilian. The zoo's own website mentioned the possibility of getting Dik-diks, Bat-eared and Fennec Foxes for the renovated Aardwolf enclosures, and the new trio (not pair) of Lesser Spot-nosed Guenons already received from the USA are to be housed in the old Quoll enclosures, once some alterations are complete.
Historically, Hamerton doesn't release information about new arrivals and plans, and given current logistical delays following Brexit and Covid, I very much doubt that they'd do so now. Some of this ‘news’ appears to be a mixture of speculation and some personal 'wish-list animals' of an uninformed volunteer, padded out with old news. For example - Hamerton has actually thrice turned down the offer of Brown Hyaenas (including those from Cornwall); so even though there is plenty of space, clearly the zoo has no plans in that area. The tortoise house has a pool area at the back for the Sulcatas, which is hardly suitable for a (supposed) crocodilian. The zoo's own website mentioned the possibility of getting Dik-diks, Bat-eared and Fennec Foxes for the renovated Aardwolf enclosures, and the new trio (not pair) of Lesser Spot-nosed Guenons already received from the USA are to be housed in the old Quoll enclosures, once some alterations are complete.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Hamerton did mention the planned exit of breeding donkeys at the end of 2022 earlier this year while sharing the excellent new foal news.
Hamerton Zoo Park - Animal Park Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Hamerton Zoo Park - Animal Park Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
From reading this it seems they are phasing out the American Mammoths but keeping the French Poitous..
Crikey , did I read right- a zoo has actually added some new Guenons coming from outside the UK? Good to hear though.
I am not going to hold my breath for an answer to come out anytime soom, but I do want to ask if Hamerton is working with the AZA for a possible breeding program like they did with the ringtail SSP. I am aware that Lesser Spot-nosed Guenons do not have a SSP at this moment but if not for cooperation I do not know why would there be a need to send away guenons to Europe from America.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Interesting link on the discussion above specifically referring to speculation generated here (not sure it was generated here in itself but either way).
Hamerton Zoo Park - Animal Park Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Hamerton Zoo Park - Animal Park Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
If anything, does this not draw more attention to the matter? Especially to non-ZooChat folk, who will inadvertently, as a result of this, come to ZooChat in search of the speculation...
What's stranger is the phrasing of "have been published by a website called ZooChat" .
I do get the impression that some people forget that this section of the site is simply a public chat forum where members of the public are... well... chatting
What's stranger is the phrasing of "have been published by a website called ZooChat" .
I do get the impression that some people forget that this section of the site is simply a public chat forum where members of the public are... well... chatting
Agreed! And it wasn't speculation, like they're claiming. It came from one of their employees. If it was incorrect, or not supposed to be shared, that's not on ZC users.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Noticed that Hamerton posted some news about a bus service on demand trial going on for 6 months that might help anyone trying to visit the collection that doesn’t have a car. It’s certainly an area lacking good public transport in more remote areas currently;
Hamerton Zoo Park - Animal Park Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Hamerton Zoo Park - Animal Park Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Thanks for posting this! I'd been meaning to go back to Hamerton since I moved further away and without access to a car, so this is an absolute blessing. Confirmed that it's very easy to book a ride using the app. Planned a trip for next Saturday, if anyone else is there and wants to say hello I'll more than likely be wearing my Bronx Zoo shirt and Central Park Zoo cap.