ZSL London Zoo UK zoos - Where do I start?

M

Meerkatter

New Member
Hi Folks,

Hope everyone is well on this fine Tuesday.

I am another new member to the site. Been reading countless threads over the last week and I must say I have been blown away by peoples knowledge.

I've recently moved to the UK so I'm keen to get gribs with what's happening here on the zoo scene.

Planning on going to London Zoo immenently as that's my closest. To be honest I've heard VERY mixed reviews? How does it compare? A friend of mine went last year to see the new gorrila encloser. She said it was really disappointing, still too small and the gorrilas had less privacy. She also said the tigers looked awful? :( Has anyone a better opinion of it or is it as bad as she says?

Someone told me Edinburgh Zoo was really worth a visit? Anyone been recently?

Looking forward to future discussions, :)

M
 
London is like any zoo it has its good points and its bad points,but every body has there own ideas of what is good and bad so i would say go and see for your self and then you can form your own opinion of wether London is good or bad,personnally although i must say i don`t rate the new Gorilla exhibit the bits i do like more than make up for what to me is one of the biggest wastes of money ever spent by the zoo.
 
London Zoo can be very mixed being an old collection it is full of many listed enclosures - Mappin terraces,Penguin Pool,Casson Pavillion (Ex Elephant house now Zoo World).
Being an old collection with a husge history it has to balance things out with not much space it is limited with its Listed enclosures.
I visted in 2005 and i thought it was very good the Charles Clore Pavillion now The Clore Rainforset Lookout is home to a wide range of Norcturnal and rainforest small mammals and i have heard nothing of bad reviews at all so it seems to brilliant.The Into Africa Exhibit has been worked round the Girraffe House etc and is not a mixed enclosure but i group of enclosures each housing 1 or 2 species which has Okapi,Giraffe,African Wild Dog.
The Lion Terraces are showing their age now as they were built in the 1970's The lion enclosure is good with a moat and has really good viewing and houses a pair of Asiatics Abi and Lucifur.The Tigers however they have had trouble with when they swapped Females and it didnt go too well and as they only have 1 compound,the 1 tiger that wasnt in it was kept in a small enclosure.
The Blackburn Pavillion which houses birds was renovated last year and seems really good housing humming birds and many other species which have access to outdoor aviarys too.
I have not seen Gorilla Kingdom but have seen many pictures/video it seems to be an Enclosure in the making with it Maturing with more trees being put in constantly making it better its a working progress and with the male Bobby dying just as the group was getting stable has not been very good for the group at all but i wish them luck and hope for success in the future with both the group and the enclosure.It is also holds an aviary and other monkey species.
Zoo World is now home to Wild boar,Camels it used to be the old Elephant/Rhino house and is being used very well.
The magnificant Mappin terraces used to hold bears and is now holding an Australian Walkabout enclosure could Outback,in my opinion not the best use as a magnificant Structure such as this should hold magnificant animals such as Lions/Tigers which would solve the tiger problem leaving an enclosure free which could work very well but thats just my opinion.
There are loads of pics in the gallery of most of the exhibits so have a good look :)
London Zoo is worth a trip to see the history and how it is evolving as a zoo constantly improving it does have its bad points but it is working with them its nearly 200 years old!
I hope this review has helped you alot Meerkatter
I too hope to visit London Zoo soon and i really cant wait:)
I have heard some amazing things about Edinburgh and i hope to visit in the summer.
The new Enclosure for Chimps Budongo seems brilliant aswell as the other species it holds.I have never been but i am sure other poeple could help you on this.
All the Best,
 
Hi MeerKatter, welcome to ZooChatand also the UK of course. Riziki has covered London in great detail there for you, so i wont add anything other than i would visit it just for the fact that it's London Zoo and you might as well visit it once.

The two collections that should be on the top of your list are Chester and Edinburgh. Now i havent visited Edinburgh myself yet unfortunetly but from everyone else's impression of it and the pictures i've seen of it, and of course the amazing species list, i would say it's fantastic.
Now Chester on the other hand, i have visited and a ridicolous amount of times. Pictures in my opinion dont do this zoo justice. However it is worldclass in my opinion and by far the best zoo this country has to offer. A great list of species and some fantastic enclosures, theres just a great atmosphere there i think.
Whipsnade is another you should visit i think, as well as Marwell and Colchester. Whipsnade is in Bedforshire, and owned by ZSL (London Zoo), and whilst the species list isnt as great as it used to be, it's still great IMO. Marwell is rather hoofstock and carnivore heavy perhaps and Colchester has a rather heavy chav reputation LOL. Those would be my first 5 on your list IMO.
Then of course you've got Jersey and the Howlett & Port Lympne collection in Kent. Both rather famous worldiwde. Highland Wildlife Park is another you should try. Oh and Paignton aswell.
If you're willing to go to Northern Ireland aswell, then Belfast is worth a visit. So is Dublin, even if it's not techincally in the UK. Bristol's quite good aswell come to think of it. As for the Safari Parks, well after you've visited one, you've seen them all really. I'd go with either Woburn, West Middlands or Knowsley myself.
 
In my opinion all of the following are worth visiting

Chester
London
Whipsnade
Edinburgh
Bristol
Paignton
Marwell
Highland Wildlife Park
The Aspinall Parks
Possibly Jersey and Belfast as well
 
surely all zoos are worth a visit even if its just to judge yourself that its not worth a future visit! whos knows what gems you could uncover!!!

my advice is to visit as many zoos as possible!
 
Welcome to Zoochat!
I agree with most of the comments here. I think you should start at Regents Park so you can see it for yourself and form your own opinion - we will be very interested to learn what you think.
Otherwise it depends what you are interested in, big mammals at Whipsnade, cats and primates at Howletts/Port Lympne, smaller collections at Cotswold and Bristol and so on.

Alan
 
Hi Meerkatter (great name by the way!), and welcome to ZooChat!

Like gentle lemur just said, which zoos you should aim to visit first will depend on which species you particularly want to see, as well as how far you're prepared to travel. If London's nearest then it would make sense to go there first - as others have said it has good and bad points, but it's best to judge it yourself. Colchester is probably my favourite UK zoo though, and Chester is also world-famous.

I would also advise you not to dismiss small collections, as many of them keep some very unusual animals. To be honest if you want to see as many species as possible in the UK then you pretty much need to go everywhere!!!

Are there any particular species or even groups of animals that you'd like to see?
 
Hi Meerkatter, welcome to zoochat.

Firstly how lucky are you to live in London!

When you visit London Zoo, it would be great to get a review and pics of Gorilla Kingdom. As it does seem to improve with each review as improvements are made.

Then l would suggest Howlettes parks. Just to see how good for an animal a enclosure can be.

Look forward to reading your contributions.
 
Howletts and Port Lympne are definately worth a visit they are the Aspinall Parks and are home to over 70 Gorillas which is the largest in captivity and 15+ Tigers.They are also home to Many small cats and many species of primates.Black Rhinos are houseed in the parks and they have had amazing breeding sucess.Port Lympne in my opinion has the best Gorilla Enclosure i have seen 'Palace Of The Apes' There are many pics of this in the gallery.
As said before do not miss the smaller collections Linton,Dartmoor,Banham,Thrigby,Newquay and so on all zoos are different and its worth seeing all of them! ;)
Whipsnade is brilliant the worlds first open air zoo and houses Lions,Cheetahs both in new enclosures,Elephants,White Rhinos,Bears,Giraffes right down to penguins,tamarins etc.
Edinburgh and Chester both are a must Chester was one of the first zoo to have the no bars concept and it is an outstanding place which i have yet to visit but i have heard and seen alot about it.Edinburgh is constantly having new enclosures built such as Budongo,Living Links etc but it keeps other animals such as Asiatic Lions,Sumatran Tigers,Indian Rhino and other primate species.
there are loads of pics of all these collections.
Hope this is useful to you :)
Regards
 
welcome to zoochat
if you like cats and primates go to howletts/ port lympne (the aspinall parks) they have gorillas, tigers(3 species!) clouded leopard (only publicly viewable at howletts) lion(PL only) cheetah(PL only) North chinese and persian leopard(howletts only) snow leopard loads of small cats(margay, ocelot, fishing cat, desert cat, serval caracle lynx pallace cat +many more) and lots of monkeys, including banded leaf monkeys which are the only park outside south east asia to keep them! thay also have african elephants, black rhino, malayan and brazzilian tapir, antilope deer giraffe, zebra, african antilope water buffalo banteng(last 5 only at PL) honey badger(only at howletts) and bison.
here is there website Fun Days Out - Howletts & Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks - Kent

whipsnade
large asian reserve with deer antilope yak and camel ect a new indian rhino enclosure (they have acsess to asian reserve) aswell as asian elephants, both species of bison, chimps, gentoo humbult and rockhopper penguin, lions, a new cheetah enclosure called cheetah rock, white rhino, roan antilope, bongo, wolves, euasian brown and sloth bears and raindeer ZSL - Animal Conservation and UK Zoos

marwell
great zoo. tigers amur leopards cheetah and snow leopards. they also have lots of antilope and auzie fauna. giraffe pygmy hippo and soon to arrive arrived brazzilian tapir. there is a new african vally opening this year. other animals include, siamang, short clawed otters, anoa and all 3 species of zebra Marwell: Home
 
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Thanks for all the replies -lovely to hear back from so many people. Makes for a very encouraging start. I'm hoping to get to London zoo next week (if not the week after) so I'll keep everyone posted on the current state of play. I'll be sure to take plenty of snaps of the Gorrila encloser for all to see.

If anyone wants me to check out anything else in particular do let me know (have camera...will take snaps). I tend to dedicate a fair amount of my time to the mammals in most collections but will give the entire collection the once over. Keen to see the meerkats (you'd never guess by my name) but also the aye aye, lucifer, the gorrilas amongst others...the list is pretty endless.

Further down the line I'll be keen to see bonobos - though I know London zoo doesn't have them. As far as I know there is just one place in the UK you can see them?

Thanks everyone.
 
No worries for the info Meerkatter could you possibly take some pics of the Big Cat enclosure if thats allright with you as Big Cats and enclosure designs are of an enourmous interest to me:).Yes the only place to see bonobos is Twycross zoo were they have 2 groups.I think they have about 10 overall anyone know anything else?
Have a good time at London Zoo Meerkatter
Regards
 
Meerkatter said:
Thanks for all the replies -lovely to hear back from so many people. Makes for a very encouraging start. I'm hoping to get to London zoo next week (if not the week after) so I'll keep everyone posted on the current state of play. I'll be sure to take plenty of snaps of the Gorrila encloser for all to see.

If anyone wants me to check out anything else in particular do let me know (have camera...will take snaps). I tend to dedicate a fair amount of my time to the mammals in most collections but will give the entire collection the once over. Keen to see the meerkats (you'd never guess by my name) but also the aye aye, lucifer, the gorrilas amongst others...the list is pretty endless.

Further down the line I'll be keen to see bonobos - though I know London zoo doesn't have them. As far as I know there is just one place in the UK you can see them?

Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...

The Aye-Aye may not be on show at London. They are kept in the inside of the round house and I believe that has been unaccessible for visitors for a while.

Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire is the only place in the UK with Bonobos, but in my opinion the enclosures at Twycross aren't up to much and are disappointing.

If you like primates, the Aspinall parks (for enclosures and collection), Chester (enclosures) and Twycross (for the collection) are the best places to visit.
 
I agree with CZ Jimmy about Twycross some of the enclosures are abit disapointing but its in the process of renovating and building new ones so in a few years it could be very good.
Chester is one of the best if not the best zoo in the UK it was the first zoo to have the no bars concept and is home to one of the biggest collections in the UK.Definately worth a visit its exhibits are fantastic with Realm of the Red Ape,Jaguar Enclosure,Cheetah Enclosure etc i have not been put i have seen and heard alot about it.
If you have an interest in Gorillas,Tigers,other primates and other cats Howletts and Port Lypmne are the best zoos to see them in the enclosures are brilliant especially for the gorillas and there Breeding successes with Primates and Cats and Black Rhinos are unrivalled.
Regards
 
Belfast a good choice to see loads of really rare Monkeys and primates, as well as other animals like Maned Wolf, Barbary Lion and Sikefa (opps bad spelling)
 
Hi, london zoo i think is an okay zoo as it is nothe biggest zoo but it is well worth going to, Gorilla Kingdom is not too bad but now the silver-back male died it won't be as good snd the privacy for the gorillas is horrific!. When i went the tigers were having their enclosure done up so i didn't experience the tigers but all in all the visit was well worth it, you must see the two pygmy hippos opposite the camel house!
 
Welcome to UK and to Zoo Chat.

Here are some of mine,

HOWLETTS

PORT LYMPNE

LONDON ZOO

WHIPSNADE

BELFAST

DUDLEY

DUBLIN (not uk but if in Northern Ireland you might as well take the trip down to there)

MONKEY WORLD (whilst not classed as a Zoo, some above wouldn't class themselves as zoos either) this is an amazing place if you particularly like chimps, orangs and various monkeys, lemurs etc.

PAIGNTON

DONKEY SANCTUARY IN SIDMOUTH (IF YOU LIKE DONKEYS!!)

COLCHESTER

CHESTER

EDINBURGH

You will indeed have an interesting time in comparing notes on each place. Each offers something good for the animals and not so good. I will be very interested in hearing about your visits.

Have a great time:)
 
Monkey World is definately worth a visit.I visited last summer and it was brilliant.Monkey World's Founder Jim Vronin who sadly died in 2007 is well remembered at the park which has its own Memorial Area for him.The enclosures are good but dont expect big impressive enclosures these are basic enclosures with loads and loads of playing equipment with towers and Ponds etc.Monkey World houses over 16+ Primate Species including 100 rescued Capuchin Monkeys!
Monkey World is made special by the fact that every single Monkey there has a different story and succesfully rehabilitating them is just fanatastic with the massive clash of personalitys between the Monkeys.
An Amazing place definately worth a visit
 
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