ZSL Whipsnade Zoo ZSL Whipsnade Zoo News 2023

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Lafone said:
No broken ground, but there are more containers and equipment in place there than previously (two containers high, an office looking area for processing people on site etc) so work looks likely to start.
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Awesome. I believe once permission was granted they still had to wait on a couple of things. Just noticed it in the planning pages
 
That wicker section on the bears, must have only been put up since the new bears arrived, as it wasn’t there on Tuesday and Wednesday when I was there, so would imagine it’s just up whilst the new bears settle in.
 
Alwaysevergreen said:
That wicker section on the bears, must have only been put up since the new bears arrived, as it wasn’t there on Tuesday and Wednesday when I was there, so would imagine it’s just up whilst the new bears settle in.
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The one on the new enclosure is probably temporary as you say and I think to do with the glass as the bears came up to and went up at the fence on the side, so settling them in before having people stand straight in front of them. I expect they were jumping up. It wasn’t there when the enclosure was first finished. And it looks fairly makeshift.

The wicker on the main enclosure fence (other picture of the two) was up until end of the year last year (pictures on the 2022 thread and there whenever I visited which is monthly / more) it sits above an area of wall with a bit of an overhang where Cinderella likes to play with / smash up rocks and I think it was to stop visitors hanging over to watch her do that, which she didn’t seem to like much. Judging by adverse visitor comments on the behaviour when the wicker wasn’t there I did wonder if they put it up to stop people seeing her grinding / digging on the concrete. Or maybe they worried at people leaning heavily on the fence to see her below them and some daft person dropping a kid in or something.

Based on last year and the state of it, the wicker will go on the new enclosure but stay on the main fence (opposite the wolverines). Last year there was even more of it down the end as well and in the end there was only about a third left free, so let’s see. It’s a bit annoying as it’s too high to look over but they wouldn’t put it there for nothing.
 
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Lafone said:
The one on the new enclosure is probably temporary as you say and I think to do with the glass as the bears came up to and went up at the fence on the side, so settling them in before having people stand straight in front of them. I expect they were jumping up. It wasn’t there when the enclosure was first finished. And it looks fairly makeshift.

The wicker on the main enclosure fence (other picture of the two) was up until end of the year last year (pictures on the 2022 thread and there whenever I visited which is monthly / more) it sits above an area of wall with a bit of an overhang where Cinderella likes to play with / smash up rocks and I think it was to stop visitors hanging over to watch her do that, which she didn’t seem to like much. Judging by adverse visitor comments on the behaviour when the wicker wasn’t there I did wonder if they put it up to stop people seeing her grinding / digging on the concrete. Or maybe they worried at people leaning heavily on the fence to see her below them and some daft person dropping a kid in or something.

Based on last year and the state of it, the wicker will go on the new enclosure but stay on the main fence (opposite the wolverines). Last year there was even more of it down the end as well and in the end there was only about a third left free, so let’s see. It’s a bit annoying as it’s too high to look over but they wouldn’t put it there for nothing.
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Does make you wonder, considering the housing upgrades, why the front ‘pit’ can’t be levelled up to a degree. This part of the enclosure produced begging behaviour in the past from previous occupants, not helped of course by visitors behaviour. Maybe there’s limitations due to Lady Yules Walk having a degree of Listed status to it. However, in all my years visiting I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of bears so active in producing their own dens! So maybe this highlights the spacial limitations of, until recently, a relatively untouched near-100 year old enclosure!
 
Panthera1981 said:
Does make you wonder, considering the housing upgrades, why the front ‘pit’ can’t be levelled up to a degree. This part of the enclosure produced begging behaviour in the past from previous occupants, not helped of course by visitors behaviour. Maybe there’s limitations due to Lady Yules Walk having a degree of Listed status to it. However, in all my years visiting I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of bears so active in producing their own dens! So maybe this highlights the spacial limitations of, until recently, a relatively untouched near-100 year old enclosure!
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Would be a great idea to redo that part, as you say the bears there are real diggers and being able to have less concrete under the overhang so it was an earthier transition into the enclosure would be great. As you say possibly a listing restriction - though the green fence above isn't 100 years old. Raising the area below would help as the pit part isn't really necessary.

I remember the begging behaviour now you've mentioned it!

My dream space would be a digging area / tunnel den space for the bears you could see into / walk into with glass walls etc but I guess that's highly impractical / too costly.
 
Lafone said:
Would be a great idea to redo that part, as you say the bears there are real diggers and being able to have less concrete under the overhang so it was an earthier transition into the enclosure would be great. As you say possibly a listing restriction - though the green fence above isn't 100 years old. Raising the area below would help as the pit part isn't really necessary.

I remember the begging behaviour now you've mentioned it!

My dream space would be a digging area / tunnel den space for the bears you could see into / walk into with glass walls etc but I guess that's highly impractical / too costly.
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I think the begging behaviour was probably a result of public feeding times where visitors were given pieces of fruit to throw into the enclosure!?
Hardly surprising that whenever a large number of people gathered at the enclosure the bears expected food.
 
pipaluk said:
I think the begging behaviour was probably a result of public feeding times where visitors were given pieces of fruit to throw into the enclosure!?
Hardly surprising that whenever a large number of people gathered at the enclosure the bears expected food.
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It’s quite a change really isn’t it I remember feeding all sorts of animals (food being supplied not just chucking it in) and that being a thing.
 
Lafone said:
It’s quite a change really isn’t it I remember feeding all sorts of animals (food being supplied not just chucking it in) and that being a thing.
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I can't remember how long ago the public feeding stopped, probably about 5 or 6 years ago, but when I stayed in a lodge in 2016 part of the morning tour included the people being given fruit and veg to feed the bears and chimps, possibly that practice still continued .
 
pipaluk said:
I can't remember how long ago the public feeding stopped, probably about 5 or 6 years ago, but when I stayed in a lodge in 2016 part of the morning tour included the people being given fruit and veg to feed the bears and chimps, possibly that practice still continued .
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The practice ceased partly due to the stereotypical behaviour it produced but mainly due to the bad behaviour it engendered in the public when they didn’t get “their” individual piece of fruit to feed (or rather chuck at) the bears!
 
Saw the three new brown bears today. All three are apparently from Sweden, two are sisters and were in the new enclosure sleeping, they are older than the other bear who is 2 and was playing on her own in the main area. She was very active swimming in the pool and trying to climb the fence to get at the vegetation on the other side. Earlier, before we got there, Cinderella had been in with her but had been called back in as the keepers were off elsewhere.
 
ajmcwhipsnade said:
According to the zoos website two female lions will arrive from Belgium soon after Khari moves back to Blackpool sometime in may. A male from Germany will also join soon.

Really exciting news :)
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We're putting our trip off to go there until they arrive.
We'll just miss them while in Belgium next month, so it's nice to know I can see them in England after.
 
Start of a new pride - young lions so hope to enjoy many years of these as we did the last pride.

ajmcwhipsnade said:
From the zoos website, the new bears are called Mana, Minion and Naya and have arrived from Orsa Predator Park in Sweden
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What a great name for a park! They do play like they are younger bears.
 
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Panthera1981 said:
From May, the zoo will offer a Meet the Hippos Experience with their Common Hippos. A UK first apparently.

£84 per person mind!:oops:
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Brilliant idea. Pricing is expensive but in line with what I'd expect from this sort of thing, and if you really want to get close to a hippo given there's no other options I'm sure they will sell a lot of them.

I'll probably wait to see other's opinions of it first but I have a feeling I may end up booking myself one :D
 
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