……and a once great zoo gets even less interestingVery sad. I remember the fanfare when the croc exhibit opened, and yet another part of my childhood memories of Paignton have now died with the closure of the rock.Does it have Listed status?
Paignton Zoo Paignton Zoo 2023
- Thread starter TriUK
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The Baboons will have a Gelada styled field exhibit on the footprint of the Zebra paddock.
I praise the zoo for their transparency, which is long overdue, but I’m really very concerned that they’re not offering discounts to non-members !……and a once great zoo gets even less interesting
Despite me perhaps looking through rose-tinted glasses, I remember doing a Keeper Experience years ago that involved Baboon Rock. Two things I remember: the shocking behind the scenes accommodation, and being told not to cross a certain line should I wish to lose part of my anatomy!
Kalaw
Well-Known Member
Crocodile Swamp was the highlight of all my visits to Paignton Zoo. It combined my love for crocodilians and rainforest halls, and it was nice to see such a large space devoted to crocodiles at a non-specialist zoo. I loved the Giant Water Lilies and Alligator Snapping Turtles, as well as the open-topped enclosure that formerly housed Reticulated Python but was later converted to Komodo Dragons. I am particularly curious as to where they plan to send the Saltwater Crocodiles.
There is only a single Saltwater crocodile.
London seems a logical destination for the Komodo dragon as they are currently without one.
I recall from my singular visit to Paignton in 2017 that in the Crocodile Swamp there was something like a 'tick-tock crocodile', which if memory serves was a crocodile with a clock in its mouth, with a sign saying it 'belonged to Captain Hook'. But it didn't seem to work on my visit. Nevertheless, seeing as this area only opened about 15 years ago, it's a bit surprising to see it go so soon .. though I recall Marwell's old Tropical World lasted 20 years or so before its closure in 2018. The building is still there, and intends to be re-opened later this year for a new semi-desert exhibit.
I recall also circa 2017 seeing proposals for a new large-scale savannah exhibit that would've radically changed things .. I'm not sure if the baboon development was part of these plans initially or if the baboon development is unrelated.
Though ... although quite a bit has changed since my visit to Paignton in 2017, I still find it a bit underwhelming that the kiwi is still seemingly in the same place as before ... seriously, the zoo should really consider placing him in a better display! Does Manu have outside access, even?
I think it's fair to say that I won't be scurrying back to Paignton within the near future ... as nice an enclosure the takins now have. So it is...
[I will add: my kiwi thirst has since been quenched - in 2022 I saw Berlin Zoo's kiwi. For a fleeting moment, but a sighting nonetheless.]
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I had a feeling this was going to happen. I believe it’s also to do with the zoo moving away from raised walkways. I’m half expecting to see Monkey Heights closed in the near future or massively re-vamped!
The zoo are going to build a new extension to the flamingo housing.
I’m wondering if the frame of Croc Swamp could be re-purposed by netting it, planting temperate vegetation and creating a new mixed species exhibit? This would demonstrate recycling and sustainable building?
One thing is for sure - the social media reaction is mostly negative.
I’m devastated by the decline in the collection.
The zoo are going to build a new extension to the flamingo housing.
I’m wondering if the frame of Croc Swamp could be re-purposed by netting it, planting temperate vegetation and creating a new mixed species exhibit? This would demonstrate recycling and sustainable building?
One thing is for sure - the social media reaction is mostly negative.
I’m devastated by the decline in the collection.
The Kiwi does have outdoor access to two aviaries. I’ve tried to wait on a number of occasions (playing dumb that I didn’t know the closing time) to see him to no avail. They have a nocturnal house that could display him but it’s not even listed as an enclosure now! Manu could even be built a home in the old reptile nursery.
Would love to see the species at Whipsnade, and for the site to have a more significant reptile presence! Crocs of the World seems a logical destination though.
I think the nocturnal house was listed on the map at the time of my visit ... though of course back then it was even more bare. To my recollection, there were only two enclosures in the entire house, both completely dark [I know, I know, nocturnal houses are meant to be dark, duh, but this made Nocturne offerings I've seen elsewhere look like daylight in comparison !!] - one a bare enclosure for slender-tailed meerkat, and the other one for a species of tenrec, I believe tailless. That happened to be offshow at time of my visit ...
I do find it very bizarre that they would move Bruce there [granted, his new enclosure is certainly an upgrade to what I saw in 2017] but not the kiwi ...
Or they could consider doing what a zoo in the Czech Republic does, and allow special 'kiwi-days' for especially interested visitors so that they can come in earlier when the bird is active! Either of these would be superior choices to what is there currently...
Anyone else get the feeling the zoo’s Centenary is turning into a damp squib?
Granted the Avian flu news is horrific, but what hope is there for the site’s long term plans for its avian collection?
Granted the Avian flu news is horrific, but what hope is there for the site’s long term plans for its avian collection?
Dramatic as ever!
Of course, Zlin has the distinct advantage that by sheer happenstance they have managed to obtain a bizarrely diurnal kiwi; last month we sat by the enclosure watching constant and uninterrupted activity for over an hour, from about 1330 onwards! By all accounts this is not unusual for the individual concerned either.
Not at all - I also had a similar experience, albeit a little later in the day. Miles better views of the species than I've managed anywhere else, and highly-recommended for anyone who wants a good look at one in Europe!
I didn’t use the quote function, I was referring to Pantheras statement about the Centenary being a ‘dab squib’.
Dramatic perhaps, but I’m passionate about Paignton Zoo and it genuinely hurts to see it in its current state. I sincerely apologise if at times I appear to go ‘over the top’, but I do have face to face conversations with the appropriate staff on the ground and never say anything on here that I wouldn’t/haven’t said to the customer relations or management team at WPT.