Paignton Zoo Paignton Zoo 2023

We had a lovely trip to PZ on Sunday and the kids enjoyed the music & craft workshops throughout the day.
Opening was delayed as staff tried to remove wild deer that were on site in public areas.
The Torbay Rock Project live show was cut short towards the end of their set as the Gibbons & Howler Monkeys were becoming stressed. The howlers did not eat all day.
The Ark farm has been converted into a ‘Centenary Hub’, essentially a mini graphic’s presentation of the zoos history. It has been done very well and I enjoyed it. However, there was no information about future developments other than the proposed Baboon exhibit, although it was confirmed they would have indoor viewing. The paddock between the baboon off show area and the restaurant (that most recently held emu, Rhea and peafowl) will also form part of the new exhibit - to be announced soon?
Nicobar pigeon have moved into the ABC flight next to the Secretary Bird, sharing with Shelduck.
The zoo will probably announce the Sloth arrival this week, which should draw visitors back up to the tropical house in the absence of all the birds and still empty vivariums. To some, this now feels like a ‘long walk’ past the one-way entrance since the boardwalk has gone.
The temporary fencing is still up in the new zebra paddock and the giraffe are still not moved across.
Flag poles have been erected along the length of the grass bank in front of the restaurant. It’s a shame the resources that paid for them and their installation weren’t used, in my opinion, for the Orang islands which currently look like a diorama of deforestation.
On a separate note, the gardens and maintenance teams deserve a huge shoutout as the site looks fantastic in terms of trees and plants.
 
TriUK said:
Flag poles have been erected along the length of the grass bank in front of the restaurant. It’s a shame the resources that paid for them and their installation weren’t used, in my opinion, for the Orang islands which currently look like a diorama of deforestation.
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I did wonder at their priorities when I saw them last week. One of the first things that was introduced when the new admin took over was a flag pole near the lake and it's hardly ever had a flag up it.
 
TriUK said:
Oh dear, the Tripadvisor reviews are getting worse by the week!
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attra...k-Paignton_English_Riviera_Devon_England.html
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I recall seeing a major zoo's Facebook post about a new playground [or more accurately, a redux of an existing playground] which they were building. The comments were interesting - some of them were supportive of the new development - but quite a few others were bemoaning the fact that money was not being spent on animals!
I understand the appeal of 'gimmicky' stuff in a zoo - your dinosaurs, your playgrounds, go-track circuits, mariachi bands ... but I feel that in the midst of this, guests themselves will feel that if a zoo is completely lacking in animals, which should be a zoo's primary focus anyways, then it's not a zoo worth visiting! Hopefully Paignton will catch onto this.
And whilst it's not always possible, people, even casual guests, will tend to find biodiverse zoos rather interesting! Zoo Berlin has rather little in terms of 'gimmicky' stuff, but yet it's the zoo that receives most annual visitors within Europe!
 
TriUK said:
Oh dear, the Tripadvisor reviews are getting worse by the week!
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attra...k-Paignton_English_Riviera_Devon_England.html
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Not that there’s any way of measuring it, but I’d be interested to know the numbers/proportion of visitors who had a great time and wrote nothing online, compared to those few who take their grievances to TripAdvisor.

In any case, I don’t personally find tripadvisor reviews a reliable metric for the quality of any zoo.
 
Rajang21 said:
Not that there’s any way of measuring it, but I’d be interested to know the numbers/proportion of visitors who had a great time and wrote nothing online, compared to those few who take their grievances to TripAdvisor.

In any case, I don’t personally find tripadvisor reviews a reliable metric for the quality of any zoo.
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I think you are correct Rajang, absolutely. I visit once a week on average at all times throughout the week all year round. I would say that the Tripadvisor comments (most recent) do represent a growing sense of disappointment from visitors. Don’t get me wrong, if a guest is ‘lucky’ they can witness Pileated Gibbons brachiating through the trees above, Takin climbing a quarry wall and an Echidna only feet away, or, most likely at the moment, they’ll walk huge gradients to find empty and closed enclosures.
I’ve tried to be really positive in recent weeks but after todays visit I’m really concerned!!
 
dillotest0 said:
I recall seeing a major zoo's Facebook post about a new playground [or more accurately, a redux of an existing playground] which they were building. The comments were interesting - some of them were supportive of the new development - but quite a few others were bemoaning the fact that money was not being spent on animals!
I understand the appeal of 'gimmicky' stuff in a zoo - your dinosaurs, your playgrounds, go-track circuits, mariachi bands ... but I feel that in the midst of this, guests themselves will feel that if a zoo is completely lacking in animals, which should be a zoo's primary focus anyways, then it's not a zoo worth visiting! Hopefully Paignton will catch onto this.
And whilst it's not always possible, people, even casual guests, will tend to find biodiverse zoos rather interesting! Zoo Berlin has rather little in terms of 'gimmicky' stuff, but yet it's the zoo that receives most annual visitors within Europe!
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Zoo equals animals, right? Paignton are going to cut back their bird collection even more and they still haven’t announced any plans beyond the baboon move?
 
TriUK said:
Paignton are going to cut back their bird collection
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Do you actually know this or is it speculation? Not the first time you've mentioned it.
TriUK said:
they still haven’t announced any plans beyond the baboon move?
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Many zoos don't announce anything beyond their next big project. I don't know why PZ would be any different? As always, I'm sure that lots is happening behind the scenes that isn't public.
TriUK said:
after todays visit I’m really concerned!!
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What changed between visits to concern you so? I find it hard to believe that anything majorly significant would happen since you were there on Sunday.
 
Rajang21 said:
Do you actually know this or is it speculation? Not the first time you've mentioned it.

Many zoos don't announce anything beyond their next big project. I don't know why PZ would be any different? As always, I'm sure that lots is happening behind the scenes that isn't public.

What changed between visits to concern you so? I find it hard to believe that anything majorly significant would happen since you were there on Sunday.
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I’ll PM you.
 
Visited Paignton Zoo today. Hadn't been since 2000 so was interesting to see how much it had changed. My wife had never been and we both like apes and primates.

Was difficult to see all the animals due to how leafy the majority of the enclosures are which isn't a bad thing when it comes to the welfare of the animals. The gibbon family were up in the trees including a youngster which flung itself from branch to branch. Also saw baby Orangutan Ranbi with mum in the far corner of the indoor exhibit and at the window. It's not the most relaxing place to view apes as there was a strong odour of sweat and a school trip who didn't believe in queueing. We also saw the three younger male gorillas indoors and these later came out for the talk, and Fig the Binturong made an appearance high up the trees.

The worst part of the zoo is the hill which has a beautiful view of the bay but looked like it had seen better times. The giraffe and zebra enclosure represented a building site and there were a number of run down exhibits no longer in use. This section was saved by the Takin enclosure which as people have said before makes great use of the Quarry and the Cheetahs which were both active.

Monkey Heights was great although not really designed for a wheelchair so it was a bumpy ride for my grandmother.

All in all a fun day out, just disappointed not to see the echidna or kiwi but wasn't anticipating being able to see either
 
ZooNut23 said:
Visited Paignton Zoo today. Hadn't been since 2000 so was interesting to see how much it had changed. My wife had never been and we both like apes and primates.

Was difficult to see all the animals due to how leafy the majority of the enclosures are which isn't a bad thing when it comes to the welfare of the animals. The gibbon family were up in the trees including a youngster which flung itself from branch to branch. Also saw baby Orangutan Ranbi with mum in the far corner of the indoor exhibit and at the window. It's not the most relaxing place to view apes as there was a strong odour of sweat and a school trip who didn't believe in queueing. We also saw the three younger male gorillas indoors and these later came out for the talk, and Fig the Binturong made an appearance high up the trees.

The worst part of the zoo is the hill which has a beautiful view of the bay but looked like it had seen better times. The giraffe and zebra enclosure represented a building site and there were a number of run down exhibits no longer in use. This section was saved by the Takin enclosure which as people have said before makes great use of the Quarry and the Cheetahs which were both active.

Monkey Heights was great although not really designed for a wheelchair so it was a bumpy ride for my grandmother.

All in all a fun day out, just disappointed not to see the echidna or kiwi but wasn't anticipating being able to see either
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I’m delighted you enjoyed the visit and were able to witness the Gibbons on the island and the Takin in their quite brilliant enclosure. The Giraffe area is a mess but I have faith that by the end of the year the enclosures that end will look and function better (fingers crossed).
 
Would appear from Social Media that a certain SLOW animal has arrived

A new animal has just arrived in Paignton Zoo...

Can you guess what it is???


Make your best guesses in the comments below

#GuessWho #NewArrival #PaigntonZoo #ExcitingTimes #AnimalSurprise #Curiosity #ZooLife #Mystery

P.S. No cheating, Edinburgh Zoo
 
Embu#2 said:
Would appear from Social Media that a certain SLOW animal has arrived

A new animal has just arrived in Paignton Zoo...

Can you guess what it is???


Make your best guesses in the comments below

#GuessWho #NewArrival #PaigntonZoo #ExcitingTimes #AnimalSurprise #Curiosity #ZooLife #Mystery

P.S. No cheating, Edinburgh Zoo
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A rectangle metal frame, scaffolding essentially, with coiled rope has been erected in the lower section of the house between the tropical & desert areas. It looks like it will be a decent exhibit. The tropical house currently has at least four or more vivariums empty, no birds and some very shy Turtles in the large pond, meaning that the Sloths arrival should help make this area more appealing.
 
TriUK said:
A rectangle metal frame, scaffolding essentially, with coiled rope has been erected in the lower section of the house between the tropical & desert areas. It looks like it will be a decent exhibit. The tropical house currently has at least four or more vivariums empty, no birds and some very shy Turtles in the large pond, meaning that the Sloths arrival should help make this area more appealing.
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I was quite shocked by the dearth of reptiles in the tropical house when I visited a couple of weeks ago after a long absence. The lack of birds is even more noticeable - they were a highlight. Presumably the birds that were in the sloth area have gone for good too? I can imagine lots of people passing through and not even noticing the sloth if it's high up.
 
TriUK said:
The tropical house currently has at least four or more vivariums empty, no birds and some very shy Turtles in the large pond, meaning that the Sloths arrival should help make this area more appealing.
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Yes, I also counted 4 empty vivariums in Reptile Tropics on Sunday, plus the pond turtle(s), monkey-tailed skink and crocodile lizard were in hiding. I don't understand why they can't put some extra reptiles on show - in particular it would be nice to include at least one snake, because I heard a father saying to his children 'lets see if we can find a snake' before they went in. People expect to see a snake at the zoo.
On the subject of birds, I understand that after the roof at that end of the building was damaged twice by high winds, it was decided not to hold birds there any longer. The number of birds in the Desert section seems to have been greatly reduced too, I only saw the bush thick-knee, 1 tinamou, 2 Princess of Wales parakeets, several crested pigeons and plenty of budgies (including 2 blue ones, which I wish they would remove): I hope that there were more birds in nest boxes at this time of year; but I was disappointed to see no finches, spreo starlings, Bourke's or hooded parakeets.
I'm not convinced that the central lobby section will be ideal for the sloth: it will come down to the ground to defecate every so often and so I think they will have to install a glass screen to separate it from the public.
 
When did they get rid of the reptiles in the desert house? I remember seeing a Gila monster in there in during my visit in 2007, but no reptiles at all in 2021.
 
Cat-Man said:
When did they get rid of the reptiles in the desert house? I remember seeing a Gila monster in there in during my visit in 2007, but no reptiles at all in 2021.
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I reckon they were removed about 10 years ago. The species I remember are a few tortoises and a Gila monster (which was probably judged to be too risky in its open-topped enclosure).
 
gentle lemur said:
I reckon they were removed about 10 years ago. The species I remember are a few tortoises and a Gila monster (which was probably judged to be too risky in its open-topped enclosure).
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I was thinking that was a bit of a risk! Quite cool though, you can still see where they were kept in the rocks. Thanks for your help.
 
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