AlexanderTHG
Well-Known Member
To all British, Irish & any other intrigued ZooChatters,
Welcome to ZooChat Challenge Great Britain, Ireland, and Crown Dependencies 2024
Thanks to the cooperation of @Shorts, I bring to you the resurrection of the original ZooChat Challenge started by @Shorts 12 years ago. This time, however, I’m expanding the range of said challenge to include all of the following:
As such, any zoo within these isles/nations can count towards this year’s challenge. Speaking of which, here it is…
AMAZING AMPHIBIA
I’m starting off simple with this year’s challenge consisting of any species within the class Amphibia (the amphibians)!
I am hoping that a broad category will be easy to keep track of and interest the most people. In addition, amphibians are often not at the top of a typical zoo enthusiasts to-see list, so this will hopefully add interest to this diverse and fascinating class. There are approximately 150 amphibian species in the UK. This is based off Zootierliste, however, which is obviously not entirely accurate, especially for amphibians and smaller collections. In addition many amphibian specimens are often housed off-show. This should however add an extra bit of excitement to the challenge as you’ll never know what you may or may not see at a collection. With lots of rarities scattered across the whole country, this challenge should be accessible to all and shouldn’t be too hard to accumulate a decent score even if staying somewhat local. Of course some collections might be helpful to visit to be up at the top (perhaps Chester, Slimbridge, London, etc), however it should be nigh on impossible to see all on-show species in a calendar year. I reckon anything over 100 would be a very good score.
Of course, the same usual rules apply plus a couple of challenge specific ones:
1. You have to actually see the animal, even if just for a second.
2. Photographic proof is not required, your word is your bond.
3. You must see the animal from normal public access areas and during normal public opening hours (no special experiences)
4. Only species seen at a zoo in the geographic limits of the challenge can count in this challenge.
5. However, any private zoos or zoos with limited opening dates (BCS, Heythrop, etc) don’t count.
6. Record your tallies on this thread after each visit.
7. Whilst not compulsory, I would recommend including scientific names in your tally as many amphibian species have several, or no, agreed upon common names.
8. The winner will be the individual who has seen the most amphibian species by midnight 31st December 2024!
I’ll add extra emphasis on the species level. No subspecies, and try to use the IUCN classifications if unsure on current species splits. As always, taxonomy is never simple, and so some species are unclear. Any questions, just ask, and I or someone else will try to answer.
In short, you have exactly 12 months to see as many amphibian species as you can at any zoo in the challenge area. So without further ado…
…Let ZooChat Challenge Great Britain, Ireland, and Crown Dependencies 2024 commence!!!
Welcome to ZooChat Challenge Great Britain, Ireland, and Crown Dependencies 2024
Thanks to the cooperation of @Shorts, I bring to you the resurrection of the original ZooChat Challenge started by @Shorts 12 years ago. This time, however, I’m expanding the range of said challenge to include all of the following:
- The United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)
- The Republic Of Ireland
- The Isle Of Man
- The Channel Islands (Guernsey, Jersey)
As such, any zoo within these isles/nations can count towards this year’s challenge. Speaking of which, here it is…
AMAZING AMPHIBIA
I’m starting off simple with this year’s challenge consisting of any species within the class Amphibia (the amphibians)!
I am hoping that a broad category will be easy to keep track of and interest the most people. In addition, amphibians are often not at the top of a typical zoo enthusiasts to-see list, so this will hopefully add interest to this diverse and fascinating class. There are approximately 150 amphibian species in the UK. This is based off Zootierliste, however, which is obviously not entirely accurate, especially for amphibians and smaller collections. In addition many amphibian specimens are often housed off-show. This should however add an extra bit of excitement to the challenge as you’ll never know what you may or may not see at a collection. With lots of rarities scattered across the whole country, this challenge should be accessible to all and shouldn’t be too hard to accumulate a decent score even if staying somewhat local. Of course some collections might be helpful to visit to be up at the top (perhaps Chester, Slimbridge, London, etc), however it should be nigh on impossible to see all on-show species in a calendar year. I reckon anything over 100 would be a very good score.
Of course, the same usual rules apply plus a couple of challenge specific ones:
1. You have to actually see the animal, even if just for a second.
2. Photographic proof is not required, your word is your bond.
3. You must see the animal from normal public access areas and during normal public opening hours (no special experiences)
4. Only species seen at a zoo in the geographic limits of the challenge can count in this challenge.
5. However, any private zoos or zoos with limited opening dates (BCS, Heythrop, etc) don’t count.
6. Record your tallies on this thread after each visit.
7. Whilst not compulsory, I would recommend including scientific names in your tally as many amphibian species have several, or no, agreed upon common names.
8. The winner will be the individual who has seen the most amphibian species by midnight 31st December 2024!
I’ll add extra emphasis on the species level. No subspecies, and try to use the IUCN classifications if unsure on current species splits. As always, taxonomy is never simple, and so some species are unclear. Any questions, just ask, and I or someone else will try to answer.
In short, you have exactly 12 months to see as many amphibian species as you can at any zoo in the challenge area. So without further ado…
…Let ZooChat Challenge Great Britain, Ireland, and Crown Dependencies 2024 commence!!!
Last edited:
for further clarification, the reason I thought this point was worth highlighting is that the moderation team has historically had to clean up arguments about the term in question - best to avoid it happening again!
