walk through exhibits uk
- Thread starter garyjp
- Start date
Lafone
Well-Known Member
The short answer is lots of mixed mammal and bird exhibits.
Obviously madagascar / lemur walkthroughs are prevalent and a number also add birds (Cotswold Wildlife Park has a very nice one for example where three types of lemur are mixed with whistling duck and purple swamphen and in the past various Ibis) and mammal walkthroughs are common (macaques, wallabies, prairie dogs, exotic and domestic sheep and goats, various sorts of deer etc etc). Some tropical houses also mix mammals with birds (sloths, potoroo, bats spring to mind) and they are also walkthrough in that sense.
Marmoset walkthroughs, less common as far as I am aware. Colchester has two 'walkthrough' areas where a glass partition at roughly chest height divides visitors from the animals for example, so you get a nice no wire and no glass view, but they lost their Geoffroy's marmoset recently and neither share the space with birds.
What specific mammal are you interested in being mixed with birds? Just marmosets? Or are you interested in walkthroughs in general? There are so many it's hard to make a list based on just mammals and birds if that makes sense.
Obviously madagascar / lemur walkthroughs are prevalent and a number also add birds (Cotswold Wildlife Park has a very nice one for example where three types of lemur are mixed with whistling duck and purple swamphen and in the past various Ibis) and mammal walkthroughs are common (macaques, wallabies, prairie dogs, exotic and domestic sheep and goats, various sorts of deer etc etc). Some tropical houses also mix mammals with birds (sloths, potoroo, bats spring to mind) and they are also walkthrough in that sense.
Marmoset walkthroughs, less common as far as I am aware. Colchester has two 'walkthrough' areas where a glass partition at roughly chest height divides visitors from the animals for example, so you get a nice no wire and no glass view, but they lost their Geoffroy's marmoset recently and neither share the space with birds.
What specific mammal are you interested in being mixed with birds? Just marmosets? Or are you interested in walkthroughs in general? There are so many it's hard to make a list based on just mammals and birds if that makes sense.
it was marmoset based - im sure London used to I havent been for years . yes ive been to cotswold and seen the lemur exhibit
London does not currently mix birds with their primates -- I don't know details but another poster said there was an issue when this was attempted. They do have Goeldi's monkeys (which are sometimes called marmosets) alongside Golden-headed lion tamarin, Coppery titi and White-faced saki monkeys, mixed with Tamandua, Sloth, and I think I'm forgetting another non-primate.
HelloCrossy67
Well-Known Member
Marwell used to keep Pygmy Marmosets in their Tropical House, however confined to an island above the aquariums
cornu aspersum
Well-Known Member
On the 29th of March the armadillo was signed in Rainforest Life but I didn't see any. I may have probably missed them in the night house.
Kalaw
Well-Known Member
Regarding London, at one point, several birds including Sunbitterns were kept in Rainforest Life, but sadly they have all been moved to Blackburn Pavilion. I would love to see birds return as they were excellent additions, but I believe certain primate species were displaying aggression towards them, an issue which I suspect has only been worsened now with the arrival of the White-faced Sakis who are much larger and more active than any of the callitrichids or titis. The sakis are brilliant additions for visitors, but I suspect rule out the prospect of birds returning, sadly.
The cardinal was still in there at the end of Feb
Think the armadillos (formerly?) in Rainforest Life were Large hairy armadillos, while the armadillos now in Night Life are Southern three-banded. Haven't seen the armadillos in forever though, wonder if they only come out for the show?
Kalaw
Well-Known Member
You are correct - the Large Hairy Armadillos have been moved to the Casson Terraces, where they are off-display but come out for certain presentations on the Display's Lawn. I can't remember seeing them inside Rainforest Life for years now, but I certainly hope that they are put back in there, as it gave you a reason to search the floor as well as the canopy, and brought more life to the ground than the Red-footed Tortoise ever did. The Southern Three-bandeds were also kept offshow in the Cassons, however as mentioned upthread they moved onshow into Night Life. However, I wonder if that is still the case, seeing as on my visit last Friday they were neither signed nor visible in any of the enclosures, although of course that may not mean much.
It is nice to know where the last Red-cowled Cardinal went, as I had no idea where she went after departing her home in the second walkthrough room in Blackburn Pavilion, but the latest stocklist still listed her and it would be a shame to have such a rarity offshow. Odd that she isn't signed but good to know that the species is still kept at London, and a good reason for me to pay more attention for birds on my next Rainforest Life visit!
cornu aspersum
Well-Known Member
I believe armadillo is signed in Rainforest Life at least on the 29th of March but I forget the species.
When you say Casson Terraces - is that the Casson Pavilion or Mappins? There's been a large indoor enclosure for some sort of likely large, apparently arboreal mammal under construction (recently finished) within the Casson for a while, but I'm assuming that's not where they're kept...
On a side note, really quite intrigued by what species they might put in the aforementioned exhibit as it seems like it would suit a number of species I'd love to see back at ZSL but I guess we'll have to wait and see?
Had no idea they were so rare not only in Europe but beyond... Funny how having a species at your home zoo messes with your perception of how widespread they are beyond
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Kalaw
Well-Known Member
I meant the Casson (labelled on the map as 'Cassons' plural, which is why I assumed it was followed by 'terraces' as opposed to 'pavilion'). Immediately upon walking in from the entrance by the Display's Lawn, to your left, is a line of bamboo fencing with a staff door in the centre of it - behind that door is where the armadillos, and potentially a few other offshow species, are kept.
I too wondered about what the arboreal enclosure was, and asked a keeper who said that they didn't know - whether or not that was true, or if its future is intended to be secret, is hard to say, but hopefully it will get something exciting. It is the same enclosure that provided the indoor area for the Pygmy Hippos back when they were kept on the Cassons, and at one point in the sixties it even held a Walrus, so there is a lot of history there to say the least! Hopefully we get an exciting inhabitant to live up to said history.
Indeed it does! On the topic of the Cassons, however, it is that same influence that meant I had no idea how rare Bearded Pigs were until it was too late!Had no idea they were so rare not only in Europe but beyond... Funny how having a species at your home zoo messes with your perception of how widespread they are beyond
Interesting - I visited on the same day as you but saw no such sign, although I admittedly wasn't paying much attention to the signage within Rainforest Life, merely in Night Life as there had been a few rotations since my last visit downstairs.
cerperal
Well-Known Member
Can confirm three-banded armadillo is signed in Rainforest Life, but mixed with the spider monkeys and not in the main room*. The volunteers were unsure as to their actual location though, but it was far too chilly for them to be out anyway.
*This is what the signs suggested - didn't see them, so can't confirm.
This was originally built as the elephants' indoor bathing pool. It was, indeed, used as temporary accommodation for the young (and sadly short-lived) walrus "Alice" in 1966/1967 and was later used for pygmy hippo.
Whipsnade should do a walkthrough elephant exhibit.