Paignton Zoo Paignton Zoo news 2024

Hoatzin said:
Will be crested Porcupines of some description. Apparently using "giant tortoise style wooden barrier" which I can see the Porcupines making short work of very quickly but will be something in there at least
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I don’t understand why they’d put a mostly nocturnal species in one of the brightest areas of the zoo?
 
TriUK said:
I don’t understand why they’d put a mostly nocturnal species in one of the brightest areas of the zoo?
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A hole in the ground and a lotta chewed up fencing butters no parsnips in light of what that building HAD. Having seen the original capes the collection had many moons ago I can't quite understand why they couldn't just do something similar, putting em' in the baboon pit when they have moved would be quite a bit safer than them charging around the desert house when they inevitably escape if they do use the wooden design. Hoping they mean with wire underlay or something but the keeper I spoke to today sounded pretty certain its just wooden rounds like the giant tortoise paddock.. I've seen Indian crested chew through rough concrete in less than a night.

Might skip the visit the day they arrive!!
 
Updates from a visit on Saturday:
- The Howler monkeys are back on their own island and have been using the excellent new climbing g structures at the river exhibit end. The Pileated Gi bins will return very soon, probably as a smaller family unit, I would imagine?
- The new Pelican exhibit now has poles erected to support the netting.
- The new Orang Island climbing g structures look absolutely fantastic; they are essentially bigger & better versions of the new Hangout kids playground directly opposite. See photos, though they do t do the development justice. PZ have, at first glance, done a great job here collaborating with the Bristol based company.
- There were lots of examples of birds rotating enclosures.
 

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Hello all, I was on the zoo's website just now, and coconut crabs were listed as one of their captive species. If anybody knows where they are in the zoo itself please let me know as I'm interested in this.

many thanks
 
Springbok said:
Hello all, I was on the zoo's website just now, and coconut crabs were listed as one of their captive species. If anybody knows where they are in the zoo itself please let me know as I'm interested in this.

many thanks
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These are located in the ‘Bugs At Home’ building opposite the Ostrich Enclosure, near the Indoor Play Area. I believe they are currently housed with Sulawesi Rabbit Snails (Tylomelania).
 
Arnold, the zoos lone 16 yr old Takin was pts today after deteriorating due to age related conditions.
Thoughts to his keepers and fingers crossed for a breeding group to arrive quickly to utilise the world class exhibit.
 
Re. Takin,
Does anyone know if there is scope to create a breeding herd for Paignton from the individuals kept at HWP and Aspinall, or will the stud book keeper advise to import from Europe/overseas?
Now that Arnold has passed (he was an amazing specimen & will be greatly missed by all members), it would provide an ideal window of opportunity for the zoo to build the new Red Panda exhibit before new Takin arrive, to minimise disturbance?
Snow Leopard or a smaller Himalayan cat species would be a good fit here too, to create a wonderful Himalayan zone.
 
takin enclosure will be 1.2 made up from current UK blood, will happen quickly so they will show up soon no doubt. Couldn't say what zoo or if ratio staying the same but that was the agreement.

Pandas won't start till after baboon work.. a while. No snow leopard but will be pallas cats for now but regardless nothing other than a new takin trio will be happening for a long time.
 
Hoatzin said:
takin enclosure will be 1.2 made up from current UK blood, will happen quickly so they will show up soon no doubt. Couldn't say what zoo or if ratio staying the same but that was the agreement.

Pandas won't start till after baboon work.. a while. No snow leopard but will be pallas cats for now but regardless nothing other than a new takin trio will be happening for a long time.
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What is happening / has gone wrong with the baboon development?
 
TriUK said:
The architect and development management team ‘forgot’ to include an electrical sub station to cope with the power needed to supply the new house. That whole far side of the zoo looks atrocious going into the summer - it’s an embarrassment!!
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:(

How, just how do you screw that up?
 
Laboratory 7 said:
Quite easily not the first zoo to have done something like that,and won't be the last
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I think it's more just one of many oversights not the situation itself. They have negated worse in the past, is a unfortunate set of circumstances to be going into the busy season with.
 
So there is now planning on the Torbay portal for a new RR Lemur house which is proposed to be built opposite the existing Ring T Lemur house.

There is a planning for the much overdue new flamingo house.

Planning has been submitted for an on-show lion house and new ramp up to the abandoned but still existing tower lookout over the lion paddock.
 

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polarbear said:
Especially as getting services to the top of the zoo was already part of the plan for the abandoned Savannah area
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The current management blame the previous management team (bit like Westminster), who apparently left them with a long list of ‘to do’ infrastructure jobs.
 
Hoatzin said:
I think it's more just one of many oversights not the situation itself. They have negated worse in the past, is an unfortunate set of circumstances to be going into the busy season with.
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The financial cost of delayed construction projects is ridiculously high. The ‘optics’ of the site looking like a building site with limited views of key zoo megafauna is also costly.

The zoos strap line is ‘halt species extinction’ - well imagine how far that money from numerous Paignton Zoo management oversights would go in the field, to support anti-poaching or vital research?

The most recent Trip Advisor reviews are fairly damning of the zoo, unfortunately, but the zoo replies from guest services are becoming more and more defensive. One poster comments about having to pay extra cash to use the indoor play area on a rainy trip up from Truro - the response was that it ensured funds were being channeled straight to the facility for repairs. I’m no accountant, but surely someone can re-channel money from tbe overall takings to specific zoo departments!

The new Hangout play area & Orang climbing structures are a positive, but I’m genuinely worried about how PZ may disappoint touristic visitors this summer - I dearly hope the management can pull something out the bag!
 
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TriUK said:
The financial cost of delayed construction projects is ridiculously high. The ‘optics’ of the site looking like a building site with limited views of key zoo megafauna is also costly.

The zoos strap line is ‘halt species extinction’ - well imagine how far that money from numerous Paignton Zoo management oversights would go in the field, to support anti-poaching or vital research?

The most recent Trip Advisor reviews are fairly damning of the zoo, unfortunately, but the zoo replies from guest services are becoming more and more defensive. One poster comments about having to pay extra cash to use the indoor play area on a rainy trip up from Truro - the response was that it ensured funds were being channeled straight to the facility for repairs. I’m no accountant, but surely someone can re-channel money from tbe overall takings to specific zoo departments!

The new Hangout play area & Orang climbing structures are a positive, but I’m genuinely worried about how PZ may disappoint touristic visitors this summer - I dearly hope the management can pull something out the bag!
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It's funny you mentioned "halt species extinction" as it's a bit baffling that last year the Wild Planet Trust (charity which runs both Paignton and Newquay Zoo) pulled out from financing five in-situ projects. Just go to Past Projects - Wild Planet Trust and you'll see what I am talking about: Ader's duiker, pink pigeon, Owston civet, Sulawesi crested macaques, and Vietnamese pheasant.
The fact that they pulled out of the Sulawesi crested macaques project is very depressing considering the Zoo runs the EEP for this species and the Trust fuonded Selamatkan Yaki (the in-situ NGO which deals with macaques conservation) in the first place back in 2007. Luckily Dublin Zoo picked up the funding of that NGO. It's also sad the Trust does not support anymore the Owston civet in-situ project anymore as they were imported in the UK in Newquay Zoo in 2004 and the zoo had run the EEP studbook for years (although the species has proved to be somewhat difficult to breed in captivity).
I don't know why the management team decided to get rid of these projects. They surely know it better than us and I hope that the money which was spent for supporting those projects will be diverted to make the zoo flourish again. But to me it looks like a waste of legacy, especially if "Helping to halt species decline" is your motto also in light of One Plan approach to conservation now followed by zoos (zoos should do both in situ and ex situ conservation) and the evergreen anti-zoo criticism that zoos do not anything or enough to prevent species extinction in their natural habitat.
 
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