biggest single species group colony in UK

[garyjp]

I was just watching animal Planet and it got me thinking what is the biggest single species group/colony of animals in any UK zoo/safari Park

 

[Dassie rat]

Leaf-cutting ants?

 

[Fresco3]

I think it would be more interesting to look at this in terms of different groups of animals as, as above, things like insects and fish etc will undoubtably win here!

Thinking of primates for example, I would guess it is the troop of Barbary Macaques at Trentham Monkey Forest - some 140+ in a single enclosed space split over 3-4 troops.

It’d be interesting to find out about some other groups of animals! Penguins? Bats? Antelope? Wild Dogs? Lions?

 

[HelloCrossy67]

I think flamingos might stand a chance -

 

[Kalaw]

It’d be interesting to find out about some other groups of animals! Penguins? Bats? Antelope? Wild Dogs? Lions?

Penguins is almost definitely Edinburgh who allegedly have just short of 100. London, the only contender I could think of, listed 'only' 74 in their latest annual stocklist.

Bats will probably be Chester, whose 2023 stocklist listed 186 Rodrigues' Fruit Bats and 151 Seba's Short-tailed Bats for well over 300 in total, all of which, I believe, live in Fruit Bat Forest.

Longleat has 28 lions so surely wins there. Not sure about any others.

 

[garyjp]

I think it would be more interesting to look at this in terms of different groups of animals as, as above, things like insects and fish etc will undoubtably win here!

Thinking of primates for example, I would guess it is the troop of Barbary Macaques at Trentham Monkey Forest - some 140+ in a single enclosed space split over 3-4 troops.

It’d be interesting to find out about some other groups of animals! Penguins? Bats? Antelope? Wild Dogs? Lions?

On reflection my initial question was quite badly worded

 

[Embu]

Longleat has 28 lions so surely wins there. Not sure about any others.

Longleat has 24 lions now(there might be even less) but as you say they still have the largest pride in the country by some margin.

 

[ZooNews2024]

I was just watching animal Planet and it got me thinking what is the biggest single species group/colony of animals in any UK zoo/safari Park

Hamerton listed 164 spinifex hopping mice, 260 zebra finches and 380 bush budgerigars in their review published earlier in the year. There are probably more of all by now...

 

[TriUK]

I visited Dudley very recently for the first time and was shocked by the size of the Barbary Sheep herd in such a small hard stand area and wrongly assumed they had access to the hillside behind!