I have not visited the Native Species area myself... so I will merely go off what I have seen.
Firstly... it's great to see the Village have a cohesive identity again! I think ever since the farmyard went there never really was one... and for the record I do not think of 'exotic animals small enough to hold' as being a cohesive identity. So that is great!
The crayfish area looks well done, but what has me quite excited is the very good quality of the educational material present! I think Marwell has been crying out for more educational signs in the zoo for some time now... [seriously, why does Life Among the Trees have more detailed information about rainforests than the Cretney-era rainforest house?] so to be assured that Read is prioritising more educational signage in the zoo is very good to see for myself! I do hope the Sand Lizards have such educational material too...
I was initially a bit annoyed that the tamarin/rabbit mound is now a pond... but then when I think more about it I can't see it as too much of a net loss. Quite a few petting farms [and zoos to some degree] have domestic rabbits... many pet shops have rabbits... and if one wants to see a rabbit at Marwell they have a good chance of seeing the wild ones who are everywhere. [Which are, as it turns out, endangered in their native area of the Iberian Peninsula... however numerous they are everywhere else!] And the area was never any good for tamarins, who have better quality of life in the zoo's major primate exhibit ... so nothing of much value was lost. What I do think the area could use is a mammal exhibit... quite a few zoos have harvest mouse in their collection so Marwell in theory shouldn't have a problem setting up a harvest mouse exhibit here. But then, I did recall reading how this was phase 1 of the exhibit... so maybe this isn't ruled out just yet.
And one curiosity I had in mind... when Cretney redeveloped the Village area in 2006 and opened it in 2007, CBC [although not called the Cold Blooded Corner at the time] was part of the development. And it was later integrated into the reiteration and expansion of the Encounter Village in 2013[? I think?] when it became known as Fur, Feathers, and Scales. And now the 'village proper' is the new Native Species area, probably separate from FFS... but the area encompassing the walkthrough aviaries and [for now] red pandas and wallabies is labelled as Fur, Feathers, and Scales on the map for the time being. And so this brings into question... which exhibit is the CBC part of now? Is it part of the Native Species Zone because that's what the village proper has become, presumably now a separate thing from FFS? Is it an exclave of the FFS area? Is it of dual-citizenship? Though seeing Read's intent to move the red pandas over... the answer may be one to unfold rather than figure out right this minute.
But overall, I think for her first major development [very funnily, this area was also the site of Cretney's major development!] it is one that is very well done, and leaves me excited for what she will bring to Marwell in future!
Firstly... it's great to see the Village have a cohesive identity again! I think ever since the farmyard went there never really was one... and for the record I do not think of 'exotic animals small enough to hold' as being a cohesive identity. So that is great!
The crayfish area looks well done, but what has me quite excited is the very good quality of the educational material present! I think Marwell has been crying out for more educational signs in the zoo for some time now... [seriously, why does Life Among the Trees have more detailed information about rainforests than the Cretney-era rainforest house?] so to be assured that Read is prioritising more educational signage in the zoo is very good to see for myself! I do hope the Sand Lizards have such educational material too...
I was initially a bit annoyed that the tamarin/rabbit mound is now a pond... but then when I think more about it I can't see it as too much of a net loss. Quite a few petting farms [and zoos to some degree] have domestic rabbits... many pet shops have rabbits... and if one wants to see a rabbit at Marwell they have a good chance of seeing the wild ones who are everywhere. [Which are, as it turns out, endangered in their native area of the Iberian Peninsula... however numerous they are everywhere else!] And the area was never any good for tamarins, who have better quality of life in the zoo's major primate exhibit ... so nothing of much value was lost. What I do think the area could use is a mammal exhibit... quite a few zoos have harvest mouse in their collection so Marwell in theory shouldn't have a problem setting up a harvest mouse exhibit here. But then, I did recall reading how this was phase 1 of the exhibit... so maybe this isn't ruled out just yet.
And one curiosity I had in mind... when Cretney redeveloped the Village area in 2006 and opened it in 2007, CBC [although not called the Cold Blooded Corner at the time] was part of the development. And it was later integrated into the reiteration and expansion of the Encounter Village in 2013[? I think?] when it became known as Fur, Feathers, and Scales. And now the 'village proper' is the new Native Species area, probably separate from FFS... but the area encompassing the walkthrough aviaries and [for now] red pandas and wallabies is labelled as Fur, Feathers, and Scales on the map for the time being. And so this brings into question... which exhibit is the CBC part of now? Is it part of the Native Species Zone because that's what the village proper has become, presumably now a separate thing from FFS? Is it an exclave of the FFS area? Is it of dual-citizenship? Though seeing Read's intent to move the red pandas over... the answer may be one to unfold rather than figure out right this minute.
But overall, I think for her first major development [very funnily, this area was also the site of Cretney's major development!] it is one that is very well done, and leaves me excited for what she will bring to Marwell in future!
