European (Tea)Cup - HEAD-TO-HEAD: Chester vs Prague (Africa)

Chester vs Prague - AFRICA

  • Chester 5/0 Prague

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Chester 4/1 Prague

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Prague 5/0 Chester

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    21
  • Poll closed .

TeaLovingDave

Moderator
Staff member
15+ year member
As the title suggests, this one will focus on the AFRICA category - as previously, the match will last for three days and although discussion of your reasoning and provision of supplementary evidence is not mandatory (except in cases of a 5:0 vote) it *is* very much encouraged.

Moreover, even if one does not feel comfortable voting, please do ask questions, post comments relating to your opinions on the evidence presented, and generally-speaking get involved in the wider discussion!
 
Another round that Chester’s name-sake exhibit matches and the fact it’s so new brings it straight to mind here, but for me Prague edges this category.

I’ve not visited Heart of Africa yet, but from photos I don’t think their Savannah is as good as Prague’s. Prague also holds a far superior exhibit in the Afryikinarium building when compared to what I’ve seen of Hidden Savannah (which does still look really good) IMO.

Prague has the better exhibits for African Great Apes with the two Gorilla areas vs Chester’s Chimpanzees (again still decent though), and they have underwater viewing for Hippos.

Finally Prague hold two stand out rarities in Shoebill and Brown Hyena which are top tier species to most zoo nerds.

Chester does have a very good Black Rhino complex and their Madagascan area trumps Prague’s offerings here for me, and hold a few species to the detriment of Prague like African Dwarf Buffalo and Okapi too.

As usual no bad enclosures at Chester, but Prague offers me more (I am admittedly more rarity and mammal-centric) 3/2 to Prague unless someone changes my mind.
 
The African aspect in Prague is actually very similiar to the Asian one. There are lots of species, lots of exhibits, some of them quite new…
- Africa up close is a really nice pavilion. It's focus is primarily small mammals and invertebrates. The small terrariums are currently getting upgraded - for example, there are new, brighter lights. Some of the species that deserve mentioning are the northern greater galago or the black and rufous sengi. Oh, also the honey badger. Those guys would deserve some climbing options though.
- I prefer the old gorilla pavilion Méfou to Dja reserve. It's small so there's only the bachelor group, but I like it more because the whole environment is more natural. Dja has great indoors on the other hand, but the gorillas seem to dislike the outdoor exhibit. Even if you try to scroll through socials, you will find out the gorillas spend most of their time inside and that there are not many photos of them making use of the outdoor enclosure. And it makes sense to me - the temperatures there go very high in the summer and there is little to no shade. They have basically nowhere to hide. I also hate all the wiring! So, so many wires everywhere! Generally, I find the indoor exhibits in Dja much better than the outdoor ones in many ways - size, general aesthetics, ... The only exception is the nocturnal exhibit for straw-colored fruit bats and Gambian pouched rats, which is very small. I used to love the vivariums hidden above the amphitheatre, but they did some major changes with those and they now look worse than before.
- The African savannah is nice, but used to be even nicer years ago, before Dja even existed. The pavilion kind of ruined the view.
- I find the outdoor aardvark enclosure quite questionable. The bottom of it is just concrete. I don't think it would hurt anyone to put even just a thin layer of sand there. There's a sandbox in the corner and that's it. It's not very good, especially compared to Chester. On the other hand, the indoors are fine.
- Well, hippos... Again, the indoor exhibit with the underwater viewing is nice, but the outdoor paddock is just tragic, considering it's not that old. It's very plain and there's concrete everywhere. The hippos have no access to grazing. There's decently sized grassy space right behind the outdoor enclosure and I don't really understand why the animals don't have access to it.
- In the upper part of the zoo there is also the brown hyena exhibit, which I find nice. It's quite ufortunate the hyenas are so old. I wonder what will happen with this space after they die.
- Then, in the lower part, there's a cheetah enclosure right next to the Mefou centre. There used to be the Shepherds sculpture few years ago, which was a nice addition to the exhibit. I don't know why it was removed, but I miss it. The exhibit is pretty hilly for cheetahs, but they tend to just chase around the wild magpies or lay around anyways…
- I love the African Rocks aviary. I appreciate there's a bench in the back where you can sit down and watch the birds around you. There are some nice waterfowl species, bald ibises, little owls, but also my beloved hamerkops (not a rarity, but I don't care about rare if I like something). The aviary is not as busy as the other one dedicated to birds of Asia, people don't come here as often, so I always aprecciate the time spent here.
- I also like the "shoebill greenhouses". Though, the birds only have access to the front part in winter, which is utterly small. Again, quite shameful in my opinion. Still a nice species that's always pleasure to see.
- There are more nice birds in the African wetlands area, including more waterfowl, ibises and herons.
- I don't know if Madagascar takes place in this category too, but if so, that's is where Chester is clearly the winner. Prague has only a handful of lemur species (ring-tailed, white-belted, white-headed, Goodman's mouse). The exhibits for white-headed lemurs in the Africa up close pavilion are not very interesting and the other lemur exhibits are nice, but not too special. The ring-tailed lemur walkthrough is cool, but I'd aprecciate them sharing space with at least one more species. Or if this space was used for other species entirely. But yeah, I suppose I should not forget ring-tailed lemurs are the ones most popular within society. Thus, this is nothing much compared to sifakas!
There are also some birds in the Pheasantry, including Madagascar ibises.
And one more Madagascar mammal species Prague keeps since last year is the fossa. Their exhibit is certainly not bad, I was actually pleasantly surprised by all the space the young pair got, but I prefer the Chester exhibit much more.
- Anyway, my vote goes to Chester, because there are more nature-like exhibits, which I prefer to the Prague's beloved concrete.
 
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As with many of the previous matches, I think this one is extremely close - certainly close enough that I feel a 4-1 vote in *either* direction is egregious and unwarranted :rolleyes::D I'll give the discussion awhile longer to hopefully bubble along before I provide more comprehensive summary of all that Chester has to offer, make my case for why it merits the win, and hopefully convince both @Haasje and @Kalaw that the 80-20 split suggested by themselves is incredibly unfair and inaccurate... even if I cannot convince them to switch sides altogether!

I don't know if Madagascar takes place in this category too

It does, as has been confirmed in prior matches.
 
I’m looking back at Prague and struggling to think of rationale for a 4-1 to be honest. Prague had a stronger species lineup, a couple of the cliff side exhibits, Africa Up Close and some lovely aviaries but I can’t particularly fathom such a stark score on that basis. Chester is very strong on the Madagascar front, has a superb track record with Black Rhino, an entirely new Heart of Africa that I’ve almost unilaterally heard good things about and a bunch of big name species that Prague doesn’t in spite of it all! I’m certainly closer to 3-2 Chester than 4-1 in the other direction, but still unsure on which side of the fence to park my vote for now.
 
the 80-20 split suggested by themselves is incredibly unfair and inaccurate... even if I cannot convince them to switch sides altogether!
What's more confusing, one of them switched from 3:2 to 4:1 after I mentioned Prague's flaws o_O
 
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I really am torn between 4-1 and 3-2 here. Having not seen Chester's new 'Heart of Africa' in person yet, I will move my vote down to 3-2 until more information about the English collection is provided, but I feel very comfortable at the moment in giving Prague the victory. So far the only arguments but forth in favour of Chester are @merlin 's criticisms of Prague which mostly strike me as the sort of gripes that anyone naturally develops with their local collection over time (for instance, animals being inactive or not using outdoor areas, interesting statues being removed), bar some valid aesthetic criticisms and the comments about the poor hippo enclosure which are impossible not to agree with, sadly.

Prague has the excellent Africa Up Close pavilion, really engagingly designed and packed with exciting enclosures such as that for Mechow's Mole-rat (just about the only one I've ever seen to provide natural substrate for them to form their own burrows) and Senegal Bushbaby with a large nocturnal space for an enormous troop. The vivariums here are also of an exceptional standard and have some rare and easily overlooked lizards, such as Vaillant's Mabuya. Garnett's Greater Bushbaby, Honey Badger, Bush Hyrax, Black-and-rufous Sengi; just a stunningly good collection.

The savannah is exceptional too. Not sure how it compares to Chester's in size (online tools still show HoA as a construction site, so there's nothing to measure), but aesthetically I think its a lot better, judging HoA from images. The other hoofstock paddocks in this area, for Mhorr and Nile Lechwe, are lovely too, and I like the mature trees in the bongo paddock. Solid Aardvark and dik-dik enclosures, too. I will admit that the hippo enclosure is inexcusable though when considering how recently it was built and how theoretically easy it would be too connect it with the bongo enclosure behind so as to provide them with grass.

I love Dja Reserve, and think the Western Gorilla enclosure there blows the nearest equivalent at Chester (the chimpanzee island) out of the water. The indoor enclosure is massive with a lot of climbing apparatus and substrate for foraging, and the outdoor enclosure is very large, again with good height and some nice landscaping, though it could definitely do with more trees; hopefully this is resolved some time soon. The other enclosures in the building are nice too and have some interesting mixes: RRH with De Brazza's Monkey, Brush-tailed Porcupine with talapoins, Straw-coloured Fruit Bats with Gambian Pouched Rats, all in really solid enclosures. The RRH space is perhaps a little too sparse, but Chester's enclosure for the species is no more or less so; much more indoor space at Prague too, with equal provision of areas to forage. Méfou Centre is another really good gorilla enclosure. The chimpanzee enclosure at Chester has a smaller but better-planted island and a miserable, dark indoor area.

Brown Hyenas are a serious asset for Prague here, as both a species and an enclosure. I think its up there with the best exhibitry that Chester has to offer here; so large, so well-landscaped with the undulations and placement of rocks, dens and bushes offering plenty of privacy even if the hyenas want to move around. There are numerous viewing areas at different angles to allow visitors a strong chance of seeing them but the hyenas can easily evade you should they please. Nearby Addax enclosure is gorgeous as well. And for me the Barbary Sheep and Macaque enclosure is better than anything Chester has to offer here; not sure I need to explain why this one is so great!

Below the cliff is an excellent hilly Cheetah enclosure, a species that Chester is currently lacking in; viewing is poor, but for the animals this space, especially with the adjacent offshow paddocks, is really good. Nice Fossa enclosure in the feline pavilion, though not comparable to Chester's. In general, Madagascan fauna is one area where I don't think it can be disputed that Chester has the edge. The Sitatunga enclosure on the other hand is an area that Chester can't answer to; they no longer keep the species, which is quite fortunate when one compares their former enclosure to the streams, reeds and swampland of the Prague enclosure, among Europe's best. There are also Cape Fur Seals, a really interesting and attractive pinniped that Chester once again can't really answer to, in a nice enclosure with a great pool.

Moving onto birds, the African aviary in 'Bird Wetlands' is really good, providing a good water feature, areas for perching, solid height and a really good selection of rarities for us: African Openbill, Squacco Heron, Hartlaub's Duck and Red-winged Starling. Much like the hyenas, the Shoebill alone deserve recognition. Their aviaries are so-so, though (the use of live fish too feed them, simulating fishing, is a nice touch), and the big lawn opposite has far too many pinioned birds for my liking. The Ibis Aviary on the other hand is great with Yellow-billed Storks, various waterfowl, doves, owls and vultures all sharing one huge walkthrough space that blends into the cliffside.

Again, its aesthetically superior to any of Chester's aviaries, though definitely smaller than Tsavo or the African Wetlands. There are a few relevant species in the remarkable Great Aviary (the praises of which I've sung enough before). Moving towards the Pheasantry, we cannot overlook the Pel's Fishing-owl, which Prague is the only public collection in the world to have bred, and are of note simply due to their rarity. There are also the likes of Egyptian Vulture, Hooded Vulture, and Madagascar Crested Ibis around here.

There is slightly less on offer with regards to reptiles: I've already mentioned the various really impressive vivariums with some interesting species in AUC. There are Gaboon Vipers and Occelated Skinks in the Feline and Reptile Pavilion. Hingeback Tortoises in Dja and (I think) some relevant species in the Terrarium round off all that is on offer in Prague here.

Overall, my reasons for voting Prague boil down to the following:

1. The best of Prague (cliffside paddock and aviaries) exceed the best of Chester, and in general I'd say that the savannah and the hyena enclosure are also comparable to the best English offerings here.

2. The collection is far more interesting, with more pleasing large mammals (the lack of rhinos certainly compensated for by hippos, fur seals, cheetahs etc), and smaller rarities (bushbabies, the various rodents in AUC, Brown Hyenas), as well as of course birds where the collection is far more novel than Chester's.

3. More interesting and engaging enclosures throughout, with the caveat that I haven't seen HoA in person. I think design-wise, Dja and Africa Up Close are immeasurably more exciting than any of Chester's simply designed paddocks that look at times indistinguishable from those at most British collections.

4. A really impressive breeding record throughout: the owls are a highlight.
 
So far the only arguments but forth in favour of Chester are @merlin 's criticisms of Prague which mostly strike me as the sort of gripes that anyone naturally develops with their local collection over time (for instance, animals being inactive or not using outdoor areas, interesting statues being removed), bar some valid aesthetic criticisms and the comments about the poor hippo enclosure which are impossible not to agree with, sadly.
I think it's fair to mention stuff other people might not know about. I never ever complain about the animals being inactive, not even in this thread.
Prague has the excellent Africa Up Close pavilion, really engagingly designed and packed with exciting enclosures such as that for Mechow's Mole-rat (just about the only one I've ever seen to provide natural substrate for them to form their own burrows) and Senegal Bushbaby with a large nocturnal space for an enormous troop. The vivariums here are also of an exceptional standard and have some rare and easily overlooked lizards, such as Vaillant's Mabuya. Garnett's Greater Bushbaby, Honey Badger, Bush Hyrax, Black-and-rufous Sengi; just a stunningly good collection.
Africa Up Close pavilion is nice, but there’s a very similiar pavilion now in Chester too, which should not be forgotten. The exhibits in there are bigger than those in Prague, providing the animals more space. On the other hand, I really hate the painted backgrounds.
Mechow's Mole-rat is apparently kept in only three European zoos currently, so I believe you have not seen any other exhibits for them. But maybe you are talking about mole-rats in general - if that’s the case, you just have’nt seen many of them I suppose. But yeah, it’s nice they are allowed to dig in.
Solid Aardvark and dik-dik enclosures, too.
The indoors is solid, but that’s about it. I’ll provide some pictures of the paddock (in comparison to Chester’s enclosure with lots of sand).
Below the cliff is an excellent hilly Cheetah enclosure, a species that Chester is currently lacking in; viewing is poor, but for the animals this space, especially with the adjacent offshow paddocks, is really good.
The cheetah in Chester died only two months ago, being 18 years old. But I agree the viewing area is rather poor.
Moving towards the Pheasantry, we cannot overlook the Pel's Fishing-owl, which Prague is the only public collection in the world to have bred, and are of note simply due to their rarity.
The young owl has died in the end, unfortunately.
Chester's simply designed paddocks that look at times indistinguishable from those at most British collections.
And Prague's exhibits look sometimes indistinguishable from those at other Czech collections - which makes sense. Dvůr, Ostrava, Zlín and even Plzeň have some superior enclosures to Prague, but we are not talking about those.

Anyway, here are some comparisons between Prague and Chester!

Aardvark
Prague:
upload_2025-8-22_12-19-15.jpeg
Chester:

Cheetah
Prague:
Chester:

Fossa
Prague: Chester:
Red river hog
Prague (mixed with de Brazza’s monkeys):
Chester:

Warthog
Chester only, as Prague does not keep them:
 

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Gorilla
Prague only, as Chester does not keep them. They are mixed with Colobus monkeys in Dja:
The old pavilion called Méfou:

Chimpanzee
Chester only, as Prague does not keep them:

Hippo

Prague only, as Chester does not keep them:

Rhinoceros
Chester only, as Prague does not keep them:

Brown hyena
Prague only, as Chester does not keep those:

African wild dog

Chester only, as Prague does not keep them:

Yellow mongoose

Prague:
Chester:

Vereaux’s eagle owl aviary
Chester only, as Prague does not keep this species:

Pel’s fishing owl

Prague only, as Chester does not keep this species:
 
Meerkat
Prague (did not find a photo of the indoor exhibit. It’s smaller than Chester’s though):
upload_2025-8-22_13-8-3-jpeg.817639

Chester:

Sifaka

Chester only, as Prague does not keep this species:

White-belted ruffed lemur
Prague:
upload_2025-8-22_13-15-13-jpeg.817640

Chester:

Bat-eared fox

Prague:
Chester:

I’ll add some more later! And Dave’s insight will be very much welcomed.
 
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I think it's fair to mention stuff other people might not know about. I never ever complain about the animals being inactive, not even in this thread.
Fair enough. I was really referencing your comments about how the cheetahs only 'lay around' when they're not chasing magpies, which I realise now was probably a more general remark on the laziness of cheetahs than a criticism of Prague. Sorry.

Africa Up Close pavilion is nice, but there’s a very similiar pavilion now in Chester too, which should not be forgotten. The exhibits in there are bigger than those in Prague, providing the animals more space. On the other hand, I really hate the painted backgrounds.
Mechow's Mole-rat is apparently kept in only three European zoos currently, so I believe you have not seen any other exhibits for them. But maybe you are talking about mole-rats in general - if that’s the case, you just have’nt seen many of them I suppose. But yeah, it’s nice they are allowed to dig in.
That's true, Chester's new 'Hidden Savannah' looks great, and I have speculated in the past that it may have been inspired, at least partially, by Prague as they are indeed similar. Vivariums are slightly larger at Chester, though there is a lot at Prague that they can't really compete with (bushbabies for example).

Yes, I was referring to mole-rats in general. You imply that there are other mole-rat enclosures with natural substrate that I have ever seen, which is good and I'd be interested to hear what those are. I find it disgusting that all the enclosures I've seen for mole-rats, bar only Prague, provide them with pre-made glass tunnels that seem to look like something out of a testing lab, not a zoo.

Looking at photos though, it seems as though Chester does this as well (granted for Nakeds, not Mechow's), so credit must be given equally to both collections for this instance.

The cheetah in Chester died only two months ago, being 18 years old. But I agree the viewing area is rather poor.
I don't think it matters how recently the cheetah died for the purposes of this tournament; Chester doesn't hold the species so their enclosure can't be considered.

The young owl has died in the end, unfortunately.
That's really sad news, I wasn't aware of that.

And Prague's exhibits look sometimes indistinguishable from those at other Czech collections - which makes sense. Dvůr, Ostrava, Zlín and even Plzeň have some superior enclosures to Prague, but we are not talking about those.
Which is one of the reasons why I think people tend to prefer the zoos overseas to the ones within their own country, along with the novelty factor provided by simply being abroad and surrounded by foreign languages. That results in an element of subjectivity which I personally think is fine for discussions such as this.

By the way, have you visited Chester? I'm assuming you have, as you seem to be very familiar with the place and understand it a great deal better than I do, but I don't remember you mentioning it so am quite curious to know.
 
You imply that there are other mole-rat enclosures with natural substrate that I have ever seen, which is good and I'd be interested to hear what those are. I find it disgusting that all the enclosures I've seen for mole-rats, bar only Prague, provide them with pre-made glass tunnels that seem to look like something out of a testing lab, not a zoo.

Will be posting fully later, after I finish work, but just thought I'd address this one before I forget :)

Other than the Prague and Chester exhibits, I have seen natural substrate exhibits for Ansell's Mole-rat at Leipzig and Wuppertal, and Mechows at Plzen.
 
Fair enough. I was really referencing your comments about how the cheetahs only 'lay around' when they're not chasing magpies, which I realise now was probably a more general remark on the laziness of cheetahs than a criticism of Prague. Sorry.
Noo, then it would be fair from me to complain about most cat species, not only cheetahs, but I can assure you I like felines a lot! :D
That's true, Chester's new 'Hidden Savannah' looks great, and I have speculated in the past that it may have been inspired, at least partially, by Prague as they are indeed similar. Vivariums are slightly larger at Chester, though there is a lot at Prague that they can't really compete with (bushbabies for example).
The space provided for bushbabies (or their neighbours, Godman’s mouse lemurs) is great, especially when considered there’s so many individuals. I was rather talking about the size of the terrariums for reptiles and some rodents.
Yes, I was referring to mole-rats in general. You imply that there are other mole-rat enclosures with natural substrate that I have ever seen, which is good and I'd be interested to hear what those are. I find it disgusting that all the enclosures I've seen for mole-rats, bar only Prague, provide them with pre-made glass tunnels that seem to look like something out of a testing lab, not a zoo.
Plzeň has a nice exhibit for Mechow’s. No tubes, just a small exhibit that could house any other rodent species. The viewing is much nicer than in Prague too; which makes sense, because in Prague you can see their dens and... not the hidden tubes :D I also remember Wuppertal having a nice exhibit for Ansell’s. I think if you went through the ZooChat gallery, you could probably find more.
By the way, have you visited Chester? I'm assuming you have, as you seem to be very familiar with the place and understand it a great deal better than I do, but I don't remember you mentioning it so am quite curious to know.
Nope! But one of the main topic here is the Heart of Africa anyway, which none of us have seen in person yet. And I’ll be honest with you - I don’t like the desert theming too much, but I think it does a nice job at showing where the animals actually live in the wild.

Well, let’s continue the showcasing! Let me know if I make any mistakes, especially when it comes to listing species.

Fur seals exhibit
Prague only, as Chester does not keep this species.

Sitatunga
Prague only, as Chester does not keep this species. It’s actually a mixed exhibit for sitatungas and marabou storks:

Bongo
Prague:
Chester:
apparently currently kept off-show.

Savannah
Prague (Rothschild’s girrafe, Grévy’s zebra, Roan antelope, common ostrich, East African oryx, blesbok, lechwe)
upload_2025-8-22_22-52-59.jpeg
Chester (Northern giraffe, Grévy’s zebra, common ostrich, roan antelope)

Lemur walkthrough

Prague (ring-tailed lemur):
upload_2025-8-22_23-8-15.jpeg

upload_2025-8-22_23-8-23.jpeg

Chester (ring-tailed lemur, red ruffed lemur, crowned lemur, black lemur, white-belted ruffed lemur):

Shoebill
Prague only, as Chester does not keep this species:

Big aviaries
Prague’s Great aviary (black stork, Egyptian vulture, cinereous vulture, red kite, booted eagle):
Prague’s African rocks aviary (hamerkop, waldrapp ibis, lesser kestrel, rock pigeon, little owl, yellow-billed stork, demoiselle crane, marbled duck and some more waterfowl):
Chester’s Tsavo aviary (Bruce's green pigeon, purple glossy starling, lilac-breasted roller, blacksmith plover, hamerkop, Maccoa duck, red-winged starling, hottentot teal, village weaver)
Chester’s vulture aviary (African white-backed vulture, white-headed vulture, hooded vulture):
Chester’s flamingo aviary (greater flamingo, grey crowned crane, Baer's pochard, Cape teal, purple swamphen, red-billed teal, ruddy shelduck, African white-backed duck, white-faced whistling duck, white-headed duck):

I’ll post more tomorrow (hopefully).
 

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The breakdown by @merlin has been pretty good thus far, but understandably lacks detail and subtlety where the many qualities of Chester are concerned - I'll provide supplementary information shortly, but first some more replies and feedback:

Prague has the excellent Africa Up Close pavilion.....The vivariums here are also of an exceptional standard

Although the larger exhibits are indeed rather good, many the smaller exhibits for reptiles and rodents are exceptional only in how poor they are, being both overly small and overly crowded.

Not sure how it compares to Chester's in size (online tools still show HoA as a construction site, so there's nothing to measure), but aesthetically I think its a lot better, judging HoA from images.

Google Earth has up-to-date imagery which allows size and area to be calculated - I've already used it in prior matches pertaining to Grasslands!

And for me the Barbary Sheep and Macaque enclosure is better than anything Chester has to offer here; not sure I need to explain why this one is so great!

1. The best of Prague (cliffside paddock and aviaries) exceed the best of Chester, and in general I'd say that the savannah and the hyena enclosure are also comparable to the best English offerings here.

As I will discuss, I disagree strongly with your claim that Chester has nothing of similar quality. I also think that you are generally overplaying the quality of the Prague aviaries - especially when one considers that the Stork and Ibis Aviary which you are particularly fond of citing as a catch-all win for any given geographic category is one of the worst offenders where pinioning is concerned!

Incidentally, I seem to recall that the Shoebill are pinioned too.

I will admit that the hippo enclosure is inexcusable though when considering how recently it was built and how theoretically easy it would be too connect it with the bongo enclosure behind so as to provide them with grass.

Moreover, it continues to experience recurrent issues which mean that the indoor viewing is closed to the public rather regularly!

. The collection is far more interesting, with more pleasing large mammals (the lack of rhinos certainly compensated for by hippos, fur seals, cheetahs etc),

Considering the fact that the Black Rhinoceros complex is one of the gems in Chester's crown, whilst the Hippopotamus exhibit is one of the biggest black marks in Prague's ledger, I think it is fairly egregious to say that the latter compares beneficially to the former!

Moreover, one could just as easily say that the presence of species such as Okapi, Congo Buffalo and Hunting Dog at Chester certainly compensate for the absence of pinnipeds or small cats ;)

Which is one of the reasons why I think people tend to prefer the zoos overseas to the ones within their own country, along with the novelty factor provided by simply being abroad and surrounded by foreign languages. That results in an element of subjectivity which I personally think is fine for discussions such as this.

Within reason, of course; when it is clear that someone is voting for or against a collection purely because it *is* that collection it can become an issue - which isn't an issue with yourself, so no problems there :)

That said, I think that you possibly would admit that (for the "grass is always greener on the other side" reasons you highlighted) you may be more lenient towards Prague when they display similar failings to Chester, and harsher towards Chester when they display similar strengths to Prague!


Is it again similar to the Asian match, where Prague may has slightly more extraordinary, but the average quality at Chester is slightly higher?

I think that sums it up.

This is *somewhat* the case, although I would argue that the gap in relative quality is a lot wider, and that the gap in relative "extraordinariness" is a lot narrower, than the above statement would imply.... as I hope to demonstrate anon.

But one of the main topic here is the Heart of Africa anyway, which none of us have seen in person yet.

Well.... I have :D which is one reason why I have been so forthright in providing rebuttals to the vaguely-dismissive picture being painted of the development and its quality throughout the latter half of the Cup and these bonus matches.
 
In order to get through as much as possible, I shall be recycling photographs, screenshots and comments from prior matches where required.

Firstly, Chester has a world-class assortment of Madagascar-themed exhibits, including the following:

FOSSA

I would argue that this is (by some margin) the best exhibit for the species anywhere in Europe, comprising as it does a large and attractive indoor exhibit providing a large amount of scope for natural climbing behaviour, alongside a *very* large and heavily vegetated outdoor exhibit. The second of these photographs shows a small portion of the latter, with scale demonstrated rather well by the visible presence of one of the inhabitants.

full

full

fossa map.png

COQUEREL'S SIFAKA

Similarly to the Fossa exhibit, this comprises a large and pleasant indoor exhibit (alongside off-display indoor housing) and a large and thickly-vegetated outdoor exhibit; the pair of Sifaka at Chester have now bred successfully on a number of occasions.

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LEMUR WALKTHROUGH

This exhibit is far superior both in terms of size and quality to the equivalent enclosure at Prague, and is very pleasant and well-designed; it currently holds a mixture of several species including ring-tailed lemur, crowned lemur and red-ruffed lemur.

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EXHIBITS WITHIN TROPICAL REALM

This house contains several noteworthy exhibits and taxa relevant to this category, including the following:

A large terrarium for Golden Mantella and Whitebellied Reed Frog:

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A large mixed exhibit for several species of Malagasy endemic reptiles, including Parson's Chameleon, Panther Chameleon, Giant Madagascar Day Gecko, Southeastern Girdled Lizard, and Malagasy Collared Iguana.

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A large and recently-refurbished exhibit for Radiated Tortoise and Oustalet's Chameleon; this contains an open paddock-style exhibit and a heated indoor area:

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The other major category-relevant aspect of Tropical Realm is, of course, the mixed exhibit complex for Aye-Aye and Malagasy Jumping Rat. These comprise two spacious onshow exhibits and - I believe - at least one offshow enclosure. Given the nocturnal lighting conditions, the quality of these images is lower than is possible for other exhibits.

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PLOUGHSHARE TORTOISE

A group of Ploughshare Tortoise are located within the Dragons In Danger house, and are located within this large and attractive exhibit - this photograph shows about half of the overall space, but is the best quality image I was able to find:

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ALAOTRA GENTLE LEMUR AND WHITE-BELTED RUFFED LEMUR ISLANDS

These two species are displayed within a pair of large, thickly-vegetated and attractive outdoor cages and adjacent indoor houses, both of which connect to island exhibits - the islands themselves are also thickly-vegetated and provide a large amount of scope for climbing and natural behaviour:

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GRASSLANDS / HEART OF AFRICA

This, I suspect, will require multiple posts!

Before I cover those exhibits which have been newly-constructed or heavily revamped for the new exhibit complex, I will discuss those which were retained more-or-less intact and merely incorporated into the new development; these include three exhibits which have long been some of the best exhibits within the zoo as a whole, as I will discuss shortly.

Tsavo Aviary

Perhaps one of the best walkthrough aviary exhibits in the UK, if not Europe, and certainly one of my favourite zoo exhibits full stop:

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Per a comment on the second photograph above, the exhibit currently contains the following species:

  • Bruce's Green Pigeon
  • Purple Glossy Starling
  • Lilac-breasted Roller
  • Blacksmith Plover
  • Hamerkop
  • Maccoa Duck
  • Red-winged Starling
  • Hottentot Teal
  • Village Weaver

African Wild Dog exhibit

A series of linked enclosures for African Wild Dog, which is one of the largest - if not *the* largest - and best exhibits for the species I have seen anywhere in Europe at around 4,100 m²:

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Rock Hyrax

This exhibit, located opposite the Hunting Dog exhibit, comprises an indoor and outdoor enclosure built into a mock-rock cliff-face - it is large and spacious and provides plenty of scope for climbing and activity:

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Yellow Mongoose

This exhibit has undergone minor renovations and changes in recent years in order to convert it to hold Yellow Mongoose rather than - as was previously the case - Aaardvark. There are no decent images in the gallery showing the indoor housing at the present time.

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Tsavo Rhino House and Black Rhinoceros paddocks

As with the above two exhibits, the massive complex of paddocks for Eastern Black Rhinoceros at Chester has been a particular highlight of the zoo for many years prior to the recent redevelopment of that area of the zoo - and they have been retained more or less "as is" within the Grasslands complex, with the only real change being a reduction in public footpaths between the paddocks. The onshow paddocks cover a total of around 18,000 m², with a further 10,000 m² of offshow breeding paddocks.

As such, I think that the previous dismissal of this exhibit complex as being "simply designed paddocks that look at times indistinguishable from those at most British collections" and of similar weight to the Common Hippopotamus exhibit at Prague - one of the lowlights at said collection - does Chester a massive disservice.

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Before I continue with the main body of Grasslands aka Heart of Africa, I will highlight some of the other exhibits elsewhere in the zoo which haven't been discussed or depicted in great detail thus far in the thread:

MONKEY ISLANDS

Two of the three exhibits in this exhibit complex (Mandrill and Roloway Monkey) are relevant to this category; although the "Monkey Island" complex is one of the older areas of the zoo now, it still very much holds up in my opinion - the indoor areas are a little old fashioned now but still provide a lot of opportunity for climbing and activity, whilst the outdoor exhibits are world-class when it was first constructed and is still extremely good thanks to the massive amount of vegetation and climbing opportunities:

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Mandrill

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Roloway Monkey

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CONGO BUFFALO

This exhibit comprises a large, spacious and wooded outdoor paddock containing a wallow for the inhabitants, along with an outdoor hardstanding and offshow indoor stalls; in my opinion the overall "feel" of the exhibit benefits greatly from the large amount of shade and tree cover available.

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OKAPI HOUSE

This exhibit comprises an indoor house for Okapi (which regularly breed), Red Natal Duiker and various small mammals, reptiles and fish, along with two connected outdoor paddocks for the "main" pair of Okapi and the Duiker, and a number of offshow houses and semi-offshow paddocks for further Okapi individuals.

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The interior of the Okapi house contains viewing into the onshow indoors for the Okapi and Red Natal Duiker, along with exhibits for several rodent species (I am unsure which, as many of the former inhabitants are now onshow over in Grasslands), Western Gaboon Viper and a selection of African fish species.

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WESTERN CHIMPANZEE

Chester has a large and pleasant outdoor exhibit for pure Western Chimpanzee, the result of several years of methodically testing their group for purity and swapping individuals to-and-from other collections, with breeding now occurring after a hiatus whilst this work was undertaken. I believe some older hybrid individuals remain present, but are sterilised.

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The indoor onshow exhibit is a little small and shabby, but provides a lot of climbing opportunities - however, the offshow housing is much more extensive.

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RED RIVER HOG

This exhibit is located between the Western Chimpanzee exhibit and the entrance to the Tropical Realm, and once comprised the outdoor exhibit for the gorillas once held at the zoo in the 1980s.

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EDGE OF EUROPE

This large aviary was converted to hold a wide range of European native bird species (with a particular focus on wetland species) several years ago after the old Europe on the Edge aviary was demolished to make way for the Madagascar exhibit complex, and is another excellent example of the high standard of the exhibitry at Chester. At the present time, I believe it currently holds the following species, of which all but the Azure-winged Magpie occur within Africa and therefore are relevant to this category.

  • Eurasian black vulture
  • Ferruginous duck
  • Azure-winged Magpie
  • Garganey
  • Marbled teal
  • Waldrapp
  • Red-breasted goose
  • Red-crested pochard
  • Tufted duck
  • White-headed duck
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It's getting a bit late, so I will return to the main body of Grasslands aka Heart of Africa tomorrow :)

For now, as the question was raised regarding the size of the savannah exhibit within the new complex....

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The above includes the new giraffe house and the off-show indoor housing for other species housed within the mixed exhibit, but does not include the second smaller savannah exhibit for giraffe and blesbok only visible to lodge guests, which (to the best of my ability) I have mapped out below:

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In comparison, this is the footprint of the Savannah exhibit at Prague along with the indoor housing for the inhabitants:

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As can be seen, the Prague exhibit is actually somewhat *smaller* than the Chester exhibit - and contrary to the statements by @Kalaw I would argue it actually has a lot less going on aesthetically, and moreover is poorly-designed when it comes to viewing.
 

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