mhale
Well-Known Member
Ever since I heard about the birth of Mbula the gorilla (born on 10th March), I have been longing to visit Chessington. The problem is that I only want to see the animals, I'm not interested in the rides anymore, so it is extremely expensive to do that outside of the Zoo Days winter opening. However, thanks to a BOGOF offer, my husband and I decided to go this weekend. Of course, it was incredibly busy, but the weather was fantastic so we took our chance. Here is my review of the visit:
The first place I headed for was the gorilla end of the Trail of the Kings (surprise, surprise!). En route though I stopped to watch the Californian sealions swimming around in the Sealion Bay exhibit, then looked at the smaller meerkat enclosure.
I knew that the gorillas had been split into two groups, but I wasn't sure what their living arrangements would be. It appears as though each group is let out into the enclosure on rotation. It was Kumba's group that was out when I got there. I just saw him disappear inside and, unfortunately, he didn't come back out. This left Kaja, Bafia, Kumili and Kumi in the enclosure. Bafia was lying on her back near the left-hand viewing windows, whilst Kumili and Kumi were playing together in the far right-hand corner of the enclosure and Kaja was sitting near them.
When I moved on, I followed the path round to the next enclosure which houses the Sumatran tigers. The female Ratna was out with the 15-month old cubs Kabus and Kelabu. I don't know where the male Batu was; he didn't have a name-board up, so I can only assume he was offshow.
Opposite the tigers is the enclosure for the Asiatic lions, Ashok and Kalinga. The first time I went past, Ashok was waiting to be let indoors and I couldn't see Kalinga, but the second time (after a keeper had cleaned the inside of the viewing windows), Ashok had a big piece of meat in his mouth and Kalinga was sitting round the back.
At the bottom of the path are the two enclosures for the Persian leopards. I'm not sure, but I assume the smaller enclosure is for the male Kalaf, whilst the bigger enclosure is for the female Shakira and her 11-month old triplets Cyrus, Soraya and Tahmine. There is a TV screen in between the two enclosures which shows inside the den. The first time round, Kalaf (I think) was outside, whilst the bigger enclosure was completely empty, but the second time, he was indoors whilst Shakira (I think) was outside on the top of the rocks in the bigger enclosure. I didn't see the cubs at all, which was a shame.
Following the path round, next to the lions is the enclosure for the binturongs Awam and Jelita. They were both asleep in the far corner of their enclosure.
Next to that, up the hill, is the enclosure for the female fossa Perinet. I'm not sure what has happened to the male Morombe as there wasn't a name-board up for him and I only saw one fossa.
I didn't go into the Creepy Caves this time. Instead, I headed for the Asian short-clawed otters. This family comprises the male Lancelot, the female Guinevere and their three 9-month old pups. However, I only saw three of them.
Next, I headed for Creature Features, stopping en route to see the capybara family which comprises the male Pillie, the female Temo, four babies born on 3rd May and their five siblings. Creature Features has enclosures for skunks, maras, wallabies, agoutis, the rest of the meerkats (including four kits born on 16th February), Siberian chipmunks and ferrets.
The path from here goes into the Monkey and Bird Garden, which exhibits great grey owls, hornbills, squirrel monkeys (in a walk-through exhibit), a pair of Alaotran gentle lemurs, vultures, brown-headed spider monkeys (including the female baby Maricelia born on 8th March), white-naped cranes, red-handed tamarins, Goeldi's monkeys, pygmy marmosets and the other two binturongs (the female Sunti, daughter of Awam and Jelita, and the male Watt).
The path leads on to Penguin Cove which exhibits humboldt's penguins.
Round the corner is a children's zoo which includes kune kune pigs, goats etc.
There was an outdoor show called Wild Wood Animal Antics which showed the skills of Fordham the hog-nosed coati, Joan the hooded rat, and Fidget the meerkat. I was expecting the show to last longer than 10 minutes, but this is something new this year, so it may improve. Afterwards, the presenter said she would be training a barn owl if anyone wanted to stay and watch.
The queue for the Sea Life Centre had been lengthy all day, but at this time it was a bit shorter so we decided to go in there. I find these places are all very much the same, with the obligatory ray pool, jellyfish, seahorses and walk-through tunnel showing black-tip reef sharks. This was the first time I had seen cownose rays though. I was fascinated by them, especially when they glided over the top of the tunnel.
After this, I headed back to the Trail of the Kings. By this time, Damisi's group were outside instead of Kumba's. I got a lovely clear view of baby Mbula, which was a highlight of the day. Buu looked as if she was totally in love with her new son (her firstborn). Shani, Asili and Shanga were foraging most of the time.
I missed the sealion show, but I have seen it before.
It's a shame that Chessington is primarily about the theme park, but the animals are breeding well, so they appear to be contented. I just wish that they were more accessible money-wise because I would be able to visit more often if there was a lower entry price just for the zoo (like there is during the winter when the rides are closed).
However, I am looking forward to a new gorilla enclosure being built in the future so that the two groups won't have to share one area. Hopefully, Damisi's group will expand further so they will need extra space
The first place I headed for was the gorilla end of the Trail of the Kings (surprise, surprise!). En route though I stopped to watch the Californian sealions swimming around in the Sealion Bay exhibit, then looked at the smaller meerkat enclosure.
I knew that the gorillas had been split into two groups, but I wasn't sure what their living arrangements would be. It appears as though each group is let out into the enclosure on rotation. It was Kumba's group that was out when I got there. I just saw him disappear inside and, unfortunately, he didn't come back out. This left Kaja, Bafia, Kumili and Kumi in the enclosure. Bafia was lying on her back near the left-hand viewing windows, whilst Kumili and Kumi were playing together in the far right-hand corner of the enclosure and Kaja was sitting near them.
When I moved on, I followed the path round to the next enclosure which houses the Sumatran tigers. The female Ratna was out with the 15-month old cubs Kabus and Kelabu. I don't know where the male Batu was; he didn't have a name-board up, so I can only assume he was offshow.
Opposite the tigers is the enclosure for the Asiatic lions, Ashok and Kalinga. The first time I went past, Ashok was waiting to be let indoors and I couldn't see Kalinga, but the second time (after a keeper had cleaned the inside of the viewing windows), Ashok had a big piece of meat in his mouth and Kalinga was sitting round the back.
At the bottom of the path are the two enclosures for the Persian leopards. I'm not sure, but I assume the smaller enclosure is for the male Kalaf, whilst the bigger enclosure is for the female Shakira and her 11-month old triplets Cyrus, Soraya and Tahmine. There is a TV screen in between the two enclosures which shows inside the den. The first time round, Kalaf (I think) was outside, whilst the bigger enclosure was completely empty, but the second time, he was indoors whilst Shakira (I think) was outside on the top of the rocks in the bigger enclosure. I didn't see the cubs at all, which was a shame.
Following the path round, next to the lions is the enclosure for the binturongs Awam and Jelita. They were both asleep in the far corner of their enclosure.
Next to that, up the hill, is the enclosure for the female fossa Perinet. I'm not sure what has happened to the male Morombe as there wasn't a name-board up for him and I only saw one fossa.
I didn't go into the Creepy Caves this time. Instead, I headed for the Asian short-clawed otters. This family comprises the male Lancelot, the female Guinevere and their three 9-month old pups. However, I only saw three of them.
Next, I headed for Creature Features, stopping en route to see the capybara family which comprises the male Pillie, the female Temo, four babies born on 3rd May and their five siblings. Creature Features has enclosures for skunks, maras, wallabies, agoutis, the rest of the meerkats (including four kits born on 16th February), Siberian chipmunks and ferrets.
The path from here goes into the Monkey and Bird Garden, which exhibits great grey owls, hornbills, squirrel monkeys (in a walk-through exhibit), a pair of Alaotran gentle lemurs, vultures, brown-headed spider monkeys (including the female baby Maricelia born on 8th March), white-naped cranes, red-handed tamarins, Goeldi's monkeys, pygmy marmosets and the other two binturongs (the female Sunti, daughter of Awam and Jelita, and the male Watt).
The path leads on to Penguin Cove which exhibits humboldt's penguins.
Round the corner is a children's zoo which includes kune kune pigs, goats etc.
There was an outdoor show called Wild Wood Animal Antics which showed the skills of Fordham the hog-nosed coati, Joan the hooded rat, and Fidget the meerkat. I was expecting the show to last longer than 10 minutes, but this is something new this year, so it may improve. Afterwards, the presenter said she would be training a barn owl if anyone wanted to stay and watch.
The queue for the Sea Life Centre had been lengthy all day, but at this time it was a bit shorter so we decided to go in there. I find these places are all very much the same, with the obligatory ray pool, jellyfish, seahorses and walk-through tunnel showing black-tip reef sharks. This was the first time I had seen cownose rays though. I was fascinated by them, especially when they glided over the top of the tunnel.
After this, I headed back to the Trail of the Kings. By this time, Damisi's group were outside instead of Kumba's. I got a lovely clear view of baby Mbula, which was a highlight of the day. Buu looked as if she was totally in love with her new son (her firstborn). Shani, Asili and Shanga were foraging most of the time.
I missed the sealion show, but I have seen it before.
It's a shame that Chessington is primarily about the theme park, but the animals are breeding well, so they appear to be contented. I just wish that they were more accessible money-wise because I would be able to visit more often if there was a lower entry price just for the zoo (like there is during the winter when the rides are closed).
However, I am looking forward to a new gorilla enclosure being built in the future so that the two groups won't have to share one area. Hopefully, Damisi's group will expand further so they will need extra space
