Penguin Enclosure Help

Meg-T

Meg-T

Well-Known Member
Hi,

I am currently doing my third year dissertation, on penguin enclosures. I am comparing the behaviour in captivity to in situ in order to evaluate different enclosures. I need to find penguin enclosures that fit certain criteria, if any one could help me I would really appreciate it!

1. A naturalistic/immersion enclosure WITH an underwater viewing point (I was thinking Blackbrook)
2. A naturalistic/immersion exhibit WITHOUT an underwater viewing point.
3. A non-naturalistic exhibit WITH an underwater viewing point.
4. A non-naturalistic exhibit WITHOUT an underwater viewing point.
5. A mixed species exhibit (not mixed penguin species, but penguins mixed with other animal spp.)

Thanks for looking, i hope people can help :)
 
Meg-T said:
Hi,

I am currently doing my third year dissertation, on penguin enclosures. I am comparing the behaviour in captivity to in situ in order to evaluate different enclosures. I need to find penguin enclosures that fit certain criteria, if any one could help me I would really appreciate it!

1. A naturalistic/immersion enclosure WITH an underwater viewing point (I was thinking Blackbrook)
2. A naturalistic/immersion exhibit WITHOUT an underwater viewing point.
3. A non-naturalistic exhibit WITH an underwater viewing point.
4. A non-naturalistic exhibit WITHOUT an underwater viewing point.
5. A mixed species exhibit (not mixed penguin species, but penguins mixed with other animal spp.)

Thanks for looking, i hope people can help :)
Click to expand...

For point 1, you could use Chester
http://www.zoochat.com/42/penguin-pool-35817/

For point 2, you could use London or Whipsnade
http://www.zoochat.com/216/penguin-pool-36711/
http://www.zoochat.com/43/penguin-enclosure-87258/

For point 3, Edinburgh perhaps?
http://www.zoochat.com/61/gentoo-penguin-colony-edinburgh-zoo-2008-a-37101/

I can't think of any examples at the moment for 4

I think Bristol keep blue and black-footed penguins with other birds such as eiders and inca terns
 
Exmoor Zoo's penguin lake is shared by a number of ducks as well as Terrapins. I believe there were Pelicans at one point, but I'm not too sure. I think there is/was also plans to put monkeys on their island.

Unfortunately I havent got any pictures on this PC, but their on my old one. I'll put some up when I can. :)
 
Do they have to be in England? How many do you need? What species, just spheniscus or also polar species? What is "naturalistic" and what isn't?

For a relatively "non" realistic penguin enclosure without underwater viewing i'd go for Artis Amsterdam...

The best naturalistic penguin enclosure with an underwater viewing is by far Emmen Zoo, it's also the most rediculously sized penguin enclosure i've seen by a long long stretch.
 
jwer said:
Do they have to be in England? How many do you need? What species, just spheniscus or also polar species? What is "naturalistic" and what isn't?

For a relatively "non" realistic penguin enclosure without underwater viewing i'd go for Artis Amsterdam...

The best naturalistic penguin enclosure with an underwater viewing is by far Emmen Zoo, it's also the most rediculously sized penguin enclosure i've seen by a long long stretch.
Click to expand...

Thanks for everyones messages.

Ideally they would need to be in england, to reduce travel costs. I just need one example of each of the criteria mentioned in my original post. Penguin species does not really matter for the purposes of my study, but preferably humboldts as they are widely available. And with regars to naturalistic I mean anythin that attempts to recreate natural design, rather than other design (London zoo being an example of non-naturalistic!).

Thanks for your messages, please post any new ideas!! :)
 
annoying thing usually is that most penguin exhibits will try to recreate a relatively realistic land part, and have a concrete basin... so where do you draw the line :)

But since i don't know anything about the penguin exhibits in England, i'll let this one for the experts ;)
 
A few others which I think fit your categories -

1) Marwell Wildlife
2) Cotswold Wildlife Park
3) Blackpool Zoo , Birdland
5) Living Coasts , Torquay have inca terns and other birds with their penguins
 
Marwell's penguin enclosure is, I think fairly naturalistis, but it could be more so. I'm not sure where an enclosure crosses the line from naturalistic to non-naturalistic so it's up for debate really, given the concrete pool and tunnels. There is some plants though...

It's not a mixed exhibit as far as I'm aware. There are other birds in there, but I've always assumed they were wild. They have a few underwater viewing areas. Might be worth checking out.
 
The small fairy penguin exhibit at the Sydney Aquarium has a sandy bottom, simulated waves, a number of fish and usually a stingray in it. I don't know whether non-British zoos are useful to you, but I'm sure if you contacted them with some queries about the penguins' behaviours in response to the other animals and naturalistic features they'd be happy to help.
 
Then there's Chessingtons and Blair Drummonds that both have sort of artificial caves if I remember correctly and lots of plants. I'm hoping all my pictures are still on my old PC as I chose penguin enclosures to compare for my Practical Portfolio unit of my college course. It mainly focused on Exmoors, but I included bits from Marwell and Chessington.
 
CZJimmy said:
For point 1, you could use Chester
http://www.zoochat.com/42/penguin-pool-35817/

For point 2, you could use London or Whipsnade
http://www.zoochat.com/216/penguin-pool-36711/
http://www.zoochat.com/43/penguin-enclosure-87258/

For point 3, Edinburgh perhaps?
http://www.zoochat.com/61/gentoo-penguin-colony-edinburgh-zoo-2008-a-37101/

I can't think of any examples at the moment for 4

I think Bristol keep blue and black-footed penguins with other birds such as eiders and inca terns
Click to expand...

Edinburgh's penguin enclosure is not really naturalistic, but it does have underwater viewing - but quite remote from the normal viewing.

If finances permit, I'd investigate some of the indoor facilities in Europe.

Alan
 
For number four you could use sewerby hall park and zoo its a small place near bridlington in north yorkshire ,they have humbolts in a concrete pond .
 
"Marwell's penguin enclosure is, I think fairly naturalistis, but it could be more so. I'm not sure where an enclosure crosses the line from naturalistic to non-naturalistic so it's up for debate really, given the concrete pool and tunnels. There is some plants though...

It's not a mixed exhibit as far as I'm aware. There are other birds in there, but I've always assumed they were wild. They have a few underwater viewing areas. Might be worth checking out. "

Definition of naturalistic is an interesting topic; perhaps for a new thread. All UK penguin pools are concrete (except a few "temporary" ones have used flexible pool liners), albeit with different finishes, normally to assist with cleaning. Marwell is more naturalistic than some in as far as the land-area allows birds to get away to higher land and sight of the water should they choose to do so. It also used a non-chemical water filtration system with some salt added unlike most places that use chlorine and thus "sterile" water. It is also a mixed exhibit as Eider ducks share the enclosure; both species breed there. It does, as with other penguin exhibits, attract wild birds; moorhen, heron and wagtails, for example.
 
I certainly think Marwell's pengiun enclosure is more naturalistic at the back; from the front it looks like a rockery with a large pond, but the other side of the mound is covered in thin grass and tough plants that gives the idea of a sand dune.
 
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