Cbarnes1987
Member
from the public view the jag windows could be bigger but is that not missing the point of limited viewing areas? to improve the animals welfare by allowing less faces glaring in any one time?
Chester Zoo The Islands development - planning, development and build (2012-2015)
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from the public view the jag windows could be bigger but is that not missing the point of limited viewing areas? to improve the animals welfare by allowing less faces glaring in any one time?
My criticism wasn't the size of the windows, but the width of the pathway.
Mind you, I also think there should be more viewing space! And I'm not sure a species like the Jaguar would suffer in welfare terms by having more faces in view!
Cbarnes1987
Member
oh right, yeah the pathways understandable...
i worded that wrong not so much suffer but anything that can result in less stress i would deem a bonus.
More details!
Thanks to Wolverine, who put a link to the zoo's planning application in another thread, we can now see a lot more information about the plans.
For convenience, I repeat the link here Planning Documents
The Design and Access statements contain most of the information although the Planning statement and Economic statement have some interesting details. I could not download some of the plans in larger pdf files (particularly for the big new Indonesian Showhouse), which rather annoyed me as some of the details are not easily visible on the smaller versions in the Design statements.
I have spent a little time looking at the plans - just out of curiosity
Comparing these versions to the plan shown in the Public Consultation document, the main change is that the aviary for king birds of paradise has vanished: the only species in the Papuan zone will be the cassowary. I confess that I am disappointed by this, not just because I have never seen a king bird but also because there are so many other fascinating species from New Guinea.
I do like the fact that there will be a small mammal exhibit and a set of five small exhibits for reptiles and/or invertebrates in the Komodo Showhouse.
The outdoor Sumatran orang exhibits feature swaypoles and I will be interested to see them.
Finally some numbers and dates (estimates of course)
Alan
Thanks to Wolverine, who put a link to the zoo's planning application in another thread, we can now see a lot more information about the plans.
For convenience, I repeat the link here Planning Documents
The Design and Access statements contain most of the information although the Planning statement and Economic statement have some interesting details. I could not download some of the plans in larger pdf files (particularly for the big new Indonesian Showhouse), which rather annoyed me as some of the details are not easily visible on the smaller versions in the Design statements.
I have spent a little time looking at the plans - just out of curiosity
Comparing these versions to the plan shown in the Public Consultation document, the main change is that the aviary for king birds of paradise has vanished: the only species in the Papuan zone will be the cassowary. I confess that I am disappointed by this, not just because I have never seen a king bird but also because there are so many other fascinating species from New Guinea.
I do like the fact that there will be a small mammal exhibit and a set of five small exhibits for reptiles and/or invertebrates in the Komodo Showhouse.
The outdoor Sumatran orang exhibits feature swaypoles and I will be interested to see them.
Finally some numbers and dates (estimates of course)
construction cost £19.1 million
total cost £30 million
150 thousand extra visitors per year
construction January 2013 to July 2014
opening spring 2015
There are probably many more interesting points that I haven't spotted yet.total cost £30 million
150 thousand extra visitors per year
construction January 2013 to July 2014
opening spring 2015
Alan
I too was glad to see this. Shaping up very well overall. Still don't quite understand why no Philippine Spotted Deer though. Ho hum - I'm sure there's a plan.
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
I believe it will be a later addition after Islands is completed.
Patience is a virtue. I am sure at the end of it we will all be pleasantly surprised and amazed. 
I bet they're hoping for more than 'pleasantly surprised'
ChesterZooFan
Well-Known Member
[QUOTE
There are probably many more interesting points that I haven't spotted yet.[/QUOTE]
I finally managed to look at the entire planning application! If delivered to the standard outlined, this will be one of the most outstanding exhibits anywhere in the world.
Some additional 'interesting points'...
Islands was one of 4 options considered as the next big Zoo development. The other 3 were: a smaller version of Heart of Africa , an African Savannah Zone or a series of smaller developments to be built across the whole Zoo (no details as to what these would have been though). Do we think Chester made the right decision??
I notice plans for the new Sumatran Orang Exhibit feature 6 enclosures ( 3 inside 3 outside). This made me wonder whether there is a chance they may have 2 groups of Sumatrans as it seems a lot of space for one group? We already know there will be 2 Tiger enclosures for 2 seperate pairs. Just speculating if they will do the same for the Orangs?
Interested to see under water viewing for the Tapir and Tiger...not sure if any other exhibits across the world have this feature? This will offer a new and exciting perspective!
Looks like some additional exhibits in the Indonesian Show House. As well as the key species listed there appears 'large snakes' and 'small mammals' on the plans.
The entrance cuts through the current Zebra paddock (running in between the male and female paddocks) Not sure whether the Zebra will stay there when Islands opens?
Many large trees are being transported all the way from Asia to offer a truely authentic experience to the Show House.
Admission to the Zoo will go up by nearly £2 as soon as Islands opens, but the Monorail will then be free to ride. The current boat ride will cease to operate as Islands will offer a far superior alternative.
It is estimated that it will take an average of 2 hours to walk through Islands, significantly increasing the total 'stay' time for the whole Zoo.
Can't wait to see it all finished........
There are probably many more interesting points that I haven't spotted yet.[/QUOTE]
I finally managed to look at the entire planning application! If delivered to the standard outlined, this will be one of the most outstanding exhibits anywhere in the world.
Some additional 'interesting points'...
Islands was one of 4 options considered as the next big Zoo development. The other 3 were: a smaller version of Heart of Africa , an African Savannah Zone or a series of smaller developments to be built across the whole Zoo (no details as to what these would have been though). Do we think Chester made the right decision??
I notice plans for the new Sumatran Orang Exhibit feature 6 enclosures ( 3 inside 3 outside). This made me wonder whether there is a chance they may have 2 groups of Sumatrans as it seems a lot of space for one group? We already know there will be 2 Tiger enclosures for 2 seperate pairs. Just speculating if they will do the same for the Orangs?
Interested to see under water viewing for the Tapir and Tiger...not sure if any other exhibits across the world have this feature? This will offer a new and exciting perspective!
Looks like some additional exhibits in the Indonesian Show House. As well as the key species listed there appears 'large snakes' and 'small mammals' on the plans.
The entrance cuts through the current Zebra paddock (running in between the male and female paddocks) Not sure whether the Zebra will stay there when Islands opens?
Many large trees are being transported all the way from Asia to offer a truely authentic experience to the Show House.
Admission to the Zoo will go up by nearly £2 as soon as Islands opens, but the Monorail will then be free to ride. The current boat ride will cease to operate as Islands will offer a far superior alternative.
It is estimated that it will take an average of 2 hours to walk through Islands, significantly increasing the total 'stay' time for the whole Zoo.
Can't wait to see it all finished........
There are a lot of tiger exhibits around the world with underwater viewing. It seems to be one of the current trends in exhibit design to provide underwater views of big cats (tigers and jaguars mostly). I can only think of one example of underwater viewing for tapirs though (Taronga Zoo).
Oh my! Chester Zoo might become a two-visit zoo once this is complete. I stayed from opening until closing and still felt like I hadn't seen as much as I would have liked to.
Its good that they are concentrating on the highly endangered Sumatran Orangs, but one thing that puzzles me about these developments is yet more new housing for them, so soon after the construction of the ROTRA building. When(if) the Sumatrans eventually leave there presumably the Borneans will use all the enclosures but won't make such an active or visible display and that house won't be filled anymore, giving it a sort of 'backwater' feel- unless its planned to incorporate other large visible species with them. (if so, how/what?)
Remember that RotRA was originally designed to be nearly double its current size, but the part that would have replaced the old Ape House has not been built. There are currently 6 Borneans and by the time the Sumatrans move to Islands, Leia and Sarikei may have given birth again. While adult Borneans may not be as active as Sumatrans, anyone who has watched Latifah and Iznee over the past couple of years can confirm that they have been extremely active and playful and I expect they will greatly enjoy having extra space. I would like to think that the extra space and features of RotRA, such as scatter feeding on the wire roofs of the indoor cages, may help to make the adults more active too. As I noted in a previous post, the new Sumatran enclosures will have sway poles and perhaps some could also be added to RotRA. I hope it may also be possible to modify one of the wired outdoor cages to allow Tuan to use it safely.
It would certainly be possible to accommodate other species in RotRA, but I think that it would be more satisfactory to remodel the old Ape House for new displays.
Alan
That is a good point which I have largely overlooked in my cogitations.
There is also the fact that, while we class it as a recent development it is actually 5 years old already, and by the time Islands opens it will be 7-8 years old. Whilst that's still relatively new, I think I heard something that due to how quickly zoo exhibits become outdated with updates in husbandry etc, modern zoo exhibits are built with a life-expectancy of 10 years in mind.
I'd still call that a very new development. The old House had a lifespan of about forty years before it closed. But I accept your comment that nowadays the 'shelf-life' of new buildings is getting shorter as new designs supercede older ones more quickly. Though I am still fairly surprised how the Sumatran orangs will potentially be getting another new home so soon after ROTRA though. No objections- just surprise!
The zoo currently has most of these animals, including iris lorikeets (according to ISIS, but not on show) and Sulawesi crested macaques - although of course other species are available to meet the names listed
Alan
I recently checked this and Chester does not hold iris lorikeet, although it is a species which has been mentioned in the past that the parrot team would like to acquire.
From the front page of last week's Chester and District Standard (newspaper): "The huge £30 million development, the first of its kind in the UK, will give visitors the perfect views of a number of animals living on islands, including orangutans, tigers and bears."
Perhaps they know something we don't.
Personally, I'd like the zoo to stick to previous project commitments before embarking on new ones, and the development of the area around RotRA is a case in point. Islands will enable the Bornean orangs to move out of the old Ape House, but it's long overdue and there still aren't any plans for that area once they have vacated it.
The idea of building major exhibits that only have a ten year life-span makes no sense at all, and as one senior keeper once remarked to me, if GSM had built the zoo out of bamboo and wonky wood it wouldn't have lasted very long.
Perhaps they know something we don't.
Personally, I'd like the zoo to stick to previous project commitments before embarking on new ones, and the development of the area around RotRA is a case in point. Islands will enable the Bornean orangs to move out of the old Ape House, but it's long overdue and there still aren't any plans for that area once they have vacated it.
The idea of building major exhibits that only have a ten year life-span makes no sense at all, and as one senior keeper once remarked to me, if GSM had built the zoo out of bamboo and wonky wood it wouldn't have lasted very long.
Or the newspapers research leading them to out-of-date press release when it was planned for sun bears to be added.
Apart from looking a bit grim in places to the human eye I think RotRA has a long life as an excellent orangutan house for a good few years yet.
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