I visited the HWP for the first time on a beautiful day in late July 2008.
It is actually a safari park, in the sense that visitors enter the park in their cars and drive around the main reserve without leaving their vehicles. Winding down windows for photography is allowed, as the reserve only contains hoofed animals.
When you cross the first cattle grid you see yak and kiang. During my visit the yak stayed on top of a large earth mound; the impressive group of kiang (including the first foal born in the UK) were more active but they remained near the reserve boundary.
The road then passes an enclosure which is mostly pine woodland which holds the herd of Mishmi takin. It was hard to get good views of the animals because of the trees and an unsightly fence around the more open part of the enclosure, but I saw several of the takin including two small calves. I imagine that the problem is that these animals might be dangerous to or in danger from vehicles; so they need a separate paddock, but perhaps incorporating a haha would be more satisfactory for viewing from the road. A similar situation may arise again if musk oxen arrive.
I continued round the main reserve, driving past another wooded enclosure for forest reindeer. I was impressed that I found the animals in the main reserve exactly where they were shown on the map, although they are free to wander around; each species has its own favourite area. I was impressed with the herd of European bison that I saw first, then some red deer and a nice group of Przewalski horses, with several foals.
[photo=10858;575;HighlandWP001_448.jpg]Przewalski foal[/photo]
At the far end of the reserve there are two enclosures separated by wire fences, which you enter over cattle grids. They hold tundra reindeer and Bukhara deer (Bactrian wapiti): the reindeer were hard to see, but the wapiti are spectacular. Returning to the main section I saw the European elk favouring a large shallow pool.
[photo=10857;575;HighlandWP001_426.jpg]European elk[/photo]
Completing the circuit, I had fairly distant views of mouflon and excellent views of the bison herd again.
[photo=10848;575;HighlandWP001_046.jpg]European bison, female[/photo]
I think this drive-through section is a very successful display. The natural setting is excellent and the animals seem to be thriving. The vegetation looks to be doing well, except for some bare patches of peat in the area favoured by the horses. There are some wired-off areas where birch trees are growing, which will improve the environment when they mature. Perhaps the elk would appreciate a larger, deeper pool eventually. The surface of the road is a little bumpy, but perhaps that is no bad thing as it discourages drivers from going too fast.
Opposite the takin enclosure, a fork in the road leads to the main car park. This gives access to the toilets, gift shop and café and the enclosures of the other animals which can be visited on foot. The patio of the café overlooks the Japanese macaque enclosure, which is a strip of land with heather and birch trees surrounding a small lake. Unfortunately the macaques are not easy to see – on the sunny day when I was there most of them were down among the trees near the edge of the lake or on the grass of the far side of the lake, which was hard to see through the trees – particularly as I had to look directly into the sun: a raised viewing platform near the beaver enclosure to the east of the lake would help. I was interested to see a couple of the monkeys cooling off by having a swim.
[photo=10853;575;HighlandWP001_286.jpg]Japanese macaque, swimming[/photo]
Past the macaques, a large new enclosure is being built for Amur tigers – which I am sure will be a major attraction for the Park. There is also an enclosure for a European otter which was invisible when I visited: I was disappointed with this enclosure which is small and unkempt – I do not think that the dead rat at the edge of the pool was part of the otter’s diet: to be fair, this was the only example of bad husbandry that I noticed in the Park.
The footpath then turns uphill past an aviary holding snowy owl and Arctic foxes (which I did not see). There is some open space the highest point of the park and then the path turns down to the wild boars. Unsurprisingly their enclosure is not pretty as the boars have removed the soil down the rocks. I think the boars would look better and be happier in the wooded area, with a deep litter of wood chips to root in.
The next enclosures are much better, they follow a line of small natural cliffs, with grassy areas above and below the rocks. The fencing is pretty basic and each one has a modified wooden holiday cabin beside the path for shelter. The three enclosures hold Chinese goral, markhor and bahral, and another markhor group with urial. It is nice to see sheep and goats climbing on the rocks.
[photo=10850;575;HighlandWP001_122.jpg]Markhor kid[/photo]
[photo=10856;575;HighlandWP001_396.jpg]Bharal, male[/photo]
There is also an aviary, where I had a chance to speak to two of the keepers. They had just removed two choughs (for return to the collection which had loaned them) and released pairs of Himalayan monal and Himalayan snowcock from the off-show breeding unit, to join the remaining chough. The snowcocks looked particularly well in this setting – but the Park’s leaflet says that they will eventually be moved to a new aviary which is currently under construction.
[photo=10852;575;HighlandWP001_257.jpg]Himalayan snowcock[/photo]
Opposite the sheep and goats is the Park’s best display, the European wolves. I actually first saw the four wolves from the main reserve, when they were playing together at the top of the enclosure.
[photo=10849;575;HighlandWP001_070.jpg]European wolves[/photo]
The enclosure is very large with grassland, thickets and a sloping area which can be viewed from a special observation point There are notices in the car park and near the gift shop giving times for the animal talks and feeding – I recommend visiting the wolves before they are fed when they are active and show themselves well.
[photo=10851;575;HighlandWP001_180.jpg]European wolf[/photo]
Beside the car park, on either side of the markhor and urial paddock are enclosures for Carpathian lynx and red pandas. When I visited, the lynx were in hiding and the panda enclosure was being refurbished.
The final set of enclosures is in a wooded area below the car park: there are pairs of small, rather dark enclosures for Scottish wildcats, which had kittens, and pine martens. Each pair of enclosures is linked by a wiremesh overhead run, so don’t forget to look up as you walk between them.
[photo=10854;575;HighlandWP001_321.jpg]Pine marten[/photo]
There are also aviary for European eagle owls and a complex for capercaillie, this has three aviaries, two at the front for two cocks and one at the back for hens only – there are pop-holes between each aviary which the hens can pass through, so they can choose the male they prefer and nest undisturbed.
[photo=10855;575;HighlandWP001_351.jpg]Capercaillie female[/photo]
Nearby is an area which is still under development, it has a viewpoint looking south and an open area with some seating, which may have been designed for bird of prey displays.
I was impressed with the park. Its location is beautiful, but it is easily accessible from the main road and close to the important tourist area of the Cairngorms. The Park has some very interesting animals and the potential to become a really important collection. The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is obviously working hard to develop it and to attract more visitors; exciting animals such as Amur tigers will help; the leaflet says that Bactrian camels and musk deer will also be arriving soon. Zoobeaters will be able to suggest other animals from mountain and tundra regions which could also be considered; my suggestions would include more pheasants, kea, slender-billed parakeets and some rodents.
Alan
It is actually a safari park, in the sense that visitors enter the park in their cars and drive around the main reserve without leaving their vehicles. Winding down windows for photography is allowed, as the reserve only contains hoofed animals.
When you cross the first cattle grid you see yak and kiang. During my visit the yak stayed on top of a large earth mound; the impressive group of kiang (including the first foal born in the UK) were more active but they remained near the reserve boundary.
The road then passes an enclosure which is mostly pine woodland which holds the herd of Mishmi takin. It was hard to get good views of the animals because of the trees and an unsightly fence around the more open part of the enclosure, but I saw several of the takin including two small calves. I imagine that the problem is that these animals might be dangerous to or in danger from vehicles; so they need a separate paddock, but perhaps incorporating a haha would be more satisfactory for viewing from the road. A similar situation may arise again if musk oxen arrive.
I continued round the main reserve, driving past another wooded enclosure for forest reindeer. I was impressed that I found the animals in the main reserve exactly where they were shown on the map, although they are free to wander around; each species has its own favourite area. I was impressed with the herd of European bison that I saw first, then some red deer and a nice group of Przewalski horses, with several foals.
[photo=10858;575;HighlandWP001_448.jpg]Przewalski foal[/photo]
At the far end of the reserve there are two enclosures separated by wire fences, which you enter over cattle grids. They hold tundra reindeer and Bukhara deer (Bactrian wapiti): the reindeer were hard to see, but the wapiti are spectacular. Returning to the main section I saw the European elk favouring a large shallow pool.
[photo=10857;575;HighlandWP001_426.jpg]European elk[/photo]
Completing the circuit, I had fairly distant views of mouflon and excellent views of the bison herd again.
[photo=10848;575;HighlandWP001_046.jpg]European bison, female[/photo]
I think this drive-through section is a very successful display. The natural setting is excellent and the animals seem to be thriving. The vegetation looks to be doing well, except for some bare patches of peat in the area favoured by the horses. There are some wired-off areas where birch trees are growing, which will improve the environment when they mature. Perhaps the elk would appreciate a larger, deeper pool eventually. The surface of the road is a little bumpy, but perhaps that is no bad thing as it discourages drivers from going too fast.
Opposite the takin enclosure, a fork in the road leads to the main car park. This gives access to the toilets, gift shop and café and the enclosures of the other animals which can be visited on foot. The patio of the café overlooks the Japanese macaque enclosure, which is a strip of land with heather and birch trees surrounding a small lake. Unfortunately the macaques are not easy to see – on the sunny day when I was there most of them were down among the trees near the edge of the lake or on the grass of the far side of the lake, which was hard to see through the trees – particularly as I had to look directly into the sun: a raised viewing platform near the beaver enclosure to the east of the lake would help. I was interested to see a couple of the monkeys cooling off by having a swim.
[photo=10853;575;HighlandWP001_286.jpg]Japanese macaque, swimming[/photo]
Past the macaques, a large new enclosure is being built for Amur tigers – which I am sure will be a major attraction for the Park. There is also an enclosure for a European otter which was invisible when I visited: I was disappointed with this enclosure which is small and unkempt – I do not think that the dead rat at the edge of the pool was part of the otter’s diet: to be fair, this was the only example of bad husbandry that I noticed in the Park.
The footpath then turns uphill past an aviary holding snowy owl and Arctic foxes (which I did not see). There is some open space the highest point of the park and then the path turns down to the wild boars. Unsurprisingly their enclosure is not pretty as the boars have removed the soil down the rocks. I think the boars would look better and be happier in the wooded area, with a deep litter of wood chips to root in.
The next enclosures are much better, they follow a line of small natural cliffs, with grassy areas above and below the rocks. The fencing is pretty basic and each one has a modified wooden holiday cabin beside the path for shelter. The three enclosures hold Chinese goral, markhor and bahral, and another markhor group with urial. It is nice to see sheep and goats climbing on the rocks.
[photo=10850;575;HighlandWP001_122.jpg]Markhor kid[/photo]
[photo=10856;575;HighlandWP001_396.jpg]Bharal, male[/photo]
There is also an aviary, where I had a chance to speak to two of the keepers. They had just removed two choughs (for return to the collection which had loaned them) and released pairs of Himalayan monal and Himalayan snowcock from the off-show breeding unit, to join the remaining chough. The snowcocks looked particularly well in this setting – but the Park’s leaflet says that they will eventually be moved to a new aviary which is currently under construction.
[photo=10852;575;HighlandWP001_257.jpg]Himalayan snowcock[/photo]
Opposite the sheep and goats is the Park’s best display, the European wolves. I actually first saw the four wolves from the main reserve, when they were playing together at the top of the enclosure.
[photo=10849;575;HighlandWP001_070.jpg]European wolves[/photo]
The enclosure is very large with grassland, thickets and a sloping area which can be viewed from a special observation point There are notices in the car park and near the gift shop giving times for the animal talks and feeding – I recommend visiting the wolves before they are fed when they are active and show themselves well.
[photo=10851;575;HighlandWP001_180.jpg]European wolf[/photo]
Beside the car park, on either side of the markhor and urial paddock are enclosures for Carpathian lynx and red pandas. When I visited, the lynx were in hiding and the panda enclosure was being refurbished.
The final set of enclosures is in a wooded area below the car park: there are pairs of small, rather dark enclosures for Scottish wildcats, which had kittens, and pine martens. Each pair of enclosures is linked by a wiremesh overhead run, so don’t forget to look up as you walk between them.
[photo=10854;575;HighlandWP001_321.jpg]Pine marten[/photo]
There are also aviary for European eagle owls and a complex for capercaillie, this has three aviaries, two at the front for two cocks and one at the back for hens only – there are pop-holes between each aviary which the hens can pass through, so they can choose the male they prefer and nest undisturbed.
[photo=10855;575;HighlandWP001_351.jpg]Capercaillie female[/photo]
Nearby is an area which is still under development, it has a viewpoint looking south and an open area with some seating, which may have been designed for bird of prey displays.
I was impressed with the park. Its location is beautiful, but it is easily accessible from the main road and close to the important tourist area of the Cairngorms. The Park has some very interesting animals and the potential to become a really important collection. The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is obviously working hard to develop it and to attract more visitors; exciting animals such as Amur tigers will help; the leaflet says that Bactrian camels and musk deer will also be arriving soon. Zoobeaters will be able to suggest other animals from mountain and tundra regions which could also be considered; my suggestions would include more pheasants, kea, slender-billed parakeets and some rodents.
Alan
