Drago
Well-Known Member
I finally visited the Zoo for the first time today. I'd been put off by the many mixed reviews on trip advisor, but I decided to give it a visit to see for myself.
I did enjoy myself but do have some negative points.
It was a sunny day and saturday so quite busy, lot's of kids around. But this didn't put off most of the animals, most of whom bathed during the day so were viewable.
The Wolfs were active all day, watching them get fed was interesting to watch. Especially when one lifted up a whole cow legs and walked off with it without issue.
Josie the Lioness was roaring quite a lot at Tazmin the Siberian Tiger in the next enclosure. Watching her get fed was entertaining to watch. She had a donkeys head chained up a tree. She first tried pulling it down by her forepaws and finally by laying on her back and swinging back and forth briefly.
The Tigers rested most of the day, but were active later in the afternoon. Getting to be less than a metre away from a near shoulder high Siberian Tiger was a great experience.
Sovereign the Jaguar was quite active as well, walking about his enclosure and leaping up onto the platforms.
The Cheetah Sita spent most of the day lounging atop her mound.
The Bears were great to see, though fudge is very old and she could only slowly walk about her enclosure.
The Raccoon dogs were nice to see and one of them is used to human contact. They plan to let her meet people once she's settled in.
Several other animals, all were active and seemed happy.
The open front enclosures were great, gave unobstructed views to the animals and for photos,.
Now my negative points...
The whole place felt... Tired. Many of the railings were old, rotten and grimey. Many of the enclosures looked tired as well, apart from the Meerkats and vervet monkeys.
The toilets were awful! Old, not cleaned during the day, cubicle door didn't lock, hand wash broken off wall, bin full, the floor was very dirty and slippery.
Paths weren't that great either.
Personally I liked the animals, but the general state of the place was not pleasant. Exmoor Zoo, is a lot quieter and probably takes in less money yet, it's in far better state and feels likes it's being improved continously. Dartmoor to me felt like it was not. They say they want to spend millions for building enclosures for Giraffes, Orangutans and Elephants, I think they should spend it on tidying the place up first.
Loads of volunteers around, so why they could do mainteniance jobs, or even clean the facilities is beyond me.
Also most of the animals are quite old, the Bears, Tigers, Lioness and Jaguar particulary when they pass the Zoo is going to loose a large peart of it's collection.
Would I go back? Yes, but for the animals and to see if they improve the Zoo before building more enclosures.
I did enjoy myself but do have some negative points.
It was a sunny day and saturday so quite busy, lot's of kids around. But this didn't put off most of the animals, most of whom bathed during the day so were viewable.
The Wolfs were active all day, watching them get fed was interesting to watch. Especially when one lifted up a whole cow legs and walked off with it without issue.
Josie the Lioness was roaring quite a lot at Tazmin the Siberian Tiger in the next enclosure. Watching her get fed was entertaining to watch. She had a donkeys head chained up a tree. She first tried pulling it down by her forepaws and finally by laying on her back and swinging back and forth briefly.
The Tigers rested most of the day, but were active later in the afternoon. Getting to be less than a metre away from a near shoulder high Siberian Tiger was a great experience.
Sovereign the Jaguar was quite active as well, walking about his enclosure and leaping up onto the platforms.
The Cheetah Sita spent most of the day lounging atop her mound.
The Bears were great to see, though fudge is very old and she could only slowly walk about her enclosure.
The Raccoon dogs were nice to see and one of them is used to human contact. They plan to let her meet people once she's settled in.
Several other animals, all were active and seemed happy.
The open front enclosures were great, gave unobstructed views to the animals and for photos,.
Now my negative points...
The whole place felt... Tired. Many of the railings were old, rotten and grimey. Many of the enclosures looked tired as well, apart from the Meerkats and vervet monkeys.
The toilets were awful! Old, not cleaned during the day, cubicle door didn't lock, hand wash broken off wall, bin full, the floor was very dirty and slippery.
Paths weren't that great either.
Personally I liked the animals, but the general state of the place was not pleasant. Exmoor Zoo, is a lot quieter and probably takes in less money yet, it's in far better state and feels likes it's being improved continously. Dartmoor to me felt like it was not. They say they want to spend millions for building enclosures for Giraffes, Orangutans and Elephants, I think they should spend it on tidying the place up first.
Loads of volunteers around, so why they could do mainteniance jobs, or even clean the facilities is beyond me.
Also most of the animals are quite old, the Bears, Tigers, Lioness and Jaguar particulary when they pass the Zoo is going to loose a large peart of it's collection.
Would I go back? Yes, but for the animals and to see if they improve the Zoo before building more enclosures.
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