Wingham Wildlife Park Wingham Wildlife Park news 2014-2016

There's a 4 week old boy in the ring-tailed walkthrough. Apparently a couple of other females may also be pregnant.

I visited yesterday for the first time and wasn't overly impressed. No animals seem to have somewhere they can hide from the public, and there isn't much climbing apparatus or enrichment. It is worth a visit and the chimps will add another dimension but I don't think it'll ever be a favourite for me.
 
Lemurs said:
There's a 4 week old boy in the ring-tailed walkthrough. Apparently a couple of other females may also be pregnant.

I visited yesterday for the first time and wasn't overly impressed. No animals seem to have somewhere they can hide from the public, and there isn't much climbing apparatus or enrichment. It is worth a visit and the chimps will add another dimension but I don't think it'll ever be a favourite for me.
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I visited for the first time in October and whilst it will not be a favourite for me either, I can't agree with the negative comments.

I thought it offered good value for money, had several rarities and one of the best reptile collections for a zoo of its size.
You were probably put off by the ring tailed lemur walkthrough, which wasn't great, but then nearly everywhere has one of those, so it didn't bother me.
 
pipaluk said:
I thought it offered good value for money, had several rarities and one of the best reptile collections for a zoo of its size.
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I visited in March and would fully agree with that assessment. In so many ways it's functional rather than pretty but it's solid enough, it meets the needs of a lot of people (family friendly, compact, popular species) and in doing so fills a niche in the area that otherwise wouldn't be filled.

And regarding:
pipaluk said:
one of the best reptile collections for a zoo of its size.
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I'd say, "one of the best reptile collections in the UK, period". I suspect some of the species held are, perhaps around in private hands but quite a few things on-show are hardly seen in captivity, if at all, across the UK.
 
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pipaluk said:
I visited for the first time in October and whilst it will not be a favourite for me either, I can't agree with the negative comments.

I thought it offered good value for money, had several rarities and one of the best reptile collections for a zoo of its size.
You were probably put off by the ring tailed lemur walkthrough, which wasn't great, but then nearly everywhere has one of those, so it didn't bother me.
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I'm more so thinking of the tapirs which had no access to a shed or water (does that gate to the pond get opened?), the red ruffed lemurs with a single beam to climb on, the cheetahs with a totally featureless enclosure. Literally every animal was visible.

Yeah it's an alright zoo but for me it feels like a park that's there for the people rather than animals.
 
I can't think of any animal (bar those in the reptile and tropical houses) that doesn't have access to an indoor area, tapirs included.

There is a temporary issue with the jaguars as they are (or were) keeping the male separate from the female and cub but they do get rotated around so aren't constantly on show.
 
I'm not sure when he turned up but Wingham recently brought in a male cheetah.
He shares the enclosure with the 2 females.

Just an FYI, both gates to the lake in the tapir enclosure were open on Thursday but both stayed indoors ;)
 
A male Northern Luzon Cloud Rat arrived from France during July - giving Wingham a pair
 
1 female puma has been born.
There were 2 but one died and Lola stopped caring for the other. She is now being hand reared
 
Visited again today and they now have another 2 short clawed otters (I assume, they were in the old enclosure and are definitely not smooth coated). No idea when they acquired them as there was no announcement but certainly nice to see them again.
 
0.0.2 Jaguars born 3rd December - one black and one normal coloured

The breeding male (Loki) has been moved offshow to make space for the new arrivals
 
I do believe that the chimps should be sent to a more private sanctuary, but I don't think Wingham should be condemned for taking them in. Wingham is a lovely place and I don't doubt they will do their best to look after the chimps.
 
edthetiger26 said:
2016 is year of the Dinosaur in Kent! Winghams getting some dinos too......
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Not something to boast about!! Kent is rapidly turning into a no visit zone in 2016! If the dinosaurs are just temporary to fund the chimp enclosure, I suppose I can put up with them though!
 
pipaluk said:
Not something to boast about!! Kent is rapidly turning into a no visit zone in 2016! If the dinosaurs are just temporary to fund the chimp enclosure, I suppose I can put up with them though!
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Chimp enclosure is finished. It's just red tape in the USA holding them up now
 
Does the enclosure have an outdoor area? When I saw it being built it looked to be an entirely indoor affair.
 
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