Yup - giraffes, rhinos, kudu, zebra, ostrich and crowned crane (currently) have their night quarters there - it also has a mezzanine level over the stalls with reptiles, inverts, fish and birds, and separate indoor areas for the Patas Monkeys and Pygmy Hippos.
The look is a typical Essex agricultural building - I'm not sure if this was an internal decision in the zoo or a requirement of the planning authorities!
The look is a typical Essex agricultural building - I'm not sure if this was an internal decision in the zoo or a requirement of the planning authorities!
I think the outside vista of this building is quite attractive, but the ground floor inside where the animals are kept looks a bit like the holding pens in a slaughterhouse...
The thing about the inside holding area is the only visible animals are the Giraffes, The Kudu rhino etc and at one time camels are under the mezzanine floor and not really visible to the public, except for a sort of cross view as you go down some stairs.
They also held meerkats here in a small inside area if I remember correctly. I know from talking to some of the staff a few years ago,that they didn't like the set up, especially the Pygmy Hippo exhibit, whose pool was to shallow for full immersion. That may have changed as I haven't been for a few years now.
The look is a typical Essex agricultural building - I'm not sure if this was an internal decision in the zoo or a requirement of the planning authorities!
The 2013 book The Story of Colchester Zoo has a great chapter on the construction of both The Elephant Kingdom and Kingdom of the Wild, and it states that: "The only thing missing from the plan was any great degree of imaginative theming for the building. The planning rules for such a large building, just as for the entrance hall, demanded a plain black barn upon a brick plinth according to the old Essex vernacular."
