Looks better with the trees, I imagine that the three in the foreground will provide a fair bit of shade when they've grown. Also, it now has woodchip on the floor.
Howletts and Port Lymnpe rely practically entirely on homemade, and it left me with the opinion these were some of the best zoos I've visited. In my opinion, a zoo that completely utilises natural immersion (albeit with fake rock and hotwire) just seems fairly pitiful, as you know you are in a zoo. Not to say I'm completely against it, but it certainly shouldn't be the mission that every zoo should make the entirety of their exhibits set to.
Ok, well, round of applause for the woodchips, and some young trees also bode well for the future. Still, I'd feel this enclosure was mediocre if I saw a couple of pygmy goats come trotting out of the stable.
I know they're trying really hard, but Malayan Tapirs are endangered, and hard to maintain, even harder to successfully breed. If Borth animalarium suddenly got malayan tapirs and jaguarandi and clouded leopards, would everyone start defending it?
Maybe, just maybe, they should have started off with the more common, easier-to-manage, and slightly hardier Lowland tapirs? New zoos often start off having to prove their worth with a couple of notable species and some innovation in their exhibits (Yorkshire wildlife park). New or newly-managed emerging collections often have to take on some EEP/ESB bachelor groups, and demonstrate a period of good husbandry and breeding/management with the stock that they have. Somehow, I suspect with very good contacts (they import and quarantine for others, remember), this organisation has assembled a remarkable collection but there has been no period of proving itself or earning a good reputation within the zoo community. What have they done particularly well with so far? Or do they just deserve a medal for getting unusual species. In reality, for a lot of people this place is really a zoochat member' dream in terms of the species it holds, which I think is why it gets defended so much.
Redukari, you say how small the UK is, but with the number of roadside zoos etc in the US, wouldn't the mediocre to bad collections probably work out to about the same ratio to the UK? I think it would.
Howletts and Port Lymnpe rely practically entirely on homemade, and it left me with the opinion these were some of the best zoos I've visited. In my opinion, a zoo that completely utilises natural immersion (albeit with fake rock and hotwire) just seems fairly pitiful, as you know you are in a zoo. Not to say I'm completely against it, but it certainly shouldn't be the mission that every zoo should make the entirety of their exhibits set to.
Redukari, you say how small the UK is, but with the number of roadside zoos etc in the US, wouldn't the mediocre to bad collections probably work out to about the same ratio to the UK? I think it would.
I know this question was directed to Marwell darlek , but i speak for myself when i say i felt exactly the same in my preferance for the Aspinall parks after visiting Seattles woodland park zoo