I really don't get the hate for this park. Surely, some mixed species exhibits are a bit out of place, but overall the parks looks good, the enclosures decent and the animals healthy.
I have the same impression as Animal. Sure some things are not oke ( eg big cat fencing, anaconda in walk through). But instead of sometimes just stating that the exhibit is quite nice (eg giant otter outdoors), there always has to be a negative comment and everybody just has to say something negative because it is South Lakes. That is the feeling I get. So being a bit more objective could help sometimes.
I have the same impression as Animal. Sure some things are not oke ( eg big cat fencing, anaconda in walk through). But instead of sometimes just stating that the exhibit is quite nice (eg giant otter outdoors), there always has to be a negative comment and everybody just has to say something negative because it is South Lakes. That is the feeling I get. So being a bit more objective could help sometimes.
I will hold my hands up for being very negative about this place,but I will say if and when they do something that is good I will say,even if I don't see eye to eye with the owner over many things,that said I also know more than a few ex-SLWAP keepers and when you listen to the storys that they have to tell about how things are done,here and just what the turn over of certain species has been over the years here,you would not be very positive about the place either!
I have the same impression as Animal. Sure some things are not oke ( eg big cat fencing, anaconda in walk through). But instead of sometimes just stating that the exhibit is quite nice (eg giant otter outdoors), there always has to be a negative comment and everybody just has to say something negative because it is South Lakes. That is the feeling I get. So being a bit more objective could help sometimes.
I agree with the above statement and am reluctant to post or even visit the site due to what seems to be constant unfair and negative comments about this zoo. I find it particularly jarring to see the comments by people who have obviously never visited and who seem to be latching on to gain popularity with the regular critics.
When I do read posts concerning this zoo, I get an uncomfortable feeling that there is a sort of bullying element and anyone who tries to be fair or have a different view is shouted down.
I agree with the above statement and am reluctant to post or even visit the site due to what seems to be constant unfair and negative comments about this zoo.
The answer, of course, is to visit the zoo for oneself so you can weigh the positive and negative in person; you cannot really say for certain that negative comments *are* unfair if one has not been to a collection oneself.
Certainly I made a point of visiting SLWAP to see it for myself about two years ago.
I find it particularly jarring to see the comments by people who have obviously never visited and who seem to be latching on to gain popularity with the regular critics.
It's true I have a more general dislike of the place from things I've been told about it by friends who have visited, but when it comes to my comments on these photos, I'm just calling it as I see it. No, not everything is bad, like the Snow Leopard and Giant Otter enclosures seem very nice indeed, but then I do see bad things such as the set-up and design of the Jaguar enclosure and I think I should have a right to comment on those things whether or not I've actually visited yet. Of course, some of the comments do stem from running gags and jokes about the place such as its odd mixtures. A bettong, chipmunk, and tamarin mix is certainly an odd one, but a lot of zoos have odd mixes like that from time to time (i.e. Prospect Park has bettong and Kinkajou and then Pygmy Slow Loris and Malagasy Giant Rat).
