I've never been there but I've heard it's impressive and the gallery photos seem to back that up. It would be nice to see them going down that line.
A lot of what's said on here is constructive and everybody is entitled to their opinion, most I'm in agreement with, however, sometimes I get the feeling that people like to kick the place. One comment on this thread insinuates that the new centre is pretty much irrelevant and it simply isn't, it will provide a great visitor experience and visitor experience is hugely important to the majority of people that visit the zoo. I'm referring to the one about 'the same old portakabins', in it's own right the new centre/entrance is excellent and a massive improvement, there cannot be any debate about that, the old and the new are worlds apart.
As to whether it should have been done first, I suspect all animal lovers/zoo enthusiasts would say no, I imagine most marketeers, business strategists etc would say yes. My personal opinion, it should have been done first but it should have had primates in it.
If your going to have about my comments atleast have the bottle to name me,because I stand by my comment of the same old Porta Cabins as you still have to pay in those wonderfull plastic huts and not the fancy new Visitor Information Centre for the National Forest!
I've got no problem with naming anybody, I just couldn't remember your name when I was writing the post and I didn't have time to look.
There is barely a mention of the National Forest in the centre, it's very much a zoo visitor centre. My point is give the place a chance, criticise the state of the primate enclosures because they deserve to be criticised, but in it's own right Himalaya is excellent and I think the place deserves credit for that. If they fail to take up the reigns and replicate that level of quality around the rest of the zoo then they deserve to be kicked, but take Himalaya as a start and judge them on what they do from now on. They have good facilities for visitors now, an entrance to the zoo for both parking and payment that is both attractive and functional, they have no excuses from here on in.
They have good facilities for visitors now, an entrance to the zoo for both parking and payment that is both attractive and functional, they have no excuses from here on in.
Except I cannot see them doing a sudden massive overhaul of all the enclosures which really do need updating, that's apart from the Chimpanzee situation.
I don't think anybody on here criticises Twycross just for the sake of it. I have been a visitor for several decades so for me, so there is good deal of very longterm frustration at what I feel is wrong there and has been over a long period of time, which goes into my own comments.
I would be as happy as anyone if this Entrance Area signals a major shift and a modernisation programme for the whole zoo, but I'm yet to be convinced.
To be fair to the place, the previous major piece of work - the Mary Brancker (sp?) Waterways - has the potential to be rather good. The thing is done quite nicely, but just needs to be sorted out so there is a degree of coherence in it - there's a sort of Asian wetland theme going on, but it is contradicted by non-Asian wetland species (such as Allen's swamp monkeys) and non-Asian, non-wetland species (such as European wild cats). if they had the imagination to really go for it, and then maybe to extend the whole idea (could we bring orangs into the concept, or gibbons?) then things might be excellent. But, for the moment, it's a bit of a puzzle.
They did need a new entrance, and better visitor facilities, and now they have them. Good. Snow leopards were an odd choice, but the choice has been made (and in the future, perhaps that enclosure might lend itself to being converted to something for geladas?). Now, as rubymurray suggests above, the new regime needs to be given the chance to make a real difference. While I share Pertinax's long-term frustration, it's only fairly recently that the iron grip of the Badham-Evans era has been shaken off, and their disciples have been culled, a little, only in the past year or two. It's a definite one to watch...
I'd be interested to hear whether "Himalaya" extends beyond snow leopards, though. Are there any plans for any other species from the region? (it'd be nice if that were the case - but I'd still rather see the great apes dealt with first).
One last point - the zoo's website is utterly dire, still. It has a rather tatty feel to it, has not been updated with news of this development, and yet again shows a zoo with its finger a long way from the pulse of visitor expectations.
One last point - the zoo's website is utterly dire, still. It has a rather tatty feel to it, has not been updated with news of this development, and yet again shows a zoo with its finger a long way from the pulse of visitor expectations.
Agree on that one! Strangely, they were having a new site developed a couple of years back, it was live one weekend and it then disappeared completely. It was branded with the new logo and was actually pretty nice, so I don't know what happened. It makes me wonder whether they decided to change direction on the 'World Primate Centre' thing because although it was largely complete it seems to have been binned.
The Elephant Walkway looks quite good as well by the way, although it's still a work in progress. The sign on the fence suggests that they are building an outside classroom overlooking the pool, I guess for teaching sessions run by the education dept.
the previous major piece of work - the Mary Brancker (sp?) Waterways - has the potential to be rather good. if they had the imagination to really go for it, and then maybe to extend the whole idea (could we bring orangs into the concept, or gibbons?) then things might be excellent. But, for the moment, it's a bit of a puzzle.
One last point - the zoo's website is utterly dire, still. It has a rather tatty feel to it, has not been updated with news of this development, and yet again shows a zoo with its finger a long way from the pulse of visitor expectations.
I am very nonplussed by this exhibit. It represents a major shift for Twycross and as you said, has the potential to be very good, but I too am confused by the species currently exhibited here. The obvious major ones to link in with the 'Longhouse' would be Orangutan and a Gibbon species and perhaps the Tapirs- all species already present in the Zoo. Maybe they intend to do this in the future- it would be a HUGE plus to see the Orangutans finally being given a naturalistic enclosure and the Tapir(s) improved accomodation. This could with careful imagination become a really good part of the Zoo.
I think the website is still a big improvement on what they had until just a couple of years ago.
Just to prove I am not 'down' on quite everything at Twycross- I think the Elephant paddocks are actually quite good- despite them not keeping a male. This area with the Asian Lions etc nearby eventually will represent another section of the 'new' Twycross, like the Entrance area and the Longhouse.
