To be honest, this view doesn't show anything other than the very utilitarian entrance. The true charmlessness isn't apparent from here - the sterile exterior, the lack of height and the limited area.
And as Bele says, the truly mind-numbing thing is that all the ape accommodation (and there must be around half a dozen houses for the various taxa kept) are all built to the same pattern. No recognition of orangs being asocial and arboreal, no realisation that gorillas are three or four times the size of chimps and bonobos.
@DAVID: rest assured there are no immersion exhibits for the DVLA (our equivalent) in Nuneaton.
And as Bele says, the truly mind-numbing thing is that all the ape accommodation (and there must be around half a dozen houses for the various taxa kept) are all built to the same pattern.
There are six; original Gorilla House(behind mansion, now has chimps); Orangutan House; Chimpanzee ('colony') House; Bonobo House (formerly the original elephant house); 2nd Gorilla House(nearest elephants,soon to hold chimps as well); this newest Gorilla House.
IMO the Bonobo house (the only one not purpose built for Apes!) is the best of these as the interior is high, and its well lit and quite spacious. A few heavy natural treetrunks inside would help though, and the outdoor area could still benefit from more equipment and vegetation I think.
There isn't much to choose between the other five buildings I feel, though the oldest Gorilla house(which now holds a chimp group) is probably the ugliest and starkest of them all. The Orangutan indoors is well lit, but bare, while the two existing Gorilla houses are both extremely dark inside and cluttered with ropes, cargo nets etc that are little used. The uninspiring outside areas can be seen in various photos in the Gallery.
Pertinax, on the grounds that the present Giraffe House adds little if anything to giraffe husbandry and EEP management, could it be converted to serviceable ape accommodation in your opinion?
Pertinax, on the grounds that the present Giraffe House adds little if anything to giraffe husbandry and EEP management, could it be converted to serviceable ape accommodation in your opinion?
I don't see why not- as mentioned above the Bonobo House used to house Elephants and IMO its the best of the bunch.
The Giraffe House has the height too- so the natural inclination might be toward a conversion for Orangutans? Outside would need a major makeover too but its a totally 'blank canvas' at present.
Pertinax, on the grounds that the present Giraffe House adds little if anything to giraffe husbandry and EEP management, could it be converted to serviceable ape accommodation in your opinion?
Sorry got to defend Twycross on its Giraffe House,while the house my well very much be of its age(1960's),it still does the job as well as it did when it was built,it also has had a crush cage fitted in the last few years,now there are a few Houses that people will think are better than Twycross's that don't have this,in fact 1 was even built less than 2 years ago.As for Twycross adding nothing to the Giraffe EEP,thats utter crap they are providing a valueable job of housing a none breeding group Hybrid Giraffes,at the request of the previous Giraffe Studbook co-ordinator,while this may not seem worth while to some people it is still something that needs to be done,also atleast they followed the recommendations of the studbook holder,at the time un-like another collection in the UK did!!!
.As for Twycross adding nothing to the Giraffe EEP,thats utter crap they are providing a valueable job of housing a none breeding group Hybrid Giraffes,at the request of the previous Giraffe Studbook co-ordinator,while this may not seem worth while to some people it is still something that needs to be done,also atleast they followed the recommendations of the studbook holder,at the time un-like another collection in the UK did!!!
That's rather a belligerent post in response to a hypothetical question of the best long-term use of a building now over 40 years old. I would imagine that we could all agree that Twycross's orangs are rather more important in conservation terms than its giraffes.
Given the well publicised debate about the zoo's current financial position I don't suppose anything will be done in the near future anyway.
That's rather a belligerent post in response to a hypothetical question of the best long-term use of a building now over 40 years old. I would imagine that we could all agree that Twycross's orangs are rather more important in conservation terms than its giraffes.
Given the well publicised debate about the zoo's current financial position I don't suppose anything will be done in the near future anyway.
I will admitt that my post has come across alot harsher than I intended it too,but I stand by the points I made in it as I know they are true.Yes the Orangs are of more conservation importance than the Giraffes,but as you say its a hypothetical question that given the zoo's current financial position,will be along time before we see what they do about it.
Here's another idea- if due to current finance problems, they cannot afford to build the new 'Chimpanzee Complex' and did wish to phase out Giraffe (I'm not saying they do mind you) they could adapt the Giraffe House as their Chimpanzee 'complex'- its certainly big enough to house all the Chimpanzees they have in the Zoo. And the outside would present a blank canvas for landscaping. No problem about where to house any existing chimps on the same site while it was being renovated either.
But I imagine the exhibit value of having Giraffe at Twycross far outweighs any idea of losing them from the Zoo. In that vein I am always slightly perplexed as to why Twycross is without Zebra- it seems an obvious omission though I know they had them a long while back.
This something for another thread, perhaps, but I do wonder how far zoos benefit from being known to specialise in certain groups of animals. Do the mass of Twycross's visitors register its impressive collection of gibbons, Neotropical primates and guenons? Do they realise that it is the only collection in the UK that has EVER exhibited bonobos?
Or does the zoo's marketing simply presume that for most people a zoo is a day out with the family and as such certain animals - elephants, giraffes, sealions, penguins, camels, meerkats - should be kept as being popular with the public?
For a zoo in the middle of England without a huge number of competing institutions nearby I remain puzzled why the site doesn't get a higher attendance. Any thoughts?
Or does the zoo's marketing simply presume that for most people a zoo is a day out with the family and as such certain animals - elephants, giraffes, sealions, penguins, camels, meerkats - should be kept as being popular with the public?
For a zoo in the middle of England without a huge number of competing institutions nearby I remain puzzled why the site doesn't get a higher attendance. Any thoughts?
I think Twycross's 'general' collection is very important for the Zoo's drawing power. Without these and if it was only/mainly the extensive Primate collection without other popular species being present, I suspect their attendance figures would be lower.
For their size they are one of the most rurally located UK Zoos I can think of, which may have some bearing on your third statement- though they are ringed by large urban centres like Leicester, Nottingham & Coventry, and the Eastern side of Birmingham too- but its quite a trip out from any of these cities.
