Lovely shots at Whipsnade, Ben, but this is perhaps my favourite, because it is so timeless. Unless ZSL has a very exciting plan indeed for Bison Hill (which is now the name by which the local authority call it) I really don't understand why thre is no intention to maintain the species here.
Not only are they part of the park's heritage, I suspect that their role in keeping the grass short and well-manured must play an important part in the local ecosystems.
The last time the zoo tried to phase them out there was local uproar and they had to bring them back - it's hard to imagine they'll be going anywhere after that. I certainly hope not.
The last time the zoo tried to phase them out there was local uproar and they had to bring them back - it's hard to imagine they'll be going anywhere after that. I certainly hope not.
When I imagine the idyllic English countryside this is pretty much what I think of (minus the bison). Whipsnade looks really great in this and the gemsbok photos.
When I imagine the idyllic English countryside this is pretty much what I think of (minus the bison). Whipsnade looks really great in this and the gemsbok photos.
This view is pretty timeless too- I have postcards dated from the 1930's of 'Bison Hill' as its known, at Whipsnade, the main difference now is the old stock fencing has partially(?) been replaced by modern chainlink around the lower Park Boundary (as in the photo), though the old style is still there too on the upper boundary of this enclosure.
Whipsnade is situated on the Chiltern Hills. The park is on a sort of plateau with the N.W. side actually on the steeper 'scarp' slope of the hill ridge- as seen in this photo. The lower ground(outside the park) stretches away beyond the lower boundary fence of this paddock.. The easterly side of the park is rather more sheltered from cold winds as it slopes away more gently-the Gemsbok are somewhere in the central part. They have put mostly the hard-weather animals on this exposed side nowadays. It has its own micro-climate too- ***** freezing in winter!
The paddock has changed since it was emptied of American Bison in the 1980s. Nettle clumps grew up that were never there before; an entomologist would know whether that's been beneficial or not. The remnants of London's grossly inbred flock of Bighorn Sheep were there for a while in the late 1980s/ early 1990s until they died out.
Previously (up to about 1973?) Wapiti were kept in this paddock, and I don't imagine the keepers were sorry when they left. The American prairie theme is maintained rather less dangerously by a colony of free-living Black-tailed Prairie Dogs. Whether these now suffer predation from Common Buzzards, Red Kites and Ravens, all spread back into the locality in the last twenty years, I don't know.
Were the Wapiti ever kept actually on 'Bison Hill' ? I always remember them in a much smaller wooded enclosure further along the hill that has since disappeared completely- it was adjacent to where the Reindeer are kept- which formerly had the Moose.
I agree 'Bison Hill' with the nettle patches doesn't quite have the feel it used to have before.
Were the Wapiti ever kept actually on 'Bison Hill' ? I always remember them in a much smaller wooded enclosure further along the hill that has since disappeared completely- it was adjacent to where the Reindeer are kept- which formerly had the Moose.
I agree 'Bison Hill' with the nettle patches doesn't quite have the feel it used to have before.
I'm relying on memories of visiting Whipsnade in August 1973, when I was 10! But I do remember seeing a label on the old iron fencing for the species and I do remember seeing a male deer with impressive antlers in the paddock.
