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Kirk's dik-dik; Colchester; 9th March 2014
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lion enclosure

you can see the new netting which is better than the flags i think but i am not sure of the concrete that flows through the whole thing.
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pipaluk
dean said:
I preferred the old enclosure it had self sown shrubs and change in levels and the lions always came close to the glass, here they are always well away. I know they are different lions so that may be the reason. As you say banham tiger, atypical Colchester exhibit, sadly they lack some one with an eye for landscaping their enclosures.
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The old enclosure was less than half the size & full of mock rock too! As Banhamtiger says, i don't think this enclosure looks as bad from ground level!
 
dean
pipaluk said:
The old enclosure was less than half the size & full of mock rock too! As Banhamtiger says, i don't think this enclosure looks as bad from ground level![/QUOTE
Size wise, then no it doesn't compare to the old enclosure, but it is a rather bland area, and the lions don't seam to do as much here as they did before The large glass windows in the old set up allowed them good views of the public and especially the keepers with food, coming down the hill as they approached from the top of the zoo.
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F
Some zoos do better than this with half the space (e.g. Newquay). One word for this enclosure is boring. I dont think this is representative of the class zoo that is colchester
 
P
I like Colchester Zoo, it has an excellent collection though we all know its got its own unique and strange style of architecture (if you can call it that) with all the fake rock/woodwork etc. With some enclosures it works fine, in others the result is appalling e.g. the Orangutan 'Forest'.

Looking at this photo again, the main problem to me is the one dimensional aspect- its so very flat. Even just a couple of tall solid tree trunks set upright in the ground would alleviate that and 'break up' the eyeline, while the Lions would use them as scratching and/or spraying posts as well.

The fake rock/concrete 'rocks' I can forgive here as its there for a purpose, its been laid in such a way as to minimise the enclosure becoming too muddy. It does rather look as though its all flowed out of the door at the back though, and then set rather like upturned jelly moulds.
 
dean
I agree Pertinax, some of the newer exhibits are good I like the spider monkey one and the Amur leopard, though smallish has plenty of variation, the new sun bears looks good too and much better than the original set up at the RSCS where I first saw them.
I think re reading The stationary Ark by our late lamented zoo champion Gerry Durrell it brought home to me the idea of an enclosure fit for purpose, it's not how large the space but how it is utilized by the animals kept in it. I don't think this set up works well enough, as you say a few minor adjustments and it would look so much better a couple of upright tree trunks, extending the mound out using real rocks and back fill with bark chips or sand and a couple medium hawthorn trees with the tops cut flat to look like Savannah acacias. and try some large irregular shaped nearly evergreen grass beds see if they last. job done.;)
 
P
dean said:
extending the mound out using real rocks and back fill with bark chips or sand and a couple medium hawthorn trees with the tops cut flat to look like Savannah acacias. and try some large irregular shaped nearly evergreen grass beds see if they last. job done.;)
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I like it! :) Its amazing what bark chips, sand, natural rock and fast growing hawthorn or acacia trees can do for just about any enclosure as far as landscaping is concerned.
 
dean
Plus with bark chips you don't have so much bare trodden earth in the winter which looks just dreadful in reality as it does in photographs. Carnivores don't usually eat the shrubs and trees around them either so it is safe to plant the area without hot wiring it all.
 

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