For a slightly larger budget they could easily have made this a viewing tunnel and heightened the cages to join overhead. Are there two groups that don't get on, ie why the two cages, I thought they only had about 3 Patas left?
It's the clash between the nicely potted plants, straight out of a suburban back-garden, and the, um, 'tribal' shields, which look as if they were made by a primary school student in the days before political correctness rendered such an idea a bit dodgy, that I love so much here.
the more one looks at the photo the more it looks just really hotch-potch: tidy "suburban back-garden" planter pots, odd fake rocks just randomly plonked down at the edges for apparently no reason, viewing windows with distracting graphics on them, and what looks from this perspective like more wood than window anyway.....
hopefully this isn't completely representative of Colchester's enclosures
the more one looks at the photo the more it looks just really hotch-potch: tidy "suburban back-garden" planter pots, odd fake rocks just randomly plonked down at the edges for apparently no reason, viewing windows with distracting graphics on them, and what looks from this perspective like more wood than window anyway.....
hopefully this isn't completely representative of Colchester's enclosures
For around 40-50% of the exhibits it's fairly representative of the zoo's style, in fact - just that most of them are not so small or poorly-laid out as this. Certainly the wood-panelling, random fake rock and label-encrusted windows combination is archetypally 'Colchester'.
It must cost them the earth in materials too, everytime they do one of these odd-looking structures. To what end though, as the three or four remaining Patas just sit like statues mostly- I wonder how may people peer in the windows and scarecely register the inhabitants, though it wasn't always like that, in the old quarters the 12+ strong Patas group made a good and active display.
For a slightly larger budget they could easily have made this a viewing tunnel and heightened the cages to join overhead. Are there two groups that don't get on, ie why the two cages, I thought they only had about 3 Patas left?
I'm pretty sure the animals can usually choose to access either side here (though equally, I think they can be separated as needs be). Inside, there are 2 areas which can also be partitioned off.
I agree with your suggestion - have always thought that this particular exhibit feels 'tacked on', as if it were an afterthought, right on the perimeter of the zoo. When you walk to the end of this decked path, it opens out into a wider platform, as if there's a view to be seen or something ... which there isn't, just some trees. It seems like such a waste of space, which could have been given over to the animals.
I really only started to visit Colchester regularly about 3 years ago and am pretty sure that even then, there were 7 or 8 animals (unless I'm imagining it) and the group seemed far more active. Pertinax is right that the ones left usually sit very still ...... I think 2 of them also have shortened tails .... not sure what happened there, injury or disease ?
