Another fascinating map, @snowleopard , thanks for sharing it! I'll see if I can find a map from my 2022 visit to compare it to, but even without it, there are a few notable changes. The zoo now focuses almost entirely on birds, with 'Ferret Racing,' having been transformed into an excellent Burrowing Owl complex, and the Sika Deer enclosure having been transformed into aviaries, the largest in the collection, for storks and eagles. The only remaining mammals are Miniature Donkey, to honour the zoo's history, as before it specialised in hawks, donkey rides were its main source of income. I believe their enclosure is on the location of the 'Hawk Flying Arena,' which I don't believe exists anymore.
Thanks for the information. I wonder if the focus on birds has hurt the annual attendance numbers, as most small zoos that begin as bird parks tend to go in the other direction by gradually adding mammals.
Indeed, it is interesting to see the direction that the zoo has gone in. Two of Europe’s most successful zoos (Beauval and Pairi Daiza) actually started off as bird parks!
I have family near Weyhill who visit occasionally, and believe that a lot of the collection’s success comes down to community support, which can be generated by specialising in smaller species that the owners and staff are clearly passionate about. It’s a shame that visitor numbers to the Hawk Conservancy Trust have gone down, but the zoo doesn’t seem to be having a hard time funding new species or conservation projects. And they have found a new way to make birds fascinating with what I consider to be the very best bird shows in the country, where the crowd always seem to be more taken aback than they are at pinniped talks often.
