LeeMac13
Well-Known Member
I visited Twycross yesterday for the first time, unsure really of what to expect having read the numerous posts on here very few if any giving me any real hope of seeing a half decent zoo. But still the eternal optimist that I try to be was hoping to be proved wrong by my initial thoughts based on posts from fellow Zoochatters. Sadly I was wrong.
Arriving at the zoo you are greeted by a giant warehouse basically filled to the brim with various merchandise and food outlets, and whilst I thought the Snow leopard exhibit was nice enough I had to wonder why so much money had been spend on a exhibit showcasing a creature who is naturally shy by nature. After the grandeur of Himalaya I was surprised to find that once you walked outside to the entrance kiosk it was basically a wooden shed quite a big change
The Gibbon nursery was the first thing that I stopped at the long building separated into small sections for each Gibbon or in some case a pair. To me the area seemed small and uninspired with very little for the Gibbons to do with the small room covered in tiles with very little room for them to climb let alone swing. Sadly this was to be a common theme with the primate enclosures with the main Gibbon complex being very similar, and whilst the outdoor area here was slightly better the long rectangular mesh cages left a lot to be desired with the Gibbons being able to swing just a few feet before reaching the other end of the cage. One thing that struck me was inside the Gibbon house there was a lone gibbon in one of the cages which at first I though was just scratching its back but the more an more I watched it, it seemed to be bashing its head against the tiled wall. Now whilst this Gibbon may very well have just been scratching its back and it was hitting its head as a consequence of that I don’t know but it certainly got me thinking and more than slightly worried.
Prarie Dog exhibit was fine given what it is used for although it did seem that you could get quite close to them am sure before to long if not already somebody will receive a bite. The Langur house was similar to the other primate houses long rows of small box like cages with a rectangular outdoor enclosure. In my eyes the indoor enclosures especially are too small for something the size of a Langur or Gibbon. I also noticed two signs one explaining that even though the primates my look sad there are not, and a sign telling visitors not to worry if they see Primates laying on the floor as a lot of them have under floor heating. The Amur Leopard exhibit was adequate I guess but the glass windows where filled with finger prints and mud. Making viewing the Leopards even more of a difficulty having just saw a tail after half an hour of waiting. The Mara, Capybara and Vicuna paddocks where ok and whilst it was nice to see Mara ( a first for me) I couldn’t help thinking that the zoo would be better served moving the animals on and concentrating more on the primates given its self proclaimed title as “The World Primate Centre”. No sign of the Striped Hyena apart from the brief whisp of a tail as one lay in a dried up pool. Again the windows where very dirty and was near impossible to see through them.
Next where the Camels in yet another ok enclosure though I cannot see the point in having yet another glass viewing window especially as it is covered in Camel slobber and spit. Dhole where next yet another first for me was nice to see them but the area seemed small given the amount having saw atleast three of them in the small enclosure, cannot see any reason why the enclosure cannot be extended into the Ground Hornbill enclosure as this looks just like a overgrown patch of grass with a battered old shed in the back.
Next where the Chimps and Gorillas the outdoor chimp enclosure looked ok but nothing special not much in the way of things for the chimps to climb and far too many bits of cardboard box and empty plastic bottles for my liking.
The newer Gorilla house was again ok but nothing spectacular to me the indoor area seemed quite dark with little for them to do. Was treated to Asante coming over to me and taking great interest in my camera. The outdoor enclosure is again ok but would much prefer to see one big Gorilla enclosure rather than two small ones. Elephant enclosure was ok too nice to see a mix of both sand and grass the Elephant trail was a nice touch too but again given the cost of it I wonder is it really necessary. I really liked the Borneo Longhouse be nice to see some more species included if that is the way the zoo wishes to go. Sealion pool was awful green water in what looked to be just a giant paddling pool and apart from a very tiny space in the middle nowhere for the sealions to move on land again another species I would move on. The Owl cages where for me too small the Owls seemed quite cramped in them, I’m not even sure how many people knew they where there as quite a lot of visitors just walked past them.
With the Aardwolf enclosure now empty a Bat eared Fox had taken up residency in their for the time being with more of the foxes in the adjacent enclosure all fast asleep again an ok enclosure but would much prefer it to be themed with maybe some sand etc instead of grass.
The Penguin pool is equally poor nothing of real interest just basically a pool with a glass panel in. Noticed a lot of the Penguins coming quite close to visitors which may be a good thing for visitors but I cant help thinking this will end in a Penguin being fed something it shouldn’t.
I had read a lot about the so called “Green Mile” before my visit and was still quite shocked by just how bad they actually are. It literally looked like a rubbish tip with layer upon layer of paper, plastic bottles and cardboard boxes filling each of the small enclosures. Surrounded by wire mesh and a few logs littering each enclosure.
Lastly I visited the Bonobo and Orang enclosures. Seeing Bonobo’s was something I was really looking forward to and whilst the enclosure was ok again it was nothing special again a lot of plastic bottles and bit of paper making the enclosures look untidy and unkept. The indoor enclosures where quite sparse with little in the way of climbing structures about from a metal platform or two. Similar for the Orangs was quite surprised to see the small indoor enclosures and again they where littered with plastic bottles and bits of paper.
For me the zoo needs to decide what it is a zoo or a Primate centre I don’t think it can be both atleast not in the short term and given the space the zoo has at the moment. The powers that be need to decided what the long term plan for the zoo is. I think a good idea would be to move a lot of the mammal species on and the majority of the primates and concentrate on the Great Apes and build multipurpose enclosures for them rather than having small enclosures doted about.
Overall I was disappointed in my visit to Twycross, and this review is in no way me just jumping on the Twycross bashing band wagon if there is such a thing. This is just my humble opinion on the zoo and I hope it will be of use and generate discussion in the forums.
Arriving at the zoo you are greeted by a giant warehouse basically filled to the brim with various merchandise and food outlets, and whilst I thought the Snow leopard exhibit was nice enough I had to wonder why so much money had been spend on a exhibit showcasing a creature who is naturally shy by nature. After the grandeur of Himalaya I was surprised to find that once you walked outside to the entrance kiosk it was basically a wooden shed quite a big change
The Gibbon nursery was the first thing that I stopped at the long building separated into small sections for each Gibbon or in some case a pair. To me the area seemed small and uninspired with very little for the Gibbons to do with the small room covered in tiles with very little room for them to climb let alone swing. Sadly this was to be a common theme with the primate enclosures with the main Gibbon complex being very similar, and whilst the outdoor area here was slightly better the long rectangular mesh cages left a lot to be desired with the Gibbons being able to swing just a few feet before reaching the other end of the cage. One thing that struck me was inside the Gibbon house there was a lone gibbon in one of the cages which at first I though was just scratching its back but the more an more I watched it, it seemed to be bashing its head against the tiled wall. Now whilst this Gibbon may very well have just been scratching its back and it was hitting its head as a consequence of that I don’t know but it certainly got me thinking and more than slightly worried.
Prarie Dog exhibit was fine given what it is used for although it did seem that you could get quite close to them am sure before to long if not already somebody will receive a bite. The Langur house was similar to the other primate houses long rows of small box like cages with a rectangular outdoor enclosure. In my eyes the indoor enclosures especially are too small for something the size of a Langur or Gibbon. I also noticed two signs one explaining that even though the primates my look sad there are not, and a sign telling visitors not to worry if they see Primates laying on the floor as a lot of them have under floor heating. The Amur Leopard exhibit was adequate I guess but the glass windows where filled with finger prints and mud. Making viewing the Leopards even more of a difficulty having just saw a tail after half an hour of waiting. The Mara, Capybara and Vicuna paddocks where ok and whilst it was nice to see Mara ( a first for me) I couldn’t help thinking that the zoo would be better served moving the animals on and concentrating more on the primates given its self proclaimed title as “The World Primate Centre”. No sign of the Striped Hyena apart from the brief whisp of a tail as one lay in a dried up pool. Again the windows where very dirty and was near impossible to see through them.
Next where the Camels in yet another ok enclosure though I cannot see the point in having yet another glass viewing window especially as it is covered in Camel slobber and spit. Dhole where next yet another first for me was nice to see them but the area seemed small given the amount having saw atleast three of them in the small enclosure, cannot see any reason why the enclosure cannot be extended into the Ground Hornbill enclosure as this looks just like a overgrown patch of grass with a battered old shed in the back.
Next where the Chimps and Gorillas the outdoor chimp enclosure looked ok but nothing special not much in the way of things for the chimps to climb and far too many bits of cardboard box and empty plastic bottles for my liking.
The newer Gorilla house was again ok but nothing spectacular to me the indoor area seemed quite dark with little for them to do. Was treated to Asante coming over to me and taking great interest in my camera. The outdoor enclosure is again ok but would much prefer to see one big Gorilla enclosure rather than two small ones. Elephant enclosure was ok too nice to see a mix of both sand and grass the Elephant trail was a nice touch too but again given the cost of it I wonder is it really necessary. I really liked the Borneo Longhouse be nice to see some more species included if that is the way the zoo wishes to go. Sealion pool was awful green water in what looked to be just a giant paddling pool and apart from a very tiny space in the middle nowhere for the sealions to move on land again another species I would move on. The Owl cages where for me too small the Owls seemed quite cramped in them, I’m not even sure how many people knew they where there as quite a lot of visitors just walked past them.
With the Aardwolf enclosure now empty a Bat eared Fox had taken up residency in their for the time being with more of the foxes in the adjacent enclosure all fast asleep again an ok enclosure but would much prefer it to be themed with maybe some sand etc instead of grass.
The Penguin pool is equally poor nothing of real interest just basically a pool with a glass panel in. Noticed a lot of the Penguins coming quite close to visitors which may be a good thing for visitors but I cant help thinking this will end in a Penguin being fed something it shouldn’t.
I had read a lot about the so called “Green Mile” before my visit and was still quite shocked by just how bad they actually are. It literally looked like a rubbish tip with layer upon layer of paper, plastic bottles and cardboard boxes filling each of the small enclosures. Surrounded by wire mesh and a few logs littering each enclosure.
Lastly I visited the Bonobo and Orang enclosures. Seeing Bonobo’s was something I was really looking forward to and whilst the enclosure was ok again it was nothing special again a lot of plastic bottles and bit of paper making the enclosures look untidy and unkept. The indoor enclosures where quite sparse with little in the way of climbing structures about from a metal platform or two. Similar for the Orangs was quite surprised to see the small indoor enclosures and again they where littered with plastic bottles and bits of paper.
For me the zoo needs to decide what it is a zoo or a Primate centre I don’t think it can be both atleast not in the short term and given the space the zoo has at the moment. The powers that be need to decided what the long term plan for the zoo is. I think a good idea would be to move a lot of the mammal species on and the majority of the primates and concentrate on the Great Apes and build multipurpose enclosures for them rather than having small enclosures doted about.
Overall I was disappointed in my visit to Twycross, and this review is in no way me just jumping on the Twycross bashing band wagon if there is such a thing. This is just my humble opinion on the zoo and I hope it will be of use and generate discussion in the forums.
I was there nearly all day too becasue I caught the bus and had to wait until 4:40 before I could leave.
