Chester Zoo American review of Chester

[Javan Rhino]

Why do they find Asian Elephants more 'boring' than African? How strange!

Though I'd agree it'd be nice to see Polar Bears back - ah, I can dream...

I think it's just because they are the famous ones, and maybe it is personal preference but not sure. He likes his ABC's, so other examples include the sea lions (in his opinion they should have built a new enclosure for the sea lions, rather than replace them altogether, and another example of Chester going for the smaller species is getting Sumatran tigers to replace the Siberian). Don't get him wrong, he likes the zoo and understands its conservation needs, but I think after visiting seaworld and disneys animal kingdom, Chester just became another zoo and couldn't compare in size, appeal etc.

 

[Shirokuma]

I should add that Chester isn't my home zoo and that I'm certainly not blind to its shortcomings. I do however feel that it is an excellent zoo with comparatively few shortcomings and most of all, I feel it is unfair to compare US and British zoos for the reasons I gave earlier.

 

[Javan Rhino]

I should add that Chester isn't my home zoo and that I'm certainly not blind to its shortcomings. I do however feel that it is an excellent zoo with comparatively few shortcomings and most of all, I feel it is unfair to compare US and British zoos for the reasons I gave earlier.

Would be interesting to know what everybody thinks are the shortcomings at Chester. I don't think there are many, but there are a couple of things I would change. In my opinion, I would say the aesthetics of the indoor chimp enclosure and the indoor sumatran orangs (though they are good for the animals, they are not visually appealing). Also, the tropical realm has declined in my opinion due to the amount of herps that have gone off-show.

 

[Dicerorhinus]

My point regarding SDWAP was that if you're reviewing a zoo you need to see it's showpiece exhibits, whether you ultimately like them or not. A revies of SDWAP without the field exhibits, of Leipzig without Pongoland, or of Zurich without Masoala does not to my mind give a appropriate overall impression of the zoo.

The field exhibits at SDWAP comprise the bulk of the on-exhibit collection where as the others you mention do not so thats why I picked fault with your analogy.

I think its possible to write a review based on what you saw and draw comparisons to similar exhibits you have seen else where and then go on to draw your conclusions. (Lets face facts. Arizona Docent saw the bulk of the collection and still decided it wasn't on a par with other zoos he has visited. Surly a truely world class zoo could stand up against the rest based on the majority of its collection and exhibits??)


Again ROTRA or anything else at Chester is not on the level of the exhibits you list. If ROTRA is what you would consider Chesters best then it certainly cant compete with best zoos in the world. Again just my opinion but there are at least three collections (in England) I would put above Chester for over all exhibit quality.
Masoala is indeed one of the finest zoo exhibits in the world.

 

[Goretex]

I think billing any zoo as the #1 zoo in the UK (a busy zoo countrey) is a very big statement. Now Chester is very good and is certainly among the best but their are other UK collections that deserve as much praise as Chester.

I don't really know how Chester compares with other major UK zoos.

 

[Maguari]

The field exhibits at SDWAP comprise the bulk of the on-exhibit collection where as the others you mention do not so thats why I picked fault with your analogy.

I think its possible to write a review based on what you saw and draw comparisons to similar exhibits you have seen else where and then go on to draw your conclusions. (Lets face facts. Arizona Docent saw the bulk of the collection and still decided it wasn't on a par with other zoos he has visited. Surly a truely world class zoo could stand up against the rest based on the majority of its collection and exhibits??)

I'm not at all sure about the bit in bold. I think AD might have missed a fair amount out.

And AD is of course quite entitled to his own opinion - it's not invalid, but I disagree with his appraisal of the overall zoo. I think his reviews of the bits he did were balanced and pretty fair, but I remain unconvinced he saw enough to appraise the whole zoo.

Again ROTRA or anything else at Chester is not on the level of the exhibits you list.

I never said that it was, but I was just listing major exhibits. They do not need to be great exhibits - a review of London that missed out the not-exactly-brilliant Gorilla Kingdom would be similarly odd.

If ROTRA is what you would consider Chesters best then it certainly cant compete with best zoos in the world.

I don't think RotRA is the best thing at Chester, for the record. Off the top of my head, Fruit Bat Forest, the bear exhibit, the Butterfly House and in fact the Europe on the Edge aviary are all better, to my mind.

Again just my opinion but there are at least three collections (in England) I would put above Chester for over all exhibit quality.

I'd be interested to know which (that's not intended as a jibe, I'm just interested! ).

 

[Dicerorhinus]

For what reasons?

The overall size of the exhibit when there is so much wasted space so visitors can mingle near the entrance. The fact that the public can almost circumnavigate (almost) the exhibit is not good for the animals (which became obvious when I visited recently and the group were moved to surround the calf). The lack of natural vegetation (again due to size).

The exhibits proximity to the front gate the busiest/noisest part of the zoo.

 

[Maguari]

The overall size of the exhibit when there is so much wasted space so visitors can mingle near the entrance. The fact that the public can almost circumnavigate (almost) the exhibit is not good for the animals (which became obvious when I visited recently and the group were moved to surround the calf). The lack of natural vegetation (again due to size).

The exhibits proximity to the front gate the busiest/noisest part of the zoo.

I think these are all fair points; I don't think the visitor space is big enough that it would make a significant difference to the elephants if given over; I'd be tempted to create a new paddock out of the car park area somewhow but I don't see it happening. Long-term they hope to move the Asian Plains stock and give the elephants access there, which would be an improvement from the elephants' point of view.

 

[Dicerorhinus]

I think these are all fair points; I don't think the visitor space is big enough that it would make a significant difference to the elephants if given over; I'd be tempted to create a new paddock out of the car park area somewhow but I don't see it happening. Long-term they hope to move the Asian Plains stock and give the elephants access there, which would be an improvement from the elephants' point of view.

Thank you.

I agree with you here. Even the asian plains wouldnt give them that much extra space. In my opinion elephants do best when their enclosures are continuous spaces not a series of contiguous paddocks which when added together make for a large space (as is sadly more often the case).



Interesting you rate the Fruit bat exhibit so highly! I would include it in my worst of Chester... where possible I think all animals should be given access to natural light. Not only would the visitors be able to see the bats more clearly considering the species on exhibit there would still be plenty of activity....


I think Javan Rhino raises a good question. I would like to know what criticisms you all have of chester (or indeed any zoo that is generally and perhaps unfailry heralded as the best of the best).

 

[Javan Rhino]

The fruit bat forest is not my favourite (although it is not natural light, it is on an opposite cycle so when the visitors go home and the sun goes down the lights come on). Although it cannot be controlled, the exhibit has a really bad smell that makes it difficult to stay in there for too long. It is generally an exhibit that we miss, but will quickly go through if we've not been in for a while or if there are a spare few minutes. Also, since I'm keen on my photography and it is difficult to get a picture with slow shutter-speeds, we generally save the time.

As for the elephants, I am in two minds. All of your points are of course valid, but I think the successful breeding record speaks for itself.

 

[Arizona Docent]

Ok, let me clarify. I did not go inside any buildings other than the jaguar. I don't even remember there being as many indoor areas as you have listed on this thread, so I guess I missed more than I realized. But as for that improving the overall score, it is my experience (based on visiting over 70 zoos) that indoor exhibits are never as good as outdoor exhibits. I have not seen the ones at Chester, which may be pretty good, but I cannot imagine they are that good (meaning better than all the other zoos I have seen).

 

[bongorob]

I enjoy zoo monorails, so that was nice too. But I have two criticisms. First, the plexiglass windows are scuffed up and obstruct the view somewhat (and there is no way to open the windows). Second, you can only do half a circuit. If you want to do the second half (to end up where you started), you have to get off and get back in line and pay again.

I found out today that this is correct. It it now £2 per adult for each half journey.