I recall a year ago I was curious about one animal that used to be at Marwell - namely the reindeer that lived in Encounter Village.
I have established that the remaining animal had been sent to the Cairngorms Reindeer herd in 2004. And there is a bit of reference to the reindeer I could find on the internet. That is to say, they were definitely there at some point... but what I was surprised by was how few pictures I could find of them on the internet.
I found one video that was taken in the year 2000 which shows the reindeer in its pen.
The animal shown has a winter coat and fully-grown antlers; which implies the video either to be taken at the start of the year; or perhaps the end of it.
And I also found one other photograph on the internet in the form of a postcard, taken around 1994.
But other than that... that's it. Nothing on flickr... for as many photos there that there are of the old Encounter Village.
And I put this to a few reasons -
-Foot and Mouth
For a time in 2001, Marwell was closed due to foot and mouth disease; and I believe that the Village only opened again in 2003. But if so, then why would there be pictures of the other animals, given that there are pictures of the Encounter Village taken in 2003 and 2004? I suppose one could make the point that as opposed to goats, llamas and sheep which appear to have lived in the same area post-F&M, reindeer could be different in some kind of regard... would they have been off-show later on?
-Lack of cameras/Unsuitable for photography
Digital cameras were not very common in the late 90s/early 00s. So it could be that they were there, but not being photographed... and also the area had some fairly heavy fencing, and reindeer aren't particularly beautiful to look at most of the year. But even so it doesn't explain much since there are many pictures online of reindeer when they aren't looking their best... even in the zoo.
People not going into the village
Perhaps not too many went into the Village whilst it was a farmyard....
-Holiday displays?
I suggested in the past that Marwell's reindeer were used only for holiday displays. However, I have heard from some others that this was not the case, and the reindeer were on display year-round.
If any of you know if there are any other pictures [perhaps you have some?], or perhaps why there don't seem to be any more... it would be appreciated.
I have established that the remaining animal had been sent to the Cairngorms Reindeer herd in 2004. And there is a bit of reference to the reindeer I could find on the internet. That is to say, they were definitely there at some point... but what I was surprised by was how few pictures I could find of them on the internet.
I found one video that was taken in the year 2000 which shows the reindeer in its pen.
The animal shown has a winter coat and fully-grown antlers; which implies the video either to be taken at the start of the year; or perhaps the end of it.
And I also found one other photograph on the internet in the form of a postcard, taken around 1994.
But other than that... that's it. Nothing on flickr... for as many photos there that there are of the old Encounter Village.
And I put this to a few reasons -
-Foot and Mouth
For a time in 2001, Marwell was closed due to foot and mouth disease; and I believe that the Village only opened again in 2003. But if so, then why would there be pictures of the other animals, given that there are pictures of the Encounter Village taken in 2003 and 2004? I suppose one could make the point that as opposed to goats, llamas and sheep which appear to have lived in the same area post-F&M, reindeer could be different in some kind of regard... would they have been off-show later on?
-Lack of cameras/Unsuitable for photography
Digital cameras were not very common in the late 90s/early 00s. So it could be that they were there, but not being photographed... and also the area had some fairly heavy fencing, and reindeer aren't particularly beautiful to look at most of the year. But even so it doesn't explain much since there are many pictures online of reindeer when they aren't looking their best... even in the zoo.
People not going into the village
Perhaps not too many went into the Village whilst it was a farmyard....
-Holiday displays?
I suggested in the past that Marwell's reindeer were used only for holiday displays. However, I have heard from some others that this was not the case, and the reindeer were on display year-round.
If any of you know if there are any other pictures [perhaps you have some?], or perhaps why there don't seem to be any more... it would be appreciated.
