Belfast Zoo Belfast visit 31/10/09

Mr Saxon

Mr Saxon

Well-Known Member
Arrived at 2:30, an hour and a half later than planned due to traffic and hordes of children and adults dressed up for halloween in Connswater. It was wet up on the mountain when we got there but hardly rained during the trip. My jeans got soaked almost to my ankles within 10 minutes but only slightly dampens the trip.

It was brilliant to witness Kwikila in her house. It's quite a cosy little house and to be honest, if I hadn't seen the sign, would have walked right past it with getting a chance to see her. Can't wait till a male is introduced.

Couldn't help noticing that the sea lions water has been cleaned and has a strong scent of chlorine in the air, will this been done to the penguin pool aswell? It was a beautiful blue colour and the sea lions were just drifting lazily underwater.:p

Unfortunatly was unable to see Kabus the new Sumatran tiger as he must've been indoors due to it being wet. Hope to see him soon! It may just be me but I think visitors should be able to see the Tigers indoors similar to the lion house but I realise the problems with that.

Giraffes, zebras, ostriches and the old elphant girls were all inside and all 4 females were happily munching on hay. As we left they were covering each other in hay aswell and just being brilliant as always.

Got up real close to the female lions who were just lazily about in their house. Qays was roaring and patroling the door to the house and the permiter of the paddock and every time I went in for a photo he leaves!:rolleyes:

As I neared the Coati enclosure I noticed one of them was out. He was sniffing about in the ground and when he looked up, he pressed his two front paws against the glass and sauntered of into his house. Cheeky!:p

The Gorilla house was closed for some reason and they were naturally inside.

Didn't see any Fossas at all today, where they in their exhibit at all??
However did get a glimpse of the Golden Cat again, my second ever sighting of it!:D Brilliant

Pelicans were up on the path and blocking it for 10 mins until they decided to go back down to the lake.

All in all it was a great day, only ruined by the weather, but that ain't nobodys fault!! Can't wait to go back and for some of my questions to be asked!
 
Kabus is still in quarentine and therefore not on show. He's due out sometime in the next week or two I think.
 
Thanks for the report. A lot of zoos do have indoor viewing for their tigers, but it can be beneficial if you want to keep their privacy in mind. :)
 
Good Review Mr.Saxon. I visited Belfast for the first time last week and found it very good!

Some of my Highlights:
-Walkthrough Aviary with egrets, Ibis etc.
-Chimp and Gorilla House (none were out side which was unfortunate as the enclosures were very spacious :D )
-Spectacled Bear enclosure was very good and enjoyed seeing sun bears for the first time.
-Witnessed Jenny the Asian Elephant being trained to present the soles of her feet to the keepers.
-Seeing Kabus outside on the first day he was allowed in the outdoor enclosure

Disappointments:
-Reptile house was lacking in Species however I did see the Fiji Banded Iguana
-Lack of interpretation around the zoo makes it hard to know what animal is in the enclosure without looking at the map.
-Didn't manage to see the Tapirs, Bongo or Anteater, they must all have been inside :rolleyes:
-Also didn't get to see the Golden cats which was dissapointing however their enclosure looked very good and well planted.

Overall I thought Belfast was a Brilliant zoo with good enclosures and a good range of bird and mammal species. It is dissapointing about the lack of reptiles however maybe this will change in the future. I didn't expect the zoo to be on the side of a mountain but I think it added to the character of the zoo :).

Thanks, Roz ;)

PS Mr Saxon I also noticed the Sealion pool being very clean and the strong smell of chlorine :cool:
 
Roz said:
-Chimp and Gorilla House (none were out side which was unfortunate as the enclosures were very spacious :D )
Click to expand...

Belfast have got the usual problem wih the Gorilla enclosure- it may be large but there is virtually no outside cover at all for the Gorillas- it is just a large grassy aea surrounded by a wall. Not surprising that they much prefer to stay indoors.
 
Hi all!

Glad you enjoyed your visits recently apart from the weather of course!

Mr Saxon - Im afraid in our winter season hours mean that all animal houses close at 3.30pm so you probably unfortunately missed the gorilla house! I can assure you that both fossa were indeed in their enclosure they just are very good at hiding! try looking on the large platform to the back right hand side, its a favorite sleeping site! :)

Im glad you saw 'timmy' our golden cat, he's get on abit in cat years and does indeed enjoy sleeping in his nicely heated house, however he is out quite abit in the late afternoons and often likes to rest at the very top of his enclosure so try taking a look when your heading down from the top towards the tigers and you might get to sneak a peak! As always if you have any questions pm me!

Roz- Again im glad you enjoyed your visit! Im sorry you didnt see the anteater, tapir and bongo! I look after these species and we like to give them the freedom to go in and out as they please especially in the cooler winter months! :) Savio our male anteater is especially lethargic and enjoys nothing more than wrapping up under is big tail and napping! The best time again for people to see the bongo and tapir is usually early morning or again late afternoon. The tapir are usually scatterfeed in the paddock at around 12noon if the weathers nice, its a great chance to see them especially as baby Harapan trotts around after mum!

The zoo signage is getting upgraded over the next few years so make sure you come back and take alook!


Pertinax - Im not sure when you last visited but our gorilla enclosure has had new platforms and huts added this year and i believe more will be added in the future, the gorillas are often outside but understandably they prefer to be inside in the wetter/colder days
 
Cool:D

So whats the deal with the sea lion pool and will the penguin pool be cleaned aswell?

May sound stupid but what is the signage??:o

Have the otters arrived yet?

Any other future idea/plans/hopes you can tell us??:D
 
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