Best Red Panda enclosure?

K

k1tkat

New Member
Hey
I spend a lot of time at Bristol zoo and I don't think much of the red panda enclosure, however i have never seen one that i thought wow thats good, so just wondering what peoples thoughts are on what zoo has the best red panda enclosure and any photos would be great :D
 
My contenders are;

1. Galloway Wildlife Park
2. Bristol Zoo
3. Whipsnade Zoo

I like Blackpool's and Chester's too but Galloway's is by far the best in the country, haven't seen Highland's though.
 
I would say the Welsh Mountain Zoo is the best one I have seen, also like Dudley Zoo. I like Bristol zoo too :D
 
karenZOO said:
I would say the Welsh Mountain Zoo is the best one I have seen, also like Dudley Zoo. I like Bristol zoo too :D
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I like Dudleys as well, mainly because of the different views on the ground and above the tree line.
 
On this side of the Atlantic there are some good red panda exhibits.

The Bronx Zoo has two good ones, one in Wild Asia and the main one in their Himalaya area. You can see the Wild Asia red panda exhibit in the video on this thread: http://www.zoochat.com/22/good-video-tour-wild-asia-bronx-268306/. It is the last exhibit on the monorail tour.

The Sacramento Zoo arguably has the best red panda exhibit on the West Coast.
Photograph by snowleopard: http://www.zoochat.com/948/red-panda-exhibit-233610/

I've not seen it, but some here have said that the Nashville Zoo red panda exhibit is very good.
Another photo by snowleopard (that guy gets around):http://www.zoochat.com/1129/bamboo-trail-red-panda-exhibit-181826/
 
I would say any exhibit that includes some conifers + bamboo, or rhodedendron, oak/birch trees etc to mimic a 'Himalayan feel' would be the most suitable for this species.

The WMZ enclosure has the right feel to it though I can't tell if the confers are actually in the enclosure. Not sure about the mixing with Otters though- are Otters even found at the same altitude as Lesser Pandas?
 
Pertinax said:
I would say any exhibit that includes some conifers + bamboo, or rhodedendron, oak/birch trees etc to mimic a 'Himalayan feel' would be the most suitable for this species.

The WMZ enclosure has the right feel to it though I can't tell if the confers are actually in the enclosure. Not sure about the mixing with Otters though- are Otters even found at the same altitude as Lesser Pandas?
Click to expand...

Voila
http://www.zoochat.com/547/bronx-zoo-2010-red-panda-himalayan-192999/

(or as I recently saw it published: "wala")
 
Pertinax said:
Looks like very special planting to replicate Himalayas-very nice but many lesser zoos would not be able to afford this.
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What makes this exhibit so nice, IMO, is that it makes use of the existing woodland as a backdrop. Watching the red pandas here, one can really understand something of their life in western China forests.... which is high on my list of requirements for a great exhibit of any species. (Well, not necessarily the China locale :rolleyes: )
 
Red Panda

I really can't believe you didn't see a Red Panda at Bristol Zoo. I visited the zoo in 2009 and saw Jasmina in her new enclosure running around and getting used to the smell.

I have not visited since the new male for NZ has arrived, though the enclosure was difficult to photograph due to the fence.

I like the Chester Zoo Red Pandas, though I am a bit biased as my fiancé's pictures of their last cub, Lily was all over the press, been though it was two years old news! lol

I also like Galloway Wildlife Park's enclosure for Red Pandas, I am a big supporter of John Denerley. :)

I got some lovely footage of the Red Panda cubs at Galloway in 2009!

I also like Blackpool, Welsh Mountain Zoo (where Ming Ming is) and also Birmingham Nature centre (where Ling Ling and Ambe are now!)

If you need any more information on Red Pandas in the UK, just ask! :) I like to think of myself as a Red Panda connoisseur lol

Christine xx
 
prague and port lympne

The one at prague is an old hagenbeck style enclosure formally wolves i believe and the one at port lympne has just been finished with some very sizable trees and very large area, although the old one that now houses binturongs may have been even better and had many massive ash trees maybe 70-80 ft high least.
 
I think that Tierpark Berlin definitely deserves a mention on this thread. The whole Himalayan section is very nice, and the red pand panda exhibit is GIGANTIC!!
 
Gibbonsagainstgravity said:
I think that Tierpark Berlin definitely deserves a mention on this thread. The whole Himalayan section is very nice, and the red pand panda exhibit is GIGANTIC!!
Click to expand...
Crikey that's quite a thread bump!

But I agree, Tierpark Berlin has no competition to me. The exhibit is gigantic and I've never seen pandas so active and engaged with both the enrichment provided and even the guests themselves. As much as I like the UK approach of "tree, with moat", that whole Himalayan section as you say is brilliant.
 
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