If you want your tortoises to have a nice view of beautiful architecture, vote Cotswold. 
Best UK Giant Tortoise enclosure
- Thread starter britishzoofan
- Start date
I think the use of the old Giraffe & Barbary Sheep paddock for tortoise at Paignton was a great success. The indoor and outdoor housing can easily separate male & female tortoises. The proximity to Baboon Rock makes it a focal point and keepers are close to the croc house. The first floor of this building is still used by resident scientists and it provides them with a lovely setting. Having spent many weeks with wild tortoise in the Seychelles I can appreciate the Paignton exhibit gives them everything they need.
You cannot make a good assessment of enclosures / exhibits unless you have the full Monty, meaning both good photography of indoor and outdoor exclosures. Further, size is not everything, hence folks' choices for big sized giant tortoise grassland paddocks is not a good indicator either. Animal welfare is far more important: Where is it best served might be a better question!
For me personally, a thinned-out set of camera shots does not make an informed choice of quality exhibits possible and not by a long shot. F.i. London outside exhibit where the indoors is not shown, et cetera et cetera. Hence, I have reserved and take a pass on any judgement.
For me personally, a thinned-out set of camera shots does not make an informed choice of quality exhibits possible and not by a long shot. F.i. London outside exhibit where the indoors is not shown, et cetera et cetera. Hence, I have reserved and take a pass on any judgement.
Score update. Paignton currently have a healthy 12 point lead over Linton and Noah's Ark. Paignton has the lead it would appear because it is one of the few collections with a high standard indoor and outdoor enclosure. In general the standard of exhibits for Giant Tortoises in the UK appears relatively high with the majority housed in good standard enclosures.
I am curious what makes you say that Bristol has a substandard outdoor exhibit?
I said probably, I should have said possibly really, because I couldn't really remember it that well but it never stood out as being particularly impressive.
I don't think it is as bad as the first three I mentioned anyway but it isn't Paignton, Cotswold or Linton
Poll closed. Congratulations to Paignton in winning the vote for Best UK Giant Tortoise. It was a large margin of victory and was Paignton's first outright in the polls. Paignton is obviously going through a difficult period at the moment but polls like this show it is an excellent collection and I hope they are able to turn their fortunes around and successfully push on from this blip in their history.
Noah's Ark did well to place second and although they haven't yet won a poll they have consistently performed well and are a collection which is underrated on ZooChat in my view. Linton and Cotswold came joint third and should be commended for both having excellent outdoor exhibits.
Paignton: 46.8%
Noah's Ark: 12.8%
Cotswold: 8.5%
Linton: 8.5%
Bristol: 6.4%
Twycross: 6.4%
London: 6.4%
Colchester: 2.1%
Crocodiles of the World: 2.1%
Noah's Ark did well to place second and although they haven't yet won a poll they have consistently performed well and are a collection which is underrated on ZooChat in my view. Linton and Cotswold came joint third and should be commended for both having excellent outdoor exhibits.
Paignton: 46.8%
Noah's Ark: 12.8%
Cotswold: 8.5%
Linton: 8.5%
Bristol: 6.4%
Twycross: 6.4%
London: 6.4%
Colchester: 2.1%
Crocodiles of the World: 2.1%
Linton’s placement is worth a mention more than most imo-a respectable score for a relatively small collection!
My favorite one is at Bristol Zoo.
Past sell by date (Bristol Zoo) I am afraid even though I did like the exhibit very much from the very first time I ever saw it. The indoor is far from ideal TBH, but the outdoor has admittedly been a game changer for many a serious tortoise enthusiast (I very much value the dedicated and expert staff they have always had in the reptile / amphibian department and it shows in and around their said collections).
However, I am not sure what if any separation areas exist BTS at Bristol as the indoor is not the happy go lucky for it exhibit. Further, the number of giant tortoises (M/F) is way too low to enable any serious captive-breeding (a long standing wish of mine in European zoos).
On face value, Linton at the moment has the best papers ATM I think.
However, I am not sure what if any separation areas exist BTS at Bristol as the indoor is not the happy go lucky for it exhibit. Further, the number of giant tortoises (M/F) is way too low to enable any serious captive-breeding (a long standing wish of mine in European zoos).
On face value, Linton at the moment has the best papers ATM I think.