Best UK Gibbon enclosure

Best UK Gibbon enclosure?

  • Total voters
    47
  • Poll closed .
britishzoofan said:
Poll closed. Congratulations to Paignton on winning the vote for Best UK Gibbon enclosure. Their naturalistic densely vegetated islands gave them the win. This is Paignton's second poll win so far. Monkey World and Twycross also performed well with good indoor areas but I'm guessing Paignton edged them on the outdoors. As others have mentioned I did expect Jersey to perform better. However, the fact it is slightly less listed may count against it and because it is not designed purely for Gibbons. @AdrianW1963 who did you want to vote for?

Paignton: 27.7%
Monkey World: 23.4%
Twycross: 19.1%
Chester Lar: 10.6%
Chester Moloch: 6.4%
Jersey: 6.4%
Edinburgh: 4.3%

I would be interested to hear others thoughts on whether you think I should bring these polls for the UK to a close soon and have a short break then move to examine other European countries exhibits or I could continue with other UK species which I'm open to ideas from others if I've missed out some members would really like to see.
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I'm really pleased that Paignton won this one - I haven't visited for many years but the gibbon islands are one of those really memorable, iconic exhibits that stays with me, and they're pretty much perfect for the animals' needs. Great to see another strong performance from Monkey World, too.

Re: the polls, I'd like to see a fair few more polls on UK zoos before you move further afield, there's still a fair few species to go at I'm sure!
 
Sand Cat said:
Re: the polls, I'd like to see a fair few more polls on UK zoos before you move further afield, there's still a fair few species to go at I'm sure!
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Agreed, we haven’t got to the “scraping the barrel” stage (ie meerkat!) just yet!

Personally, these polls, and the debates they generate, have been a delight during Lockdown, particularly for someone who doesn’t get to visit certain collections as much as they might like to anymore.
 
Panthera1981 said:
Agreed, we haven’t got to the “scraping the barrel” stage (ie meerkat!) just yet!

Personally, these polls, and the debates they generate, have been a delight during Lockdown, particularly for someone who doesn’t get to visit certain collections as much as they might like to anymore.
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Thank you for your time in creating these polls. It has generated some healthy debate at times.
Species to poll in the future perhaps: Coati, Cassowary, Civet, Flamingo, kangaroo, Macaw, Python, Marmoset/Tamarin?
 
britishzoofan said:
Poll closed. Congratulations to Paignton on winning the vote for Best UK Gibbon enclosure. Their naturalistic densely vegetated islands gave them the win. This is Paignton's second poll win so far. Monkey World and Twycross also performed well with good indoor areas but I'm guessing Paignton edged them on the outdoors. As others have mentioned I did expect Jersey to perform better. However, the fact it is slightly less listed may count against it and because it is not designed purely for Gibbons. @AdrianW1963 who did you want to vote for?

Paignton: 27.7%
Monkey World: 23.4%
Twycross: 19.1%
Chester Lar: 10.6%
Chester Moloch: 6.4%
Jersey: 6.4%
Edinburgh: 4.3%

I would be interested to hear others thoughts on whether you think I should bring these polls for the UK to a close soon and have a short break then move to examine other European countries exhibits or I could continue with other UK species which I'm open to ideas from others if I've missed out some members would really like to see.
Click to expand...
britishzoofan said:
Poll closed. Congratulations to Paignton on winning the vote for Best UK Gibbon enclosure. Their naturalistic densely vegetated islands gave them the win. This is Paignton's second poll win so far. Monkey World and Twycross also performed well with good indoor areas but I'm guessing Paignton edged them on the outdoors. As others have mentioned I did expect Jersey to perform better. However, the fact it is slightly less listed may count against it and because it is not designed purely for Gibbons. @AdrianW1963 who did you want to vote for?

Paignton: 27.7%
Monkey World: 23.4%
Twycross: 19.1%
Chester Lar: 10.6%
Chester Moloch: 6.4%
Jersey: 6.4%
Edinburgh: 4.3%

I would be interested to hear others thoughts on whether you think I should bring these polls for the UK to a close soon and have a short break then move to examine other European countries exhibits or I could continue with other UK species which I'm open to ideas from others if I've missed out some members would really like to see.
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I’m not sure everyone would agree but personally I really look forward to the best exhibit posts as I always gain a greater insight into which collections are more specialised in certain species etc.

I think broadening it to an international level would be a great idea but perhaps not in poll format and more of a sharing forum to simply display the best in exhibit design for a specific species. I’m sure for certain species (I.e Gorilla = Bronx Zoo) there are obvious winners but I’m sure it would shed light on lesser known collections that a lot of us would not have been otherwise aware of
 
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britishzoofan said:
I would be interested to hear others thoughts on whether you think I should bring these polls for the UK to a close soon and have a short break then move to examine other European countries exhibits or I could continue with other UK species which I'm open to ideas from others if I've missed out some members would really like to see.
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You could maybe have a go at a poll for best Nocturnal House, Reptile House etc? I've always wondered what is regarded as the best Nocturnal House in the UK.
 
Thanks for making lockdown more interesting first of all. They certainly have been good to follow man.
As for the polls, It would be interesting to see some for a few bird species, flamingos and macaws have already been mentioned, but also maybe condors, certain types of eagles, cranes and any other species that have more stand out, specifically-designed enclosures and not just typical aviaries. Then again, that could be more challenging. Other mammal species I can think of quickly could include Visayan warty pigs, squirrel monkeys, Anteaters, Sloths, Zebras, Geladas and Hyrax. Plus a few more primates/small cats/ungulates maybe. If these species aren’t too common in the U.K. (less than 5 collections) then I’m pretty surprised.
 
Azubaa said:
Thanks for making lockdown more interesting first of all. They certainly have been good to follow man.
As for the polls, It would be interesting to see some for a few bird species, flamingos and macaws have already been mentioned, but also maybe condors, certain types of eagles, cranes and any other species that have more stand out, specifically-designed enclosures and not just typical aviaries. Then again, that could be more challenging. Other mammal species I can think of quickly could include Visayan warty pigs, squirrel monkeys, Anteaters, Sloths, Zebras, Geladas and Hyrax. Plus a few more primates/small cats/ungulates maybe. If these species aren’t too common in the U.K. (less than 5 collections) then I’m pretty surprised.
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All of the above sound good! I'd add Hyena to that list as well!
 
Paignton looks the most natural.
Dudley looks nice to but not the best.
Edinburgh’s may look ugly but it’s one of the best on the list
Chester’s enclosures are great too.
 
ZooTripper365 said:
Twycross is a great enclosure and gives deserving attention to an often overlooked species. One of my favourite uk zoo exhibits and probably the best part of Twycross.
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The inside areas are certainly good. But my main reservation about this exhibit is that it sited in the most exposed/windiest part of the zoo and the gibbons often seem reluctant to use the outside areas, possibly as a result of that.
 
Yeah it probably has changed, I visited opening month so it all seemed very new. I haven't been since so it seems like a trip to Twycross might be in order.
 
I think Paignton's are the most attractive and the Zoo has a long (the longest in UK?) history of keeping gibbons on islands with live willow trees, though I think the islands they are on now are different from the original one.

Monkey World has a wide selection of gibbons in good housing with trees also. I like the way in the indoor accomodation they use/d nice bendy horizontal poles for them to brachiate on too.
 
Pertinax said:
I think Paignton's are the most attractive and the Zoo has a long (the longest in UK?) history of keeping gibbons on islands with live willow trees, though I think the islands they are on now are different from the original one.

Monkey World has a wide selection of gibbons in good housing with trees also. I like the way in the indoor accomodation they use/d nice bendy horizontal poles for them to brachiate on too.
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Paigntons enclosure is very natural indeed, I guess Paignton likes gibbons
 
Monkey World's larger gibbon enclosures are the best for me. Excellent use of the trees. That said, the smaller block of enclosures opposite the orang nursery are fairly basic by comparison. For zoos with multiple gibbon exhibits I'd therefore go with an average score in my mind and on that basis Paignton takes it for me
 
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