Best UK Hippopotamus enclosure

Best UK Hippopotamus enclosure?

  • Total voters
    31
  • Poll closed .
B

britishzoofan

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
This is just a bit of fun to judge the general consensus on the best enclosure for Hippo's in the UK. I have added a few photos from the gallery to make it easier for members to compare the different exhibits. If anyone wants to make an argument for a particular enclosure, please feel free to do so. Also, I would encourage people to perhaps list the enclosures in order of what they determine to be the best.

West Midlands

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Whipsnade

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Flamingo Land

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Longleat

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Longleat currently has a three vote lead over Whipsnade. The large lake at Longleat is clearly giving it the edge. I would be interested to know the size of the land area at Longleat in comparison to the others.
 
britishzoofan said:
Longleat currently has a three vote lead over Whipsnade. The large lake at Longleat is clearly giving it the edge. I would be interested to know the size of the land area at Longleat in comparison to the others.
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They have a significant field they have access too. You used to be able to walk the grounds if you stayed on the caravan site there of an evening. I have got some amazing views of the hippos in the evening.
 
So the hippos at Flamingo Land have access to the lake? I know it's a stupid question, but it looks as if an attempt has been made to separate them from the water with that line of rocks.
 
amur leopard said:
So the hippos at Flamingo Land have access to the lake? I know it's a stupid question, but it looks as if an attempt has been made to separate them from the water with that line of rocks.
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They do have access, yes :)
 
Shocked anyone would vote for WMSP's deplorable exhibit. That patch of dirt really is the only land space they have, the housing is as basic as it gets and the amount of water is far too small for the number of hippos they have.

In my opinion it's one of the worst exhibits for any animal in the UK. But it's a safari park so no-one bats an eyelid.
 
Benosaurus said:
Shocked anyone would vote for WMSP's deplorable exhibit. That patch of dirt really is the only land space they have, the housing is as basic as it gets and the amount of water is far too small for the number of hippos they have.

In my opinion it's one of the worst exhibits for any animal in the UK. But it's a safari park so no-one bats an eyelid.
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Agree with you 100% here. I knew they had a large group of Hippo but was shocked at the conditions I saw when I finally went there. Tiny 'carpark' land area, tiny garage-like house(any indoor pool I wonder?) and the lake was stinking black foetid water. Disgusting. I revisited more recently and it looked just the same though the water wasn't quite so black and foetid. Surprised they have not been cautioned over this.
 
Just to aid in the WMSP discussion - they currently have 6 females :)
 
Benosaurus said:
These photos are a better representation of Longleat...

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Hippo - ZooChat

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Half-Mile Lake - ZooChat

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sonia and spot - ZooChat
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These were not the views I got when I went to Longleat for the one and only time 7 years ago! All I saw was 2 submerged mounds from the boat around 40-50 yards away. Whipsnade is the only UK zoo with indoor viewing and the best outdoor views by far. Flamingoland outdoors is pretty good, but they have no indoor viewing either
 
pipaluk said:
These were not the views I got when I went to Longleat for the one and only time 7 years ago! All I saw was 2 submerged mounds from the boat around 40-50 yards away. Whipsnade is the only UK zoo with indoor viewing and the best outdoor views by far. Flamingoland outdoors is pretty good, but they have no indoor viewing either
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I went to Flamingo Land last summer, whilst I could see their Hippos really clearly I felt as though the exhibit wasn't great as it had no natural grazing areas whilst at Longleat, although they might be hard to spot due to the massive mud wallow they've created they have so much room to graze which is nice to see - not to mention the huge lake they have access to!
 
zoosafari123 said:
I went to Flamingo Land last summer, whilst I could see their Hippos really clearly I felt as though the exhibit wasn't great as it had no natural grazing areas whilst at Longleat, although they might be hard to spot due to the massive mud wallow they've created they have so much room to graze which is nice to see - not to mention the huge lake they have access to!
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They're still much more visible at Whipsnade though!
 
In general, larger, more complex enclosures are better for animal welfare, however this often coincides with poorer visibility. It is often difficult for an enclosure to have both. Given the choice I'd always go for higher animal welfare (i.e. larger, more complex enclosures) over increased visibility. :)
 
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