Best UK Penguin enclosure

Best UK Penguin enclosure?

  • Total voters
    59
  • 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 Penguins 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.

Unfortunately I couldn't find photos of all exhibits, so if anyone has been to those which I couldn't find photos for could they describe the exhibit, compare it to others and possibly provide photos.

If you want to vote for: any of the options not explicitly mentioned in the poll then vote for the other option and post in the thread to highlight which collection you have voted for.

Banham (African)

full


Bristol (African)

full


Paradise WP (African)

full


Whipsnade (African)

full


Whipsnade (Northern Rockhopper)

full


Birdworld (African)

full


Birdworld (Humboldt)

full


Combe Martin (African)

full


Amazon World (African)

full


Living Coasts (African and Macaroni)

full


The Deep (Antarctic Gentoo)

full


Belfast (Subantarctic Gentoo and Western Rockhopper)

full


Edinburgh (Subantarctic Gentoo, King and Northern Rockhopper)

full


Lotherton (Humboldt)

full


Drusillas (Humboldt and Northern Rockhopper)

full


WMSP (Humboldt)

full


Oceanarium (Humboldt)

full


Birdland (Humboldt and King)

full


Sewerby (Humboldt)

full
 
Cotswold (Humboldt)

full


Chessington (Humboldt)

full


Chester (Humboldt)

full


Colchester (Humboldt)

full


South Lakes (Humboldt)

full


Dudley (Humboldt)

full


Great Yarmouth SL

full


Paultons

full


Paradise P

full


Hunstanton SLS

full


Harewood BG

full


London (Humboldt)

full


Flamingo Land (Humboldt)

full


Woodside (Humboldt)

Unfortunately, there are no photos of this enclosure in the gallery. It would be extremely useful if someone who has visited can describe the exhibit and give an evaluation on its quality.

Newquay (Humboldt)

full


Scarborough SL (Humboldt)

full


Southend SL (Humboldt)

full


Twycross (Humboldt)

full


Longleat (Humboldt)

full

full
 
Weymouth SL (Humboldt)

full


Weymouth SL (Western Little)

Unfortunately, there are no photos of this enclosure in the gallery. It would be extremely useful if someone who has visited can describe the exhibit and give an evaluation on its quality.

Marwell (Humboldt)

full


Wingham (Humboldt)

full


Peak WP (Humboldt)

full


Woburn (Humboldt)

full


Curraghs (Humboldt)

full


Blair Drummond (Humboldt)

full


Folly Farm (Humboldt and Macaroni)

full


Welsh Mountain Zoo (Humboldt)

full


Blackpool (Magellanic)

full


Birmingham SL (Subantarctic Gentoo)

full


London SL (Subantarctic Gentoo)

full

 
Voted London as, together with Tiger Territory, it’s a superior improvement on the previous exhibit and one of the best of London’s “new” exhibits. It’s a pity, however, it’s never fulfilled it’s initial purpose of housing 3 species - Humboldt, Macaroni and Blue.

I would remove Longleat from this poll as they no longer house penguins.
 
Really tricky one this. London is good, I think this may be the one category Dudley does deserve a bit of recognition in, but Living Coasts is possibly my personal favourite. I haven't seen Edinburgh in person but it does look mightily impressive.

For now - Living Coasts.
 
Panthera1981 said:
Voted London as, together with Tiger Territory, it’s a superior improvement on the previous exhibit and one of the best of London’s “new” exhibits. It’s a pity, however, it’s never fulfilled it’s initial purpose of housing 3 species - Humboldt, Macaroni and Blue.

I would remove Longleat from this poll as they no longer house penguins.
Click to expand...
That was because unfortunately due to outbreak of Avian Malaria for the first time in 2016 and second time in 2018 which despite all the efforts and the keeper's hard work to maintain the penguins as healthy stage as possible. The difficult decision was made that 2018 is the last year that there are penguins at Longleat and the remaining birds have moved on to other collections
 
I believe Marwell has the better enclosure as it seems so much more enriching.It also offered more privacy, was more educational for guests and it was better planted in my opinion.
 
Panthera1981 said:
Voted London as, together with Tiger Territory, it’s a superior improvement on the previous exhibit and one of the best of London’s “new” exhibits. It’s a pity, however, it’s never fulfilled it’s initial purpose of housing 3 species - Humboldt, Macaroni and Blue.

I would remove Longleat from this poll as they no longer house penguins.
Click to expand...

London was also intended to House Rockhopper Penguins, though it could have been only temporary
 
In my opinion, these are the top main enclosures.I will be considering some rather weird factors such as the plants chosen, the diversity of animals in the exhibit(not always) and the methods used to provide healthcare for the animals.1 is top and 9 is bottom:

1.Marwell
2.Whipsnade-Northern Rockhopper
3.London
4.Living Coasts
5.Chester
6.Bristol
7.Whipsnade-African
8.Edinburgh
9.Flamingo Land

I also think that the exhibit at the Welsh Mountain Zoo is interesting though definitely not top.
 
The best one I have seen that isn't on the main list is Lotherton, it isn't the best, but probably better than Marwell or Whipsnade's.
This is another difficult one, but probably a choice between Living Coasts, London and Edinburgh for me, Flamingoland's was a lot more impressive than I expected though!
 
pipaluk said:
The best one I have seen that isn't on the main list is Lotherton, it isn't the best, but probably better than Marwell or Whipsnade's.
This is another difficult one, but probably a choice between Living Coasts, London and Edinburgh for me, Flamingoland's was a lot more impressive than I expected though!
Click to expand...

Interesting, I thought Lotherton's looked quite good from the photo, however having never visited and not having heard much about the particular exhibit I didn't include it as was unsure if it was better than any others already in the poll.
 
pipaluk said:
The best one I have seen that isn't on the main list is Lotherton, it isn't the best, but probably better than Marwell or Whipsnade's.
This is another difficult one, but probably a choice between Living Coasts, London and Edinburgh for me, Flamingoland's was a lot more impressive than I expected though!
Click to expand...
Outside my undecided top 3, my list would be

4 Chester
5 Lotherton
6 Flamingoland
7 Whipsnade
8 Bristol
9 Dudley
10 Newquay possibly
 
I am shocked how big the Blackpool exhibit looks in the photo used! I remember it as being one of the smallest I've seen in the UK!
 
WHY is there a fake plane in Chessigton's exhibit?

Also, this category is going to be an interesting one. I'm torn between a few so haven't voted yet so will be interested in reading people's comments :)
 
I'm very torn between four zoos: Flamingo Land, London, Dudley and Bristol...
  • I just like the Flamingo Land exhibit overall - Nice viewing and a huge pool.
  • London - You can't deny how great is is... some nice underwater viewing and the largest group in the UK (Humboldt Penguin).
  • Dudley - They have a huge amount of land to explore, which is often forgotten with penguin exhibits. They have a hugely successful group, which is the second largest in the UK (Humboldt Penguin).
  • Bristol - Another great all rounder - a great mix of species in a dynamic exhibit, with lots of viewing opportunities.
I'm not sure who I'll vote for yet... I'll see what happens in the discussion here.
 
Last edited:
At the other end of the scale for me would be the London SL/London Aquarium-a thoroughly depressing “box” of an exhibit where those poor birds will never see the light of day. The building isn’t really suited at all to house penguins imo.
 
zoosafari123 said:
WHY is there a fake plane in Chessigton's exhibit?

Also, this category is going to be an interesting one. I'm torn between a few so haven't voted yet so will be interested in reading people's comments :)
Click to expand...

Why is a 'fake' plane any worse than atrocious 'fake' rook, blue corrugated tin buildings, greenhouses, swimming pool blue concrete or chapel buildings - all in the view in other pictures...
 
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