Best UK Safari Park White Rhino enclosure

Best UK Safari Park White Rhino enclosure?

  • Total voters
    15
  • 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 White Rhino's in the UK safari parks. 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

full

full


Knowsley

full

full


Longleat

full

full


Woburn

full

full


Blair Drummond

full

full
 
What is that striped roof in Blair Drummond? Is it a sort of party tent allowing rhinos to go outside in bad weather?

If looks like a low cost, super useful solution to allow tropical animals outside in winter in Northern zoos. Many zoos could use it for a variety of tropical animals from great apes to giraffes and elephants. I wouldn't mind if outside exhibits in my local zoo would be half-sheltered with similar roofs for winter.

I hope many zoo directors will notice this idea.
 
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Jurek7 said:
What is that striped roof in Blair Drummond? Is it a sort of party tent allowing rhinos to go outside in bad weather?

If looks like a low cost, super useful solution to allow tropical animals outside in winter in Northern zoos. Many zoos could use it for a variety of tropical animals from great apes to giraffes and elephants. I wouldn't mind if outside exhibits in my local zoo would be half-sheltered with similar roofs for winter.

I hope many zoo directors will notice this idea.
Click to expand...

I was thinking exactly that following on from the Gorilla shelter conversation elsewhere on the site!
 
britishzoofan said:
This is just a bit of fun to judge the general consensus on the best enclosure for White Rhino's in the UK safari parks. 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

full

full


Knowsley

full

full


Longleat

full

full


Woburn

full

full


Blair Drummond

full

full
Click to expand...
All amazing
 
Nota bene: When I score or evaluate exhibits like these I do look at the overall picture. General aesthetic overview, animal welfare, visitor appeal/enjoyment, husbandry practice and exhibit design (indoor and outdoor). Breeding success et cetera is an outlier that sometimes I do take into consideration.

On this one: I did find Knowsley the best out of 5.
 
britishzoofan said:
Currently extremely close with Knowsley, Longleat and Woburn all level.
Click to expand...
What seems somewhat surprising and somewhat "bizarre" to me that it might seem people are more generally led by other arguments than animal welfare and good husbandry and/or animal management - which in my mind also includes breeding success -: in short what works for the animals inside the exhibit no more no less.

Both Longleat and Woburn are from an animal welfare argument examples of parks that somehow remain a fail to meet the needs and requirements of their rhinos. As both Longleat and Woburn have restarted in the 2000's with some newly young rhinos freshly imported from range state(s) till date to breed any for well over a decade.

FYI: Woburn changed bulls in 2016. The 2 cows that matter are now 12. A 3rd can now be considered post reproductive already (born in early 1990's). Longleat has not changed anything beyond acquisition of a new cow in 2010 (their resident bull was imported with the 2 other young cows from range state.

BTW: Please rest assured: This is no disrespect to local animal care staff working hard on the ground mind. I have always had the best respect for keeper staff doing the slugger's work (very rewarding, yet well underpaid).

Also no intention to change people's scorings, just my observations here and there ...
 
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Score update Woburn has a two vote lead over Longleat and Knowsley. Currently Woburn has the lead for Best UK safari park enclosure for Elephants and Rhinos demonstrating its strength in displaying large megafauna in a safari setting.
 
Results are in. Congratulations to Woburn on winning the poll for Best UK Safari White Rhino enclosure. They won by a narrow 2 vote margin over Knowsley and Longleat. This victory coupled with their success in the Safari Elephant vote has demonstrated how Woburn has higher quality exhibits for its megafauna than other UK safari parks.

Woburn: 40%
Knowsley: 26.7%
Longleat: 26.7%
Blair Drummond: 6.7%
 
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