Best UK Warty Pig enclosure

[felis silvestris]

This is just a bit of fun to judge the general consensus on the best enclosure for Warty Pigs 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 list the enclosures in order of what they think is best.

Lotherton



Belfast





YWP



Chester



Colchester



Camperdown



Whipsnade

 

[felis silvestris]

Edinburgh (1)





Edinburgh (2)





Port Lympne

Unfortunately there are no photos of this enclosure in the gallery. If someone could describe or provide a photo of it, that would be great.

Flamingo Land



Newquay



Manor WP



Thrigby



Jersey



Marwell

 

[Lafone]

Have seen the Colchester, Whipsnade and YWP ones multiple times.

There’s also the one at Marwell I’ve seen though I didn’t spend much time at it so can’t comment in detail.

I think they all have pros and cons.

Colchester is large and spacious but has a a single dirt surface so no grass or what have you. It’s got space for the pigs to avoid the public though and muck about near the trees. They also share with the deer. It’s not a very visitor friendly enclosure (obviously this is secondary to welfare but it is nice to see the animals anyway) having slightly odd viewing angles through the trellis fence. Plain and functional tends to be my view of it. It’s also quite dusty in the warmer months.

The YWP area has a few different spaces and house room and is in the wood / mud and feels like an ok space for the pigs. It’s quite dark as areas go and viewing can be a bit challenging but the occupants seem to use all of the space. It does feel like the sort of enclosure you’d keep domestic pigs in though. And the small signage mean people say ‘wild boar’ more than I’ve seen elsewhere. Of the enclosures at YWP which are often standout, I think it most lacks imagination.

The Whipsnade one has the most variety for me and has a number of different spaces - a yard with mud, chippings and logs etc outside the house for bad weather etc (also used for introducing the young piglets) plus the longer grassy / weedy enclosure with good spaces for rooting about and different levels. It also has some water in one end and the pigs do paddle in it in hotter weather. It also has lots of viewing angles all around the enclosure.

Of the three I’d go for Whipsnade - I haven’t seen the others in the list except Thrigby which looked functional but not remarkable.

 

[felis silvestris]

Wingham



Peak WP



Photo credits to @MagpieGoose @gulogulogulo @zoogiraffe @Bonobob @felis silvestris @Mr.Weasel

 

[Kalaw]

I haven't seen too many, so will reserve my vote until I have heard the thoughts of others, but I love Whipsnade's enclosure, for the following reasons:

- Its enormous (perhaps not a surprise, since it housed gaur until recently).
- An advantage of this size is that the pigs are less likely to dig up the grass, as they often do in zoos. However, they still have plenty of space and a wide variety of substrates to dig among.
- There is a heated pool, which is decently deep.
- Its not so big that you cannot see the pigs, thanks to viewing from all sides.
- Despite this, if the pigs want to hide, the height of the grass and abundance of logs allows for this.
- A piglet was born at the zoo last year.

The only real downside is the poor indoor viewing, which is extremely dim and only shows you a third of their actual indoor space. However, this could also be viewed as a strength, by providing the pigs with more privacy.

I enjoyed Edinburgh's enclosure, as well, and although I have never been, Camperdown looks great in photos.

 

[felis silvestris]

If you want to vote for any of the option not in the poll please specify what you’re voting for.

 

[pangolin12]

I really do love Lotherton’s exhibit, just for the view visitors can get of the pigs alone. It should be mentioned, however, that the path shown in the photo goes through the enclosure, with tunnels underneath the walkway to allow access to the other side. The photo only really shows around half of the enclosure.

 

[Pertinax]

Why have you left out Newquay from the list? They bred them last year and this year...

 

[Alwaysevergreen]

Voted for Whipsnade, as had forgot about Yorkshires.

 

[felis silvestris]

Why have you left out Newquay from the list? They bred them last year and this year...

I forgot to add the “Other” option and now I can’t add it. Did you want to vote for them?

 

[Pertinax]

I forgot to add the “Other” option and now I can’t add it. Did you want to vote for them?

No. Its a pretty small area. I imagine quite a few of the others are better.

 

[felis silvestris]

Score update. Whipsnade are in a healthy lead with Chester and Lotherton in behind. We have seen arguments for the leaders but what about the runner-ups?

 

[Kalaw]

I'm slightly confused as to why Chester are performing so well. Perhaps my thoughts on it are skewed, given that I rushed past the enclosure on my visit to the zoo, with the rain forcing the pigs to remain indoors, but I didn't think much of it. The fact that their water source is the same moat that the boats use is nice, its decently spacious, and I am sure that the boardwalk would offer good views when the pigs are outside, but it doesn't really compare to Whipsnade, in my eyes. Easily the second best out of the seven that I have seen, but I would be very interested to hear arguments from its voters as to why it is their preference...

 

[jde7582]

I'm slightly confused as to why Chester are performing so well. Perhaps my thoughts on it are skewed, given that I rushed past the enclosure on my visit to the zoo, with the rain forcing the pigs to remain indoors, but I didn't think much of it. The fact that their water source is the same moat that the boats use is nice, its decently spacious, and I am sure that the boardwalk would offer good views when the pigs are outside, but it doesn't really compare to Whipsnade, in my eyes. Easily the second best out of the seven that I have seen, but I would be very interested to hear arguments from its voters as to why it is their preference...

One reason Chesters maybe higher, is if you go on a warm, sunny, blue sky day, the whole of Islands comes alive, personally the theme ingredients really works on days like that, with the boats in clear water, reeds growing and the Warty pigs running around towards the water and under the walk ways

 

[Maguari]

Don't have a particular horse in this race, but it might also be relevant that Chester's is a purpose-built warty pig enclosure, whereas Whipsnade's is a slightly remodelled generic ungulate paddock - that may well be counting for something.

 

[felis silvestris]

Poll closed. Congratulations to Whipsnade for having the Best Warty Pig enclosure in the UK. The old Gaur paddock gave the Warty pigs a huge space and gave them a decent win. Mentions to Chester and Lotherton, coming second and third respectively.

Whipsnade: 48.4%
Chester: 29.0%
Lotherton: 12.9%
Edinburgh: 6.5%
Thrigby: 3.2%

 

[Jacob Blackwood]

I like Lotherton because every time I go I see the Warty Pigs enjoying the mud