Best UK Zoo Giraffe enclosure
- Thread starter britishzoofan
- Start date
If they are two completely separate enclosures with no exchange of species between them then I would suggest treating them as separate enclosures. I'm not too familiar with those particular collections so unsure if that is the case.
Flamingo Land’s enclosures space wise are very large but particularly bare. Much more suited to the accompanying zebra and addax. It definitely isn’t though the best enclosure for giraffes in the UK in terms of quality. Nonetheless it is still very good as they have a nice large breeding herd as well as a bachelor/all female non-breeding group.
Thinking of giraffe enclosures makes me wonder if you will do a worse enclosure, as London zoos giraffe enclosure would win hands down for me. Awful tiny space.
I'm not sure this is entirely fair, given London's house is nearly 200 years old, it isn't that bad. The paddock isn't big I'll concede on that but I don't think overall the enclosure is any worse than Dudley's or the one Twycross had 10 years ago, both built a century or more after London's!
By today's standards, there is no doubt that London Zoo's giraffe enclosure is rather small. However that building has successfully housed giraffes since 1837 and in 1841 the first giraffe to be born in any zoo in the world was born there. The building has been remarkably successful for 183 years.
The Hedgehog
Well-Known Member
I can't wait to see what Paington Zoo's new indoor Giraffe House lookalike when it's completed. TriUK can you please tell me when Paington hopes to have this renovation done by?
Score update. Marwell currently have a six vote lead over the rest of the competition. In joint second are Twycross and Whipsnade. It is still an extremely open competition with many different collections gaining votes and the winner far from certain at this stage.
What is definitely evident however, is there is no stand out exhibit that differs significantly from the rest and in my view the standard of enclosures is relatively average for Giraffes in the UK.
What is definitely evident however, is there is no stand out exhibit that differs significantly from the rest and in my view the standard of enclosures is relatively average for Giraffes in the UK.
Poll closed. Congratulations to Marwell on winning the vote for Best UK Zoo Giraffe enclosure. In the end the win was fairly comfortable and marks Marwell's second win following on from that in the White Rhino category. Several other collections trailed Marwell with a handful of votes each but none of them managed to exceed the 15% barrier. It will be interesting to see how Edinburgh's new exhibit turns out and whether it could become a challenger in this category in the future.
@wayne goodman @Nod @Cavia porcellus who did you want to vote for?
Marwell: 39.0%
Whipsnade: 12.2%
Twycross: 12.2%
Chester: 9.8%
YWP: 7.3%
Africa Alive: 4.9%
Cotswold: 2.4%
Wild Place: 2.4%
South Lakes: 2.4%
@wayne goodman @Nod @Cavia porcellus who did you want to vote for?
Marwell: 39.0%
Whipsnade: 12.2%
Twycross: 12.2%
Chester: 9.8%
YWP: 7.3%
Africa Alive: 4.9%
Cotswold: 2.4%
Wild Place: 2.4%
South Lakes: 2.4%
The_melford_manatee
Well-Known Member
Has Marwell combined their giraffe enclosure with the neighbouring Plains Zebra and Congo Buffalo enclosures yet?If they have them I agree it is top.
As I understand it soon to be Giraffe,Plains Zebra and Eland a species Marwell had a long time ago.
The_melford_manatee
Well-Known Member
The Congo Buffalo are currently sharing an enclosure with the Plains Zebras which will definitely be in the mix.Even if there are no buffalo a I am excited to see Eland return to Marwell.It will be fantastic if they also bring back the wildebeest they once had in a similar enclosure.
Only one female Congo Buffalo left now and I understand Eland will replace them,if you go round the back of Marwell you can see the Giraffe out in the valley field first time for a couple of years.
The_melford_manatee
Well-Known Member
Do you mean the African Valley?
I was never a fan of the original exhibit as it was too small though it did provide some good indoor accommodation.
taun
Well-Known Member
What a shame, they had a huge herd around ten years ago. Have they let the numbers die down or transferred animals out of the collection?
Marwell first had Congo Buffalo in 1979,but yes the numbers have gone down over the years,the last male went to Port Lympne a couple of years ago I think he is still on his own ?
The valley area is the 20 acre area by Cafe Graze which when first opened had around 20 waterbuck,giraffe zebra and ostrich,now you can count the animals on one hand.
10 years ago this was true of several species they chose to get rid of!