Best UK Zoo Visit 2020

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garyjp

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
This year has been to say the least a funny old year - never the less I am sure plenty of trips to the zoo took place. so simple question - best zoo you visited this year and why - only one nominee allowed no special mentions .

I will start Whipsnade - reason only zoo we visited this year9 so by default) but it was a very pleasant hot day.
 
Highland Wildlife Park for. First visit this year and it has shot to top of my list of favourite UK zoos. The location is stunning and really good exhibits. the polar bear feeding topped it off :)
 
ThomasNotTom said:
Exmoor Zoo - a family run zoo with an awesome collection to satisfy any zoo nerd. With a beautiful setting, and some fantastic exhibits (sitatunga), you can't go wrong.
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I agree about their Sitatunga exhibit - it’s wonderful! A great way to use a swampy hillside space.
 
Yorkshire Wildlife Park

The park is just fantastic - an impressive collection with spacious, natural enclosures. The team are so focussed on conservation projects in the wild too, particularly with the Polar bears, Amur tigers, Amur leopards and African painted dogs. Also, the park has had a successful year, with the first exhibits of the new extension now open, with more ambitious plans ahead.
 
garyjp said:
I will start Whipsnade - reason only zoo we visited this year9 so by default) but it was a very pleasant hot day.
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Ditto- my only visit to a Zoo this year too- one week before the first lockdown started I think it was. Social distancing was a new phenomenon back then. Was particularly pleased to see the Indian rhino calf while she was still small, I think she may be the last there for some while now. Been to no zoos since.
 
Yorkshire Wildlife Park - I'd never been before and I was just blown away by how high quality the enclosures were. I'd also never seen a Polar Bear before so it was an amazing sight! Also, speaking to some of the keepers I was stunned by how friendly and passionate they all were!
 
Mine was definitely Hamerton, I visited twice this year, having never been before, and was so impressed by the number of little known and rare species they hold. I have become used to visiting a zoo and expecting to see maybe 1 or 2 species that I’ve never seen before, but Hamerton had at least 20, a couple of which I still haven’t had the fortune to spot, which is a great excuse to visit again in the new year.
 
Probably London, I had a gorgeous Autumn day and was pleasantly surprised with the zoo I found before me. Narrow-striped Boky, active Philippine Crocodile, Potto, Water Rat... I wasn't expecting much from my visit, but being a very occasional visitor I was bowled over. I enjoyed it far more than Chester, Bristol, or Twycross, all collections I'd usually rank higher. But with this being 2020 and with circumstances that are far from then London just did it for me this time round.

Honourable mentions to Exmoor Zoo for just being a great little place, and SeaLife Birmingham (shock inclusion :eek:) just for the Sea Otters. :)
 
Brum said:
Probably London, I had a gorgeous Autumn day and was pleasantly surprised with the zoo I found before me. Narrow-striped Boky, active Philippine Crocodile, Potto, Water Rat... I wasn't expecting much from my visit, but being a very occasional visitor I was bowled over. I enjoyed it far more than Chester, Bristol, or Twycross, all collections I'd usually rank higher. But with this being 2020 and with circumstances that are far from then London just did it for me this time round.

Honourable mentions to Exmoor Zoo for just being a great little place, and SeaLife Birmingham (shock inclusion :eek:) just for the Sea Otters. :)
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So the boky are still there , I thought they had been moved elsewhere
 
Wild Place for me. The bear wood, wild flower meadows, Okapi, low-key rustic feel & excellent Gelada exhibit were all reasons why I’d re-visit soon.
 
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I'm just going to repeat myself by quoting what I posted in October in the Hamerton news 2020 thread.
gentle lemur said:
I was at the zoo on Thursday (15th) and I saw 2 quolls :)
I think it must have been my lucky day, as on both my previous visits, the reptile & rodent building had been closed, but I saw everything inside and I even saw the grisons for the first time too. But my best bit of luck was being alone in the sloth building during a heavy and prolonged shower of rain, all the other visitors must have been sheltering elsewhere, so I didn't feel guilty about staying there. The rain was beating on the roof. The gibbons were singing along the path. The sloths weren't doing much. But four squirrel gliders were out and about and I was taking as many photos as I could, when they were in the brighter parts of the exhibit. It was memorable.
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The photos are in the Hamerton gallery.
 
These are the places we have visited this year and I would say the top 3 were Exmoor, Paignton and Monkey World for varying reasons. I did also really enjoy Sea Life Weymouth - it was a lot different to the other Sea Life centres we have been to (in a good way!).

Colchester x2
Whipsnade
Howletts
Wingham
Twycross - cuddly orang
Hamerton - bears
Monkey World
Sea Life Weymouth
Axe Valley
Paignton
Exmoor
Longleat
Wildwood
Blue Reef Hastings
Drusillas
Hoo Farm
Chester
 
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