I stayed in Blackpool for the first week of the illuminations which included the obligatory zoo visit. Please forgive the fact it's taken me over a month to get around to writing about my visit in detail; hopefully it was worth waiting for!!
There have been quite a few changes at Blackpool Zoo over the past few years, and this looks set to continue. The most notable change this year has been the arrival of three female Giraffes, who live in a new area opposite the big cats. Contrary to what I've read before, this is not undeveloped land, but the space previously occupied by the Vicunas, which have now moved and share the Markhor paddock. The new enclosure is called 'Giraffe Heights' and looks very nice - the house is particularly neat, although perhaps a bit boring inside for the animals. There is downstairs viewing through glass, and a wooden ramp up to give visitors a giraffe's eye view. The walkway also passes the outdoor area, consisting of a small gravel yard and a similarly small grass paddock. I think the Giraffes would benefit from more space, but it's a pleasant exhibit and a nice addition to the zoo.
Close by is the revamped big cat area. The sole remaining Amur Tiger swapped enclosures with the Lions last year, and both species have refurbised outdoor areas. The indoor viewing area also has viewing of the Meerkats in a good new enclosure with glass viewing windows.
By far my favourite exhibit at Blackpool Zoo is Amazonia, the enormous walk-through South American enclosure. The stars of the show are obviously the Squirrel Monkeys who are always very active, but by being patient and going back there later in the day, I was rewarded with cracking views of both the Red Titi Monkeys and the White Faced Saki Monkeys. Some other species that were kept there, namely Goeldi's Monkeys and Agoutis, have now been removed as they didn't do too well in there, but the other three primate species look superb and use the incredible height of the enclosure, and it's dense foliage very well. Indeed, you know there's plenty of cover for the animals when you can't find something as big as a Saki Monkey in a walk-through exhibit!!!
On the subject of monkeys, the small primate house near the old zoo entrance could maybe do with a bit of re-development. Most of the species kept there are also housed in better enclosures elsewhere in the zoo (e.g Squirrel Monkeys, Ring-Tailed Lemurs), and a single Gibbon was a new addition in the building. It's always worth checking out the breeding group of De Brazza's Monkeys though, along with the Grey Mouse Lemurs - but I didn't manage to see the latter this year.
There's a glass-fronted enclosure nearby housing a few different Australian species, most interestingly a Ground Cuscus that defied it's name by staying asleep in a high up nesting box all day! Entering the children's zoo, the old Meerkat house is now occupied by a pair of Aardvarks who are very new arrivals to the zoo. This exhibit looked pretty good and was a decent size - if they add a small outdoor area then this will be a superb exhibit, and I applaud Blackpool for getting such an unusual species.
Other highlights include the walk-through Lemur Wood, home to Red-Fronted Lemurs which had 2 youngsters, as well as the more usual Ring-Tails and Red Ruffs. I got a rare sighting of a Gorilla on the island, and saw Fergus the young Red River Hog who has been hand-rearded by staff. Fergus was using the fence of his small pen to scratch himself, I also spotted a Winnie the Pooh football he's been given to play with! I very much enjoyed seeing the growing Bongo group which are one of Blackpool's big success stories, as are the Pelicans. It was great to see a very large brown chick amongst the flock, as I mentioned on the forum before, this is Blackpool's first breeding of this species and I hope it's the first of many!
Finally, I have to mention the Red Pandas. They're one of my favourite animals, and I really really wanted to get a good view of them. I went back to the enclosure three times, the last being after I had my tea in the cafe. It paid off as I got a brilliant view of both Pandas, and spent some time sitting in the viewing shelter next to their enclosure when it started raining. This was a magical moment; I love those times at zoos when most of the visitors have gone home, and the animals go about their business in peace. Being completely ignored by such beautiful animals is a real privilage I always think, and it finished off a fantastic day out.
There have been quite a few changes at Blackpool Zoo over the past few years, and this looks set to continue. The most notable change this year has been the arrival of three female Giraffes, who live in a new area opposite the big cats. Contrary to what I've read before, this is not undeveloped land, but the space previously occupied by the Vicunas, which have now moved and share the Markhor paddock. The new enclosure is called 'Giraffe Heights' and looks very nice - the house is particularly neat, although perhaps a bit boring inside for the animals. There is downstairs viewing through glass, and a wooden ramp up to give visitors a giraffe's eye view. The walkway also passes the outdoor area, consisting of a small gravel yard and a similarly small grass paddock. I think the Giraffes would benefit from more space, but it's a pleasant exhibit and a nice addition to the zoo.
Close by is the revamped big cat area. The sole remaining Amur Tiger swapped enclosures with the Lions last year, and both species have refurbised outdoor areas. The indoor viewing area also has viewing of the Meerkats in a good new enclosure with glass viewing windows.
By far my favourite exhibit at Blackpool Zoo is Amazonia, the enormous walk-through South American enclosure. The stars of the show are obviously the Squirrel Monkeys who are always very active, but by being patient and going back there later in the day, I was rewarded with cracking views of both the Red Titi Monkeys and the White Faced Saki Monkeys. Some other species that were kept there, namely Goeldi's Monkeys and Agoutis, have now been removed as they didn't do too well in there, but the other three primate species look superb and use the incredible height of the enclosure, and it's dense foliage very well. Indeed, you know there's plenty of cover for the animals when you can't find something as big as a Saki Monkey in a walk-through exhibit!!!
On the subject of monkeys, the small primate house near the old zoo entrance could maybe do with a bit of re-development. Most of the species kept there are also housed in better enclosures elsewhere in the zoo (e.g Squirrel Monkeys, Ring-Tailed Lemurs), and a single Gibbon was a new addition in the building. It's always worth checking out the breeding group of De Brazza's Monkeys though, along with the Grey Mouse Lemurs - but I didn't manage to see the latter this year.
There's a glass-fronted enclosure nearby housing a few different Australian species, most interestingly a Ground Cuscus that defied it's name by staying asleep in a high up nesting box all day! Entering the children's zoo, the old Meerkat house is now occupied by a pair of Aardvarks who are very new arrivals to the zoo. This exhibit looked pretty good and was a decent size - if they add a small outdoor area then this will be a superb exhibit, and I applaud Blackpool for getting such an unusual species.
Other highlights include the walk-through Lemur Wood, home to Red-Fronted Lemurs which had 2 youngsters, as well as the more usual Ring-Tails and Red Ruffs. I got a rare sighting of a Gorilla on the island, and saw Fergus the young Red River Hog who has been hand-rearded by staff. Fergus was using the fence of his small pen to scratch himself, I also spotted a Winnie the Pooh football he's been given to play with! I very much enjoyed seeing the growing Bongo group which are one of Blackpool's big success stories, as are the Pelicans. It was great to see a very large brown chick amongst the flock, as I mentioned on the forum before, this is Blackpool's first breeding of this species and I hope it's the first of many!
Finally, I have to mention the Red Pandas. They're one of my favourite animals, and I really really wanted to get a good view of them. I went back to the enclosure three times, the last being after I had my tea in the cafe. It paid off as I got a brilliant view of both Pandas, and spent some time sitting in the viewing shelter next to their enclosure when it started raining. This was a magical moment; I love those times at zoos when most of the visitors have gone home, and the animals go about their business in peace. Being completely ignored by such beautiful animals is a real privilage I always think, and it finished off a fantastic day out.
