Chessington Zoo Chessington Zoo news 2023

tennisfan said:
Spud (rhino) arrival from South Lakes in June was discussed in earlier threads. so Chessington have 3 males.

Khari (Giraffe) has moved to Brno this week ( as Brexit issues and the Covid pandemic delayed his planned 2021 move) .So Chessington now has 5 giraffes.
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Sad to see Khari go but it is time for him to head off.
 
Embu#2 said:
Khari is a a Reticulated giraffe I'm guessing? Was he born here or elsewhere?
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He is a reticulated giraffe who was born c April 2019 to first-time mum Luna and dad Bashu.at ZSL Whipsnade. He was transfered c August 2021 to Chessington for a "few months" whilst arrangements for his move to the Czech republic were resolved. but Brexit and Covid resulted in an extended stay.
 
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And in his time at Chessington, stole everyone’s hearts who came into close contact with him as he was like a naughty cheeky toddler!
 
Sad to see no progress again on the lion or gorilla enclosure. They’ve opened that new land and spent god knows how much on it but their 2 lions are still in a small enclosure (I believe it was built in the 60’s or 70’s but don’t quote me on that) and the gorillas in their fairly small cage too. The lion sometimes has a big wound and I’ve always wondered if that would have happened if they were in a big enclosure with space (I’m not saying it wouldn’t have done, I don’t know).

They’ve had a baby sea lion recently. I watched it feeding from their Mum, you could hear him suckling at times!
 
starsinthesky said:
Sad to see no progress again on the lion or gorilla enclosure. They’ve opened that new land and spent god knows how much on it but their 2 lions are still in a small enclosure (I believe it was built in the 60’s or 70’s but don’t quote me on that) and the gorillas in their fairly small cage too. The lion sometimes has a big wound and I’ve always wondered if that would have happened if they were in a big enclosure with space (I’m not saying it wouldn’t have done, I don’t know).

They’ve had a baby sea lion recently. I watched it feeding from their Mum, you could hear him suckling at times!
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Chessington haven't really focussed on animal developments for so long, that I would not be surprised if within ten years, the majority of animals have moved on, and they may just have an Africa area with Lodges, a Sea Lion area for shows and maybe one big cat exhibit also incorporated with lodges. I was a shade disappointed when I went last at the lacking of animals and it has the feel of a zoo on phase out to me.
 
Well given that Land of the Tiger was a major new exhibit that opened in 2018 I think we can say that Chessington have invested. Certainly the pandemic will have pushed back some further works. Since the pandemic there has been investment in the penguin exhibit and in the Sealife exhibit. Old buildings adjoining the Children's Zoo area have been demolished recently and new huts being built (mostly I think to house the owl collection but that may change). The racoon and skunk areas have been much improved . The monkey walk through has had its water feature removed/filled so a wider area for the saki monkeys to navigate thru. (A new male saki arrived this summer to join the two females). The boardwalk area to the reserve lookout was repaired/maintained earlier this year.
 
Considering Chessington have been more successful than the London Zoo with their Gorilla troop I am surprised they have not built a new exhibit for them yet?
 
Zorro said:
Considering Chessington have been more successful than the London Zoo with their Gorilla troop I am surprised they have not built a new exhibit for them yet?
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I agree! I’m suprise Jumaji didn’t get one or two enclosures so they could move some of the small carnivores from trail of the kings. Then in the near future renovate trail of the kings to have bigger and better facilities for just the lions, gorillas and maybe even upgrade the sea lions. Sadly I don’t think they would invest that much money into the animal side without a theme park aspect being included, like they did for the tigers.
 
For the Tiger exhibit the Peeking heights Ferris wheel ride was removed to make way for the Tigers. The theme park ride thereTiger Rock is a re theming of the water flume ride Dragon Falls that has existed for many years rather than a new ride.
In a presentation of a 10 year plan back in 2016 there was the possibility mentioned of a re siting of animals from the Trail of Kings to a new area probably behind Land of the Tigers. Not aware of any movement on that possibility.
As for live animal exhibits in the Jumanji extension bear in mind that as the full theme park area is closed outside the main season ie November to March so you would have those exhibits effectively offshow for several months had they been developed.
A water park is a development which is currently going through the planning process.
 
The water park plan looks good for guests but a lot less peaceful for the animals who live in that area and less space for those that enjoy that field!

The baby gorilla has grown a lot, lovely seeing her more confident now. It still makes me sad seeing them in a small enclosure. I rarely go down to the lions due to the size and lack of enrichment in their tiny cage. I’ve done the tiger feed and the keeper spoke of how they can close different sections off so they can different walk ways (not just for keeper safety) and make the enclosure more interesting. Let’s face it, it’s still a cage but it’s a million times better than the poor lions with their indoor house and small outdoor area with one perching platform.
 
tennisfan said:
He is a reticulated giraffe who was born c April 2019 to first-time mum Luna and dad Bashu.at ZSL Whipsnade. He was transfered c August 2021 to Chessington for a "few months" whilst arrangements for his move to the Czech republic were resolved. but Brexit and Covid resulted in an extended stay.
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Yes and he's part of the European Breeding Programme for giraffes and fingers crossed he'll become a father one day and have a family of his own
 
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