Chester Zoo Chester Zoo Discussion, Speculation & Questions 2018

I went today. I got there first thing and saw the baby rhinos & Painted Dog cubs up real close. I like how they've themed this area. I was very impressed with 'Islands' - especially the gharial & turtle exhibit. I thought the Gibbons were exhibited very well.
Some questions:
Are the Andean bears always so elusive here?
How many okapi do they have?
Are there plans to build new chimp housing - I thought it was poor?
Great to see Jaguar active in a heavily planted exhibit - very cool!
I also thought the elephant enclosure was fairly small ( a sizeable herd) for such a celebrated zoo!
The Flamingos seemed restless being couped up due to the avian flu restrictions!
I was really impressed by the signage and communication about upcoming developments and by the polite & sincere verbal info on entry about animals that were off show. Paignton could learn something here!!
The area where the Pudu & Pademelon are seemed a bit tired and 'forgotten about' - are there plans for this section?
Overall - I enjoyed the visit but would have loved to see the Phillipine Cockatoos and the Padamelon/Tree Roos. Next time.
 
I went today. I got there first thing and saw the baby rhinos & Painted Dog cubs up real close. I like how they've themed this area. I was very impressed with 'Islands' - especially the gharial & turtle exhibit. I thought the Gibbons were exhibited very well.
Some questions:
Are the Andean bears always so elusive here?
How many okapi do they have?
Are there plans to build new chimp housing - I thought it was poor?
Great to see Jaguar active in a heavily planted exhibit - very cool!
I also thought the elephant enclosure was fairly small ( a sizeable herd) for such a celebrated zoo!
The Flamingos seemed restless being couped up due to the avian flu restrictions!
I was really impressed by the signage and communication about upcoming developments and by the polite & sincere verbal info on entry about animals that were off show. Paignton could learn something here!!
The area where the Pudu & Pademelon are seemed a bit tired and 'forgotten about' - are there plans for this section?
Overall - I enjoyed the visit but would have loved to see the Phillipine Cockatoos and the Padamelon/Tree Roos. Next time.
To answer your questions as best as I can:

Yes the Andean bears are quite elusive. However the cub is usually quite active.

I think they currently have 2 okapi on show with 2-4 off show. Not sure entirely.

A new chimp house is a long term plan for the future.

Second elephant paddock is also another long term plan on the current car park.

I don't think there are any plans for the section near Oakfield. It acts a bit like a quarantine area for new species coming in, this may change when the new off show facilities are built.
 
The area where the pademelons are held will be closed in the future. Not sure what it will become, stores I think.

Being cooped up altogether will do the flamingos no harm at all.
 
To answer your questions as best as I can:

Yes the Andean bears are quite elusive. However the cub is usually quite active.

I think they currently have 2 okapi on show with 2-4 off show. Not sure entirely.

A new chimp house is a long term plan for the future.

Second elephant paddock is also another long term plan on the current car park.

I don't think there are any plans for the section near Oakfield. It acts a bit like a quarantine area for new species coming in, this may change when the new off show facilities are built.
Also visoted yesterday and also struggled to see the Andean Bear however got a great view of the male running around the outside area of the left side of the Jaguar exhibit (its temporary home). Also agree with your point about signage. I was quite impressed by the new Penguin Island seems to make a lot better use of the space. Also was good to see the Sumatran Orange enjoying the sun albeit cold sun.
 
The area where the pademelons are held will be closed in the future. Not sure what it will become, stores I think.
Playground. ;)

Actually, they'll need to keep that part of the zoo open if they want to continue private functions after the Oakfield extension is complete, but there'll be fewer of them than before.

Also worth mentioning, not sure anyone has noticed, but the old cheetah (more recently cassowary and cheetah again) enclosures that were the subject of much speculation appear to have finally been completed and hot-wire - a lot of it - is in place.
 
Playground. ;)

Actually, they'll need to keep that part of the zoo open if they want to continue private functions after the Oakfield extension is complete, but there'll be fewer of them than before.

Also worth mentioning, not sure anyone has noticed, but the old cheetah (more recently cassowary and cheetah again) enclosures that were the subject of much speculation appear to have finally been completed and hot-wire - a lot of it - is in place.
Exciting! I hope it’s a great new species to the collection.
 
Playground. ;)

Actually, they'll need to keep that part of the zoo open if they want to continue private functions after the Oakfield extension is complete, but there'll be fewer of them than before.

Also worth mentioning, not sure anyone has noticed, but the old cheetah (more recently cassowary and cheetah again) enclosures that were the subject of much speculation appear to have finally been completed and hot-wire - a lot of it - is in place.
What is this playground that you speak of???
 
I would love pallas cat but I’m thinking possibly fossa as we know they’ll be going into the Madagascar area when that’s completed.
 
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