Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo named most popular Wildlife attraction in Which? Survey

Badgerman91

Badgerman91

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
Just read on the zoos website:

Colchester Zoo is delighted to have been named the most popular wildlife attraction in the UK in a recent survey by Which? the magazine that publishes expert, unbiased information for consumers.

Their survey of over 3,000 consumers placed Colchester Zoo as “king of the animal parks when it comes to satisfied visitors. The five stars it gets for the range and quality of its facilities, and the engagement and entertainment offered perhaps reflect its 260 species (including Komodo dragons, leopards and sun bears), 50 daily displays, and four adventure play areas” said the magazine. The zoo also scored 4 out of 5 stars for Value for money and for its Food and drink.

Zoological Director, Anthony Tropeano commented, “We are obviously delighted to have received the seal of approval from such a well respected publication and to know that our visitors leave the park satisfied. We always aim to exceed our customers’ expectations and will work even harder to ensure that we achieve even higher scores in the future.”
 
I would agree with that article, I'm a little biased as I'm a season ticket holder for Colchester, I could never really say what zoo I find the best in the UK, they all offer something different.
 
As i am also a season ticket holder for Colchester i feel as though i can sometimes be biased towards to the zoo but i do feel as though the zoo has transformed itself into one of the "big" zoos in the UK.

I would like to see what other un-biased people think of Colchester as I do know that people do criticise the usage of fake rock but I think that the enclosures at Colchester are all of high standard up to state of the art (Dragons of Komodo and Otter Creak). And also with its research such as training the Amur Leopard to allow the researchers to listen to his heartbeat without the use of anaesthetic. So I agree the zoo does deserve recognition in all of its achievements as it does tend to get looked over a lot when people talk about the so called "big" zoos!
 
Badgerman91 said:
I would like to see what other un-biased people think of Colchester as I do know that people do criticise the usage of fake rock but I think that the enclosures at Colchester are all of high standard up to state of the art (Dragons of Komodo and Otter Creak).... So I agree the zoo does deserve recognition in all of its achievements as it does tend to get looked over a lot when people talk about the so called "big" zoos!
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I'm not a fan of the 'Fake Rock' approach, and one or two enclosures in particular(like the 'Orangutan Forest outside) are to my mind quite hideous. But other enclosures are very good, and they certainly rank as a major collection nowadays though sometimes get overlooked as such.. They have come a massive distance from the rather scruffy unremarkable zoo of the 1960's.
 
i think that colchester is a developing zoo and from what i've seen i like, mostly, however, i feel that it may only been named as the number 1 because i think it has the most 'ABC' zoo animals in the uk collections
 
Cat-Man said:
i think that colchester is a developing zoo and from what i've seen i like, mostly, however, i feel that it may only been named as the number 1 because i think it has the most 'ABC' zoo animals in the uk collections
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Well, it does have lions, tigers, elephants, rhinos, chimps, orangs, sealions and bears. But it also has Prince Alfred's deer, L'Hoest's monkey, smooth-coated otters, tamanduas and rufous hornbills. Add the two together and you have a collection that will take a full day to see. That is a recipe for value for money.

Contrast this with a certain establishment about one hour away that has reduced the scope of its collection to the point where it can be seen in three hours, but hasn't stopped being a VERY expensive day out...:(
 
IanRRobinson said:
Well, it does have lions, tigers, elephants, rhinos, chimps, orangs, sealions and bears. But it also has Prince Alfred's deer, L'Hoest's monkey, smooth-coated otters, tamanduas and rufous hornbills. Add the two together and you have a collection that will take a full day to see. That is a recipe for value for money.

Contrast this with a certain establishment about one hour away that has reduced the scope of its collection to the point where it can be seen in three hours, but hasn't stopped being a VERY expensive day out...:(
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Yes Ian, you have made some interesting comments recently which I would like to give my opinion on. Firstly I think Colchester is a first rate zoo, I cannot comment on what it was like back in the sixties as I never visited then, it is certainly a full day to visit, I have always found the staff to be very helpful and friendly, and on a personal note I think what they have done for Tembo, the African bull elephant, is excellent, i.e. restoring his faith in human nature to a certain extent after the savage beating he had inflicted upon him by his previous "carers". You mention a zoo which is about one hour away, am I to assume you are referring to London?, if so I would like to make the following comments. You mention that you are 48 and have been visiting Regent's Park all your life, very good that's two things we have in common, I also have had similar thoughts as yourself about how this zoo has developed in recent years, it is expensive for a family to visit, however we are in London where most things are more expensive, I think the admission costs compare favourably with other zoos in the U.K., I think I am correct in stating that the average adult admission price for other zoos is about£15, so for London , their prices are not too bad. As for being able to see everything in three hours, could it not be that being a regular visitor and being familiar with most of the exhibits makes it less of a novelty in comparison to a zoo that you might not have visited for years?, for the average zoo visitor I do think they could spend a full day there. I also have at times been frustrated at the direction the zoo has at times taken in the past. It certainly was a lot poorer twenty years ago when about a third of the collection was disposed of, things did improve after that, however when the elephants and rhinos went, this was to me a major set back, although I did respect and approve of the decision for the future well being of the animals.Slowly but surely, I think the zoo has improved greatly since then, in a different way to what it was forty years ago, I can see where you are coming from, however when you refer to it becoming a Drusillas, trying to keep everyone happy I am sure is not an easy task!
 
TARZAN said:
You mention a zoo which is about one hour away, am I to assume you are referring to London?,
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I think he may be referring to Whipsnade rather than London?

Regarding Colchester in the sixties- it was quite a low-grade small Zoo with typically concrete and mesh cages and small muddy paddocks. Huge advances since then.
 
I have to say that I think Colchester is one of the best UK zoos - despite the fact that is, in so many ways, so very wrong. The picture below summarises, I think, this wrongness. The whole place is just a mess, with a complete absence of style or charm. It lacks coherence, is filled with ugliness, and looks as if it has been designed by someone who has no idea of aesthetics at all. However, it also has one of the best collections in the UK - the best maybe - and even if the housing is often ugly, it is, mostly, wholly functional from an animal perspective. It is also one of the nicest zoos to visit: you do feel welcome there, with lots going on and genuinely friendly staff who are nice to deal with - the contrast with London (which is improving, as Tarzan says above, but still has a long way to go on the charm front) is stark.
 

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sooty mangabey said:
It is also one of the nicest zoos to visit: you do feel welcome there, with lots going on and genuinely friendly staff who are nice to deal with
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The 'Higgledy-Piggledy' Zoo. The valley the old zoo is located in isn't the easiest site in which to layout a good open-plan zoo and Colchester certainly has more dead-ends, steep paths etc than most. The newer part is somewhat less complicated.

One thing I liked to see at Colchester was the 'free' feeding (under supervision) of the Elephants and perhaps other species too. It shows a healthy attitude toward their visitors, not just trying to get more cash from people after they've already paid to go in. I hope they continue with that.
 
Maguari said:
I'm pretty sure Ian does mean London!
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Last time I went to ZSL I easily spent the whole day there- despite the watered down collection nowadays. But that includes spending good time in the Reptile House and Aquarium.

On the other hand if I took the car into Whipsnade I could see everything quite easily in three hours, I think.

Just my opinion- but I wonder which he does mean?
 
I read in the latest Zoo Grapevine magazine (published by IZES) that Colchester is #1 in the U.K. for its mammal collection, with around 100 different species. Since mammals are usually regarded as popular, mega-fauna animals that dominate any zoological headlines then it is no surprise that Colchester has done well in a magazine's survey. The zoo has splashed out a lot of cash on improvements over the past 15 years or so, and the public has responded with huge crowds and thus attendance has increased dramatically. It just goes to show that if a zoo is willing to take a gamble and build costly exhibits then the general public will inevitably show up! However, many folks probably adore the orangutan "forest" disaster...
 
Being a zoo gold card holder I am also going to be biased but I do have to say that I think Colchester has the best overall 'zoo experience' in the country. I've been visiting since I was a todler in the 80's and have seen such an improvement and growth, which started with the opening of the Spirit of Africa in the late 90's.

Here are a few points I think that makes the zoo so successful:

- Like others have said the zoo probably has the best 'abc' collection in the UK whilst also having rarer species.

- It has some very successful breeding records, for example aardvarks and L'hoest monkeys.

- Constantly changing and up-dating, always something new to see.

- Yes there are some enclosures that aren't as good (the imfamous Orangutan Forest and my least favourite the patas monkeys) but you also have some outstanding ones such as the impressive sealion pool and the recently opened Otter Creek.

- The zoo interacts with the pulic very well. From the public elephant/giraffe feeds, to the website and the way in which it keeps visiters up to date (both the good and bad news).

- This side of London there are very few big 'touristy' attractions so I do think the zoo benifits from that as well.
 
To clarify: I did mean RP, sorry to say.

Whipsnade, if you don't stick to a car, is a good day's worth, especially if you go round with children, which I do usually.

London, on the other hand, has taken away so much. The Cottons are down to only two houses open to the public, the Mappins aren't worth more than a cursory examination, and most of the Clore is now closed to the public. The bird and mammal collections are pretty ordinary now, sad to say.
 
IanRRobinson said:
To clarify: I did mean RP, sorry to say.

Whipsnade, if you don't stick to a car, is a good day's worth, especially if you go round with children, which I do usually.
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That's okay, I just wasn't sure.:)

For me a visit to Whipsnade these days would be about six hours worth as a pedestrian, halved to about three with a car.

I guess if I was a frequent visitor to ZSL my visiting time would become shorter, but my recent visit was the first for some time and I had a good full day- but it did include long stints in both Reptile House and Aquarium.
 
I visited Colchester with my family last spring for the first but hopefully not the last time and the over all experience of the day was fantastic. we arrived late morning and were still there at 'kicking out time' and really could of done with another couple of hours to fit everything in. we managed to see many of the feeding sessions and really enjoyed feeding the giraffes and found the keepers chats friendly and informative. we were lucky with the weather but there was a lot of indoor stuff to see too.....we spent ages watching the ant colony...fascinating! the zoo was well kept. We found the signposting a bit confusing at times and lots of winding paths leading us back where we came from!
We loved the 'photo oppotunities' around the park, lovely bronze and wooden statues of many of the animals.
Overall, our opinion was Colchester was that it is THE BEST zoo experience we have done in recent years. our 'local' big zoo is Chester which has always been my favourite......but Colchester is in my opinion, as a collection and a great place to spend a day out just as good...maybe even better.
 
Colchester Zoo

I've visited Colchester many times over the years, and yes, it's a great zoo, but it helps if you're a fake rock enthusiast and don't like birds.
 
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