Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo - past, present and future

7. Kids Safari Play Area

Past uses:

1963 until 1998 – This area throughout this prolonged period consisted entirely of a large open lawn

1972 – While the map is just labelled as the ‘Main Lawn’, pictures from the guidebook of that year indicate that some animals such as young gibbons were brought out to play on the lawn.

First 1984-85 – This map refers to the area as the ‘Central Green’, which included both an undercover picnic area and, near the top of the lawn by Stanway Hall, the snake show.

Second 1985 – This guidebook shows the lawn here as being the best place to see the free-roaming peafowl that lived at the zoo during this time.

1994 – This map shows open lawn with an undercover picnic area, and there were no longer any animals displayed on the lawns.

1998 – By now, the Ark Play Area was built on the site, and the amount of lawn was significantly reduced.

2013 to present – By now, ornamental lawns no longer existed, and the Ark Play Area was replaced by the current Kids Safari Play Area.

Current use: A large outdoor play area.

Future use: The future masterplan gives no indication about what is due to happen in this area.
 
I figured I would combine the last two sections of the Beginning Zone into this post, as both have never displayed animals before.

8. Kalahari Capers and Kalahari Theatre

Past uses:

1963 until 1994 – At least between these two years, the zoo used this area as a parking area for visiting coaches.

First 1984-85 – This map appears to show part of the zoo’s gift shop extended into this area.

1998 – By this time, the indoor Kalahari Capers play area had opened. For a long time, there was a spinning cheetah ride outside the entrance to the play area, but I do not know exactly when it opened or closed down.

2010 – This is the first year I can find which records the presence of the Kalahari Theatre, which is still present today.

Current use: An indoor soft play area and, in a separate building, a lecture theatre for visiting groups.

Future use: The future masterplan seems to show that, outside of this building, there will be new courtyard gardens.


9. Off-show facilities

Past uses:

Between 1972 and 1994 – Between at least these times, the far side of the entry road was used for various kinds of visitor amusements

1972 – At around the beginning of this long stint of use for the area, one of the attractions was an indoor display referred to as the ‘World’s Greatest Model Railway’. It seems to have been considered a big attraction for the zoo, and even had its own guidebook published.

Second 1985 – This map shows the zoo kitchen appearing here for the first time. The amusements mentioned as being here included dodgems, a ‘waterless pool’ (the map depicts a ball pool), bouncy inflatables and tricycles.

1991 – This map shows three separate area – there were amusements and a ball pool, with an undercover picnic area between them.

1998 – By this time, the entire other side of the road was now out of public access; this area has never reopened to the public.

Current use: Keeper facilities are along the other side of the visitor access road; the Animal Kitchen is prominently signed here.

Future use: The future masterplan gives no indication about what is due to happen in this area.
 
Summary of Beginning Zone

Nowadays, the Beginning Zone is home to just six species of animal – the buffy-headed capuchin, Linnaeus’ two-toed sloth, coppery titi monkey, golden-headed lion tamarin, green iguana and yellow-footed tortoise. In the past, this zone has had a surprising range of animals – everything from large carnivores such as cheetahs, hyaenas and bears, most of the zoo’s former primate species were kept within this area and in more recent times it also served as a hotspot for reptiles, birds and invertebrates. While the area probably doesn’t have space for the larger creatures, I won’t lie and say I find it a shame that most of the smaller creatures have fallen by the wayside, as the loss of the birds and especially the invertebrates here have considerably reduced the diversity of both these groups in the whole zoo.

It is extremely good news that the capuchin enclosure is being redeveloped, as the former display made a hideous first impression – while I accept that the enclosure was perfectly good for the inhabitants, first-time visitors would have seen the rotting wood at the end of what was previously an off-view section of an old gibbon cage. That, combined with the empty Parrot Rock display, would not have made for the best entrance the zoo could have. I look forward to seeing how the new enclosure looks.

In the future, it seems that the section could house even fewer animals. The old capuchin enclosure is said to be removed in place of an Orientation Centre, possibly leaving only the inhabitants of the two walkthrough enclosures in this section. However, the redevelopment of the capuchin enclosure leaves these original plans up in the air now, which is probably for the better.
 
AQUATIC ZONE

The Aquatic Zone contains a large number of enclosures that currently houses more species than anywhere else in the zoo – at present, there are forty-three animals living in this area, including seven species of primate, the sea lions, sloths, tamanduas, hyraxes, twenty-two species of fish, five species of reptile, most of the zoo’s amphibians, the penguins and the outdoor enclosure for the sun bears. It roughly corresponds to everything northeast of Stanway Hall.

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Key:
1: Courtyard
2: Worlds Apart
3: Worlds Apart walkthrough
4: Heart of South America
5: Playa Patagonia
6: Rajang’s Forest
7: Penguin Shores
8: Old Bear Dens
9: Inca Trail
10: Bears of the Rising Sun outdoor enclosure
11: Penguini’s Restaurant
 

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1. Courtyard

Past uses:

First 1963 – This map does not show anything in this area, other than a tree; there were specimen trees of cedar of Lebanon when the zoo opened, so this may have been where one was growing.

Second 1963 to 1972 – All the maps from these times show a self-service café in this courtyard, to go alongside the main café which was inside Stanway Hall. The 1972 map also shows, in the area of the courtyard near the current Worlds Apart walkthrough, an aviary for blue jays.

First 1984-85 – This map shows the courtyard as being the place where the Elephant Show took place – at this time, the zoo’s elephants were walked from their main enclosure on the site of Playa Patagonia to be either bathed by their keepers or fed by the public.

Second 1985 – This map seems to show the area being empty apart from a few trees and possibly also an aviary for recently-arrived European stone curlews.

1994 – This is the last map I can find that shows the Elephant Show happening here.

1998 – This map shows the area as featuring the ‘Michael J Fitch Punch and Judy Show’.

1999-2000 to 2012 – Between these times, the maps show the courtyard simply being an empty space.

2012 onwards – From this point onwards, the map shows some kind of takeaway food kiosk standing in the area.

Current use: Currently has a takeaway food kiosk, picnic tables and a stage for seasonal performances.

Future use: The zoo’s masterplan map does not show what this area will be used for, although I can easily imagine it remaining as it is.
 
2. Worlds Apart

Past uses:

First 1963 – When the zoo first opened, the earliest map shows this being the site of the Mammal House. The map provides no further detail, but The Story of Colchester Zoo does mention that this building was home to primates, rodents and, rather confusingly, birds. Some animals mentioned as being present at opening that could have lived in this building include golden lion tamarins, spider monkeys, stump-tailed and lion-tailed macaques and lowland paca.

1972 – This map shows the area as being the Aquarium and Reptile House – the guidebook from this time suggests that there were possibly crocodilians, lizards, snakes and chelonians present among the reptiles, while the only fish shown was the kissing gourami. Species present in the early 1970s that may well have lived in this house include the green iguana, Asian water dragon, mangrove cat snake, reticulated python and a species of snake-necked turtle.

First 1984-1985 – This map just marks the site as being the Aquarium.

Second 1985 – This map shows the building as having not only the Aquarium, but also being home to crocodiles and snakes.

1991 – Again, this area is just referred to as the Aquarium, and gives no indication of what lives here.

1994 and 1998 – The building is unchanged, but this map shows that by now it has been renamed as the Aquatic House.

1999-2000 – This map shows the Aquatic House being present, but also mentions koi pools – I think these would be the pool currently home to the stingray, pacu and catfish.

2003 – This map shows the Aquatic House and some of the species that inhabited it. The two larger terraria were home to a mix of green iguana and yellow-footed tortoise in one and Asian water monitor in the other. The poison-dart frog tank was home to White’s tree frogs, and I think the South American freshwater aquarium was home to Indopacific coral reef fish. A big difference was the presence of a separate aquarium room on the site of the rhinoceros iguana enclosure. It had rows of tanks around the outer walls home to, according to this map, African lungfish, archerfish, arowanas, catfish, cichlids, gourami, halfbeaks, keppi, mono, pindu, rainbowfish and tinfoil barbs, as well cane toads, fruit beetles and tarantulas. At the exit of this room, next to the connecting door through to the bridge across the current stingray pool, was a tank for the Trinidad stream frogs. The indoor enclosure being redeveloped for Goeldi’s monkeys was an indoor space for the golden lion tamarins that inhabited the Small Mammal House next door, and there was rock hyrax kept in this larger room as well, on the site of the current cactus display.

2007 – This map labels the building as being home to amphibians and fish. As well as the species mentioned above, animals I remember from the area at the time include seahorses in the aquarium room. The pacu lived in a large tank on the back wall that has now been removed as part of the Penguin Shores redevelopment alongside a tete sea catfish.

2008 – This map shows the building as being home to iguanas and fish.

2009 onwards – In May 2008, this building was converted to Worlds Apart, which remains the name to this day. When it first opened, the Fiji banded iguana enclosure temporarily housed a water monitor (soon replaced by a pair of young Cuban crocodiles), the dart-frog tank was home to blue poison-dart frogs, the Indopacific reef tank remained on the site of the South American aquarium, the rhinoceros iguanas had replaced the aquarium room, there were yellow anacondas in the current Solomon Island skink enclosure and the room in which the stingray pool is located had a walkthrough for golden-headed lion and emperor tamarins. I believe the koi, pacu and African cichlids all remained in their former enclosures (the koi in the pool, the pacu in the now-demolished large tank and cichlids in the open-topped aquarium). The enclosure currently home to the Goeldi’s monkeys was, for a long time, home to a breeding group of pied tamarins.

Since its opening, lots of species have passed through the Worlds Apart exhibit. The Indopacific reef was replaced with a Caribbean marine exhibit before its current South American freshwater iteration was created, the Fiji banded iguana enclosure has formerly housed green anacondas and, briefly, owl butterflies. In 2011, the ocellate river stingrays arrived and moved into the open-topped pool. For a brief time, the upcoming Goeldi’s monkey indoor enclosure was home to a Komodo dragon hatchling. There are probably a good number of other species that lived here at this time that I have forgotten.

Current use: An almost entirely indoor area, containing a couple of large terraria currently home to Fiji banded iguanas and Solomon Island skinks, a tank for three South American frog species, an aquarium for five South American freshwater fishes, a large room-sized display for a rhinoceros iguana, an open-topped pond with a bridge crossing it that is home to ocellate river stingrays, pacu and ripsaw catfish, a currently-empty indoor area for Goeldi’s monkeys, plus a view into an adjacent enclosure where the Goeldi’s monkeys currently live and an open-topped tank for three species of South American fish. Also in this area is part of the building site for the neighbouring Penguin Shores (currently hidden behind a hoarding wall) and a cactus display.

Future use: The zoo’s masterplan gives no indication of what is to happen to this exhibit, although I could easily imagine it broadly staying as it is albeit with the possibility of changes to the species kept within the building.
 
3. Worlds Apart walkthrough

Past uses:

First 1963 – When the zoo opened, this section featured part of the Mammal House (mentioned in more detail above) as well as two outdoor enclosures for raccoons and what were described as Himalayan otters.

1972 – By this time, this building was the zoo’s Nocturnal House. The only animals that I can confirm lived in this building were binturongs and Indian flying foxes. Other animals from the zoo at the time that could have lived in this area include the kinkajou, grison, zorilla, armadillo and two-toed sloth.

First 1984-85 – This map records the area as being home to meerkats as well as an unidentified species of mongoose and civet.

Second 1985 – This map shows the area as having a number of enclosures, housing servals, porcupines, leopard cats, binturongs and otters.

1991 to 1998 – This is the first time I can find that refers to this area as the Small Mammal House.

1999-2000 – The map from this time shows that the Small Mammal House was home to meerkats, dwarf mongooses and crested porcupines.

2003 – This map shows the full list of species that inhabited the Small Mammal House, all of which I can remember their locations. Along the outside of the Worlds Apart building was an outdoor enclosure for golden lion tamarins, a mixed-species mostly indoor enclosure for Geoffroy’s marmosets and emperor tamarins, a tall cage for binturong, an open-topped enclosure for meerkats, an indoor enclosure for common dwarf mongooses and an outdoor enclosure around the corner home to crested porcupines – the porcupine enclosure is now a raised picnic area.

2006 – At this time, the binturongs moved out of the Small Mammal House and were replaced by the white-nosed coatis.

2007-2008 – At this time, the small primates moved out of the Small Mammal House.

2009 – At around this time, banded mongooses replaced the dwarf mongooses. The meerkats moved out of the Small Mammal House and were replaced with Desmarest’s hutia.

2010 – In this year, the Small Mammal House was demolished and replaced with Worlds Apart walkthrough. Among the former inhabitants in these enclosures include, at different times, Geoffroy’s marmosets in the right-side enclosure and silvery marmosets, pied and golden lion tamarins and Chaco chachalacas in the left-side enclosure. Goeldi’s monkeys also used to live in the tamandua side of the walkthrough, and are planned to return soon.

Current use: A semi-walkthrough display, with low glass walls separating people from the animals on either side. The right-side enclosure (on entering the walkthrough) is currently home to coppery titis and Southern tamanduas, with Goeldi’s monkey due to be mixed with them soon. The left-side enclosure is currently home to white-lipped tamarins and Linne’s two-toed sloths.

Future use: The zoo’s masterplan gives no indication of what is to happen to this exhibit, although I could easily imagine it staying as it is.
 
4. Heart of South America

Past uses:

First 1963 – At the time of the zoo’s opening, this section was occupied by a paddock home to Soay sheep.

1972 – This map shows the Soay sheep still living here, although they have also been joined by llamas.

First 1984-85 – This map labels this area as being a future patas monkey enclosure.

Second 1985 – This map meanwhile shows the area as being a planned new enclosure for spider monkeys, with the patas monkeys instead living on the hillside where the spider monkeys currently live.

1991 – This map shows the area as being the Patas Plains enclosure, an enclosure that was primarily home to a large breeding troop of patas monkeys.

1994 – Patas Plains was a very muddled area at this time. As well as having patas monkeys, it had an all-indoor enclosure for the rhinoceros iguanas, an enclosure for marsh mongooses and a strange display where unidentified birds of prey could be viewed, but with an enclosure for African civets only being visible through the mesh at the back of the bird of prey aviary.

1998 – The map for this year shows Patas Plains being home to patas monkeys and banded mongooses.

1999-2000 – At this time, Patas Plains was still in existence, home to patas monkeys and, at the top of the area where the lizard terrarium and food kiosk now stand, enclosures for yellow mongoose and red-rumped agouti.

2003 onwards – Between 2000 and 2003, the Heart of the Amazon enclosure opened. In 2003, it was home to squirrel monkeys, agoutis, green iguanas, yellow-footed tortoises, red-bellied piranhas and silver dollars. Since then, the agoutis have left the collection. The iguana and tortoise enclosure has been used to house a mix of Philippine sailfin lizard and yellow-margined box turtle, the Solomon Islands skink, the male Fiji banded iguana and, currently, a black tree monitor. The two aquaria have variously housed plecostomus catfish and freshwater angelfish.

2010 – At this time, the squirrel monkey enclosure was divided in half, with the smaller half becoming home to the breeding Guianan bearded saki monkeys.

Current use: Includes an indoor terrarium currently home to a black tree monitor, two aquaria – one housing silver dollars and an ocellate stingray and the other red-bellied piranhas and two enclosures, one on either side of the visitor walkway, for South American squirrel monkeys and the breeding pair of Guianan bearded saki monkeys. Both species can be viewed both indoors and outdoors. There is also a food kiosk outside that is part of this section.

Future use: The zoo’s masterplan map gives no indication about what will happen here, although I could imagine it remaining home to the monkeys – the enclosure, while over twenty years old, is still very good for the animals and has recently been redeveloped to include a taller climbing frame for the squirrel monkeys.
 
5. Playa Patagonia

Past uses:

First 1963 – When the zoo first opened, the map shows it being home to both Soay and Jacob sheep and Joey the red kangaroo. An early postcard from around this time shows the kangaroo lived with goats. There were possibly also miniature donkeys living in this area at the time.

1972 – This map shows a rather random assortment of animals living here. This included the elephants in their very poor initial enclosure, as well as Aldabran giant tortoises, Southern cassowaries and an aviary for an unidentified species of parakeet.

First 1984-85 – This map shows only elephants living here.

Second 1985 – By contrast, this map shows not only the elephants but also tortoises – presumably the same Aldabran giant tortoises recorded on zoo maps both before and after this one.

1991 – This map also mentions elephants and tortoises living in this area.

1994 – This map mentions the elephants, and specifies that the tortoises living in the same area are giant tortoises.

1998 – This map, the first after the elephants moved to their new home, mentions that the old elephant paddock was to become a new enclosure for Brazilian tapirs. If they ever did move here, it was for an incredibly short time frame. At the same time, a small enclosure at the bottom of the hill (next to the entrance to the Playa Patagonia underwater viewing) was home to marsh mongoose.

1999-2000 – This map shows that Bactrian camels had moved into the old elephant paddock, with the marsh mongoose still living in the same place as before.

2003 – This year was the opening of Playa Patagonia, an enclosure for a non-breeding group of Patagonian sea lions. The camels briefly moved to Kingdom of the Wild, while the marsh mongoose was no longer in the collection at this time. There have been some minor updates to Playa Patagonia in the intervening time between opening and the present day. The only other species that has lived in this section since Playa Patagonia’s opening were brine shrimps, which lived in one of the trays at the microscope bank – they have since left the collection.

Current use: An outdoor pool home to a non-breeding group of Patagonian sea lions, which includes both above-water viewing and an underwater loop that includes a clear tunnel and access, via a tunnel under the entrance road, to the neighbouring Rajang’s Forest area. The former pool for the marsh mongooses can still be seen, to the left of the entrance to the sea lion underwater viewing area.

Future use: The future masterplan map makes no reference to this enclosure, but a Facebook comment by the zoo after the announcement of the plans in 2023 confirmed that the sea lions would remain here.
 
6. Rajang’s Forest

Past uses:

1963 – When the zoo opened, the first map showed this area as having aviaries that were probably home to eagle owls.

1966 – Around this time, there was a Petting Zoo in this area. I cannot find any complete list of animals that lived here, but some species that are suggested that lived here include ducks, chickens, rabbits, donkeys and black-tailed prairie dogs.

1968 – At around this time, the ruins of All Saints Church were actually used as an enclosure for large birds. Species that lived within the ruins included a species of rhea and sarus cranes.

1972 – The map from this year shows several things in this area. Among animal displays, there were several aviaries with some definitely home to birds of prey. This area also had bicycle racks for anyone who cycled to the zoo, plus an imitation blacksmith shop.

First 1984-85 – This map shows the area as being home to birds of prey, with the map specifically naming the Andean condor and barn owl.

Second 1985 – This map also shows the area being home to birds of prey. As well as Andean condor and barn owl, the other bird of prey that definitely lived in this area was the Egyptian vulture (a species I had not noted in the species directory) – they are named on the historical sign at the outdoor viewing area to the orangutan enclosure.

1998-2008 – Between these years, this area was closed off to public access.

2008 – This was the year that this area reopened as Orangutan Forest. It had an almost identical layout to how it does today, with the four indoor spaces for the orangutans attached to an outdoor display, plus a cylindrical marine aquarium, open-topped tank for turtles and fish and a large wall-mounted tank. There used to be a second, smaller wall-mounted tank mid-way up the ramp to the upper outdoor viewing area that formerly housed Sabah thorny stick insects. Other species that formerly lived in here include clown and spanner barb and yellow-margined box turtle (in the turtle and fish pool), eight species of marine fish, two shrimps and two soft corals (in the marine tank) and giant spiny stick insect, a yellow-margined box turtle hatchling, Oriental fire-bellied toad and bony-headed toad (in the now-empty wall-mounted terrarium). Throughout its open time, this enclosure has housed five orangutans

2019 – Renamed to Rajang’s Forest

Current use: Includes a large building that contains an open-air pool for giant Asian pond turtle and four species of Asian fish, a cylindrical aquarium for four species of marine fish, a wall-set empty tank and four separate indoor spaces for Bornean orangutans. The orangutans also have an outdoor enclosure, accessible via an indoor ramp. The outdoor upper viewing area includes the ruins of All Saints Church, an extinct species graveyard display and both undercover and indoor publicly accessible education areas. At Christmas, the reindeer are kept in a normally off-show area behind here, where visitors can seasonally enter.

Future use: If the masterplan goes ahead, the orangutans will be getting a new home, covering part of the car park as well as the Call of the Wild and World of Wings sections. It will be interesting to see what replaces the orangutans in this area if the plans go ahead and how much the section will be changed.
 
7. Penguin Shores

Past uses:

First 1963 – When the zoo first opened, this area is labelled on the first map as being an empty space around the back of the Mammal House.

1972 – By now, this area was the main entrance to the Aquarium. The area where the penguin pool now stands was an enclosure for Indian leopards.

First 1984-85 – By the time of the publication of this map, this area was now home to the zoo’s penguins.

Second 1985 – This map also shows this area as now being home to the penguins.

1994 – It was this year that the area was redeveloped as Penguin Shores and opened by television naturalist David Bellamy. The main enclosure has always been home solely to Humboldt penguins. As well as an underwater viewing area, there was an above-water viewing area that, for many years, had an encounter where penguins would be brought out of the enclosure to be fed in the public area. There were a number of smaller enclosures in this section. From the main entrance, there was firstly a a tank that previously housed pancake and Home’s hingeback tortoises at different times (for some time, there was a view into an off-show reptile nursery through this tank). This was followed by three aquaria – a South American freshwater community tank, a butterfly splitfin tank and one for a mix of silver moony, clownfish and sea anemones. These tanks were all emptied and covered over before Penguin Shores was closed for redevelopment. The last of the enclosures in the underwater viewing area was an all-indoor aviary that housed a variety of tropical birds – since I started going in 1992, I recall keel-billed toucans, Montserrat orioles, the rufous hornbills and the Victoria crowned pigeons living here. The pigeons left in around late 2020 or early 2021 for their new enclosure. Exiting the underwater viewing cave, there was a tank containing a stuffed arapaima and an all-indoor enclosure for golden lion tamarins. The latter enclosure is now part of the indoor enclosure for the rock hyraxes that live on the Inca Trail.

2019 – This was the year that this section was closed for redevelopment. While it was supposed to be a fairly short renovation, it has not reopened since.

Current use: The enclosure is currently closed and is awaiting redevelopment, although the penguins have all moved into the Inca Trail enclosure nearby.

Future use: Presumably, the renovations indicate that this enclosure is planned to continue housing penguins at some point in the future. The masterplan map itself makes no mention of this area.
 
8. Old Bear Dens

Past uses:

First 1963 – The earliest map from the zoo shows this area as being empty.

1972-1998 – Between these times, the maps show this area as being home to the bears. Presumably, these have always included the two species that Colchester Zoo had previously kept – the brown and Asiatic black bears.

1999-2000 – By now, there was only the last elderly pair of Asiatic black bears left in the right-hand of the two enclosures. The left enclosure, formerly for the last of the Syrian brown bears, was now home to the geladas while their new enclosure was being constructed.

2003 – By now, the last of the bears had died. The two enclosures now became home to an arriving and a departing species – the zoo’s recently-arrived Iberian wolves lived in one of the enclosures, while the zoo’s last De Brazza’s guenons inhabited the other.

2007 – The map for this year labels these enclosures as only being home to the zoo’s white-nosed coatis.

2008 – By now, one of these enclosures became home to the troop of buffy-headed capuchins, who remained here until the closure of the two bear dens in 2014. At this time, the other enclosure was home to surplus male geladas.

2009 – By this year, the geladas had been replaced by a newly-arrived male Amur leopard.

2010 – After the movement of the leopard, their enclosure became home to a pair of smooth-coated otters newly arrived from the Rare Species Conservation Centre. They were here on a temporary basis as their present enclosure was built.

2011 – The otters were now replaced by several surplus L’Hoest’s guenons.

2012 – The guenons were now replaced by the last of the zoo’s Geoffroy’s cats.

2014 – This year, the bear dens were now taken off-show. The capuchin troop moved to the old orangutan enclosure where they remain to this day, while the Geoffroy’s cat moved off-show.

2023 – The right-hand cage, formerly for the black bears, went back on-show. It was, and remains, home to a trio of buffy-headed capuchins awaiting a move to a new collection.

Current use: Two fairly large enclosures, each with a mesh roof and furnished mostly with rocks. The left-side bear den is now boarded up and completely off-show, while the right-hand den is currently home to a small group of buffy-headed capuchin monkeys awaiting transport to a new collection.

Future use: The map gives no indication at all of what is going to happen to the old bear dens, although they collectively occupy a fairly large land area and could be renovated for all manner of medium or smaller animals.
 
9. Inca Trail

Past uses:

1963 – The earliest zoo map shows this area as being empty.

1972 – By this time, this area held visitor toilets.

First 1984-85 – This map shows sea lions living here. It was this that showed the zoo’s dating of the map was probably incorrect, as the sea lion enclosure first opened here in 1986 at the earliest.

Second 1985 – This map shows that, before sea lions, this area was home to Barbary sheep.

Until 2003 – At this time, a trio of Patagonian sea lions lived in the penguin pool. The enclosure where the saki monkeys now live was a grandstand where you could sit to watch the sea lion show (at the time, there was also a viewing balcony at the back of the restaurant where you could see the sea lions from). The hyrax enclosure at this time was home to cattle egrets. The sea lions moved to their current enclosure in 2003.

Circa 2007 – By this time, Inca Trail had officially opened, with the old sea lion pool renovated for a second flock of Humboldt penguins and the grandstand converted into a new enclosure for a second troop of Colombian black spider monkeys.

2013 – This is the year that the cattle egrets left the collection; they were replaced by the zoo’s scarlet ibises.

2014 – At this time, the spider monkeys were replaced by a second group of squirrel monkeys, split from the troop in Heart of the Amazon.

2017 – The last of the scarlet ibises left the collection, with their aviary standing empty until 2023 with the movement of the rock hyraxes into this space.

2020 – The second group of squirrel monkeys were replaced by a second troop of bearded saki monkeys.

Current use: Includes a pool and adjacent beach for Humboldt penguins (the pool can only be viewed from above), a long narrow sloping aviary for rock hyraxes and an open-topped enclosure for a non-breeding group of Guianan bearded saki monkeys.

Future use: A Facebook reply by Colchester Zoo in response to the announcement of the masterplan did confirm that Humboldt penguins would remain here. I do not know if the bearded saki or hyrax enclosures will be retained under these future plans.
 
10. Bears of the Rising Sun outdoor enclosure

Past uses:

1963 – The first map shows there were visitor toilets roughly in this area.

1972 – The subsequent map I have found shows this area now empty.

First 1984-85 – This map shows a row of cages up the hill, with jungle cats kept at the bottom, Eurasian lynx mid-way up the slope and snow leopards at the top.

Second 1985 – This map also shows the row of cat cages. Again, jungle cats are shown living at the bottom. Mid-way up the slope are two enclosures for Eurasian lynx and Scottish wildcats, while the top of the hill has a note indicating the arrival of snow leopards at this site in the near-future.

1991 – The jungle cats and snow leopards still lived in the cages at the bottom and top of the hill respectively, while the middle cage was now home to the zoo’s last puma.

1994 – Again, jungle cats and snow leopards at the bottom and top of the hill, but this time the middle area is labelled as being home to both black lemurs and lesser spot-nosed guenons.

1998 – While the snow leopards still lived at the hilltop, the jungle cats by now had been replaced by Amur leopard cats at the bottom of the hill. The middle cages were home to some kind of primate, probably capuchin monkeys.

1999-2000 – At this time, the Amur leopard cats were at the bottom of the hill and snow leopards at the top, with capuchin monkeys confirmed as inhabitants of the middle cages.

2003 – By now, the leopard cats had been replaced by the Northern bald ibises. It was only now that the area began to live up to its informal nickname of ‘Hornbill Hill’, with both Malayan black and crowned hornbills living in the cages.

2007 – By now the snow leopards had left the collection, with the fossas moving in here. The aviaries are unlabelled on this map but were undoubtedly still present.

2008 and 2009 – These maps informally mention aviaries along the hill path here, at the time the bald ibises always lived at the bottom of the hill, but the inhabitants of the two smaller aviaries may have changed – at different times it was home not only to black and crowned hornbills, but also Southern ground hornbills and red-billed blue magpies. Around 2009, the fossa at the hilltop seems to have left the collection, as their enclosure was now simply labelled as ‘Carnivore enclosure’ – it held all sorts of animals awaiting new homes either within or outside of the collection.

2010 – This map still shows the Northern bald ibises at the bottom of the hill, but it may have been at this stage that the very steep pathway down the hill was closed to public access.

2012 – The row of aviaries was demolished to make way for the upcoming sun bear enclosure.

2014 – Bears of the Rising Sun opens. The land use has remained the same to this day. The only species to have arrived here and subsequently left during this time was the Eurasian minnow, which lived for a number of years in the sun bear pool.

Current use: A large outdoor enclosure for a pair of Malayan sun bears, including a pool with underwater viewing home to common roach.

Future use: Although it is not shown on the masterplan map, I would be incredibly surprised if this area did not remain home to the sun bears in the future – considering the time and cost involved in creating their enclosure.
 
11. Penguini’s Restaurant

Past uses:

1963 – On opening, this area seems to have been empty.

1972 – While it is difficult to establish exactly what was here during this time, the map does seem to suggest a self-service café may have been around here – the main café at the time was inside Stanway Hall itself.

1985 to present – By now, the zoo map labelled a restaurant in this area. Although it has been refreshed several times, it still stands in the same area to this day.

Current use: The zoo’s main indoor restaurant.

Future use: I do not know what is planned for this area. While I would be surprised if it didn’t remain a restaurant, at the same time the zoo’s masterplan does plan for other restaurants elsewhere in the zoo, so it may become redundant in time.



Summary of Aquatic Zone

The Aquatic Zone is, and possibly always has been, the area of the zoo where most animal species are held, courtesy of having lots of displays for much smaller animals such as fishes, invertebrates, amphibians and small reptiles. As of December 2024, a total of forty-four species inhabits this area. While it had a fairly decent bird collection even until fairly recently, it now has just the penguins, and the number of fishes has almost certainly declined since the closure of the aquarium and decommissioning of some of the smaller standalone aquaria.

The Aquatic Zone is fairly strong at the moment, but there are still areas where something new and interesting could be created – obviously, there is still the redevelopment of Penguin Shores that seems to have completely ground to a halt, and the old bear dens are two fairly large spaces that are ripe for redevelopment into a new space.

The future seems fairly static for this zone – the suggestion certainly seems to be that the sea lions and penguins will remain in their current enclosures, and I would be surprised if the same were not also true for the sun bears. However, the zoo’s masterplan does show the orangutans leaving this area, which could open up potentially a large space for redevelopment.
 
VALLEY ZONE

Sandwiched at the north of the zoo, connecting the Aquatic, Lakelands, Kids and Heights Zones, the Valley Zone is a mostly flat area of land containing a real mixture of animals – its main focus are the primates, with eight species currently living in this area. It also contains the lions, giant anteaters, four species of small carnivore and two species of bird. There are also several visitor seating, eating and play areas that used to be home to other animals.

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Key:
1: Medellin Monkeys
2: Feathers of the Forest
3: Mangabey Mangrove
4: Former Snakes and Lizards building
5: Waterfall Picnic Site
6: Outdoor Play Area
7: Out of Africa
8: Suricata Sands
9: Lion Rock
10: Gelada Plateau
11: Lemur Island
12: Binturongs and otters
13: Lost Madagascar Walkthrough
14: Giant anteaters
 

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1. Medellin Monkeys

Past uses:

1963 – The first map seems to show this area being empty of exhibits.

1972 – This map shows the hillside as having paddocks for lowland tapirs, red kangaroos and wallabies (this probably was, or at least included, the dusky pademelon that lived at Colchester at the time). This was also the entrance to the ‘Game Park’, a large area of lawn that originally covered much of the land north of the zoo’s lake.

First 1984-85 – This map shows this area as being home to the zoo’s Colombian black spider monkeys and also having a separate cage alongside Hornbill Hill for caracals.

Second 1985 – This map shows the area as under development for patas monkeys, due to move in 1986. As it happens, this development and one for spider monkeys on the site of Heart of the Amazon swapped.

1991 – The map still shows caracals in the smaller cage, while the main area of this section was simply referred to as ‘Monkey Complex’. It is almost certain that spider monkeys were one of the inhabitants.

1994 – By now, the caracals had been replaced with black-and-white ruffed lemurs. The main area of the hillside is labelled on the map as being home to spider monkeys, Allen’s swamp monkeys and De Brazza’s guenons.

1998 – This map labelled the area as ‘Monkey Mountain’ and was home to lemurs (presumably still the black-and-white ruffed), spider monkeys and De Brazza’s guenons.

1999-2000 – The map still labelled the area as ‘Monkey Mountain’ but did not provide a species list.

2003 – The map now shows this area as being home to the spider monkeys, with mongoose lemurs in the adjacent cage.

2007 onwards – This section was renamed from ‘Monkey Mountain’ to ‘Medellin Monkeys’, an obscure pun for a new exhibit for the Colombian black spider monkeys. Around this time, the indoor area was taken off-display*. The section has remained home solely to the spider monkeys ever since.

* For those curious about the appearance of the indoor areas, a recent video on the zoo’s Facebook page about the spider monkeys shows the indoor area – it is almost identical to how I remember it, with even the educational signage with the old zoo logo still present above the windows. The only real difference is the replacement of the glass with mesh.

Current use: A large outdoor enclosure for a breeding troop of Colombian black spider monkeys, with the indoor areas now off-display.

Future use: The zoo masterplan gives no indication that any changes will happen to this area.
 
2. Feathers of the Forest

Past uses:

1963 – The first map shows this area being part of a paddock for Highland calves.

1972 – The area is shown on maps as being empty at this time.

First 1984-85 – This is shown on the map as being part of a ‘Future African world’, presumably the Serengeti Plains lion enclosure.

Second 1985 – This map shows that this area was roughly the site of a paddock for emus.

1991 – This map says the area was going to finish its development into the lion enclosure by late 1991, but there is no indication as to what the Feathers of the Forest aviary itself would be.

1994 until circa 2004 – By now, the lions had moved into what was known as Serengeti Plains. I do strongly recall that the Feathers of the Forest area was a second section of ‘Desert Life’ also found in the beginning zone. It was simply a diagonal path cutting across the space, with two open-topped habitats with tall glass windows on either side. I do not remember the exact species present, only that one of them was a species of tortoise – the 2003 map does show leopard and spur-thighed tortoises possibly living in this area.

2004 – By now, the lions had been replaced by the cherry-crowned mangabeys. By now, Desert Life was no longer present and at around this time, the African spurred tortoises moved here from Kingdom of the Wild.

2012 – This year, the African spurred tortoises moved out to their new home at Walking Giants.

2013-2015 – For a couple of years, this enclosure stood empty until it was redeveloped and opened in 2015 as Butterfly Glade. In its five years of opening, it only ever held seven species of butterfly, only four of those were long-term holdings and three of those were different species of Caligo owl butterfly. The space was not well-designed for butterflies, with just a couple of windows in an otherwise fairly dark room that the butterflies would gravitate towards.

2020 onwards – This year was when Butterfly Glade closed. It was soon after renovated to Feathers of the Forest, which was initially home to the family group of Victoria crowned pigeons. The crested wood partridges joined the collection in 2021.

Current use: An indoor tropical aviary home to breeding groups of Victoria crowned pigeon and crested wood partridge.

Future use: The zoo masterplan gives no indication that any changes will happen to this area.
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Zorilla, Ictonyx striatus

This species was present at Colchester Zoo in 1972, and is mentioned in the guidebook from that year. It is not known when they arrived or departed, or whereabouts in the zoo they were kept. It could be that they lived in the former Nocturnal House.
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Earlier today, whilst searching through the ZSL Daily Occurences Book for 1974 (investigating something completely different) I noticed, by coincidence, that London Zoo purchased a pair of zorillas from Colchester Zoo on 5th September 1974.

I don't know if they were the same zorillas listed as being at Colchester Zoo in 1972 but I thought it worth recording here.
 
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