Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo What Is It Like?
- Thread starter 11jadaway
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Colchester Zoo
Plenty of car parking space
Almost no birds
Loads of fake rock
Good African Elephants, excellent Aardvark group, Sun Bears, Condors, Komodo Dragons, Prince Alfred's Deer
A good zoo despite my comment about excess fake rock & shortage of birds.
Plenty of car parking space
Almost no birds
Loads of fake rock
Good African Elephants, excellent Aardvark group, Sun Bears, Condors, Komodo Dragons, Prince Alfred's Deer
A good zoo despite my comment about excess fake rock & shortage of birds.
Worth keeping an eye out for slendercoated otter and blackbacked jackal too, although you need a) luck and b) a ride on the roadtrain to see the latter.
I can't really think of another zoo that is like Colchester, which is neither an insult nor a compliment.
The layout of the zoo is rather strange and the landscape is quite hilly with few long views, so new visitors are almost guaranteed to get lost. There's plenty to see, but keep checking the map to make sure that you don't miss anything interesting.
Alan
The layout of the zoo is rather strange and the landscape is quite hilly with few long views, so new visitors are almost guaranteed to get lost. There's plenty to see, but keep checking the map to make sure that you don't miss anything interesting.
Alan
Smooth-coated possibly?
Well, they are lithe little creatures.
Don't be put off by some of the negative comments you may see on other Colchester threads, visit and decide for yourself. For me there are VERY few better zoos in England. It has a large & varied collection, with only one really poor enclosure ( pygmy hippo) once the bears are finally moved to their new one.
Most of the highlights have been mentioned, but i'll add one of the best(if not the best) sea lion exhibits in the UK, geoffroys cats, large breeding groups of mandrill, gelada, l'hoest monkey and cherry crowned mangabey.
Most of the highlights have been mentioned, but i'll add one of the best(if not the best) sea lion exhibits in the UK, geoffroys cats, large breeding groups of mandrill, gelada, l'hoest monkey and cherry crowned mangabey.
I'd argue the Patas enclosure is also up (or rather, down) there.
Some regular visitors get lost
Probably, but it would appear that they are being phased out anyway, i think the last report i saw on here said there were only 1 or 2 left.
Couldn't have put it any better myself! Except that I consider myself very lucky to live within an hour of both Colchester & Whipsnade and am able to visit both several times a year.
London is a similar distance from me, but i choose to visit there far less often, despite my great affection for the place.
Yep, that would have been my report I think
they should just send the last survivors to Woburn, get rid of the pygmy hippo whilst they are at it, and redevelop that whole bit of the Africa house. Other than this, and producing a slightly better map, there really is very little that urgently needs changing at the collection.Unless you count getting the jackals onshow, which isn't happening anytime soon
What does the pygmy hippo enclosure look like I've been trying to find a picture.
Not to seem weird but I quite like fake rocks. And anyway it seems it has a few good bird species(Ostrich, Andean Condor, Owls, Vultures) to make up for the lack of other species.
Yep, that would have been my report I think
Unless you count getting the jackals onshow, which isn't happening anytime soon
Get rid of a breeding pair of hippos? I think they just need a refurb and maybe a relocation. Hey ho, each to their own
Patas should go though, defunct exhibit now really.To reiterate what everyone else has said, Colchester's a great day out that you can easily spend all day at (thanks to the map), and don't worry about the mock rock!
Last time I was there I spent six hours and could easily have spent longer. It is an excellent collection, though many of the displays are somewhat unusual, even bizarre, with the amount of fake rock they use! Barring a few exhibits that I don't like, the majority are mostly pretty good though. I sometimes think it runs Chester a close second as far as a 'single site' UK zoo is concerned.
I agree with almost all the previous comments. Colchester has a very big collection and you need a full day (or preferably two full days) to stand a hope of seeing everything. Bear in mind though that Colchester does, very sensibly, open slightly earlier than most UK collections at either 9 O'clock or 9.30 (I can't quite remember). There is too much fake rock and, I agree, the Pygmy Hippo enclosure and Patas Monkey enclosure are rather poor, and the hornbill aviaries are quite low. But these are niggling complaints. It concentrates on ABC animals, and has most of the megafauna that you would once have expected to find at London Zoo (though it doesn't have gorillas). But it also has enough rarer, lesser-known or seldom-exhibited species to appeal to the true zoo enthusiasts who are bored with seeing meerkats and short-clawed otters everywhere (though it has these too). How about these:sun bear, two species of anaconda, tamandua, bearded saki monkey, Geoffroy's cat, buffy-headed capuchin, cherry-crowned mangabey, binturong, gelada, black-backed jackal (need to take the roadtrain to see the latter), Turkish spiny mouse, spotted hyena, mandrill, aardvark, smooth-coated otter, Visayan warty pig (believe they're still there, though didn't see them on my last visit), Philippine spotted deer, African hunting dog, Komodo dragon, Cuban and slender-snouted crocodiles, Amur leopard, giant anteater. I could go on and on. Most of the birds are big, impressive species that appeal to visitors: hornbills, vultures, condors, ostriches, flamingos, cranes, etc., and of course penguins (in two locations). I should also0 add that Colchester probably has more talks, demonstrations and feeding displays than any other zoo, but of course if you choose to go to any of these, you will find you have even less time just for wandering around. Anyway, enjoy.