Some excellent photos in the gallery of Frankfurt. I spent time looking around and the Spectacled bear enclosure does look very well furnished
@RonBurrgundy
and has access for other species. It undoubtedly conveys a sense of 'woodland'
@RonBurrgundy
making use of the natural trees
@Gil
and looking particularly nice in the 'green' months
@lintworm
But while these are good areas and notwithstanding my clear natural bias (regular Whipsnader) I am still going to go for a 5/0 position.
While I think Frankfurt looks really good and I am not saying it pales to nothing, I think Whipsnade scores on woodland on so many more levels.
But anyway, in defence of this score;
The leading reason for my vote is the European area at Whipsnade, with Lynx leading to wild boar to Lady Yule's walk, home of bears and wolverines. The road from the entrance is framed by trees and the path, despite being built for thousands of visitors, still winds among trees. The exhibits themselves contain and are framed by woodland, a feature repeated across the whole estate.
The bear enclosure makes fantastic use of natural woodland and I refer to
@Kalaw 's excellent post in the previous tea cup round which did a definitive job of highlighting the woodland in both exhibits, as well as more widely in the zoo (and below that informative post, well, there is a bear in a tree).
European (Tea)Cup - League C - Zoo Berlin vs London/Whipsnade
The enclosures here are spacious and well constructed with fantastic viewing, making great use of the wood with plenty of climbing opportunities for the animals. The woodland provides natural cover and shade and creates spaces for the animals to be off view if they want to. There is also chance for those 'moments' where you see the bears or the wolverine among the trees which adds to the adventure.
At the top of the zoo, the reindeer and the goats all have access to a great area of woodland in their enclosures (the goats extending much further to manage the grassland, but that might be another cup thought later).
Whipsnade then also has the advantage in that its natural woodland covers much of the zoo and offers a space for wildlife to flourish.
Visitors can get into the small areas of woodland themselves and see (as I did just the other weekend) the less common Jay or Green Woodpecker as well as large numbers of other native birds, from Blue tits and Blackbirds to Magpies and Carrion crows. There are also large numbers of the invasive grey squirrels who, while not native, still entertain from their drays in the high trees. The zoo also supports native species introduction with harvest mice etc. The woodland is also home to free roaming wallabies and the large trees offer a safe space for free roaming Mara to make their dens.
Woodland also features in other enclosures, for example for African hunting dogs and although a British wood might not be their natural terrain, I'd stretch the category in this round a little further to give points to enhancing the general quality of exhibitry. In that vein, I'd also highlight the use of mature trees to offer a great setting for Lowland Anoa and Sulewasi macaque. I saw the Macques in the trees for the first time the other day and it was a real wow.
Trees and woodland surround and run through the zoo and appear in enclosures for Ostriches, Nilgay, lions, red pandas and tigers, to name a few.
For me it's a big result for the species the zoo is displaying for whom this category's woodland is their real home, but Whipsnade's wooded areas also offer a lot to other enclosures, native species and visitors alike, whether as a backdrop, a feature or just somewhere to explore.
