Potamogale
Well-Known Member
Hello to all - discovered this site by accident about 4 weeks ago and thought it was high time to join and introduce myself properly .
Have had a lifetime passion for zoos and animals in general . Ever since dragging my long-suffering mother around Bristol Zoo on my 4th Birthday- it was pouring down but can still remember it well ( this was in the days when the old cages for big cats/apes still had big thick iron bars ) - have always tried to see any zoos/bird parks/aquaria etc wherever I found myself . So that takes in ( roughly chronological order ) Bristol Zoo , Weston-Super-Mare Mini Zoo , Cotswold Wildlife Park , Rode Tropical Bird Gardens , Cheddar Aquarium , Slimbridge , Birdland , Longleat , Marineland Morecambe and Winged World Heysham , London Zoo , Chester Zoo , Southport Zoo , Haigh Hall Wildlife Park , Belle Vue Zoo , Bolton Aquarium ( also a small animal collection in a public park in Bolton - will try to find out where ) , Manchester Aquarium , Martin Mere , Blackpool Tower Aquarium ( and recall an aviary somewhere "upstairs" in the tower with crowned pigeons ) Knaresborough Zoo , Paignton Zoo , Edinburgh Zoo , Paris Vincennes ( first Giant Panda actually awake and active ...) Paris Jardin des Plantes ( Kagu ) , Caracas (!! - on a trip with my school choir !! -don`t know the actual name of the place we were taken to but think it was the Parque del Este - first sighting of Giant Otter ) Whipsnade , Highland Wildlike Park , Windsor safari Park , Chessington , Welsh Mountain Zoo , Penscynor Wildlife Park , Falconry Centre Newent , Berlin ( West - well it was first time but 2nd visit after the wall came down ... just ) Tokyo Ueno , Fukuoka Zoo , Prague Zoo , Jersey Zoo ( as was ) , Antwerp Zoo , Frankfurt Zoo - finally saw a Shoebill ( only the one left at that point ) and the free-flight aviary which was copied by Winged World Heysham which took me back a couple of decades ( at least ) !!, New York Central Park ( only had a morning free ) , Georgia Aquarium ...
Am sure there have been others ( and I`m not counting Farm parks/Rare Breed centres ) but think that`s more than enough for the time being !!
If anyone has memories of some of the collections no longer with us mentioned above would love to hear from you .
Next visit is to Chester in a fortnight .
Have had a lifetime passion for zoos and animals in general . Ever since dragging my long-suffering mother around Bristol Zoo on my 4th Birthday- it was pouring down but can still remember it well ( this was in the days when the old cages for big cats/apes still had big thick iron bars ) - have always tried to see any zoos/bird parks/aquaria etc wherever I found myself . So that takes in ( roughly chronological order ) Bristol Zoo , Weston-Super-Mare Mini Zoo , Cotswold Wildlife Park , Rode Tropical Bird Gardens , Cheddar Aquarium , Slimbridge , Birdland , Longleat , Marineland Morecambe and Winged World Heysham , London Zoo , Chester Zoo , Southport Zoo , Haigh Hall Wildlife Park , Belle Vue Zoo , Bolton Aquarium ( also a small animal collection in a public park in Bolton - will try to find out where ) , Manchester Aquarium , Martin Mere , Blackpool Tower Aquarium ( and recall an aviary somewhere "upstairs" in the tower with crowned pigeons ) Knaresborough Zoo , Paignton Zoo , Edinburgh Zoo , Paris Vincennes ( first Giant Panda actually awake and active ...) Paris Jardin des Plantes ( Kagu ) , Caracas (!! - on a trip with my school choir !! -don`t know the actual name of the place we were taken to but think it was the Parque del Este - first sighting of Giant Otter ) Whipsnade , Highland Wildlike Park , Windsor safari Park , Chessington , Welsh Mountain Zoo , Penscynor Wildlife Park , Falconry Centre Newent , Berlin ( West - well it was first time but 2nd visit after the wall came down ... just ) Tokyo Ueno , Fukuoka Zoo , Prague Zoo , Jersey Zoo ( as was ) , Antwerp Zoo , Frankfurt Zoo - finally saw a Shoebill ( only the one left at that point ) and the free-flight aviary which was copied by Winged World Heysham which took me back a couple of decades ( at least ) !!, New York Central Park ( only had a morning free ) , Georgia Aquarium ...
Am sure there have been others ( and I`m not counting Farm parks/Rare Breed centres ) but think that`s more than enough for the time being !!
If anyone has memories of some of the collections no longer with us mentioned above would love to hear from you .
Next visit is to Chester in a fortnight .
