mazfc
Well-Known Member
I hadn't seen it before, so not sure if it is new or not. The two adjoining rooms had been given different textures and were full of tree trunks, wood and ropes.
Twycross Zoo Himalaya Opening Date
- Thread starter tomzoo123
- Start date
I hadn't seen it before, so not sure if it is new or not. The two adjoining rooms had been given different textures and were full of tree trunks, wood and ropes.
mazfc
Well-Known Member
I've been going for a year or two and really don't know how I have missed it all those times.
Well, I finally went and saw this for myself today.
First, the good points.
- It's a huge building and certainly gives a much better impression of Twycross than the old entrance(s) did. (Indeed, it probably gives a better impression of Twycross than the rest of Twycross does)
- There is a range of food in the cafe and the Nepalese lamb I had was very good. I even like the weird plastic chairs!
- The Snow Leopard exhibit looks very good except for some reservations about the viewing.
However:
- I still don't like that the Snow Leopards are only visible from the cafe seating area or the queue area outside.
- I do not understand why the actual entrance booths are not in the main building (a la Blackpool) rather than still using those rubbish little booths once you passed through the big shiny building. I can only assume they didn't have room for the queueing inside the building but it just looks a bit silly.
- The Tourist information bit looks thoroughly pointless - it seems to have a few leaflets and an Internet point but not much else (and was being thoroughly ignored by everyone today).
- The aviary. It's not finished yet but it's still looking like the viewing is going to be at best highly restricted for regular visitors. Why spend so much money on something hardly anyone's going to see??
So a mixed bag. Hopefully the aviary will be at least partly visible - the building looks great but there are so many little awkward things about it. However, I must say that so far it's a fair bit better than I feared it might be.
In other news, got a great (albeit brief) view of the new hyaenas - having been imported from Sharjah they are pure Arabian Striped Hyaenas (H. h. sultana), a form I have never seen before.
There was a very small Colombian Spider Monkey born yesterday (02/05/10).
Glossy Ibises were new in the egret/heron aviary alongside the longhouse.
First, the good points.
- It's a huge building and certainly gives a much better impression of Twycross than the old entrance(s) did. (Indeed, it probably gives a better impression of Twycross than the rest of Twycross does)
- There is a range of food in the cafe and the Nepalese lamb I had was very good. I even like the weird plastic chairs!
- The Snow Leopard exhibit looks very good except for some reservations about the viewing.
However:
- I still don't like that the Snow Leopards are only visible from the cafe seating area or the queue area outside.
- I do not understand why the actual entrance booths are not in the main building (a la Blackpool) rather than still using those rubbish little booths once you passed through the big shiny building. I can only assume they didn't have room for the queueing inside the building but it just looks a bit silly.
- The Tourist information bit looks thoroughly pointless - it seems to have a few leaflets and an Internet point but not much else (and was being thoroughly ignored by everyone today).
- The aviary. It's not finished yet but it's still looking like the viewing is going to be at best highly restricted for regular visitors. Why spend so much money on something hardly anyone's going to see??
So a mixed bag. Hopefully the aviary will be at least partly visible - the building looks great but there are so many little awkward things about it. However, I must say that so far it's a fair bit better than I feared it might be.
In other news, got a great (albeit brief) view of the new hyaenas - having been imported from Sharjah they are pure Arabian Striped Hyaenas (H. h. sultana), a form I have never seen before.
There was a very small Colombian Spider Monkey born yesterday (02/05/10).
Glossy Ibises were new in the egret/heron aviary alongside the longhouse.
As I understand from a letter re the official opening I received, it seems like these were hoops the zoo had to jump through to get the funding.
Reading between the lines, Twycross have been clever/crafty/sneaky* and obtained the grant to build a "free community facility for the Midlands.....linking to the cultural heritage of our own Asian communities in the region". i.e. it's not a zoo entrance (which they probably couldn't get a grant for), its a glorified community centre! Or to quote the letter, "an important socio-economic flagship project, much needed in a part of the country already suffering from deprivation before the recent recession".
Interestingly the letter doesn't refer to an entrance anywhere, but calls Himalaya "the new gateway to our world famous zoological collection".
I've got to say, whilst I like the idea of grant funding for zoos, I think the idea that a new, fancy (non)entrance for a zoo a fair distance from large populations is the best way to help socially & economically deprived communities is highly questionable (I'm being polite there).
I'm probably not getting any more letters from Twycross am I?
* delete as applicable according to your cynicism
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It is a bit of a strange one, they must have been extremely persuasive when they met EMDA. Anyhow, they got the grant and they built a quality building, the only concession they made that I really hate being the waders exhibit being for the benefit of conference goers only.
One interesting bit of info that I discovered today is that Himalaya was revised as a result of Twycross probably losing around £3.5m that was set aside for development through the collapse of the Lehman Brothers. It's in the 2008 end of year report and I wonder whether that's what scuppered the inclusion of a Bonobo exhibit, because that was mentioned in the initial brief for the development. Anyone else know anything about this?
This sheds a lot more light on this weird and wonderful building which is set down in the middle of the Leicestershire(?) countryside, many miles from any built up areas and still slightly remote from the zoo to which it is seemingly attatched . I am not saying I don't like it, but it creates an even greater contrast with the existing forty years old+ wooden framed buildings which you see on entering the zoo itself. Its very obvious that funding for this building came from other sources which have dictated its design and appearance.
It's possible that Twycross have got the timing right. The exciting plans at Chester (and, I guess, Bristol/Hollywood Towers) depend on substantial Regional Development Agency funding on the grounds that this will stimulate employment in local tourism and service industries.
If I understand correctly, the Conservative Party intend to abolish RDAs if they are elected on Thursday - doubtless there will be some alternative system for funding such projects if this comes about, but this sort of change might well slow down the progress of these multi-million projects.
Alan
If I understand correctly, the Conservative Party intend to abolish RDAs if they are elected on Thursday - doubtless there will be some alternative system for funding such projects if this comes about, but this sort of change might well slow down the progress of these multi-million projects.
Alan
The best bet for European zoos is ZootierlisteHomepage
You can search for any animal or zoo. Bear in mind that subspecies are listed separately and that the site is based on user data so may not be 100% accurate. In particular there have been issues with people's enthusiasm getting the better of them and animals being added before they've arrived at the zoo.
It's likely to be more accurate than the other option, however - ISIS :: Home (click on About animals -> Find animals) - this is notorious for errors, doesn't allow you to search by zoo (only by species) and is dependent on zoos choosing to send data. However, the major advantages are that the data on there comes from the zoo, so is sometimes more complete, the site lists numbers of animals as well as species, and it is global so you can check US or Australian zoos (for instance).
In cases of disagreement, I'd tend to give the reliability edge to Zootierliste.
The snow leopards are now on show in their new exhibit.
BBC News - Rare snow leopards on view at Twycross Zoo
BBC News - Rare snow leopards on view at Twycross Zoo
I believe it was officially 'opened' yesterday(Thursday). It was closed to the public for couple of hours for the official 'opening'!!
I noticed how the Snow Leopards were obviously keen to secrete themselves away, hiding in the hollowed resting places. Only those in the intercut wild footage look relaxed. So the opening was probably quite stressful for them as they couldn't retreat offshow in this new and strange environment. Still, I guess they will become relaxed once they have settled in.
I noticed how the Snow Leopards were obviously keen to secrete themselves away, hiding in the hollowed resting places. Only those in the intercut wild footage look relaxed. So the opening was probably quite stressful for them as they couldn't retreat offshow in this new and strange environment. Still, I guess they will become relaxed once they have settled in.
Aswell as trying to hide away, the two snow leopards were at opposite ends of the enclosure for most of the day from the reports i heard of the oppening
EvilKittie
Well-Known Member
According to BBC news on a spokeswoman said that the glass is one way so they would get some privacy - the link has been posted by Kiang
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
It is one way but that doesn`t stop the visitors from banging the glass to try to get the Snow Leopards to move,when they are doing what comes natural to them which is to hide away,so they will know something is on ther other side of the glass due to the banging noise coming from the other side.
Yes I agree with this but isnt this the same with the majority of zoo exhibits no matter what? Most people will not bang on the glass etc, however there are an ignorant minority who will and there is nothing to stop this. Also even if it was an open exhibit with a moat etc there is nothing stopping someone shouting to them.
EvilKittie
Well-Known Member
I know that can be annoying for the Snow Leopards but that is a problem with glass