Highland Wildlife Park HWP 2011

They'll be wondering what is going on kiang as I emailed them last night to ask the same!

That's good the Pallas cats are finally going on show. I'm not entirely convinced I'll be able to see them though if they are on top of the big hill as you can't really get a chair up there (if they are going where I think they are going).
 
You should be fine if you are in a chair, as it should be on the main path up the hill, not too much of a hike.
 
Had a really good reply to my email with plenty of info from the park :)

The Pallas cat enclosure is just having a few last touches to it and they intend to put them on show from Thursday.

The Amur Leopards are staying at Edinburgh :( They will reassess situation and budget next year.

The little wildcat kitten was a male, but sadly he died age 6 months.

And for those looking for info on the Mus Oxen

We are indeed getting Musk Oxen, they are currently in a quarantine facility in Holland. Their enclosure is not yet started, but is hopefully one of our next projects to take off. We would hope they would be here by Autumn at the latest.
Click to expand...


It's a shame about the Amur Leopards. I was looking forward to seeing them at HWP, but hopefully they'll be there eventually and very, very sad news about the Wildcat kitten.
 
AUTUMN!!!!, this is ridiculous, this project has been put back and put back.
I think i am right in saying the original pair from Liberec zoo, were moved to the Netherlands 3 years ago!
By the time their enclosure is ready it will be going on 4 years.
But i will be the first to admit, they're have been more pressing needs at the park, none more so than the polar bear enclosures and at the end of the day, this is a park that receives at the moment around 100'000 visitors per annum, so not too much money in the pot.
 
To be honest I would have preferred it had the Pallas cats stayed and the Amur Leopards left! ;)
 
Had the most fabulous email from Una Richardson, the Head Keeper at HWP...

Dear Julie

You are most welcome. I remember your pictures on Zoo Chat from the meeting of Mercedes and Walker - it was certainly a once in a lifetime day for me too!

Douglas Richardson, the Animal Collection Manager has asked me to send you a message to see if you think the zoo chat forum members would like a special event this year where he would be happy to do a full tour of the Highland Wildlife Park, and answer any questions the members may have? If so, would there be a preference for a specific time of year - we will be happy to arrange this.

(We are happy for this information to be posted)

Best regards, Una.


So what so we think then chatters? I think it's brilliant of the park to offer. I do love the way they are as open as they can be with the paying punters!
 
Well done Julie, that is such a great response, i would definately be up for a tour, and i know that a few members are heading up this way later in the year.
 
This sounds like we could be getting another fab opp. Unfortunatly, distance makes this one close enough to impossible for me at the moment, but if circumstances change before the date then maybe there would be a slim possibility :)
 
Nice to see another collection prepared to meet with zoochat members and talk to them,depending on the date I`m prepared to travel for it!
I wonder how many more will realise it is actually a good idea and stops alot of needless speculation about a collection!!
 
Excellent news on the tour front. I visit the park once a year, usually Autumn time, but could be persuaded to travel up before, depending on dates.

Will we ever see Musk Ox at HWP???????:confused:
 
TARZAN said:
How is dear old Mercedes getting on?
Click to expand...

In an email from Una Richardson she said;


I did see a question on the forum on Mercedes, we are happy for people to know that she is responding well to her current medication, and sometimes has very good days. This will not however change her underlying conditions, but it is always good to see her being responsive and enjoying herself. She is checked weekly by our vets, and monitored daily by her keeping staff. She is amazing for a bear her age, but we cannot deny that she is in the upper age bracket for survival for a polar bear. We present her medication to her on chicks smeared in tuna or sardines, and cod liver oil, and she really seems to see it as a treat. I genuinely feel we give her the best care we possibly can, and we cannot really do any more than that. We appreciate everybody's concern for her.

====

I think people may be surprised by how friendly and chatty the staff at HWP are. I know I sound like some sort of groupie, but honestly if you've got a question then give them a shout and ask. They'll either tell you or say they can't really say yet. They've always been happy to chat whenever I've been and they always respond to emails when they can.

There are many places across the country that could learn a lot from them about the manner of dealing with the public.
 
Julz said:
In an email from Una Richardson she said;


I did see a question on the forum on Mercedes, we are happy for people to know that she is responding well to her current medication, and sometimes has very good days. This will not however change her underlying conditions, but it is always good to see her being responsive and enjoying herself. She is checked weekly by our vets, and monitored daily by her keeping staff. She is amazing for a bear her age, but we cannot deny that she is in the upper age bracket for survival for a polar bear. We present her medication to her on chicks smeared in tuna or sardines, and cod liver oil, and she really seems to see it as a treat. I genuinely feel we give her the best care we possibly can, and we cannot really do any more than that. We appreciate everybody's concern for her.

====

I think people may be surprised by how friendly and chatty the staff at HWP are. I know I sound like some sort of groupie, but honestly if you've got a question then give them a shout and ask. They'll either tell you or say they can't really say yet. They've always been happy to chat whenever I've been and they always respond to emails when they can.

There are many places across the country that could learn a lot from them about the manner of dealing with the public.
Click to expand...
Thanks to yourself and Una Richardson for the news of Mercedes, much appreciated, best wishes to the grand old lady and to everybody at the Highland Wildlife Park who takes care of her and young Walker.
 
Good to see that some zoo's embrace the public (they are reliant on) and use social media like this forum to communicate, instead of forbidding their staff to talk on these forums and generally remain silent.

Amazing idea about the tour, i'm even tempted to travel to scotland now ...
 
that's great news about the tour. i'm planning a trip to scotland later this year... i think i will wait for more information on tour dates before booking flights!
 
A few observations from my visit today:
The new Pallas cat enclosure was still not open to the public.
1.2 (i think) Bactrian wapiti
no sign of musk ox or any sign of construction work on an enclosure.
The kiang herd has been split into 2
The mishmi takin looked to be down to 5 animals

No shows - European beaver (surprise surprise), Japanese serow, European moose, European forest reindeer, lynx, red squirrel and European eagle owl.

I was impressed with the wolf wood enclosure, a single enclosure, holding 2 pure European wolves, but what surprised me was that the boardwalk continued farther into the forest past the wolves.
Perhaps with a mind to adding some new enclosures farther along, in what is a fantastic dark, atmospheric highland pine forest, i could see wolverine or brown bears up here a la Whipsnade.
 
5 were in the paddock across from the tigers and the rest were in the first section of the drive through.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top