Highland Wildlife Park HWP Zoo Chat visit - details

J

Julz

Well-Known Member
Hi all

Had an email from Una Richardson suggesting the meeting point be the visitors centre at 2pm for meeting with Douglas.

That way people have plenty of time to arrive and have a mooch around beforehand. Does that suit everyone?

If anyone who can't make it has any questions then someone who is going can ask on their behalf.

I'm gutted to say that I'm not going to be able to make it :( I hope you all have a ball and if someone could ask if the plans to move the Amur Leopards from Edinburgh is still going to go ahead I'd be most grateful.

Julz
 
I doubt i will make it either.. there has been a staff shortage at my work which means i will have to work on the saturday.

I would like to know if there are plans for a male tiger to come in? and if they have found a female polar bear?

thanks
 
They have sourced a female Polar Bear.

Their is no plans for a male Tiger as Sasha is too old and I think the girls are not mature enough according to a quote in HWP about Vladimir's departure to YWP.
 
I was wondering where they have sourced polar bear from and what the plans are? <smiles> Will they be building a new enclosure? or keeping them both in the same one?

Just curious <smiles>
 
I'm sure they'll be building a new enclosure because if I remember rightly it was mentioned when Walker arrived that the current enclosure isn't right for an adult male bear. So they'll be building an enclosure for Walker and the female will have the current one. I'm sure that's how it was discussed before.
 
Julz said:
Have fun today folks!!
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Err . . . it was folk . . . in other words, just me :o

However Douglas was very obliging and I had a 90 minute private tour, which was wonderful.
I am downloading my photos now and will post a selection in a few days time. I will also post some notes about what Douglas said, to give the people who couldn't make it an idea of what they missed. He spoke very frankly about the animals and I know he wants to correct some of the misapprehensions that have spread in some of our threads about the HWP and I will try to do this as far as I can.
It will take me a little time to sort this out, but first I want to thank Douglas for giving me a very interesting afternoon and also for taking a lot of trouble on behalf of all the members of ZooChat.

Alan
 
ooo you lucky thing - I'll be visiting in the last weeks of Sept whilst on my Zoofest 2011 tour :O) anything interesting I might like to know BEFORE I go? <grins>
 
karoocheetah said:
ooo you lucky thing - I'll be visiting in the last weeks of Sept whilst on my Zoofest 2011 tour :O) anything interesting I might like to know BEFORE I go? <grins>
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Yes, but you'll have to be patient. It's going to take me a little while to get everything sorted and transcribed.
However just to whet your appetite - if you are lucky, you may be able to see newly arrived musk oxen, and you should not miss the Japanese serow kid and the Pallas' kittens - I think they are less like cheetahs than any other type of cat, but you'll love them anyway :D

Alan
 
1 person? That has really, really disappointed me. September was the favoured month in the poll and despite it being the only one of the dates I couldn't make I thought it only fair to go with the majority rather than try and work it to my own advantage.

I might be being unfair to those who said September and didn't go, but I'm quite annoyed about that.

I hope you had a fab day Alan. Can't wait to hear your report.
 
Great news regarding the serow and the musk oxen, sounds as though Doug was a very accommodating host, kicking myself i could not make it.
Thank you Alan for representing us all.
 
Gutted I couldn't make it, sounds like it would have been a great day. Hopefully the turnout will not put him off doing another walk around at some point, but it's just such a difficult place to reach, I'm sure with a good six/twelve-months notice then people may have more chance to get? Maybe with such notice then holidays can be planned?
 
I understand that HWP is much harder for people to get to than most other UK zoos. I am very glad that the date chosen fitted my plans so well (even if I did have to set my alarm for 4 am :eek:).
I have posted my account of the HWP tour in a new thread: please read it.

Alan
 
I would've loved to have attended this, but having visited Edinburgh and Whipsnade in the last week, couldn't really stomach an 800-mile 'round trip to Kincraig.

But I'd like to echo JR's comments and hope that the lack of ZooChatters this time around won't put off Mr. Richardson from holding another.
 
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