Chester Zoo Islands - Opening and impressions

I was also there too day. I noticed all the sand had been taken from the paths in Island just leaving a long path of concrete. Also the mesh of where you pass the tigers on the boat has been painted black and a ramp has also been added by the underwater viewing area. The tigers where off-show today due to a leak in the pool. The gibbons seemed very well settled and where very happy to show off there baby to the public. I also could only see 2 of reptile species the tortoise did not seem to be anywhere to be seen. When I was at ROTRA I think for the first time I saw more than 1 Bornean Orang in the exhibit, they seem to be a lot more active since the Sumatrans have left and imagine will be much happier in ROTRA.
 
So are the horned dragons definitely A. capra ? slightly annoying if they are, as it's another species not actually found in the malay archipelago...
 
Swampy said:
So are the horned dragons definitely A. capra ? slightly annoying if they are, as it's another species not actually found in the malay archipelago...
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I got the impression that the stocking of these displays is only temporary, a few small specimens so there is something to see while the plants get established and the filters in pools mature.

Alan
 
gentle lemur said:
Bongorob and I were among the first into the Monsoon Forest this morning.
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I was there too, but at about 11am, and by then the viewing was unfortunately worse than RotRA. Somehow I got stuck in the window watching the gibbons and it took a while to back out. It's a shame, as the orangs and gibbons seem to like the enclosures and the former are, once again, quite happy to sit in the windows.

It was also good to finally see the Sulawesi crested macaque outside enjoying the enclosure - and tearing the bushes to shreds.

As others have mentioned, the paths are now set concrete (a bit bumpy in places) and the water levels in all moats and the ride have been dropped for maintenance.
 
Random question;

Why were the Philippine deer not included in islands?
 
bongorob said:
They are in another phase.
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Has anyone got the definitive plan for the next phases or has anyone got a brief outline as to what to expect? Looking at the site map there's plenty of areas where they can add extra enclosures etc the land they have is unbelievable!
 
Islands Impressions.

My first visit to Chester for many years, since soon after ROTRA was opened in fact. It was time to see everything again(which I did) but Islands was of course the main draw. Just a few personal comments;

I think these type of 'immersive'(sorry Alan/GentleLemur) exhibits are, like the London Lions, going to be seen more and more in our zoos from now on-whether you like them or not, they are the new style. Overall I thought the Islands concept is a good one but I was not so sure about a few things in its execution.

1. It is almost a zoo within itself. The miles of winding pathways must be hard on families with small children with such long distances for them to walk between exhibits, particularly as they will have already walked a long way to reach this area of the zoo.

2. The Boatride- I did it because you could walk straight on- I wouldn't have waited and I saw the signs giving the waiting times on busy days.:eek: After waiting 45 minutes for a 15 minute boat ride you might be a bit fed up as you only have about a couple minutes' worth of actually viewing animals,(warty pigs,banteng, cassowary,tigers,orangutans,macaques- did I miss anything else?) and only then a few seconds going past each, that's provided they are both outside and near the moats/boats. From the boat I only saw(briefly)three species, the Banteng, Tigers and a single Orangutan- so more than good animal viewing it might perhaps serve more as a novelty or pleasant cooling break on a long or hot day's zoo visit.

3. Monsoon House- I liked this part the best. The Orang outdoor enclosures are truly enormous and I wonder how much they will get used. No wonder the live oak tree in one of them has hardly been touched yet. The Orangs I saw outside were on the ground of course. :rolleyes: The indoor areas are superfangled updated versions of Rotra and the old house before that- I liked these a lot but again the viewing windows seem to allow for only relatively small numbers of people at a time to get a good view, which I think at busy times will prove to be an exhibit design fault they have rather replicated again.

I particularly liked the Grosbeak starlings in the Bird area.

The Gharial viewing area seems to create a traffic jam. The Entrance /Exit one way system is obviously designed, as in the other/rest of the zoo houses, to allow free movement flow of visitors but also means to see something again you have to walk miles around( or disobey the signs!)

Someone commented there is now so much to see at Chester its almost impossible to do it all in a day. I think that with the addition of Islands that must be increasingly true, particularly for families with children. I visited all parts of the zoo, including Islands, twice each during the day but was pretty exhausted afterward!
 
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