Chester Zoo Islands - Opening and impressions
- Thread starter Nisha
- Start date
Jackwow
Well-Known Member
My conversation with a well-informed source on Friday indicated that the anoa and banteng are probably next on the list. Their paddocks looked to be almost ready - but moving the banteng may not be easy.
I would imagine that the babirusa and macaques will follow them, but their paddocks were not properly planted or furnished on Friday - although I am sure progress has been made since then.
Remember that the animals will be given a day or two to settle into their off-show quarters before they go on-show.
Alan
Thanks for the clarification Alan
ChesterZooFan
Well-Known Member
If you visit the zoos website they now have a clear priority list of what will be moving in next. It sates that....
"during the first week of opening, we’ll be introducing the anoa and the banteng to their new and expansive enclosures".
They have been crate training the banteng for months so I expect this will go quite smoothly - not to say it isn't going to be difficult!
The macaque enclosure looked nearer completion than babirusa - which was still just full of weeds. I really hope they will clear these and plant it up properly.
Not sure how many babirusa will be moving in to Islands. I would love it if they took all 6 over as the new enclosure is pretty expansive - but I am sure it is unlikely Chester will mix the 2 groups at this stage.
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
We can all dream Babirusa will be in both the Core Zoo and Islands!
Anoa went on show today.
Banteng were supposed to be moved over today, and possibly babirusa also.
I arrived at the zoo at 10:07 am and at 10:08 I saw the first member of staff dealing with an Islands related complaint.
There were two people standing at the exit to Islands refusing entry to anyone who dared to think of going the wrong way round.
Entry into Islands itself was simple, the crowds of the Members Day preview had stopped me from having a good look about.
there is a good view of the sitatunga from the bridge.
The first area, Coral Islands is animal free, which I think is a mistake, one of the guides in the Panay area told me people were asking why they had to walk so far with no animals to look at.
I must comment on the queue for the boat ride, approximately four seconds. well that's 1/15th of a minute of my life gone forever. There are 16 boats and I caallenged myself to ride in every one. On Sunday I had boat 2220, I had the same one again yesterday. It would have been a different one but the lady on the jetty allowed me onto the boat just about to leave.
A commentary was provided by one of the presenters, it was very good. I learnt that the species replacing the tigers in the old zoo will be velociraptor.
The only animals I saw were all five Negros Warty Pigs and the female cassowary. The Lowland Anoas had been let out that morning but were not seen by
me.
The banteng herd were supposed to be moving from the old zoo to Islands yesterday, but workmen were still in the exhibit in the early afternoon.
The Monsoon House looks very impressive, I only hope it is worth the wait.
The land between the public footpath and the boat ride by the Orang Utan open enclosure has been overplanted I think, when the vegetation has matured it will be difficult to see the Orang Utans from the pathway.
I'm not a fan of the sandy paths and I put to a member of staff my concern over how they will wear in the winter period. Similar pathway surfaces at Twycross get very boggy and sand clings to your shoes. It does not seem to be a good idea. People will walk through this gluey substrate and when they step down to get onto the boat, dirty footprints will be everywhere. I saw at least two people sweeping the loose sand and gravel back onto the paths while I went around.
I enjoyed my vist yesterday more than my Member's preview. There were only two species of animal seen, and I think that the zoo should have put back the previews and the opening until the animals were in.
The shop is rather small and the lighting is dull, unless my eyes failed to adjust during the time I was in there, it was a very bright day.
I did not use the catering facility, but the burger I had on sunday was very good.
If the people on the boatride were a cross sample of the average, non zoo-enthusiast visitor, they seemed to show little interest in the artifacts, but wanted to know all about the animals.
I did three circuits during my stay and enjoyed every one. I would recommend people to go and look at Islands if they visit Chester, it was better than I expected.
I hope that indoor seating will be availabe at the restaurant for the winter, and I think the staff standing outdoors are in for a tough time in the winter also. The staff in general were very helpful and well-informed.
The new zoo map is now available, the Islands part just shows each island zone with an explaination of what you can see there on the right hand side of the map.It's not very helpful.
At the bottom right hand side of the map is information about the zoo nature reserve which is "Just south of the main entrance towards the canal."
A side effect of having an upside-down map I expect.
There were two people standing at the exit to Islands refusing entry to anyone who dared to think of going the wrong way round.
Entry into Islands itself was simple, the crowds of the Members Day preview had stopped me from having a good look about.
there is a good view of the sitatunga from the bridge.
The first area, Coral Islands is animal free, which I think is a mistake, one of the guides in the Panay area told me people were asking why they had to walk so far with no animals to look at.
I must comment on the queue for the boat ride, approximately four seconds. well that's 1/15th of a minute of my life gone forever. There are 16 boats and I caallenged myself to ride in every one. On Sunday I had boat 2220, I had the same one again yesterday. It would have been a different one but the lady on the jetty allowed me onto the boat just about to leave.
A commentary was provided by one of the presenters, it was very good. I learnt that the species replacing the tigers in the old zoo will be velociraptor.
The only animals I saw were all five Negros Warty Pigs and the female cassowary. The Lowland Anoas had been let out that morning but were not seen by
me.
The banteng herd were supposed to be moving from the old zoo to Islands yesterday, but workmen were still in the exhibit in the early afternoon.
The Monsoon House looks very impressive, I only hope it is worth the wait.
The land between the public footpath and the boat ride by the Orang Utan open enclosure has been overplanted I think, when the vegetation has matured it will be difficult to see the Orang Utans from the pathway.
I'm not a fan of the sandy paths and I put to a member of staff my concern over how they will wear in the winter period. Similar pathway surfaces at Twycross get very boggy and sand clings to your shoes. It does not seem to be a good idea. People will walk through this gluey substrate and when they step down to get onto the boat, dirty footprints will be everywhere. I saw at least two people sweeping the loose sand and gravel back onto the paths while I went around.
I enjoyed my vist yesterday more than my Member's preview. There were only two species of animal seen, and I think that the zoo should have put back the previews and the opening until the animals were in.
The shop is rather small and the lighting is dull, unless my eyes failed to adjust during the time I was in there, it was a very bright day.
I did not use the catering facility, but the burger I had on sunday was very good.
If the people on the boatride were a cross sample of the average, non zoo-enthusiast visitor, they seemed to show little interest in the artifacts, but wanted to know all about the animals.
I did three circuits during my stay and enjoyed every one. I would recommend people to go and look at Islands if they visit Chester, it was better than I expected.
I hope that indoor seating will be availabe at the restaurant for the winter, and I think the staff standing outdoors are in for a tough time in the winter also. The staff in general were very helpful and well-informed.
The new zoo map is now available, the Islands part just shows each island zone with an explaination of what you can see there on the right hand side of the map.It's not very helpful.
At the bottom right hand side of the map is information about the zoo nature reserve which is "Just south of the main entrance towards the canal."
A side effect of having an upside-down map I expect.
These rather informative videos of people's visits to Islands (including boat ride) over the last few days may provide a better idea of what it's currently like...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzmwypSQmwg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAZL4LO2PjU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzmwypSQmwg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAZL4LO2PjU
You know there will be people who do this!
LOL! Thanks for the humerous report Rob.
ChesterZooFan
Well-Known Member
Interesting commentary in the first video, revealing we have our first Islands birth! Visayan warty piglet born this week increasing the animal count in Islands by over 10%!
karoocheetah
Well-Known Member
The second one is by a ZooChat member and actually features a number of fellow Zoo Chatters!
guess who is who ...... aaaaand GO......
Had another late in the day visit today, Anoa are definitely in there exhibit now and also the Bentang, didn't see them, but zoo guide on the boat said they moved over on Thursday. Also good to see workmen still working at half 5 on a Friday to get the rest finished as soon as possible.
I went around on the boat yesterday. Queue was thirty minutes in length, and that was at 4:30pm. The woman with her family behind us said "The queue is thirty minutes?! We could be in the Harvester!" She was even less pleased when:
1) Only the warty pigs put in an appearance (there was a cassowary behind a bush but her family didn't see it
2) The boats broke down and we spent ten minutes under a bridge.
It's an OK boat ride, with probably the best bit being the banteng if they use the wallow. However, I did feel that the land area of the tiger enclosure is too high and it's not going to be possible to see hardly any of it from the boat without standing (and being shouted at).
1) Only the warty pigs put in an appearance (there was a cassowary behind a bush but her family didn't see it
2) The boats broke down and we spent ten minutes under a bridge.
It's an OK boat ride, with probably the best bit being the banteng if they use the wallow. However, I did feel that the land area of the tiger enclosure is too high and it's not going to be possible to see hardly any of it from the boat without standing (and being shouted at).
You should have tried 5.15 pm, no queue at all
We didn't see any warty pigs and just glimpsed the cassowary, but the anoa were out in the open. I was less than impressed by our guide: he announced Papua before we passed the second warty pig beach. Then one of the passengers (not me) asked if Papua meant New Guinea. He announced that Papua is quite a different island, a long way from New Guinea. I make no apology for giving him a brief lesson in geography and zoogeography in a respectful stage whisper. He told me that his briefing had not included this information.
As I wandered around Islands I thought that all the little changes since the first preview day had brought it into the state that it should have been on that day. There was a refreshment stall in Coral Sands, three benches in Panay (but there is need for more in the other areas), the Street Kitchen had a fuller menu. The kiddies playground was open and so were the Toilet block and the Shop. I liked the way that you do not have to "exit through the gift shop" and I liked the display inside too, inexpensive badges and pencils near the entrance, and some nice fair trade stuff further in. The fluffy Bali starlings/Rothschild's mynahs were not to my taste, but some of my family may get colourful mosaic dishes made from recycled glass for Xmas
I also realised that all the non-animal activities of Coral Sands and Mandano are linked by the service road across the north edge of the site which runs behind the Street Kitchen building and between the Toilets and the indoor area for the oryx. It's obvious when you see it, but the way the footpath meanders disguised it from me completely on the preview.
Alan
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