Jungle Zoo Cleethorpes

I've never been but know it is tiny. By all accounts the Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary (complete with eduation room dedicated to Clin Keeling), just down the road, is a better place.

I'm sure you could easily visit both collections, and possibly Natureland at Skegness (tiny and nothing special by all accounts) in a day.
 
The 3 suggested collections do indeed combine to make for an enjoyable day. This is despite the lack of any wow fact. Each collection takes a couple of hours maximum. You would need your own transport though.
 
Just been announced on social medias the small zoo in Cleethorpes , The Jungle Zoo will be closing down for good on the 2nd October.
 
Given that it had a small(and i mean small) outdoor element it was probably Britain`s smallest zoo....that was the only thing about it that was remarkable in any way.
 
Tim Brown said:
Given that it had a small(and i mean small) outdoor element it was probably Britain`s smallest zoo....that was the only thing about it that was remarkable in any way.
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I suppose that depends on what you count as a zoo;)
 
Always a bone of contention...thats why i mentioned the outdoor section. but in visiting over 870 zoos I cant think of a smaller outdoor section anywhere - and the indoors wasnt huge either.
Of course it was just up the road from the old Cleethorpes Zoo which(as of last year) had become an abandoned theme park.
 
Tim Brown said:
Always a bone of contention...thats why i mentioned the outdoor section. but in visiting over 870 zoos I cant think of a smaller outdoor section anywhere - and the indoors wasnt huge either.
Of course it was just up the road from the old Cleethorpes Zoo which(as of last year) had become an abandoned theme park.
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Same sort of size as Shaldon I would say, if you account for the indoor area. Bigger than Cedar Nature Centre for sure.
 
I also don’t think that it was as large as shaldon or cedars, but I agree with @Tim Brown , it wasn’t particularly anything special or unique (in fact the lemur enclosure was dreadfully uninspiring)
 
pangolin12 said:
I also don’t think that it was as large as shaldon or cedars, but I agree with @Tim Brown , it wasn’t particularly anything special or unique (in fact the lemur enclosure was dreadfully uninspiring)
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I actually find this rather sad. Yes it was a small collection, and it may not have been very special in your eyes. However it was cheap at £4.80 for adults. The keepers often let children help feed some of the animals.
A Lot of locals in a poor area loved going there. They may have Yorkshire on their doorstep and be an hour from Mablethorpe, but some of these families simply couldn't' afford to go to these zoos.

On the final day, there must have been 300 people there, many chatting to keepers, wanting to know where all the animals were going.

Every animal had a story about their past, keepers were very passionate.

It closed, because the energy bill went from £4000 to £8000 per calendar month, and the owners simply couldn't afford it.

Plans were afoot to change the Lemur exhibit as well, before the change in fuel costs gave them no option to close.

You say it wasn't special or unique, but to the many young families from Grimsby and Cleethorpes who had very limited budgets, it was special to them and many were gutted.

I actually enjoyed my visit and I quite liked the tropical house, and the reptile house was decent enough too. The outside wasn't huge no, but still had around a dozen exhibits, and it was most definitely bigger than Cedar's Nature Centre.

Not every zoo has to be remarkable to serve a purpose, but the animals and the zoo was loved by its locals.

I find it sad people would basically say oh its no great loss and things along that line. It may not have been the flashiest of collections or held anything unique, but it served a purpose in a very poor area of the country.
 
Alwaysevergreen said:
I actually find this rather sad. Yes it was a small collection, and it may not have been very special in your eyes. However it was cheap at £4.80 for adults. The keepers often let children help feed some of the animals.
A Lot of locals in a poor area loved going there. They may have Yorkshire on their doorstep and be an hour from Mablethorpe, but some of these families simply couldn't' afford to go to these zoos.

On the final day, there must have been 300 people there, many chatting to keepers, wanting to know where all the animals were going.

Every animal had a story about their past, keepers were very passionate.

It closed, because the energy bill went from £4000 to £8000 per calendar month, and the owners simply couldn't afford it.

Plans were afoot to change the Lemur exhibit as well, before the change in fuel costs gave them no option to close.

You say it wasn't special or unique, but to the many young families from Grimsby and Cleethorpes who had very limited budgets, it was special to them and many were gutted.

I actually enjoyed my visit and I quite liked the tropical house, and the reptile house was decent enough too. The outside wasn't huge no, but still had around a dozen exhibits, and it was most definitely bigger than Cedar's Nature Centre.

Not every zoo has to be remarkable to serve a purpose, but the animals and the zoo was loved by its locals.

I find it sad people would basically say oh its no great loss and things along that line. It may not have been the flashiest of collections or held anything unique, but it served a purpose in a very poor area of the country.
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Fair enough, very well said. Apologies if I came of as rash with my comment. I did actually enjoy both of my visits, I wasn’t aware of the plans for the lemur exhibit, but the one that they were housed in left a bad taste in my mouth. However, Messingnham isn’t miles away and also has affordable admission fees so I’m unsure about your last point. Again apologies if I have caused upset to anyone involved with the zoo…
 
pangolin12 said:
Fair enough, very well said. Apologies if I came of as rash with my comment. I did actually enjoy both of my visits, I wasn’t aware of the plans for the lemur exhibit, but the one that they were housed in left a bad taste in my mouth. However, Messingnham isn’t miles away and also has affordable admission fees so I’m unsure about your last point. Again apologies if I have caused upset to anyone involved with the zoo…
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Messingham has actually taken on some of the animals as well.
I went to Messingham a couple of months ago and actually really liked it there. I done a keeper experience and you got a really good feel for the collection, its keepers and the animals.

The problem for Messingham is, its a bit out in the middle of nowhere and public transport is not a great link especially say from Grimsby and Cleethorpes.

I think it is all too easy for us, who have cars, can afford days out at a big zoo, to not realise the impact of a very small closing can have on the area it is situated.

When I went to the Jungle Zoo on its final day, I felt so sad. I was at Bristol on its last day and it was such a different atmosphere. Bristol was more about people's memories and a feel of excitement of what may be to come. Jungle Zoo was seeing young children crying as they said goodbye to the animals, visitors hugging and shaking hands with keepers, getting one last photo with George the Cockatoo. Kids given bits of veg to give to a certain animal for the last time. It felt gut wrenching, it really did.
I don't even know if the owners were there or not, but one of the keepers, a young lass called Chloe was amazing and she was a massive credit to the zoo. She spoke with anyone who wanted to, gave talks to press, and tried to tell everyone where animals were going. She allowed children to meet certain animals and couldn't have been more helpful if she tried. This was someone who at the end of that day, was out of a job in an industry that is very hard to find paid work in, yet to anyone there that day, you would have seen a dedicated member of staff, who was making sure every visitor enjoyed their final visit. Some may say she was only doing her job, I say she was going above and beyond her job, knowing what the collection meant to so many people visiting that day.

On that final Sunday, the park would have taken probably about £1500, maybe a bit more. I expect traffic to the zoo was not a lot normally. But this zoo closed, because of a £4000 increase in costs per month, meant it was not viable.

It was all very sudden as well. Announced mid September, closed in 3 weeks.

I genuinely feel, had they contacted people or even looked into new marketing ways and so on, the closure of this collection could have been saved. It was £4.80 for an adult to visit and was £2 for kids. This means a family of 4 paid under £15 for a visit!
If the same family from the area want to go to Mablethorpe or Messingham, you have public transport costs or fuel, plus £33 and £32 entry fees, double the amount and neither zoo, has a huge difference in collection of species to what Jungle Zoo had. Yes they are a bit bigger and had a few more animals, but not what I would say warranted double the entry costs, before traveling expenditure.

Say fuel is £15, or Public Transport £20 to go to one of the different collections, the day out for that small family has gone from £15, where they were made to feel homely, got to see and meet animals, chat to keepers and so on, to the best part of £50/60 to basically just have admission. It will completely price some families out of regular visits.

It can be so easy to not realise that some people are not as fortunate as others out there. I find it a great shame, there was no help from the council or other means for a zoo, that was very special to its local community and the tourism sector, especially since the theme park is now closed, where you can still see many of the rides still there as you drive out of the town!
 
Alwaysevergreen said:
I actually find this rather sad. Yes it was a small collection, and it may not have been very special in your eyes. However it was cheap at £4.80 for adults. The keepers often let children help feed some of the animals.
A Lot of locals in a poor area loved going there. They may have Yorkshire on their doorstep and be an hour from Mablethorpe, but some of these families simply couldn't' afford to go to these zoos.

On the final day, there must have been 300 people there, many chatting to keepers, wanting to know where all the animals were going.

Every animal had a story about their past, keepers were very passionate.

It closed, because the energy bill went from £4000 to £8000 per calendar month, and the owners simply couldn't afford it.

Plans were afoot to change the Lemur exhibit as well, before the change in fuel costs gave them no option to close.

You say it wasn't special or unique, but to the many young families from Grimsby and Cleethorpes who had very limited budgets, it was special to them and many were gutted.

I actually enjoyed my visit and I quite liked the tropical house, and the reptile house was decent enough too. The outside wasn't huge no, but still had around a dozen exhibits, and it was most definitely bigger than Cedar's Nature Centre.

Not every zoo has to be remarkable to serve a purpose, but the animals and the zoo was loved by its locals.

I find it sad people would basically say oh its no great loss and things along that line. It may not have been the flashiest of collections or held anything unique, but it served a purpose in a very poor area of the country.
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I'm really pleased that you posted this, I agree with all that you say. I haven't visited The Jungle Zoo for several years but it was a nice little place that had its own charm, and I can only imagine how upsetting its closure must be to many people who visit regularly and know the staff and animals.

I think that, now more than perhaps ever before, small zoos like this one serve a really important role as a lot of people just won't be able to afford to visit a big zoo - they might offer a lot more but if you can barely cover basic things like bills and food costs, what chance is there of spending £25+ per person on a day out? Some places are rather greedy when it comes to admission prices for kids and OAPs, IMO. Plus for some, walking around Yorkshire or Chester is just too tiring - even I find them rather daunting and I'm relatively young and fit. I also like being able to revisit enclosures to see a favourite species again or to try again with any no-shows; it often just isn't possible to do that at a bigger collection without skipping a large chunk of the site. As a result I sometimes find visiting a small zoo to be more rewarding than a large one.

As an aside, does anyone have a rough species list for The Jungle Zoo when it closed? I'd be interested to have a better idea of what they had.
 
Alwaysevergreen said:
This article reveals where all the animals have moved to. Hope it helps.

Some of the Jungle Zoo animals are staying right here in Grimsby

You may need to work out, that the article, typically written for a journalist, with little animal knowledge, made several spelling errors, Coates are Coatis and Limas are Lemurs, etc
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Thanks for sharing that - I love that they've released this information as I suspect a lot of people will want to know where the animals are going. On a personal level, I'm very happy with what Messingham are taking as its pretty close to me!
 
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