Marwell Wildlife Marwell Wildlife Park News 2017

pipaluk said:
Fair enough, but the issue wasn't whether tropical houses are expensive initially! Obviously they are! It's whether Marwell should spend this sort of money for what it is going to add- my argument is clearly no! 10 birds and mammals approximately for £7.8m is poor value for a zoo which has lost more than a quarter of its mammals in 10 years.
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Half of its mammal species in 10 years,and over half number animals.
 
I have thoroughly enjoyed this argument/debate on the tropical house and I really do see both sides of the argument. A tropical house is an expensive addition to any zoo, usually one that recovers the cost though with extra attendance brought in by people wanting to see the new attraction. Unfortinately the zoo in question is Marwell, a zoo that doesn't need draw card exhibits but desperately needs to fill its empty exhibits.

If this was happening at Dudley/Twycross/Blackpool then I would be extremely happy but because it is Marwell I feel a bit "meh" towards it. If they pull it off and add some exciting new species then I'm all for it; if it's just a large greenhouse with nothing exciting added then I agree with @pipaluk that it could well be a waste of money!

But currently I'm with @gentle lemur and will wait for the first hand accounts before I start judging it.
 
Brum said:
I have thoroughly enjoyed this argument/debate on the tropical house and I really do see both sides of the argument. A tropical house is an expensive addition to any zoo, usually one that recovers the cost though with extra attendance brought in by people wanting to see the new attraction. Unfortinately the zoo in question is Marwell, a zoo that doesn't need draw card exhibits but desperately needs to fill its empty exhibits.

If this was happening at Dudley/Twycross/Blackpool then I would be extremely happy but because it is Marwell I feel a bit "meh" towards it. If they pull it off and add some exciting new species then I'm all for it; if it's just a large greenhouse with nothing exciting added then I agree with @pipaluk that it could well be a waste of money!

But currently I'm with @gentle lemur and will wait for the first hand accounts before I start judging it.
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I think that's a pretty fair assessment. I'm sure it will be a good exhibit, which I may even have to admit to 'liking' to an extent.

Will it improve my overall enjoyment or opinion of Marwell more than if the money had been spent on a dozen or so cheaper exhibits - almost certainly not! But then I'm different and unlikely to change !
 
pipaluk said:
Sorry we'll have to disagree that £7.8m is a good investment on something which may improve the zoo a little. . .
With Marwell it always seems to be spend a lot(& boast about it), add very little!
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That's putting words into my mouth ;) I have no idea whether this is a good investment for the zoo or not. I think time will tell.
I do understand your frustration with the changes that have happened at Marwell, it seems that the zoo is changing direction - rightly or wrongly, depending on your point of view. If the zoo wants to expand its collection of tropical animals, which has always been sparse (to put it kindly), I am prepared to suspend judgement until I can see the results.
 
gentle lemur said:
That's putting words into my mouth ;) I have no idea whether this is a good investment for the zoo or not. I think time will tell.
I do understand your frustration with the changes that have happened at Marwell, it seems that the zoo is changing direction - rightly or wrongly, depending on your point of view. If the zoo wants to expand its collection of tropical animals, which has always been sparse (to put it kindly), I am prepared to suspend judgement until I can see the results.
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It's OK GL, I wasn't putting words into your mouth, my reply was aimed at Zooboy, whose post I quoted. No worries
 
Chlidonias said:
It's also worth noting that according to the article it is the "size of two football pitches", which seems quite large (I googled it and pitches vary in size but an average size for one would be roughly 100 metres by 50 metres). The bigger a tropical house is, the more expensive it is going to be to construct and outfit.
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The size of "two football pitches" is an error given in some of the recent local press reports. There are plans available if you search the web, as well a number of photos taken by the local press on a preview visit which shows the recently planted new Tropical House, and these better indicate the space available for animals. The actual area of the new building is about 1,000m2, so approximately double the size of Marwell's current Tropical World.
 
The zoo have announced another species that has arrived from the Tropical house, Javan Chevrotain. The animal will be kept off-show until the opening of the tropical house.
 
Brum said:
That's not to shabby, even @pipaluk can't moan at that! :p :D
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No, a definite plus and I said so when it was suggested this would bea new species a few pages back. I'm glad it has actually happened!

If someone tells me Manatee are next I may just change my opinion!
 
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For what it's worth, I think the tropical house goes towards addressing a major weakness at Marwell -the lack of anything much to do or anywhere to shelter should the weather be inclement or even just a little showery. I've been around the place in poor (and very poor weather) and it's not much fun. For a non-enthusiast it could be enough to prevent future visits in all but the best weather or could provide such a poor experience they never go back. A large tropical house (regardless of our opinions) goes a considerable way to address this issue and may improve future visitor levels as a result.

Apologies to those who've read a near-identical post in Yorkshire's thread, but I thought it needed saying (again).
 
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