Which is, of course, nonsense, although may be cited as reasons. For the animals, the quality of the enclosure is far more important than space. The original (1970s) enclosure designs for tigers (and leopards, as their enclosures are also currently being discussed on ZooChat) were functional, perceived as spacious at that time and, more importantly, worked well for the animals; the breeding records confirm that enclosures on the same area sites could easily continue to be successful for breeding today. The later re-build of both the tiger and leopard enclosures, effectively on the same sites, provided better keeper and animal facilities with planting and landscaping that added to the habitat for the animals and appearance to visitors. Unless it is intended to keep more than one breeding group (although Marwell did in the past) the benefits are likely to be minimal and cost hard to justify.
Marwell Wildlife Marwell Zoo - A Review
- Thread starter HelloCrossy67
- Start date
Ptvirgata
Member
Are welfare concerns and future planning for the breeding of an endangered tiger subspecies/population not good reasons for an enclosure extension? I agree that the current facilities would allow for breeding, but the enclosure is on the smaller side for UK tiger enclosures, and a larger habitat is rarely a bad thing in zoos!
I think enclosure size is an interesting point of discussion when it comes to Marwell.
Yes, making an enclosure bigger would be making it better. However, look at the threads debating the best or favourite zoos in the country. There are zoos smaller than Marwell with more extensive animal collections that are frequently rated higher. That does imply that some zoos with typically smaller enclosures are considered to be better.
I do feel that the size of some of the enclosures at Marwell do limit the scope for the animal collection, even for a 140 acre zoo. It should be obvious which exhibits are the greatest contributors to that statement. It is also a generalisation and it doesn't mean there aren't individual exhibits at Marwell that could be larger. If you compare Marwell's tiger exhibit to other zoos, more modern ones are typically bigger.
Yes, making an enclosure bigger would be making it better. However, look at the threads debating the best or favourite zoos in the country. There are zoos smaller than Marwell with more extensive animal collections that are frequently rated higher. That does imply that some zoos with typically smaller enclosures are considered to be better.
I do feel that the size of some of the enclosures at Marwell do limit the scope for the animal collection, even for a 140 acre zoo. It should be obvious which exhibits are the greatest contributors to that statement. It is also a generalisation and it doesn't mean there aren't individual exhibits at Marwell that could be larger. If you compare Marwell's tiger exhibit to other zoos, more modern ones are typically bigger.
Perhaps a new thread should be created to discuss the merits of zoo enclosure sizes, but keeping to the Marwell situation raised in these recent posts, enclosure extension may be a 'nice to have' from a visitor perception of space, but is unnecessary for good tiger management or breeding, particularly if only an adult pair are being kept. And an extension would probably mean an additional, inter-connected, enclosure, which could provide more flexibility in managing the animals, but not provide more space for an individual animal at any one time.