Marwell Wildlife Marwell Zoo News 2024

NMM said:
I had an email from Marwell that they are going to be introducing a tiered structure for annual membership.

The basic level will only include unlimited access to the zoo for a year. It won't include reciprocal visits to other zoos or the 10% discount on food/drink/items from the gift shop that members currently receive.

The mid level will include the current benefits and in addition invitations to attend talks by keepers and conservationists.

The higher (premium) level will also add previews of new events and exhibits, premium member events and friends & family days, where premium members can bring guests at a discount.
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There have been further details on the new memberships, which come into effect in the new year.
Annual Zoo Membership | Marwell Wildlife Membership

They have whacked the price up a fair amount! The current membership is £68 and that includes reciprocal visits to other zoos and 10% off food, drink and items in the gift shop.
  • The basic level, which is only access to the zoo for the year is £68.
  • The mid level (called explorer), which is the same additional benefits as the current membership plus invitations to talks and additional events is £85.
  • The premium level, which also adds premium member events and friends and family days is £125.
Some details of events have also been released.
  • The first talk will be on 1st February and is titled "Saving Grevy's zebra in Kenya". Further talks will be announced throughout the year.
  • There will be children's stories for explorer and premium members during May half term.
  • There will be a fun day for explorer and premium members in June.
  • There will be 2 friends and family days, one in March and one in October. On these days premium members will be able to bring up to 4 guests with them. Their guests will get a 50% discount on their entry tickets.
  • Two premium member events have been announced. A summer event which will be sometime in July and an evening event on the 6th August.

I think the talks could be interesting. They do need to give more details of the premium events and who they are aiming them at though.
 
NMM said:
There have been further details on the new memberships, which come into effect in the new year.
Annual Zoo Membership | Marwell Wildlife Membership

They have whacked the price up a fair amount! The current membership is £68 and that includes reciprocal visits to other zoos and 10% off food, drink and items in the gift shop.
  • The basic level, which is only access to the zoo for the year is £68.
  • The mid level (called explorer), which is the same additional benefits as the current membership plus invitations to talks and additional events is £85.
  • The premium level, which also adds premium member events and friends and family days is £125.
Some details of events have also been released.
  • The first talk will be on 1st February and is titled "Saving Grevy's zebra in Kenya". Further talks will be announced throughout the year.
  • There will be children's stories for explorer and premium members during May half term.
  • There will be a fun day for explorer and premium members in June.
  • There will be 2 friends and family days, one in March and one in October. On these days premium members will be able to bring up to 4 guests with them. Their guests will get a 50% discount on their entry tickets.
  • Two premium member events have been announced. A summer event which will be sometime in July and an evening event on the 6th August.

I think the talks could be interesting. They do need to give more details of the premium events and who they are aiming them at though.
Click to expand...
From what I recall the 'explorer' tier is what the annual tier/standard tier used to be.
So now that the standard tier is demoted and its ex-equivalent now costs more.... you can see why there be upset!
 
NMM said:
There have been further details on the new memberships, which come into effect in the new year.
Annual Zoo Membership | Marwell Wildlife Membership

They have whacked the price up a fair amount! The current membership is £68 and that includes reciprocal visits to other zoos and 10% off food, drink and items in the gift shop.
  • The basic level, which is only access to the zoo for the year is £68.
  • The mid level (called explorer), which is the same additional benefits as the current membership plus invitations to talks and additional events is £85.
  • The premium level, which also adds premium member events and friends and family days is £125.
Some details of events have also been released.
  • The first talk will be on 1st February and is titled "Saving Grevy's zebra in Kenya". Further talks will be announced throughout the year.
  • There will be children's stories for explorer and premium members during May half term.
  • There will be a fun day for explorer and premium members in June.
  • There will be 2 friends and family days, one in March and one in October. On these days premium members will be able to bring up to 4 guests with them. Their guests will get a 50% discount on their entry tickets.
  • Two premium member events have been announced. A summer event which will be sometime in July and an evening event on the 6th August.

I think the talks could be interesting. They do need to give more details of the premium events and who they are aiming them at though.
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What was the adult annual membership fee at the start of 2024?
 
NMM said:
£68 when I renewed mine in Aprill.
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Thanks. So the new basic "admission only" annual pass subscription (£68 for adult) is the same sum as previous membership, but without the various additional benefits that members had before. To receive those, the new Explorer rate is £85, which seems quite an increase for the same level of benefits. However, I note there is a £10 discount off the price for children, students and those over 60 years of age, plus a discount when making Direct Debit payment., which will reduce the cost for many people.

Normally in the UK, annual membership rates tend to equal the cost of around 3 visits to a Zoo. In October I noted the full adult admission rate to Marwell was £30, so that seems about right.

I can understand why there has been a change to a three-tier system. Many people are only interested in repeat visits, so the basic Annual Pass will suit them. The more enthusiastic zoo visitor will, of course, appreciate the benefits offered by the other two memberships and it will be interesting to see what the long-term impact of these changes will be.
 
NMM said:
Quoting this reply from @MikeG in the Beale Wildlife Park thread regarding my musings about whether or not the mara could have come from Beale.



I consider this to be good news. It shows they are still importing species from the continent that are not commonly held in the UK.
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I had heard that after Bexit, Prague were no longer sending animals to the UK, unless required to do so by a formal programme co-ordinator? Good to know this was/is not true.
 
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zooboy said:
Thanks. So the new basic "admission only" annual pass subscription (£68 for adult) is the same sum as previous membership, but without the various additional benefits that members had before. To receive those, the new Explorer rate is £85, which seems quite an increase for the same level of benefits. However, I note there is a £10 discount off the price for children, students and those over 60 years of age, plus a discount when making Direct Debit payment., which will reduce the cost for many people.

Normally in the UK, annual membership rates tend to equal the cost of around 3 visits to a Zoo. In October I noted the full adult admission rate to Marwell was £30, so that seems about right.

I can understand why there has been a change to a three-tier system. Many people are only interested in repeat visits, so the basic Annual Pass will suit them. The more enthusiastic zoo visitor will, of course, appreciate the benefits offered by the other two memberships and it will be interesting to see what the long-term impact of these changes will be.
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It might be wise to buy zoo passes for presents at Christmas, or certainly early next year, as there are likely to be some dramatic price increases next Easter after the budget changes force fixed costs to escalate and are passed on.
 
dillotest0 said:
From what I recall the 'explorer' tier is what the annual tier/standard tier used to be.
So now that the standard tier is demoted and its ex-equivalent now costs more.... you can see why there be upset!
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Why should there be upset? What is the zoo to do?
 
NMM said:
Announcement from Marwell about the crayfish and sand lizard exhibit.

New UK Native Species Zone set to open at Marwell in March 2025 - Marwell Zoo

UK Native Species is the name and this is phase 1. I wonder what phase 2 could be.
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I found this bit of the social media version of the announcement interesting...
"This means, we can now dedicate this whole area of the park to the vital species living right on our doorstep."
As in, the whole of the FuFeSc area?
How far would this reach into? The Wallaby area? Honeyeater aviary? Main aviary?
In any case explains somewhat why I didn't see any signs in the area referring to its current title.
I can see the ex-tamarin area being a hedgehog/badger mound and the old aviaries having something or another. Harvest mice come to mind...
 
Interesting question.

I don't think the wallaby walkthrough would go as it does seem to be popular.

In that courtyard area there is the old tamarin walkthrough. There is the remains of another enclosure that has in the past been used as an aviary, for chipmunks and silvery marmosets at different times. That could be brought back into use. The walkthrough aviary at the bottom of the wallaby enclosure has always been underutilised compared to the one at the top of the hill. I wouldn't be surprised if that got re-purposed.

The areas with question marks as I see it are Cold Blooded Corner and the potoroo/swift parrot enclosure. If the courtyard area is to become a wider Native Species exhibit they would be out of place.

One species I would like to see is red squirrels. I think they would be very popular. When I visited Peak Wildlife Park, the red squirrel walkthrough got a great reaction. They are also a local species as they can still be found in the wild on the Isle of Wight.
 
The area "fur feathers and Scales" itself isn't really a theme to be fair, there aren't many animals that don't have one of those 3 things! I'd love to see it as a native wildlife area, however I think it is unlikely. If it was, I'd love to see Red Squirrels as NMM mentioned, alongside some others.

Really hoping 2025 brings the Eco Island back as an exhibit!!
 
HelloCrossy67 said:
there aren't many animals that don't have one of those 3 things!
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Maybe so with vertebrates, but if you think about invertebrates..... there are certainly very very many.

As for the UK Native species area.... one hunch I had.... could the thick-knee they got from Paignton be preparation for Marwell to work with native thick-knee [or stone-curlew]? Just a thought.
Birdland used to have them until circa 21, but I don't think they have them anymore. Cotswolds is listed as having them in ZTL...not sure how accurate this is
 
dillotest0 said:
Maybe so with vertebrates, but if you think about invertebrates..... there are certainly very very many.

As for the UK Native species area.... one hunch I had.... could the thick-knee they got from Paignton be preparation for Marwell to work with native thick-knee [or stone-curlew]? Just a thought.
Birdland used to have them until circa 21, but I don't think they have them anymore.
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What year was Covid(the first lockdowns?) 2020? I went that summer (to Bourton that is) and there was one in an aviary then. I've seen them at Cotswold in the past in the wader aviary too.
 
dillotest0 said:
Maybe so with vertebrates, but if you think about invertebrates..... there are certainly very very many.

As for the UK Native species area.... one hunch I had.... could the thick-knee they got from Paignton be preparation for Marwell to work with native thick-knee [or stone-curlew]? Just a thought.
Birdland used to have them until circa 21, but I don't think they have them anymore. Cotswolds is listed as having them in ZTL...not sure how accurate this is
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I was meaning in the Zoo itself, yes ofcourse invertebrates there are many of, and would enjoy seeing more at the zoo.

Pertinax said:
What year was Covid(the first lockdowns?) 2020? I went that summer (to Bourton that is) and there was one in an aviary then. I've seen them at Cotswold in the past in the wader aviary too.
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Yes 2020. I think it would be interesting to see a Native Wildlife section at the end of the Zoo, however I think you'd need a "star" attraction aswell, possibly something like a Lynx? (Wishful thinking I know)
 
Just announced

Introducing Kayemba

Read more: bit.ly/3VCMGEv

We're celebrating the birth of a rare male okapi calf at Marwell Zoo! The calf's mother, Niari, was born here five years ago to Daphne and Jabari - making this a remarkable third-generation breeding success. ✨

This milestone highlights Marwell's expertise in breeding and caring for these incredible endangered animals.

The okapi house is now open, however, guests hoping to catch a glimpse of the new arrival will need to be patient and quiet as the calf is still in a 'nesting' phase.
 
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