Marwell Wildlife Marwell Zoological Park 2023
- Thread starter dillotest0
- Start date
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Had an enjoyable day at Marwell today. Only my second visit - the other was a while ago. I was not altogether sure what to expect as it seems to come in for a good deal of criticism but I found it a fun collection to visit with lots to see and enjoy.
Appreciated and enjoyed the variety of hoofstock and nice to see a couple of blesbok calves as well as the different types of oryx. It’s good to see all the different zebras and then the rather less common species like the Banteng. Good spaces for lots of the animals and good planting in a lot of the enclosures. Thought the space for the dik dik was a bit lacking in planting compared to other enclosures I’ve seen but they didn’t seem worried by it. The okapi were lovely and it was great to be able to get so close to them.
In wandering around I don’t think I followed a very optimised route - it seemed like a lot of backtracking up and around places, but at least it meant I didn’t miss things. The signage was a little lacking (Amur leopard is no more for example but the signs point to it anyway) but the map was ok. No different from other collections - you forget the benefit of being a ‘frequent flier’ until you go to a new place!
Bits are a little confusing however like the lemur indoor space feeing like it’s in the giraffe house but the lemurs were showy once I’d found the outside.
The caracara were out and it was lovely to see them. Not very easy to find.
It was quite busy generally but not that crowded and thinned out after about 2pm. People seemed to clump around the ‘big’ animals like the tigers. Was good weather for a zoo day, not too warm but still pleasant.
Small primates were very active and a good mix of them to be found in some well crafted exhibits with two cotton top youngsters and a young Saki monkey particularly visible.
The tigers were being moved about in the enclosures for work to be done (the website mentioned they were in only one side but they were in both as the female was being persuaded to move over). The keepers seemed very friendly and were explaining about the tigers and their personalities and what was being done with moving them etc to the visitors.
Tashi the new red panda was active later in the day exploring his enclosure - keepers were keeping an eye on him given he’s new to the space but he seemed to be having fun weight testing some narrow branches.
Liked the red necked wallabies in the walkthrough as they aren’t always to be found in other places. Some work going on in their walkthrough putting a new running stream in to link to the pond - should look nice when it’s done.
Enjoyed the cusimance and bokyboky.
Liked the walkthrough aviary near the monal very much - some good birds to enjoy with the weavers and ibis etc and the thrushes (I could watch them for hours!). I’m a sucker for a good free flight walkthrough / aviary and found it a pleasant space and a visit highlight. I suspect this was helped by finding it later in the day when there was no one else there.
The tropical house is a good size and good to see the different birds. Enjoyed the two levels of elevation.
The clouded leopards weren’t visible (which wasn’t a surprise) but the snow leopard was up and about.
Overall an enjoyable day out, lots of walking but lots of interesting things to see.
Appreciated and enjoyed the variety of hoofstock and nice to see a couple of blesbok calves as well as the different types of oryx. It’s good to see all the different zebras and then the rather less common species like the Banteng. Good spaces for lots of the animals and good planting in a lot of the enclosures. Thought the space for the dik dik was a bit lacking in planting compared to other enclosures I’ve seen but they didn’t seem worried by it. The okapi were lovely and it was great to be able to get so close to them.
In wandering around I don’t think I followed a very optimised route - it seemed like a lot of backtracking up and around places, but at least it meant I didn’t miss things. The signage was a little lacking (Amur leopard is no more for example but the signs point to it anyway) but the map was ok. No different from other collections - you forget the benefit of being a ‘frequent flier’ until you go to a new place!
Bits are a little confusing however like the lemur indoor space feeing like it’s in the giraffe house but the lemurs were showy once I’d found the outside.
The caracara were out and it was lovely to see them. Not very easy to find.
It was quite busy generally but not that crowded and thinned out after about 2pm. People seemed to clump around the ‘big’ animals like the tigers. Was good weather for a zoo day, not too warm but still pleasant.
Small primates were very active and a good mix of them to be found in some well crafted exhibits with two cotton top youngsters and a young Saki monkey particularly visible.
The tigers were being moved about in the enclosures for work to be done (the website mentioned they were in only one side but they were in both as the female was being persuaded to move over). The keepers seemed very friendly and were explaining about the tigers and their personalities and what was being done with moving them etc to the visitors.
Tashi the new red panda was active later in the day exploring his enclosure - keepers were keeping an eye on him given he’s new to the space but he seemed to be having fun weight testing some narrow branches.
Liked the red necked wallabies in the walkthrough as they aren’t always to be found in other places. Some work going on in their walkthrough putting a new running stream in to link to the pond - should look nice when it’s done.
Enjoyed the cusimance and bokyboky.
Liked the walkthrough aviary near the monal very much - some good birds to enjoy with the weavers and ibis etc and the thrushes (I could watch them for hours!). I’m a sucker for a good free flight walkthrough / aviary and found it a pleasant space and a visit highlight. I suspect this was helped by finding it later in the day when there was no one else there.
The tropical house is a good size and good to see the different birds. Enjoyed the two levels of elevation.
The clouded leopards weren’t visible (which wasn’t a surprise) but the snow leopard was up and about.
Overall an enjoyable day out, lots of walking but lots of interesting things to see.
A word of advice -
The guests at the tiger enclosure tend to clump around one side of the windows, but there are other viewing areas where the tigers can be found which tend to get less crowded. Sometimes the tigers even come over here to get away from the guests.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Yes I didn’t spend any time at the windows I wandered around to the side where one of the keepers was watching the female and got some nice shots through the fence. I liked the variety of viewing locations you could get good views at the sides and the cut outs in the greenery are well placed. The general clumping of visitors seemed to be they were all by the tigers and none by the antelope but maybe it was just timing!
cerperal
Well-Known Member
Arguably my favourite part of Marwell. No other zoo offers such a fantastic visitor experience for them.
Sounds like a successful trip! Hopefully they overhaul all the signage at some point. Shall make sure I visit some point this summer
Yes they are
equidae
Well-Known Member
Had a lovely day at Marwell today.
It was my first visit, so I have no past to compare it to, but it didn’t feel rundown or like it was lacking species. I appreciate how biodiverse they’re trying to make the area, and some of the hoofstock enclosures were particularly impressive - I’d love to pick the keepers’ brains over their grazing management. The skeletons and poo on display was also nice to see; I wish similar was available at more zoos. Architecture wise, a favourite design was how they’ve used the old brick alongside wood in Life Among the Trees.
Despite the rain (possibly because of it), I saw almost every species on show. The only ones I missed were the serval, snow leopard, clouded leopard, and binturong, none of which I was expecting to see. I also didn’t spend much time around their enclosures as I was prioritising the hoofstock. However, I also didn’t manage to spot the Przewalski’s horses - could see poo by their stables but not them - which is the first time I’ve missed them at a zoo.
Highlights of the day were the mountain zebra filly, who was a treasure, and the interactions between the banteng bull and his young.
Only criticisms would be the choice of the name 'Wild Explorers' for the rhino exhibit, tells you absolutely nothing. I'm also not a fan of zoos going cashless, but that's a discussion for another day. Additionally, one of the tigers was pacing along a small bit of fence line, by the pool, every time I passed. Given I passed by quite regularly, that would suggest over 4 hours of pacing at least. Initially, I presumed he was upset by the rain as it didn’t look like they had access to their indoor space, but the behaviour continued after the sun came out. I’d be interested to hear from anyone who knows why he’s performing the behaviour as it wasn’t a good look.
It was my first visit, so I have no past to compare it to, but it didn’t feel rundown or like it was lacking species. I appreciate how biodiverse they’re trying to make the area, and some of the hoofstock enclosures were particularly impressive - I’d love to pick the keepers’ brains over their grazing management. The skeletons and poo on display was also nice to see; I wish similar was available at more zoos. Architecture wise, a favourite design was how they’ve used the old brick alongside wood in Life Among the Trees.
Despite the rain (possibly because of it), I saw almost every species on show. The only ones I missed were the serval, snow leopard, clouded leopard, and binturong, none of which I was expecting to see. I also didn’t spend much time around their enclosures as I was prioritising the hoofstock. However, I also didn’t manage to spot the Przewalski’s horses - could see poo by their stables but not them - which is the first time I’ve missed them at a zoo.
Highlights of the day were the mountain zebra filly, who was a treasure, and the interactions between the banteng bull and his young.
Only criticisms would be the choice of the name 'Wild Explorers' for the rhino exhibit, tells you absolutely nothing. I'm also not a fan of zoos going cashless, but that's a discussion for another day. Additionally, one of the tigers was pacing along a small bit of fence line, by the pool, every time I passed. Given I passed by quite regularly, that would suggest over 4 hours of pacing at least. Initially, I presumed he was upset by the rain as it didn’t look like they had access to their indoor space, but the behaviour continued after the sun came out. I’d be interested to hear from anyone who knows why he’s performing the behaviour as it wasn’t a good look.
I will give it that the names of Marwell are not particularly imaginative - Life Among The Trees is okay.. Lemur Loop is ... where's the 'loop' in question? Fur, Feathers and Scales includes Partula snails, which have none of these three things ... Thriving Through Nature is infinitely vague.
My main issue with Wild Explorers is that its mixed exhibit nature is a bit uncanny - you have Grevy's Zebra of only a small region of Eastern Africa, White Rhinos from the Southern portion of Africa, Scimitar-Horned Oryxes which, whilst extinct in the wild, lived in Northern Africa away from the other two species.
cerperal
Well-Known Member
It does have the issue a lot of zoos seem to have which is suggesting everything vaguely African interacts in the wild, which I don't doubt fuels misconception about what lives where. The name would be more fitting for an interactive exhibit with smaller animals.
I personally think it would've been nice if the Wild Explorers area did have some smaller animals to go along with whatever tangible theme it had ... its abundance of emptiness, particularly at the building where there are windows for the interiors, is slightly uncanny.
Ironically highlighted by the exhibit itself where the indoor part includes a large map of Africa showing the current and historic ranges of the three species.
That said I do like the exhibit. I would probably regard it as Marwell's best. I don't like the name though or Thriving Through Nature. Hope it isn't the start of a new trend of nebulous exhibit names that don't tell you anything about it.
equidae
Well-Known Member
When I was there, the rhinos were napping inside, so it didn't come across as empty. But I agree that some small animals would add to it: round-eared elephant shrews, to emphasise mammalian diversity; or termites so they could change 'Wild Explorers' to 'Wild Engineers' and educate on how the different species influence the environment in their own way.
I remember when the animal houses at marwell were packed with small species. The animal carcasses have been praised earlier today, and as cool as they are I remember the ones in the heart of africa house used to have small animals in. I think there was a fish tank once, too?
I'm out the loop - what is the thriving through nature exhibit?
I'm out the loop - what is the thriving through nature exhibit?
To my best knowledge the fish tank is still there.
A semi-desert type exhibit for rock hyrax and other small animals. In the original Tropical World.
Visited Marwell today. Went around backwards to avoid school trips. All animals in the paddocks were out, two pygmy hippopotamus separated by a divide made up of logs were out grazing and the tapir sleeping in the corner of the enclosure. No sign of the snow leopard on either loop round the zoo. Saw most of the animals in Life Among The Trees minus the Bokiboki and Binturong.
An early highlight was Tashi the Red Panda. He was very inquisitive and enjoyed watching the work going on next to his enclosure. Later on saw the clouded leopards climbing in the trees in their enclosure after not seeing them first time round. The exhibit works far better for these cats than their larger cousins and I was impressed by the work done here as well as on the caracara exhibit.
Saw a few recent babies such as the bongo, przewalski's horse, blesbok and cotton headed tamarin twins. I saw two more cotton headed tamarins living in one of the former aviaries opposite the Hall. Good to see the zoo having great success in breeding.
Penguins were not on show due to an issue with one of their viewing windows being rectified.
All in all a great visit to one of my favourite zoos.
An early highlight was Tashi the Red Panda. He was very inquisitive and enjoyed watching the work going on next to his enclosure. Later on saw the clouded leopards climbing in the trees in their enclosure after not seeing them first time round. The exhibit works far better for these cats than their larger cousins and I was impressed by the work done here as well as on the caracara exhibit.
Saw a few recent babies such as the bongo, przewalski's horse, blesbok and cotton headed tamarin twins. I saw two more cotton headed tamarins living in one of the former aviaries opposite the Hall. Good to see the zoo having great success in breeding.
Penguins were not on show due to an issue with one of their viewing windows being rectified.
All in all a great visit to one of my favourite zoos.
No and wont there are no plans to reopen it.