Paignton Zoo New baboon Home latest news

redpanda said:
This is going to be huge by paignton standards. How much will it cost overall? The ideas sound great although paignton have a habit of messing these things up. I don't know why they would want to demolish the barbary sheep enclosure as i really like it. Could the barbarys be housed with the baboons? I know that they don't come from the same part of africa but other zoos have done it.
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hELLO THERE,tHAT PLAN FOR THE NEW bABOON AREA WAS SCRAPPED AS THE neighbours [locals that is] complained as they thought the babaoons might escape and visit them.So no news on where they will make the new enclosure.I think we are talking a lot of money here .But I am sure they will get funding from the E.U. like they did with the crocodiles.Which is why they have the money 1.1/2 million left over from the croc funds! next time you go in the zoo check out the front window where they were saying how much they wanted for the crocodiles .they just swapped it over to the new baboon enclosure .No doubt they will have billy botch it in for the design hopefully not.
Talking of botch its the new tiger viewing platform has failed its 'health and safety check ':(:(.Waste of money but hey whats new.:D
 
kkkp said:
hELLO THERE,tHAT PLAN FOR THE NEW bABOON AREA WAS SCRAPPED AS THE neighbours [locals that is] complained as they thought the babaoons might escape and visit them.So no news on where they will make the new enclosure.I think we are talking a lot of money here .But I am sure they will get funding from the E.U. like they did with the crocodiles.Which is why they have the money 1.1/2 million left over from the croc funds! next time you go in the zoo check out the front window where they were saying how much they wanted for the crocodiles .they just swapped it over to the new baboon enclosure .No doubt they will have billy botch it in for the design hopefully not.
Talking of botch its the new tiger viewing platform has failed its 'health and safety check ':(:(.Waste of money but hey whats new.:D
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Sorry, forgot about the residents complaining. I couldn't agree more on the pointless waste of money spent on the completely unimaginative crocodile swamp and the disastrous design flaws in monkey heights. As i said in another thread, the designers should be thrown in with the baboons.
 
So are they going to house the current group of baboons in the new enclosure, or get a new species??
 
Ah, ok, I misread one of the posts :S
 
From the horse's mouth:



Champagne and CHIPS at the Mistletoe Ball 13/11/2008

Paignton Zoo’s Mistletoe Ball takes place on Saturday 6th December at the Grand Hotel, Torquay.

This traditional charity curtain-raiser to the festive season features a champagne reception, four-course meal and dancing to live music from CHIPS. This year the Ball is being held to raise funds for the Zoo’s new Baboon Rock exhibit.

Neil Bemment, Curator of Mammals and Director of Operations at Paignton Zoo, said: “The original Baboon Rock opened in July 1973 and is one of the most popular exhibits in the Zoo, but after 35 years it’s starting to show its age. While it still meets the animals’ needs very well, by today’s modern zoo standards, and the high standards which Paignton Zoo sets for itself, it is now past its sell-by-date.”

Experts have concluded that renovating the enclosure would not be cost-effective. The Zoo hopes to build an exciting new baboon exhibit on the site of other aging buildings nearby. The project is due to go out to tender in due course.

Neil Bemment again: “The new exhibit will include a realistic rock-work backdrop with kopje-style hills, water features, different natural substrates, an unimpaired view of the animals and excellent off-show areas to make the management of the group for daily cleaning and veterinary purposes as easy as possible. The cost of the project is expected to be in the region of £1 to £1.5 million. We hope the new exhibit will be open by 2011.”

Hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) are found in eastern Ethiopia, northern Somalia, Sudan and along the coastal ranges of south-western Arabia. They are not threatened as such, but their range is comparatively restricted so they are listed as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red Data Book. "

As I suggested before, it's likely to be on the site of the small mammal house and winter quarters (and I was right about the water feature too!)
 
Gigit said:
Experts have concluded that renovating the enclosure would not be cost-effective. The Zoo hopes to build an exciting new baboon exhibit on the site of other aging buildings nearby. The cost of the project is expected to be in the region of £1 to £1.5 million.
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That explains a lot. Its a great deal of money to spend on a non-endangered species enclosure but they are such an excellent exhibit I can understand why they are doing it. It makes me feel old as I can remember the existing rock being built. I hope the new one is as spacious and works as well as the old one has done- just with better viewing access..

Will you be tucking in at this 'Mistletoe Ball'?...;)
 
Gigit said:
From the horse's mouth:



Champagne and CHIPS at the Mistletoe Ball 13/11/2008

Paignton Zoo’s Mistletoe Ball takes place on Saturday 6th December at the Grand Hotel, Torquay.

This traditional charity curtain-raiser to the festive season features a champagne reception, four-course meal and dancing to live music from CHIPS. This year the Ball is being held to raise funds for the Zoo’s new Baboon Rock exhibit.

Neil Bemment, Curator of Mammals and Director of Operations at Paignton Zoo, said: “The original Baboon Rock opened in July 1973 and is one of the most popular exhibits in the Zoo, but after 35 years it’s starting to show its age. While it still meets the animals’ needs very well, by today’s modern zoo standards, and the high standards which Paignton Zoo sets for itself, it is now past its sell-by-date.”

Experts have concluded that renovating the enclosure would not be cost-effective. The Zoo hopes to build an exciting new baboon exhibit on the site of other aging buildings nearby. The project is due to go out to tender in due course.

Neil Bemment again: “The new exhibit will include a realistic rock-work backdrop with kopje-style hills, water features, different natural substrates, an unimpaired view of the animals and excellent off-show areas to make the management of the group for daily cleaning and veterinary purposes as easy as possible. The cost of the project is expected to be in the region of £1 to £1.5 million. We hope the new exhibit will be open by 2011.”

Hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) are found in eastern Ethiopia, northern Somalia, Sudan and along the coastal ranges of south-western Arabia. They are not threatened as such, but their range is comparatively restricted so they are listed as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red Data Book. "

As I suggested before, it's likely to be on the site of the small mammal house and winter quarters (and I was right about the water feature too!)
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So I will Bang my tamborine too BUT>>>>>>>>>>why are they raising money for the new build when it has already been raised for all to see!:eek:No doubt they will lie about that too.....In fact if it only costs £! million then the zoo is quids in that can only be a good thing:D
 
Why do paignton always give their exhibits such obvious and innappropriate names. Crocodile Swamp doesn't exactly feel like a swamp and they should have called Monkey Heights Monkey Lows. Now Baboon Rock - that's imaginative...NOT. Oh well, i still love the zoo, i just wish they thought things through a little more.
 
redpanda said:
Why do paignton always give their exhibits such obvious and innappropriate names. Crocodile Swamp doesn't exactly feel like a swamp and they should have called Monkey Heights Monkey Lows. Now Baboon Rock - that's imaginative...NOT. Oh well, i still love the zoo, i just wish they thought things through a little more.
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At least they didn't build Baboon Swamp or Crocodile Rock! Perhaps Elton John put them off the last idea :D

Alan
 
kkkp said:
So I will Bang my tamborine too BUT>>>>>>>>>>why are they raising money for the new build when it has already been raised for all to see!:eek:No doubt they will lie about that too.....In fact if it only costs £! million then the zoo is quids in that can only be a good thing:D
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I haven't had a good look at the plea for Baboon Rock at the zoo entrance but will next time I go. I would have thought there were rules and regulations about charities raising money for a specific project and then using it for something else - until I remembered the tale of Twycross Zoo and the Orangutan Enclosure :rolleyes: Do you have some inside knowledge? I am just a curious visitor (in more ways than one).
 
redpanda said:
Why do paignton always give their exhibits such obvious and innappropriate names. Crocodile Swamp doesn't exactly feel like a swamp and they should have called Monkey Heights Monkey Lows. Now Baboon Rock - that's imaginative...NOT. Oh well, i still love the zoo, i just wish they thought things through a little more.
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Wasn't Monkey Heights named by a competition winner? Perhaps we should start submitting our own ideas for names for zoo exhibits!
 
Gigit said:
I haven't had a good look at the plea for Baboon Rock at the zoo entrance but will next time I go. I would have thought there were rules and regulations about charities raising money for a specific project and then using it for something else - until I remembered the tale of Twycross Zoo and the Orangutan Enclosure :rolleyes: Do you have some inside knowledge? I am just a curious visitor (in more ways than one).
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Hello there I am a very observant person as a profesional artist /photographer
Also I visit the zoo 6 days a week! Hence the info.:D I just love seeing the animals and often I am asked Quote' Dont you get bored? :mad:What a stupid question!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately as you are most probably aware there are behind the scene:eek: politics the same as in any business.I will just finish with I am a good listener:cool:
 
Gigit said:
I would have thought there were rules and regulations about charities raising money for a specific project and then using it for something else - until I remembered the tale of Twycross Zoo and the Orangutan Enclosure :rolleyes:
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I was amazed when I saw the 'improvements' to Twycross's orang enclosure. the climbing apparatus was erected by an army battalion who probably did it for free and the total cost must have been a fraction of what was raised. I wonder what the people who motivated the fund raising thought of all this? Was the rest of the money just channeled into other projects? The Orangutan climbing facilities are still woefully inadequate and the enclosure now looks even more unnattractive than it did before...
 
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redpanda said:
Why do paignton always give their exhibits such obvious and innappropriate names. Crocodile Swamp doesn't exactly feel like a swamp and they should have called Monkey Heights Monkey Lows. Now Baboon Rock - that's imaginative...NOT. Oh well, i still love the zoo, i just wish they thought things through a little more.
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I haven't seen Crocodile swamp so can't comment, but I call 'Monkey Heights' Monkey Lows too! Baboon Rock- fair enough I think. Remember they devise these names to attract hordes of visitors so they have to give them attractive sounding 'packaged' names and you can't blame for that, even if the reality falls a little short in some exhibits. Its the same at other zoos around the country too.
 
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