Paignton Zoo Paignton Zoo News 2017

The Pudu/Agouti house below Baboon Rock now has a viewing window built into it and a new path that can be accessed from the driveway up to the Pandas. Does not state what is going in there?
There is a new species of pigeon/dove in the Desert House but could not identify it?
The Colobus are slowly recovering off-show.
The Ape house was closed today as new flooring is going in to both the public and animal spaces.
There is still no construction at the Tur area or any of the planned Savannah spaces.
The gardens around the zoo look fantastic at the moment.
 
Of course, I mean no disrespect to the Wonga pigeon,:( very attractive birds and a nice acquisition for Paignton's desert house.
 
Of course, I mean no disrespect to the Wonga pigeon,:( very attractive birds and a nice acquisition for Paignton's desert house.
As any public statue might tell you, it is impossible to disrespect a pigeon :D
To add another layer of meaning, in English slang 'wonga' also means cash or money - which I presume is the reason it was chosen as the company's name. The dictionary says that this term is of Romany origin.
 
To add another layer of meaning, in English slang 'wonga' also means cash or money - which I presume is the reason it was chosen as the company's name.

Yes, this fact only became known by me quite recently, after asking why they called themselves Wonga( the company, not the pigeons that is).
 
Yes, this fact only became known by me quite recently, after asking why they called themselves Wonga( the company, not the pigeons that is).
You should read more P G Wodehouse. On second thoughts, everyone with some command of English and a sense of humour should read more P G Wodehouse ;)
 
All that for 2 million,that will not even scratch the surface of what phase 2 of Madagascar will cost at Chester
The boss man says that the plan is mainly about 'moving stone and adding rockwork', so £2 million will cover quite a lot of that, even after the costs of demolishing the old buildings (anoa, tapir & capybara sheds plus the Nocturnal House) and building some new small mammal exhibits and a vulture aviary are included.
I am sure that when Chester's plans are published they will look much more ambitious, as well as being much more expensive.
 
If they did get White Rhinos, it would not be 'the first time' they have had them- they replaced them with the current Blacks- though I think only the newspaper write-up suggests that, not the Zoo's statement.
The feature article seems to indicate that some renovation may also be done on the black rhino area. Fingers crossed. Bringing white rhinos is merely a suggested addition this time round.
 
The feature article seems to indicate that some renovation may also be done on the black rhino area. Fingers crossed. Bringing white rhinos is merely a suggested addition this time round.

They could do with changing the bull too, as there has been no breeding for a number of years now, while the female Sita's first and only calf Zuri (fathered by now deceased Kingo from PL) has just produced her second calf at Chester....
 
Sita will be unlikely to conceive again anyway. Given her age and with her not having bred for 10+ years
 
I visited today and felt that the zoo isn't looking at its best. There were 4 vehicles parked on the Avenue with a mini-digger excavating a trench towards the rhinos. The mangabey viewing area attached to the Monkey Heights staff building is closed for refurbishment.

The Ape House is still closed with only 2 of the 6 orangs outside. The gorillas were outside, with Pertinax in the cage underneath the house - obviously they have their own special problems at the moment.

The King Colobus show den is still awaiting refurbishment - looks as though it's been abandoned after some initial work was done. The meerkats are inside the Nocturnal House while refurbishment of their enclosure is allegedly being carried out.

Two of the parrot aviaries have had work done but still remain unfinished; two others are just empty.

There's no shortage of 'guest services' staff but maybe a few more more keepers and maintenance workers would come in handy.
 
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