Paignton Zoo Paignton Zoo news 2024

Panthera1981 said:
Out of interest, are there any members of the Whitley family still alive? If so, would they have any ties to the zoo?
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There's definitely a few still living, although now quite far removed from Herbert and no longer involved with the zoo itself - his great-great nephew Edward John Whitley OBE is an author, financial trader and the founder of the Whitley Fund for Nature.
 
Tim May said:
and is author of the book "Gerald Durrell's Army" (1992).
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Precisely the reason I was aware of him :) one of the old International Zoo News editions I catalogued recently contains a review of the book.
 
FBBird said:
Things are just getting worse. Used to be a great bird collection. Whitley will be turning in his grave.
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I just had to do it ,I've compared the 1930 Paignton Zoo number of all things parrot like to a 1931 London Zoo number of all things parrot like, and the clear winner is...
Paignton with. 140 species
London with 69
 
Ria, Paignton’s new female Linne’s two-toed sloth, has now been given access to the main exhibit next to Tropical Trails for the first time since her arrival.

Mo will be off show as they swap around to give Ria some space to get used to all the new sights and smells, before they are introduced to each over in the near future.

Paignton Zoo | Paignton
 
Following a visit today, I can note the following;
- unconfirmed but reliably sourced reports that one of the Takin has passed away. His brother was apparently receiving veterinary treatment today and the gates to their exhibit were locked closed.
- the Tapir paddock is being converted into a netted Pelican exhibit.
- Gates have been installed to close the path leading from the red pandas towards the Cottage Aviary. It appears the zoo have ‘backtracked’ from their original statement last week and have bowed to pressure (complaints) from staff & visitors wishing to see this part of the zoo ‘one last time’ before it is annexed to an off-show zone.
- the rhino house was closed off to the public again but unsure of reason?
- None of the birds removed from the desert house appear to be on show anywhere else in the zoo.
- the orangutans will be getting new island climbing structures added to their enclosure at some point this year.
- there has been no further work on the baboon development.
- the howler monkeys are still residing on the Pileated Gibbon island.
- street lights have been installed throughout the car parks.
 
TriUK said:
the Tapir paddock is being converted into a netted Pelican exhibit.
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I imagine this is due to the countless Avian Influenza attacks on the pelicans, with one being killed by it :oops:. I wonder if a new path will also be constructed along where Bruce lives?
 
TriUK said:
Following a visit today, I can note the following;
- unconfirmed but reliably sourced reports that one of the Takin has passed away. His brother was apparently receiving veterinary treatment today and the gates to their exhibit were locked closed.
- the Tapir paddock is being converted into a netted Pelican exhibit.
- Gates have been installed to close the path leading from the red pandas towards the Cottage Aviary. It appears the zoo have ‘backtracked’ from their original statement last week and have bowed to pressure (complaints) from staff & visitors wishing to see this part of the zoo ‘one last time’ before it is annexed to an off-show zone.
- the rhino house was closed off to the public again but unsure of reason?
- None of the birds removed from the desert house appear to be on show anywhere else in the zoo.
- the orangutans will be getting new island climbing structures added to their enclosure at some point this year.
- there has been no further work on the baboon development.
- the howler monkeys are still residing on the Pileated Gibbon island.
- street lights have been installed throughout the car parks.
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Photos from today;
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Gigit and I always called them the 'Takin Brothers' and likened the name somehow to a firm of builders... its sad to hear that one has died(?) and the other may be unwell...

Cottage aviary to become off-display? Part of historic Paignton Zoo. What a crying shame...:(

My chief concern for the baboon field is that it becomes a denuded muddy area- it depends on the ratio of the number of baboons to the area they have access to I guess. Any idea what the fencing will comprise?
 
So what is left in the desert house now? Only Guinea pigs? Aside from birds and lizards I certainly don’t remember much anything else…
 
TriUK said:
I was unable to attend the members talks last week, did any fellow zoochatters go and feel like they can share anything? Cheers in advance.
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Yes I attended and they have very major plans for the entire zoo but I can't say much else as we were asked not to!
 
TriUK said:
Photos from today;
View attachment 683442 View attachment 683443 View attachment 683444 View attachment 683445 View attachment 683446
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The baboon enclosure looks like it is progressing very well - when it is complete it will be phenomenal.

Might I ask where in the zoo the Cottage Aviary is (or was)? On all my visits I never managed to find it, and am starting to feel quite guilty about that given that it is now offshow and clearly one of the zoo's most iconic exhibits.
 
Kalaw said:
The baboon enclosure looks like it is progressing very well - when it is complete it will be phenomenal.

Might I ask where in the zoo the Cottage Aviary is (or was)? On all my visits I never managed to find it, and am starting to feel quite guilty about that given that it is now offshow and clearly one of the zoo's most iconic exhibits.
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If my memory serves me right, the cottage aviary is next to the Red Panda enclosure
 
dillotest0 said:
That is depressing
I may well do the kiwi experience there... but I'm not sure how enjoyable the rest of the Zoo will be compared to my 2017 visit!
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If you’re considering visiting and you’re in the area I would say go for it. Certainly the place has seen better days and we’re all hoping for a promising future but by and large I still feel it’s a good collection and can make for an enjoyable day out. If you see the kiwi and Bruce that’s a fantastic day that you can’t enjoy anywhere else in Britain. And it’s not every day you get to see gorillas, orangutans & takin!
 
AbiR said:
Yes I attended and they have very major plans for the entire zoo but I can't say much else as we were asked not to!
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Were there any ideas of where the money is coming from for such ambitious plans?
 
polarbear said:
Were there any ideas of where the money is coming from for such ambitious plans?
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No particularly. They were saying that they could get grants which would help to fund it but it seemed much bigger than any grant they would get!!!
 
AbiR said:
No particularly. They were saying that they could get grants which would help to fund it but it seemed much bigger than any grant they would get!!!
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Thanks. They definitely don’t want to release their plans then without the funding in place as it will just be a case of continually disappointing members / visitors, as they have been over many years.

Really think they need to focus on the smaller, achievable, developments that may start to make a difference in the short term.

The baboon development has taken well over 10, nearer 15 years, to come to fruition, since they first started fundraising for it; any larger developments just aren’t going to happen in a tourist / cash starved region.
 
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