Paignton Zoo Paignton Zoo news 2024

I recall around the time of Duchess' death there was talk of a permanent memorial in her remembrance.
Did anything come of that?
Or did COVID greatly affect those plans
 
dillotest0 said:
I recall around the time of Duchess' death there was talk of a permanent memorial in her remembrance.
Did anything come of that?
Or did COVID greatly affect those plans
Click to expand...
Yes, there was supposed to be a Duchess/Gay memorial. There have been promises made by numerous senior staff in recent years when it’s been highlighted by various members, including the late Gigit (zoochat friend), who like many locals, including my own nieces, donated & raised money for said memorial.
The mismanagement of this memorial and the resulting poor optics it displays, lead to more disappointment for locals.
Overall, the missing memorial is a metaphor for the decline of Torbays zoo in the last ten years (above & beyond the impact TB, Avian Flu, Brexit, Living Coasts, C19 and the cost of living crisis).
 
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TriUK said:
Yes, there was supposed to be a Duchess/Gay memorial. There have been promises made by numerous senior staff in recent years when it’s been highlighted by various members, including the late Gigit (zoochat friend), who like many locals, including my own nieces, donated & raised money for said memorial.
The mismanagement of this memorial and the resulting poor optics it displays, lead to more disappointment for locals.
Overall, the missing memorial is a metaphor for the decline of Torbays zoo in the last ten years (above & beyond the impact TB, Avian Flu, Brexit, Living Coasts, C19 and the cost of living crisis).
Click to expand...

Mismanagement is putting it mildly! In any other scenario you’d be demanding to know what happened to your money!
 
Visitors may have spotted a new face at Paignton Zoo this weekend

Meet Lena (short for Magdelena) - our new female spider monkey!

Lena is settling in really well, having only arrived at Paignton a few days before her public debut.

Luna and Kikou, our other two spider monkeys, have been slowly introduced to their new companion and so far things are going well!

Kudos to the keeper team for their hard work this week welcoming both Lena and Bowie the bongo. Both species are Critically Endangered, and zoos like ours play a vital role in safeguarding their future
 
The Pileated Gibbons are due to go back on show, finally, on their island tomorrow (Wednesday 12th ).
New roofs are being installed on the Binturong house and the Nocturnal/Tapir house, which will presumably soon hold Pelicans.
The three Sulawesi Macaques appear to have settled well into their new parrot flight aviaries, but it feels odd seeing them there, like a throwback to the eighties & before?
There is still no sign of any construction work at all on the new baboon exhibit and there is still temporary Harris fencing around the zebras.
The big cat enclosures are currently so overgrown it’s very difficult to see the cats - I’m in favour of some long grass and wild foliage, but you can overhear many guests complaining.
I haven’t seen the Pied Tamarins in Monkey Heights for a few visits now, but hope they’ve been moved to somewhere with an outdoor space and natural foliage.
 
TriUK said:
The Pileated Gibbons are due to go back on show, finally, on their island tomorrow (Wednesday 12th ).
New roofs are being installed on the Binturong house and the Nocturnal/Tapir house, which will presumably soon hold Pelicans.
The three Sulawesi Macaques appear to have settled well into their new parrot flight aviaries, but it feels odd seeing them there, like a throwback to the eighties & before?
There is still no sign of any construction work at all on the new baboon exhibit and there is still temporary Harris fencing around the zebras.
The big cat enclosures are currently so overgrown it’s very difficult to see the cats - I’m in favour of some long grass and wild foliage, but you can overhear many guests complaining.
I haven’t seen the Pied Tamarins in Monkey Heights for a few visits now, but hope they’ve been moved to somewhere with an outdoor space and natural foliage.
Click to expand...

No news on the Rhino front?...
 
Nile Hippo Expert said:
Paignton Zoo is throwing another grand bash in honour of its 101st birthday on June 30th just as they did with their 100th birthday last year.
Paignton Zoo to hold 'biggest party ever'
Click to expand...

Hmmmmmm…Wouldn’t the money spent on staging this event be better spent on improving the zoo in general?

Or are they hoping on this generating sufficient funds to carry on with the improvements?
 
IMG_0036.png‘Exciting updates’ ?
I’m speechless, that given the situation the zoo is currently in, that they’re now dressing up routine maintenance as ‘exciting updates’!
It’s great that the monkeys are getting better heating systems and that the boardwalk is being replaced, as it needs it, but is it ‘exciting’?
Finishing the multitude of maintenance projects, re-opening closed exhibits and re-stocking paddocks would be exciting!!
 

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TriUK said:
View attachment 709691‘Exciting updates’ ?
I’m speechless, that given the situation the zoo is currently in, that they’re now dressing up routine maintenance as ‘exciting updates’!
It’s great that the monkeys are getting better heating systems and that the boardwalk is being replaced, as it needs it, but is it ‘exciting’?
Finishing the multitude of maintenance projects, re-opening closed exhibits and re-stocking paddocks would be exciting!!
Click to expand...

I'm sure to a Paignton regular this all sounds very mundane and not interesting, but as someone looking from a distance this is a welcome step and excellent news, I'm sure before the end of the year that you will be eating humble pie with a development that you haven't got wind of, things are happening at Paignton and some of them will surprise people. From what I'm hearing from just about everyone who isn't on zoochat things are looking a bit more bright at Paignton, but if you listen to people on zoochat it's doom and gloom, so I have to ask which group of people are right I will judge for myself when I next visit!
 
Laboratory 7 said:
I'm sure to a Paignton regular this all sounds very mundane and not interesting, but as someone looking from a distance this is a welcome step and excellent news, I'm sure before the end of the year that you will be eating humble pie with a development that you haven't got wind of, things are happening at Paignton and some of them will surprise people. From what I'm hearing from just about everyone who isn't on zoochat things are looking a bit more bright at Paignton, but if you listen to people on zoochat it's doom and gloom, so I have to ask which group of people are right I will judge for myself when I next visit!
Click to expand...
Oh I hope so. I’ll happily eat humble pie & hold my hand up high in acknowledgment of my unfounded criticism (although in the absence of a published master plan for the future I feel a little more justified), if what you say materialises.
 
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