Paignton Zoo Paignton Zoo news 2024

gentle lemur said:
Chester have announced that Paignton's pair of cassowaries are being crate trained before they are moved to Chester, where they will go on show in Islands. The elderly pair currently at Chester will be taken off-show.
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Paignton was the first place that I ever saw cassowaries and throughout my visits they have always been among the highlights, the species that I associate with the zoo the most. A real shame that they will no longer be holding them.
 
For me Paignton possibly had the best Cassowary exhibit in the UK, I am gutted they won't be there, it is just another one less reason not to visit on my annual West country tour. I used to visit every year then every two. Visited last year with Bartlett Society and was thinking about including in this September tour anyway- I may not bother now
 
To put everything in perspective. I first visited Paignton Zoo in 2008 and spent a whole day there with my 9 year old daughter, it was great(it is now a 3-4 hour zoo).
Since then reptile and bird collections have collapsed dramatically, mammals have fallen badly, amphibians have improved but you could fit them in some people's lounge!
A once great zoo (even 20 years ago) is on its knees
 
Rohin said:
Is the current management similar to the previous in terms of reducing the collection?
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Part of the recent ‘we’re in trouble’ announcement, was that they would be reducing the size of Paignton Zoo - i.e. pulling it in from the edges, as already seen with the closure of part of the zoo last year.
 
Playing devils advocate and TRYING very hard to be positive & supportive, will the Cassowary have a better chance of breeding at Chester? I know the female arrived young and is now of breeding age?
From a visitor point of view, it’s a fairly long walk with no animal viewing between the Tiger glass area to where the new lion house/existing lion glass viewing area is.
I’m sad
 
TriUK said:
Playing devils advocate and TRYING very hard to be positive & supportive, will the Cassowary have a better chance of breeding at Chester? I know the female arrived young and is now of breeding age?
From a visitor point of view, it’s a fairly long walk with no animal viewing between the Tiger glass area to where the new lion house/existing lion glass viewing area is.
I’m sad
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And now, as when the owls were removed, it will be an even longer walk!
 
Is the threat of Avian Bird Flu a reason why PZ are going out of Cassowary? Although, is Chester not an open-top enclosure?
I can envisage a future where the boundary of the current zoo shrinks inwards, including the paddocks which currently hold wallaby & peccary.
 
TriUK said:
Is the threat of Avian Bird Flu a reason why PZ are going out of Cassowary? Although, is Chester not an open-top enclosure?
I can envisage a future where the boundary of the current zoo shrinks inwards, including the paddocks which currently hold wallaby & peccary.
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With the path now in front of the lions and tigers, they may close the back loop so people don’t see there’s nothing to see?

They obviously don’t see that the cassowaries are a choice species.
 
polarbear said:
With the path now in front of the lions and tigers, they may close the back loop so people don’t see there’s nothing to see?

They obviously don’t see that the cassowaries are a choice species.
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It surely can’t be down to cost? I mean, comparatively, Cassowaries can’t be that expensive to keep for the value (education conservation & pure fascination) they bring?
 
TriUK said:
It surely can’t be down to cost? I mean, comparatively, Cassowaries can’t be that expensive to keep for the value (education conservation & pure fascination) they bring?
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TBF they probably aren’t seen by most visitors and so it’s easier for the zoo to close the whole of the loop as they then won’t have to add anything else to the area to manage visitor expectations in that area of the zoo.

They are probably finally listening to the feedback on not having enough animals (too late) but, rather by adding back in, they seem to be going down the path of condensing the whole collection into a much smaller area instead.
 
HelloCrossy67 said:
I'd imagine an approach of shrinking the size of the zoo and filling it up is probably their best option at the moment, all things considered? They can then expand outwards when/if more funds become available? Not sure...
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Yes, Paignton seems to be in a rather bad situation currently, with more and more of the zoo closing. I wonder how the Masterplan is going to carry on whilst the zoo is in such a time?
 
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