A thread for my local zoo, previously known as the Ponderosa Rural Therapeutic Centre.
I made a visit last week and I’m happy to report there’s been substantial improvements. I feel it's only fair to highlight these and recognise their efforts.
For those that don’t know, Ponderosa Zoo is a small collection in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire. It began in 1991 with the aim to use animals and agriculture to help bridge the gap between the disabled and non-disabled. It still has this mission today, along with a newfound focus on conservation.
The farm received a zoo license in 2004, became a provisional member of BIAZA in 2017 and changed its name to Ponderosa Zoo in that same year. The zoo’s collection has steadily grown over the years but it's still a small zoo at around 11 acres; it takes around 2 hours to see the whole thing and that’s if you take your time.
Until recent years, the zoo's enclosures have been quite shoddy to say the least. Here's the worst examples from my 2011 visit:
The shocking state of some of these enclosures didn't go unnoticed by the general public and there was some backlash on social media in 2017, which was covered by the local press. However, a subsequent council inspection concluded that "most" licensing conditions had been met.
Ponderosa to shut down for weeks after visitors say animals are being mistreated
After my visit last week, I'm happy to say the zoo has turned a corner with lots of refurbishments and redevelopment.
The first change I noticed was the entrance. They’ve built a small log cabin at the very top of the zoo which leads you down a new footpath alongside the wallaby enclosure. Nearby, there’s also a new Reptile House in a building which was previously an indoor play area. On display here are Cuvier’s dwarf caiman, Arrau river turtles, black spiny-tailed iguana, red-footed tortoise, Malagasy tree boa, Madagascan hissing cockroaches, mangrove snakes, poison dart frogs, Standing’s day geckos, Madagascar giant day geckos and black tree monitors. Zootierliste suggests the Arrau river turtles and iguanas are the only ones in the UK but that could be wrong.
Outside, there's a new enclosure for cape porcupines which is connected to the Bunny Barn. Meerkats, marmosets and coatis also occupy enclosures in this area. The coatis live in the old tapir enclosure shown above — a far more suitable species for it.
The Bunny Barn is where a lot of the zoo's worst enclosures were during my pervious visits but I was thankful to find the whole place revamped. There's new enclosures for small domestics (rabbits, Guinea pigs and tortoise), as well as a brand new nocturnal zone which is still partly under construction. The nocturnal zone has rats, Macleays stick insects, Cairo spiny mice, death's head cockroach, Mexican red knee tarantula, Budwing stick insects and chinchillas. A larger enclosure towards the back was still under construction for a new arrival. Aside from that, there were no aquatics unlike on my last visits but the whole building will be undergoing further refurbishment in November to make way for new species, so who knows.
The old Reptile House has been redeveloped into a block of toilets. Next to this is where I found my candidate for worst UK zoo enclosure in 2011: a small iron cage for a pacing racoon (shown above). The racoon had gone by 2016 and the cage is now home to an African grey parrot. There's other parrots nearby but notably no birds of prey, which is a shame as the collection had a decent variety before.
Next along is a new enclosure for African spurred tortoise. I believe this used to be either an aviary or an enclosure for lemurs. Red-fronted brown lemurs have just moved into two large enclosures next-door.
A new addition since my last visit is a serval which used to be someone's pet. It lives alone in a fairly large and impressive enclosure. The brand new Lemur Lookout walkthrough and raccoon dogs were apparently nearby but I somehow missed them out on my visit.
After seeing the reindeers (which had the only unchanged enclosure since my last visit) I saw the otters, squirrel monkeys and Scottish wildcats. The wildcats were as elusive as ever but the otters were very vocal and active. The squirrel monkey enclosure was impressive and wouldn't have looked out of place at a major zoo.
Aside from the enclosures, the zoo's signage and its map have undergone a much-needed refresh too.
All in all, a very pleasant visit and it's brilliant to see the zoo turning a corner like this. I'll be uploading some new images soon.
I made a visit last week and I’m happy to report there’s been substantial improvements. I feel it's only fair to highlight these and recognise their efforts.
For those that don’t know, Ponderosa Zoo is a small collection in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire. It began in 1991 with the aim to use animals and agriculture to help bridge the gap between the disabled and non-disabled. It still has this mission today, along with a newfound focus on conservation.
The farm received a zoo license in 2004, became a provisional member of BIAZA in 2017 and changed its name to Ponderosa Zoo in that same year. The zoo’s collection has steadily grown over the years but it's still a small zoo at around 11 acres; it takes around 2 hours to see the whole thing and that’s if you take your time.
Until recent years, the zoo's enclosures have been quite shoddy to say the least. Here's the worst examples from my 2011 visit:
The shocking state of some of these enclosures didn't go unnoticed by the general public and there was some backlash on social media in 2017, which was covered by the local press. However, a subsequent council inspection concluded that "most" licensing conditions had been met.
Ponderosa to shut down for weeks after visitors say animals are being mistreated
After my visit last week, I'm happy to say the zoo has turned a corner with lots of refurbishments and redevelopment.
The first change I noticed was the entrance. They’ve built a small log cabin at the very top of the zoo which leads you down a new footpath alongside the wallaby enclosure. Nearby, there’s also a new Reptile House in a building which was previously an indoor play area. On display here are Cuvier’s dwarf caiman, Arrau river turtles, black spiny-tailed iguana, red-footed tortoise, Malagasy tree boa, Madagascan hissing cockroaches, mangrove snakes, poison dart frogs, Standing’s day geckos, Madagascar giant day geckos and black tree monitors. Zootierliste suggests the Arrau river turtles and iguanas are the only ones in the UK but that could be wrong.
Outside, there's a new enclosure for cape porcupines which is connected to the Bunny Barn. Meerkats, marmosets and coatis also occupy enclosures in this area. The coatis live in the old tapir enclosure shown above — a far more suitable species for it.
The Bunny Barn is where a lot of the zoo's worst enclosures were during my pervious visits but I was thankful to find the whole place revamped. There's new enclosures for small domestics (rabbits, Guinea pigs and tortoise), as well as a brand new nocturnal zone which is still partly under construction. The nocturnal zone has rats, Macleays stick insects, Cairo spiny mice, death's head cockroach, Mexican red knee tarantula, Budwing stick insects and chinchillas. A larger enclosure towards the back was still under construction for a new arrival. Aside from that, there were no aquatics unlike on my last visits but the whole building will be undergoing further refurbishment in November to make way for new species, so who knows.
The old Reptile House has been redeveloped into a block of toilets. Next to this is where I found my candidate for worst UK zoo enclosure in 2011: a small iron cage for a pacing racoon (shown above). The racoon had gone by 2016 and the cage is now home to an African grey parrot. There's other parrots nearby but notably no birds of prey, which is a shame as the collection had a decent variety before.
Next along is a new enclosure for African spurred tortoise. I believe this used to be either an aviary or an enclosure for lemurs. Red-fronted brown lemurs have just moved into two large enclosures next-door.
A new addition since my last visit is a serval which used to be someone's pet. It lives alone in a fairly large and impressive enclosure. The brand new Lemur Lookout walkthrough and raccoon dogs were apparently nearby but I somehow missed them out on my visit.
After seeing the reindeers (which had the only unchanged enclosure since my last visit) I saw the otters, squirrel monkeys and Scottish wildcats. The wildcats were as elusive as ever but the otters were very vocal and active. The squirrel monkey enclosure was impressive and wouldn't have looked out of place at a major zoo.
Aside from the enclosures, the zoo's signage and its map have undergone a much-needed refresh too.
All in all, a very pleasant visit and it's brilliant to see the zoo turning a corner like this. I'll be uploading some new images soon.
