Phantom Gaur
Well-Known Member
I’ll be coming to the UK in March and I’m trying to decide which zoos to visit. What are some really rare animals on exhibit and which locations? Thanks for the help!
Rarest animals in UK zoos
- Thread starter Phantom Gaur
- Start date
Coming from Rhode Island, I imagine that you will be staying in London? In which case, Hamerton Zoo, which is probably the most rarity rich UK zoo, is relatively easy to reach via public transport (check UK forum public transport guide for exact advice). London Zoo is great too, and if you are into birding, a morning at Rainham would never disappoint. Chester is a bit of a schlep as would be Whipsnade but both are definitely doable.
I would say Hamerton and Exmoor are definitely the best two for rarities, especially with a Shoebill having gone on show last week at the latter.
Chester is well worth a visit too.
If you look for Amur Leopard’s thread “A guide to the rarities of Europe” you can check the index for the UK and decide what interests you
Chester is well worth a visit too.
If you look for Amur Leopard’s thread “A guide to the rarities of Europe” you can check the index for the UK and decide what interests you
Rarities for an American? Wildwood is the obvious choice with its focus on European wildlife, and Hamerton are also up there with that fantastic Australian collection. Exmoor has a fair few unusual things as well but if you're based out of London then not sure how feasible it would be. @twilighter should be able to help with that, and he should also be able to give advice on getting to Axe Valley and Shaldon, two other small collections with lots of unusual goodies.
If you want bigger collections with some rarities then Colchester, London, Chester and Cotswold have you covered, and Yorkshire shouldn't be discounted as they've got some choice smaller mammals amongst the megafauna (Smooth-coated and Giant Otters, Roloway and Red Howler Monkeys, I guess even Geladas are unusual for Americans), and if you get to Scotland there's the Scottish Owl Centre and HWP leading the way for rarities up there.
If you want bigger collections with some rarities then Colchester, London, Chester and Cotswold have you covered, and Yorkshire shouldn't be discounted as they've got some choice smaller mammals amongst the megafauna (Smooth-coated and Giant Otters, Roloway and Red Howler Monkeys, I guess even Geladas are unusual for Americans), and if you get to Scotland there's the Scottish Owl Centre and HWP leading the way for rarities up there.
I would say that Hemsley Conservation Centre in Kent is pretty good for rarer species not found in many other collections such as Echidnas, Aardwolves, Maned Wolves...
hari Jones
Well-Known Member
I can think of a few species that are rare in UK zoo's
Polar bears as there are only two zoo's in the uk that have them- highland wildlife park and Yorkshire wildlife park
Giant pandas Edinburgh
Southern koala- longleat
Coquerels sifaka - chester
Gemsbok - whipsnade
Sloth bear - whipsnade
Sri Lankan leopards- Banham
Gaur-whispnade
Southern hairy nosed wombat-longleat
Malayan tiger- Hamertton
Polar bears as there are only two zoo's in the uk that have them- highland wildlife park and Yorkshire wildlife park
Giant pandas Edinburgh
Southern koala- longleat
Coquerels sifaka - chester
Gemsbok - whipsnade
Sloth bear - whipsnade
Sri Lankan leopards- Banham
Gaur-whispnade
Southern hairy nosed wombat-longleat
Malayan tiger- Hamertton
Hamerton and Exmoor are, of course, the top choices. Both are not very easy to reach with a public transport, but well worth it ! Try to avoid Bank holidays or Weekends. Axe Valley have some unique species, but ZTL is not exactly accurate there. It's good to do some research, what they have on display, before your visit. Sadly they lost their Potto. Shaldon has Owston's Civets and you can combine them with Axe Valley in one day.
If you come from US, I would recommend British Wildlife Centre. Not far from London and full of interesting species, hard to see in America. Cedars Nature Centre is also tube away from London and you can see Zorilla !
Is it any particular species you are looking for ?
If you come from US, I would recommend British Wildlife Centre. Not far from London and full of interesting species, hard to see in America. Cedars Nature Centre is also tube away from London and you can see Zorilla !
Is it any particular species you are looking for ?
Yeah, basically everyone's covered the big names. But they're right - Hamerton simply cannot be overlooked, as it's pretty much prided itself on "obscure" animals pretty much from the get-go and the recent focus on Australian animals adds to this. It's a little hard to get to, but definitely worth it.
Seconded. The Barn and Hedgerow houses are especially good. Plus, Judi Dench lives there. Really true.
Not much to add as those above have together encapsulated everything pretty well, but depending on how far you are willing to travel/how much time you have, here are a few thoughts - and again assuming you are based in London...
- London Zoo is the obvious choice in terms of accessibility, and would get anyone coming from the US a fair few lifers, particularly with regards to birds I suspect.
- Chester Zoo is the best zoo in the UK and would again get you a number of lifers, while showcasing some of Europe's best in terms of enclosure quality.
- Hamerton should definitely be up there too - stunning collection of rarities but I suspect still wouldn't be quite as many lifers as London or Chester. Very interesting place though, albeit hard to get to if unfamiliar with British public transport.
- Scottish Owl Centre is the best owl collection in the world, and while this obviously depends on your willingness to travel beyond Southern England, it could be combined on the day with Five Sisters or more broadly with Edinburgh.
- WWT Slimbridge is probably the place to be for wetland wildlife, both captive and wild - unless you've been to Sylvan Heights, it'll fetch a load of waterfowl lifers plus a plethora of British wetland wildlife visible from the hides. Slimbridge is however hard to get to and perhaps a trip there makes little sense given limited time (particularly with Bristol closing) so I'd recommend WWT Arundel as an alternative (a bit closer and more accessible, albeit with fewer species but a handful of gems and some nice wildlife opportunities). If you are sticking to London, London Wetland Centre should also be kept in mind).
- Exmoor Zoo is brilliant for rarities, particularly ibis species and small carnivorans. It is, however, very challenging to reach without a car, so probably shouldn't be attempted unless you are very keen on the collection. Highland Wildlife Park is similarly inaccessible but offers some of the best enclosures in Europe for their species.
- There are a plethora of small collections in London's periphery that offer a nice selection of species. Birdworld is about an hour and a half away and has a lovely bird collection, including the last Bank cormorants in Europe. Cedars Nature Centre as has been mentioned has Zorilla and a handful of other species I can see being lifers. Cassiobury Farm is only open on certain days but if timed correctly you could be treated to the only Sunda porcupines in Europe, plus Zorillas and a few other nice rarities. Further afield, the British Wildlife Centre and Wildwood Trust are both excellent institutions but tough to get to without a car, though a visit to the latter could be accompanied with views of Britain's first wild bison in who knows how long. Barleylands in Billericay has a Four-eyed opossum and some other nice rarities. Finally Colchester Zoo is probably the furthest of these but also a lovely day out, with a fair few lifers for a North American.
Hopefully that is helpful, and have a lovely trip when it comes.
- London Zoo is the obvious choice in terms of accessibility, and would get anyone coming from the US a fair few lifers, particularly with regards to birds I suspect.
- Chester Zoo is the best zoo in the UK and would again get you a number of lifers, while showcasing some of Europe's best in terms of enclosure quality.
- Hamerton should definitely be up there too - stunning collection of rarities but I suspect still wouldn't be quite as many lifers as London or Chester. Very interesting place though, albeit hard to get to if unfamiliar with British public transport.
- Scottish Owl Centre is the best owl collection in the world, and while this obviously depends on your willingness to travel beyond Southern England, it could be combined on the day with Five Sisters or more broadly with Edinburgh.
- WWT Slimbridge is probably the place to be for wetland wildlife, both captive and wild - unless you've been to Sylvan Heights, it'll fetch a load of waterfowl lifers plus a plethora of British wetland wildlife visible from the hides. Slimbridge is however hard to get to and perhaps a trip there makes little sense given limited time (particularly with Bristol closing) so I'd recommend WWT Arundel as an alternative (a bit closer and more accessible, albeit with fewer species but a handful of gems and some nice wildlife opportunities). If you are sticking to London, London Wetland Centre should also be kept in mind).
- Exmoor Zoo is brilliant for rarities, particularly ibis species and small carnivorans. It is, however, very challenging to reach without a car, so probably shouldn't be attempted unless you are very keen on the collection. Highland Wildlife Park is similarly inaccessible but offers some of the best enclosures in Europe for their species.
- There are a plethora of small collections in London's periphery that offer a nice selection of species. Birdworld is about an hour and a half away and has a lovely bird collection, including the last Bank cormorants in Europe. Cedars Nature Centre as has been mentioned has Zorilla and a handful of other species I can see being lifers. Cassiobury Farm is only open on certain days but if timed correctly you could be treated to the only Sunda porcupines in Europe, plus Zorillas and a few other nice rarities. Further afield, the British Wildlife Centre and Wildwood Trust are both excellent institutions but tough to get to without a car, though a visit to the latter could be accompanied with views of Britain's first wild bison in who knows how long. Barleylands in Billericay has a Four-eyed opossum and some other nice rarities. Finally Colchester Zoo is probably the furthest of these but also a lovely day out, with a fair few lifers for a North American.
Hopefully that is helpful, and have a lovely trip when it comes
.Erm...NOT true,she`s the owner`s girlfriend but she doesn`t live there.
felis silvestris
Well-Known Member
Sloth bears are also held at Johnsons of Old Hurst.
felis silvestris
Well-Known Member
Not much to add as those above have together encapsulated everything pretty well, but depending on how far you are willing to travel/how much time you have, here are a few thoughts - and again assuming you are based in London...
- London Zoo is the obvious choice in terms of accessibility, and would get anyone coming from the US a fair few lifers, particularly with regards to birds I suspect.
- Chester Zoo is the best zoo in the UK and would again get you a number of lifers, while showcasing some of Europe's best in terms of enclosure quality.
- Hamerton should definitely be up there too - stunning collection of rarities but I suspect still wouldn't be quite as many lifers as London or Chester. Very interesting place though, albeit hard to get to if unfamiliar with British public transport.
- Scottish Owl Centre is the best owl collection in the world, and while this obviously depends on your willingness to travel beyond Southern England, it could be combined on the day with Five Sisters or more broadly with Edinburgh.
- WWT Slimbridge is probably the place to be for wetland wildlife, both captive and wild - unless you've been to Sylvan Heights, it'll fetch a load of waterfowl lifers plus a plethora of British wetland wildlife visible from the hides. Slimbridge is however hard to get to and perhaps a trip there makes little sense given limited time (particularly with Bristol closing) so I'd recommend WWT Arundel as an alternative (a bit closer and more accessible, albeit with fewer species but a handful of gems and some nice wildlife opportunities). If you are sticking to London, London Wetland Centre should also be kept in mind).
- Exmoor Zoo is brilliant for rarities, particularly ibis species and small carnivorans. It is, however, very challenging to reach without a car, so probably shouldn't be attempted unless you are very keen on the collection. Highland Wildlife Park is similarly inaccessible but offers some of the best enclosures in Europe for their species.
- There are a plethora of small collections in London's periphery that offer a nice selection of species. Birdworld is about an hour and a half away and has a lovely bird collection, including the last Bank cormorants in Europe. Cedars Nature Centre as has been mentioned has Zorilla and a handful of other species I can see being lifers. Cassiobury Farm is only open on certain days but if timed correctly you could be treated to the only Sunda porcupines in Europe, plus Zorillas and a few other nice rarities. Further afield, the British Wildlife Centre and Wildwood Trust are both excellent institutions but tough to get to without a car, though a visit to the latter could be accompanied with views of Britain's first wild bison in who knows how long. Barleylands in Billericay has a Four-eyed opossum and some other nice rarities. Finally Colchester Zoo is probably the furthest of these but also a lovely day out, with a fair few lifers for a North American.
Hopefully that is helpful, and have a lovely trip when it comes
Tbh I don’t think you could combine SOC with Five sisters or Edinburgh because both are zoos which require a full day
Last time I did Edinburgh we were in at opening and all done by 13.30 - we ended up doubling up with the Scottish Deer Centre..!
That wasn't a first visit, of course, which would make a difference, but still...
Don't know whether this thread is still relevant anymore but anyone wanting to visit the UK to see rare species, Hemsley Conservation Centre now has a single Ring-Tailed Vontsira.
From what I have heard, at the early 21st century Marwell attempted obtaining RT Vontsira for their Madagascar exhibit - and apparently the animal was rather anticipated amongst early-2000s zoo nerds - but alas, nothing came of it, and they put in Yellow Mongoose as compensation = S
Charles
Well-Known Member
Wildplace project have a few rarer species but it’s also a nice zoo to visit
felis silvestris
Well-Known Member
I thought that this was a joke and it said Ring-tailed lemur
