Went on a reasonably brief visit to Linton Zoo in order to celebrate the end of university for the first year, and this is a review of what I thought.
Collection
The animal collection is actually very nice for such a small park, particularly if you are into lemurs, owls and chelonians. The lemur species include both white-collared and Western lesser bamboo lemurs (in enclosures that don't really do them justice), the owls are pretty standard species including snowy, Bengal and Turkmenian eagle, spectacled, great grey, barn and Chaco owls of which the latter two eluded me on my visit and the turtles and tortoises are represented by at least ten species including radiated tortoises in the large lemur enclosure, European pond and common snapping turtle in outdoor ponds and tortoises including both red and yellow-footed, Aldabran giant and elongated.
There are five large cat species in the park, namely the lions (in two enclosures), Amur tiger, a generic zoo leopard, snow leopards and an invisible clouded leopard. Other than that, carnivores are pretty much (if not completely) absent. The marsupials are composed of red kangaroos and red-necked and Parma wallabies, the only non-lemur primates are cottontop tamarins and the only ungulates are Brazilian tapirs and Hartmann's mountain zebras. If you are fond of ungulates or monkeys you may well come away disappointed.
Birds have a strong influence, with not only owls but a large number of other species including marabou storks and crowned cranes, white-cheeked, green crested and Lady Ross' turacos, Southern ground and Papuan hornbills, hooded vultures and an African aviary housing among other things Hadada ibis. Also there is a small indoor section housing several of the zoo's tortoises along with royal and carpet pythons, bearded dragons, milk snakes, goliath bird-eating and red-kneed tarantulas, an African bullfrog, a fruit beetle, guinea pigs and the indoor area for Victoria crowned pigeons.
Enclosures
Some of the large animal enclosures (zebras, tapirs, giant tortoises, lions and tigers) are spacious paddocks, particularly the zebras that get an enormous amount of room. Other than that, pretty much all the exhibits are made of wire. Although this adds to the feel of the place and is probably important cost-wise for a smaller zoo, it can make photography quite difficult. The worst examples of enclosures if you want to get photos are the white-collared lemurs- I saw two groups composed of three and two individuals respectively. The group with three individuals is viewed across an empty enclosure and if you want to photograph has to be shot through a pane of glass and then the actual wire enclosure. The enclosure for the pair is even worse, with the heavily-shaded exhibit having double-layered mesh that makes photography nigh-on impossible.
While most animal enclosures here are, while seemingly ramshackle, suitable for their inhabitants there are some enclosures that really need either renovating or tearing down. If I had to choose the worst enclosure at Linton, it would have to be a completely concrete enclosure for a single Cape crested porcupine- it is much too barren for this large rodent and what makes its predicament so much worse is that on the other side of the zoo there is a comparitively luxurious grassy enclosure for guineafowl, chickens and domestic rabbits that would be perfect for the porcupine.
Setting
The overall zoo surroundings are probably very pleasing at times of the year, but on my visit much of the vegetation was either completely overgrown or (in the case of some of the hedging) dying off which lowered the appeal. Much of the zoo is set in woodland that gives both positive and negative aspects- on the plus side it would doubtlessly provide ample shade on bright sunny days but on the down side it makes photography much harder without using the flash. The large amount of vegetation also encourages large numbers of native wildlife- almost every enclosure had some sort of wild bird sharing. None of the buildings are overly obtrusive and exhibiting climatically compatible reptiles outside I found was pleasing.
Overall
Linton Zoo is a place for a short visit, with neither the overall collection nor enclosure quality to compete with the much larger British zoos. If you want to see some rare zoo species like the white-collared lemurs (only two collections in Europe keeping them) then Linton may appeal but otherwise it probably wouldn't be worth driving a great distance to visit. I personally quite liked the place, although some enclosures could do with improving or sprucing up and in areas, improving photography opportunities for those interested would be a godsend (but by no means absolutely necessary).
Collection
The animal collection is actually very nice for such a small park, particularly if you are into lemurs, owls and chelonians. The lemur species include both white-collared and Western lesser bamboo lemurs (in enclosures that don't really do them justice), the owls are pretty standard species including snowy, Bengal and Turkmenian eagle, spectacled, great grey, barn and Chaco owls of which the latter two eluded me on my visit and the turtles and tortoises are represented by at least ten species including radiated tortoises in the large lemur enclosure, European pond and common snapping turtle in outdoor ponds and tortoises including both red and yellow-footed, Aldabran giant and elongated.
There are five large cat species in the park, namely the lions (in two enclosures), Amur tiger, a generic zoo leopard, snow leopards and an invisible clouded leopard. Other than that, carnivores are pretty much (if not completely) absent. The marsupials are composed of red kangaroos and red-necked and Parma wallabies, the only non-lemur primates are cottontop tamarins and the only ungulates are Brazilian tapirs and Hartmann's mountain zebras. If you are fond of ungulates or monkeys you may well come away disappointed.
Birds have a strong influence, with not only owls but a large number of other species including marabou storks and crowned cranes, white-cheeked, green crested and Lady Ross' turacos, Southern ground and Papuan hornbills, hooded vultures and an African aviary housing among other things Hadada ibis. Also there is a small indoor section housing several of the zoo's tortoises along with royal and carpet pythons, bearded dragons, milk snakes, goliath bird-eating and red-kneed tarantulas, an African bullfrog, a fruit beetle, guinea pigs and the indoor area for Victoria crowned pigeons.
Enclosures
Some of the large animal enclosures (zebras, tapirs, giant tortoises, lions and tigers) are spacious paddocks, particularly the zebras that get an enormous amount of room. Other than that, pretty much all the exhibits are made of wire. Although this adds to the feel of the place and is probably important cost-wise for a smaller zoo, it can make photography quite difficult. The worst examples of enclosures if you want to get photos are the white-collared lemurs- I saw two groups composed of three and two individuals respectively. The group with three individuals is viewed across an empty enclosure and if you want to photograph has to be shot through a pane of glass and then the actual wire enclosure. The enclosure for the pair is even worse, with the heavily-shaded exhibit having double-layered mesh that makes photography nigh-on impossible.
While most animal enclosures here are, while seemingly ramshackle, suitable for their inhabitants there are some enclosures that really need either renovating or tearing down. If I had to choose the worst enclosure at Linton, it would have to be a completely concrete enclosure for a single Cape crested porcupine- it is much too barren for this large rodent and what makes its predicament so much worse is that on the other side of the zoo there is a comparitively luxurious grassy enclosure for guineafowl, chickens and domestic rabbits that would be perfect for the porcupine.
Setting
The overall zoo surroundings are probably very pleasing at times of the year, but on my visit much of the vegetation was either completely overgrown or (in the case of some of the hedging) dying off which lowered the appeal. Much of the zoo is set in woodland that gives both positive and negative aspects- on the plus side it would doubtlessly provide ample shade on bright sunny days but on the down side it makes photography much harder without using the flash. The large amount of vegetation also encourages large numbers of native wildlife- almost every enclosure had some sort of wild bird sharing. None of the buildings are overly obtrusive and exhibiting climatically compatible reptiles outside I found was pleasing.
Overall
Linton Zoo is a place for a short visit, with neither the overall collection nor enclosure quality to compete with the much larger British zoos. If you want to see some rare zoo species like the white-collared lemurs (only two collections in Europe keeping them) then Linton may appeal but otherwise it probably wouldn't be worth driving a great distance to visit. I personally quite liked the place, although some enclosures could do with improving or sprucing up and in areas, improving photography opportunities for those interested would be a godsend (but by no means absolutely necessary).
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