You should leave it off (or half anyway)- as a tribute to Jangolie.
Round Britain ( sort of ) Zoo tour
- Thread starter Potamogale
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- uk zoo tour
You should leave it off (or half anyway)- as a tribute to Jangolie.
That's a good idea, although it has actually stayed attached for the last couple of weeks.
Potamogale
Well-Known Member
Back to the thread ...
Currently sitting surrounded by maps and various bits of paper/Izes Guide/notebooks and trying to piece together the logistics of getting around as much as possible ( hoping to get the odd awayday in over the next couple of weeks but have a family holiday which has been designated Zoo free for 10 days from next Thursday - then starting in earnest on my tour from the end of the first week in September - will post as soon as arrangements are firmed up
!! )
In the meantime I thought I`d start leaving my thoughts on collections already visited ( these are not intended to be full blown reviews unless of somewhere that appears not to have one on here already ... )
Kicking off the whole affair with ZSL London seemed a suitably apt choice - while I am of the opinion that it is not the top Zoo in the UK at the moment it is still the Zoo in the Capital City and has a certain amount of personal history for me .
First visited as a teenager and still recall seeing a huge assortment of animals many of which I haven`t seen since ( Northern White Rhino , Tasmanian Devil , Leadbeater`s Possum , Angwantibo etc etc ) also it was the place I first saw Giant Panda , Kiwi , Vampire Bat , Arapaima , Aardvark , Naked Mole Rat ... ( the list could go on but I want to get this finished before midnight !! ) .
It was also the place where I first asked my ex-wife out on a date ( bit of a mixed memory that one so the least said the better )
Visited fairly regularly between the years 1983 - 1990 since then only managed a swift afternoon visit some time around 12 years ago .
Anyhow finally managed a good day`s visit on 8th of April this year - catching a 5.30 am coach from Cardiff got me to the priority entrance at about 7 minutes past 10 .
Immediately went to what I have to still refer to as " The Clore " expecting the worst having read many accounts of what it has turned into but have to admit that I wasn`t quite as disappointed as I had thought I would be . Comparing the current incarnation with memories of the huge collection it housed back in the day seems counterproductive ( and some memories of small mammals in what were even then very small enclosures definitely would`ve been out of the question in this day and age ) . So with a regretful backward glance at the remarkable collection of yesteryear I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the rainforest - arriving there as early in the day as possible meant that the Tamandua
( just the one then ) was extremely active ( a first for me - though it is possible I saw one in Caracas in 1983 I honestly can`t recall ) .
Also had a close encounter with the ( unknown at the time ) pregnant sloth - was looking around wondering if I could find her when I looked down and barely 3 feet beneath me she was peering out of a log and looking back at me - later in the day I returned to the rainforest and she proved to be an absolute star perambulating nearly the whole length of the exhibit and certainly climbing as high as was possible before settling in the sunlight at the top of a tree ... had forgotten just how large a sloth can be !!
The nocturnal section downstairs was definitely a disappointment due to a combination of it`s greatly reduced size and the fact that keepers were busy carrying out cleaning/maintenance in a number of enclosures - the Naked Mole Rats were still a pleasure to see even if this time round their plastic tubular runs were much more apparent than the more naturalistic burrow enclosure I recall from years ago . Still it is always a pleasure to see a Potto ( or two in this case ) and the Australian Water Rats were a welcome reminder of Frankfurt Zoo where I last saw them . The knowledge that there were off show Aye-Aye was somewhat frustrating but that`s a topic that has been much discussed on here before ...
I certainly approve of the good use being made of the old Gorilla House
( not that I ever saw any Gorilla in it !! ) by Ring-tailed Lemurs and Rodrigues Fruit Bats ( good to get a hearty whiff of these too !! )
The new Pygmy Hippo enclosure/house seemed fine to me and the notorious T-shirts didn`t get in the way - both animals were out and about and looked very well .
The Aquarium - while not quite as extensive as of yore - is still pretty impressive and the pair of large Arapaima were a highlight for me along with various Caecilians ( both on show and semi-offshow behind the window in the side of the outer wall of the aquarium ) .
The Mappins were not surprisingly a bit dull without anything prancing about on the top of the mountains but the outback seems to be a sensible if unimaginative way of utilising what must be a nightmare of a structure . The two Komodo Dragons looked superb in their enclosure(s) this was most definitely a plus - indeed the Reptile House stood up very well even though it suffered from my one BIG bugbear of the day which was the behaviour of visiting children ( and the lack of control of whichever adults were supposedly taking care of them ) .
I`m very tempted to do a touch of " In My Day ... " moaning at this point as when I was taking my two boys round ZSL in the 80`s they would never have dreamed of banging on glass or running around inside buildings ( they were and as far as I know still are a right pair of bruisers by the way and would run around like maniacs on any public lawn when " let off the leash " but had a healthy respect for animals and I`m proud to say did on more than one occasion tell off other children if they thought they were annoying or disturbing the animals ) One little girl banging on the glass behind which one of the African Hunting Dogs was patrolling really annoyed me to the point of actually saying something to her parents standing idly by ... not that it did much good but I felt better for it
.
As far as inhabitants of the reptile house are concerned I was most impressed by the size of the Boelen`s Python ( managed to miss them elsewhere so only seen photos before ) and by the , er , appearance of the Vietnamese Mossy Frog ( when finally spotted ) not too sure about the White`s Tree Frog in the loo however .
Skipping over Gorilla Kingdom ( I still haven`t made my mind up about it and feel another visit might clarify my thoughts ) apart from the lively group of White Naped Mangabey ( 6 seen ) which I thought were magnificent and demonstrated superbly the advantages of having netting to climb/jump off instead of being kept stranded behind a moat .
The Casson was a surprise in that seeing it again I do wonder how it was ever thought to be big enough for the original inhabitants - the Bearded Pigs were good to see and seemed a much better fit .
There was no sign of either Malayan Tapir and I wasn`t much impressed with the restricted viewing for them ( recall seeing them many times both on land and in the water on the Cotton terraces ) and as for the complete non utilisation of the interior of the house well words fail me ...
I recall there being quite a lot of room inside and just closing the whole thing off seems like a waste of valuable space . Of course I have no idea of the current internal arrangements but in a Zoo that`s not exactly overburdened with spare space it does seem a great shame .
On a positive note I really enjoyed the revamped Bird House ( both inside and out ) and am pleased that I managed to catch the last (?) Amazilia Hummingbird as it seems that they are no longer there
B.U.G.S suffered from the same problem with children so I scooted round fairly quickly although from what I saw I have to say I wasn`t desperately impressed - seemed that there was a lot of space for interactive stuff and lots of information ( good !! ) but not enough space for some of the animals housed within ( hmmm ... )
I missed not seeing the wolves in their parkside enclosure .
I absolutely loved the group of 6 ( all I saw on the day ) Black Faced Ibis - beautiful birds with quite a big personality ( a keeper was in with them and they may have been more active in consequence but I caught them again later in the day and they were still fairly impressive without a keeper`s presence ) .
Favourite overheard remark of the day at the incubation window ( if you see what I mean ) at Penguin Beach ( in relation to a stuffed toy penguin in with the recent hatchling ) - " That`s not a real bird take some photos so we can have them up under the Trades Description Act " ... needless to say these people had not noticed the tiny ball of fluff cuddled up to the toy and when I pointed it out to them were distinctly unimpressed
)
The Snowden Aviary was still fairly impressive even though it is perhaps showing it`s age and some of the suggested uses I have seen mentioned on here would be very interesting if ever put into practice - but even so to see quite a number of BIG birds flying in here was fairly memorable ( the Black Kite in particular ) .
I did pass through Butterfly Paradise ( oh dear these names are starting to get on my wick ... ) but it was very busy and once again children were behaving badly - Grrrr .
The Vulture aviaries were out of bounds due to some work going on but I did very much enjoy the African Aviary ( that`s a name that I can live with ) - had forgotten how small Hammerkop are and had the pleasure of spending some time very close to a Woolly Necked Stork which was my stand out species of the day ( good to see a very suitable use being made of the old house that I remember seeing Pudu and Giant Anteater in ) .
I haven`t commented on a number of areas/animals that I saw due to a combination of not having much to say about them or not wanting to say anything till I have the chance to visit once again .
The prize for worst " themed " name goes to Happy Families ... ugh !!
Got back to Cardiff on the coach round about 11. 25 pm , home by midnight ... all in all it was well worth the effort .
Currently sitting surrounded by maps and various bits of paper/Izes Guide/notebooks and trying to piece together the logistics of getting around as much as possible ( hoping to get the odd awayday in over the next couple of weeks but have a family holiday which has been designated Zoo free for 10 days from next Thursday - then starting in earnest on my tour from the end of the first week in September - will post as soon as arrangements are firmed up
!! )In the meantime I thought I`d start leaving my thoughts on collections already visited ( these are not intended to be full blown reviews unless of somewhere that appears not to have one on here already ... )
Kicking off the whole affair with ZSL London seemed a suitably apt choice - while I am of the opinion that it is not the top Zoo in the UK at the moment it is still the Zoo in the Capital City and has a certain amount of personal history for me .
First visited as a teenager and still recall seeing a huge assortment of animals many of which I haven`t seen since ( Northern White Rhino , Tasmanian Devil , Leadbeater`s Possum , Angwantibo etc etc ) also it was the place I first saw Giant Panda , Kiwi , Vampire Bat , Arapaima , Aardvark , Naked Mole Rat ... ( the list could go on but I want to get this finished before midnight !! ) .
It was also the place where I first asked my ex-wife out on a date ( bit of a mixed memory that one so the least said the better )
Visited fairly regularly between the years 1983 - 1990 since then only managed a swift afternoon visit some time around 12 years ago .
Anyhow finally managed a good day`s visit on 8th of April this year - catching a 5.30 am coach from Cardiff got me to the priority entrance at about 7 minutes past 10 .
Immediately went to what I have to still refer to as " The Clore " expecting the worst having read many accounts of what it has turned into but have to admit that I wasn`t quite as disappointed as I had thought I would be . Comparing the current incarnation with memories of the huge collection it housed back in the day seems counterproductive ( and some memories of small mammals in what were even then very small enclosures definitely would`ve been out of the question in this day and age ) . So with a regretful backward glance at the remarkable collection of yesteryear I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the rainforest - arriving there as early in the day as possible meant that the Tamandua
( just the one then ) was extremely active ( a first for me - though it is possible I saw one in Caracas in 1983 I honestly can`t recall ) .
Also had a close encounter with the ( unknown at the time ) pregnant sloth - was looking around wondering if I could find her when I looked down and barely 3 feet beneath me she was peering out of a log and looking back at me - later in the day I returned to the rainforest and she proved to be an absolute star perambulating nearly the whole length of the exhibit and certainly climbing as high as was possible before settling in the sunlight at the top of a tree ... had forgotten just how large a sloth can be !!
The nocturnal section downstairs was definitely a disappointment due to a combination of it`s greatly reduced size and the fact that keepers were busy carrying out cleaning/maintenance in a number of enclosures - the Naked Mole Rats were still a pleasure to see even if this time round their plastic tubular runs were much more apparent than the more naturalistic burrow enclosure I recall from years ago . Still it is always a pleasure to see a Potto ( or two in this case ) and the Australian Water Rats were a welcome reminder of Frankfurt Zoo where I last saw them . The knowledge that there were off show Aye-Aye was somewhat frustrating but that`s a topic that has been much discussed on here before ...
I certainly approve of the good use being made of the old Gorilla House
( not that I ever saw any Gorilla in it !! ) by Ring-tailed Lemurs and Rodrigues Fruit Bats ( good to get a hearty whiff of these too !! )
The new Pygmy Hippo enclosure/house seemed fine to me and the notorious T-shirts didn`t get in the way - both animals were out and about and looked very well .
The Aquarium - while not quite as extensive as of yore - is still pretty impressive and the pair of large Arapaima were a highlight for me along with various Caecilians ( both on show and semi-offshow behind the window in the side of the outer wall of the aquarium ) .
The Mappins were not surprisingly a bit dull without anything prancing about on the top of the mountains but the outback seems to be a sensible if unimaginative way of utilising what must be a nightmare of a structure . The two Komodo Dragons looked superb in their enclosure(s) this was most definitely a plus - indeed the Reptile House stood up very well even though it suffered from my one BIG bugbear of the day which was the behaviour of visiting children ( and the lack of control of whichever adults were supposedly taking care of them ) .
I`m very tempted to do a touch of " In My Day ... " moaning at this point as when I was taking my two boys round ZSL in the 80`s they would never have dreamed of banging on glass or running around inside buildings ( they were and as far as I know still are a right pair of bruisers by the way and would run around like maniacs on any public lawn when " let off the leash " but had a healthy respect for animals and I`m proud to say did on more than one occasion tell off other children if they thought they were annoying or disturbing the animals ) One little girl banging on the glass behind which one of the African Hunting Dogs was patrolling really annoyed me to the point of actually saying something to her parents standing idly by ... not that it did much good but I felt better for it
. As far as inhabitants of the reptile house are concerned I was most impressed by the size of the Boelen`s Python ( managed to miss them elsewhere so only seen photos before ) and by the , er , appearance of the Vietnamese Mossy Frog ( when finally spotted ) not too sure about the White`s Tree Frog in the loo however .
Skipping over Gorilla Kingdom ( I still haven`t made my mind up about it and feel another visit might clarify my thoughts ) apart from the lively group of White Naped Mangabey ( 6 seen ) which I thought were magnificent and demonstrated superbly the advantages of having netting to climb/jump off instead of being kept stranded behind a moat .
The Casson was a surprise in that seeing it again I do wonder how it was ever thought to be big enough for the original inhabitants - the Bearded Pigs were good to see and seemed a much better fit .
There was no sign of either Malayan Tapir and I wasn`t much impressed with the restricted viewing for them ( recall seeing them many times both on land and in the water on the Cotton terraces ) and as for the complete non utilisation of the interior of the house well words fail me ...
I recall there being quite a lot of room inside and just closing the whole thing off seems like a waste of valuable space . Of course I have no idea of the current internal arrangements but in a Zoo that`s not exactly overburdened with spare space it does seem a great shame .
On a positive note I really enjoyed the revamped Bird House ( both inside and out ) and am pleased that I managed to catch the last (?) Amazilia Hummingbird as it seems that they are no longer there
B.U.G.S suffered from the same problem with children so I scooted round fairly quickly although from what I saw I have to say I wasn`t desperately impressed - seemed that there was a lot of space for interactive stuff and lots of information ( good !! ) but not enough space for some of the animals housed within ( hmmm ... )
I missed not seeing the wolves in their parkside enclosure .
I absolutely loved the group of 6 ( all I saw on the day ) Black Faced Ibis - beautiful birds with quite a big personality ( a keeper was in with them and they may have been more active in consequence but I caught them again later in the day and they were still fairly impressive without a keeper`s presence ) .
Favourite overheard remark of the day at the incubation window ( if you see what I mean ) at Penguin Beach ( in relation to a stuffed toy penguin in with the recent hatchling ) - " That`s not a real bird take some photos so we can have them up under the Trades Description Act " ... needless to say these people had not noticed the tiny ball of fluff cuddled up to the toy and when I pointed it out to them were distinctly unimpressed
)The Snowden Aviary was still fairly impressive even though it is perhaps showing it`s age and some of the suggested uses I have seen mentioned on here would be very interesting if ever put into practice - but even so to see quite a number of BIG birds flying in here was fairly memorable ( the Black Kite in particular ) .
I did pass through Butterfly Paradise ( oh dear these names are starting to get on my wick ... ) but it was very busy and once again children were behaving badly - Grrrr .
The Vulture aviaries were out of bounds due to some work going on but I did very much enjoy the African Aviary ( that`s a name that I can live with ) - had forgotten how small Hammerkop are and had the pleasure of spending some time very close to a Woolly Necked Stork which was my stand out species of the day ( good to see a very suitable use being made of the old house that I remember seeing Pudu and Giant Anteater in ) .
I haven`t commented on a number of areas/animals that I saw due to a combination of not having much to say about them or not wanting to say anything till I have the chance to visit once again .
The prize for worst " themed " name goes to Happy Families ... ugh !!
Got back to Cardiff on the coach round about 11. 25 pm , home by midnight ... all in all it was well worth the effort .
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As I commented from my visit a couple of weeks ago, I think the majority of visitors don't see the Tapirs (there are actually three at present). I did as I was there early on but they were shut out and clearly all waiting by the doors- in both paddocks- to be let indoors again. I never saw them outside later in the day at all.
And the indoors is closed of course. The doors had a 'Closed Today' notice as if they don't want to admit it is closed all the time at present.
I counted either 7 or 8 Mangabeys in the group in total at present, including a fairly recent baby. I too like that netted outdoor enclosure, but its a shame the other Monkeys nearby don't have the same facilities- that and the slightly shabby older indoor areas points up the contrasting mix of old and new designs in this area. Its as if they gave the Mangabeys a new outdoor design as an architectural experiment and then left it at that. If at least the other outdoor areas could be similarly redesigned to bring them all into line, it would be a big improvement IMO.
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Not as frustrating as the offshow Panay Cloudrats, mind you!
Potamogale
Well-Known Member
Indeed !!
Cloud Rats ( of any type ) are one of my not seen species at the mo and sort of glad I didn`t know they were still behind the scenes at ZSL
Cloud Rats ( of any type ) are one of my not seen species at the mo and sort of glad I didn`t know they were still behind the scenes at ZSL
They were actually on display until roughly 18 months ago, when they were moved offshow and replaced by the Malagasy Jumping Rats.
Potamogale
Well-Known Member
Quick update - I`ve been pretty busy zoo wise recently
Collections visited were :
3rd September - Newquay ( Wales that is ) Reptile Zoo & Borth Animalarium
4th September - Pili Palas ( Anglesey ) & NWBT Owl collection at Bodafon farm Park ( Llandudno )
6th September - Chester ( about half of it as had my mother with me but became a member so will be back as often as I can now ... )
7th September - Chestnut Centre ( suspect I may have seen some other Zoochatters there judging by photos posted today ... should have said hello )
8th September - Twycross & Desford Tropical Bird garden
9th September - Hamerton
10th September - Africa Alive & Thrigby
11th September - Colchester & Shorelands
12th September - Amazona ( Cromer ) & Banham
13th September - Linton & Shepreth
17th September - WWT Llanelli & Wales Ape & Monkey Sanctuary
18th September - Cotswold Wildlife park
having a rest at the mo before heading off to Kent next week , loads of pictures taken already will try to upload some soon ...
Also realised I`m not going to make it round all of the UK collections within the time limit of a year but am just going to keep going till I`ve done them all !!
Highlight so far was probably Shorelands where I had an illuminating conversation with the owner - I will definitely be going back there as and when I am able to .
Will report back after Kent trip next week
Collections visited were :
3rd September - Newquay ( Wales that is ) Reptile Zoo & Borth Animalarium
4th September - Pili Palas ( Anglesey ) & NWBT Owl collection at Bodafon farm Park ( Llandudno )
6th September - Chester ( about half of it as had my mother with me but became a member so will be back as often as I can now ... )
7th September - Chestnut Centre ( suspect I may have seen some other Zoochatters there judging by photos posted today ... should have said hello )
8th September - Twycross & Desford Tropical Bird garden
9th September - Hamerton
10th September - Africa Alive & Thrigby
11th September - Colchester & Shorelands
12th September - Amazona ( Cromer ) & Banham
13th September - Linton & Shepreth
17th September - WWT Llanelli & Wales Ape & Monkey Sanctuary
18th September - Cotswold Wildlife park
having a rest at the mo before heading off to Kent next week , loads of pictures taken already will try to upload some soon ...
Also realised I`m not going to make it round all of the UK collections within the time limit of a year but am just going to keep going till I`ve done them all !!
Highlight so far was probably Shorelands where I had an illuminating conversation with the owner - I will definitely be going back there as and when I am able to .
Will report back after Kent trip next week
Jackwow
Well-Known Member
Hi Potamogale, in about 2 weeks I'm doing a short SW England zoo trip and am planning to do Paradise Park/Newquay on one day and also Shaldon/Living Coasts on another slightly shortened day, which I see you've already done. So was wondering if you recall how you split each day timewise between the two venues?
Potamogale
Well-Known Member
Hi Jackwow - Paradise Park and Newquay were split more or less 50/50 as there`s plenty to see at both ( though think I may have spent a little longer in Hayle ) . I actually fitted in Dartmoor , Shaldon and Living Coasts all into one day - Dartmoor was on my way across as it happened and I probably spent a morning there but would be hard pressed to have spent much longer . Shaldon is great but small so even going round twice won`t take a huge amount of time depending on how keen you are to see certain animals - I spent a while in the small but perfectly formed nocturnal house - by now the rescued male Bengal Slow Loris might have arrived and be on show with the female ( Doris !! ) but I`m not sure about that ( any news will probably be on their facebook page ) . Living Coasts took longer - in fact I stayed till closing time but was well worth it . The keepers at Shaldon advised me to get over to Living Coasts before the school run started as they said the road from Shaldon into Torquay is a nightmare at that time ( as I recall this meant I had to miss out on the Margay feeding but it was a sensible choice ) Hope that helps ...
By the way in case anyone has looked at my recent itinerary ( post above but one ) I had originally hoped to take in Blackbrook as well on that leg but sadly they are still closed for renovation so looks like I missed the Old Blackbrook completely and will have to wait and see what the New Blackbrook is like ...
By the way in case anyone has looked at my recent itinerary ( post above but one ) I had originally hoped to take in Blackbrook as well on that leg but sadly they are still closed for renovation so looks like I missed the Old Blackbrook completely and will have to wait and see what the New Blackbrook is like ...
Jackwow
Well-Known Member
Thanks Potamogale. I'm going to go to Newquay first as Paradise Park closes an hour later. There's about an hours drive between them so, as birds is my main interest, probably 3 hours at Newquay and 4 at PP. Won't be able to fit Dartmoor in as I've got a 3 hour drive to Southampton after Shaldon. I went to Blackbrook earlier in the year and really liked it so will be interesting to see what it's like in its new format.
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
Yes you should have said hello,as we thought we had a fellow zoonerd going round the place,as only we take notes in such volume about a place!Quick update - I`ve been pretty busy zoo wise recently
Collections visited were :
3rd September - Newquay ( Wales that is ) Reptile Zoo & Borth Animalarium
4th September - Pili Palas ( Anglesey ) & NWBT Owl collection at Bodafon farm Park ( Llandudno )
6th September - Chester ( about half of it as had my mother with me but became a member so will be back as often as I can now ... )
7th September - Chestnut Centre ( suspect I may have seen some other Zoochatters there judging by photos posted today ... should have said hello )
8th September - Twycross & Desford Tropical Bird garden
9th September - Hamerton
10th September - Africa Alive & Thrigby
11th September - Colchester & Shorelands
12th September - Amazona ( Cromer ) & Banham
13th September - Linton & Shepreth
17th September - WWT Llanelli & Wales Ape & Monkey Sanctuary
18th September - Cotswold Wildlife park
having a rest at the mo before heading off to Kent next week , loads of pictures taken already will try to upload some soon ...
Also realised I`m not going to make it round all of the UK collections within the time limit of a year but am just going to keep going till I`ve done them all !!
Highlight so far was probably Shorelands where I had an illuminating conversation with the owner - I will definitely be going back there as and when I am able to .
Will report back after Kent trip next week
Potamogale
Well-Known Member
Hi Zoogiraffe - sorry I din`t say hello - to be honest I`m so used to people finding my interest in zoos either wierd or embarrassing I tend to be a bit defensive about it !!
Often get funny looks when taking my notes but gather I`m among friends around here ... just getting myself organised for the Kent leg of the trip which starts tomorrow
Often get funny looks when taking my notes but gather I`m among friends around here ... just getting myself organised for the Kent leg of the trip which starts tomorrow
