Speculation of the Chester Zoo Zonal Plan

[AmazonianHippo]

The Islands and Heart of Africa are already complete, meaning that the Plains and Foothills, The Rainforest, Europe and whatever the zoo plans ‘Zoo centre’ to be are still left to be completed. I believe that the first thing to go under construction would be The Rainforest so I’ll start with a description of that. I want you to know that this is purely speculation so everything may not be as realistic as possible. With that said I think that COULD possibly do this but once again just speculation. I think I’ll spllit it into 2 parts so that we can fit everything in.

PART 1:

Past the camel and onager habitat, we start with the bridge over the canal, where we walk under an arch made of faux logs and tree trunks and ivy, with the words RAINFOREST hanging from it. If you look beneath, into the canal below, you may be able to make out a large shape… but we’ll get to that later.

In the plaza at the bottom of the bridge, we turn left, going past Dragons in Danger (which I will talk about in part 2) and under another Arch this time made out of fake temple columns (a theme that will be continued throughout this area) saying CONGO on it.

We get to our first enclosure, the old Congo Buffalo enclosure that is now home to 3 female Common hippopotamuses and a breeding pair of Nile Lechwes. The hippos also have access to part of the canal that goes underneath the bridge from earlier and the old howler island. The old buffalo barn has now been rebuilt into a more modern indoor area where the public can see the hippos and lechwe, as well as 2 female and 1 male Eastern Bongos who have access to their old outdoor area.

Opposite the Hippo House, on the old lemur islands there are the troop of Mandrills from the monkey house on one island, and the troop of Roloway Monkeys on the other. Going along, we have the okapi and duiker habitat which remains the same, but the Secret World of The Okapi has been transformed into a modern tropical house labeled ‘The Forest Hideaway’.

Entering the hideaway you get a glass view of the Chimpanzee troop who are now inhabiting the old giraffe yard which now is heavily planted and with a big climbing frame. Opposite this is a terrarium for Chester’s gaboon vipers, moved from their old home just a couple meters away.

The Forest Hideaway has a roof about as high as The Realm of the Red Ape, allowing some small birds to free-roam like Schalow’s Turaco, Amethyst Starling, Snowy-Crowned Robin Chat, Red-Cheeked Cordon Bleu and Blue-Naped Mousebird, all of which are allowed to roam most of the hideaway.

Continuing down, you can view the indoor enclosure for the okapi and red forest duikers through branches and logs, similar to the old viewing. You can see into the Chilingali aquarium at the side as well as the African Dwarf Sengi’s. I believe the Acacia Rats are moving to Heart of Africa so that is why they’re not here.

Next there is a crossroads. One path leads out of the Hideaway and into the Foothills (which will come soon) and the other goes right into an underwater tunnel for 2 Slender-Snouted Crocodiles. The crocodiles can be viewed above land via the exit we just passed and can also be viewed underwater through glass from outside the building, as the enclosure blocks of the outdoor path, just in front of where the old bridge used to be.

Passing the crocs, we go back into the free-roaming animal area, but this time there are also Congo Peafowl and African Grey Parrot amongst them. The hall is now diagonal in relation to the croc tunnel and much wider.

The path winds past terrariums for Fernand’s Skink and Peter’s Rock Agama and an open top pond enclosure for West African Mud Turtle.

As the path winds to the canal side of the hall we catch our first glimpse of a 4 male 3 female troop of Western Lowland Gorillas, living in the space that the diagonal structure of the greenhouse leaves, with a large climbing frame and lots of ivy, brambles, flowers, rocks and trees.

Then the path takes a sharp turn, allowing us to see Sao Tome Barn Owl in a meshed aviary. Another loop and this time we see a more open enclosure for the gorillas along with a terrarium for African Egg Eating Snakes.

Turn left once again and we see another arch with broken temple columns supporting, with the word AMAZON. Part 2 coming soon!

 

[AmazonianHippo]

The Rainforest part 2


Underneath the temple columns ,which are attached to a faux-rock wall, and through the double sliding doors (we don’t want any animals to escape), the environment changes. There are roots, root overhangs, trees and shrubs as far as the eye can see, with the sounds of rushing water in the distance.


Immediately you see a faux mountain of sorts, with a mesh barrier around it just a bit away. But first you have to go up a winding path, with small dirt cliffs either side, making it seem like you are in a small, narrow canyon.

The path goes past 2 terrariums embedded amongst the dirt and root overhangs, a large one for boa constrictors and a much smaller one for Amazonian Giant Centipedes.


Finally you are high enough to see over the dirt cliffs and roots to see into the river rapids (though quite small), and have a view into the mesh aviary on the cliff.


The aviary is full of plants and has three large trees growing off of the base of the cliff, and it is home to 3 Toco Toucans.


Continuing down from the mountain we can come across some of the free roamers in the Amazon bit of the greenhouse, being: Blue-Throated Piping Guan, Amazonian Motmot, Yellow Fronted Tanager, Guyana Toucanet, Spangled Cotinga, Amazon River Kingfisher, Orange-Headed thrush, Sun Bittern, Rhinoceros Iguana and Red-Footed Tortoise.


Now we’re down from the mini mountain and the sound of the rapids is right in our ear now. There is a fork in the path, but we chose to go left as we’ll just loop back round anyway.


As we continue walking between the trees and bushes, we come across a habitat walled of with thick logs for 4 White-Faced Sakis, a breeding pair of Linne’s Two-Toed Sloths and a 3 Six-banded Armadillos. The sloths and sakis can actually cross over your head via a branch, into their backstage on the other side of the path.


Finally the foliage breaks and

you can see the river rapids, looking a bit like this, but with a little less foliage either side and two rock islands in the middle.

These two islands are home to a troop of Black-handed spider monkeys as I believe those are the species the zoo has.


The islands connect with each other via ropes, and the spider monkeys also have access to a section of the land via a rope, which we will see later.


As we go back into the jungle, we are met with the greenhouse wall, which is blocked out of view by a cavernous tunnel.


The entrance is full of hanging ropes so none of the free-roamers can get in, and the top of the cavern and something to the left of it is meshed to the ceiling. Something big is in there, something REALLY big.


As we walk inside we are met with a wide, curved underwater viewing window for (brace yourself for the unrealism) 3 Orinoco crocodiles. There would be some education signs in here on how Chester Zoo is helping to save the species from extinction.


Out of the cave, the path eases us away from the wall and we head down where we get another view of the spider monkey island and a couple more natural terrariums for Amazon Poison Frogs+Blue Poison Dart Frogs and Mexican Leaf Frogs+San Marcos Red Tail Split-Fin.


Next there is an open top display for a pair of Brazilian Porcupines, but with this enclosure, there is a predator prey setup, as if your lucky you can see porcupines climbing right in front of an enclosure for Tayras, the Amazonian cousin of the wolverine.


There is an open, sandy plaza when we get to the next corner of the greenhouse. The plaza is dotted with fake South American huts to replicate a village. In some of these, you can find terrariums for Emerald Tree Boa, Brazilian Salmon Pink Tarantula and Axolotl (not in the same enclosure… obviously). At the back of the village, right in the corner of the greenhouse is a small cafe selling South American food and drinks.


Onto the final stretch of path before we get back to the other path on the crossroads, we get a glass view of the Tayras.


There is an aviary on the left for both Scarlet and Hyacinth Macaws, dotted with trees, rocks and a large, sandy pond in the middle for the other residents of the aviary, 3 Lowland Pacas, the smaller cousin of the Capybara.


We get a view onto the spider monkey islands that is parallel to the one before.


We reach the wall that the faux mountain and crossroads we’re on, getting a view into a large terrarium bordered with faux rocks and roots, with a pond in the middle and a foliage packed, rocky shoreline. This terrarium is for the zoo’s Caiman Lizards.


I realise now that this is getting long so I’m going to end it here, so I’ll do the rest of the Amazon and Madagascar in Part 3. Let me know what you think!

 

[Paul.Haerle]

Orange-Headed thrush

May I ask why they're in a Amanoas area?

 

[AmazonianHippo]

Oh yes my mistake, I believe the free-roaming list in the Hideaway and a certain Indian Aviary to come down the line must've merged in my documents.

 

[AmazonianHippo]

Some of you may have noticed that the Linne's Two-Toed Sloths have been moved to the Hideaway from the Spirit of the Jaguar, this is intentional is I think they fit better here than the species that will be going in SOTJ.

 

[AmazonianHippo]

The Rainforest part 3


Instead of exiting the greenhouse, we go down the path that we could’ve gone down via the crossroads earlier. This entire path is just multiple viewings of the old Chimpanzee exhibit and a meshed enclosure for a pair of Southern Tamandua.


The tamandua enclosure has roots,vines and branches streaked around the habitat, providing climbing opportunities for the tamanduas.


The chimp islands are unchanged, but with the chimps now elsewhere, the habitat is home to 4 Capybaras, 2 Lowland Tapirs and 6 Golden-Bellied Capuchin Monkeys, creating a Panthanal style enclosure.


We can now leave the Forest Hideaway, spouting out at a small path, you know the one attached to the old Malagasy Nocturnal house thingy.


The aviary on our right was here before construction and remains unchanged apart from the Great Green Macaws are now partnered with Hyacinth Macaws.


As we walk on, we get to a terrarium that seems to be built into a temple ruin. This takes up the space where the old British Reptile thing was. Inhabiting this are 2 large Yellow Anacondas, and the roof of the terrarium is made of dirt and rock, with a small waterfall as a backdrop.


Continuing on, we get to another same-before-construction aviary, this one with a stream flowing through it, inhabiting 2 Red-Billed Curassows and a large flock of Elegant Crested Tinamou.


Finally we flow out into the field in front of Realm of the Red Ape (you know, the one with the Conservation Hub to the left and those Giant Tortoise shells) and instead of heading to ROTRA we turn left, seeing the impressive structure of Spirit of the Jaguar.


On the right, we can see the outdoor Jaguar enclosure, where the melanistic one, I don’t know to this day if that is the male or the female, is pacing around the tropical plants and over the waterfall.


Now the sloths have left, the old sloth enclosure stays the same, just the outdoor and indoor one are separate, allowing for there to be 2 enclosures.


The outdoor one is home to 4 Azara’s Agoutis and 2 Southern Coatis that have a heated treehouse, demolishing the need for an indoor space.


Going into SOTJ we catch a glimpse of the canal and the island on it, providing a home for Cotton-Top Tamarins, which you would see in more detail if we took the canal route to get here.


Inside, there is an enclosure for 2 Andean Bears, their old one just more planted. The old sloth indoor enclosure with the underwater viewing Amazon aquarium, has now been stripped of animals, for 2 Cuvier’s Dwarf Caiman (don’t worry, the fish have been moved elsewhere).


The terrariums for Goliath Birdeater and Lake Titicaca frog are still embedded in the brick wall, with roots, rocks and vines covering most of the tank.


The cinema room is still there, where guests can learn what Chester Zoo does to protect endangered Amazonian species.


We turn the corner, seeing the anthill, WHICH FINALLY HAS ANTS IN AGAIN! Specifically, Army Ants, which have a log that connects their anthill to their terrarium.


Finally, SOTJ ends with a view into the indoor Jaguar enclosure, even more stunning than the outdoor one, also featuring a waterfall.


We exit the building and with the power of teleportation, we are back at the field, where we now head forward past the field and kids playground to head into yet another tropical building. This one, however, is raised high up to see the coming animals with a birds-eye view.


Realm of the Red Ape is an already existing building focusing on animals from Mainland South-East Asia and Borneo, with the main animal being the Bornean Orangutan (not to be confused with the Sumatran Orangs in The Islands).


Naturally, we walk under a temple arch with the word ‘Mekong’ on it, as we ascend up the bamboo ramp. Now just to mention, nearly all of the following description was here before my fantasy ‘Masterplan’, but I need to mention it anyway as it is part of this area.


Finally, inside, we can feel the humidity and hear a thunderstorm. There is an embedded terrarium for 2 Blue Tree Monitors, with a centrepiece tree trunk for the monitors to climb. Moving on, we have a paludarium for Asian Giant Toads. Across from this we have a structure made out of hard plastic, designed to recreate an orangutan’s bed, which kids can lie down in and pretend to be an orangutan.


Next up is a mini-section with 2 swamp themed paludariums and a marshland aviary. The first paludarium is a tank for 3 Chinese Crocodile Lizards and multiple White Cloud Mountain Minnow. The second is a mangrove swamp recreation for (fittingly) 2 Mangrove Snakes. We turn the corner, with the marshland aviary on the corner for Blue Hanging Parrots, Scaly Breasted Munia and Red Junglefowl.


We get a view into the indoor Orangutan enclosure, housing 1 male and 4 females, plus some juveniles. The enclosure has many ropes attached to a faux tree, with a wooden bark shaving floor.


Opposite this is a view into their outdoor enclosure, which is very lush and well planted.


Right next to the outdoor enclosure is a terrarium that has faux rock and faux root borders, with the actual terrarium having a pond, lots of bamboo, and a large fallen log as a centrepiece, for 2 Burmese Pythons.


For the rest of the corridor, there is a large window into the orang enclosure, with terrariums mirroring it.


There are 3 terrariums in total, each heavily planted for Taiwan Beauty Snake, White-Lipped Komodo Island Viper and Horn Headed Lizard.


Before another turn in the path, the orangutan window stops, and the indoor habitat ends with a mesh wall. This leaves a space for a window into the Lar Gibbon indoor enclosure, which is the same as the orang one just smaller.


You can also view the gibbons outside through a window on the opposite side.


We take the turn, and on the corner is another aviary for Red Avadavat, White-Munia and Tricoloured Parrotfinch.


There are 2 more terrariums on the final corridor, a large bamboo forest one for Boelen’s Python and on the opposite side, a river paludarium for Golden Coin Box Turtle and Bornean Rock Frog.


The final inside enclosure… isn’t actually inside. The viewing gallery is, giving an above view of a grassy enclosure with lots of bamboo and a large tree in the middle which the residents can climb on and get up to their sleeping platform: a treehouse.


It used to have the zoo’s Red Pandas, but it now is a home for a pair of Clouded Leopards.


We head outside, down another ramp which informs us about palm oil, and in front of a large walk-through aviary which is still part of the Amazon section.


But before we get into that, we turn round and find a hidden-away enclosure in the shadow of Realm of the Red Ape for a breeding pair of North Sulawesi Babirusas and a large group of Asian Small-Clawed Otters, featuring a stream and a bamboo forest.


That was the final habitat of the Mekong, and the walkthrough ‘Latin American Wetlands Aviary’ that was opposite the ramp, is the last habitat of the Amazon, where you can walk through the palm islands and marshes on a wooden boardwalk.


The aviary is home to a large flock of American Flamingos, Black-Bellied Whistling Duck, Brazilian Teal, Puna Teal, Puna Ibis, Scarlet Ibis, Black-Necked Stilt, Lake Duck, Ringed Teal, Red Shoveler and Roseate Spoonbill.


Wow, this was a long one, will do Malagasy in the next post, as well as the overall map, species list and maps of the inside areas. Part 4 coming soon!

 

[AmazonianHippo]

Just to say I probably won't be posting for a while as I'm away on holiday and after that it's the start of my revision season, so Malagasy will have to wait!

 

[AmazonianHippo]

Okay so I’m going to announce that the Chester Zonal Masterplan is no longer going to be worked on as I was talking on the Chester Zoo Discussion thread, and I realised that although the zoos plans and mine were quite similar, the ‘Rainforest’ and various other aspects of my plan were very wrong and were not what the Zoochatters on the Discussion thread and I realise are going to happen.

However with the end of one project dawns the start of a new one. In a few weeks I shall start a new zoo entirely, based in Sassuolo, Italy. So look out for that, and who knows maybe one day I will return to the future of Chester.