Chester Zoo "Superzoo"- rumours, confirmed etc...

snowleopard said:
Isn't Chester Zoo already miles ahead of any other collection in the United Kingdom? Other than Edinburgh is there any other zoo that is even close? Please don't mention London, which is only now finally pulling itself out of the doldrums.
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Probably not, Chester is up there as one of the best in the UK. However in the world it needs to do some catching up and RORA, the new elephant house and new cheetah enclosure are starting to solve the problem o the enclosure front.
 
Marwell Dalek said:
Hmm, Chester claiming to be Britain's top wildlife attraction in several years, despite the same being said by Edinburgh and the NCWP...

Looks like it's a three-way contest!
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If you read carefully Chester don`t just plan on being the U.K`s must see Wildlife Attraction but also EUROPES,now correct me if i`m wrong but neither of the others has ever made this claim,or has the funding in place to start their projected plans.So to my mind that makes it very much a ONE HORSE RACE.
 
Chester is undoubtedly the best but I still don't regard it as having a knock-out exhibit. RotRA is really good but not knock-out unlike budongo in edinburgh which, in my opinion, elevates this zoo to second in the country. However, with the new african rainforest, chester have the potential to do something really special and I think, purely because of the amount being spent, chester will be far better than NWCP and edinburgh by the end.
 
redpanda said:
However, with the new african rainforest, chester have the potential to do something really special and I think, purely because of the amount being spent, chester will be far better than NWCP and edinburgh by the end.
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Money doesn't mean quality, just look at GK £5million for the enclosure!

Why do you not think RORA is a knock out enclosure?
 
redpanda said:
Chester is undoubtedly the best but I still don't regard it as having a knock-out exhibit. RotRA is really good but not knock-out unlike budongo in edinburgh which, in my opinion, elevates this zoo to second in the country. However, with the new african rainforest, chester have the potential to do something really special and I think, purely because of the amount being spent, chester will be far better than NWCP and edinburgh by the end.
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Have seen Budongo it is very good but they have alot of wasted space in which they could have put some other exhibits,if they had done then they would have had a truely world class exhibit but instead they managed to just fall short of having a top class European exhibit,but that said it is still the best Chimp exhibit i`ve seen but along way.
 
redpanda said:
Chester is undoubtedly the best but I still don't regard it as having a knock-out exhibit.
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i've said it before on these forums, but the reason i think Chester is the best is the high level of consistency in it's enclosures dotted with some world-class exhibits. Off the top of my head, I genuinely can't think of a 'poor' enclosure at Chester. Yes some could have the odd improvement, but then so could nearly every exhibit world-wide.

and I do disagree about the 'knock-out' enclosure comment as I believe RORA and the new elephant house are both top quality enclosures (from an animal's point of view and a visitors (which is where Chester is sometimes let down))

With the new plans, Chester is finally taking steps to become recognised on a visitor AND animal level. It's gradually becoming a more 'immersion' experience (which is still a rare thing in the UK, in my opinion) and visitor's are getting more facilities for them, however the exhibits seem to be getting upgraded even further... very exciting times ahead!
 
CZJimmy said:
(from an animal's point of view and a visitors (which is where Chester is sometimes let down))
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Certainly agree there, chester are on a run of exhibits that are suited to both there occupants and for people wishing to view them. Which is harder than one would think.
 
The planned development was featured on Radio 4 PM programme tonight . They interviewed Will Travers of Born Free who said the money could be far better spent on direct conservation projects . He did not come out with all zoos should be closed . The Zoo was reported as refusing to share a discussion with WT though the Zoo DG was willing to be interviewed separately .
 
Bele said:
The Zoo was reported as refusing to share a discussion with WT though the Zoo DG was willing to be interviewed separately .
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Probably best to avoid a 'war of words' with an anti-zoo group, it could lead to something like which is happening in LA at the moment...
 
RotRA is not a knock-out exhibit because, for me, it is not exciting enough. I tend to prefer immersive exhibits but that is not essential. The reason budongo is and RotRA isn't, in my humble opinion, is that budongo is better from a visitors point of view (i am not disputing the animal's quality of life as in both it is excellent). The interpretation at budongo is far better, viewing onto the outdoor area is much better because of the exhibit's shape and you get much better close ups at budongo with their 'pods' than with chester's aviary-style enclosures. Although budongo does waste space and is only a single species exhibit, i didn't particularly like how there were loads of species in quite average enclosures along the RotRA trail. I am probably not making any sense as it is just a personal feeling but budongo just seemed to have, for want of a better phrase, the X-factor. Like i said, though, i did really like RotRA and am just being picky about the details.
 
redpanda said:
The interpretation at budongo is far better, viewing onto the outdoor area is much better because of the exhibit's shape and you get much better close ups at budongo with their 'pods' than with chester's aviary-style enclosures.
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I happen to think this is one of the reasons RORA is such a success. The RORA gives the apes the depth and height which leads to less stressed animals. The close ups you get often at Chester, as the orangutans often come and sit on the window ledge, but this at their choice if they want to be gwapped at.

I feel there are some many great ape enclosure in the UK that don’t offer that choice to such intelligent animals.
 
taun said:
Money doesn't mean quality, just look at GK £5million for the enclosure!

Why do you not think RORA is a knock out enclosure?
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Seems to me that the size of the domes and the budget fit together well to create the "Eden Project" of zoos. This is an ambitious project with the budget required to pull it off. Should be very special
 
Zooplantman said:
Seems to me that the size of the domes and the budget fit together well to create the "Eden Project" of zoos. Should be very special
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Zooplantman, just curious, but how do you feel this development measures up against recent big developments in the US?
 
CZJimmy said:
Zooplantman, just curious, but how do you feel this development measures up against recent big developments in the US?
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Well, we don't know very much about the plan, but from what we do know I'd say there is nothing as ambitious as this being discussed in the USA.
Indianapolis Zoo has a pretty radical idea for their new gorilla exhibit, but this is, I think, more exciting (and three times the budget).

What makes this so audacious is the idea of creating an African forest indoors (I expect it will be rather like Eden project) with canopy walks and I expect a river. And, as I said, 90million pounds can accomplish that.
 
Zooplantman said:
Well, we don't know very much about the plan, but from what we do know I'd say there is nothing as ambitious as this being discussed in the USA.
Indianapolis Zoo has a pretty radical idea for their new gorilla exhibit, but this is, I think, more exciting (and three times the budget).

What makes this so audacious is the idea of creating an African forest indoors (I expect it will be rather like Eden project) with canopy walks and I expect a river. And, as I said, 90million pounds can accomplish that.
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Thanks for your view Zooplantman. If you look at the more decent photo, you can clearly see a river running out of the top right hand of the dome.
 
Zooplantman said:
Well, we don't know very much about the plan, but from what we do know I'd say there is nothing as ambitious as this being discussed in the USA.
Indianapolis Zoo has a pretty radical idea for their new gorilla exhibit, but this is, I think, more exciting (and three times the budget).

What makes this so audacious is the idea of creating an African forest indoors (I expect it will be rather like Eden project) with canopy walks and I expect a river. And, as I said, 90million pounds can accomplish that.
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Thanks, that's interesting to know. From the outside looking in, it seems as if the US has had a huge boom with exhibit building and masterplan developments...

I think 'Heart of Africa' does include a river as the article mentions a boat ride alongside the raised walkways...
 
CZJimmy said:
Thanks, that's interesting to know. From the outside looking in, it seems as if the US has had a huge boom with exhibit building and masterplan developments...

I think 'Heart of Africa' does include a river as the article mentions a boat ride alongside the raised walkways...
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But not on this scale.
"Earthpark" in Iowa was on the scale of this Africa exhibit but may never be built.
Only in Asia and the Middle East are there things of this scale...but they may never be built.
 
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