Chester Zoo The Islands development - planning, development and build (2012-2015)

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There is a lot not included from the very original plans. I assume this is all cost related and they have had to make some savings.

Do you think they could ever get Sumatran Rhinos? That would be a coup, but could be possible considering their successes with the black and Indian rhinos lately?

I am disappointed about the tapirs though, think they would have been a good addition to the original Islands.

I assume they will plant up the areas left vacant by the enclosures that haven't actually made it to the first phase....
 
ChesterZooFan said:
Do you think they could ever get Sumatran Rhinos? That would be a coup, but could be possible considering their successes with the black and Indian rhinos lately?
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Never happening in a million years.
 
ChesterZooFan said:
Do you think they could ever get Sumatran Rhinos?
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You'll be lucky to ever see a Sumatran rhino in captivity anywhere again. The last one at Cincinatti is likely to be returned to Sumatra soon. Only if the population decline was reversed and started to rise again might this species ever be seen in a zoo outside of South East Asia and even then, I think it very unlikely.
 
Pertinax said:
You'll be lucky to ever see a Sumatran rhino in captivity anywhere again. The last one at Cincinatti is likely to be returned to Sumatra soon. Only if the population decline was reversed and started to rise again might this species ever be seen in a zoo outside of South East Asia and even then, I think it very unlikely.
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I wholeheartedly agree. It would be best for Sumatran rhino conservation if Cincinnati Zoo trumped its efforts with Indian rhino (and maintaining a bull on site) whilst making "waves" and cashing dollars for the Sumatran in situ rescue / captive-breeding efforts and sending the only remaining Sumatran rhino in the US back to Indonesia.

The same would be nice for European zoos - along the lines that Zoo Leipzig is already doing for the Sumatran rhinos from its Gondwanaland complex.
 
SHAVINGTONZOO said:
A million years is a very long time ! :)

Seriously, I feel so privileged to have seen Torgamba and Meranti at Port Lympne. Didn't Shakespeare write something like - "we who are left will never see so much nor live as long" ?
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You are privileged, I would love to see them one day.

As for never in a million years, well chances are they will be extinct in about 150 years so maybe never in 150 years is more apt :(.
 
Pootle said:
As for never in a million years, well chances are they will be extinct in about 150 years so maybe never in 150 years is more apt :(.
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Unless people pull their fingers out, could be as little as 15 years :( especially when one considers how rapid an impact poaching can have. For instance, the Northern White Rhino went from a wild population of 500 to a little over a dozen in a mere decade back in the 1970's - and despite the population subsequently being nurtured back up to about 35 by 2000, poaching has now rendered the species functionally extinct.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Unless people pull their fingers out, could be as little as 15 years :( especially when one considers how rapid an impact poaching can have. For instance, the Northern White Rhino went from a wild population of 500 to a little over a dozen in a mere decade back in the 1970's - and despite the population subsequently being nurtured back up to about 35 by 2000, poaching has now rendered the species functionally extinct.
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I think the current protection if kept in place will keep them longer than 15 years, but as numbers drop more and more, species as these become functionally/ecologically extinct and super vulnerable to total wipe out. Which gives a reasonable argument to separate some (maybe zoos?!).
 
"Attractions management" website has an interesting article on Chester's plans post Islands.... (sorry can't attach a link)

The zoo has confirmed its plans to open Heart of Africa as the next major development after Islands. Currently scheduled for a 2020 opening the revised HoA (scaled down from the original plans due to budget restraints) is in the process of being formulated and planned.

In the meantime there will be a refurbishment of Oakfield House and the core zoo will have upgrades to bring it to the same standard as Islands.

I assume this all depends on available funding but excited to see HoA is still very much on the cards!
 
After all this time I'm still not entirely sure what Islands is going to be.

Is it mostly an outside themed area, planted with hardy yet tropical looking plants, with a big greenhouse as the centerpiece? And, most importantly will they have any marsupials?
 
lamna said:
After all this time I'm still not entirely sure what Islands is going to be.

Is it mostly an outside themed area, planted with hardy yet tropical looking plants, with a big greenhouse as the centerpiece? And, most importantly will they have any marsupials?
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Yes you have just described it pretty much to a tea!The simple answer about marsupials is No.
 
What do Chester regulars anticipate from Heart of Africa? I assume gorillas, being one of the more obvious gaps in the collection, but what else?
 
IanRRobinson said:
What do Chester regulars anticipate from Heart of Africa? I assume gorillas, being one of the more obvious gaps in the collection, but what else?
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The initial plan included exhibits for Gorillas, Chimpanzees and Okapi as the main species, with Eastern Bongo, Colobus, Mandrill, Duiker, Pygmy Hippo and Red River Hogs also featured. It was all focused around a biodome but I suspect that will have been downsized significantly, with more exhibits surrounding it.
 
IanRRobinson said:
What do Chester regulars anticipate from Heart of Africa? I assume gorillas, being one of the more obvious gaps in the collection, but what else?
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I think that the old Tropical House (which I still can't bring myself to call the Tropical Realm) has a limited lifespan. So I expect that the new Heart of Africa will contain a walk-through indoor aviary, aviaries for hornbills and Congo peafowl and a range of reptile exhibits plus some sort of aquatic display.
If the Tropical House site is to be redeveloped subsequently, the chimps could stay where they are - but it is more likely that they would move to the new house. The same could be true for the forest buffalo, the okapi and the duikers, allowing the old Camel House and the Cattle House to be redeveloped too. The original masterplan was that the giraffes would go to a new African savannah area next to a new hotel beside the A41, but I suppose that they could also move to a redesigned Heart of Africa or just remain where they are.
I agree that gorillas are a strong possibility, as a new attraction. On the other hand, if the original plans are to be scaled back, they might have to be left out. My guess is that one feature that will not be included is the canal winding in and out of the building carrying visitors past the indoor and outdoor enclosures; after all there will be canal trips through Islands as well and the current ones could be continued or even extended too.
I guess that the red river hogs will go there, but I not so sure of pygmy hippos. I would hope to see some smaller mammal species too, for example a nice guenon or mangabey group and perhaps more duikers. Finally there are a group of species that ZooChatters would love to see, but which are much less likely to be featured - tree hyrax, elephant shrews, Picathartes and so on. I am not even dreaming of giant forest hogs or manatees :rolleyes:

Alan
 
Heart of Africa sounds super exciting, more so than Islands, although that may be because of the wishful species lists being posted here - I imagine the final one will be rather more grounded. Where will HoA actually be? Is it going to be in that corner that currently has the Tropical Realm, giraffes and Jags? Was the jaguar exhibit set to be part of it too? Is the African Savannah and hotel expansion set to be in new land adjacent to that?
 
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