Chester Zoo Tropical Realm

The Tropical House is one of the zoo's few remaining USPs, there's little like it elsewhere and it still has that "wow!" factor for many visitors. The zoo management is guilty of letting it fall into disrepair over a long period, starting with the closure of the ape dens and indoor gallery, and the closure of the nocturnal area. Had they been redeveloped at the time and a gradual program of improvements made, the complex wouldn't present all the challenges it does today.

The roof is a problem after work undertaken as part of a Government scheme to save energy, which resulted in at least half of the glass being replaced in order for a grant to be awarded. This ultimately backfired because due to the reduced sunlight, the building actually cost more to heat and the plants/birds also suffered. It's also not hard to see how inept the current curator of horticulture is by simply comparing the plants and flowers to those fifteen years ago, an area that counts greatly towards how unloved the building appears to be.

I'd really like to see the complex restored however, the footprint is huge and has so much potential. I'm sure this could be achieved with an outlay far below the investment in Islands (for example) but today's zoo management are more interested in getting new toys to play with than looking after the ones they already have.

Unfortunately we're likely to see the building demolished before it obtains preservation status.
 
I think it will have to go - after all that's the Chester way. But there will have to be a lot of work done to replace all the off-show facilities, as well as the on-show ones: so it can't happen soon.
I would prefer to see some smaller exhibits - we have a turtle/terrapin exhibit as a definite possibility, and it would be nice to have a tuatara house, and a hornbill breeding centre. The site could be redeveloped as a South American jungle (for the sun bittern, roulrouls, dartfrogs and caiman lizards perhaps linked to the buffy-headed capuchins and hyacinthines). The Islands tropical house will hold many of the others (crowned pigeons, crocs of some sort etc).
I'd also like to see a new indoor gymnasium for the chimps.

Alan
 
gentle lemur said:
The site could be redeveloped as a South American jungle (for the sun bittern, roulrouls, dartfrogs and caiman lizards perhaps linked to the buffy-headed capuchins and hyacinthines). The Islands tropical house will hold many of the others (crowned pigeons, crocs of some sort etc).
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Of course roul rouls are SE Asian rather than S American, but in general I agree with your ideas.
 
I have memories of being impressed by this exhibit(even though birds & reptiles aren't really of major interest to me) on my first visit,1991 i think, but with each subsequent visits, several years it has definitely declined. On my visit last year, apart from the tuataras, i didn't bother with it, mainly due to other priorities, but if i'd have enjoyed the experience as much in 2008 as i had in 1991, i'd have found the time.
 
aren't the komodo dragons moving to islands, the Tuatara could move into islands in danger, as could the tortoise.
 
tetrapod said:
Of course roul rouls are SE Asian rather than S American, but in general I agree with your ideas.
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Oops! I did know that :o it's the risk of posting in a hurry.

I think it will be very interesting to see how the zoo develops after Islands is opened (I'm touching wood and assuming that it will go ahead, more or less as planned). There could be a fair number of small scale projects to convert or refurbish the exhibits whose occupants have moved to Islands. RotRA, Islands in Danger, the tiger and cassowary enclosures, the anoa island, one of the monkey islands and the warty pig enclosures could all be involved sooner or later.
I would guess that it will take at least a couple of years to sort out all the problems involved (although I'm sure some people have started to think about them). During that time, the future of the Tropical Realm could be considered. I wouldn't be surprised if it's still there in 2020, but I hope that the design of its replacement will be interesting ZooChatters by that time.

Alan
 
What has happened to the temperature of the Tropical Realm? Went for a visit today and it felt like the Sub-tropical realm. I had to put my coat back on, when in the past I would have been sweating.
 
Aw I'm sad to see the tropical realm bashing in this thread :( I've been going to Chester since childhood and it was always hands down my favourite bit! The new orang facilities and island stuff are OK, but for me nothing beats being able to go and sit on a bench and watch all those colourful little birds flit about in the trees. And the hornbills - magnificent! I was never much of a reptile fan, so maybe that's why I'm so happy with it? I actually think it's the one part of the zoo which has stood the test of time and is still on a par with the newer stuff, which is cool when you consider the age of it. That said, I would not be against a refurbished version - so long as I have my free flying birds!
 
Hushwing said:
Aw I'm sad to see the tropical realm bashing in this thread :( I've been going to Chester since childhood and it was always hands down my favourite bit! The new orang facilities and island stuff are OK, but for me nothing beats being able to go and sit on a bench and watch all those colourful little birds flit about in the trees. And the hornbills - magnificent! I was never much of a reptile fan, so maybe that's why I'm so happy with it? I actually think it's the one part of the zoo which has stood the test of time and is still on a par with the newer stuff, which is cool when you consider the age of it. That said, I would not be against a refurbished version - so long as I have my free flying birds!
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I agree with Hushwing.

And am old enough to remember when there was an additional admission charge for entry.
 
And I remember the alligators in their old enclosure at the back, and when there was koi swimming in the waterfall pool.

Though it is quite old, I think that the old building is still one of the key highlights of the zoo; and definitely one of my favourite places.
 
Water Dragon said:
And I remember the alligators in their old enclosure at the back, and when there was koi swimming in the waterfall pool.

Though it is quite old, I think that the old building is still one of the key highlights of the zoo; and definitely one of my favourite places.
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I think the alligators and koi are quite recent! :)

Pygmy hippos where the Aye-Aye are now (late 70s?) and, of course, the Echidna.
 
Water Dragon said:
If you call thirteen years ago recent :)
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Of course it is! I remember when the site was a scruffy field with the pygmy hippos, crocs and Nocturnal House (or room) at one end and the chimps' indoor dens and the public gallery down the side. This photo from the Media Gallery shows these buildings in 1957, when the Tropical House only existed in Mr Mottershead's imagination.



The Tropical House was very impressive when newly built. There were some small tropical houses with free-flying birds in the UK, but none approached it in size. I think that the Snowdon Aviary was the only larger walk-through exhibit in the UK at the time.
I am quite impressed by my comments in 2012 (above), and I think that they describe the current situation pretty well. It is clear that the Tropical House will not last for ever. I guess that it still has a few years left, but extensive reconstruction or demolition will happen sooner or later. Perhaps in 10 years time, our new friend Hushwing will be able to watch free-flying birds in a South American indoor exhibit and an African one as well as in the Monsoon Forest.
 
[QUOTE="SHAVINGTONZOO, post: 1020480, member: 4930I ]

And am old enough to remember when there was an additional admission charge for entry.[/QUOTE]


Me too. Can you remember when they phased it out though?
 
I always thought the charge for the Tropical House was an excuse my dad made up because he didn't want to go in.

I do know I was allowed to go in the house around 1986/1988 for the first time and there was no charge.
 
Pertinax said:
[QUOTE="SHAVINGTONZOO, post: 1020480, member: 4930I ]

And am old enough to remember when there was an additional admission charge for entry.
Click to expand...


Me too. Can you remember when they phased it out though?[/QUOTE]

Mid 1970s?

I know there was still a charge when I went on a school trip c.1970 [as a pupil, not a teacher I hasten to add ;) ] When I resumed my keen zoo-visiting c.1977 I'm pretty sure it had gone.
 
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