Or maybe Peter Kertesz?
Twycross Zoo Twycross Zoo news 2014 #2
- Thread starter Nisha
- Start date
Or maybe Peter Kertesz?
BongoHardwood
Well-Known Member
Maybe he's not careful enough and has had to have them both removed due to damage!
Visit Tuesday 30th September
I went yesterday and noticed they had flattened the land that runs alongside the elephants (the other side of the winding path that runs the length of the elephant enclosure).
With the talk on here of giraffes returning I was wondering if this might be the location they had planned.
I was also thinking they could at least double the sizes of the gibbons enclosures by knocking twos into ones.
Well anyway, I got home and found there were two planning applications on the council’s website, one for the giraffes next to the elephants and one for a new gibbon house!
14/00731/FUL
https://pa.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk...iveTab=externalDocuments&keyVal=N9FH3DIIFZ500
14/00818/FUL
https://pa.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk...iveTab=externalDocuments&keyVal=NAID6BIIG2900
Of course I know from past history this doesn’t actually mean they’re going to happen!
The above links seem to be a bit hit and miss so I've included another just in case
https://pa.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk...earch.do?action=simple&searchType=Application with which you need to search on zoo.
I went yesterday and noticed they had flattened the land that runs alongside the elephants (the other side of the winding path that runs the length of the elephant enclosure).
With the talk on here of giraffes returning I was wondering if this might be the location they had planned.
I was also thinking they could at least double the sizes of the gibbons enclosures by knocking twos into ones.
Well anyway, I got home and found there were two planning applications on the council’s website, one for the giraffes next to the elephants and one for a new gibbon house!
14/00731/FUL
https://pa.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk...iveTab=externalDocuments&keyVal=N9FH3DIIFZ500
14/00818/FUL
https://pa.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk...iveTab=externalDocuments&keyVal=NAID6BIIG2900
Of course I know from past history this doesn’t actually mean they’re going to happen!
The above links seem to be a bit hit and miss so I've included another just in case
https://pa.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk...earch.do?action=simple&searchType=Application with which you need to search on zoo.
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sooty mangabey
Well-Known Member
The proposed gibbon house seems a very good move: the current accommodation is remarkably ugly (if quite serviceable) and the plans look promising, if not ground-breaking.
I cannot understand the desire to go back to giraffes, though. They're hardly the draw they once might have been - many years ago - and can be seen at any number of zoos. They'll provide a fairly passive experience for most visitors. They'll destroy any chance of geographical integrity around the elephant area (which seemed to be the plan, once). And, most importantly of all, while a 'new' species is brought in and housed in new accommodation, the great apes remain in less than perfect conditions.
I cannot understand the desire to go back to giraffes, though. They're hardly the draw they once might have been - many years ago - and can be seen at any number of zoos. They'll provide a fairly passive experience for most visitors. They'll destroy any chance of geographical integrity around the elephant area (which seemed to be the plan, once). And, most importantly of all, while a 'new' species is brought in and housed in new accommodation, the great apes remain in less than perfect conditions.
Animal Friendly
Well-Known Member
The gibbon house may look ugly, I agree but yes it is still a serviceable building I think it was built in the mid eighties and was officially opened by Johnny Morris. As for the return of the giraffes after only two years since they departed, perhaps this is to satisfy the visitors who complain about them no longer being there, along with sea lions, tigers and lions. I agree placing this new giraffe house next to the elephants will end the intention of having this area Asian themed, as was the original intention with the proposed new carnivore exhibit by the previous direction. Also, ideally the money would be better spent on say new orang facilities, but at least it appears to be progress for this zoo, that is of coarse if these plans do actually materialise, I hope they do.
Hi I have had a look at the new gibbon complex and it looks really good. The new gibbon house will not happen just yet because of finances I would think but the new ruling states that all the breads of gibbons can not be in housed next to each other so I think that is what makes it ground breaking but that is only a guess. hope this helps
Animal Friendly
Well-Known Member
So it appears that the zoo may have to build a new gibbon house because they are obliged to, due to new rules and not because they want to, that makes sense, I didn't think that a new gibbon house was high on the agenda, that explains it.
Animal Friendly
Well-Known Member
And as for he orangs, I don't mean a completely new exhibit, doing what Blackpool have recently done with their orang house, being of similar age and style to that of the one at Twycross would be sufficient and would not cost millions.
Is this an official e.g. EAZA or BIAZA ruling? I was at Monkeyworld recently and they have Gibbons in adjacent( now very good) enclosures too.
In Twycross' case I couldn't see them building new Gibbon enclosures as a priority. IMO the Gibbon enclosures there are quite adequate(even good) but there may be high stress levels from them living so close together-they are certainly the noisiest Gibbons I've heard anywhere, presumably due to the 'competition' from close neighbours.
An alternative would be to reduce the numbers so they weren't adjacent anymore...
It is the indoors that is lacking space, height and enough room for splitting the animals properly... Agree that a revamp of the indoors, along Blackpool lines would be a start. Having a single outdoor area is not such a problem if there is sufficient indoor space for all the animals to use. But they'd need to relocate the animals while doing it, as they did at Blackpool.
Hi I don't know if it is an official ruling. I always thought that the Gibbon house was pretty good there used to be no problems, me personally would do something about the orang house that is so old one of the original houses I think. Yes the gibbons can be very noisy the Siamangs especially closely followed by the rest.
Animal Friendly
Well-Known Member
I think the orang house was built in the early seventies, before that they lived with the chimps on chimp row. As well as the problems that Pertinax states with the inside of this house, although at one time there were several more animals living here than are at present, this building now looks old and shabby, I doubt Twycross will have the relevant finances to build a new state of the art orang house for some time to come,anyway hasn't it been stated recently that they would like to build a new three million pound "garden of Eden" for the chimps, so that probably would take priority over the orangs, a refurbishment of the current house would seam to me to be a realistic option, with perhaps the animals being temporarily rehoused at Chester, as was the case with the orangs from Blackpool.
Yes, the original Ape cages for all (then) three species were along the site of Chimp Row( now Leopards) with the wall at the back. The cages were much smaller than those the Chimps occupied in later years, and were plain mesh. The original two pairs of Orangutans 'Jod' and 'Alex' (Bornean), and 'Toby' and 'Trudie'(Sumatran) occupied them, as did the young Gorillas 'Joe' And 'Bongo'. Alex died, I think, before the Orangutan house was built- she was replaced by 'Twiggy' from London. the current house certainly held two pairs for a long time, sometimes more than that with babies.
Animal Friendly
Well-Known Member
The Twycross 40th Anniversary booklet states that the orang house was built in 1973, and the gibbon complex in 1979. It also states that the original gorilla house was built in 1980, that is the one near to Norton Grange, I always thought it was older than that.