The delay over the move was evidently due to the building timeframe falling behind the original(?) schedule- it was not ready till this Spring. A bull enclosure is now ready and waiting. As to a definite plan I'd be very surprised if a bull wasn't already earmarked. The EEP will have been behind all this, not just Blackpool and Twycross Zoos working together.
Twycross Zoo Twycross Zoo News 2018
- Thread starter kiang
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The delay over the move was evidently due to the building timeframe falling behind the original(?) schedule- it was not ready till this Spring. A bull enclosure is now ready and waiting. As to a definite plan I'd be very surprised if a bull wasn't already earmarked. The EEP will have been behind all this, not just Blackpool and Twycross Zoos working together.
I'm sure you're right (hope so anyway)
Maybe the elephants need time to settle into their new home and allow Kate to get used to them all. Bringing in a bull straight away maybe more stressful which could have a negative long term effect possibly on all of them or just Kate, think how long has she been on her own ? I`m sure a bull will arrive eventually but only when the time is right.
Zooreviewsuk
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know when work starts on the new Tiger exhibit at Twycross?
littleRedPanda
Well-Known Member
From the report linked earlier in the thread
"Work on the new attraction is expected to begin later this year after the plans are finalised in October. "
The variation on the planning application has been passed, it was updated today. I guess that means the plans are now finalised.
I hope this gets going quickly to neutralise some of the negativity flying around on social media. It would be nice if the Rhino alterations went ahead, as well, although I know someone on here suggested they would not be happening. If those two go ahead quickly, I expect the Elephant departures will soon be forgiven.
I think the elephant departures will be forgiven by most reasonably minded people, given the circumstances off the move in the first place.
I tend to agree with this (especially in the medium to long term). Twycross' geography, in terms of it being the only game in town, has protected it well over the years* -it has a big catchment area and a large core of people who'll continue to visit regardless of species held/quality of exhibits (as has pretty much always been the case).
*I suspect if they've got two or more small children in the car parents will nearly always choose the closest zoo -even an extra half an hours drive each way can be a lot of extra effort for them.
I don't think it will be disastrous either, for the reasons you point out. They don't have Lions( or Tigers presently) but that doesn't prevent people going there either.
Whither Twycross?
I first visited Twycross on the 1st of October 1971. Millennial ZooChatters may find it hard to understand that until The Penguin Guide to British Zoos was published in 1970, it was difficult to find any reasonably up-to-date and comprehensive information about British zoos, so Twycross was only the second proper zoo that I had visited (after Chester and before Bristol a few days later).
On that first visit, as a primate enthusiast I was surprised and delighted to see the colobus, spectacled langurs, uakari and proboscis monkeys, and I have visited Twycross fairly regularly ever since. But my visit a fortnight ago was quite a disappointing experience and it set me thinking about the problems that the zoo is facing.
I agree with the comments that benosaurus and Pertinax made here in July, indeed I would go further than they did. At the end of the summer season most of the zoo looked distinctly shabby. There was a lot of dirty, scuffed and faded paintwork; even the paint on the window frames of the bonobo enclosure was peeling. Another example was the structure of the Borneo Longhouse which looked dilapidated. I quite like the design of the aviary itself, but the first birds I saw there were moorhens, a flock of sparrows and a blackbird. I had to look again to see the egrets and to peer through the overgrown foliage to spot a couple of scarlet ibis, which were more pink than scarlet. Which brings me to the next problem, poor horticulture. The zoo's shop window is the snow leopard enclosure beside the Himalaya forecourt: it should be spectacular, but it was spoilt by a thick growth of weeds (as benosaurus reported previously). The bushdog enclosure was even worse with many species flourishing including some very healthy and spiky thistles and the brown skeletons of 3 big burdock plants covered in burrs: I dare say that bushdogs encounter many unpleasant plants in their natural habitat, but these weeds might be injurious as well as making it hard to see the dogs. Of course it is impossible to completely reproduce their natural habitat in an English zoo, but I know that their habitat in no way resembles a neglected patch of ground behind Farmer Giles's disused cowshed.
On the other hand, it is worth asking why all the planting on the gibbon islands is less than 2 metres tall and why the only trees in the big new Chimp Eden paddock are 3 leafless birch saplings? Chester and Edinburgh keep their chimps in thickly planted enclosures where they can get get out of each other's way when things get tense; this summer's weather may have made establishing planting difficult, but some clumps of tough shrubs could have been planted when the basic landscaping was done last autumn.
Let me make it clear that I approve of the zoo's decisions to build a big new house for all the chimps and to send the elephants away: indeed I think those decisions were long overdue, which has probably made the consequential problems worse.
Twycross has had a problem with empty enclosures for a while – but of course the last two elephants leaving and the last four chimps moving into the first large indoor area of Chimp Eden, have made that problem larger.
The new tiger enclosure should be built this winter, which will be a step forward, but there are an awful lot of other areas that will need work. I did see two zoo staff in the empty Elephant House, but I don't know what they were doing. In our previous discussions we seemed to agree that this house will probably hold some species of rhino eventually, but it will need modifications to suit the species that eventually arrives.
During my visit the old Chimp House next to the restaurant and the former Gorilla House opposite the Elephant House were both boarded up and empty. The other house which held chimps, near Norton Grange (which was the zoo's first Gorilla House) had a sign for black & gold howler monkeys – but I did not see them and I immediately felt that the grassed enclosure with very limited climbing opportunities did not suit howlers at all.
This got me thinking. Twycross has got form for moving animals into a new enclosure and then moving another species into the empty exhibit, even if it does not really suit them. For example when the last chimps left the old 'Green Mile' enclosures, they moved the Amur leopards in, after minimal modifications to make the outdoor enclosures larger by removing some of the barriers between them and then doing a little planting. That wasn't too bad for the leopards, although the enclosures are dreadfully ugly. But then they moved the group of black-headed spider monkeys into the former leopard enclosure, which originally held tigers if I remember correctly: it's not very big by modern standards and I feel it is not really tall enough for such large arboreal monkeys. Likewise the square brick enclosure with windows its walls, originally built as a Chimp Nursery, now holds a pair of siamangs! At least the zebras have plenty of space in the old Giraffe House even if they can't make use of all that headroom.
It worries me that something similar may happen in the former Chimp Houses. There are three possibilities – refurbishment, modification or demolition. The choice depends on the costs of each option, the species that might be housed there and the state of the enclosures (bearing in mind that the chimps probably did not leave their exhibits in the way they would have liked to find them). I and many other ZooChatters would like to see better housing for the orangs and the bonobos at Twycross: but I think that would need new buildings: I suppose that one or other of the old chimp houses might be a temporary solution if an emergency arouse, but both the orangs and the bonobos deserve better. There is a precedent for this, I don't remember the original Elephant House at Twycross very clearly, but I think it was effectively gutted and rebuilt to house the bonobos when they arrived.
I wonder if they might break with the Twycross tradition and bring in some macaques or baboons, which would like the open grassy paddocks, without much need for modifications apart from some landscaping and planting. The house near Chimp Eden has wire roofs over its outdoor enclosures, so it might suit a small group of drills or mandrills. Alternatively, the two open-topped exhibits are both roughly circular, so perhaps they could install a central pillar to support a mesh roof over each of them: this would give space for lots of planting and climbing equipment to suit two of the groups of arboreal monkeys at Twycross, such as the black-headed spiders, the Dianas or the L'Hoest's guenons, which are hard to see in the old quarantine area behind the owls. Then if they can't build a nice spacious cage for those siamangs, send them to a zoo which can and put a smaller species in the old Chimp Nursery, I would like to see some capuchins back at the zoo, but other small monkey species are available.
The management of Twycross have at long last taken some hard decisions. Now they need to follow up with care and imagination. I do want to enjoy my next visit.
I first visited Twycross on the 1st of October 1971. Millennial ZooChatters may find it hard to understand that until The Penguin Guide to British Zoos was published in 1970, it was difficult to find any reasonably up-to-date and comprehensive information about British zoos, so Twycross was only the second proper zoo that I had visited (after Chester and before Bristol a few days later).
On that first visit, as a primate enthusiast I was surprised and delighted to see the colobus, spectacled langurs, uakari and proboscis monkeys, and I have visited Twycross fairly regularly ever since. But my visit a fortnight ago was quite a disappointing experience and it set me thinking about the problems that the zoo is facing.
I agree with the comments that benosaurus and Pertinax made here in July, indeed I would go further than they did. At the end of the summer season most of the zoo looked distinctly shabby. There was a lot of dirty, scuffed and faded paintwork; even the paint on the window frames of the bonobo enclosure was peeling. Another example was the structure of the Borneo Longhouse which looked dilapidated. I quite like the design of the aviary itself, but the first birds I saw there were moorhens, a flock of sparrows and a blackbird. I had to look again to see the egrets and to peer through the overgrown foliage to spot a couple of scarlet ibis, which were more pink than scarlet. Which brings me to the next problem, poor horticulture. The zoo's shop window is the snow leopard enclosure beside the Himalaya forecourt: it should be spectacular, but it was spoilt by a thick growth of weeds (as benosaurus reported previously). The bushdog enclosure was even worse with many species flourishing including some very healthy and spiky thistles and the brown skeletons of 3 big burdock plants covered in burrs: I dare say that bushdogs encounter many unpleasant plants in their natural habitat, but these weeds might be injurious as well as making it hard to see the dogs. Of course it is impossible to completely reproduce their natural habitat in an English zoo, but I know that their habitat in no way resembles a neglected patch of ground behind Farmer Giles's disused cowshed.
On the other hand, it is worth asking why all the planting on the gibbon islands is less than 2 metres tall and why the only trees in the big new Chimp Eden paddock are 3 leafless birch saplings? Chester and Edinburgh keep their chimps in thickly planted enclosures where they can get get out of each other's way when things get tense; this summer's weather may have made establishing planting difficult, but some clumps of tough shrubs could have been planted when the basic landscaping was done last autumn.
Let me make it clear that I approve of the zoo's decisions to build a big new house for all the chimps and to send the elephants away: indeed I think those decisions were long overdue, which has probably made the consequential problems worse.
Twycross has had a problem with empty enclosures for a while – but of course the last two elephants leaving and the last four chimps moving into the first large indoor area of Chimp Eden, have made that problem larger.
The new tiger enclosure should be built this winter, which will be a step forward, but there are an awful lot of other areas that will need work. I did see two zoo staff in the empty Elephant House, but I don't know what they were doing. In our previous discussions we seemed to agree that this house will probably hold some species of rhino eventually, but it will need modifications to suit the species that eventually arrives.
During my visit the old Chimp House next to the restaurant and the former Gorilla House opposite the Elephant House were both boarded up and empty. The other house which held chimps, near Norton Grange (which was the zoo's first Gorilla House) had a sign for black & gold howler monkeys – but I did not see them and I immediately felt that the grassed enclosure with very limited climbing opportunities did not suit howlers at all.
This got me thinking. Twycross has got form for moving animals into a new enclosure and then moving another species into the empty exhibit, even if it does not really suit them. For example when the last chimps left the old 'Green Mile' enclosures, they moved the Amur leopards in, after minimal modifications to make the outdoor enclosures larger by removing some of the barriers between them and then doing a little planting. That wasn't too bad for the leopards, although the enclosures are dreadfully ugly. But then they moved the group of black-headed spider monkeys into the former leopard enclosure, which originally held tigers if I remember correctly: it's not very big by modern standards and I feel it is not really tall enough for such large arboreal monkeys. Likewise the square brick enclosure with windows its walls, originally built as a Chimp Nursery, now holds a pair of siamangs! At least the zebras have plenty of space in the old Giraffe House even if they can't make use of all that headroom.
It worries me that something similar may happen in the former Chimp Houses. There are three possibilities – refurbishment, modification or demolition. The choice depends on the costs of each option, the species that might be housed there and the state of the enclosures (bearing in mind that the chimps probably did not leave their exhibits in the way they would have liked to find them). I and many other ZooChatters would like to see better housing for the orangs and the bonobos at Twycross: but I think that would need new buildings: I suppose that one or other of the old chimp houses might be a temporary solution if an emergency arouse, but both the orangs and the bonobos deserve better. There is a precedent for this, I don't remember the original Elephant House at Twycross very clearly, but I think it was effectively gutted and rebuilt to house the bonobos when they arrived.
I wonder if they might break with the Twycross tradition and bring in some macaques or baboons, which would like the open grassy paddocks, without much need for modifications apart from some landscaping and planting. The house near Chimp Eden has wire roofs over its outdoor enclosures, so it might suit a small group of drills or mandrills. Alternatively, the two open-topped exhibits are both roughly circular, so perhaps they could install a central pillar to support a mesh roof over each of them: this would give space for lots of planting and climbing equipment to suit two of the groups of arboreal monkeys at Twycross, such as the black-headed spiders, the Dianas or the L'Hoest's guenons, which are hard to see in the old quarantine area behind the owls. Then if they can't build a nice spacious cage for those siamangs, send them to a zoo which can and put a smaller species in the old Chimp Nursery, I would like to see some capuchins back at the zoo, but other small monkey species are available.
The management of Twycross have at long last taken some hard decisions. Now they need to follow up with care and imagination. I do want to enjoy my next visit.
Zooreviewsuk
Well-Known Member
I thought the Siamangs were in Gibbon Forest?
After visiting last week I have to say I completely agree with what’s said. Even though I have visited frequently over the last few years this was the shortest and most disappointing visit I could remember.
The majority of enclosures appear to be overgrown to a point where many visitors were just walking past assuming they were empty. The whole zoo needs a good spruce up especially the area towards the longhouse aviary.
The penguin pool was so covered in leaves it was difficult to see if penguins were in the water or not.
Visitors in Gibbon Forest were more busy looking for mice than at the gibbons. I realise with so many animals pest control will always be difficult but I can’t remember ever seeing an enclosure this bad for mice. Many people saw them so close to the window and quickly left.
The recently refurbed otter enclosure still looks an eyesore with bare concrete showing and very little water to swim in. I Felt myself wondering if the moats around the new gibbon enclosures could have been better fenced off to make a big otter enclosure.
The zoo just definitely feels empty and unloved at the minute. Hopefully the Tigers will add a little something as many visitors could be heard complaining about how every enclosure appeared to be empty or repeated species.
As the first zoo I can ever remember visiting as a child it upsets me to see it this way and hopefully the money that is saved by the removal of the elephants can be spent on just giving the place a touch of paint and a general refurb.
Surely volunteers could be found to help out with this if cost was an issue. Approaching local colleges who run courses for decorators/gardeners/builders etc. Would seem like a common sense thing to do for me.
The majority of enclosures appear to be overgrown to a point where many visitors were just walking past assuming they were empty. The whole zoo needs a good spruce up especially the area towards the longhouse aviary.
The penguin pool was so covered in leaves it was difficult to see if penguins were in the water or not.
Visitors in Gibbon Forest were more busy looking for mice than at the gibbons. I realise with so many animals pest control will always be difficult but I can’t remember ever seeing an enclosure this bad for mice. Many people saw them so close to the window and quickly left.
The recently refurbed otter enclosure still looks an eyesore with bare concrete showing and very little water to swim in. I Felt myself wondering if the moats around the new gibbon enclosures could have been better fenced off to make a big otter enclosure.
The zoo just definitely feels empty and unloved at the minute. Hopefully the Tigers will add a little something as many visitors could be heard complaining about how every enclosure appeared to be empty or repeated species.
As the first zoo I can ever remember visiting as a child it upsets me to see it this way and hopefully the money that is saved by the removal of the elephants can be spent on just giving the place a touch of paint and a general refurb.
Surely volunteers could be found to help out with this if cost was an issue. Approaching local colleges who run courses for decorators/gardeners/builders etc. Would seem like a common sense thing to do for me.
I had opportunity to revisit a couple of weeks ago too, but having been earlier in the year I felt a follow-up at this stage wasn't worthwhile, you have endorsed that sentiment. I noticed recently on their FB even some general visitors have commented on the number of empty enclosures. That was before the Elephants were gone and the smaller Chimp group finally moved over (that is good news in itself) so that's two more prominent enclosures empty at present.
I think the empty and very dated ex-Chimp/Gorilla buildings would be best knocked down, or failing that, given over to some of the larger Monkeys that don't have much space at present (the L'Hoests are the prime example), or even larger species- Mandrill/Drill or Macaques/Mangabeys as you suggest. But the indoor areas are pretty grim-looking now and would need improvement if the public were allowed access again, but it could be done.
I agree about the planting in the new Chimp outdoor area- I was surprised there was no clumping Bamboo or other thick vegetation put in to form visual barriers and more interest- it looks(or at least it did before it was open) more like formal planting in a park.
Apart from the empty buildings the worst areas IMO are the Borneo Longhouse, which has been neglected for years now, and more recently along near the Tufted Deer has become similar, but I agree about your other comments too. You saw it tail -end of the season which is a bad time of course, but I was in Bristol the other week around the same time and by contrast that looked good and mostly full of animals.
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Visited this Sunday and finial they have announced the arrival of tigers next year on the new 2018 / 2019 map showing tigers arriving 2019. There have been articles in local news but twycross haven't committed on there arival to confirm that this will happen
They may be able to hold Sumatrans temporarily in part of the Amur Leopard exhibit or one of the brick Chimp houses off show?They have to build the new exhibit first
Zooreviewsuk
Well-Known Member
What would be the benefit of that ? I sincerely doubt any Tigers will arrive, until the new exhibit is finished.