Twycross Zoo Twycross zoo

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KJ said:
I thought it was just me that thought the place had a lot of red walls lol, anyway is it me or is there leopard enclosure a tad on the small side, or is that the same most place's ??? Anyone know the company or designers etc who made it ???
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I'd agree with that. I find it hard to believe it orignially had tigers in! I've only visited the once and it was just after they'd got the leopards. They'd been there about a month and they already seemed a bit sick of it.

I have to say I thought the giraffes deserved better too- there exhibit was small and boring.

My favourite exhibits at Twycross were the marmoset/tarmarin exhibits. They were very simple cage style enclosures, and again quite small, but they were quite densely vegetated which made up for the size in some ways.

Do Twycross still have harbour seals?
 
I would agree on this also......

I suppose it is all relative but given the climbing preference of this species I would have thought height would be important in an enclosure for leopards. Compare this to say Marwell's leopard enclosure and you can see what I mean.
 
No dont have seals no more, where the seals were there is a dophin thing like feture in the center of the pond.

The leopards enclourse got remade after the tigers left, as i remember that is a new roof that green roof it has.

I too agree i love the marmoset/tarmarin encloures due to the amount of plants in there.
 
I think the Leopard enclosure(remodelled from the Tigers) is actually one of Twycross's better exhibits- its properly landscaped and with plenty of topography for the inmates. Not too high admittedly, but in other respects I think its fine, more like the sort of enclosure you'd expect in a quality collection.

I'm hoping when they do a new Asian Lion enclosure, it will be equally well done(or better...) I think their most recent enclosures are a distinct improvement.
 
I hope zoonewboy you dont mind but seen you posted a pic of the enclousre to the gallary just posting it here, also is this your own picture ??

[photo=1999;564;Picture_654.jpg]Amur Leopard Enclosure - Twycross 2006[/photo]

The tigers wall use to be soild all the way around i swear it did, and the whole thing is new apart from the indoor part is this true ???
 
i think the enclosure will eventually house a baboon species drill or mandrillwhich i cant remember! nice to see this group of species represented here!
 
Yeah I quite like the Leopard exhibit. I think the lion exhibit is awful and seriously needs re building in a bigger area.
 
KJ said:
I hope zoonewboy you dont mind but seen you posted a pic of the enclousre to the gallary just posting it here, also is this your own picture ??

[photo=1999;564;Picture_654.jpg]Amur Leopard Enclosure - Twycross 2006[/photo]

The tigers wall use to be soild all the way around i swear it did, and the whole thing is new apart from the indoor part is this true ???
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No problem. Good idea to post here also. I put it up for that reason but forgot to put link to thread in......

Yes, It is my own photo....

So AL are you saying the leopards are only termporary residents of this enclosure and it was actually built with something else in mind??
 
The Amur Leopards are here to stay. Very soon the zoo will be getting a new female in once the cubs are slighter bigger.

I remember the old Tiger enclosure very well. The indoor area is the same as it is now. The fencing was like the Lions one.

There are plans on something for the Lions, Dholes and Otters.

James B
 
James Barber said:
I remember the old Tiger enclosure very well. The indoor area is the same as it is now. The fencing was like the Lions one.

James B
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That's correct. The Tiger enclosure occupied exactly the same site but was a simple enclosure like the Lions', with a meshed fence. I think the Tigers were two male Sumatrans which were brothers.
 
I have to say the new entrance and visitor facilities are long overdue - the current arrangement is simply not adequate for a place that attracts half a million people a year. Hopefully they will choose a more ambitious design, because the last thing the zoo needs is another red-brick institutional building.

One other criticism I have it that the enclosures have a very haphazard arrangement and the routes around the site are poorly defined. Half the zoo is nothing more than a large field with a series of cages. Sure, it may have started out that way but 40 years on, and with those visitor numbers, they can do better.

Oh, and the website's a joke - no news since June. Kudos to them for trying to put a comprehensive species list on the site, but it hasn't been updated in 4 years.

It sounds like I'm being terribly critical, but the thing I feel walking round Twycross is frustration: such a unique and amazing collection exhibited in such a mediocre way.

On a (slightly) positive note, I do like the leopard exhibit, but I wish there were 2 outdoor enclosures so the male/cubs could be outside at the same time.
 
Chris79 said:
Oh, and the website's a joke - no news since June. Kudos to them for trying to put a comprehensive species list on the site, but it hasn't been updated in 4 years.

It sounds like I'm being terribly critical, but the thing I feel walking round Twycross is frustration: such a unique and amazing collection exhibited in such a mediocre way.
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I'm afraid I have always been rather critical of Twycross for many reasons- chiefly the designs but also the poor management of some species- particularely the Elephants and Gorillas where little or no effort has been made to ensure the animals continue to breed after initial successes..

I agree the website's a nonstarter- it looks like its written for 8 year olds... and very out of date. And yes, its a very good collection, but much of it isn't displayed to its full advantage. I still remain hopeful that things will improve overall in the future. The new entrance area is long overdue...
 
The new Visitor centre is not long overdue, I would say will be started around the Summer time and should expect to take around 18-20 months to complete. It won't be another red-bricked building, it will be a big building along with the Snow Leopards and Wading birds enclosures.

Current work around the zoo going on is around the Flamingo & Malayan Tapir area, so once all that and the new cafe is complete, then I think the new centre should start, and maybe some other work around the zoo

James B
 
James Barber said:
I would say will be started around the Summer time and should expect to take around 18-20 months to complete.
Current work around the zoo going on is around the Flamingo & Malayan Tapir area
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Wonder why they are doing it in the summer with the amount of vistors in the summer and not in the winter.

James, what work happing around the Flamingo & Malayan Tapir area ?? Any pictures ???
 
KJ said:
Wonder why they are doing it in the summer with the amount of vistors in the summer and not in the winter.

James, what work happing around the Flamingo & Malayan Tapir area ?? Any pictures ???
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They will start in the summer, because if its going to take 18 months to complete they will get two summers during construction and hopefully be good weather which makes life easier when building stuff!
 
James Barber said:
Current work around the zoo going on is around the Flamingo & Malayan Tapir area, so once all that and the new cafe is complete, then I think the new centre should start, and maybe some other work around the zoo

James B
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I love Twycross and think that it gets more stick than it deserves, but I must ask: does the place really need yet another cafe? It already has 3!!! The last time I went they only had 1 of them open, and that was on a Saturday in July. The new Gorilla Outpost Cafe is excellent, but even that was shut on this particular day.

Looking forward to the new attractions though; I agree that the new entrance is a really good idea, and I just can't wait for those Snow Leopards to arrive. :D
 
Sand Cat said:
I love Twycross and think that it gets more stick than it deserves,
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Sandcat, Do you think that could have anything to do with the fact they have four female Asian elephants which they could send out on breeding loan (Two of them are proven breeders I think) and NO bull, maybe if they sent out just one or two of the females at a time they could still have some on show and end up with some babies as well?.
 
Sand Cat said:
I love Twycross and think that it gets more stick than it deserves, but I must ask: does the place really need yet another cafe? It already has 3!!!
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The cafe near the entrance is going an being bulit into a new one. Well that is what i can make out.
 
Twycross has 4 cafe's at the moment (Monkey Bar, Cockatoo, Gorilla Outpost, and Oasis). The new centre will be very updated with a mightly large cafe, also a large gift shop, info area, new toilets and more. Monkey Bar cafe at the entrance won't be built into a new one.

I don't know the current work going on near the Flamingos and Tapirs but I guess its a Flamingo/Tapir extension and an extention to the Bornean walkways. I will try and find out more when I'm next there working.

James B
 
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