Twycross Zoo Twycross zoo
- Thread starter KJ
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Yeah it was confirmed a while ago that it would be going ahead.
BBC NEWS | England | Leicestershire | Zoo secures £11m visitor centre
BBC NEWS | England | Leicestershire | Zoo secures £11m visitor centre
Writhedhornbill
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I, should, be going in February. I've only been once before, in 1999, so I'm looking forward to it. I'll se what I can find out...........
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
Not going on the Chester Zoo junior members visit are yuo won`t have that long their if you are?
Writhedhornbill
Well-Known Member
It's the only way I'll ever get to go again probably!
I'm not sure whether I'll see the whole zoo, but I have been to Martin Mere and Knowsley on these trips and they were really good!
I'm not sure whether I'll see the whole zoo, but I have been to Martin Mere and Knowsley on these trips and they were really good!
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
I will be their that day as well but i should be getting their at opening time and leaving when they kick me out,as i`ve got to see a person about a Giraffe while i`m their.
I would go as far as saying their ape enclsoures are downright dated!! Smaller primate enclosures not back but are very basic and lack imagination.
That said you will struggle to find a larger spread of primate species anywhere in the country, not to mention other choice mammals.
I often say this so I do run the risk of becoming like a broken record, but the thing that I find quite annoying is that some of the dated enclosures are actually quite new. They seemed outdated even when they were first built.
Hopefully this will not be the case with the new entrance exhibits
I heard that a large sum of money was raised publicly to either extend the Orangutan house or enclosure(or both) but all that's happened is some new climbing equipment has been provided in the outside- certainly that can't have cost all that was raised for that purpose..
What has happened to the rest of the money?
What has happened to the rest of the money?
Yes, I agree Chris.
The enclosure DESIGN is outdated......
Since Twycross are now advertising themselves as a 'World Primate Centre' I would suggest that they need to live up to that name with the design of their enclosure.
I am not criticising their husbandry or quality of care as they have very good records in this regard, and possibly much of my issue is to do with the way they look rather than anything else, but many of the enclosures just have that 1960/70s feel.
While the orang, bonobo & gorilla enclosures are not the worst I have seen, the chimp block reminds me of a prison building. Given the spacious enclosures for chimps at many smaller UK zoos, it dosn't seem acceptable to me to keep chimps in this way in the UK in this day and age.
The enclosure DESIGN is outdated......
Since Twycross are now advertising themselves as a 'World Primate Centre' I would suggest that they need to live up to that name with the design of their enclosure.
I am not criticising their husbandry or quality of care as they have very good records in this regard, and possibly much of my issue is to do with the way they look rather than anything else, but many of the enclosures just have that 1960/70s feel.
While the orang, bonobo & gorilla enclosures are not the worst I have seen, the chimp block reminds me of a prison building. Given the spacious enclosures for chimps at many smaller UK zoos, it dosn't seem acceptable to me to keep chimps in this way in the UK in this day and age.
I second the above. They need to sack their old architect, and probably change builders as well. The newer chimp/gorilla blocks that are just red brick walls with little windows in them are horrible. While the overall feel of the place is quite nice you really get the impression of a lack of imagination
I imagine you're talking about the original chimpanzee cages near the House? There is also a chimp'colony' building which isn't any worse(or better) than the other Ape houses- which are all remarkably similar and very unimaginative in design... also some chimps nowadays live in the original gorilla house(near the zoo entrance) too.
But the original chimp cages are a real eyesore- possibly the worst in the Uk- I'm amazed they are still in evidence at the zoo.
Does anyone having any news on;
1. The Elephant 'AI' programme.
2. What's going to be done about a new male for the 2nd gorilla group after Sekondi's death last year.
These designs are no doubt traceable in part to the two old dears who ran the zoo for so long- they were not professional zookeepers in the true sense, but rather had a 'pet shop' mentality, even as their animal collection grew larger. Consequently they deployed builders and architects to build simple exhibits which are functional(?) rather than 'attractive' or aesthetically pleasing, hence the large amount of red-brick walling- ugh....
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