Chester Zoo visit 25th November

bongorob

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Chester Zoo visit 25th November

The zoo was not very busy and for the first time I was the only person in Realm of the Red Ape. I even saw a White-lipped Pit Vipers at last. The cracked window was in the process of being replaced.

The Eyelash Viper in Spirit of the Jaguar which used to sit in a position which made photogrphy almost impossible has moved to a position where photography is impossible. The only amphibians on view were the Caecilians and the Surinam toads. The jaguars wew a no show.

In the Tropical Realm reptile section only the Crocodiles, Gila Monsters, Tuatara, Radiated and Galapagos Tortoies and Beaded Lizards are on show. It looks as if new enclosures are being built in front of the existing ones. There is no information board showing the plans. The Victoria Corwned Pigeons have built a nest on top of the Wrinkled Hornbill aviary. The hornbills are also nesting.

The okapis are getting along very well and were together in the indoor area in the morning. Dickie was paying close attention to Stuma. In the afternoon they were back in their own pens

The male Komodo Dragon enclosure is to be rebuilt as an exhibit for Caribbean Iguanas. The adjacent bird house and aviaries have all gone.

There is a special offer for monorail tickets. Two adult trips for £2 and children/OAP £1.50. It was not running at the time of my visit.

The Joseph Banks room was closed.

Most of the ungulates in west zoo were inside, only the Gemsbok, Sitatunga (2 babies) and one of the Dik-Dik were to be seen.

In the new babirusa and otter enclosure I could only see the male Babirusa and the otters were mating.

The Himalayan Monal Pheasants are now kept in the Red-billed Magpie aviary.

I did not see either of the bears, the female which other people have said is very active did not show herself while I was at the enclosure.

No animals were visible in the very muddy Asian plains enclosure and I did not see warty pigs in their new enclosure.
 
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What's happening with the komodo dragons then if there is only one enclosure available to them?
 
The Komodo Dragons are still part of the zoo's breeding programmes. There is the female's enclosure, the outdoor enclosure and an offshow area still available for them. As far as I know they are still trying for a normal breeding.
 
The zoo went for 4 years (?) without a second on-show indoor enclosure, so i'm sure they can cope now...

The off-show facilities and outdoor enclosure won't be affected i imagine
 
@ Bongorob I thought the zoo was going to use the female Komodo enclosure for the Iguanas,if they have changed the plan and are going to use the males that seems a bit of over kill to me.
 
The zoo went for 4 years (?) without a second on-show indoor enclosure, so i'm sure they can cope now...

The off-show facilities and outdoor enclosure won't be affected i imagine

Why would they choose to 'cope' though? The outdoor enclosure is only suitable for use for a small percentage of the year.

How big is the off show area compared with the on show?

Just to check, is the female in the small enclosure and the male in the large?
 
@ Bongorob I thought the zoo was going to use the female Komodo enclosure for the Iguanas,if they have changed the plan and are going to use the males that seems a bit of over kill to me.

That is what I thought too, the sign announcing the changes was in the male's enclosure though.
 
Why would they choose to 'cope' though? The outdoor enclosure is only suitable for use for a small percentage of the year.

How big is the off show area compared with the on show?

Just to check, is the female in the small enclosure and the male in the large?

sorry, poor terminology on my part.

What i meant was Chester went 4 years seemingly without problems with one on-show facility and if they feel that using the other exhibit for iguanas would be a better use of resources, then they can probably revert to the original set-up.
 
Sounds like a major change of plan suppose they could make a new walk around loop inside and still get 3 or 4 decent sized enclosures for the Iguanas in it.
 
Could all the changes to the surrounding area (old bird house corridor/aviaries/round aviaries/childrens farm) be to make way for an expanded islands in danger area with more komodo housing? the galapagous tortoises/phillipine crocs etc. could be included?
 
The tropical realm modifications are coming along well, looks like they will have two large open exhibits.
 
The tropical realm modifications are coming along well, looks like they will have two large open exhibits.
Do they encroach into the main floor of the Tropical Realm, Taun, with the loss of some pathways? Photos anyone?
 
Do they encroach into the main floor of the Tropical Realm, Taun, with the loss of some pathways? Photos anyone?

Yes they do, I would guess they will be as far out as the Galapagos tortoise enclosure.
 
I apologize for being a bit dim but would anyone care to explain what exactly is happening with the Reptiles in the Realm?
Are the current enclosures just being expanded and being made longer?
 
I apologize for being a bit dim but would anyone care to explain what exactly is happening with the Reptiles in the Realm?
Are the current enclosures just being expanded and being made longer?

Yes and sort of no! If that makes any sense. This not confirmed but it looks like they are building two large enclsoures in front of the old style glass viewing. Where you will be able to take photos and view without glass.
 
I don't suppose they're re-opening the corridor and all the tanks along the left-hand side of the Tropical Realm? I've been wondering for a while what happened to all the specimens that were once housed there.

There's actually a lot of the Tropical Realm building closed to the public - for example I wonder what's now in the huge area that used to be the chimp quarters and viewing gallery, and upstairs through the door at the end of the balcony where the nocturnal area was for a short time?
 
I doubt the old corridor will be brought back on show. It no longer houses anything, or at least it didn't last time I went down there.

The old Chimp Quarters are empty and the other areas are used as storage and offshow reptile facilities.
 
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