West Midland Safari and Leisure Park Visit to WMSP

camel leopard

camel leopard

Well-Known Member
Went to WMSP yesterday, i had been wanting to go for a while but it is quite far away.
I enjoyed it very much but was also a little disapointed with it , the collection of animals seams to be great with some rarer species such as the Banteng.
I though that in generall the safari seams to be small especially compared to knowsley which i usually go to, the animals seam to be a bit cramped so to speak and the areas dont look very natural.
I was surprised that visitors could feed the animals with risk of bites and cross contamination etc, though i did like feeding the giraffe ,aadax and eland.

I thought the walk around area was ok but very child orientated and the leopard and hippo enclosures seamed to be to small with the leopards having glass on all sides and the hippos having a lovely black smelly pool to live in. The sea lion show was ok but the animals did not seam that well trained and the show was not very long, there was also two sea lions one large bull californian and a female in a small pool aswell , i did not see any south african fur seals.


What are peoples opinions on the park in general.

I have a few questions

Why are the yak and Przwalski's horses and gemsbok not in the safari.

How many sea lions do they have.

Where are the anoa?

Is there any new developments or plans.

Thanks
 
I enjoy visiting this park. But I hate the walk around bit, the majority of the animal enclosures are quite small, and I do feel sorry for the Leopards who have glass all around them.
I would like to see more animals in the walk around bit, even if it was smaller animals such as meerkats and prairie marmots for example. I also don't understand why they don't open up the other half of the lake to the hippos and just make it escape proof, it would be much better for them!
 
I'm sure they have access to both halves of the pool.
 
I totally agree the hippos should have the other lake it wold make more sense and let them have some grazing area. I was surprised not to see meerkats and other small animals especially meerkats becuase they are popular and in every zoo. I was also surprised to see no primate species!
 
Down the half of the lake there are huge metal bars, with spaces inbetween but I am adamant that no hippo could get through the gaps as they are quite small. Also, I am sure they are not in the other half as if you look at it from the picnic area it is definately not safe as a hippo could easily barge through the mesh fence!
 
camel leopard said:
I though that in generall the safari seams to be small especially compared to knowsley which i usually go to, the animals seam to be a bit cramped so to speak and the areas dont look very natural.
Click to expand...

Knowsley's drive-around area is huge - much more spacious than any of the other UK safari parks' reserves, so if you're used to Knowsley you'll probably find a lot of Longleat, Woburn and (certainly) Blair Drummond similar. I don't think they are too small by any stretch, but certainly more compact than Knowsley.


camel leopard said:
Where are the anoa?
Click to expand...

Last time I was there the Anoa was in a small pen at the top end of the Addax/Lechwe reserve.
 
Martin B said:
Down the half of the lake there are huge metal bars, with spaces inbetween but I am adamant that no hippo could get through the gaps as they are quite small. Also, I am sure they are not in the other half as if you look at it from the picnic area it is definately not safe as a hippo could easily barge through the mesh fence!
Click to expand...

The hippos certainly have access to both halves of the lake, though not necessarily at the same time - I have seen animals in both halves on many occasions. I think the bars were added to allow the group to be split in two, e.g. to separate a bull or mother and calf. Although the fence is flimsy in places, I suspect the sides of the lake are too steep for a hippo to exit the water.
 
The fence is VERY flimsy, but they can still climb up many of the sides. It's quite scary actually, especially when feeding them up close lol.
 
I thought the nocturnal exhibit (quite) and the reptile house (very) are good and certainly better than the leopard enclosure.

I believe there are 3 californian sea lions (1 male and 2 females) and 2 female cape fur seals
 
robmv said:
The hippos certainly have access to both halves of the lake, though not necessarily at the same time - I have seen animals in both halves on many occasions.
Click to expand...

Considering this is the largest Hippo group in the UK, I was very disappointed in the conditions they live in- filthy black water, a small cinder-like area for dry land and primitive indoor areas, but then this is a Safari Park not an exhibit conscious Zoological Park.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top