Welsh Mountain Zoo Welsh Mountain Zoo news

A friend of mine is doing a project on the ring tailed lemurs. Could anyone possibly tell me the group composition please? Thank you.
 
0:1 Bactrian camel born few weeks ago named Sparky, 5th camel to be born at the zoo over the years
 
Visited here today and I didn't have huge expectations but as my last visit was over 10years ago I went open minded. I was pleasantly surprised, nicely laid out and plenty to see. Surprisingly for BH weekend it wasn't as busy as expected but this suited me down to the ground as I had time at enclosures to see the animals.
*Hybrid tiger Bryn born 1998 ? Died in 2016 I overheard someone say.
*Camel calf Sparky is getting quite adventurous but it's great to see a youngster at the zoo
*4 sealions and keepers are hopeful that Rooney and Sofia are pregnant but they aren`t committing themselves so one will see what happens.
*Got some great shots of the bears and they were quite active.
*There are 11 chimps and the eldest is over 50 years old
*Lemur walkthrough is nice albeit a little small but great for the kids
*Saw a red panda up a tree asleep but I was lucky to see it, could easily of been missed
* Glad there are plans for a new snow leopard enclosure as the current one is too small but got some great shots of them.
*Only 2 Przewalski horses hope they get more
 
Last edited:
Finally the old exhibit will go, I love Welsh Mountain Zoo but that was always a bit of an eyesore.
 
PaleoMatt said:
Finally the old exhibit will go, I love Welsh Mountain Zoo but that was always a bit of an eyesore.
Click to expand...
Absolutely agree. I saw the zoo as a something else to visit when I stay up at Chester overnight, at least for a couple of hours. But that enclosure actually saddened me and puts me off revisiting, so I look forward to the finished development.
 
littleRedPanda said:
Absolutely agree. I saw the zoo as a something else to visit when I stay up at Chester overnight, at least for a couple of hours. But that enclosure actually saddened me and puts me off revisiting, so I look forward to the finished development.
Click to expand...

I would also argue whether the European Brown Bear exhibit is suitable for them as well. Very small and not much for them to do.
 
littleRedPanda said:
I've seen worse and they do have a few bits and pieces to prod around. But I found it a bit grim to be honest, I forgot about it.
Click to expand...

I also think the Chimps is a poor exhibit. Cutting it down, aside of the paddocks with the horses in and the Tiger Exhibit, possibly the Flamingo Exhibit and the Penguins, I think Welsh Mountain Zoo is really really poor. The enclosures are too small, and lack anything modern about them.
It is easily one of my least favourite zoo's and I would not be disappointed to see a number of their animals move on to other collections.

The Alligator house is also unsafe in my opinion.

There has been talks about improvements for a number of years but rarely anything happens. The Snow Leopard improvements are long long long overdue. Only Linton Zoo has a worse exhibit in my opinion.
 
littleRedPanda said:
Yes, I nearly mentioned that, but didn't really want to be specific about it or other bear exhibits I haven't liked. (jeez, my typing sucks these days!)
Click to expand...
littleRedPanda said:
I've seen worse and they do have a few bits and pieces to prod around. But I found it a bit grim to be honest, I forgot about it.
Click to expand...
Think the bears at WMZ we’re from a circus and a zoo that couldn’t house them so whilst maybe not the best enclosure at least better than there alternatives
 
Ant said:
Think the bears at WMZ we’re from a circus and a zoo that couldn’t house them so whilst maybe not the best enclosure at least better than there alternatives
Click to expand...

WMZ bears are from Athens zoo(I think) where they were born in 2004. They were not needed for the breeding program so came to WMZ. A sign on their enclosure states this.
 
Embu said:
WMZ bears are from Athens zoo(I think) where they were born in 2004. They were not needed for the breeding program so came to WMZ. A sign on their enclosure states this.
Click to expand...
Ah yes, the original bears were of circus origin, before one died. The 2 Attika Zoo sisters joined later on.
 
So this is their second group of bears then?
Have they had bears since they opened?
 
Embu said:
So this is their second group of bears then?
Have they had bears since they opened?
Click to expand...
I don't know, but from a news link, the circus pair arrived around 2000, but wikipedia says Bear Falls was developed in 1996, so maybe they had some previous to their arrival.
 
I don't think there is much wrong with the bear enclosure, it is fine for a non breeding group
 
Zooreviewsuk said:
I also think the Chimps is a poor exhibit. Cutting it down, aside of the paddocks with the horses in and the Tiger Exhibit, possibly the Flamingo Exhibit and the Penguins, I think Welsh Mountain Zoo is really really poor. The enclosures are too small, and lack anything modern about them.
It is easily one of my least favourite zoo's and I would not be disappointed to see a number of their animals move on to other collections.

The Alligator house is also unsafe in my opinion.

There has been talks about improvements for a number of years but rarely anything happens. The Snow Leopard improvements are long long long overdue. Only Linton Zoo has a worse exhibit in my opinion.
Click to expand...
I would suggest this is a bit harsh? Other opinions are obviously welcome!
 
pipaluk said:
I would suggest this is a bit harsh? Other opinions are obviously welcome!
Click to expand...

Yes it is a bit harsh. Some valid points
i.e;
Snow leopard enclosure

however WMZ don't have a huge amount of land to expand. I would like to see more improvements and new species acquired but this, for obvious reasons, requires a lot of money and time. Just out of interest what the last new species WMZ acquired?
I'd like to see Yak up with the Pzewalski horses to fit in with the Himalayan theme
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top