What are the five most important Zoos in the UK
- Thread starter garyjp
- Start date
The following comes with a caveat, that the five most important zoos in the UK are not necessarily the five best.... but here goes:
ZSL London
Bristol
Edinburgh
Chester
ZSL Whipsnade
ZSL London
Bristol
Edinburgh
Chester
ZSL Whipsnade
Nikola Chavkosk
Well-Known Member
Though I've never been in the UK, from what I have read/saw on net/TV:
ZSL London
Howlett's zoo (a lot of gorillas)
Chester
Paignton
Bristol
ZSL London
Howlett's zoo (a lot of gorillas)
Chester
Paignton
Bristol
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
ZSL London
Bristol Zoo
Chester Zoo
Living Coasts
Cotswold Wildlife Park
Bristol Zoo
Chester Zoo
Living Coasts
Cotswold Wildlife Park
It depends how you make your judgements
In historical terms, I would suggest
1) The Tower of London
2) London Zoo
3) Lord Derby's menagerie at Knowsley
4) Bristol Zoo
5) Whipsnade
For ex situ conservation achievement
1) Jersey/Durrell (many achievements)
2) London Zoo (significant contributions for Arabian oryx, Przewalski's horse, Partula snails etc)
3) Woburn Deer Park (Père David's deer, also P's horse)
4) Marwell (P's horse, scimitar horned oryx)
5) can't think of a 5th that is significantly better than the rest
Not sure what geographical importance means
In historical terms, I would suggest
1) The Tower of London
2) London Zoo
3) Lord Derby's menagerie at Knowsley
4) Bristol Zoo
5) Whipsnade
For ex situ conservation achievement
1) Jersey/Durrell (many achievements)
2) London Zoo (significant contributions for Arabian oryx, Przewalski's horse, Partula snails etc)
3) Woburn Deer Park (Père David's deer, also P's horse)
4) Marwell (P's horse, scimitar horned oryx)
5) can't think of a 5th that is significantly better than the rest
Not sure what geographical importance means
Perhaps Howletts/PL for a 5th Gorilla, Javan langur, P's horse, European bison, Grizzled langur, Black rhino.......Then again, Slimbridge hmmmmm....
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How did I forget Slimbridge? Nene, white-winged wood duck & white-headed duck (even allowing some negative points for releasing ruddy ducks in the UK) - I'll give 5th place to WWT.
I can't deny Howletts and PL credit for a lot of hard work with difficult species, but I don't think they have achieved as much as the others yet: but that's just my personal judgement.
I included geographically purely was it a big city thing i.e. London , Bristol & Edinburgh - does that matterIt depends how you make your judgements
In historical terms, I would suggest
1) The Tower of London
2) London Zoo
3) Lord Derby's menagerie at Knowsley
4) Bristol Zoo
5) Whipsnade
For ex situ conservation achievement
1) Jersey/Durrell (many achievements)
2) London Zoo (significant contributions for Arabian oryx, Przewalski's horse, Partula snails etc)
3) Woburn Deer Park (Père David's deer, also P's horse)
4) Marwell (P's horse, scimitar horned oryx)
5) can't think of a 5th that is significantly better than the rest
Not sure what geographical importance means
I think maybe there is quite a difference between mainly contributing animals for joint release schemes, as in the case of e.g. Marwell with S.c Oryx and Horses, and doing what the Aspinall Parks do in their own ventures with e.g. Primates, black rhino etc. I would probably put them higher up the list for conservation achievements just because of that.
Indeed! I think I will swap Whipsnade out for Slimbridge in my list.
Fair comment: I was thinking in terms of establishing the species in captivity, collaborating in breeding programmes and then supporting successful reintroduction. Which just shows how subjective these judgements are.
Not that I am in favour of everything that goes on at Howletts/PL- some of their Gorilla releases- apart from the disastrous Djala group one- have not been overly successful, but the ones with South-east Asian Primates do seem like they are breaking some new ground.