ZSL Whipsnade Zoo whipsnade 2013

went to whipsnade yesterday so here are a few brief notes from my visit

the old Burmese python exhibit by the crocodiles and basalisks is still under development also in discovery centre are dung beetles and turtles in the sail fin lizard pool area

saw the baby moose in the main paddock across from the wolves assumimg dad was shut in the yard

saw no Siberian tigers or lynx but half the paddocks need a good strim also saw no brown bears but there was food in there and the wolf pack is still going

saw the male lion mating with the female by the house

saw the birds and sealion show both were very good no mention of Kyra dying I know when Barclay died he got a mention . birds that were flown in the 11.15 show include chico the toco toucan , the burrowing owls , white faced owl , blue and gold , scarlet and military macaws , harris hawk and a merlin

that's all feel free to answer any questions il do my best to answer
 
Giraffe House Extension

I assume that they are yet to start with the giraffe barn extension, public viewing ramp and viewing pod?

I would also assume if they haven't started they would wait until at least after the summer?
 
stulch said:
I assume that they are yet to start with the giraffe barn extension, public viewing ramp and viewing pod?

I would also assume if they haven't started they would wait until at least after the summer?
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Yep no work. I was told this but didn't know it was common knowledge. Are there any plans or anything as far as you know? Not sure when work will start...
 
Giraffe House Extension

AdamD601 said:
Yep no work. I was told this but didn't know it was common knowledge. Are there any plans or anything as far as you know? Not sure when work will start...
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Plans are on the council's planning website, I might find out when they are due to start at Tuesday's AGM.
 
stulch said:
Plans are on the council's planning website, I might find out when they are due to start at Tuesday's AGM.
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So they are! I must have missed that when I had a look a couple of weeks ago (unless it's just been added).

I would imagine that when work does start, they'll want it completed ASAP. From the plans it looks like there'll be a huge amount of upheaval for both the visitors and the giraffes. It would be good if you could find out when work will start (and maybe when it's expected to finish).
 
AdamD601 said:
So they are! I must have missed that when I had a look a couple of weeks ago (unless it's just been added).

I would imagine that when work does start, they'll want it completed ASAP. From the plans it looks like there'll be a huge amount of upheaval for both the visitors and the giraffes. It would be good if you could find out when work will start (and maybe when it's expected to finish).
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Which council? Would it interfere with / inconvenience the giraffe in any way? Aren't the other 2 giraffe females expecting? :confused:
 
The council is the ZSL council..in theory the zoos are owned by the Fellows,who in turn vote in a council to rubberstamp proposals/policy.A fairly unusual but nonetheless well-known situation.
 
Giraffe House Extension

AdamD601 said:
So they are! I must have missed that when I had a look a couple of weeks ago (unless it's just been added).
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I don't think it's been there for long as I regularly check that and Westminster especially when ZSL don't have much outstanding.
 
stulch said:
I don't think it's been there for long as I regularly check that and Westminster especially when ZSL don't have much outstanding.
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Oh good. I do try and check regularly. I'm wondering when the plans for the elephant revamp (as mentioned in a job description for an elephant keeper) will appear on the planning applications site...

Kifaru Bwana said:
Would it interfere with / inconvenience the giraffe in any way? Aren't the other 2 giraffe females expecting? :confused:
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From what I remember of the plans from looking briefly this morning, a new barn extension probably 2/3 the size of the existing barn (maybe bigger, I can't remember exactly!) is to be built adjacent to the current one on the sand yard side. I'm assuming this will restrict access to the sand and paddocks by the giraffes during construction. I think the current indoor viewing will be sufficient while the building work is completed. I would have thought an autumn or winter build, when the giraffes can be kept indoors easily and for a while, would be the best bet. That's just my thoughts on it, I don't know what the husbandry/construction process plans are. I would also have thought with potentially 2 more pregnant giraffes this would mean a later start date too...
 
AdamD601 said:
Oh good. I do try and check regularly. I'm wondering when the plans for the elephant revamp (as mentioned in a job description for an elephant keeper) will appear on the planning applications site.
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That's what I keep expecting to see. :)
 
It's hard to argue with giving the Giraffe House an upgrade - it is pretty uninspiring. I do hope that as part of the project they will increase the size of the hardstanding. At present the animals have to spend far too much of their time in a very small concrete yard, which would elicit howls of fury at London!
 
IanRRobinson said:
It's hard to argue with giving the Giraffe House an upgrade - it is pretty uninspiring.
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It must be one of the oldest buildings still in use at Whipsnade. I don't know when it was built, but its virtually unchanged since my very earliest visits in the 1950's.

Its good to hear they are 'serious' about Giraffe and improving the accomodation. I hope their Reticulated group can grow as a result- a dozen or more in the herd would be a sight to see at Whipsnade!
 
It's worse than that: the present house went up in the 1980s, along with the house that presently hold Grevy's Zebra, Roan antelope and Ellipsen Waterbuck, and Bongo.

Putting aside my doubts about the heating (they never seem very warm during the
winter), none of them has a decent sized gravel/sanded yard, which means that for seven or eight months of the year the animals live on concrete.

A big overhaul of Whipsnade's ungulate housing, so that it can keep the range of species its acreage ought to make possible, ought to be treated as a priority.
 
IanRRobinson said:
It's worse than that: the present house went up in the 1980s,
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Did that entirely replace the original Giraffe building? It must be built on pretty much the same footprint and is, I think, slightly curved like the original building?

Regarding heating- when I used to visit Whipsnade in winter,which I haven't done in decades now, heating of most of the animal houses always seemed pretty basic, while of course those buildings must be much harder to heat properly than in an urban zoo or one in a less exposed situation.
 
Giraffe House Extension

AdamD601 said:
It would be good if you could find out when work will start (and maybe when it's expected to finish).
Click to expand...

Work will start soon so that will be happening for the next three or four months it needs to be done before winter as they can't sustain the heat required.
 
Pertinax said:
Regarding heating- when I used to visit Whipsnade in winter,which I haven't done in decades now, heating of most of the animal houses always seemed pretty basic, while of course those buildings must be much harder to heat properly than in an urban zoo or one in a less exposed situation.
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Most of the animals have overhead heaters which easily keep the animals warm if they stand underneath them, however I can imagine that with the shape of a giraffe, to safely place a heater while also allowing it to warm the animal's whole body would be very difficult and therefore a system to heat the whole house is needed (and is something which the new plans allow for!).

stulch said:
Work will start soon so that will be happening for the next three or four months it needs to be done before winter as they can't sustain the heat required.
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Thanks for that - it makes sense to get the building done by winter if it is one of the main reasons behind the development.

As a side not it states in one of the planning documents that one more animal is expected to give birth this year, with a further 2 calves expected in 2014...
 
As previously discussed - it really would be a good thing if the Common Hippo house could be given an overhaul.

The present house with public viewing would do for Pigmy Hippo. However, to keep a couple of Common Hippo indoors in one of this building's pools, as has been the case for much of the last couple of years, really is not acceptable.
 
IanRRobinson said:
As previously discussed - it really would be a good thing if the Common Hippo house could be given an overhaul.

The present house with public viewing would do for Pigmy Hippo. However, to keep a couple of Common Hippo indoors in one of this building's pools, as has been the case for much of the last couple of years, really is not acceptable.
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This funny little cube -shaped building is, as you say, the perfect location for Pygmy Hippo but far too small for Common Hippos. I think they were very short-sighted building something so small for them as it can only really accomodate a single animal or a mother and(young) calf at most.

Maybe they should move them to the 'Rhinos of Nepal' building which is virtually empty most of the time!;)
 
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