Whose visited what this year

G

garyjp

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
We will have to back date this to the1st January just curious who as visited what collection this year. Might also be interesting to keep a score through out the year . I'm afraid I haven't been anywhere so far this month but will be kicking off my visits starting April
 
Colchester x2
Whipsnade x2
Hamerton
London
Linton
Shepreth
Dudley (1st visit)
Wild Place (1st visit)
Bristol
Banham

Several more to follow over the next couple of months hopefully
 
Gauntlet Birds of Prey
World Owl Trust, Muncaster
Cheshire Falconry
Chester Zoo x2
The Falconry Centre, Hagley
Twycross Zoo
The Raptor Foundation, Woodhurst
 
Aquarium of the Lakes
Birmingham Nature Centre
Cheshire Falconry
Chester x 4
Dudley
Duncombe
Flamingoland
Gentleshaw x 2
Hagley
Lakeland Oasis
Muncaster
Reaseheath
Rodbaston
Scarborough Sealife Centre
Twycross
West Midlands Safari Park

17 collections
 
Whipsnade
London
Chessington (x2)
plus trip to Bristol organised for April
 
pipaluk said:
Colchester x2
Whipsnade x2
Hamerton
London
Linton
Shepreth
Dudley (1st visit)
Wild Place (1st visit)
Bristol
Banham

Several more to follow over the next couple of months hopefully
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11 Africa Alive!
12 Paradise Wildlife Park
 
Whipsnade
Linton
Bristol
Dudley
Paradise Wildlife Park
Colchester
Helsinki
Tropicario (Helsinki)
Copenhagen
Skansen
Skansen Akvariet
Tallinn
 
January :
West Midlands Safari Park
Hagley Falconry Centre

February:
Dudley Zoo
Birmingham Nature Centre
National Sea Life Centre Birmingham
Cotswold Falconry Centre
Birdland
Crocodiles of the World
Cotswold Wildlife Park
Raptor Foundation
Hamerton Zoo Park
Linton Zoo
Shepreth Wildlife Park

March:
British Wildlife Centre
Tilgate Nature Centre
Huxley's Bird of Prey Experience
Eagle Heights
Sea Life London Aquarium
Lakeland Wildlife Oasis
Lakes Aquarium
World Owl Trust
South Lakes Wildlife Safari
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
Epcot (with living seas aquarium)
Seaworld Orlando
Aquatica Orlando
Zoo Miami
Jungle Island
Seaquarium Miami
 
Sorry to go off the topic of UK zoos...tho the thread doesn't indicate that the subject be restricted to suchlike.To Devilfish....I was in Miami in February and visited the Seaquarium,Monkey Jungle (which isn't too far from Zoo Miami actually) and Jungle Island(former Parrot Jungle) for the first time.Isnt Jungle Island absolutely awful?They have a lemur encounter that shouid be closed down,some roadside zoo-type monkey cages,a poor, dark, reptile house,a pathetic penguin pond,clipped parrots galore(including both Hyacinthine and Blue-throated Macaws).And they obviously have money,just look at the entrance complex..its like a university building.Surprisingly shabby overall.Dont know if you bothered but just down the road from the Seaquarium are the remnants of the old Crandon Park Zoo...at least four or five old sets of cages/aviaries,whether suitable or not ,that was quite a setting for a zoo.
 
Tim Brown said:
Isnt Jungle Island absolutely awful?They have a lemur encounter that shouid be closed down,some roadside zoo-type monkey cages,a poor, dark, reptile house,a pathetic penguin pond,clipped parrots galore(including both Hyacinthine and Blue-throated Macaws).And they obviously have money,just look at the entrance complex..its like a university building.Surprisingly shabby overall.Dont know if you bothered but just down the road from the Seaquarium are the remnants of the old Crandon Park Zoo...at least four or five old sets of cages/aviaries,whether suitable or not ,that was quite a setting for a zoo.
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We didn't get the chance to visit Monkey Jungle or the nearby Alligator Farm - Zoo Miami took a lot longer than expected (even then, I'd have preferred an hour or so more in the Wings of Asia aviary :) ). I actually spent the day with zooman; we had bumped into each other in Animal Kingdom by coincidence and decided to match up a zoo visit later in the week.

I was very surprised by just how poor Jungle Island is. Some absolutely terrible enclosures, and a lot of unpleasant practices. I don't think I'd ever seen a mixed white lion & white tiger enclosure before. There were a lot of repeated species (like common marmosets & lar? gibbons) consistently in poor enclosures - zooman highlighted that this gave the impression of an exotic pet farm.

I don't remember seeing the lemur encounter - perhaps it was too late in the day?
One of the things I absolutely couldn't stand was that at the end of the Jungle Show (featuring 6-month-old tiger cubs, an adult wolf and a gibbon in nappies), a young tiger cub was brought out. It was claimed to be 6 weeks old but frankly I'd be surprised if it was any older than a very generous 21 days. Eyes barely open, and held around for paid photos. On questioning, the handler stated that she was 'the mommy' for all of the cubs at the park, that way they survive, whereas they wouldn't if they were left with tigers. A futile conversation.

There was so much that was wrong with this place. As you say, they obviously have the funds, and it was very busy during our visit at the end of the day. It's hard to understand why it's so amateurish throughout.

Pros: Flamingo pool was a decent size, and the 'tame' cassowary in the parrot show was a highlight (that show was better than expected). Another interesting point was that the signage for white tigers was much more scientific and more informative than I expected. :)


Unfortunately I didn't make it to the Crandon Park Zoo site. My entire visit to the Seaquarium was quite limited because we had to drive back to Orlando for our afternoon flight back to London. I spent a fair amount of time being denied access to the Orca stadium (as I was unable to stay for the show). I can imagine what an amazing setting for a zoo those Keys are.
 
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devilfish said:
I actually spent the day with zooman; we had bumped into each other in Animal Kingdom by coincidence and decided to match up a zoo visit later in the week.
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oh my goodness, how did you know? Did you look sideways at each other, each thinking "is he a Zoochatter?", then casually ask "say, do you know the name of the first gorilla displayed at London Zoo?" just so you could be sure?
 
Chlidonias said:
oh my goodness, how did you know? Did you look sideways at each other, each thinking "is he a Zoochatter?", then casually ask "say, do you know the name of the first gorilla displayed at London Zoo?" just so you could be sure?
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Hahaha, actually we'd met each other before in Bristol, so it wasn't too difficult. ;)

I had only booked tickets a couple of days before travelling and had long shifts at work. I was under the impression that zooman's trip was ending so although I meant to send him a message on here, I didn't manage to. Luckily fate almost walked us into each other.
 
Yes, it is frustrating when cetacean facilities are not generally open other than for shows.You will know that the Killer Whale "Lolita" shares the facility with Pacific White-sided Dolphins,it isn't a very large facility as you will be aware but it struck me that the whale was in excellent condition with a totally erect dorsal fin(not something you often see)...shes the second oldest Killer Whale in captivity as far as I know ...again this isn't the place for a debate but anyone with a view on captive Killer Whales really should read"Killing Keiko"by Mark Simmons for the polar opposite view to "Blackfish".Its a sobering overview of how sentiment can get in the way of pragmatism,even kindness...that particular whale liked humans, not other whales,and ,however perverse that circumstance was,a principle was forced upon the animal that probably made it unhappy and certainly killed the animal prematurely.With friends like these....
 
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