Woburn Safari Park Woburn news 2012
- Thread starter kiang
- Start date
i went to woburn yesterday so thought id do my review while still fresh in my head
first of all the african reserve saw the new sable antelope rather nice looking group then saw the blue wildebeest , white rhino , ostrich , congo buffalo and eland
then went into carnivore area where some guy got out of his car between the 2 gates before entering the tigers saw both tigers and the finished tiger house and a new pool area .
in the wolf and bears saw 2 bears and then saw 2 wolves penned in the old iberian wolf area these looked nthing lke iberian wolves but did see what looked like an iberian wolf in the reserve and there was an area sectioned off with wat looked like a bear shelter being built
the lions same as usual new male in the house compound but outside
girrafe the same then went to monkey jungle saw the patas new bongo and the barbarys but no drills
addax were in the furthest paddock near the exit as were the camels the camels have either bred or had new 1s arrive recently and the scimater and somli wild ass were mixed together
leisure area same as usual only new things were turkeys in with the pigs , new outdoor tortoise area doesnt look very secure , you have to pay to see a sealion show now , birds of prey have a young steppe eagle and no red legged seriema anymore and elephant meadow will be functionall once the pool is filled with the females on reserve in the morning then the meadow in afternoon not if this includes yu zin raja could at some point join the girls in the meadow as well
first of all the african reserve saw the new sable antelope rather nice looking group then saw the blue wildebeest , white rhino , ostrich , congo buffalo and eland
then went into carnivore area where some guy got out of his car between the 2 gates before entering the tigers saw both tigers and the finished tiger house and a new pool area .
in the wolf and bears saw 2 bears and then saw 2 wolves penned in the old iberian wolf area these looked nthing lke iberian wolves but did see what looked like an iberian wolf in the reserve and there was an area sectioned off with wat looked like a bear shelter being built
the lions same as usual new male in the house compound but outside
girrafe the same then went to monkey jungle saw the patas new bongo and the barbarys but no drills
addax were in the furthest paddock near the exit as were the camels the camels have either bred or had new 1s arrive recently and the scimater and somli wild ass were mixed together
leisure area same as usual only new things were turkeys in with the pigs , new outdoor tortoise area doesnt look very secure , you have to pay to see a sealion show now , birds of prey have a young steppe eagle and no red legged seriema anymore and elephant meadow will be functionall once the pool is filled with the females on reserve in the morning then the meadow in afternoon not if this includes yu zin raja could at some point join the girls in the meadow as well
2.3 - A none breeding bull and cow, two younger females who came from South Africa in 2009 and a potential breeding bull (Kai) who was born at Edinburgh but came to Woburn from Givskud, Denmark in 2011
Woburn haven't bred before... and neither has any of the current younger stock but hopefully only a matter of time now with the current set up
Common hippos are a species I really do miss at Woburn, and I think they should have them back again. I well remember visiting Woburn as a child in the early 1970s. After completing the drive-round safari, there wasn't much by way of a foot safari (unlike now), but there were still several animal attractions to look forward to. You would take a cable-car ride over woodland alive with wild pheasants and deer to Drakelow Lake. Here you could climb into a boat and go out onto the lake in which lived Californian sealions and hippos. You could purchase a bucket of oily fish to feed the sealions (imagine that today!). And in the middle of the lake was Chimpanzee Island. There was also a dolphinarium for Bottle-nosed Dolphins. Happy days! I wouldn't want there to be another dolphinarium or Chimpanzee Island, but I'd love the hippos to return. I also miss the cable-car ride. It was a real treat and something to look forward to at the end of the safari.
IanRRobinson
Well-Known Member
The Common Hippo were moved at some time in the 1970s to a pen, still to be seen, near the Rhino House. I agree with zooman64; Common Hippo are now a rather obvious gap in their collection.
I first visited in 1974 or 5 and several times more over the next 5 years, i remember the cable car ride& lake, but think the hippos had been moved to the paddock in the drive through area by then.
The Woburn of today has little resemblence to the one i remember from childhood, where was the lake & cable car route in relation to todays site?
I agree the return of hippo would be welcome, but from memory they would need new housing, those old shacks are very dated & in need of demolition. If they were building a new house, personally i'd rather it were in the walk around area, i'm not a fan of 'drive-by' exhibits.
The Woburn of today has little resemblence to the one i remember from childhood, where was the lake & cable car route in relation to todays site?
I agree the return of hippo would be welcome, but from memory they would need new housing, those old shacks are very dated & in need of demolition. If they were building a new house, personally i'd rather it were in the walk around area, i'm not a fan of 'drive-by' exhibits.