Woburn Safari Park Woburn !
- Thread starter cottoni
- Start date
I went to Woburn last autumn and I thought the Black Bears(and wolves) were actually the best of the carnivore reserves- the bears in particular being were very visible. A pity they can't breed from them as other Safari parks might be interested in setting up a similar rerserve.
Does it have several seperate stalls, or one large area- or(most likely) both?
Can it accomodate one bull or two?
One leads to that conclusion. It is still impossible to transfer ungulates continent-wise or has the ban been lifted (e.g. Paignton giraffe fracas)?
Actually it still is very much a typical Safari Park. For some reason they have aquired a few more unusual species which are displayed in seperate enclosures, not in the reserves. I imagine most people just drive past without really noticing them though. I am not sure what the policy(if there is one) behind having these extra species is though.
The African ungulate conservation building was also designed with okapi in mind along with the above mentioned gazelle and wild ass, will be interesting to see how this area develops, with such high profile, endangered and skittish animals mentioned it will be a bit risky putting them in drive through areas.
I do not mind the rarer species being off show or in a Conservation Facility. Actually, I can see the point in a separate rare ungulate breeding compound.
As you observed most "regular" zoo visitors do not bat an eye-lid to a Somali wild ass or Mhorr gazelle, much less their rarity or the importance of conserving and breeding them.
If a conventional safari park can walk along this line, who knows what may happen in the future. Look what happened to Beekse Bergen near Tilburg. It has still a drive-thru component (but much less intrusive), but now also sports a "walking" safari style and has a totally African theme to it. The entire collection has been reviewed, some species have been phased out and now the safari park invests exclusively in endangered species + more emphasis on lesser wildlife (quite a few new bird exhibits all over) and perhaps they may even go on to build an amphibian or reptile center.
I suppose Woburn Safari is going into that direction and within 5-10 years I predict a very different safari park experience over there!
As you observed most "regular" zoo visitors do not bat an eye-lid to a Somali wild ass or Mhorr gazelle, much less their rarity or the importance of conserving and breeding them.
If a conventional safari park can walk along this line, who knows what may happen in the future. Look what happened to Beekse Bergen near Tilburg. It has still a drive-thru component (but much less intrusive), but now also sports a "walking" safari style and has a totally African theme to it. The entire collection has been reviewed, some species have been phased out and now the safari park invests exclusively in endangered species + more emphasis on lesser wildlife (quite a few new bird exhibits all over) and perhaps they may even go on to build an amphibian or reptile center.
I suppose Woburn Safari is going into that direction and within 5-10 years I predict a very different safari park experience over there!
I can understand not mixing very rare & valuable species like Somali Ass or Okapis with other species in shared reserves where they could be injured. However Woburn SP is very much a commercial enterprise so why they have aquired e.g. the asses, which are of no special display value to the visitors who go there, seems a bit of a mystery.
MARK
Well-Known Member
Woburn has always had a "taste" for the rarer type of animal and from the start wanted animals like Bongo (which they still have) which was not as common in UK zoos then as they are today, they wanted Okapis many years ago which they did not aquire, they must be one of the few Safari parks that do have Przewalksi horse
.I hope they do get their elephant breeding program off the ground and maybe even add a couple more to the small herd they have now.
Bringing in more elephants will be difficult, because there are basically no female asian elephants in breeding age availible in europe (unless you import some from asian countries). It seems to me that there is a shortage of older non-breeding females at the moment, too. Same for the african species..
In the last years, a lot of zoos have build brand-new enclosures or renovated their existing ones, and have brought in new elephants for these facilities, the "market" seems to be pretty empty now. Which is not a bad thing from the point of animal welfare.
In the last years, a lot of zoos have build brand-new enclosures or renovated their existing ones, and have brought in new elephants for these facilities, the "market" seems to be pretty empty now. Which is not a bad thing from the point of animal welfare.
MARK
Well-Known Member
we have alreadly spoken about the all female herd at Twycross on the forum before which could be rotated between the two zoos for breeding, even the distance for this is not far
MARK
Well-Known Member
Even if Twycross sent only ONE female to Woburn at a time there still would be about three cows on exhibit if thats all they are concerned about, then bring the mated cow back untill another cow is readly to tranfer, thats not so hard
dragon(ele)nerd
Well-Known Member
Its a shame about the breeding, Noor Jahan would be a suitable mate for Raja, in fact they came from the same sanctuary. Raja would be an excellent bull, for the future in the UK,