Your 5 best exhibits and enclosures in the UK

[adrian1963]

After the previous threads on missed collections and animals in zoo’s I have another one I think we can all give a little time too.

What is your favourite 5 zoo enclosure or exhibit and why this can be from a very small enclosure up to the largest as long as it’s your favourite.

1 – Tropical House (Chester Zoo) just because of the species it holds and the way they are displayed being a bird lover this is heaven to me so many species close together and so many free flying just a great exhibit, I also love the small collection of other species within the exhibit now normally I wouldn’t mention anything like this but I do like the way they display the frogs in this exhibit.

2 – Blackburn Pavilion (London Zoo) such a lovely old building put to brilliant use and what a collection of species within the building again as you may have noticed it’s a bird collection but come on it’s great.

3 – Retile House (London Zoo) This was a massive surprise to me on my first visit to the zoo in many a long year, the building looked great in its old world look but inside what a collection and the way they were displayed with Luke warm lighting and bright lighting inside the enclosures this was a pleasure to walk round.

4 – Small Mammal House (Birmingham Nature Centre) I can’t understand why but they are currently in the process of taking this down, this was in my opinion one of the best if not the best exhibit in the collection for such a small venue to have a great collection of small mammals in one place was just great to look at and admire.

5 – Lemur Walk Through (Dudley Zoo) This is such a delight to walk round in all seasons with the Lemurs wondering around everywhere it’s great what with Ring tailed, Black & White Ruffed, Collard (sometimes) and Black lemurs moving through the trees and bushes as you walk round makes you feel that you are not far from their natural home.

Those were my favourite enclosures (I know some people will disagree but they are mine and mine alone) I haven’t visited as many zoos as most of you on here so it will be interesting to see and read what your favourite enclosures are

 

[TriGB]

Orang Island (Marie Le Fevre) - When the Orangs are outside it is possible to visualise yourself in Far East Asia, real trees and an amazing backdrop.

Geladas at Edinburgh - simple yet very effective enclosure. Always something going on and again easy to visualise an Ethiopian hillside.

Auk Cliff - Living Coasts - watching Puffins under the water and on top mixing with Choughs, Kittiewakes and Guillemots is awesome.

Okapi at Marwell - sought of hidden from the 'masses' and often an opportunity to get up close and personal with these wonderful animals.

Bonobos at Twycross - though I wish they were transferred to a real forest enclosure (Paignton islands) - it is still an absolute privilige to see and interact with them.

Giant Otters at Chester - I spent hours watching these, a lifetime wish come true. What a pleasure!

 

[gentle lemur]

I have had to give this one some thought. In the end I picked a couple of simple criteria - which exhibits do I never miss when I visit a zoo (sometimes visiting twice in a day) and which exhibits do I wish other zoos would copy?
A few good exhibits satisfy one criterion, but not the other. I love the free-flight section of the Blackburn Pavilion, and I am fairly happy with the other aviaries that use of the shell of the old Bird House: but I wouldn't want another zoo to emulate it. Likewise Seal and Penguin coasts at Bristol is a good exhibit, better than most other zoos provide for their pinnipeds and penguins, but although I go round Bristol Zoo quite frequently, I rarely bother to visit it unless there's a new seal pup or bird fledglings, because I know exactly what I will see.
My choices are listed in alphabetical order

1. Budongo at Edinburgh, the best chimp exhibit in the country in my opinion
2. Islands in Danger at Chester, even though it's currently lacking a star bird species since the red birds left, this now has some very fine reptile displays. Who can resist counting the mountain chickens?
3. Madagascar at Cotswold, a proper multi-species exhibit for lots of lemurs plus selected birds. The sifakas are the top attraction, but I commend the restricted opening hours and the 'no pushchairs' rule.
4. Palace of the Apes at Port Lympne, all the Howletts features plus a woodland area - not to be missed on any account
5. Reptile House at London ZSL, how do they manage to make it more interesting every time I visit? Pig-nosed turtles, Boelen's pythons, king cobra and all.

What have they got in common? They have all been modified to some degree since they were opened. That's important too.
Near misses - the penguin pools at Edinburgh (under renovation) and London (lets see how they do in the breeding season), the Tropical House at Chester (I haven't seen the tuataras properly for ages) and the wolverine/brown bear path at Whipsnade (those spikes and bars at the end of the bears enclosure are too much).
Special commendation for a good exhibits of undervalued species - the little house opposite the Monkey House at Edinburgh for pudu and chevrotains and currently hairy armadillo too (thank you Javan Rhino).

Alan

 

[Javan Rhino]

Special commendation for a good exhibits of undervalued species - the little house opposite the Monkey House at Edinburgh for pudu and chevrotains and currently hairy armadillo too (thank you Javan Rhino). Alan

Not a problem - now, to do this I'm going to limit to one exhibit/enclosure per zoo, otherwise all of my top 5 would be Chester and I'd like to have to think about it a bit more and cast my mind around some other zoos, so I will say:

1) Spirit of the Jaguar [Chester Zoo] - I struggled between a few [as can be imagined] for Chester. Spirit of the Jaguar [personally] wins it for the following reasons:

• A good selection of species with the new tank and the sloths
• Excellent enclosures for all species, especially the main attraction
• Well done themeing throughout
• A good amount of visitor space in total, which means that whilst crowds can be expected at times, it never really feels too busy

Ones that miss out and the main reasons include:

• Realm of the Red Ape - Strong exhibits, excellent themeing and a good mix of species, but viewing can get congested so I do tend to avoid it in busier times
• African wild dogs - Fantastic exhibit and very close to top, but would be nicer to see more than just mammals in that particular bit
• Spectacled bears - Again this is a strong exhibit, but this Cloud Forest area just misses out on the top spot not due to any real faults, but just because Spirit of the Jaguar beats it for me

2) Nocturnal house at Bristol - This to me just has an amazing collection of species, I don't know what else I can say about it.

3) Reptile House at London - Same as Bristol's nocturnal house, this wins it purely on the awe-factor of the collection, all in very nice exhibits.

May have to cast my mind around a bit further and edit later with a couple more

 

[mazfc]

Mmmmm I'm not sure that I have a top 5 favourites so I'm going to say ones that I like (a bit like Alan I've thought about what I have to see coupled with the more than 'fit for purposeness' of the exhibit).

These are in no particular order:

1 - Nocturnal House at Bristol. I loved the layout and the amount of species. No other nocturnal house I've seen has come anywhere close.

2 - giraffes at longleat. I loved seeing them in all that space. Im not sure how different it is from other safari set ups, but it really sticks with me.

3 - gibbons in the trees at Monkeyworld. No one in the UK does this better. Seeing the siamangs singing in the trees is amazing.

4 - elephants at Chester. I like both the indoor and outdoor and I love the fact they keep a bull too.

5 - I'd agree with Adrian about the Dudley walk through I loved it, but I'm a bit torn with the Cotswolds as they have the sifaka. So I'll put them in as a tie.

No doubt I'll change my mind very shortly on all or some of my list

 

[pipaluk]

I'm not sure I have 5 favourites either, & im not sure its always the quality of the exhibit,rather the animals it holds that makes it a must see or one I spend a lot of time at e.g 1st thing I headed for at Edinburgh was the polar bear !
Several of the ones that came into my first thoughts have already been mentioned: Bristol nocturnal house,Edinburgh-budungo,Marwell okapi.Palace of the apes.

Chester has several that spring to mind-cheetah,giant otter,wild dog & spectacled bear,but if I chose 1 it would be the otters,i spent the best part of an hour there on my last visit.

Others would be the lynx enclosure at New Forest wp,the bear/ wolf at Woburn and I think Amazonia at Blackpool has great potential just not enough species!

I tried to include a London one,but nothing beats the old mappins or clore for me.

My number one though has to be the wolverine/brown bear walk at Whipsnade,low budget I know,but the best of old & new,excellent viewing(when they're awake!), & great for the animals too.i

 

[Fisi]

Snow leopard at Twycross.

Can't really say any of the others in the UK jump out at me to be entirely honest compared to the majority of US exhibits, but I have not been to Jersey yet which I shall look forward to over summer most likely.

 

[PAT]

I've only visited 5 collections in the UK but by the looks of other people's lists I must have seen the best ones because I've seen a lot of the exhibits that have already been listed.
My top five exhibits (in no particular order) are:-
>Okapi and Gorilla House at Bristol Zoo
>Spectacled bear exhibit at Chester Zoo
>Asian Plains at Chester Zoo
>Seal and Penguin Coasts at Bristol Zoo
>Clore Rain Forest and Night Life at London Zoo