Your Highlights of 2010

adrian1963

adrian1963

Well-Known Member
I did the same thread last year so here we go again as the Winter draws closer then why not look back over the year and tell us about your highlights and what made you go whow!!!!
Also tell us what you hope to do next year?

My first highlight was visiting the Jaguar Enclosures at Chester zoo an amazing exhibit well presented inside and outside. The way the Jaguars were exhibited was just wonderfull it looked so natural and the animals looked at ease in there enclosure

My second Highlight was again at Chester Zoo the Bat walk through this changed my image of the Bat world I was always alittle scared of bats basically through what I had seen on TV more so then anything I had seen.
This enclosure totally changed my mind as I was in there for ages and I loved it.

Next year I hope to visit London Zoo, Twycross Zoo, Blackpool Zoo, Cotswold Wildlife Park, Paignton Zoo, along with the usual ones Dudley zoo, Chester Zoo, West Midlands Safari Park, Birmingham Nature Centre and Hagley Falconry Centre.

I hope everybodies had a great year looking round the animal collections of thier choise and do the same again next year.

So come on lets here about your highlights.
 
My highlights were new species that I haven't seen before. These included:

1) Giant Otter at Chester
2) Koala at Edinburgh
3) Polar bear at Highlands Wildlife Park

Other highlights included taking time to see some overlooked species at Chester (especially birds) such as the Cabot's and Temminck's Tragopans, Bali Starling (my favourite bird), the vast hornbill collection and the Tsavo aviary birds.

Next year I hope to visit some new zoos and see some new species. I'd also like to return to Loro Parque in Tenerife to add 'Orca' to my 'seen' list, and to revisit the Planet Penguin (one of my favourite exhibits I've ever seen).
 
Highlights for me this year would have to be:

1, Lakeland Wildlife Oasis - Greater Egyptian Jerboa!
2, Cotswold Wildlife Park - Mainly, the Sifaka!

3, A visit to the RSCC! Highlights being Sun Bears, Palawan Binturong, North Luzon Cloud Rat, Sri Lankan Giant Squirrels and Smooth Coated Otters!

4, Bristol Zoo - The Nocturnal House! There is such a diversity in this house, I saw pretty much every species! :D

5, Birmingham Nature Centre - Small Mammal House! This is a fantastic little hosue, especially for Rodent Lovers! :p

6, Giant Otters - At both Chester and Chesnut Centre!

7, My whole Scotland Trip, including Galloway Wildlife Conservation Park, Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park. Main highlights being Takins, Budungo and the Monkey House.

I have visited many zoos this year, and still have some in store for the rest of 2010 (Muncaster Owls, South Lakes WAP, Yorkshire WP, Lotherton, Harewood, Tropical World and a few second visits)...

So I may have to add a few highlights! :rolleyes:
 
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the highlights of the year for me were visiting twycross, bristol and colchester for the first time. i love gibbons and langurs, so i really enjoyed seeing so many species at twycross. i loved seeing the very impressive silverback jock at bristol. at colchester i got to see sunbears, aardvarks, gelada baboons and mandrills for the first time.

other highlights include the lemurs, especially the sifakas at cwp and finally seeing the anteaters and porcupines at marwell awake and active!

next year i hope to make my first visits to the howletts and port lympne, chester, yorkshire wildlife park and dudley. and i would like to get back to scotland to visit edinburgh and hwp again.
 
1- Seeing lots of new species arriving at Colchester- red-backed bearded saki monkeys, Victoria crowned pigeons, rufous hornbills, rhinoceros hornbills, Chaco chachalacas and African reed frogs so far. Still yet to see the sun bears, pileated gibbons or common tenrecs.

2- Living Coasts in general- tufted puffins, pigeon guillemots, bank cormorants, mudskippers, Caspian tern, a great octopus collection including a fascinating wonderpus (!) and lots of stunning Inca terns.

3- Paignton Zoo- saw my first saltwater crocodiles, short-beaked echidna (!), grey gulls, hooded parakeets, hoopoes, Allen's swamp monkeys, African brush-tailed porcupines, black-tailed marmosets, the best amphibian collection I have ever seen including rubber eels, along with welcome views of lowland anoa, common cusimanse, Hartmann's mountain zebra and some great orangutan and gorilla enclosures. Sadly missed the bushbabies, Madagascan amphibians and armadillos.

4- Chessington- seeing some new species such as blue-faced honeyeater, false water cobra and solifugae, along with some very active gorillas and Grevy's zebra.

5- Not sure if it was early this year or not, but Leeds Castle has to get a look in, with a fantastic bird collection including Peruvian thick-knee, augur buzzard (the only one in the UK), a cracking collection of turacos, bearded barbets and a great collection of parrots. Sadly missed the Asiatic hoopoe and scarlet-chested parrot.

Hope to visit Tropical Wings some time this year- maybe see my first armadillo, and see some of the new developments.
 
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Well, visiting London Zoo for the first time was a highlight, as was finally getting to Flamingo Land after 10 years. I hope to visit at least one Zoo while in the States next year..
 
Pah, we've still got three months to go! Can do loads in that time, visit a few more zoos, suck a mint, buy a sledge, etc. ;)

But so far...

- Visiting the New Forest Wildlife Park in the snow in January, absolutely brilliant. Though the undisputed best thing about that place was seeing the wolves for the first time in March (despite the tragic outcome several months later) and getting to meet Woody the fox cub up close.
- Going to Whipsnade for the first time during Easter, giving me my first indian rhinos, brown bears and wolverine and seeing the brilliant asian elephant herd there.
- Revisiting Howletts and Port Lympne, amazing as always. Got sprayed by a tapir for the first time too!
- My keeper for a day at Marwell, not gonna forget sweeping down the giraffe house or stroking an okapi in a hurry.
 
I've had a great Year, Visited Port Lympne, Howletts, Marwell, Bristol, New Forest, Paignton , Shaldon and Dartmoor again. And payed 1st visits to Exmoor, National Marine Aquarium, Cotswold, Birdland, and Twycross.

Highlights, Pedro the armadillo at Exmoor, The National Marine aquarium was absolutely fantastic, Birdland a Delight, but possibly my favourite highlightwas the Wolverine at Cotswold.

Next year i'm hoping to do, Chester, Welsh mountain, Folly Farm, Manor House, Woburn, Colchester, Noahs ark and hopefully Edinburgh.
 
A little early for this considering there are nearly 3 months left of the year no? :p

1. Watching the Asian Elephants browse in the woods at Whipsnade on a blistering hot summers day and being no more than a meter away.

2. Watching the Snow Leopard cubs at Banham grow up every week.

3. First ever visit to Port Lympne and experiencing the Gorilla's and how active a group can be in the right setting.
 
This is an easy question for me, as I just have to look back through my photos.
Photographing the western bamboo lemurs and Iberian wolves at Port Lympne were highlights, but I will probably remember my last shoot of the bachelor gorilla group for longest.
The Bird House and the Reptile House at Regents Park are always highlights - the blue-crowned lories, pygmy geese, king cobra, Philippine monitors and pig-nosed turtles are fantsatic subjects: I was also delighted to see my first Australian water rats and a Panay cloudrunner (I know they have had them for some time, I'd just never seen one).
The bearded sakis at Colchester were another highlight.
Nearer home, seeing and shooting Chester's new-born sitatungas with SMR was excellent; I really enjoyed the giant otters and the bush dog pups too. It was wonderful to get some views and photos of Blackpool's baby gorilla. The goral kid at Edinburgh brightened a very dull day (although my photos were far from brilliant).
But my number one highlight was watching the new pair of wolverines at Whipsnade playfighting on another wet grey day, partly because I did get one or two decent shots.

Alan
 
Within the UK, my zoological highlights were definitely seeing

• red-backed bearded saki monkeys (Colchester)
• wolverines (Whipsnade)
• white-tailed gnu (Marwell)

Outside the UK, highlights were visits to three of my favourite European zoos; Antwerp, Frankfurt and Stuttgart (Wilhelma). Although I had visited these zoos many times previously, it had been several years since I was last there and return visits were long overdue.

Another highlight was seeing the mounted group of quaggas in the Zoological Museum at Mainz.

As others have mentioned this thread seems a little premature as there are still three months to go. I intend to visit the Birmingham SeaLife Centre before the end of year; hopefully another highlight will be seeing the hammerhead sharks.
 
It should have been Giant Otters at Chester as it would be a new species for me, but I still haven't made it there(yet).

So instead I would nominate seeing the Red-Crowned Mangabey group at Paignton finally enjoying their spacious enclosure in Monkey 'Heights'.;)
 
My highlights are relatively modest i think:
1) seeing fishing cat kitten play about and dip in the pool at Newquay zoo
2) seeing narrow striped mongoose after an hour stake out at Newquay zoo
3) watching the keeper and Kinkajou duel at Newquay
4) seeing my first ocelot at Birmingham nature centre
 
1. my keeper shadowing experiences with Rajang and Tiga at Colchester
2. seeing the Sakis at Colchester
3. Sun bears at Colchester
4. Visits to Chester, including the walk and talk with Tim Rolands. The chimp family and the orang groups are amazing
5. meeting the aardvark group at Africa Alive a few weeks ago
6. my keeper shadowing exp with Igor and Anoushka at Colchester
7. visiting Bristol Zoo for the first time. It was lovely

there are lots more so will look through my notes and photographs and keep adding to my list :)
 
My highlight for me this year has to be the baby Red Panda birth at Chester Zoo, it was our first baby Red and we are enjoying watching her grow up :)
 
Going to Costa Rica and seeing Tapirs, Quetzal, green turtles, humpback whales en much much more :)

Zoo-Wise, Madrid Zoo (we had to wait for our flight to Amsterdam and went to the zoo :)), Hamburg Zoo and San José Zoo added to my list...
 
Visiting Australia in July/August this year brought a huge number of highlights: - first time seeing Numbat, Dibbler, Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo, Greater Glider, Dugong, Thorny Devil (Moloch), to name just a few.
An unexpected pleasure: seeing what I suspect may be the only captive specimen of Shark Bay Sea-snake (Aipysurus pooleorum), at the Aquarium of Western Australia.
 
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