Colchester Zoo Zoo days at Colchester

Pygathrix said:
Remember it's Five we're talking about so production values are not going to be that good. If the endless trailing/recapping was edited out then they could have a weekly one hour show but that wouldn't fill the schedule. I don't think Zola is that much of a story but obviously they are trying to extract/inject drama into the situation. Don't blame her for the producers' anthropomorphism :)
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Channel 5 have grown up in the last few years, a couple of years ago you wouldn't of seen a nature program on it. (well except for the natural form of a women ;) ).

Just watching these animals is entering for myself, but I can see why Channel 5 is using its current techniqiue to keep viewers glued to the screens
 
I do hope that by the time Zoo Days is back at Chester, Konnie Huq will be gone. What is she doing there, go away!
 
So far I've been really disapointed with this series. IMO, Colchester is probably the best zoo in the UK - that I've been to, at least - and this programme just isn't doing it justice. Far too much focus on the elephants, nowhere near enough variety of species shown, and all that repetition does my head in!!! Why do the programme makers assume that their viewers all have worse memories than goldfish? :mad:

Although I'm not the biggest Chester fan on this site by a long stretch, this series is so far a pale imitation of their shows. Mind you, Tejas did steal the show!
 
Sand Cat said:
So far I've been really disapointed with this series. IMO, Colchester is probably the best zoo in the UK - that I've been to, at least
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I thought cholchester to be up there along the best zoo's in the country (never visited) but after watching this program about it am now unsure. Partly I havn't seen a diverse collection that is shown on their website. Also the enclosures seems strange to me! Yes spacious but I dont think I like the idea of lots of viewing windows everywhere
 
ZooMania said:
Missed todays episode. Anything interesting happen.
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Yes Zola was not on it! :eek: but one of the younger elephants was. Meerkat introductions.
Owl with broken wing.

To be honest am struggling to remember, it wasn't that eventful
 
taun said:
Channel 5 have grown up in the last few years, a couple of years ago you wouldn't of seen a nature program on it. (well except for the natural form of a women ;) ).

Just watching these animals is entering for myself, but I can see why Channel 5 is using its current techniqiue to keep viewers glued to the screens
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In fact, as I remember when it first started Channel 5 had a regular format for each day's schedules (a film every day at 9, for example) that did indeed include a wildlife documentary every day of the week in the early evening. A bit of a strange way to run a TV channel, but it lasted for quite a while.
 
ZooMania said:
Missed todays episode. Anything interesting happen.
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Hand-rearing the aardvark. The adults had a visit from the vet.

I've been to Colchester 3 times and I think it is much better than it appears on the screen. I saw my first fossas, Slender-snouted crocodiles, hunting dogs, rocky mountain goats, fishing cats, Allen's swamp monkeys, black mangabeys and dik-dik at Colchester.

I just wisd they'd put the Iberian wolves and jackals on show. They are only visible from the railway.
 
I am thinking of going this year, and even thou the TV series isn't doing it credit from what I've read about the place I still really want to visit.

I really what to see the african section of the zoo, seems all open and looks good on their map on their website
 
There is a difference between a good collection and a good zoo. Colchester is an amazing *collection*. It is also one of the most visitor/camera friendly. There are endless glass viewing windows and much of the zoo feels very crammed in, as you are often in between three or 4 glass exhibit perimeters. The site is not very big for the size of the collection, although the extension (the african area) is much more so as it is newer.

Things are constantly improving, but aside from the rare species, you wouldn't particularly rate their lion, hippo, rhino, elephant or chimpanzee enclosures.

Re the rocky mountain goats....that's the trick isn't it, many unusual species bred well in conditions we'd gasp at today years ago, so I guess as they look like goats you can just stick them in the kids' zone and let them get on with it! I have seen water buffalo and anoa at different points alongside domestic stock....

that all said, the level of husbandry is obviously very, very high to have had some of the breeding successes colchester have had.

Zola really does seem to be extremely traumatised. It's strange as she was trained to walk among the public when she was a young animal, maybe she became more nervous and uncontrollable as she matured.
 
johnstoni said:
There is a difference between a good collection and a good zoo. Colchester is an amazing *collection*. It is also one of the most visitor/camera friendly. There are endless glass viewing windows and much of the zoo feels very crammed in, as you are often in between three or 4 glass exhibit perimeters. The site is not very big for the size of the collection, although the extension (the african area) is much more so as it is newer.
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I very much agree with this. Colchester would be a superb zoo if it had twice the land area... There are other examples of this kind of thing; Amazon World has a great collection but generally ropey (and not particularly roomy) exhibits.
 
Absolutely, although I would make a distinction between those collections in that colchester appears to have very high husbandry standards in terms of enrichment and internal enclosure furnishings, whereas amazon world has the whole tacky exterior to its exhibits but the interiors are the real shocker.
 
Regarding last night's episode, I wondered why they aren't crate training the orangutans for their short move to the new house. If anaesthetising Rajang could be dangerous in view of his age, it could be the better option. He seems like an amenable old chap.
The repetition in Zoo Days is making me shout at the TV now! :mad:
 
Gigit said:
Regarding last night's episode, I wondered why they aren't crate training the orangutans for their short move to the new house. If anaesthetising Rajang could be dangerous in view of his age, it could be the better option. He seems like an amenable old chap.
The repetition in Zoo Days is making me shout at the TV now! :mad:
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I do argee that Crate training seems a better option! But then each Zoo does things slighty different or they may have already tried such a technique but didn't work and they just havn't mentioned it.
 
Someone actually said that? :eek:
Was it one of the keepers? I suppose it would be a bit more forgivable if it was one of the voce overs...
 
It was Konnie Huq who said it.

I thought I saw a young chocolate chimp on the programme tonight - do they have animals from Twycross's choc line at Colchester?
 
Pygathrix said:
I thought I saw a young chocolate chimp on the programme tonight - do they have animals from Twycross's choc line at Colchester?
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Yes, they do have a chocolate chimp- I believe they (accidentally) received one or more 'recessive' animals from Twycross and a choc. baby resulted.

Anyone know yet where an additional pair of Orangutans is to come from?
 
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taun said:
Also the enclosures seems strange to me! Yes spacious but I dont think I like the idea of lots of viewing windows everywhere
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Colchester's enclosures are very different to most other UK Zoos. The main part of the zoo is concentrated along the side of a shallow Valley and so a lot of the enclosures are crammed in rather close together but they are mostly pretty good and the viewing facilities are excellent for most species. There are modern brick pathways linking nearly all the exhibits and they used to have thematic music playing in some of the exhibits- this can be very irritating after a while.

The 'Africa' section is a more recent development on a new area of land- much more open and spacious than the original zoo site. Some of the newer secondary(to elephants & rhinos) enclosures located here are a rather strange design e.g. the Mandrills & Hyaena and which don't have any inside viewing. However Colchester is today a very comprehensive and go-ahead collection and has made tremendous improvements since the current owners took it over. I would definately rate it among the top 'tier' of UK zoos nowadays.
 
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