ZSL Whipsnade Zoo ZSL Whipsnade Zoo News 2023

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Lafone said:
I don't remember being able to go in the area they are in. Not the now owl wood. It's the edge enclosure in the bird off show area, on the corner as the road goes past the elephants before the road crosses the train tracks and then goes past the alpacas.
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Ah ok, think I got it!
 
Cat-Man said:
Was the sea lion house not listed?
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No, if its the old Dolphin display it wasn't, the listed buildings were earlier thn this. At first I thought the original(?) SeaLion pool was being referred to here, the small rocky(now overgrown) elongated island with a concrete moat and classic old style low ZSL metal barrier fence round it, as you head from the main entrance toward the Giraffe/Gaur area. This may be listed (anyone?) as it is from the much earlier period, though its an enclosure not a building. I was far more concerned about that than the Dolphinaria which I always felt was very unsuitable for Whipsnade. Quite glad if it has finally gone.
 
Pertinax said:
No, if its the old Dolphin display it wasn't, the listed buildings were earlier thn this. At first I thought the original(?) SeaLion pool was being referred to here, the small rocky(now overgrown) elongated island with a concrete moat and classic old style low ZSL metal barrier fence round it, as you head from the main entrance toward the Giraffe/Gaur area. This may be listed (anyone?) as it is from the much earlier period, though its an enclosure not a building. I was far more concerned about that than the Dolphinaria which I always felt was very unsuitable for Whipsnade. Quite glad if it has finally gone.
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I believe that pool and island enclosure is now the Asian short clawed otter enclosure. It was certainly very active with the otter family today. There was an old photo posted of it recently with a seal in it.

According to historic englands site the elephant house is the only listed building.

The sealion house was past its time and their new home at YWP is awesome. It’s a shame it didn’t become a new enclosure vs seating but it’s at least a tidy and well made space.

Edited to add the photo which shows the seal now otter enclosure which is the moated pool with island and half height fence courtesy of Skukuza.

Seal Enclosure - scanned photo 1990's - ZooChat
 
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Lafone said:
I don't remember being able to go in the area they are in. Not the now owl wood. It's the edge enclosure in the bird off show area, on the corner as the road goes past the elephants before the road crosses the train tracks and then goes past the alpacas.
Click to expand...

Yes, that’s the old Bird Garden and previous Children’s Zoo
 
Pertinax said:
No, if its the old Dolphin display it wasn't, the listed buildings were earlier thn this. At first I thought the original(?) SeaLion pool was being referred to here, the small rocky(now overgrown) elongated island with a concrete moat and classic old style low ZSL metal barrier fence round it, as you head from the main entrance toward the Giraffe/Gaur area. This may be listed (anyone?) as it is from the much earlier period, though its an enclosure not a building. I was far more concerned about that than the Dolphinaria which I always felt was very unsuitable for Whipsnade. Quite glad if it has finally gone.
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This used to be a seal pool - Sammy and Snoopy in the 80s - and originally Chimp Island
 
Pertinax said:
No, if its the old Dolphin display it wasn't, the listed buildings were earlier thn this. At first I thought the original(?) SeaLion pool was being referred to here, the small rocky(now overgrown) elongated island with a concrete moat and classic old style low ZSL metal barrier fence round it, as you head from the main entrance toward the Giraffe/Gaur area. This may be listed (anyone?) as it is from the much earlier period, though its an enclosure not a building. I was far more concerned about that than the Dolphinaria which I always felt was very unsuitable for Whipsnade. Quite glad if it has finally gone.
Click to expand...

Lafone said:
I believe that pool and island enclosure is now the Asian short clawed otter enclosure. It was certainly very active with the otter family today. There was an old photo posted of it recently with a seal in it.

According to historic englands site the elephant house is the only listed building.

The sealion house was past its time and their new home at YWP is awesome. It’s a shame it didn’t become a new enclosure vs seating but it’s at least a tidy and well made space.

Edited to add the photo which shows the seal now otter enclosure which is the moated pool with island and half height fence courtesy of Skukuza.

Seal Enclosure - scanned photo 1990's - ZooChat
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Thanks both for confirming, and for attaching the photos of the old seal pool.

The confusion was in my part - I made the mistake of assuming a building at ZSL was listen because it was old and white - not entirely unreasonable :p
 
Lafone said:
The elephant house by Lubetkin is the only listed building though Tecton also designed the now empty monkey house (which was a cafe) and a giraffe house which isn't there any more.
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Where in the zoo is the monkey house, and is it visible to the public?
 
Lafone said:
....Tecton also designed the now empty monkey house (which was a cafe)...
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Kalaw said:
Where in the zoo is the monkey house, and is it visible to the public?
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I assume the building "Lafone" was referring to is the old Hall Farm building, which used to be a restaurant, was converted into the Discovery Centre and recently housed white-faced saki monkeys (which have now been transferred to London Zoo).

See the links below:

Restaurant extension, Whipsnade Zoo, seen from the paddock and the gardens | RIBA pix

Whipsnade Zoo
 
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Tim May said:
I assume the building "Lafone" was referring to is the old Hall Farm building, which used to be a restaurant, was converted into the Discovery Centre and recently housed white-faced saki monkeys (which have now been transferred to London Zoo).

See the links below:

Restaurant extension, Whipsnade Zoo, seen from the paddock and the gardens | RIBA pix

Whipsnade Zoo
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Yes that’s the one. It’s looking a bit tired at this point - hopefully will get some paint like the elephant house and maybe something else in the enclosure. Or a reuse of some sort.

When the Saki monkeys were in it (they had an overhead wired walkway linking the building to the outside space) you couldn’t really see through the windows into the indoor area due to the condition of the glass, though some of it also seems to be tinted / have a coating on it.
 
Lafone said:
Yes that’s the one. It’s looking a bit tired at this point - hopefully will get some paint like the elephant house and maybe something else in the enclosure. Or a reuse of some sort.
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Unlikely, at least for public use anyway (access, safety). The “Discovery Centre” closed to the public when the nearby Butterfly house opened, becoming keepers quarters and off show breeding facilities.
 
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