Or perhaps push the extension out towards the tree line along the car park. I would also add that, personally, I’ve hardly ever seen the group use their current pool since the exhibit first opened, so a redesign is long overdue!
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo ZSL Whipsnade Zoo News 2025
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Or perhaps push the extension out towards the tree line along the car park. I would also add that, personally, I’ve hardly ever seen the group use their current pool since the exhibit first opened, so a redesign is long overdue!
Yes,
Yes, a keeper told me towards the end of the summer that the exhibit would be extended and would incorporate land towards the car park / the old elephant ampitheatre, which would incorporate some woodland area.
Yes, a keeper told me towards the end of the summer that the exhibit would be extended and would incorporate land towards the car park / the old elephant ampitheatre, which would incorporate some woodland area.
Yes, it’s been shared with Fellows with notice of the November AGM and should be released publicly after that.
Clearance work seems already have started.
It's good they're doing something with the old amphitheatre space, such a waste of space there. The car park is not frequently used either.
whats the reason ”Bison Hill” is not used for bisons anymore? Wouldn’t the european bisons be a nice sight there instead of its American counterparts?
The definition of torpor (instead of hibernation) is that the animals spend a lot of time awake, but that they slow down as well as their metabolism etc. It is a fact that even wild bears in Sweden (where i an located) make some shorter excursions outside the den in winter. The females also give birth around new year in the den and spends some time awake tending to the cubs.
It seems to be an unfortunate trend on a global scale!
What are the reasons for it? Is there a move against larger groups or is it down to budgets/movement restrictions?
The things I hear from some of the institutions I cross paths with at work is following:
1: the public is ever harder to please. They want ”big bang for their bucks” so to say… and hoofstocks that are not zebras etc is not that for the general public.
2: problems with fertility, sex-ratio distortion etc due to past genetic bottlenecks.
3: Large herds cost to feed, clean, house, veterinary attention etc.
4: landuse pirority
5: Curatorial preferences. If a zoo has a bird-fanatic at higher positions, they are more likely to have great bird-facilities, and if a zoo has a management that does not care specifically about hoofstock taxa, the more likely there is that they provide the audience with a generic savannah setup with zebras, giraffes and wildebeast, and thats it.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Births of zebra, blesbok, and gemsbok, the new oryx arriving, hoofstock breeding activity in a passage through Asia with the fallows, pere david, sika and then the arrival of the white lipped deer to join the other fairly new arrivals the Banteng. Any other zoo that would probably be called ‘growth’. I’m sure things were all far better in the past but as someone who saw the past and visits now I like the recent growth at Whipsnade myself.
There are also examples of large herds around too. I was at Woburn deer park the other weekend - I wouldn’t characterise the pere David herd there as small for example. It’s easy to focus on what’s not there and not enjoy what is. As someone who spends a lot of time around deer I think it’s important to have a balanced view or people won’t value conservation as they’ll think it’s pointless and too late.
I did see Jiya outside during a visit about a month ago:
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It was around closing-time; she seemed calm enough whilst I was there, although I was standing halfway down the paddock and there was no-one else around.
I noticed when I've been past at a similar time, on several occasions since, that some feed had been placed at the centre or far end of the paddock, so maybe she does venture out after hours.
Just to say I have seen her outside on a couple of visits this month. On Wednesday she went all round the paddock. It was a quiet afternoon visitor wise
There's 450 of them apparently! (I asked them) I've always thought they are the most impressive mammalian spectacle in the UK. They are a bit of an exception though to the general trend I think, and Woburn Deer park is a different operation to mainstrream zoos and wildlife parks. But yes, Whipsnade is looking up ungulate-wise at present, even if herd numbers remain small but maybe they will build from the small numbers of founders of e.g. the Whitelipped deer..
In the latest edition of wildabout (the ZSL magazine) whipsnade will be getting two female cheetahs soon to join the current two males who arrived earlier this year. So hopefully cheetah cubs at some point on the horizon!
DCzootripper
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know where the new Tapir is being housed, I presume It is the hippo exhibit, but please inform me if I am wrong.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
I'd agree the Pere Davids are a bit of an exception at Woburn in terms of large herds of exotic deer, though most of the large deer parks have sizeable herds of native or introduced deer. There are lots of places to see good sized herds but that doesn't reflect the focus in most zoos (outside Whipsnade, which is why I thought it a little ironic for the poster to use this particular thread to highlight 'shrinkage'). The Woburn deer are spectacular particularly when they are all around one of the ponds etc - with the house and park car park shut it's actually easier at the moment to get really good views of them as fewer people are around and it's just a short walk from the free car park too. It's also been great to see the Whipsnade stock added to recently.
I wouldn’t be so sure the two males are in their twilight years both 15, and life expectancy can be up to age 20 in cheetah but usually 12-17yr in capacity depending on health.. so be interesting to see what happens
Lafone
Well-Known Member
They may be hoping for a similar result to the one at YWP where Brooke (brother to Oscar and Jake at Whipsnade and the same age as them) produced cubs with female Darcy in May 2024. Probably worth considering the EEP will have thought of these things vs writing them off as in their twilight years etc. While it doesn't make it likely it doesn't mean it's not worth trying given the bloodlines, I would assume.
The last time I was there(staying at the Center Parcs) I went in the park several times during the week. One time near the gate leading out the North side we had a great experience. The whole(?) herd of Pere David were grazing on one side and then crossed the road running toward the Abbey. We video'd it, it was like something out of Africa !
True about other deer parks, though most have Red/Fallow/Sika and none can boast the same selection as Woburn, except Watatunga who probably actually have even more exotic species than Woburn now but not the numbers (Barasingha/Sambar(two subs)/Sika//Axis/Whitelipped/ Pere David/Philippine) For the record I can remember when even Whipsnade had European Red deer, a large herd in the paddock where is now the Cheetahs and Barasingha/Hog deer.