New arrivals at the HWP » Highland Wildlife Park

27-10-2008

Looks like the former European badger enclosure has been opened up for the red panda, this is a low walled exhibit so should make for better viewing, both exhibits are connected by an overhead tunnel.
Highland Wildlife Park on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
and
Highland Wildlife Park on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

27-10-2008

haha love the red pandas in the tunnel, thanks for that

22-01-2009

The park have announced that the pair of Japanese serow and their young from last year are heading north from the Edinburgh zoo to join the Japanese macaques in their huge enclosure, this should be happening within the next few weeks.
With the Bactrian camels following soon.

Japanese animals to enter wildlife park - Strathspey and Badenoch Herald

But my question is, where are the musk oxen?

22-01-2009

How far apart are the Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park?

23-01-2009

The Highland wildlife park is about 114 miles north of the zoo and i would say it takes you around 2 and a half hours to travel between them.

23-01-2009

@solari27: the distance from the city is perhaps one of the reasons why the Edinburgh Zoo receives around 800,000 visitors a year while the wildlife park receives only around 70,000 visitors a year. I'd love to see the park receive more acclaim, as with red pandas, amur tigers, snow leopards, japanese serow and other cold-weather animals it has an interesting collection. I suppose that it lacks a Budongo...haha.

23-01-2009

and it lacks the snow leopards, at the moment too, but they are planned to come in soon, along with Amur leopards.

23-01-2009

highlands wildlife park's attendance will continue to grow through exhibiting the larger more attractive animals, like the tiger and leopards (and you never know perhaps polar bears in the future...i hope), but the park really needs a large interactive display, costing a few millions representing the parks goals and the cold habitats its trying to protect, this building may not have to exhibit animals but could act as a visitor centre of sorts. having never visited the park my post should be taken with a pinch of salt and for all i know the park may already have such a display.

such a exhibit may not improve intendance from the wow factor of charismatic animals, but it would certainly improve the reputattion of the park so that visitors may feel as though there really is a goal behind all the animals. (not saying that HWP hasn't already acheived a good reputation, nor am i suggesting that there is no conservation action occuring.) i am sugegsting that such an injection of cash coud really improve the site and that such a building would be a good way to spend the money.

ps this post is total rubbish if the park already has such a building, or hwp can't get the cash

26-01-2009

You said it yourself, but if you've not visited the park, how can you possibly be commenting on what it needs to do to improve?

26-01-2009

its just what i imagine a new park egtting off its feet with a fantastic array of animals need, something to really display their conservation work.

and does anyone know how the tigers are doing on their superb enclosure?

26-01-2009

But its not a new park getting on its feet its a well established park with a proven track record expanding its collection to give more diversity of species within the park!

26-01-2009

i beelived the park to be relatively new and not with a huge attendance, and i'm not disputing its acheivements. i persoanlly think the park is simply wonderfull and couldn't be in a more appropriate settings for the animals. anyway the post was just my mind wondering off, simply my imagination running wild with idea of changing the park. sort of a momentary collapse into my world of personal zoos. owell it doesn't matter anyway.

26-01-2009

If you call some where that has been open over 30 years a new collection then yes indeed it is new but to me thats an established collection.

27-01-2009

sorry i didn't realise how long the park has actually been going for, (thanks for stopping me ) how old is the mountain/tundra habitats concept been around?

27-01-2009

2007. Amazing how many new species they've got in just two years (off the top of my head, in no particular order):

- Yak
- Kiang
- Mishmi Takin
- Tundra Reindeer
- Bactrian Wapiti
- Red Panda
- Japenese Snow Monkey
- Amur Tiger
- Markhor
- Bharal
- Chinese Goral
- Afghan Urial
- Himalayan Tahr
- Himalayan Snowcock
- Himalayan Monal

And the Japanese Serow, Bactrian Camel, Muskox, Musk Deer, Amur Leopard, Snow Leopard, Pallas Cat and Polar Bear are still to come!