I believe ideas are being mooted along those lines. The current format has been scrapped due to a combination of negative visitor feedback/criticism and the keepers being uncomfortable in portraying certain behaviours. Sealions are the exception however-although behaviours like ball-balancing,flipper clapping are being removed. Personally, I think it's a fine line with the sealions.Youve essentially got an animal that's dog-like in its requirements and that thrives on interaction.
I also think that without the shows you're left with a facility that is sub-optimal for sealions. The land area is inadequate, and there are those who'd question whether the pools are big enough in area.
I think it would be a shame to lose the elephant show: it did show natural behaviours, had a strong conservation all message, and was always very well done (whenever I saw it, a female American or Canadian keeper was usually doing the commentary, and was very good). It does raise questions about free contact, of course, but those questions will remain.
The nilgai paddock (Dagnall Paddock) has been split into two, with the furthest third or so fenced off. As the nilgai tended to lurk in the far reaches of the paddock, this has made them more visible to those of us without binoculars; although I don't know if that was the only reason behind the new fencing. The blesbok appear to have been moved from the roan/sitatunga area, to the small paddock/hardstanding at the rear of the nilgai housing (ie. on the right as you enter Passage through Asia), which has had some temporary fencework installed. Edit, after checking the following day (19 July): the three blesbok are still in the roan/sitatunga housing, which is now reopened to public access after a period of closure. So I don't know what the two (?) additional animals - behind the nilgai housing - are. More blesbok? Something similar?
I always thought London's elephant demo had merits-a daily health check, followed by a wash ending in a walkabout around the zoo. Maybe that's what Whipsnade could aim for? Interesting though how Woburn are carrying on with their elephant shows plus Elephant Appreciation Weekend-which Whipsnade have also ceased.
Excellent news, though they are long overdue for a white rhino birth! Has anyone the blesbok actually out in the paddock yet? Everytime I've been they're always on the hard standing!
Whipsnade Elephantastic weekend is 20-21 September 2014. Banner displayed near Lubetkin elephant house.
Have they mixed the kudu with the impala yet? Also, anyone know where the Thomsons gazelle are quarantined? An interesting development splitting the Nilgai paddock in two-what does this imply I wonder?
I believe these three males may go out within the next week or two. Yes, the female kudu have been mixed with the impala for at least a few days now, maybe longer. I'm probably imagining things, but the presence of the impala, often to be found in the middle of the paddock, seems to bring the kudu forward of their usual position at the rear. The kudu calves were on their own during the short time I saw them, and not mixed with the adults. They are indeed in the far end of the bongo housing (right hand end, as viewed from the rhinos). I believe there are 1.2 at present, and - for the past week or so - the male has been quite visible in a net-fronted hardstanding area to the left of the fully enclosed, wooden panelled, end section (which I assume contains the females). There is a new(ish) small paddock created within the bongo paddock for them (far side, near the trees), so binoculars may come in handy once they finally get to use it! I understand that the 5.1 (total) blesbok will be split into a breeding group and a bachelor group; perhaps one of those groups is destined for the rear section of the nilgai paddock (Dagnall Paddock)? You could just about get away with saying that rear bit is part of the Africa section, I guess
The Grevy's zebra foal is a boy! A shame that Whipsnade have not made a big announcement about the antelope arrivals-you'd think it would be something to be proud about!
Possibly because these species are all quite nervous and need prolonged settling in periods- sometimes on hardstands or rear paddocks etc where they can't always be seen properly. Advertising their arrival might cause people to go seeking them out and then be disappointed when they can't see/find them.
I originally thought that, rather like the impala, the Thomson’s gazelles would only be kept in the Bongo House temporarily; however, I have now been told that the current intention is for the gazelles to remain in that building (although, of course, plans can change).
It's a pity that the Bongo and the Red River Hogs are at Whipsnade. Both species would fit in better at London, and the present accommodation for the latter at Whipsnade is where the Thomson's Gazelle were kept for nigh on forty years, breeding like rabbits.
