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Maguari

Suricata Sands at Colchester 29/11/09

One of these days, Colchester will build an exhibit without feeling the need to give it a ridiculous name. :)

Suricata Sands at Colchester 29/11/09
Maguari, 4 Dec 2009
    • Maguari
      One of these days, Colchester will build an exhibit without feeling the need to give it a ridiculous name. :)
    • Ituri
      I would think that Suricate Sands would have been the way to go...
    • snowleopard
      What is the best animal exhibit at Colchester Zoo? Is there one that stands out from the Fred Flintstone designs? For many overseas visitors the impression of this particular zoo from photos and numerous comments is that it has a decent collection but many junkyard exhibits.;)
    • EvilKittie
      i would agree with Ituri, since their latin name is suricate surcata
    • Goretex
      Its not all that bad! There are no "junkyard" enclosures IMHO but there is a lot of variation in exhibit quality here now.

      It is always improving themselves with a new exhibit being built.
    • zoogiraffe
      Sorry I`ve got to agree with snowleopard,as the only part of Colchester that I can think of that hasn`t got any fake rock or very poor themeing is the African Savannah Paddock,okay they may well not be Junkyard but they just about pass as ok,as would say that Colchester doesn`t have a single enclosure that you could say is world class,in fact I cannot think of one that I would consider to be the best in Europe or the U.K for that.
    • Roz
      What about Playa Patagonia the sealion enclosure- i pretty sure that there are no sealion exhibits in the UK better than that ;)
      At the moment it seems that only the Colchester gang have good words to say about colchester zoo.
    • GillP
      I hate the proliferation of ugly fake rock at Colchester which someone has obviously decided is part and parcel of its corporate identity as it's incorporated into everything and anything (or so it seems) but I think calling its exhibits 'junkyard' is a bit harsh. I'm quite sentimental and have got very upset at quite a few other zoos where I perceive the enclosures to be inadequate but have never felt that at Colchester thought there are undeniably some areas which could do with improvements (show me any zoo where that isn't true) such as enlargement, or extra sources of enrichment being provided.

      As for the silly names ..... does it really matter ? I must have walked past the meerkats 6 or 7 times if not more since they moved and until seeing this photo never realised they even had a 'name' at all ! I was chatting to my partner the other day about the names there in fact and they all wash over me. I could direct someone from A to B by saying turn left at this animal, go past that animal etc. but wouldn't be able to give directions with the Spirit of That, the Wilds of the other and so on as it's the animals I'm most interested in - not the aesthetics or the names.

      Aesthetically, Colchester is pretty ugly I admit but it has a great collection and most importantly the animals seem in good health and show no signs of distress. Their enclosures aren't always to my taste but they are always clean and provide for most of their needs so far as I can tell as a non expert.
    • zoogiraffe
      Bristol Zoo`s Sealion enclosure is better as far as I`m concerned!
    • Maguari
      No, their scientific name is Suricata suricatta. 'Suricate' is an alternative common name.
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  • Category:
    Colchester Zoo
    Uploaded By:
    Maguari
    Date:
    4 Dec 2009
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