New baboon enclosure

View from inside new play area

Does YWP open a new exhibit every 6 months? This place has been expanding at an incredible rate, although the new baboon enclosure is half-empty and seems to be unfinished. Is it 100% complete? There are apparently many decent exhibits at this fairly new zoo, but is there anything truly superb?

Are those feeding devices at the front of the photo?
Looks to be a quality built enclosure, though personally speaking i would have preferred something a bit more natural than those huts, nitpicking i know!
The fencing, reminds me of the fencing at monkeyworld, same design.

Nothing 'world-class' as such, but it has the best walking-viewed (i.e. non-safari park*) lion complex in a UK zoo, I'd say, beating out the big boys - better landscaped than Chester or London, each of the three paddocks bigger than the whole setup at Bristol, Blackpool or Cotswold and better viewing than Edinburgh, Paignton or Whipsnade.

And for such a new place, the overall level of quality is exceptional.




*if we included safari parks the honour probably goes to Woburn now the indoor housing has been improved.

Is there a need to have something truly superb? Many exhibits are very nice, and meet the animal requirements very well, wich i think is good enough. I prefer spending fewer money in nice simple exhibits than spending millions on fake rockwork that would only make the exhibit worse.

I agree entirely. And how do we define truely superb?

I would say that a truely superb exhibit needs to surpasse the basic needs.
A basic exhibit might be a piece of land, with mesh fence and viewing window, where the animal has shade and whatever else he needs (trees, water, varied terrain).
A superb exhbit has lots of viewing windows, underwater viewing, lots of vegetation, lots of hiding places and normally houses a superstar species. Other important thing is that it costs Millions.
When I hear truely superb exhibits, i remember Congo Gorilla Forest, wich is one of the best, if not the best Group of Enclousures ever built, but it was also the one who cost the more. The animals breed and are happy, but then i look at simpler exhibits and the same happens.

I agree filipinos I know this has been said before, but, though I love the idea of super immersion styled exhibits, most of the immersion is for us the viewer rather than the occupents.It is rather like theatre, the play can go on with minimal scenery, but the richer the set the more sumptious the production seams, and the audience feel satisfied at the price of the ticket.