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Bele

Second block of off-show enclosures behind Tiger enclosure

Second block of off-show enclosures behind Tiger enclosure .

Second block of off-show enclosures behind Tiger enclosure
Bele, 9 May 2012
Green_mamba likes this.
    • Bele
      Second block of off-show enclosures behind Tiger enclosure .
    • zoogiraffe
      These will become on-show exhibits as soon as the path is complete to them!
    • snowleopard
      Having just gone through the gallery for this establishment I am amazed at how uninspired, bland and basic the animal enclosures are. The collection is outstanding, as where else can one find these species all together in one place: black-backed jackal, corsac fox, aardwolf, oncilla, jaguarundi, mountain viscacha, siberian weasel, maned wolf, binturong, Bengal slow loris, striped owl and palmnut vulture.

      The enclosures have all been hammered together out of wood and wire, the unfinished poles that adorn the pathways are bizarrely somewhat unfinished (covered awnings coming in the future?), the Tiger Barn is something that you'd find in many Texas backyards, and the Reptile House appears to be an abandoned shed. Are there rusty pitchforks tossed haphazardly into corners? An old scarecrow lamenting the over-abundance of chicken wire for the carnivore enclosures? I'm not requesting a multi-milion dollar investment in immersion habitats, but surely such a brilliant collection of animals deserves a little more respect! Will a conservation-themed message be broadcast to the general public or will visitors simply see cool animals in wire cages?
    • Mike11
      Personally having been to Hamerton quite recently, I see no problem with their enclosures. Sure everyone has their preferences, but if I compare this trip to a zoo such as London with their 'conservation themed enclosures' I much prefer somewhere like Hamerton.

      There's just something more special about seeing an animal close up here. Quite a lot of the indoor viewing in this place is out of bounds meaning that for animals such as maned wolves, Aardwolves and the small cats, you have to wait til the very end of the day to see them, well worth the wait.

      There is nothing wrong with wood and wire in exhibits, Children will be inspired by an animal that they see. Something I think that the enclosure has not too much to do with, a child can be inspired at somewhere like Hamerton or London, San Diego, wherever you like. It has never stopped me gaining a passion that I have, seeing animals in enclosures such as this.

      As with any zoo for people with interests such as us there are always thing that we would do different, for example i'm not too keen on immersion exhibits.

      In my opinion the respect these animals gain at Hamerton in terms of privacy of indoor areas and enclosures that may be not the best for viewing is of the greatest respect that can be given to animals in captivity. Places such as Hamerton are proof that decent enclosures for animals don't have to be built for huge expense to make the animals happy. Animals have privacy, climbing opportunities, space to roam and to climb around their enclosures. Hamerton's signage from what I can remember was also very good, so what is the problem??
    • Javan Rhino
      I won't quote as the previous two posts have been quite long, but I would like to echo Riziki's comments.

      The enclosures are basic but welfare does not seem to be compromised. My thoughts on the subject are that so long as an exhibit is functional, then it doesn't matter what it looks like :)
    • Shirokuma
      Why do you do this snowleopard? You know fine well that there is a different culture of zoo design in Britain and that this is a small zoo in the countryside that has neither the means - nor, I imagine, the inclination - to produce elaborately themed immersive enclosures.

      These are functional and humane enclosures which is more than I can say for many apparently more impressive exhibits in other zoos.

      Must we have the same discussion over and over?
    • snowleopard
      It has been a LONG time since I made a specific, borderline-derogatory reference to a small British zoo and its exhibit quality, and I missed the amusement of reading the responses!:) Any conservation value that visitors might attain from reptiles might be ruined by the "abandoned shed" approach taken at Hamerton.

      Also, fellow North American ZooChatter David Brown called Noah's Ark Zoo a "dump" and from photos it looks only marginally worse than Hamerton...haha.
    • Javan Rhino
      Hamerton is infinately better than Noahs. Whereas Hamerton's exhibits are basic, they are at least functional and good enough for the animals welfare.
    • Mike11
      Hasn't it ever occured to anyone (Snow leopard specifically) that simplicity is key? Knowing that rare animals simply blossom in these enclosures at Hamerton?

      There is nothing wrong with chainlink enclosures, or wooden housing, as long as housing as warm, there is plenty of natural vegetation, substrate, climbing opportunities, why must you always call for immersion style enclosures? Especially for animals such as large carnivores, what is better than an actual chunk of countryside with trees and so on??

      What you haven't seen is that it is actually incredibly difficult to view the tigers if they are in their very large outdoor paddock unless they are on one particular side. Tigers have bred prolifically in these simple style chainlink enclosed countryside enclosures, Howletts for example. In my opinion if there is decent signage and so on around it, then the conservation message is still as strong as it would be for any 'immersion' enclosure. After all it is the animals that do the true inspiring. And me myself have been able to appreciate animals a lot better in these type of enclosures then any 'immersion style' enclosure I have been to in the UK. For example the lion enclosure at Chester, it is just a chunk of mature woodland, one of the only original enclosures left at the zoo and in my opinion with the climbing frame it held, and the house (perhaps a little out-dated but none the less still does a sterling job) is absolutely perfect for them.

      If every zoo looked like an immersion zoo it would be a very sad day in my opinion.
    • Shirokuma
      The comparison with Noah's Ark is hardly valid. That is a ramshackle travesty of a 'zoo' run by reactionary religious fundamentalists - who are fighting a losing battle, thankfully, in what is an overwhelmingly secular society. Unlike on the other side of the Atlantic where they are - sadly - in quite a different position

      I am not actually opposed to immersive enclosures – they can be wonderful and inspiring – and many I have seen have amazed me. But if they don’t offer room to roam, air to breath, natural substrate and a varied and enriched atmosphere, the animals may as well cease to be there and should be replaced with animatronic robots.

      My main point is that is a zoo like this will never have those resources and complaining that it isn’t like something it has no intention of becoming is rather like going to Greece and complaining about the white and blue houses and saying that they should have more Swiss chalets, or complaining that Icelanders don’t live in Bornean longhouses. Variety is the spice of life and I love visiting enormous city zoos but also like visiting small collections which can inspire people just as easily.
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  • Category:
    Hamerton Zoo Park
    Uploaded By:
    Bele
    Date:
    9 May 2012
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    Comment Count:
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    Date / Time:
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