This is just a bit of fun to judge the general consensus on the best enclosure for Giant Anteaters in the UK. I have added a few photos from the gallery to make it easier for members to compare the different exhibits. If anyone wants to make an argument for a particular enclosure, please feel free to do so. Also, I would encourage people to perhaps list the enclosures in order of what they determine to be the best. If anyone has any photos of exhibits I couldn't find any of please share them or if not provide a description of the enclosure. l I'm not sure if Chester's exhibit is still the one shown in the photo. If you want to vote for one of the options not explicitly mentioned in the poll please vote for the other option and state who you are voting for. Drusillas Howletts Unfortunately, there are no photos of this enclosure in the gallery. It would be extremely useful if someone who has visited can describe the exhibit and give an evaluation on its quality. Blackpool YWP Cotswold Chester Colchester South Lakes Dudley Hamerton London Amazon World Longleat Noah's Ark Belfast Edinburgh
The image for Colchester is the old Snow leopard / fossa enclosure, which was used as holding space for different animals for several years. It held a spider monkey and capuchin at the same time as the anteater; it has long since been demolished to make way for the Sun bear enclosure. This Facebook post from the zoo shows limited views of the anteater enclosure: Colchester Zoo
The photo above shows the enclosure next to Dudley's current anteater outdoor areas. It did hold anteaters at one point, but not for a couple of years now since the kangaroos moved in there (however, the last kangaroo recently passed away so there's a chance it could be merged with the current anteater enclosure in the near future). The photos below show the two parts of Dudley's anteater exhibit, which can be merged together or split into two separate enclosures. Giant Anteater Outdoors - ZooChat Second half of new giant anteater enclosure - ZooChat
That's the third poll in a row we've seen a really poor enclosure from Longleat. Red panda, binturong and now giant anteater.
Longleat does seem to provide very poor exhibits for smaller animals. I like the red panda enclosure near the boats both the enclosure near the Monkey temple is horrid. And the monkey temple itself Is the pits and I found the giant otter enclosure depressing aswell as the whole koala/wombat area.
Longleat's Giant Anteater enclosure may not be the best, but they're breeding the species. ZSL no longer hold Giant Anteaters.
I don't mind the red panda enclosure by monkey temple granted it isn't the best but it has been updated since the photo used in the red panda poll (they have access to the large tree behind). I agree that the Binturong enclosure is poor as is the main Monkey Temple area but to my knowledge that area is due to be redeveloped. Back on topic, for anybody that hasn't been to Longleat there is another (very similar) enclosure for the giant anteater adjacent to the one in the photo so they can split the male and female up if needed. They also have access to a small pool in the enclosure not shown. But I agree, it certainly isn't a 'good standard' exhibit. Longleat is my closest collection so I do visit the park quite a lot hence why I know quite a bit about it
Chester still also hold Giant anteater in the long enclosure next to the capybaras. I am unsure if the anteater there still has access to the capybara enclosure or not however.
One interesting point which has not been made yet, it that most of the enclosures depicted would fail a UK Zoo Licence inspection, if the conditions applied at Hamerton were used consistently. Mesh or bars (of any size, setting or thickness which could allow an Anteater snout to access) at Anteater height, on any part of any fence is specifically prohibited. The removal or replacement of such was conditional to our Zoo Licence and our Local Authority threatened legal action and zoo closure if this was not complied with.
A species that could’ve been exhibited very well at Whipsnade imo, but the zoo doesn’t seem to be much into South American fauna sadly. Still, the Crazy Golf was a more than adequate replacement!
Would I be right in thinking that these enclosures are in what used to be Pets Corner? Some of what I've seen on TV is very clearly that old area amended to house more exotic species - even some of the railings look the same! Another one where I'm a bit unsure who to vote for as there are a few I've never seen, but of those I have, Yorkshire is probably my favourite - although the indoor housing could be better. I hope some of the enclosures pictured are better than they look in the photos!
I'd just like to point out that Belfast's anteaters no longer live in that enclosure. The male anteater now lives in the enclosure at the top of the zoo that used to hold the red river hogs, while the female lives in the enclosure just outside the rainforest house that previously held the red kangaroos before they left the zoo in 2018. Unfortunately, from looking through the gallery, I could not find any photos that show the overall size of both enclosures, but the male's enclosure is mostly barren ground with some logs lying around, while the female's is more grass-covered.
This photo gives a better indication of the outdoor enclosure for the Giant Anteaters at Edinburgh; Giant Anteater outdoor enclosure by MagpieGoose posted 12 Jul 2020 at 11:04 PM
Thank you. That looks like an impressive enclosure and one I would have included as a stand alone option in the poll if I had realised its quality.
After reading this I have voted for Hamerton. If it's advisable not to have mesh/bars at anteater level (Which thinking about does probably make sense from a welfare point of view. No-one wants an anteater damaging it's nose for a start...) then I think most other enclosures I've seen fail on this.
Have to admit the anteaters have got it pretty sweet at Hamerton with 3 types of accommodation: den, shed and a four-bedroom end-of-terrace house! Excelsior to you Andrew Swales!
One specific zoo inspector (who I could name, but wont!) either knew of an actual, or a theoretical, case, where an Anteater running along the inside of a fence had turned and put its nose through mesh at a trot and broke its nose. This was the reason for her condemning our mesh fence which we had copied from other collections. We boarded and glassed it over, up to 1.2m high - so the subject has never arisen since. Most Anteater enclosures I have seen, either personally or in pictures, would fail this test - including many built since ours.
The lack of consistency in applying rules to UK zoos never ceases to amaze me! Quite a few years ago, I had a good chat with the owner of a small collection who was building a new emu enclosure at the time and was having to make sure it met some very strict criteria in terms of safety to the public. He was gobsmacked to learn that South Lakes had emus in a walk-through enclosure!
Score update. YWP currently lead with just over 40% of the vote. The rest of the votes are spread out between various different collections. I would be interested to hear the thoughts behind why people have voted for the YWP exhibit.
