Fair enough, but my point is I assumed the bears still had full access to it, if they don't, I would not have voted for it as a part time bear exhibit and maybe others would not have either!
Have to go with longleat on this one! A massive, natural exhibit where you can see and photograph the animals without looking though large fences. The size lets the animals be a real pack, run and play and do everything else. The animals are also clearly comfortable, as the parents had a litter soon after entering the exhibit. They were able to build 3 natural underground dens to move the pups between, with their older litter helping to care for them. There's not many places where something like that could happen.
Clearly the Longleat exhibit is proving to be the strongest contender to Highland currently. Does anyone have any photos of their exhibit?
This seems to be the exception rather than the rule. The Bear - Wolf mix is very common in the Netherlands/Belgium/Germany/Switzerland/France and this is the only time I have heard of it going wrong. In most enclosures the animals seemed fairly relaxed, tolerating eachothers presence. Why it went wrong in Dierenrijk, after having them together for 15 years, I do not know.
I think in many of these mixed exhibits the different species tolerate each other but are always on the alert for any little misplaced behaviour which can spark aggressive reactions- the unfortunate wolf here perhaps letting a bear get that one step too close, allowing a successful attack. Its rather like those otters at the Bronx Zoo catching the langur at the water's edge. In this video I'm unsure whether the other wolves are trying to defend their now dead companion, or in the general excitement are stimulated to behave as if it were prey- maybe its some of both...
It will be interesting to see when the first time it happens in the UK, if the authorities, the RSPCA and the media (social or otherwise), will be as tolerant. Disregarding the ethical and animal welfare arguments (temporarily) lets hope the zoos that attempt it have robust reputation damage limitation protocols in place...
Thought so! Then, considering Woburn is an American black bear/wolf mix, would this setup be more mutually tolerant than brown bear/wolf?
I don't see why. Brown bear inhabits same areas as Wolf in parts of both Europe and USA. The difference being the two species are not forced into close proximity in the wild, quite possibly they don't come into contact at all- they certainly have the choice to avoid each other completely, unlike in the mixed zoo exhibits.
I would be interested to hear opinions on whether members think the benefits outweigh the risks in mixed exhibits of this kind. In my view I'm not sure they do.
The Woburn enclosure, being a safari park is massive and very good, but when I was last there, 7 years or more ago, there was a wolf separation area.
There's a fairly good video on the website, and I did some google searching to make sure it was like I remembered before I voted.
Size of the exhibit is the most critical factor, but also separation areas and the make-up of both groups. Non-breeding for both would reduce potential tensions. Individual differences could also come into play - age, neutered, hand-rearing etc. Unless the exhibit was very big then it would be risky. I haven't seen Woburn's but I would guess that would be what you're aiming for. I had viewed the bear killing the wolf video before, and I suspect the exhibit was too small for the interaction. Basically the wolf gets knobbled when it passes a narrow stretch between the visitor viewing and the pool where the bears were. Better design and that should never of happened.
Results are in. Congratulations to Highland for winning the vote for Best UK Wolf enclosure. This win maintains Highlands 100% record so far with them previously having won the vote for Polar Bears and Snow Leopards. This was however their lowest proportion of a vote gained in a poll so far. The rest of the vote was split across multiple collections with there being plenty of good quality wolf enclosures in the UK. I'm assuming currently that most of the votes in the other category are for Longleat which would place them in second place on the poll and continue their good record in these threads. @speedycheese @Tea_and_Biology @carl the birder @zoosafari123 @Elephantelephant did you all want to vote for Longleat? Highland: 51.2% Longleat/Other: 18.6% Wildwood: 11.6% Cotswold: 7.0% Woburn: 7.0% Wild Place: 4.7%
Hard to understand how Wildwood scored third place. I suspect that some people vote having never seen some of the exhibits and base it on photos. WW's exhibit looks okay when the trees are in full leaf in summer, but it is an absolute mudhole when it gets wet. Viewing is rather poor too. Size wise not too bad (depending on how many animals are in it). Not their best exhibit. I haven't seen many of the exhibits, hence not voting. Not surprised that Highland won. I would have said that Cotswold's was better than WW easily. Wild Place looks interesting, with or without bear interaction.
I voted for Wildwood having seen all of those outside Scotland, so not basing it on photos. I've seen Wildwood in summer and winter, in fact when I was there in March areas were flooded, but the wolf enclosure did not seem to be! Viewing is good from the platform and some is through glass as well. I'm sure @migdog has seen it as well but I don't know about the other 3 people
