By the sounds of it I should have included Folly Farm as one of the stand alone options in the poll. Having never visited before I didn't realise how impressive their Lion exhibit was.
This isn't an easy one, I haven't seen Chester's new enclosure, but the leading contenders for me would be YWP, Whipsnade or Africa Alive. I actually think Dudley, Edinburgh, Paignton and Cotswold are all reasonably good too. Definitely out of the contest would be Bristol, Newquay, London and Wingham either due to size or in London's case, the space wasted on flip flops and battered suitcases etc!
Quite a few boring grass and platform exhibits, unfortunately. Africa Alive at least has something different going for it, although I'm not sure whether it is necessarily the 'best'.
Not been to flamingo land before but the lion house does look a bit odd, do they have more off show areas or is this it.
Just want to say thank you so much for doing these polls, clear you take alot of time to gather all info. Long may they continue.
Whipsnade is clearly a strong challenger as mentioned above. It would be great if anyone could share photos of the enclosure or describe it for those who haven't visited.
Whipsnade’s strength is that it’s lion enclosure offers (pretty much) unrestricted views of its lions. It is designed in such a way as to create a type of plateau, so the lions look “down” on the oryx paddock. There is top-to-bottom reinforced glass that covers an undercover 180 degree span at the top the enclosure. The advantage here is that the group tend to stay around this area, so good photo opportunities. As you follow the path down towards the hippo and look back, you will have a better idea of the raised plateau effect. Lions and oryx are separated by a sunken partition. If the lions are sitting at their highest vantage point, they look “down” onto the oryx paddock. Again, good photo opportunities with oryx in front/lions behind. Pros-excellent photo opportunities and a decent sized enclosure (far superior to the old lion dells). Cons-signage and theme (never ZSL’s strength) and a non-breeding, ageing pride-the male Spike died a few years ago and the group is gradually being phased out. Also very basic indoor accommodation.
Paradise have recently opened a new lion enclosure so there enclosure is a lot different now to the photos.
Thanks, have you visited since it opened. If not do you know for photos if it would be competitive in this poll.
I will try and upload pictures of the new enclosure at Paradise. It is actually very impressive and the indoor area is very good.
Score update. YWP have a healthy lead with 50% of the vote. Africa Alive, Whipsnade and London are the only other collections with over 10% of the vote so far. The large, aesthetically pleasing space that YWP gives to their multiple rescue groups appears to have given them the advantage in this poll.
From the look of the video it looks pretty “sparse.” Maybe it just needs a bit of growing time but it’s a definite improvement on the previous African lion enclosure.
Unfortunately they have whites too which makes it seem a bit worse! I would like to see more grass in it too.
Unless the lions are part of a reintroduction programme, does it matter what colour they are? If more people want to see white lions, rather than ordinary lions, surely the money should help pay for the upkeep of other animals.
Watched the log flume ride break down at Flamingo Land in the summer of 2012. It literally travels up the side of the enclosure then along the wall so you are looking down into the paddock. Flume got stuck at the top on the hottest August day I’ve ever known. They spent 30 minutes getting the Lions inside who didn’t want to go because they spotted a snack and another 30 minutes getting the people off the ride. Extraordinary spectacle. I always felt the Chesters enclosure was unfairly maligned. I liked the wooded area it was too exposed on all sides and could have been extended. I have not seen their new enclosure. It seems to me that Lions often get the short end of the stick with enclosure designs. Nothing as well designed as Chesters Jaguar or London’s Tiger enclosure.
