How did i miss that!!!! Place - Taronga zoo Time - Nov 1999 What would have been my one and only trip to the Taronga zoo, i went in at the bottom entrance (couldn't wait to trek to the top), we only had a few hours to take it in, so off we went soaking in the gorilla exhibit, the chimpanzees, sun bears, bongo, tree kangaroos, Victoria crowned pigeon. The excitement of seeing my first leopard seals, Fjordland penguin, Himalayan tahr and Andean condor amongst many others. But finally time got the better of us and i had to be pried off the premises, once back on the ferry, chugging across the bay, i took the zoo map out of my pocket for one more peek, then it struck me I had totally bypassed the reptile house, i had missed the opportunity to see my first Komodo dragon and tuatara (still to see a tuatara, but got my first dragon at Lowry park zoo). Have you had a once in a lifetime chance to visit a collection and come away having missed a major or special exhibit.
I missed the lemurs at Edinburgh (most annoyingly the blue-eyed blacks) and only spent about 2 minutes in Budungo. I am sure I have missed a lot at other collections, but what is more annoying is knowing I may have seen a species, but not being sure about it so not being able to count it (Just a tip, if you are desparate to see Tuatara then there is obviously Chester, providing you hit the right time (late afternoon usually) you're more likely to see one than not
I was about to exit Cincinnati Zoo and it was almost closing time when I discovered that I had forgot to look at the small building where 'Martha', the last Passenger Pigion that existed, was kept until her death in 1914. I started running and by looking at the map while I ran (glad I didn't run into someone!) I manage to find it and photograph it. I didn't exactly miss it, but in the rare ungulate section was an exhibit marked for Zebra Duiker. However, I was younger and knew much less (hardly knew what a duiker was back then) and it was all about the close-by Sumatran Rhinos for me. So, as I didn't see anything straight away, I just walked on towards the rhinos. This was in May 2003 and I understand that Cincinnati's specimen died later that year or early 2004 as the last one in captivity. Zebra Duiker is small and I remember the grass in the exhibit being tall, so I may or may not have seen it, I will never know. I will have to live with that uncertainity for the rest of my life, but maybe that's why I took the trouble of going all the way down to Brownsville, Texas, on my US zoo tour; I just didn't want to miss seeing another 'last-one-in-captivity' duiker.
On that same trip to Australia, we were based on the west coast for 3 weeks, the Sydney trip was a long weekend in the middle of the holiday. Perth zoo was in the last week, now if i remember rightly, we went in at midday and this time straight past the reptile exhibit near the main entrance, this time thinking we will get it on the way out and off we went straight into the walk through aviary brolga, royal spoonbill etc etc. Well on the way out the reptile exhibit called Alinta something??? was closed and that is how i missed the western swamp turtle, the one animal, THE animal associated with Perth zoo.
What about whole zoos that you've not been able to access - the most frustrating thing of all (particularly when you know it may not be possible to ever come back). I have three... 1. Yerevan Zoo, in the former Soviet Union (now Armenia). I was on a USSR-sponsored trip to spread friendship through the world. This entailed visiting lots of factories and hospitals. I was desperate to go to the zoo. Despite driving past it several times, this was not possible. I was very unhappy. 2. Opole Zoo, in Poland. Tried to visit in mid 90s. Got lost. Wandered around, a lot. Eventually found entrance. It was closed for one day a week. This was that day. A few years later it was flooded, and rebuilt - by all accounts, rather beautifully. 3. Blair Drummond Safari Park. Lived in Edinburgh for four years, but never had a car and never got around to visiting. Staying in Scotland a few years later, hired car and drove up there. Made mistake of not checking when it opened for the season. Would have needed to wait for another week or two before the gates would have opened.
There will be years until I'll manage to get over my disappointment over SeaWorld San Antonio being closed, if ever. I had planned for three days in SA; one for the zoo, one for the Alamo and other tourist sides, and finally the third for SeaWorld. But I found out upon picking up and reading a SW brochure in the breakfast room on my first day that the place had VERY few open days between Labour Day and Memorial Day and none of my days were among them. I almost lost my appetite! I called a friend in Dallas who knows people here and there in the Texas zoo industry, trying to see if he knew anyone at SeaWorld who could give me a tour as I was dying to see their Hawaiian Monk Seals. He did his best but luck just wasn't on my side; due to the AZA annual conference in Houston, no one at SeaWorld could be reached. So I had to spend the third day sunbathing and on other normal tourist things that I had wanted to spend watching animals. There was a wildlife reserve an hour or two out of San Antonio, but without a car it was out of the question; and I had spent a long day at the Zoo (like 9 hours) the day before so I didn't think I needed to go back. So much for my stay in San Antonio...
In 1988 I drove through California from San Francisco to LA via an inland route. I went this way to visit a little town called Tulare because they had a place called ReptileWorld (or something similar) and claimed to have the largest collection of reptiles in the US - more than 4,000 individuals. I arrived late afternoon and intended to visit the next morning for two hours before heading on towards LA. I arrived at opening time but the doors were closed. A couple of minutes later someone opened the door with a handwritten sign that he put on the door to say the place was closed. He saw me getting out of my car and came over to explain that someone had broken in the night before and stolen a lot of their animals and they had to do a stocktake - they would be closed for the next three days at least, maybe more. Very disappointed I continued on to LA, wishing I had taken the coastal route - I could have visited Monterrey Aquarium instead. Hix
I would say what the species are that I missed are but as the pain is still to great from Baldur showing me photos of them 6 days before I went only for them not to be there I cannot even bare to type the names of the species!!
Its all right the pain is easying slowly,and I have gone past the point of blaming you personnaly for it,but still very annoying to know how close to seeing them I was. That said missed seeing Brown Hyena at Port Lympne back in the days of them having Sumatran Rhino,by 2 days if the member of staff I asked is to be believed!! Also missed seeing a Black woodpecker for the first time at Alpen Zoo,as it had died the day before we visited,the sign was still up at the start of the day but later on the staff took it down later in the day,to stop a group of UK zoonerds from looking for something that wasn` there!!
Had the exact same thing in Jaipur, India. We were on a trip through India and had mondag afternoon and tuesday's the whole day off in Jaipur, so we scheduled the zoo on tuesday. When we arrived at the gate, we found out it was closed one day a week, on tuesday
Same thing happened to me in Rome, many years ago. I think it was the same day of the week too- a Tuesday. Did manage to revisit many years later and it was open that time. Very Worst was very many years ago at the end of a tour of several zoos in the USA by Greyhound Bus- arriving in Columbus nearly broke nearing end of trip and discovering the zoo was MILES out of town. So with no money left for a Hire Car/Taxi or other private transport out to the Zoo I have been to Columbus but not to the zoo. I knew then it would be my only chance, which has proved to be correct. ( But I was able to go to Cincinnati instead as it was on the Greyhound Bus route) And yes, I saw the Passenger Pigeon aviary too.
Love Black woodpeckers. Only ever seen one- on a German zoo trip many years ago- it flew over the Autobahn I was travelling on- 100% certain due to the undulating flight. Wish I'd seen more though.
Oh dear, some frustrating experiences there. I don't think I've managed one zoo visit where I've caught everything, there always being something I'd looked forward to being either left off my route or invisible in its well planted and spacious enclosure. On a different tack, but still on the theme of "How did I miss that!!" would be the maned wolves at Chester for me. Despite many many visits since I moved to the area in 1989 I never ever managed to catch so much as a glimpse. I knew they were there - I could smell them. Sand Lizards were in the same category until a recent visit where there were at least six basking on the front window ledge. That's one duck broken.
I recall my bus ride out to the Columbus Zoo being a VERY long one. If this was before 2003, when mine was, it may have been even a longer one than I had to go through, but possibly it has gone better now.
It was well before 2003, in fact it was about 1979/80 time. We were told there weren't any buses/public transport otherwise I would have certainly taken it, no matter how long the journey. As they had the world's first captive breeding pair of Gorillas(though the female was dead by then) and the firstborn Colo, you can imagine my frustration...still, I got to see Cincinnati instead which was probably actually the better zoo of the two then, though maybe not now. Nowhere else was located out of town like Columbus-all the others I visited on that trip were in the cities and easy to get to. I still think Bongorob had the worst experience of all- visiting Howletts but not Port Lympne as he thought the last Sumatran Rhino(torgamba) had already been exported- when in fact he was still there. I just couldn't have coped with that...
I think another species associated with Perth is the Numbat. Its the only place I've seen one(and only one) and not sure if any other Oz zoos have them- they didn't then, some years go now. I think your Taronga experience has happened to a lot of us- with various different species. I would have tried to go back the next day but I know how difficult/impossible that can be when you are on a tight schedule and other people are involved as well. Another I missed was the last Thylacine at Hobart Zoo in Tasmania- seen what remains of the now closed zoo but I was about fifty years too late.
Missed the ratel at Edinburgh, as they didn't show up at all the first time I went, and they left the collection soon after. Fortunately, just before closing time I went back to that area just in case, and one of the Pallas cats came right up to the glass and sat peering at myself and my girlfriend, so I didn't miss the chance to see one of those.
