Generally in the UK there are a large number of animal collections up and down the country Do you think its time perhaps that we lost some collections and created a super zoo. Big displays in a big park !
Yes, this is a good idea but being an aspiring moderator, I believe this could be considered spamming. Moderators, may you please look at this?
Yes, you *are* spamming, cloudedleopard If you genuinely have concerns about a post, there is a "report post" button; this would link us directly to the post in question, whereas if you post a reply demanding the moderators check the post out, we may not see it. For the record, garyjp has done nothing wrong.
Big displays in a big park? It already exists at Port Lympne. Or did you have something different in mind?
neither do I but i think a super zoo with big massive state of the art exhibits with lots of mixed animal enclosures . but just not big animals, rainforests re created ,etc
As Chester Zoo currently takes pretty much a whole day, I anticipate that when Islands opens you will get your wish.
I would love a "Super Zoo", by which I mean a large, large collection i.e. 120+ species of mammals, 250+ species of birds etc etc But I don't see it working as a business model in the UK. As mentioned upthread Chester (e.g.) is already a full day visit - twice as many species would increase costs substantially, without increasing income much. So, great idea for zoo enthusiasts, but don't see it working.
I am afraid your box would turn into a coffin If a zoo wanted to expand until it needed a two day visit, it would require an enormous investment, I would suggest at least £50 million. Unless a philanthropic billionaire were to donate such a sum, the interest charges would be very considerable. The zoo's running costs would also double of course. So in rough terms the zoo would need to treble its income (remembering that interest rates are likely to rise within the next few years). How would persuade visitors to spend three days at a day at a zoo where you can see everything in two? Alan
It tends to be forgotten by younger posters that such a collection did exist in the UK until some forty years ago in Regent's Park. My own, entirely unscientific opinion is that London's annual gate began to dip when the collection fell below the threshold where more than one visit was needed to see every aspect of the collection. Perhaps if London had got the additional ten acres in (say) 1960 and had redeveloped more coherently and sensibly (ie not duplicated so many large mammal species held at Whipsnade, and not spent so much money on junk like the Casson Pavilion and the Snowdon Aviary), and been generally better managed, it might have retained that status. We'll never know.
To build a superzoo from scratch you would be talking £200million plus. Chester Zoos Islands development is priced at what around £30million. Out of the UK Zoos that I have visited Whipsnade and Chester would be possible. Chester has already expressed its dream to move to superzoo status with further expansions planned. I would think that a superzoo would be a very unsafe business prospect because of the size of the collection would be unsustainable if the zoo fell on difficult times like London Zoo did or Even a smaller collection like Dudley which has often seemed doomed to closure. It would seem to me that Chester Zoo will go on to Superzoo status (2day visit necessary) sooner rather than later and with careful management sustain that growth.
I know this is my post but I do agree with the sentiments the idea is fantastic but the cost would be astronomical . Perhaps as others have said Chester is nearly there if it gets bigger and bigger . I haven;t been yet but am going once the islands are built
I think London Zoo just lost its way got bogged down in fancy architecture instead of animal husbandary - hindsight being a wonderful thing that is
You ought to try and get there before it opens as well, so you can get a good comparison and see how the changes affect the layout etc of the zoo
A super zoo is an interesting idea, but I wonder how many families (the bread and butter of zoo income) would actually plan a 2 day zoo visit?
Very few. In my younger days, when I used to plan my own establishment, I thought a way round this was to build the place so that the general public would make a round tour with the specialisms for the zoo enthusiasts tucked behind e.g. the main route would take people past - say - lion, tiger and leopard, but behind them would be a further loop offering leopard sub-species, jaguarundi, ocelot etc etc. [Of course, my imaginary books didn't have to balance! ]
