When the park opened, and for quite a long time afterwards, cars could be brought in: hence the road layout, and the design of the entrance block. The park is rather stuck with that, certainly the former. Marwell does have a problem in getting people around; the hills are quite steep for small children and anybody with a disability. I think one way forward would be to use the African Valley to rehouse most of the stock from the area between the hall and the entrance, and take the opportunity to break this space into more smaller exhibits. I would however leave the paddock with the Scimitar-horned Oryx; that view of the park's emblem against the Jacobean backdrop is iconic and should never be compromised.
I am not sure the Jersey pair were pure either. Some Indian zoos have been guilty of hybridisation in the past too so India as a source back then would not necessarily have guaranteed their purity.
I'm in complete agreement here in that the two UK zoos that feel lacking in identity the most to me are Marwell and Twycross. Another example of a Zoo with an obviously clearcut identity and policy is Jersey(Durrell), despite recent financial problems they have never deviated from their high standards and the original conservation/ endangered species breeding ethos set out by Gerald Durrell. I also agree Colchester, although very different to Durrell, and despite some shortcomings in design, feels like a lively and vibrant collection. Edinburgh, despite recent problems, certainly is too and Woburn is coming up fast on the outside rails. Compared to these, currently Marwell just feels to have no 'life' in it, I can't explain why but it seems something there isn't right. I agree with GL about the 'dead' feel of some animal exhibits too, in this case I think a lack of flair in exhibit design or in some cases the group dynamics of some species (e.g. the Sulawesi Macaque group is very small- the smaller the group the less the activity) may be responsible, and possibly levels of enrichment may play a part too (it certainly seems to in the case of the Siamang enclosure).
A good idea but it would require more indoor Housing built in the surrounds of the African Valley, but they could be close to the woods at the furthest(NW) side. Concentrating a lot more of the African ungulates in that area would make a lot of sense- Greater Kudu, sable/Roan, White Rhino or the Congo Buffalo are some that come to mind, depending on compatability. At present the Valley exhibit is very underused and just feels empty. Agree the Grevy/Scimitar horned Oryx paddock should stay as is though.
Don't know if it's been mentioned (Sorry if it has!) but on Daybreak this morning they were filming live at Marwell covering the Giraffe calf story. A few things mentioned were that the calf was a female and is called Ruby.
The inhabitants of this exhibit have already changed, though; the enclosure opposite Marwell Hall housed scimitar-horned oryx and Grevy’s zebra ever since Marwell’s early days. However, last year the Hartmann’s mountain zebra were moved to this enclosure and the Grevy’s zebra were moved to the valley.
Whilst I do agree with some of the comments here about Marwell losing its way a little, I always see keepers when I visit and I would strongly recommed taking an anti clockwise route - you avoid the crowds and get a totally different perspective; for example, even the old cheetah enclosure was full of activity at five, when it had appeared empty at eleven...
Last time I went there were Grevy's in both the Valley and in the original 'scenic' paddock. Presumably no longer then.
Don't know. Possibly links with Marwell have compromised his posting on here, but that is only conjecture. He was an excellent source of news.
Lovely idea-would add colour and interest to an extremely dull area. This is what I mean by the complete lack of flair in some of their exhibits. You should take up Zoo design in addition to all your photography- and re-landscape Twycross while you are about it as I liked your ideas for that too!
Cor blimey! I may get a good idea once in a blue moon, but remodelling Twycross would require super powers! Alan
But following your outline plans I'm now voting you as the man for the job... While I'll take over reorganising the animal collection!
The 2011 Inventory Report can be found on the Marwell website . Quite a few species are no longer in the collection amongst them - emu , grey junglefowl , demoiselle crane , brush-tail possum , Rodriguez fruit bat , potto , pygmy marmoset , gemsbok . No new mammal spcies and only violet turaco amongst birds . Amongst the births were non-surviving giant anteater and Mishmi takin .
Asian Lions Both pairs of Lions where housed on the South Rd in the early 80,s as i was one of there keeper,s untill Marwell changed to having a fulltime cat section.
I'd disagree. I rather liked the potto exhibit, and was usually lucky with them - although this is not to say that they weren't very out of sight for much of the time. It was a rather odd design, though, and the automatic door that sprung open if anyone walked within 20 feet of it was rather annoying (probably for the pottos too, as light came in, went, came in , went....). What is now in that exhibit in the bongo and buffalo house? It's certainly a shame that the animal collection of Marwell is diminishing...
