Well as Chester regulars you will have no problem doing Blackpool in a day,should take you little more than 4 hours tops as it is nowhere as big or have as many species as Chester,as a result its quiet easy to do.also don't forget to look at the Dinosaurs because if you don't you will miss the Tree Shrews.
Knew I was forgetting something - no matter though, have seen the species before. I got to the zebras at between 3:30pm and 4pm and the youngster was out on the paddock, but he did go in while we were there. Pros: - gorilla and gibbon youngsters, mouse lemurs (even if it was just a head poking out), Blesbok, Long-nosed potoroo, Ground cuscus, Hartmann's mountain zebra, African spoonbill, Aardvark, Diamondback rattler, Yacare caiman, Magellanic penguins, Mountain gazelle (the list does go on). - Good wide paths so nothing was ever too crowded. - Some nice enclosures/exhibits (sea lions, gorillas (outdoors), paddocks, new aviary, Amazona). Cons: - Although the reptile house had some nice species, I can see the criticism - a mixed exhibit for common boa, reticulated python and anaconda (the latter of which I didn't see) - I would get rid of the boa, and keep either of the other two (but only one of them). - I understand the Markhors going to Highlands as they are better suited to up there, but come on - if you're going to go out of an interesting species that is that little bit different, don't replace it with a walk-through wallaby enclosure that, whilst I have no criticism of the enclosure itself, many other zoos have done time and time again. If you're theming the area as Australia, there are a few other options that would have been interesting (get a more unique species of wallaby, convert into an enclosure for dingos, SOMEHOW, above all odds, get wombats or tassie devils - can people see my point here?)
The Zebras are rotated daily as the youngsters father Fernando is very agressive towards Tebogo. Bette the other female Zebra(not the mother of the foal!)is the only Zebra that would be in the main paddock as; A-Fernando does not mind her presence and Bette is slightly bigger than him. B-Helene the other female and mother of Tebogo is particulary close to Bette as she is a very laid backed female. The Reptile house is the next Major project for the Zoo and after that the outdoor Elephant paddock. The Gorilla and Gibbon babies are very nice and cute indeed. Mouse Lemurs I've been a member for two years and only seen them 3 times so JR your quite lucky to see the top of her/he head-depending which side it was at the male is on the right and female on the left. Magnelliac Penguins have eggs! I agree with you on the Wallaby enclosure, personally I thought the Cockatoo/Lorikeet enclosure could be extended for Tree Kangaroo(s)or maybe Rock/Yellow footed Wallaby. Glad you enjoyed your visit JR
Thanks for the info I actually saw both mouse lemurs heads, so very lucky I'm assuming it would have been the foal and two female zebra I saw, there were 2 adults and a youngun so by the sound of it the male was elsewhere.
You could of seen the male as you can see indoors if you go right round the corner. I have seen only the male Mouse Lemur active the female has always been quite shy.
had a fab visit to the zoo, didn't manage to spot the mouse lemurs but oh my the aardvarks I loved them they have made me want to become a regular
That's great to hear, all we need now is somewhere to house them under reverse lighting so visitors can see them active more often. Either that or spike their Horlicks with caffeine
They where very active when we saw them running i and out of the indoor enclosure and jumping on each other, made it very difficult to get a pic as they wouldn't keep still
Blackpool are the only UK collection (other than South Lakes?) with Agile wallaby - however I imagine it would be extremely difficult to build up a large enough group of anything other than parma or Bennett's wallabies in order to create a walk-through. You and I might marvel at the sight of a markhor, however I would bet a lot of families just see a dirty-looking goat, not as attractive or tame as the ones they've just seen in the children's farm....a walk-through wallaby exhibit, though not very original, makes perfect economic sense. However, it is a shame that more zoos don't try grey kangaroos mixed into these enclosures, or even female reds, which Blackpool has elsewhere in the zoo.
an interesting thing I found out in one walk-through enclosure in an Australian zoo, is that grey and red kangaroos feel different (i.e. the texture of their fur)
Yes, in Wallaby walkthrough is Western Grey Kangaroos and Bennet's Wallaby- the Red Kangaroo and Agile Wallaby have their own seperate areas.
I think a kangaroo walk-through is a reasonable swap for the dwindling group of markhor, which now have a fantastic enclosure with the existing animals at HWP. As far as I know, walk-through kangaroo exhibits are still fairly rare in the UK (South lakes?...).
Kangaroos maybe (especially since Blackpool have Reds which aren't that common). However, wallaby walkthroughs are hardly a new concept (on holiday there were wallaby walkthroughs at Marwell and Wingham [I believe]) and there are sure to be more elsewhere in the UK. I didn't dislike it as an exhibit - it was just because I knew what used to be there it ruined it a little for me
Wallaby and Kangaroo walk through enclosures in the Uk off the top of my head are, Banham Zoo ? (Used to have one not sure if they still do) Black Isle Wildlife Park Blackpool Zoo Colchester Zoo Dudley Zoo Lakeland Wildlife Oasis (Used to me free roaming in the outdoor section) Marwell Zoo Newquay Zoo (Used to have a pair of free roaming Parma Wallaby) Paignton Zoo South Lakes Wild Animal Park Twycross Zoo (In the new pets corner not always open to the public) Whipsnade Zoo (Free roaming inside the park) Wingham Wildlife Park Woburn Safari Park
