Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens News from Thrigby Hall

Just because the keeper said, Paradise Wildlife Park it doesn't necessarily mean that the cub will be placed at the Broxbourne site. They could well mean the Big Cat Sanctuary at Smarden. Owned by the same people as PWP and they currently hold Amur Leopards. Including a single adult female who is realistically past breeding age....

 

Very true. I probably got a bit excited over the idea of them at PWP (Broxbourne) but they would probably end up paired up at their sister site. I somehow imagined them bringing one from the Smarden site to PWP for a more on-show pair. We will see.......

 

After my last visit it appears the Pygmy tree shrew may have made a comeback! Although I'm bad with identifying Scandentia, so it could be untrue. They were rather small, smaller than average belanger's tree shrew.
Also, europe's last long tailed Sibia has died.
Saw Ipoh the golden cat, the sign stating about his fur has been taken down.
Snow leopards have a cub
Also got good pictures of the indochinese leopard cat and I will upload them in the gallery.

 

Had my first visit here today. I have to be honest, a lovely small collection, but the Tiger exhibit is a serious accident waiting to happen and I'm amazed it's not been looked into on the yearly inspection.

I'm sure some people think the walkway (like walking a plank, wet and slippy, and could easily lose balance) is great but for me it doesn't feel safe, I felt very uneasy on it, and I actually was glad the park was empty as after half a dozen steps, I had to turn back on myself as I felt totally unsafe on it with 2 Tigers walking around underneath me. I dread to think what could happen if someone suicidal was walking around it ! Well I say walking, you can't walk around it, you have to shimmy and can easily slip and lose balance. In this day and age it should be a lot wider if going for that design, but I feel it's an accident waiting to happen.

Love the majority of other exhibits and the Alligator and Croc house is cool. Clouded Leopard exhibit , the mesh makes it impossible to get a good picture, and he/she could really do with a bigger enclosure. Perhaps when some of the young Amurs have moved on, one of the four pens they have access to, could be made available for the Clouded Leopard.

 

I don't think this was a necessary comment to make at all and actually undermined a fair point you were making. I see no problem with offering a valid opinion or critique on the walkway, but this sentence is quite frankly disrespectful, I feel.

Other than that, thank you for this nice take on the Wildlife Gardens.

 

I appreciate your thoughts CDavies98, but after what happened at Delli Zoo a few years ago and more recently at another Zoo, and given how serious mental health is in this country at present, I think it is actually quite a serious point and something I'm very surprised hasn't been in the councils minds when investigation for license renewal each year. I know of other zoo's who had to remove their over exhibit walkways for safety concerns, and for many factors, this walkway near to the Tigers den is the most unsafe I have personally seen.

 

You can't de-risk everything and design enclosures to prevent an infinitesimally small risk that some poor person might choose to harm themselves. People wanting to do themselves harm have myriad methods to do so and whilst doing what we can as a society to help people we need to be proportionate in doing so. If you try to second guess what people might due and prevent all possibilities you're going to end up with a very strange society (no balconies, no knives.....).

 

The tiger walkway has been there for I'd guess at least 15 years and I have never heard of anyone slipping and falling into the tiger enclosure. This is probably because the barrier either side of the walkway is roughly chest height for the average adult and you'd have to accidently do the Fosbury flop to fall in.

To those who aren't familiar with what we're talking about:

(5.00 - 5.20)

Being scared of something does not mean it is 'totally unsafe' and 'an accident waiting to happen'.

 

I really loved the walkways at Thrigby when I visited in the summer. Something different to other places which gave you such different viewpoints. I will most definitely revisit the place (and enjoy the walkways again) when I hopefully return to the area in 2019.

 

I loved the walkway too.

Tbh It would be equally easy (or easier) to fling yourself into a myriad of other enclosures if you were so inclined. Dartmoors Jaguar or bear enclosures spring to mind. You cannot de-risk all aspects of the world because someone who wishes to harm themself could do so with it. That is not the answer to mental health issues.

 

A wonderfully insightful 30 minute documentary on a day in the life of a zookeeper at Thrigby, published in 2016.



(Listen out for a few errors in the narration)

 

According to the narrator the Red Panda is related to the Giant Panda!!! Hmmmm

 

At the end of 2018 Thrigby acquired Sunti the Binturong from Birmingham Conservation park. He has been bedding in off show, but on my visit yesterday he now has the option of coming out to be viewed. He is situated in the Wildcat enclosure. She has moved across to the Civet enclosure as the Civet is currently being used off site in the breeding program.

 

As a former high jumper myself, I give you one thousand ZooChat bonus points for using the term "Fosbury flop" in a sentence!

 

Went to Thrigby last week and forgot to report the following.

There are two baby Sulawesi Macaques who are on their mothers, no more than a month or two old.
One of the Owstons civets has gone from the collection to pair up with a male and will return before it's due to give birth. The other one in in the enclosure next to the Golden Cat but spends most of the day in it's Box which is covered with green mesh.

Work has started on building a new enclosure in the Cat Cloisters, this is the middle section and will be an outdoor exhibit for the Leopard Cats.

The current Leopard Cat outdoor exhibit will be the new Owston Civet outdoor exhibit, and they will have a nocturnal indoor exhibit which is a concrete building in the Aviary section before you walk into Cat Cloisters.

The Binturong is currently offshow and is held in an exhibit behind Cat Cloisters which is not viewable to the public. There is talk that he may end up moving to the Clouded Leopard exhibit, if they can sort a new exhibit for the Clouded Leopard. The current Civet Exhibit is also a possible, but nothing has been firmed up yet.

A new female Red Panda will be arriving from Colchester Zoo soon to join their male.

Work is currently ongoing to a couple of the Gibbon exhibits and both the Siamang groups are now next to the Sulawesi Macaques.

 

Quick little fact check - Thrigby have only ever had a single Owston’s civet, she came from Newquay (where she was born) in 2011. She has indeed returned to Newquay however, to be impregnated.

 

Keeper very clearly said they have another female which is with them at present. But she spends most of her time in her box. They have a second female at Newquay to be impregnated. But they also have a second female. They were putting food in it's exhibit, and I hardly think they will put food out for an animal that isn't there.

 

The original Civet has gone to Newquay as stated above and the newer female only arrived a few weeks ago from France is currently getting used to the enclosure and hasn't ventured out much as of yet.

 

Now that makes more sense I had heard Lyon only had a single female recently after previously having two! Thanks for clarifying

 

Went to thrigby the other day and noted a few things.

•it seems the two amur leopard offspring are living in the extension area while the adult pair are in the original area.

•there were a few newish looking primate houses it seems as if some have been refurbished.

•the mugger crocodile enclosure seemed very bare as if all the planting had been removed. This could potentially be in the process of refurbishment?

•the old enclosures at the top of the swamp house were under construction work potentially for a new species?

•there was a new enclosure in the cat cloisters for the asian leopard cats.

•there were also some otters in the outside alligator enclosure.

•it seems as if theres also now only one saltwater crocodile when previously there were two.