A brief look at the ongoing paddock modifications. Elephants: It'll be interesting to see what happens around the perimeter, currently it looks like a small retaining wall is being constructed, perhaps to add a covered area to collect run-off water. Incidentally, it went ominously dark when I took those photos, the sun was out before then! The spoil is still being piled onto the scimitar-horned oryx / Grevy's zebra paddock to create those small hillocks. I like the way it's progressing, it's adding an extra dimension without obscuring the distant paddock and the ha-ha between them is completely invisible now. Some work has been undertaken to clear the moats and the fence in the ha-ha between the oryx/zebra areas has been replaced with a much higher one in order to stop the zebra's jumping antics. One other point to note today was that the female cheetah has the run of the two enclosures to either side of the Bats Bridge, the passageway between the two was open and she was pacing along the fence-line separating the males, although they were nowhere to be seen.
Does anyone know what exactly is being done to the Elephant Paddock. Is it general landscaping and to improve the visibility for people where the steep ditch around the perimeter means the eles are harder to see down there?
Must say, I'm very disappointed to see that the elephants are going to still be inside come the end of June. 3 months is a long time to keep one of the main attractions off show. They'll be going mad having been indoors for that long. Seeing them in the house is just not the same as seeing them squabble in the mud and plunge pool.
Tim Rowlands went into some detail to explain the work during the ZooChat tour. Essentially the maintenance is intended to improve the drainage of the paddock, which in the past has often turned into a muddy mess. They have already tried planting various grasses, including a variety reputed to have a huge root system, but none of them proved to be elephant-proof. The changes involve flatter areas, a bit like a series of terraces, although without huge steps between them. One of the problems is that much of the modern-day paddock is considerably lower than the original one and therefore must be below the water table. It's also an area of the zoo where there are naturally-occurring ponds so water tends to collect. The original paddock was actually raised above ground level, so its builders are likely to have recognised the potential drainage issue.
