Chester Zoo Realm of the Red Ape 10th Anniversary Game

Ten years ago today, Realm of the Red Ape was opened to the public. This spectacular exhibit has been one of the zoo's finest highlights ever since, home to not just orangutans, but also to lar gibbons and many species of rare birds, reptiles, and invertebrates, not to forget the longest snake in the UK., as well as a neighbouring enclosure for otters and babirusa.
So to celebrate, I came up with a little game to describe how what the zoo was like ten years ago today. I will start by giving three points of my own and then anyone else is free to join in.
So, apart from the opening of Realm of the Red Ape, ten year ago at Chester Zoo:
1. The coati island, old otter enclosure and round aviaries were still at the zoo
2. Sea Lions were in the Giant Otter pool
3. Butterfly Journey had not been built yet.

 

Ten years ago the idea of Islands didn't exist and hunting dogs weren't there then. The hoofstock area was a bit less African themed as well.

 

They did proper guide books

 

Chester placed the parthenogeneic Komodo dragon hatchlings on display.

 

Indian Rhino returned to the zoo (Spring 2007)

Cheetah were still in the planning

 

If you were very, very, very lucky you could see a Mallorcan midwife toad in their little house, which was originally built for tuataras.

Mallorcan midwife toad by gentle lemur posted 4 Apr 2008 at 8:03 PM

 

West African Dwarf Crocodiles were in the old alligator pool in Tropical Realm
Tsavo Bird Safari was not built yet
Kangaroos were in the old anteater enclosure
Fruit Bat Forest was known as Twilight Zone and had a pond in it with catfish and stingrays
Bats bridge had not been built

 

Upali would have still been at the zoo I'm sure

 

Yep, he left for Dublin in 2012

 

The Children's farm was still at the zoo, and Mongoose Mania was known as Marmot Mania for Black-Tailed Prairie Marmots
The map back then was actually decent
The Fun Ark was the only play area that the zoo needed

 

The zoo still would have had bengal tigers too

 

Oh and Birds of Paradise

 

The Bornean Orang-utan group consisted of: Martha, Sarikei and Leia; They wouldn't have a male (Tuan) at Chester Zoo till June of 2007.
The Sumatran Orang-utan group consisted of: Puluh, Emma, Subis, Budi, Utara and Padang.
The Chimpanzee Group consisted of: Boris, Wilson, Nicky, Rosie, Halfpenny, Farthing, Friday, Mandy, Dylan, Sally, Layla, ZeeZee, Lizzie, Patti, Kankan, Whitney, Sarah, Alice, Chrissie, Eric, Carlos, Donna, Kate, Cleo, Heidi, Holly, Jethro, Rhiannon, Frankie and Dido

 

Where the painted dogs, kudu and roan antelope are now, there was Przewalski's horses, Pere David's deer, wallabies and emus.
Coatis were with the spectacled bears (which were the only bears at the zoo at that time) and guanaco and rheas were in the paddock that is now home to the capybaras and anteater.
Ostriches were with the sitatunga
Red Lechwe were in the rhino paddock behind the meerkats

 

The zoo acquired Visayan warty pigs during that year; in 2008, they would achieve the first UK breeding of the species.

 

Addax were intended on going into the current cheetah paddock
Babirusa were in the cattle house
Parrots were a more common sight in the zoo
The canal islands were home to many different species of lemurs
The golf course was not built
The wheelchair and buggy hire building had just been completed
There was a sculpture of a rhino that would "urinate" water at unwary passers-by

 

No zoo did not have Bengal Tigers then they had zoo hybrids the last true Bengals left in the 1970s!

 

The Ark Restraunt was still around
Library was still open
Tuatara had an outdoor enclosure where the laughingthrush aviary is now
Chinese Aviaries where still around
Blue Cranes were in the Wetland bird nursery
More reptiles in Tropical Realm

 

If I were being pedantic, technically those aviaries are still there, just off-display