A few snippets of news gleaned on my 50th anniversary (oh dear) visit on Friday:- The Elephant House is going to have another incarnation, as the Indian Rhinos will be going there and not on the site of the 1960s cat cages and current Pelican Pool as originally intended. The house is being converted/partially (?) demolished (the Bat Cave has gone and the Mangabeys are back by the Tigers). The moat around the island has been filled in (again!). A pair of Hyacinthine Macaws was due to arrive at the weekend, quite a few years after the same pair was first mooted. A pair of Militaries and a Green-wing were arriving too. I noted a further Rothschild's Giraffe calf. The zoo has got the go ahead to get a mammal with a cuddly appearance (not sure if that information is supposed to be in the public domain, hence my vague comment). Not a snippet of news, but I must say I loved the Wallaby Walkway, especially the Swamp Wallabies.
Forgot to say an additional bridge is being built from the current bridge by the Lost Kingdom aviary to the large window at the end of the Lion outdoor area.
Flamingo Land will be receiving a m/f pair of Indian Rhino: The male from Whipsnade and a female from Amersfoot Zoo to join rhino conservation project - Environment - Malton and Pickering Mercury Good luck to them
Just my opinion, but if there was to be a new holder in the UK, shame it had to be a theme park! There were plenty of better candidates surely!
I disagree, Flamingo land has shown over the past few years it is up to the job, building excellent facilities and expanding the animal collection. Good luck to them i say.
Arguably, a full quarter of the existing UK holders are theme parks. Plus, of course, it's easy to say that we'd rather see them at Marwell (say), but if they're not interested then they're not candidates!
Can't argue with that, maybe Marwell & a few others should have been interested, it would have saved anyone over the age of 4 paying 30 quid to see them! But even if 2 theme parks have them at least the 3 best zoos in the UK have them also, so they can be seen for a reasonable price, along with everything else at those zoos.
Just so I'm clear and not missing anything, are we classing WMSP as a theme park? I'm not disagreeing that it's overly commercial and it does have a theme park onsite but it does look after its endangered species quite well and there is a fairly clear distinction between the animals and rides. There are no Chessington/Flamingo Land animal and ride hybrid attractions if you get my drift.
It's nearly bedtime for me, I was just making sure we were all on the same page before I made a t*** of myself! And Pipaluk, it's only about £15 in to WMSP, nowhere near your £30 estimation!
I have to be honest & say i've never been to WMSP, but i've always regarded it as a bit of a theme park from what i've seen & Maguari obviously has been there & his views only serves to reinforce that impression. What i will say is 17 quid & 13 for kids is not theme park prices, i'm sure it was worse comparitively a while back! It certainly seems far better value than either Flamingoland or Longleat( something of a theme park with similar prices!)
The thing about WMSP is the rides cost more, you pay entry into the park which covers the safari, aquarium, reptiles etc and then buy tickets or a wristband for the rides. If you've never been then I recommend a visit, much better value than Longleat, Flamingo Land or Chessington. And it does have a nice collection. Back on topic now, will the rhino not look a little lost in a house built for elephants? At least the chimps and mangabeys would've used the vertical space.
Thanks, i hadn't realised WMSP was so reasonably priced & the rides were extra, i will give it a look sometime. I will stand by my original comment regarding Flamingoland becoming the 5th Indian Rhino holder though, i still think there could have been far better candidates- if only they'd been interested!
But the thing with rhino housing is it costs money and with the prices Flamingo Land charge they are probably in a far better position to afford it than the others. Fingers crossed that the new zoo in Bristol is a success and they can go through with their master plan, Indian rhino are one of the featured species to be brought in at a later date.
Almost anywhere within reason, that has the space and doesn't charge £30 for 4 year olds and isn't primarily a theme park. Possibilities: Yorkshire WP, Marwell, Woburn, either Aspinall Park, Blackpool, the list could go on and on . It's probably all down to money in the end. Shame it takes theme park rides or other gimmicks like plastic dinosaurs to support a zoo! If money wasn't an issue i could list many more zoos with the space, some currently charging as little as£9 for an adult & less for children ( unlike flamingoland, where 4years old makes you an adult!).
