A few updates from Chester. I'm not sure if any of this has already been posted so apologies in advance: The spectacled bears appear to be separated, there is what looks like electric fencing splitting the enclosure in two. The round aviaries are completely gone and the whole area up to the tiger house is being worked on, the tiger house window was also boarded up. I assume this is to reduce disturbance to the tigers. The dwarf mongoose enclosure is empty, have they left the collection or just off show? Kitani/Asani have swapped sides of the rhino house with malindi and the water containers have been covered over to just a small square big enough for a rhino head, from the looks of the new design they are easier to maintain. The row of reptile enclosures in the tropical realm has been covered over and work is being done, I could see evidence of a new wall being built and some planting being changed Saw all 3 bush dog pups, they're almost adult size now and only a slight difference in coat colour separates them from the adults. The life on the lily pad display that was previously in the Joseph Banks room is now in Spirit of the Jaguar but has not quite been finished. I've probably missed something but any questions may jog my memory Matt
The main row of reptile enclosures are being taken off show, dissapointingly... What stage is the demolision of the bird house and its aviaries at?
That is a shame. Do you know of any plans for that area? All the structure of the aviaries but you can still see the outlines of where they used to be as most of the planting and pathways are still there, just blocked off.
Interesting that the bears have been split up. They were together on Saturday with a keeper keeping an eye on them. Franka was up a tree to begin with and Sangay was munching on some carrots by the waterfall. Franka eventually came down for a wander around, but the keeper did say she was still wary of him (but looked like she'd like to make friends) and wouldn't come to the front if he was there. I believe the corridor and round aviary areas will just have the aviary framework removed for now, and the planting will stay. I can't remember exactly what was said, but the person we spoke to in the tropical house said something about new habitats where you're looking in on the critters in their natural habitats, so maybe holes in walls to peer through similar to inside the Secret Realm of the Okapi. I also think something was said about having smaller species in the tropical house - frogs etc.
As well as the bird aviaries, it looks like the old children's zoo is being demolished as well. One of the buildings for the porcupine has gone and they were in the process of pulling the other one down when i was there (as well as the removal of fencing, substrate and furnishings from the pen). As for the tigers, there is a storage unit being built alongside the tiger house and the sign also said that the tiger accomodation was being improved.
