Welsh Mountain Zoo WMZ News 2012

Comedian Rhod Gilbert has done three days zoo-keeping experience at Welsh Mountain Zoo [17/01/2012 - 19/01/2012].

Rhod Gilbert Becomes a Zoo Keeper at the Welsh Mountain Zoo | | Welsh Mountain ZooWelsh Mountain Zoo

Assuming this is for the work experience show he does, it will certainly be one to look out for. Excellent comedian + Excellent little zoo = Excellent television [for a change ].

 

In what areas do you think WMZ excels JR?

 

Cannot think of anywhere that it particularly excels, but I think it has enough redeeming features for me to have this opinion [along with the fact that my visits have always been enjoyable]. The pros of the zoo outweigh the cons, I think is what I'm trying to say.

I won't defend their gibbon and spider monkey enclosures and would love to see something smaller occupy these [more callitrichids, or bamboo lemurs, a small carnivore species or something in a similar vein].

Their snow leopard enclosure I have mixed feelings. It does well to make the most of the space it occupies with plenty of climbing and height, but a bigger enclosure would be nicer, or maybe having a smaller cat species in there instead.

As for enclosures I think are more than suitable - Brown bears, Sea lion [arguably one of the better pinniped exhibits in the UK], tigers, paddocks, chimps [maybe a bit more vegetation, but I've seen far worse enclosures], red pandas [but would take the otters out], callitrichids, polecats, eagles and condors, African aviary, meerkats/porcupines.

It also has a good and informative sea lion and chimp presentation, friendly staff, a nice traditional feel that [generally] doesn't undermine animal welfare [for example, keeping the architecture whilst using it for more suitable species], and a generally nice collection in a nice setting.

The woodland area by the red squirrels and ravens is also very nice and pleasant. It's always quiet and a good place to get away from other zoo visitors if you want a bit of peace .

Dunno if this makes sense, and when I say 'excellent zoo' I mean more for its size and circumstance - it is excellent in context. Anyway, that's just my opinion

 

I've never been and you've not really sold it to me here

 

Anything like this is a matter of opinion. To me there is a certain charm, and whereas there are bad enclosures there are also enclosures that are suitable and some that really hold their own against other zoos nearer the top.

I think more than the collection itself and the housing, there is something very nice about the feel of the place.

It's hard to describe, and even if I can't sell it to you on here then I would just suggest that one day, if you're nearby and have a spare day, to just give it a try. If nothing else, it certainly deserves to be visited once

 

Well said I agree with you every where should be visited atleast once so you can make your own mind up,about a place.

 

The WMZ (one of my two favourites, the other being Exmoor) has the most spectacular sight in the UK - the Blue and Yellow Macaws in the bird display swooping around the hillside with the mountains in the background. Paradise on earth!! I agree with Javan Rhino about the staff, they are very friendly and then there's the lamb and leek pie. Even though I live on the opposite coast of Great Britain I became a life member of the association the other year. I love the place. If I start eulogising about the hybrid Macaws I'll be here all night.....and I haven't even mentioned the sea views.

 

A little anecdote which links staff friendliness with my own clumsyness!

Visited a few years ago; boarded the minibus outside the railway station. Forgot that it was a low-roof minibus and cracked my head on one of the roof struts! Driver was very, very concerned but I assured him I was ok.

By the time we left, the bus service had finished for the day so we started the walk down into the town. A couple of staff leaving work stopped and offered us a lift to the railway station. Nice people. We accepted the offer.

Got to the station, opened the door ... and fell out of the car! [Had forgotten it was a 4x4 with a high floorline.] Second round of checking that I was ok.

I was!

 

The views are fantastic, and the view from the cafe balcony [tiger enclosure] is one of my favourite views within any zoo grounds.

 

The one thing WMZ has going for it is the location, but you can get a better view, and free too, if you walk up to the nearby pillar at Bodysgallen. Of the enclosures, only the large paddocks below the café are worthy of praise.

I've seen the bird show and the setting does indeed make for a spectacular backdrop, but then one could say the same for the bird theatre at Edinburgh so it's not unique.

To pick up on other exhibits mentioned; the gibbon and spider monkey cages are indeed terrible and the nearby callitrichid enclosures have also taken a turn for the worse recently as they're now adorned with copious quantities of plastic foliage. The snow leopard cage is woeful and the chimp theatre makes me decidedly uneasy. Their outdoor area is better, but incredibly sparse.

The enclosure for the bears is also too barren - although hiding the pit area with an aviary was a good idea - and they still stereotype, the reptile house is average and one exits through what looks to be a former potting shed, while the tropical house is just a dilapidated mess.

When I was last there a couple of weeks ago, one red panda was stereotyping badly (including stopping to rub a huge bare patch in its fur). Even more troubling was a festering carcass in the polecat enclosure back in the summer, which a keeper explained might be due to the food they were given being "off".

I'd recommend all zoo enthusiasts visit to make up their own minds - mazfc you're letting the side down here - but it's not somewhere that I particularly like, even if they do have the UK's only margay.

 

In fairness, it does need work - they've been trying to raise funds for a new tropical house for so long now so I won't hold that against them [they've identified a problem and are trying to do something about it].

I've seen the red panda follow a set route before constantly and agree, but the oddity is the enclosure seems no different than any other I've seen, I wonder if it has anything to do with the otter mix?

The chimp enclosure could be better, but it could be a lot worse. Remember I said that these exhibits were suitable, not necessarily excellent.

I've never seen the bears stereotype before, they always look in good condition when I've visited. Remember that these are elderly, and I think they were rescued from a circus? I'm not saying this is accurate but maybe it is a behaviour picked up from previous accomodation, so don't know if the enclosure can be criticised with that argument? I don't know what tweaks could be made to it - it isn't a bad size, it's got decent planting, a pool [not a brilliant one mind, but one that they make good use of] and enrichment items in the form of pursuit balls and plastic hanging barrels that are used I think as feeding devices [the latter I have seen them use].

You say that the only exhibits that deserve praise are the paddocks, what are your views on the sea lion enclosure and the presentation?

As for margays - they seem to be a few at Port Lympne [I saw at least 2 in one enclosure, and saw a further 2 or 3 enclosures]. There are more, but can't think of all of them off the top of my head

 

I stand corrected on the margay, is it Edinburgh where they're off-show?

I'm not a huge fan of the sea lion enclosure, although the underwater viewing is a positive it's a little industrial for my tastes. There are much worse though, I'll grant you.

The sea lion presentation is OK, although one has to question how much of it aids in the animals' husbandry given that they go through the same motions at least twice every day. The presenter we watched most recently certainly had an intimate relationship with the sea lions though:

Fishy Kisses

It may be that the bears arrived with behavioural problems, but WMZ doesn't have a good record in this regard. In the summer one was walking in and out of the den (back in backwards) and most recently one was standing in the doorway head swaying.

Given all the space available in the woods on the other side of the driveway, it's a shame that they couldn't be given a much larger enclosure and the current one adapted for smaller animals. That would also allow the zoo to bulldoze the old pit area.

What did you think of the enclosures around the car park? The aviaries next to the shop, the camel paddock and the seal rescue area?

 

Not a massive fan of the camel paddock, but granted it's better than having elephants there - I don't think it's necessarily bad, just not excellent.

As for the aviaries, I have no problem with them. I've never actually seen the seal rescue area. The newer aviary with the macaws and agouti I think is quite good

The sea lion pool - the fact that it's salt water for a start gives it VERY high marks in my book - it's not a bad water area and looks quite deep, and the land area is basic but not necessarily bad. Seems they get a good amount of enrichment from training.

I don't know if it is the same for the sea lions, but with regards to the chimp presentation the animals are free to choose as to whether they take part or not [they aren't shut inside and still have free roam of the exhibit during these times]

All-in-all - I agree it's not up there with so many other zoos, but it's certainly my favourite of the underdogs.

 

Unfortunately I have not been since the new Macaw aviary was built, but I believe the old one now has a mixed Parrot collection? Whatever, I love that aviary - it looks like a proper zoo exhibit.

In a previous WMZ thread I got into a lenghty disagreement about the Gibbon and Spider Monkey cages, so I'll just say that I like them even if no one else does. Again, to my middle-aged and increasingly nostalgic eye, proper zoo cages.

On a sombre note, my association newsletter arrived this morning and I was very sorry to learn of the death of Mrs Margaret Jackson. Thank-you Mrs Jackson for all you did in helping to create, develop and administer the WMZ.

 

You should have seen the original - posted below

I worked there for seven years leaving in the mid-1980's. I think it's a nice collection with a stunning location. I have very fond memoirs of working there. And it was also sad to hear of the death of Mrs Jackson whose husband Robert set-up the zoo many years ago. He was also the co-founder of Marineland in Morecambe.

When I was there we did start to also bred the sea lions and also started to successfully operate a seal rescue and rehab project which continues today with now a small purpose built unit.

And over the years the zoo has developed; it's biggest problem is the limited season to be honest which impacts on revenue. Many other collections in a similar situation has gone to the wall so I think this is a compliant to the management that they have tried to set themselves achievable goals over the years and still remain in business.

 

Thank you for the picture, I vaguely remember that from visits as I was growing up. There was an episode of Treasure Hunt filmed at the zoo in 1985, I think, which occasionally gets a repeat on one of the fringe satellite channels. You might have still been there at the time, and I recall the sea lion pool - or was it the penguins - having something to do with the clue.

 

You mean this

Welsh Mountain Zoo - YouTube

Actually it was Penny the chimp as regards the clue.

 

That's it! Thank you for uploading it (in 2007). So much of the zoo looks exactly the same, with the exception of the sea lion pool, of which one gets a brief glimpse.