It will be great to meet yourself, Sooty and various other weird and wonderful people - although the various events and auctions etc are very much to be anticipated, the social aspect and meeting new likeminded people is not to be dismissed
...and even if I do say so myself, it's a pretty good quiz, with a variety of rounds on zoo history, zoology, current zoos, and so on. Tim 'spiked' a few questions because they were 'too obscure'. For example, which zoo features in the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-time? What do zoo visitors owe to American folk singer Tom Paxton? And, which zoo features as the backdrop to the closing scene of the film Withnail and I? His 'non obscure' suggestions included, at what age does a captive kea become sexually mature? Hopefully, between us we've come up with something that hits the right note.... It'll be a team thing - so, if you're going, try to nab a good mixture of people on your table! Looking forward to meeting people on Saturday.....
I agree with this statement entirely. The chance to meet new people, the chance to really enhance my zoo guide collection and the whole social aspect of meeting those who share the same passion is quite utterly brilliant!
Sorry for the double post but my ZooHistorica weekend starts in about 20 minutes, heading to Noah's and the aquarium with a fellow ZooChatter or two and then hopefully should be at the icebreaker for as close to 6 as possible! Bring on the next 3 days of pure zoo-geeking!
I thoroughly enjoyed my first zoohistorica, a big thank you to Tim, Christof(?), Sooty and the absent Mike for a fantastic weekend! And Devilfish, many thanks for being immenseley helpful and being a great friend! It was also great to meet some new faces amd catch up with some old ones.
I think we can all agree that this year's Zoohistorica was a great success, from the Friday night icebreaker right through to very interesting Sunday outings - a big thank you to everyone involved in the organisation of the event (and apologies to the catering staff whose Saturday night we probably ruined!). Hopefully, some of this year's newbies will have been bitten by the bug and will be back for more at Cologne in a year's time.
Well, female Keas reach sexual maturity at around 3 years of age, and males around 4-5 years. Just out of interest, what're the answers to the other 'too obscure' questions?
I just wanted to echo Brum and robmv - that was an excellent weekend and great to see so many people at all stages of the event, and to meet some new folks and re-meet some I haven't seen for some time, as well as all the Zoohistorica regulars of course. Big thanks to all involved. Particular shout-out to robmv, Shorts and Paradoxurus - we now have a quiz title to defend if this feature returns in future! The hairy armadillos will scream once more! As alluded to, it was confirmed over the weekend that next year's Zoohistorica will be held at Cologne Zoo on the first weekend of September 2014. I'll see everyone there!
Allow me to add my voice to the resounding chorus of appreciation for the weekend we have just enjoyed - and the many thanks to Tim, Mike, Sooty and Christof for their efforts in ensuring all went smoothly! Pending financial circumstances, I certainly intend to attend Cologne next year
I really enjoyed the Zoohistorica as a newbee - and can only echo what others have posted before me - and thank the able organising team of Tim, Mike, Cristoph and Sooty making this a resounding success. Thank you to all and hope to be there next year too.
