Has anyone seen the new Blackbuck females yet? Presumably still serving quarantine, in one of the antelope buildings perhaps?, until the late spring though.
The new butterfly house will officially open on May 23rd. Bear Grylls will be hosting an event at the zoo in July.
visited two days ago and it was bitterly cold and the windiest day I've ever seen on the Downs, I could have taken off if it opened my coat! Passage through Asia was sadly closed, for part of the day the Asia section of the zoo was also closed due to a rhino being moved, not sure whether it was moved for vet treatment in the zoo or moved to another collection. Wanted to see the gazelles but couldn't find them! anyone know where they are?
Do they tell you that at the Entrance, or temporarily reduce the admission price, or is it just bad luck.?
When I was at the zoo on Friday, I believe the passage through asia was shut so that they could repair some of the road in it.
I was there on Sunday (three days ago), and can confirm the above: No mention of it at the entrance for me, so I too was disappointed when I got round there and found...
They should really say something, but to advertise this fact at the entrance might just put a few people off entering- though if you had gone all the way to Whipsnade its unlikely to deter you. I think a slight reduction in admission fee might be also fair as its a sizeable chunk of the park that isn't accessable- even if its only to see Asian deer & Yaks.
When we went a couple of weeks ago (the end of half term) we were told when we went in. My other half is a fellow, so it was free for us anyway but, since his main interest there is the deer, it was a little disappointing - luckily we saw plenty of the free-ranging deer, which made up for it! We did see, though that there were some people complaining about it on facebook - according to ZSL's response, it is on the website but it's well hidden away! Given the poor weather forecast for the day we went (it actually turned out to be quite nice, but fairly cold) the zoo was busy with half-term visitors and I didn't hear many people commenting on the Passage Through Asia closure.
I also meant to say that when I was there on Friday, work was progressing well with the butterfly house.
On their website it does say under the 'Passage Through Asia' section, that it is 'closed due to Unsuitable Road Conditions caused by the recent Weather' It rather indicates it could be shut for some time.
This area of the zoo has been neglected for quite some time now-you pretty much have to go "off-road" to avoid the potholes! Personally, I'd like ZSL to redevelop this area once the Cloisters project and elephant barns are complete. Maybe reconsider what fauna they want to keep in there, or maybe pedestrianise it. As I've said before, it's the only area of the zoo where you could successfully exhibit polar bear!
I like the large herds of Deer in here, but then I do like Deer a lot. However for the average visitor as a drive through area there's not a lot to see in there. The Yaks are rather like looking at cows and could easily be kept in a conventional paddock anyway. Possibly the 'park' area for the Deer herds could be more limited- perhaps to the large area to the left of the road, and then the land on the right which abutts the boundary fence, developed for other species as you suggest, with the road then becoming just part of the normal roadway system of the Park.
If I was being ruthless I'd get rid of the Fallow deer and replace with Sambar or Kiang. If we're going down an Arctic/Tundra theme, move in the reindeer and increase the herd size and bring back the Musk-ox. Pedestrianise part of it, making way for Polar bear and, possibly, a new wolf pack (as hunting dogs will eventually replace the current group). There is plenty of room around the rest of the zoo to rehome the deer herds-in mixed exhibits like with the Impala/Kudu. The train side would remain untouched as you drive "from" the Arctic "into" Asia. I'd be interested to know how much footfall the drive-thru part of Passage Through Asia actually gets over the course of a year-I've never seen it overly busy even at peak season. The only traffic jams caused are usually by an obstinate camel refusing to move off the road! Mount Whipsnade is also an underused facility.
I have never seen it busy but I don't go very often nowadays.The Fallow are really only a 'filler' left over from the past really. I do like Fallow Deer a lot but in this case think an Indian themed, reduced area with just Swamp deer, Axis, Nilgai and Blackbuck might be better. Remove the Sika deer also from this mix and as you said, perhaps have Sambar instead. (The Fallow and Sika could be rehoused in any one of several paddocks either off or on exhibit- Whipsnade certainly aren't short on empty spaces). I forgot the Camels... My least favourite Zoo exhibit. Waste of space IMO.
It wouldn't really be a problem, since the wolves border the African section anyway & you could move the moose to the reindeer enclosure, putting something African where they are currently. Personally I'd like to see a hyena species given how much rarer they are in the UK than hunting dogs - why not both.
I see what you mean, although I think the woods somewhat naturally define the Europe section at the moment and it would be a shame to move the 'boundary' and lose that. The wolf enclosure was a personal highlight of my first visit earlier this year and I'd leave it as is. But hyenas would be a great addition. I agree that hunting dogs are very common now, as long as there are enough holders for the EEP to continue to succeed Whipsnade probably doesn't need to go into them.
