Chester Zoo: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 53°13′36″N 2°53′3″W / 53.22667°N 2.88417°W / 53.22667; -2.88417
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Mottershead was wounded in [[World War I]] and spent several years in a wheelchair. Despite this, his collection of animals grew and he began to search for a suitable home for his zoo. He chose Oakfield House in [[Upton, Cheshire|Upton]], a suburb of [[Chester]], which he purchased for £3,500 in 1930.<ref name=history>{{cite web |title=From Polar Bears to Pandas: The History of Chester Zoo |publisher=Chester City Council |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure/culture_and_leisure/chester_history_and_heritage/past_exhibitions/from_polar_bears_to_pandas.aspx |date=2008-02-13 |accessdate=2008-06-20}}</ref> The house had {{convert|9|acre}} of gardens and provided easy access to the railways and to Manchester and [[Liverpool]]. There were local objections, but Mottershead prevailed, and Chester Zoo opened to the public on 10 June 1931.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chester Zoo |work=Goodzoos website |url=http://www.goodzoos.com/UK%20Zoos/chester.htm |accessdate=2007-02-27}}</ref> The first animals were displayed in pens in the courtyard.<ref name="history" />
Mottershead was wounded in [[World War I]] and spent several years in a wheelchair. Despite this, his collection of animals grew and he began to search for a suitable home for his zoo. He chose Oakfield House in [[Upton, Cheshire|Upton]], a suburb of [[Chester]], which he purchased for £3,500 in 1930.<ref name=history>{{cite web |title=From Polar Bears to Pandas: The History of Chester Zoo |publisher=Chester City Council |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure/culture_and_leisure/chester_history_and_heritage/past_exhibitions/from_polar_bears_to_pandas.aspx |date=2008-02-13 |accessdate=2008-06-20}}</ref> The house had {{convert|9|acre}} of gardens and provided easy access to the railways and to Manchester and [[Liverpool]]. There were local objections, but Mottershead prevailed, and Chester Zoo opened to the public on 10 June 1931.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chester Zoo |work=Goodzoos website |url=http://www.goodzoos.com/UK%20Zoos/chester.htm |accessdate=2007-02-27}}</ref> The first animals were displayed in pens in the courtyard.<ref name="history" />


Rapid expansion followed after [[World War II]], despite the difficulty of sourcing materials. Mottershead had to be resourceful; the [[polar bear]] exhibit (1950) was built from recycled wartime road blocks and pill boxes.<ref name="history" /> "Always building" was the Zoo's slogan at the time. Mottershead received the [[OBE]], an honorary degree of MSc, and served as President of the International Union of Zoo Directors. He died in 1978 aged 84.
Rapid expansion followed after [[World War II]], despite the difficulty of sourcing materials. Mottershead had to be resourceful; the [[polar bear]] exhibit (1950) was built from recycled wartime road blocks and [[British hardened field defences of World War II|pillboxes]].<ref name="history" /> "Always building" was the Zoo's slogan at the time. Mottershead received the [[OBE]], an honorary degree of MSc, and served as President of the International Union of Zoo Directors. He died in 1978 aged 84.


===Zoo design===
===Zoo design===
Mottershead wanted to build a zoo without the traditional [[Victorian era|Victorian]] iron bars to cage the animals. He was influenced by the ideas of [[Carl Hagenbeck]], who invented the modern zoo concept and by Heine Hediger, a pioneer of [[ethology]].
Mottershead wanted to build a zoo without the traditional [[Victorian era|Victorian]] iron bars to cage the animals.<ref>{{citebook|title=Veterinary medicine: a guide to historical sources|first=Pamela|last=Hunter|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|year=2004|ISBN=0754640531|pages=455}}</ref> He was influenced by the ideas of [[Carl Hagenbeck]], who invented the modern zoo concept and by Heine Hediger, a pioneer of [[ethology]].


At Chester, Mottershead took Hagenback's idea for moats and ditches as an alternative to cage bars, and extended their use throughout the zoo, often with species that Hagenback had not considered. For example, when [[chimpanzee]]s were released into their new enclosure at Chester in 1956, a group of grassy islands separated the [[ape]]s from visitors by no more than a {{Convert|12|ft|sing=on}} strip of water. Nobody knew then if chimps could swim. It turned out that they could not, and today the chimp islands are a centrepiece of Chester Zoo.
At Chester, Mottershead took Hagenback's idea for moats and ditches as an alternative to cage bars, and extended their use throughout the zoo, often with species that Hagenback had not considered. For example, when [[chimpanzee]]s were released into their new enclosure at Chester in 1956, a group of grassy islands separated the [[ape]]s from visitors by no more than a {{Convert|12|ft|sing=on}} strip of water. Nobody knew then if chimps could swim. It turned out that they could not, and today the chimp islands are a centrepiece of Chester Zoo.

Revision as of 15:53, 6 March 2011

53°13′36″N 2°53′3″W / 53.22667°N 2.88417°W / 53.22667; -2.88417

Chester Zoo
File:Chester-zoo-logo.png
Chester Zoological Gardens
Map
53°13′36″N 2°53′3″W / 53.22667°N 2.88417°W / 53.22667; -2.88417
Date opened1931
LocationUpton-by-Chester, Cheshire, England
Land area111 acres (45 ha)
No. of animals9019+ (2007)
No. of species422 (2007)
Annual visitors1.3 million visitors (2007)[1]
Major exhibitsElephants of the Asian Forest,
Realm of the Red Ape
Tsavo Black Rhino Experience
Spirit of the Jaguar
Websitehttp://www.chesterzoo.org

Chester Zoo is a zoological garden at Upton-by-Chester, in Cheshire, England. It was opened in 1931 by George Mottershead and his family, who used as a basis some animals reported to have come from an earlier zoo in Shavington.[2] It is the one of the UK's largest zoos at 111 acres (45 ha).[1] The zoo has a total land holding of approximately 400 acres (160 ha).

Chester Zoo is currently operated by the North of England Zoological Society, a registered charity founded in 1934. The Zoo receives no government funding. It is the most-visited wildlife attraction in Britain with more than 1.3 million visitors in 2007.[3] In the same year Forbes described it as one of the best fifteen zoos in the world.[4]

History

Early history

The Mottershead family's market garden business was based in Shavington near Crewe. George Mottershead collected animals such as lizards and insects that arrived with exotic plants imported by the business. A visit to Belle Vue Zoo in Manchester as a boy in 1903 fuelled his developing interest in creating a zoo of his own.

Mottershead was wounded in World War I and spent several years in a wheelchair. Despite this, his collection of animals grew and he began to search for a suitable home for his zoo. He chose Oakfield House in Upton, a suburb of Chester, which he purchased for £3,500 in 1930.[5] The house had 9 acres (3.6 ha) of gardens and provided easy access to the railways and to Manchester and Liverpool. There were local objections, but Mottershead prevailed, and Chester Zoo opened to the public on 10 June 1931.[6] The first animals were displayed in pens in the courtyard.[5]

Rapid expansion followed after World War II, despite the difficulty of sourcing materials. Mottershead had to be resourceful; the polar bear exhibit (1950) was built from recycled wartime road blocks and pillboxes.[5] "Always building" was the Zoo's slogan at the time. Mottershead received the OBE, an honorary degree of MSc, and served as President of the International Union of Zoo Directors. He died in 1978 aged 84.

Zoo design

Mottershead wanted to build a zoo without the traditional Victorian iron bars to cage the animals.[7] He was influenced by the ideas of Carl Hagenbeck, who invented the modern zoo concept and by Heine Hediger, a pioneer of ethology.

At Chester, Mottershead took Hagenback's idea for moats and ditches as an alternative to cage bars, and extended their use throughout the zoo, often with species that Hagenback had not considered. For example, when chimpanzees were released into their new enclosure at Chester in 1956, a group of grassy islands separated the apes from visitors by no more than a 12-foot (3.7 m) strip of water. Nobody knew then if chimps could swim. It turned out that they could not, and today the chimp islands are a centrepiece of Chester Zoo.

In 1986 the Zoo was enclosed with a fence, in line with the Zoo Licensing Act 1981.[8]

Management structure

The Zoo is split into three separate directorates under the management of the Director General, Gordon McGregor Reid:

  • Conservation and Education
  • Corporate Services
  • Business Operations

Layout and facilities

Mobility scooters are available near the main entrance.

Flag Lane divides the zoo park into two which the Zoofari monorail has to cross

The Zoo is bisected by a public bridleway, Flag Lane. For many years, a single bridge (now called Elephants Bridge), drivable by zoo vehicles and powered wheelchairs, near the elephant exhibit was the only crossing place within the grounds. A second crossing, passable by pedestrians and mobility scooters, called Bats Bridge, opened in April 2008 near the Twilight Zone, has improved the ability of visitors to circulate.

There are other ways to travel around the zoo:

  • A monorail transportation system called the Zoofari Railway, with a station near the elephants and a station near the lions. It runs in a circle.
  • A water bus operates on a canal network within the Zoo in peak season, but it stops at only one place.

Visitors must pay extra for using the monorail and the water bus.

Chester's catering facilities include the Tsavo Café near the main entrance which opened in 2006. The Ark Restaurant is in the middle of the zoo. The Oakfield Restaurant, in a Victorian mansion house near the lion enclosure, and the Acorn Bar, are both used for private functions as well as catering to zoo visitors.

There are children's play areas, shops, kiosks, and several picnic lawns around the Zoo. A second pedestrian entrance is located in the south-east corner of the Zoo behind Oakfield House.

For a long time the public entrance was at the east end. In recent years the public entrance has moved to the north side, west of Flag Lane, near the elephants, and the old car parks at the east end are being built over with service and educational buildings.

The zoo owns land outside the public area, and uses that land to grow food for its herbivorous animals.

Monorail

Elevated view from the monorail. The side track leads to the depot

A monorail system was built and installed by Computerised People Mover International at a cost of $4 million and then opened by Katharine, Duchess of Kent in 1991.[9][10][11] The system is 1.5 kilometres (1 mi) long and travels on an elevated guideway to give views of the park grounds — the track crosses Flag Lane twice on its one-way circular shape. The two halves of the park are connected by the system and there is one station in each part, near lion and monkey enclosures respectively. Each train on the system holds 24 passengers[12] between its four cars and a full tour takes around fifteen minutes.[13]

The system is a straddle beam monorail. The layout has a separate depot and control room[9][12] and carries approximately 2,000 passengers per day.[14] During 2009 improvements to the monorail's drive system and electrics were made by T&M Machine Tool Electronics, including the laying of over 25 miles (40 km) of new cabling bringing the total cost of the improvements to £300,000. The monorail was re-launched by music producer Pete Waterman during a visit on 23 July 2009, when Waterman drove the first loop of the new system.[12]

Species and animals

Chester Zoo holds a large and diverse collection. At the end of 2007, over half the species at the zoo appeared on the IUCN Red List and 155 were classified as threatened species. 134 species were kept as part of a managed captive breeding programme. The zoo manages the studbooks for Congo buffalo, jaguar, blue-eyed cockatoo, Madagscan tree boa, gemsbok (all ESB species), black rhinoceros, Ecuadorian amazon parrot, Mindanao writhe-billed hornbill and Rodrigues fruit bat (all EEP species). In addition, Chester holds 265 threatened plant species.[15]

Group Number of species Number of animals
Mammals 79 1864
Birds 155 1138
Reptiles 52 230
Amphibians 24 577
Fish 80 3829
Invertebrates 32 1381+
Total 422 9019+

Animal exhibits

Elephants of the Asian Forest

Chester was the first zoo in the UK to successfully breed Asian elephants in captivity. The most famous of these was Jubilee (1977–2003), so named as he was born in 1977, the year of the Queen's Silver Jubilee. The Zoo has a breeding herd of eight elephants,[16] There have been four calves born in recent years: Tunga (male, born 2004), Sundara (female, born 2004), Raman (male, born 2006), and Nayan (male, born 2010). Raman died in 2009 after being infected with a virus. Tunga departed for Bellewaerde Park in Belgium in April 2010. An adult female, Birma, joined the herd in 2006 but departed in 2009. The elephant house also used to house African elephants, rhinoceros, hippos and tapirs. Motty, a hybrid African-Asian elephant calf was born in July 1978, but died in infancy.

A GBP2 million breeding facility modelled on an Assam (India) rainforest called Elephants of the Asian Forest opened at Easter 2006, as a major alteration of the zoo's previous elephant house. In the elephant house other indigenous species are exhibited, including great Indian hornbills, azure-winged magpies, green peafowl, red-billed blue magpie, red junglefowl, Prevost's squirrels, red-bellied squirrels, spiny turtles, and northern tree shrews. There is an aquarium for Pla Eesok, Pig-nosed turtles, Clown loach and Asian arowana fish.[17]

Spirit of the Jaguar

Spirit of the Jaguar[18] was opened in 2001 and is sponsored by Jaguar cars. The exhibit is split into four sections. The two inside are modelled on a rainforest and a dry savannah, and the two outside contain rivers and pools so that the cats can exercise their swimming skills. There are currently five jaguars, four spotted and one melanistic. A male and female named Salvador and Sophia had cubs in 2005 that died soon after birth. As well as jaguars, the exhibit also contains a colony of leaf-cutter ants, poison arrow frogs, emerald tree boas and numerous rainforest fish including butterfly goodeid.

Jaguars at Chester Zoo
Jaguars

Realm of the Red Ape

Realm of the Red Ape is a GBP3.5 million extension to the existing orangutan house, home to Bornean and Sumatran orangutans, and is the most expensive capital project in the Zoo's history.[19] The exhibit opened to the public on 26 May 2007 after a two-year construction period. It comprises a new two-story building linked to the existing orangutan house with three indoor and two outdoor enclosures, providing accommodation for a larger number of apes. The outdoor areas can be viewed from a first floor public gallery and feature mesh roofs supported by tree-like structures which act as climbing frames for the apes. A further enclosure houses a group of four lar gibbons. On 29 January 2008, the Zoo celebrated the birth of new baby Sumatran orangutan.[20]

Animals and plants from Indonesia are exhibited inside Realm of the Red Ape in a rainforest-themed setting. Birds on display include the Timor sparrow, chestnut-backed thrush, and orange-headed thrush. The crocodile monitor, reticulated python, red-tailed racer, king ratsnake, White's tree frog, emerald tree monitor and green tree python feature among the reptiles. Other creatures include surplus male tree shrews from the elephant house, giant walking sticks and leaf insects.

Located next to Realm of the red ape is a new enclosure for Babirusa and Oriental Small-clawed Otters.

The Chimpanzee Breeding Centre

This pavilion was opened in 1989 by HRH The Princess of Wales (who also used the title Countess of Chester) and is home to 30 chimpanzees. This is the largest colony of chimps in Europe, housed in the Roundhouse, a conical indoor enclosure linked to an outside moated island. The island is planted with many bushes and has large poles for the chimps to climb on. The inside area has a climbing frame that allows the chimps to stay close together on several levels of platform. There are seven interconnected off-show dens. Dylan is the current dominant male of the Chester Zoo colony.

The two okapis at the zoo

Tsavo Rhino Experience

The Zoo's black rhinoceros exhibit, modelled on the Tsavo national park in Kenya, was opened in 2003 at a cost of GBP2 million. The zoo has a successful rhinoceros breeding programme and currently keeps a 10 animals. Meerkats are kept in a small enclosure nearby, and the surrounding paddocks are home to banded mongoose and warthog.

Fruit Bat Forest

Fruit Bat Forest is the largest free-flying bat cave in Europe. The cave holds three species of bat: Rodrigues fruit bat, Livingstone's fruit bat and Seba's short-tailed bat. It is also home to a varied collection of other species including freshwater fish, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, Turkish spiny mice, and blind cave fish.

Monkey Islands

Monkey Islands was opened in 1997, replacing the old monkey house, and is currently home to four monkey species: Colombian black spider monkeys, mandrills, lion-tailed macaques andSulawesi crested macaques. Campbell's guenons and Porcupines were formerly housed with the mandrills. Visitors enter the monkey house and view the animals from a central corridor. Each species has a glass-fronted indoor enclosure with climbing apparatus and an outdoor enclosure, moated and heavily planted.

Miniature Monkeys

Miniature Monkeys, opened in May 2004, consists of two enclosures. The first is home to a pair of black-tailed marmosets with two male pygmy marmosets, and the second is shared by a family of Geoffroy's marmosets. The marmosets have successfully bred on several occasions. Azara's agouti, pied tamarins and black lion tamarins have also been housed here.

Bears of the Cloud Forest

Bears of the Cloud Forest opened in 2004 and is home to a male and female spectacled bear and other South American animals. The purpose-built exhibit is designed to mimic the bear's natural habitat by providing trees and a rocky terrain. Sharing the bears' enclosure with them are a group of ring-tailed coatis. Nearby are paddocks housing vicuña (wild relatives of the llama), capybara, Brazilian tapirs and common rheas.

Guanaco were previously housed with the rhea.

Secret World of the Okapi

Formerly the camel house, this enclosure was remodelled in 2006 to house okapi. Initially two males were kept, Dicky arrived from Marwell Wildlife in 2005 and Mbuti came from Bristol Zoo in the same year. In 2006 Dicky left for London Zoo to make way for a female named Stuma from Germany. In 2009 Mbuti and Dicky were swapped back with Mbuti going to London after failing to breed with Stuma and Dicky coming back to Chester. Other animals that can be seen here include the giant pouched rat, African dormouse, several species of cichlid from Lake Barombi Mbo in Cameroon, gaboon viper, Tanzanian grass rat, Mount Kulal spiny mouse and Mesic four-striped grass mouse.

The fountain and gardens in front of Islands in Danger

Islands in Danger

This exhibit is primarily a herpetarium for the Zoo's Komodo dragons, originating from the Lesser Sunda Islands. It was opened in 1998 and extended in 2003 to include an outdoor enclosure used by the dragons in the warmer summer months. The exhibit is built on the site of the Zoo's former bird house. In 2007 several young baby komodo dragons were put on display after one of the zoo's two females had a virgin birth through parthenogenesis, the first such case recorded in this species.[21]

Islands in Danger also houses various Indonesian and Philippines rainforest birds, such as Red Birds of Paradise, Palawan Peacock-pheasants, Pheasant Pigeons and Victoria Crowned Pigeons. Recently added was a small group of Mindanao Bleeding-hearts which have successfully bred. Birds formally kept in the exhibit include Visayan Tarictic Hornbill, Socorro Dove, Papuan Lorikeet, and St. Lucia Amazon.

Mongoose Mania

Located near the tigers, this area used to be a petting farm, but was closed due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. The petting farm is now a picnic lawn and a former Kune Kune Pig enclosure has been demolished in favour of a food stall.

Mongoose Mania, which houses dwarf mongooses features tunnels beneath the enclosure which allow children to crawl through, popping up their heads into plastic domes to give them a mongoose's eye view of the world.

Giant Otters and Penguins

In early 2010 the Californian Sealions left the collection. Over the late winter the pool was converted to house a new species to the zoo. The Giant Otters went on show for the first time on 26 March 2010. The zoo plans to try and breed the species in the near future.

In the neighbouring enclosure a large breeding group of over 40 Humboldt Penguins have their own pool, and visitors can watch the birds from an underwater viewing window.

Tropical Realm

Chester's Tropical Realm is Britain's largest tropical house at over 26,000 cubic metres. Opened in 1964, most of the interior is an open-plan space extending to roof level and themed with pools and mature tropical plants, with pathways for visitors through the undergrowth. Here, more than 30 species of birds are free-flying, including Nicobar Pigeons, various species of starlings and ground birds such as Roul-roul Partridges.

Aviaries and vivaria are arranged around the sides of the building; those on the upper level were originally designed for birds of paradise. The aviaries currently house birds such as the Great Indian Hornbill, Rhinoceros Hornbill, two pairs of Tarictic Hornbill (one pure-bred and one hybrid), Writhed-billed Hornbill, Wrinkled Hornbill, Red-crested Turaco, Palawan Peacock-pheasant, Congo Peafowl, Bali Starling, Blue-crowned Pigeon, White-rumped Shama, Montserrat Oriole and Red-billed Curassow.

The Tropical Realm is also the centre of the reptile collection. The crocodile pools are currently house Chester's new pair of Philippine crocodiles, which arrived in early 2008. Near the entrance is an enclosure for tuatara. This lizard-like species from New Zealand is the last surviving sphenodont, a prehistoric group of reptiles, and Chester is the only British zoo to exhibit them. There are also many varieties of snake; snouted cobra, Rhinoceros rat snake, Jamaican boa and green mamba to name a few. Lizards include the gila monsters and various species of monitor and gecko. Caiman lizards joined the collection in 2007. Problems heating the reptile enclosures have meant that many species are no longer kept at the zoo.[citation needed]

Tortoises are represented by the Galápagos, pancake, radiated, Egyptian and yellow-footed species. There are more than ten kinds of poison dart frog and the highly unusual Puerto Rican crested toad, plus invertebrates such as the partula snail.

Europe on the Edge

This is the zoo's largest aviary, and is one of the biggest in the UK. It was opened in 1993 on the site of the former polar bear enclosure. It houses a variety of European birds, including the European Black and Griffon Vultures and the rarer of the two European storks, the Black Stork. There are spoonbills, ibis and egrets as well as a selection of waterfowl. Smaller birds include the Rock Dove, Northern Lapwing, Red-legged Partridge and the native but rare Red-billed Chough.

Condor Cliffs

This aviary was constructed to rehouse the zoo's breeding pair of Andean condors, who have since parent-reared a chick for the first time. It is now also home for the American black vulture from South America and several species of waterfowl. The aviary is dominated by a large sandstone waterfall, and a fake llama skeleton is used at feeding time. The enclosure is built on the site of the Zoo's former brown bear enclosure.

Rare Parrot Breeding Centre

Parrots on display here include Blue-eyed Cockatoos, Red-vented Cockatoos, Palm Cockatoos, Short-billed Black Cockatoos, Red-and-Blue lories, Yellow-backed Chattering Lories, Mount Apo Lorikeets and Blue-and-yellow Macaws. Most of the birds were moved to the Rare Parrot Breeding Centre from the old parrot house when it was demolished in 2005 to make way for Realm of the Red Ape.

Mythical Macaws

This enclosure consists of several aviaries housing rare and endangered South American parrots and macaws. These include the Hyacinth Macaw, Blue-winged Macaw, Blue-throated Macaw, Golden Conure, Golden-capped Conure, Blue-throated Conure, Red-crowned Amazon and Red-tailed Amazon. The first aviary was opened in 2001 and the remainder in 2004. A breeding pair of Azara's Agouti also form part of the exhibit.

Aquarium

The aquarium is a small and traditional building (one of the oldest at the zoo, built by George Mottershead's daughter and son-in-law in the 1950s) housing a varied collection of freshwater and marine fish, aquatic invertebrates and amphibians. It has had notable success breeding seahorses and achieved the first captive breeding of the freshwater motoro stingray.

Other notable fish include the electric eel, African lungfish, tropical reef fishes and various Lake Malawi cichlids. Amphibians include the Surinam toad, Japanese fire belly newt and axolotl.

Asian Plains and paddocks

In 2008, Asian Plains received its official opening.[22] Based around a mixed-species paddock featuring blackbuck and Burmese brow-antlered deer, the exhibit has recently been extended to include new enclosures for Indian rhinoceros and cheetah. The male rhino was joined by a female in 2008 to form a pair which the Zoo hoped would breed. Sadly in November 2009 the male Indian rhino "Patna" was put down due to a longstanding leg injury. The zoo obtained a replacement male from Edinburgh Zoo in March 2010. Since they were closely related the previous female departed for a zoo in Spain shortly after. In summer 2010 a female Indian Rhino will arrive from San Diego Wild Animal Park as a mate for the new male. The paddocks formerly housed barasingha, Ankole cattle and sitatunga.

Other paddocks on the west side of the zoo support grazing herds of Grevy's zebra, sitatunga, scimitar-horned oryx, gemsbok, Red Lechwe, Roan Antelope. The sitatunga share their paddock with ostrich, and the Red Lechwe and Roan antelope also share an exhibit.

Przewalski's horses have recently left the collection to make way for the new African hunting dog enclosure.

Forest Zone

The north east area of the Zoo is where many forest-dwelling species are kept. As well as the chimpanzees, okapi, jaguar and Tropical Realm, there are enclosures for Congo buffalo, red river hogs and endangered Negros Island warty pigs. Nearby is a large paddock for the Zoo's six giraffes. Buffy-headed capuchins are housed near the exit of the Tropical Realm as well as a group of native sand lizards. The empty enclosure formerly housing maned wolves has been replaced by a heated butterfly house called Butterfly Journey. (Of the three maned wolves, two died and one was sent to another zoo.)

Lions and tigers

As well as jaguars, Chester keeps lions, tigers and cheetahs [23] in its big cat collection. The lions are the Asiatic subspecies found only in the Gir Forest in India in the wild. The Zoo's former resident male Asoka was joined by a female, Asha, from Rome in 2006. The pair have bred on three occasions, but so far their only offspring to survive has been a male cub, Tejas, born and hand-reared in 2007. His upbringing was featured prominently in the first series of Zoo Days. Tejas left Chester Zoo early in 2008 as part of the European breeding programme for this subspecies. Asoka left the zoo in early 2010, he was moved to Rome Zoo as part of the European breeding programme. His replacement is 2-year-old Iblis, who arrived from Plackendael Zoo in Belgium.

In 2007, a male Sumatran tiger called Kepala arrived from Dudley Zoo to join the two resident female Bengal tigers, who left in 2008. The same year, the zoo acquired a female tiger named Kirana, but unfortunately it was discovered that the pair were related. Kepala departed to Dublin Zoo and a new male named Fabi was brought in to form a breeding pair of Sumatrans, a critically endangered subspecies[24] in the wild.

Other exhibits

Other animals exhibited at Chester Zoo include Bactrian camel and onager in a large paddock in the centre of the zoo, formerly the zebra exhibit. A paddock which was only visible from the monorail but can now be seen from the bat bridge holds a group of Philippine spotted deer, who will share their exhibit with Negros Island Warty Pigs.

Bordering the paddocks is a waterway running north-south along which the water bus travels, past island groups of Black-and-white ruffed lemurs, Alaotran gentle lemurs, red ruffed lemurs and a young male babirusa. Cottontop tamarins were formerly housed on the gentle lemur island.

In the south-east corner of the Zoo are enclosures housing an assortment of animals including bongos, Chilean pudú, bush dogs, red pandas, Servals, western grey kangaroos, southern cassowaries red-crowned cranes and golden pheasant.

Near the Rare Parrot Breeding Centre is an aviary currently housing spectacled owls and formerly home to macaws and keas. A variety of bird species such as Derbyan parakeets, kookaburras and the Zoo’s owl collection are seen nearby. The owl aviaries were recently modified.

Aviaries for snowy owls, rhinoceros hornbills and Mauritius kestrels are located behind the Children's Fun Ark. Flocks of Chilean and Caribbean flamingos live in shallow water alongside a large island housing a group of ring-tailed lemurs. New indoor accommodation for the flamingos was completed in 2007. Pelicans, storks, cranes and a variety of waterfowl are housed in large pens alongside Tsavo.

Future developments

In January 2009, Chester Zoo unveiled an ambitious £225 million plan that will see it transformed into the largest conservation, animal and leisure attraction of its kind in Europe. The project – given the working title Natural Vision – will involve a £90 million first phase which will include the only domed ecosystem in the UK. Called ‘Heart of Africa’, the bio-dome will be an African rainforest-themed sanctuary for a band of Gorillas, a large troop of chimpanzees, Okapi (rare giraffe-like creatures), and a wide variety of tropical birds, amphibians, reptiles, fishes and invertebrates, moving freely among lush vegetation. The first phase – planning permission for which will be sought later this year (2009) – will also include a 90-bed hotel, a Conservation College, a key element of which is the ‘Futures’ education centre, and a revamped main entrance linking to a marina development on zoo land beside the Shropshire Union Canal. The rest of the Natural Vision project will be completed by 2018, thus creating one of the largest wildlife attractions in the world and providing a major boost to the Northwest economy. This will showcase and financially support the zoo’s national and international conservation work, which already spans 50 countries. The zoo currently occupies 50 hectares of land but owns a further 200. The completed Natural Vision project will cover 80 hectares including new access roads and parking. The project is the culmination of years of planning and design and is being carried out in conjunction with a number of agencies, notably including the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) which has provided funding to enable the project to progress to the planning stage. Realm of the Red Ape (expansion of the orangutan exhibit, opened May 2007) and Beginnings (redevelopment of the main entrance, opened Easter 2007) both form part of the "Natural Vision" project.

Membership and adoption

The Zoo has a scheme whereby people can adopt an animal of their choice, they are also given two complimentary tickets to allow them to visit the animals. They can also become members which allows them to visit Chester and a range of other zoos across England free of charge for a year. Every three months, members and adopters receive Z magazine, which provides updates and information about what is happening at the Zoo.

Television documentary

During summer 2007, television crews from Granada filmed at Chester for the documentary series Zoo Days, a behind the scenes look at the day-to-day running of the Zoo, narrated by Jane Horrocks. UK broadcast rights were sold to Five and the first 20-part series began airing on UK terrestrial TV on 8 October 2007, transmitting on weekday evenings in a regular 6:30pm slot. A second 20-part series of Zoo Days was swiftly commissioned and began airing on 3 March 2008.[25] The third 20-part series was broadcast from Colchester Zoo, before returning to Chester for the fourth 20-part series on 10 November 2008.[26]

In February 2009, "The History Of Chester Zoo" was a contestant's chosen subject on Mastermind.

Images

References

  1. ^ a b "Chester Zoo". Goodzoos website. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
  2. ^ "History of Chester Zoo". Chester Zoo website. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  3. ^ "Visitors flock to Chester Zoo". Ellesmere Port and Neston Standard. 2008-03-05. Retrieved 2008-06-20. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ "The World's Best Zoos". Forbes. 2007-11-05. Retrieved 2008-05-21. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b c "From Polar Bears to Pandas: The History of Chester Zoo". Chester City Council. 2008-02-13. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  6. ^ "Chester Zoo". Goodzoos website. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
  7. ^ Hunter, Pamela (2004). Veterinary medicine: a guide to historical sources. Ashgate Publishing. p. 455. ISBN 0754640531.
  8. ^ "The Zoo Estate". Chester Zoo website. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  9. ^ a b North, B H (1992-07). "Next Stop for the Peoplemover (Abstract)". Urban Transport International - Peoplemovers Update Supplement. Landor Publishing Limited. Computerised People Mover International have developed a straddling monorail which is in use at Chester Zoo. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Chester Zoo". Monorails of Europe. The Monorail Society. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  11. ^ "Historical Archives of the site of Upton's Zoo". Upton-by-Chester Local History Group. Retrieved 2009-07-25. in 1991 the duchess of Kent opened the zoo monorail.
  12. ^ a b c Coulbeck, Ben (2009-07-23). "Music mogul Pete Waterman launches Chester Zoo's revamped monorail". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-07-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ "Pete Waterman gets birds eye view of the zoo". News. Chester Zoo. 2009-07-17. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  14. ^ Yigitcanlar, Tan (2008). "Challenges to Urban Transport Sustainability and Smart Transport in a Tourist City: The Gold Coast" (PDF). The Open Transportation Journal. p. 42. Automated People Movers: Daily Ridership (Thousand People)... Chester Zoo, UK: 2 {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "Chester Zoo Annual Review 2007 - Appendices". Chester Zoo. Retrieved 2008-06-18. [dead link]
  16. ^ "Elephant calf makes debut". Chester Zoo website. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-03-03.
  17. ^ "Elephants of the Asian Forest". Zoolex website. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
  18. ^ "Spirit of the Jaguar". Zoolex website. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
  19. ^ "New pad for the apes opens this weekend". Wirral Globe. 25 May 2007. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ "Mum's the word for orang-utan Emma". www.chesterzoo.org. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  21. ^ "'Virgin births' for giant lizards". BBC News. 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  22. ^ "Marc Ecko opens Asian Plains exhibit". www.chesterzoo.org. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  23. ^ "Bank Holiday is a record". Wrexham Leader. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  24. ^ "Sumatran Tiger". IUCN Red List. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  25. ^ "Zoo Days returns to the small screen". Chester Zoo website. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  26. ^ "Zoo Days Series Three".

External links