Popcorn Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 I'm not a huge fan of Zoos. I know they do do a good job and keep some animals from a certain death out in the wild, but it does upset me a little to see them caged up. Anyway, not wanting to get into that - my arm was twisted on Friday to take Stefan to Dudley Zoo with my brother and his partner. I have to admit we had a great day out and I was really impressed with how much the zoo had changed for the better since the last time I was there in the early 1980's. One of the best improvements was how much open space the animals have now got. The chimpanzees have a huge open space to swing about the trees in and there were wide open spaces for many other animals. Not quite a safari park, but a great improvement. What impressed me the most was the lemur enclosure. They have been given a lovely, open space with trees, rope and water and little wooden huts to sleep in. The quite freely roamed about as we walked through, coming up to check us out and see what we looked like. Stefan loved it. A couple of snapshots below. Uncle Ian and Stefan Stefan and lemur Stefan and lemurs (having a snog I think!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 Awwww, lovely photos, Gina! Stefan's got some sweet little curls now, hasn't he . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 Great photos. A lot of zoos are introducing Lemur Walks these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 We've be there a few times Gina and really enjoyed it. Like you we were very sceptical but had a brilliant time. The keepers were so knowledgeable and friendly. We sponsored a penguin called Dave for Jules and a spider monkey called Gucci for Harry a couple of christmases ago and that was really good as we were invited to quite a few members only parties at the zoo Dan and I had a debate about the whale they used to have there, he didn't believe me but I remember going with school and seeing it. It used to be in the seal pool, I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 Haven't been to Dudley Zoo for years.....We used to alternate between that and Chester Zoo when the children were little. If I'm honest I have mixed feelings about zoos, which I am not articulate enough to express . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 Dan and I had a debate about the whale they used to have there, he didn't believe me but I remember going with school and seeing it. It used to be in the seal pool, I think My Mum saw a whale in a zoo too on a scholl trip! I wonder if it was at Dudley? I'll ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 Just found out that his name was cuddles.. Here are some pictures: http://www.orcahome.de/cuddles.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 That's the one Martin. If you saw the size of the pool he had,it was tiny for such a huge creature, it was so cruel. PS Stefan looks like he was having a brilliant time with the Lemurs Gina, he is such a happy little boy We must take the children again before they start to re-develop it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 cute pictures, Stefan is a sweetie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popcorn Posted April 15, 2007 Author Share Posted April 15, 2007 Dan and I had a debate about the whale they used to have there, he didn't believe me but I remember going with school and seeing it. It used to be in the seal pool, I think They did have a whale in with the sealions I think. I didn't like seeing the sealions on Friday. Not a lot of swimming space at all, and some of the birds were trying to fly within their cages too and couldn't go very far without having to land The penguins have a great set-up. Loads of water and cute little houses to sleep in We had a debate while we were there about the Polar Bears. I remember seeing them and being mortified at their enclosure. It was a circular concrete block (right from the 70's school of highrise architecture) where the spectators sat up-top and the bears were in the water down below. Anyway - "Ooops, word censored!"ody believed me, then blow me down, what was in the Sunday Mercury today....A photo of the polar bears at Dudley Zoo in the very same enclosure. The enclosure is still there but is totally run down and old and unusable. It needs knocking down, as does a lot of the old builds there, or at least a new lick of paint. Still - it's looking up at Dudley Zoo and is worth a visit. We're hoping to see Catherine Jenkins in the castle bit over the summer. Should be good to take a picnic and some fizz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 I've seen her live and she is brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 They can't knock the buildings down Gina, they are listed buildings from the 30's. It was a state of the art build then but they had no idea about animal welfare, only what the enclosures looked like The work they have done on the castle is fantastic and I think they are going to do a multi million pound development on the site to include a sort of smaller Eden Project and various other things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popcorn Posted April 16, 2007 Author Share Posted April 16, 2007 Wow Debs...are they really from the 30's I had no idea. I guess that explains a lot then. I wonder if they will giove them a make-over with the re-development? A small Eden Project would be great wouldn't it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 They were built in 1937 by the same man who did the gorilla enclosure and penguin pool at London Zoo We took Harry there when he was probably a bit older than Stefan and even at that young age he was quite disturbed by the sight of the polar bears pacing:( We didn't go back until a couple of years ago and we were very impressed by the changes they had made and have been back quite a few times since Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 As far as I know the only Polar Bear in a UK zoo now is Mercedes in Edinburgh and she is a miserable looking creature there has been alot of pressure for them to move her to a sanctuary They do very badly in zoo's as it is impossible to give them enough space in the wild a lone bear will have hundreds of miles to roam in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubereglu Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Love the pictures Gina! I must admit that Chester Zoo has to be the best zoo we've been too. All the animals have loads of space and are really well looked after. Unlike Bristol Zoo, where they try and cram in as many animals as possible. Paignton Zoo's good too and they had to downsize on the monkey's so now the ones left have loads of space! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 It's bad when you go to a foreign zoo. Dolphins in average sized swimming pools. Bears in pits. Monkeys in dog crates. 20+ alligators in a paddling pool sized pool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubereglu Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Talking about zoo's I've just thought of this book I read. It's called 'Zoo Tails' and written by 'Oliver-Graham Jones' he used to work at London Zoo and was a vet there. The whole thing's true, though there are many things you wouldn't believe, such as a polar bear escaping in a London Smog one winter morning and a child managing to steal a snake. It's a really good book, one which I strongly recommend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 I got a behind the scenes visit to the hospital at London zoo years ago and it was amazing They used to have (maybe still do) a lion which had been rescued from a circus and had all of his teeth and claws removed so wasn't suitable for public display and he was so friendly It was amazing to actually cuddle an adult male lion mind you I don't think I would have been brave enough to go in if he had the teeth and claws His name was Pagan I wonder if he is still there This was 15 years ago or so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popcorn Posted April 17, 2007 Author Share Posted April 17, 2007 Oh Louise, that's so very sad. It breaks my heart to hear stories like that. I remember going to the circus when I was very small. Of course I had no idea about the animals welfare then, but I'd have sobbed my socks off if I'd met a lion like Pagan. I haven't seen a cicrus in years. Have we seen the last of them? I hope so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 He was well looked after even at the circus the teeth and claws was to make him safe he was taken I think when the circus closed so he didn't have to be put down so it wasn't too upsetting Gina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 I am with you all on Zoos - not keen on them in theory, but we do try to visit London Zoo every so often & support it that way. I truly think that most of them are trying to do their best & we have certainly seen huge changes for the better at London Zoo over the years We went to Longleat Safari park last year & that was just fab - I would recommend it to anyone. There was a bit where all these Deer came over & you can feed them by hand - so sweet Foreign Zoos can be terrible, but we came across a good one on the Algarve - it was a sea based one (AquaMarine or something?) Anyhow, the Sealions, which are HUGE run amoungst the crown at one point during a show,which is both wonderful & very scarey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 I think you mean ZooMarine Sarah. I've been there twice, it's still really cramped conditions. I swam with dolphins there. The pool was bigger than that of cuddles anyway. I'm going to Longleat on the 28th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cate in NZ Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 Wow, this thread really strikes a chord. We've just got back from holiday and visited a marine zoo whilst we were there. I have this "thing" about penguins, I love them, don't know why, but I go all wobbly at the sight of a penguin. We had planned to visit an island which penguins regularly visit to moult each March, but being wild penguins they do their own thing and they'd all moved on by the time that we got there in early April So when I heard about MarineLand and their Penguin recovery programme I had to visit, especially since we were in the town at the time. The recovery programme was great, they rescue injured or abandoned blue penguins, nurse them back to health and release them back into the wild. But there were a few who were too sick to survive in the wild so they remain getting ever tamer in MarineLand and appear to have a great life, loads of space and TLC. I even got to cuddle Albert who was blind in both eyes. Here's a pic of the lovely Albert being held by my son, he seemed very happy being held, but is very used to human handling because without someone holding him and pushing chunks of fish into his beak he wouldn't be able to feed himself . But they also had a dolphin Kelly who had been there since 1974. She's lived much, much longer than she would in the wild, but the pool she was in seemed really small to me. At one point they had 4 in that pool . I was able to accept (with some difficulty) that Kelly was probably better off where she was, after that long she'd have no chance in the wild, but it was heartbreaking to see her in such a small pool. Very uncomfortable entertainment I've been to Dudley Zoo, ages ago, probably very early 1980's, but to be honest I can't really recall it now. I do think it's a positive thing that Zoos in the main do seem to moving more into conservation than entertainment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 I think you mean ZooMarine Sarah. I've been there twice, it's still really cramped conditions. I swam with dolphins there. The pool was bigger than that of cuddles anyway. I'm going to Longleat on the 28th. Yes, Zoomarine...thats the one We enjoyed our day there,despite the conditions (& that was a fair few years ago) Are you going to Longleat house,or Centerpercs,Martin? If its the house & Safari park, loook out in the first room of the house for the shirt worm by James 1 when he was exected - it still has blood on the collar & is a really fab thing to see,if a bit macabre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
