Chester Zoo is ‘a whole new world’ of conservation
REGULAR readers will know that I’ve never been a big fan of zoos and although I don’t want to go all Disney on you, after my trip with my Joanie and the troops last week, I have to say that Aladdin has been working his magic and it’s a whole new world at Chester Zoo.
And in some cases literally, as we stumbled upon an Indonesian swamp village and a series of islands, recreations of habitats in the Philippines, Bali, Sulawesi, Papua, Sumba and Sumatra.
The islands come complete with authentic boats laying among the reeds and native species in spacious enclosures, properly designed for the animals and not the viewers, as used to be the case in all zoos worldwide.
I like the fact that visitors may dip out and not spot a rare and tiny babirusa piglet, or indeed a very large Sumatran tiger amongst the island habitats.
That’s what it is like in the wild, you win some, you lose some, and of course, it gives visitors the perfect excuse to go back.
‘We would obviously encourage people to make return visits, not least because there is so much to see these days’, said Will Condliffe, Assistant PR Manager,
‘With Chester Zoo being a registered conservation and education charity, we rely on ticket sales to fund our vital work to prevent the extinction of species around the world.’
A good example of this conservation in action can be found on the islands, including the arrival of Matano, a baby babirusa, who was born a few years ago after a 161 day pregnancy.
Babirusa are native to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi where their numbers are in serious decline due to habitat loss through logging and hunting for their meat and Chester Zoo is one of only a handful of zoos in the whole of Europe which has bred the distinctive animals; as Will says,
‘Our work is very important for the future of the species.’
The zoo hopes that the Islands development, the biggest and most ambitious in UK zoo history, will showcase its conservation work in south east Asia and highlight the threats faced by species such as Sumatran orangutan, Sumatran tigers, Visayan warty pigs and Bali starlings as well as banteng.
In one article I could not possibly describe in great detail our day at the Zoo, so watch this space, but we walked six miles, and at every turn the girls were delighted: the coffee was good and best of all for me, the animals had room to move and looked in very good condition, they are obviously cared for extremely well with made to measure diets and constant care.
Personal highlights for me were the quite remarkable African wild dogs, or painted dogs as they are also known, because of their abstract colouration, perfect for camouflage in the bush.
Painted dogs are Africa’s most successful predators with a 90% kill rate on their hunts.
The dogs are also one of the continents most endangered carnivores with fewer than 5,000 left in the wild.
Having spoken to Staff, both permanent and volunteers, there was no hiding their enthusiasm and love of the job and, let’s face it, you can’t buy that. Wrong: oh yes you can. Ever fancied mucking in (or mucking out) with a real-life zoo keeping team? Well now’s your chance! Work on a one to one basis with the keeping staff on the animal section of your choice.
Proceeds from a Chester Zoo experience day help fund the vital conservation work at the zoo, in the UK and all around the world – which is great news for animals everywhere.
Vouchers for 2020 will be available to book from 8am on 1 November 2019.
Vouchers are sold on a first come first serve basis.
Call 01244 380 280 for further details and booking.
Alternatively, you and your family can just turn up like we did and, as Tim Rice said in his lyrics, you can discover...‘a whole new world, every turn a surprise with new horizons to pursue, fon’t you dare close your eyes, a hundred thousand things to see.’