Chester Zoo
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| Chester Zoo | |
 Chester Zoological Gardens
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| Date opened | 1931 |
| Location | Chester, Cheshire, England |
| Land area | 111 acres (0.449 km²) |
| Coordinates | |
| # of Animals | 7286 (2005) |
| # of Species | 417 (2005) |
| Major exhibits | Tsavo Black Rhino Experience, Twilight Zone, Spirit of the Jaguar, Islands in Danger |
| Website | |
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Chester Zoo is a Zoological Garden located in the North of England. It was opened in 1931 by George Mottershead[1] and is the UK's largest zoo at 111 acres[2]. The zoo has a total land holding of approximately 400 acres.
The zoo is currently operated by the North of England Zoological Society, a registered charity founded in 1934. The zoo receives no government funding. The current zoo director is Gordon McGregor Reid.
[edit] History
[edit] Early history
The Mottershead family market garden business was based in Shavington, Chester. George Mottershead would collect the animals - lizards and insects - that arrived with exotic plants from abroad to the market garden. In 1903 his interest in creating a zoo was further developed by a visit to Belle Vue Zoo in Manchester.
Mottershead was injured in World War I and spent several years in a wheel chair. Despite this, his collection of animals grew and he began to search for a suitable home for the zoo. He chose Oakfield House in Upton, a suburb of Chester. The house had nine acres of gardens and provided easy access to the railways and to Manchester and Liverpool. There were local objections, but Mottershead prevailed, and Chester Zoo had its public opening in 1931[3].
Rapid expansion followed after World War II. Always Building was the zoo's slogan of 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.
[edit] Zoo design
Mottershead wanted to build a zoo without the traditional Victorian iron bars to cage the animals. Mottershead was influenced by the ideas of Carl Hagenback, who invented the modem 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 ironwork, 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 (3.6 metre) 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[4].
[edit] 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
- Commercial Services
[edit] Species and animals
The following information is valid as of end of 2005[5]
| Number of species | Number of animals | |
|---|---|---|
| Mammals | 66 | 1052 |
| Birds | 166 | 1027 |
| Reptiles | 50 | 216 |
| Amphibians | 15 | 490 |
| Fishes | 87 | 2891 |
| Invertebrates | 33 | 1610 |
| Total | 417 | 7286 |
[edit] Enclosures
[edit] 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. Currently the zoo has ten Asian Elephant including Tunga and Sundara, two baby elephants which were born in 2004 and another calf which was born in 2006 named Raman.
A new breeding facility, known as Elephants of the Asian forest, to house the zoo's ten[6] Asian elephants opened in early 2006. It cost £2 million and is designed to replicate an Assam Rainforest. The exhibit also holds Great Indian hornbills, Azure-winged magpies, green peafowl, Prevost's squirrels, Red-bellied squirrels, Elongated tortoises, Northern Treeshrews and an aquarium for Pla Eesok and Asian Arowana fish.
[edit] Spirit of the Jaguar
Spirit of the Jaguar was opened in 2001 and is sponsored by Jaguar cars. The exhibit is split in four sections. The two inside are a rainforest, and a dry and arid savannah, and the two outside contain rivers and pools so that the cats can exercise their swimming skills. There are five jaguars - four spotted jaguars and one black jaguar. Two jaguars named Sophia and Salvador 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.
[edit] Realm of the red ape
Realm of the Red Ape is an extension to the existing Oragutan house, home to Bornean and Sumatran Orangutans. The first stage of work began in December 2006 and the complete redevelopment is expected to cost £3 million, making it the zoo's most expensive enclosure. The expanded exhibit will offer more space for an increased number of these threatened species as part of the European Breeding Programme. It will re-create a tropical environment with a wide variety of Indonesian forest invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals such as Gibbons, mangrove snakes and praying mantis as well as indigenous plants, trees and shrubs. The first phase will see the creation of a two-storey building linked onto the existing orangutan house, comprising three indoor enclosures. Linked to these will be two further outdoor enclosures, covered with a mesh roof, which will be supported with tree-like structures to act as climbing frames for the orangutans. In addition there will be two outdoor enclosures which will be viewed from a first floor public gallery as well as from other outside vantage points.
[edit] The chimpanzee breeding centre
This pavilion was opened in 1989 by HRH the Princess of Wales and is home to 28 chimpanzees. It houses the largest colony of chimps in Europe and consists of a conical inside area and an outside island. The outside 'island' is planted with many bushes and has large pole for the chimps to climb on. The inside area has a climbing frame that allows the chimps to stay close together like they would do in the wild.
[edit] 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 £2 million. The zoo has a successful rhinoceros breeding programme. There are 7 rhinoceros at the enclosure along with Meerkats in a small enclosurte nearby. In 2006 the surrounding paddocks became home to Lechwe, Mongooses and Warthogs.
[edit] Twilight Zone Bat Cave
Twilight Zone Bat Cave 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 together with various species of freshwater fish, Madagascan hissing cockroaches, Turkish spiny mice, and blind cave fish.
[edit] Monkey Islands
Monkey Islands was opened in 1997 (replacing the old monkey house) and currently is home to five monkey species which are Colombian Black Spider Monkeys, Mandrills, Lion-tailed Macaques, Sulawesi crested Macaques and Campbell's Guenon Monkeys. Until 2001 Porcupines were also housed along with the Guenons and Mandrills. The building consists of a corridor where the inside monkey enclosures can be viewed with a series of outside islands. As the visitor enter, the spider monkeys to the left and the rest to the right.
[edit] Miniature Monkeys
Miniature Monkeys, opened in May 2004, is a walk through enclosure home to two female Pied Tamarins, a family of Geoffrey's Marmosets which have on several occasions breed,and a pair of Black Lion Tamarins that have since bred. Until 2006 Agoutis were also housed at the enclosure. It consists of two enclosures with the pied tamarins in the first and the other two species in the second.
[edit] Bears of the Cloud Forest
Bears of the Cloud Forest opened in 2004 and exhibits the Spectacled Bear and other South American animals. The purpose-built exhibit is designed to mimic the bear's natural habitat by providing trees, mountainous terrain. Sharing the bears enclosure with them are a group of coatis. Nearby are paddocks home to Vicuna and Guanaco, distant relatives of the llama, capybara, Brazilian tapirs and Common Rhea.
[edit] Secret world of the Okapi
Until 2006 this enclosure was the camel house. In 2006 it was refurbished to house a male and female Okapi, an endangered relative of the Giraffe. Other animals in the enclosure are Giant pouched rats, African dormice, Lake Mbo Cichilds, Gaboon Vipers and Shrews.
[edit] 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 an extension was opened in 2003, including an outdoor enclosure for the warmer months of the year.
The Islands in Danger exhibit also houses various Indonesian and Philippine rainforest birds, such as Red Bird of Paradise, Socorro Doves, Palawan Peacock Pheasant and Victoria Crowned Pigeon. and also an aviary, based around a wrecked fishing-boat, housing the critically endangered St. Lucia Parrot.
[edit] Childrens Farm and Marmot Mania
This includes a collection of domestic animals such as goats, rabbits, pigs, sheep, guinea pigs and poultry to be met and petted. Nearby, is the Marmot Mania that houses Black-tailed prairie marmots. The exhibit allows children to crawl through tunnels, popping up every so often into plastic domes within the marmots' enclosure.
[edit] Sealion Beach
The pool for Californian Sealions was recently restyled Sealion Beach. There is now a larger 'beach' area, more naturalistic planting and softer barriers. In the summer of 2006 a pup named Sophia was born.
[edit] Tropical Realm
The country's largest tropical house at over 26,000 cubic metres.
The building houses a large collection of birds, including more than 30 species that are free flying through the building such as Nicobar pigeons, various species of starlings and ground birds such as Roul-Roul Partridges.
Aviary birds include Great Indian Hornbills, Rhinoceros Hornbills, Tarictic hornbills, Writhed-billed hornbills, Wrinkled Hornbills, Red-crested Turacos, Palawan Peacock-pheasants, Congo Peafowls, Bali Starlings, Blue crowned Pigeons, White-rumped Shamas, Montserrat Orioles and Red billed curassow.
The Tropical Realm is also the centre of the reptile collection. There are Dwarf Crocodiles and Snouted Crocodiles in the jungle pools. Close to the entrance and with access to an outside pen, are the Tuatara from New Zealand. This lizard-like animal is the last surviving species of sphenodont, a prehistoric group of reptiles. There are also snakes such as anacondas and boa constrictors as well as snouted cobras, rat snakes, Jamaican Boas and Green mambas. Lizards include rhinoceros iguanas plus many species of monitors as well as gila monsters and geckos.
Turtles and tortoises are also found in the house with Galapagos tortoises, pancake tortoises, yellow footed tortoise, radiated tortoises and spiny turtles. Amphibians such as the deadly Poison arrow frogs and highly unusual Puerto Rican Crested Toads, and invertebrates such as the Partula snail are also found in the Tropical Realm.
[edit] Europe on the Edge
This is the zoo's largest aviary, and is one of the biggest in the country. 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 Red-billed Chough, Rock Dove, Northern Lapwing and Red-legged Partridge.
[edit] 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. The aviary is dominated by a large sandstone waterfall, and a fake llama skeleton is used at feeding time.
[edit] Rare parrot breeding centre
Some of the birds housed include blue-eyes cockatoos, red venet cockatoos, palm cockatoos, short-billed black cockatoos, red and blue lories, yellow backed chattering lories, mount apo lorikeets and blue and gold macaws. Most of the birds where moved to the Rare Parrot Breeding Centre from the Parrot house when it was demolished in 2005 to make room for the extension to the Chester Zoo#Realm of the red ape.
[edit] Mythical Macaws
This enclosure consits of large aviaries housing rare and endangered south american parrots and macaws. Hyacinthe Macaws, Illigers Macaw, Blue Throated Macaws, Golden Conure, Golden capped Conure, Blue throated Conure, Green cheeked Amazon parrot and red tailed amazon parrot are all housed at mythical macaws.The first aviary was opened in 2001 with the others opened in 2004. The male Azara's Agouti that used to reside in miniature monkeys has now taken up home here with the Blue throated macaws and green cheeked Amazons.
[edit] Aquarium
The aquarium is a small and traditional building housing a varied collection of fish, aquatic invertebrates and amphibians. The Seahorses breed very well, and the zoo was an important 'first breeding' for the Freshwater Whip Tailed Stingray.
Other notable fish include the Electric eel, African Lungfish, tropical reef fishes and Lake Malawi Cichlids. Amphibians include the Surinam Toad, Japanese Fire Belly Newt and Axolotl.
[edit] Future Exhibits
Future exhibits include:
- a new aquarium to replace the current one.
- plans to include Sumatran Tigers to their collection. They are the most endangered subspecies of tiger, numbering only about 300 in the wild.
- remodeling work taking place on the asiatic antelope enclosure so that is it suitable for indian rhinos, another new species to be introduced to the zoo.
- redevelopment taking place on the main entrance. This development, called New Beginings, will cost in the region of £1 million pounds and will be open for Easter 2007[7].
[edit] Facilities
The zoo has a monorail transportation system, two restaurants, children's play areas and several picnic lawns.
In 2006 the Tsavo Cafe replaced the Oasis Cafe.
[edit] Membership and Adoption
At Chester you are allowed to adopt an animal of your choice or become a zoo member by doing this you are given free zoo tickets and every three months you will receive the zoo magazine called Z which gives you an update of what's happening at the zoo.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ About Us. Chester Zoo website. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
- ^ Chester Zoo. Goodzoos website. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
- ^ Chester Zoo. Goodzoos website. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
- ^ The Zoo Estate. Chester Zoo website. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
- ^ Chester Zoo Review 2005 (page 24). Chester Zoo. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
- ^ Elephant calf makes debut. Chester Zoo website. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.
- ^ £1 million face lift for zoo. Chester Zoo website. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
Zoo • Public aquarium • Aviary • Menagerie • Tourist attraction
List of zoos • List of aquaria • List of zoo associations
Animals in captivity • Environmental enrichment • Endangered species • Conservation biology • Biodiversity • Endangered species • Extinction • Ex-situ conservation • In-situ conservation • Wildlife conservation • Zoology
