Chester Zoo

Cheshire, UK

FULL TITLE: North of England Zoological Society Gardens, Chester

Now, I have to confess to a little personal favouritism here, because Chester is one zoo I've always had a soft spot for. It is the largest garden zoo in the UK at over 100 acres, and the 11 miles of pathway mean that it may seem difficult to see all the major exhibits in one day. But, believe me, it is possible. (my record, incidentally, is three hours.)

MAJOR ANIMAL ATTRACTIONS:

TWILIGHT ZONE - This new building is entered through a darkened 'cave' area with tanks set into the wall for Giant Hissing Cockroaches and the glow-in-the-dark Black Scorpions. This is followed by a huge walk-through 'jungle twilight' exhibit containing 200 Rodrigues Fruit Bats and Seba's Short Tailed Bats. The waterways and fish tanks in this area also house catfish, characins and Blind Cavefish. The bats can easily be seen at the feeding stations, and the Seba's in particular fly very close to visitors.

Rodrigues Fruit Bat

MONKEY ISLANDS - As soon as one enters this building, one is confronted with an endangered species in the form of Colombian Black Spider Monkeys. The inside areas for all the animals are very well serviced with play material. The spider monkeys have access to a large fenced area that can be viewed from portholes inside the building as well as from outside. Other monkeys in the building have well furnished interior areas connected to large outside islands. The species include the highly endangered Lion Tailed and Sulawesi Crested Macaques, the latter of which breeds extremely well. The centre enclosure contains African species, including Mandrill and Campbell's Guenon.

ELEPHANT CENTRE - Chester has the best breeding record with Asian Elephants of any zoo in the UK. Their original birth in 1977 was Jubilee, the first successful Asian Elephant birth in the country. He is now at Belfast, following the first birth there. Port Lympne has also bred the species, and the two calves currently at Twycross, although born there, were conceived at Chester by breeding bull Chang. Chang himself has recently had a new home built for him in an extension of the elephant facilities. There are currently three Chester-born calves at the zoo. The elephant enclosure has just been vastly remodelled, doubling the area and providing a large waterfall and wallow. The building itself also houses Great Indian Hornbills.

ASIAN PLAINS - A mixed deer and antelope exhibit. One of Chester's largest enclosures, 'Asian Plains' itself houses the attractive Blackbuck, Burmese Brow Antlered Deer (a race of Eld's Deer) and the very much larger Swamp Deer or Barasingha. A smaller adjacent pen houses the critically endangered Philippine Spotted Deer, the rarest deer in the world. There are two picnic points overlooking the paddock as well as the nearby hippo-shaped maze.

Burmese Brow Antlered Deer

APE HOUSES - Two nearby houses with attached islands hold Chimpanzees, Bornean Orang Utans and Sumatran Orang Utans. Chester's distinctive conical Chimp House was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales. The group, currently led by dominant male Boris, is the largest troop in Europe, and the size of the enclosure takes that into account. Chester was the first zoo to keep apes on islands, and the modern Chimp Island is the original refurbished and extended - notably with the addition of about fifty giant pine trunks to convert 'Chimp Island' to 'Chimpanzee Forest'. Close by are two islands at opposite ends of the orang utan building. Unusually, both Bornean and Sumatran forms are displayed here, and both breed well. Male Bornean Sibu is the largest primate in the zoo, and a very impressive sight. The Orang accommodation is up for renewal in the new year, so watch this space. A large aviary adjacent to this building houses a variety of birds including the White Stork, the critically endangered Waldrapp and the vivid Scarlet Ibis.

TROPICAL REALM - The country's largest tropical house at over 26,000 cubic metres.

The building houses a particularly large collection of birds, including 30 species that are free flying through the building - mainly pigeons, starlings and ground birds. Aviary birds include hornbills, turacos, peacock pheasants, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Sun Bittern and Red Billed Currasow. The rarest species are the Blue Crowned Pigeons, the Bali Starlings and the Congo Peafowl. The Tropical Realm is also the centre of the reptile collection at Chester. There are Dwarf Crocodiles, American Alligators and Mata Mata Turtles 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. The 8 juveniles here are the only ones in Britain.

Tuatara

There are also snakes and lizards, amphibians including the deadly Poison Arrow Frogs and highly unusual Puerto Rican Crested Toads, and invertebrates such as the Partula Snail. One species of Partula was saved by Chester after declining to just one self-fertile individual. To the rear of the building can be seen the highly endangered Buffy Headed Capuchin Monkeys, who occupy islands backing on to the Realm. This area is known as the Forest Zone, and also houses the Hyacinthine Macaws and Spirit of the Jaguar (see below).

Buffy Headed Capuchin

SPIRIT OF THE JAGUAR - This major new exhibit is part of the Forest Zone, and was made possible thanks to a sizeable donation from Jaguar Cars.There are large well-planted savannah and rainforest enclosures both inside and out, giving room for two pairs of Jaguars. Other inhabitants of the building include Leaf Cutter Ants and Poison Arrow Frogs, as well as the Butterfly Goodeid, a species of livebearing fish believed to be extinct until rediscovered by Chester's director on a survey expedition in Central America. Certainly the best Jaguar exhibit in the UK, and probably in Europe.

CAMELS, GIRAFFES AND BUFFALO - A collection of animal houses opposite the Realm. The tallest zoo Giraffe ever known lived at Chester - George. There is still a large mixed group of Rothschild and Reticulated Giraffe in George's home today. The camels are Bactrian, and share their house with a variety of tortoise species and a sandy pen, which until recently housed Chester's Meerkats. Since their move to new accommodation near the rhinos, the pen now awaits its fate emptily. Nearby is the Buffalo House. The buffalo are the Congo or Forest subspecies of African Buffalo, and other pens here house Babirusa (wild pigs) - from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

ISLANDS IN DANGER - A new display of endangered island species, including the UK's only Komodo Dragons and Red Birds of Paradise, as well as St Lucia Amazons, White Collared Kingfishers, catbirds, Victoria Crowned Pigeons, lorikeets... A top class exhibit - worth several visits! The male Komodo Regis is very well displayed, in a large naturalistic enclosure complete with bathing pool. It is planned to extend Islands in Danger to allow for a summer outdoor paddock for Regis, and to allow the three female Komodos to be exhibited.

Regis

AQUARIUM - The aquarium at Chester is a small and traditional building housing a large and varied collection of fish, aquatic invertebrates and amphibians. Chester has an important role in aquatic conservation, and so there are some very unusual species here. The Seahorses breed very well, and an important 'first breeding' took place here for the Freshwater Whip Tailed Stingray. Other notable fish include the Electric Eel, the African Lungfish, the exotic tropical reef fishes and a huge cloud of glittering Lake Malawi Cichlids from the Rift Valley. Amphibians include the Surinam Toad and the Japanese Fire Bellied Newt, as well as the ever-popular Axolotl.

Banggai Cardinals

EUROPE ON THE EDGE - This is the zoo's largest aviary, and is one of the biggest in the country.

Red Billed Chough

It houses a wide variety of European birds, among the most impressive are 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.

CONDOR CLIFFS - This aviary was constructed to rehouse the zoo's breeding pair of Andean Condor, who have since parent-reared a chick for the first time. Since then, however, another bird of prey species have been added - 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.

PARROT HOUSE - This is one of Chester's older buildings, but it houses an exceptional collection of parrots. There are Blue-Eyed, Slender Billed Black and Palm Cockatoos, macaws and conures. More unusual are Mount Apo Lorikeets and Red and Blue Lories, recently arrived from Loro Parque, Tenerife, both critically endangered. The Mount Apos have recently bred.

CHILDREN'S FARM AND MARMOT MANIA - Collection of domestic animals. There are goats, rabbits, pigs, sheep, guinea pigs and poultry to be met and petted. Nearby, is the brand new Marmot Mania. Housing Black Tailed Prairie Marmots, this exhibit allows children to crawl through tunnels, popping up every so often into plastic domes within the marmots' enclosure.

SEALION BEACH - The pool for Californian Sealions at the zoo has recently been redeveloped and restyled Sealion Beach. There is now a much larger 'beach' area, more naturalistic planting and softer barriers. Certainly an improvement, even if the old and new portions of the exhibit seem to sit together a little uncomfortably.

TSAVO RHINOCEROS EXPERIENCE - This new exhibit includes a new Rhino House, new Rhino paddocks on the old Bison pen, and a new home for Chester's Meerkats (perhaps a permanent home at last?). Phase two will bring more new paddocks on some land previously used as overflow carparking.

OTHER ANIMAL ATTRACTIONS:

Chester has a large and important collection of hoofed animals - including the rare Burmese Brow Antlered Deer (there are a total of 5 deer species here - Brow Antlered, Barasingha, Chilean Pudu, Pere David's, and Philippine Spotted), the Bongo and Sable Antelope (8 species of antelope are kept - the others are Blackbuck, Arabian Gazelle, Scimitar Horned Oryx, Gemsbok, Kafue Lechwe and Sitatunga), Brazilian Tapir, Guanaco, Przewalski's Horses, Onagers, Red River Hog, zebras and a large herd of Black Rhino - with an exceptional breeding record.

Sable Antelope

Red River Hog

The tapir paddock is shared by Guanaco and Capybara, and that for Pudu also houses Mara. Lowland Anoa reside on a canal island.

Lowland Anoa

There are Ring Tailed and Ruffed Lemurs and Cotton Topped Tamarins on islands in the canals and lakes, and marsupials are represented by Western Grey Kangaroos and Red Necked Wallabies.

Carnivores include Asiatic Lion, Siberian Tiger, Maned Wolf, Bush Dog, Serval, Red Panda, coatis and otters.

Red Panda

There is a large collection of owls, and a good range of cranes and waterfowl. Paddock birds also include Dalmatian Pelicans, Flamingos, and representatives of all four large ratite families - Emus, Rheas, Cassowaries and Ostriches.

The penguin pool has been recently refurbished, and is home to a large colony of Humboldt's Penguins and a trio of Black Necked Swan.

The Mauritius Kestrels are another highly endangered species saved by zoo breeding.

Tucked away behind the Aquarium is an aviary containing one of the zoo's rarest bird species, which is easy to overlook. This aviary is home to Javanese Green Peafowl which has a very small wild range and is faced with extinction.

Two enclosures in the Forest Zone hold endangered European herptiles - namely the Sand Lizard and the Mallorcan Midwife Toad.

Sand Lizard

SPECIES TO WATCH FOR:

Burmese Brow Antlered Deer (Cervus eldi thamin)

Philippine Spotted Deer (Cervus alfredi)

Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx)

Buffy Headed Capuchin (Cebus apella xanthosternus)

Seba's Bat (Carollia perspicillata)

Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra)

Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus)

Ferruginous Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum)

Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides)

Red and Blue Lory (Eos histrio)

Mount Apo Lorikeet (Trichoglossus johnstoniae)

St. Lucia Amazon (Amazona versicolor)

Javanese Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus)

Tarictic Hornbill (Penelopides panini)

Slender Billed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhyncus latirostris)

Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus)

Tuatara (Sphenodon punctata)

Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis)

Sand Lizard (Lacerta agilis)

Puerto Rican Crested Toad (Peltophryne lemur)

Smoky Jungle Frog (Leptodactylus pentadactylus)

Mallorcan Midwife Toad (Alytes muletensis)

Whip Tailed Stingray (Pomatotrygon motoro)

Giant Centipede (Scolopendra sp.)

FACILITIES:

There are two cafes in the zoo, as well as the Oakfield Tea Room and Acorn Bar, and two gift shops. There are also numerous kiosks.

The zoo boasts an impressive monorail system with stations close to the Oakfield and the monkeys, which is an easy way to cross the zoo, and gives excellent views of the collection. A waterbus runs on the canal during the summer months.

Daily public animal feeds are offered for penguins, sealions, elephants, chimps, Ring Tailed Lemurs (summer only), condors, coatis and lions (not Fridays).