The Zoo

I'm not a lover of zoos, but Chester Zoo is very good; and the Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster is very popular. GS has been there a few times. They have all the usual suspects including polar bears and big cats. No pandas, though! They are planning a £50million pound expansion soon so it should be even better. Whether the animals put in an appearance is the luck of the draw with any zoo, but if you have to book and you don't get to see them, that's a bit of a downer! I'm so glad your little ones got to see the panda ?.
I remember taking our children and my two nephews to the old Belle Vue Zoo in Manchester many moons ago. It was truly awful; dirty, unkempt and the animals looked miserable. I was glad when they closed it. Antwerp was pretty awful too, as I remember. I think most modern zoos have upped their game considerably.

I think Chester zoo is the next one on our list Greyduster We took the 2 girls many years ago but they can barely remember.

I remember visiting some awful zoos too. Very sad.

Don't get me wrong Edinburgh zoo is beautifully well kept. The animals all seem to have plenty space etc. But it is quite boring and the absence of those popular animals that children love doesn't help. The most interesting and helpful member of staff we met was a guy sweeping up leaves who spent a few minutes explaining why the red panda sits high up the tree. Also have to add that the cafe was appalling. Thank goodness for that panda.

The next day we visited Deep Sea World in Queensferry and the children loved it. Excellent staff, fully engaged with the children. Lots of interesting talks all day. the children did not want to leave. 10/10

If you go to Edinburgh Zoo again, Gilly, look out for the volunteer guides (turquoise sweatshirts or T-shirts) They are stationed near the enclosures to talk to visitors about the animals and are very knowledgable. A lot of them are retired teachers or nurses, so they know how to interest children and explain things to them. Then there are the ten-minute talks by one of the education staff at a dozen places a day, which are usually accompanied by an extra treat for the nearest animals - this brings out the ones who were kipping behind the bushes out of sight. It is particularly good if Barry the fabulous communicator is on duty that day (pony-tail, built like a night-club bouncer, which he used to be before he took this job).

The reason there are no elephants is because they need to live as a family or they are unhappy, and there just isn't enough level ground for a large enough group. There used to be giraffes, I don't know why there are none at the moment. One reason may be the slopes - if a giraffe trips and falls and breaks a leg it is pretty much a goner. They are difficult to anaesthetise safely (blood pressure problems with the long neck)

There ARE lions, Asiatic ones, up near the tigers. One of the drawbacks of the hill, as well as the thin soil over the volcanic rock, is that by the time visitors have puffed halfway up they run out of enthusiasm for going further. The answer is to start by working your way up one side of the area without deviating sideways too much, and seeing the animals at the top first. You can then zigzag downhill to see the rest.
I agree with you about the cafe. It is a franchise, nothing to do with the zoo itself. They make plenty of profit from expensive events in the big house and I have a feeling that they see the cafe visitors as a captive source of money.

The lions were away last week Elegran apparently they are working on the enclosures. We did spend 5 hours there (our panda slot was not until 3.30pm) but have to admit to the children starting to get bored waiting. I did think there would have been some events/talks on for half term but wondered if it wasn't half term in Scotland? There appeared to have been "things on" but they were closed on the day of our visit. Ours never get puffed so the hills were def not a problem although the little one pulled me up the hill to see the zebras. We did do the entire zoo and didn't miss a single inch. The panda was pretty special.

Strangely their second favourite animal was an Emu who had chicks. They spent ages laughing at her antics, jumping and flapping and the chicks trying to copy their mother.

It isn't half term here, Gill. The terms are all different. Baby animals always go down well. Pity they grow up so fast.

Oh that probably explains why there seemed to be lots of closed attraction then. What a shame.

I think your emus were rheas and they were with their dad. Father does all the incubating and childcare, mother just lays the eggs and leaves him to it. She's got the right idea.

There's a video of them on this page www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/news/article/12882/rhea-lly-good-news/

Is it time for

"I went to the zoo last week
There was only a dog there
It was a Shih Tzu"

Groan ?!'

<I'm getting desperate to avoid politics!!>

Colchester zoo is amazing, we have everything, elephants, lions, tigers, giraffes, all animals look fit and well and it's all beautifully looked after

Yes Elegran they were rhea's and not emu's. Thank you. Mr Rhea was fantastically funny and we took a short video of him dancing and jumping about. The children had a really good giggle at his antics. Happy days.

I am desperate to avoid politics too MawBroon so appreciated your terrible joke.

we used to go to paignton zoo when we lived in devon. it was also a zoological garden but i never knew why.
i've not been for over 20 years now but i think it's still as good although much changed since i used to go.
well recommended if you're down in devon at any time.

If you're ever in Sussex, try Drusilla's - wonderful!

We are in the NE so with 3 children sitting in the back of the car asking "are we there yet?" Before we even hit the A1 motorway , Sussex is a touch too far at the moment devongirl although I will bear it in mind for the future thank you .

Gillybob, I agree with you about Deep Sea World at Queensferry, we visited a few years ago and had a lovely day. I got to hold crabs and starfish, was as thrilled as a little kiddie! I like the sea life centres that have rays that can be touched, they rub up on your hands like a cat rubs against you. There`s a lovely one near to Oban, at Barcaldine.