Warning - an essay on the "morality" of zoos follows. If you'd rather just skip to the photos, do so. 😅
I've always had a love/hate relationships with the idea of zoos. Having been brought up in South Africa, I was used to seeing animals in nature reserves and "in the wild" with plenty of space to run and roam and hide so the idea of a zoo where animals have limited space and can't always hide from the gawking public isn't very appealing. Reserves are also fenced in but at least they leave enough space for animals to roam in their natural habitat.
No matter how much zoos try to spruce up the space they give their animals, creating a realistic enclosure with temperature control, native plants and food they have to work for, the animals are still in cages. South Africa, of course, does have their fair share of zoos too. I remember one such awful place where a caracal (I think!) had a space smaller than my bedroom to roam. It spent all day pacing and hissing at anyone who stopped to look at it. A far cry from the reserves where zebra and gazelle graze in plentiful grasslands and cheetah have space to chase their prey. These days animal rights are more in the spotlight and zoos, at least in the UK, have guidelines and rules they have to follow to keep the animals comfortable and happy.
However, there are reasons zoos are a good thing. They are not just there to entertain the public but to educate. They teach children and adults alike about different species found around the world; animals that the public may not get a chance to see in the wild themselves. I have never seen an elephant or lion in the wild. Some zoos house animals that will be extinct in the wild in our lifetime; the only places we will ever see them will be in zoos.
This brings me onto the other reason zoos exist - breeding programmes. Zoos take part in breeding programmes in order to keep species alive, and so they can sell animals on to other zoos for educational purposes. While it would seem to be a better idea to breed for rehabilitation, this is not always possible due to poaching and declining habitats, not to mention the low success rates in rehabilitation if not done in the right way.
Where does Colchester Zoo stand then on the scale? I honestly still don't know. The keepers care for their charges and they do everything they can within the limits of the zoo to help their animals thrive. I don't know how much I missed when I visited Colchester Zoo yesterday - it's a sprawling maze of enclosures, eateries, children's play parks and crowds - but I was surprised at the size of the lions' outdoor enclosure. At least, the enclosure viewable to the public. They only have 2 lions, so not a large pride like Longleat, and they don't have to hunt so the space is adequate as lions are relatively lazy animals anyway. I was also surprised that the Edge of Africa Kingdom of the Wild enclosure didn't have a grassland and some trees for its animals but just a dusty surface and hay - I'm sure they have a reason for it - but the white rhino is a grazer, meaning it eats grass, the kudu and giraffe browse trees for leaves and fruits. The giraffe have a tall post where their food is placed for them to imitate eating from acacia and other trees but the kudu don't have that. They eat the hay with the rhino. Obviously they're okay with this otherwise they wouldn't eat but again... questions.
Putting all that aside, because the animals seem content and healthy, I had an enjoyable day (in sun and rain!) wandering around the maze of enclosures, taking photos and sharing a little bit of my own knowledge with other visitors - can't resist!
I didn't stay long around the reptiles but these guys were the first I saw.
Rhinoceros Iguana, possibly the female as the 3 horns on her nose are not that big.
Fiji Banded Iguana. This guy was quite fun to spot in his leafy terrarium. He looked like a wooden prop but I just spotted his eyes moving!
When I walked into the room with this aquarium the first thing that jumped into my head was "Dory!" but a kid got there before I could say it aloud. This lovely fish showed itself to my camera first, though. I think this is a butterfly fish of some sort.
Dory, the blue tang!
Mr Ray... oh wait, he was apparently an eagle ray. This is a sting ray. Because of the strange distorted glass and the lighting, it was very difficult to get a decent photo of any of the fish. But I thought these ray photos had something different, ghostly, arty? about them.
I also watched the sealions and walked through the underwater tunnel but again the distorted glass meant photography was not going to happen. It was a bit too busy in these indoor sections and so I retreated to the "outdoor" animals.
Penguins are always a big drawer at any zoo. They are comical and cute. These guys are Humboldt Penguins. I haven't seen any other species shown in this country. They look similar to the African Penguin but have pink around their beaks that the African Penguin doesn't. They had quite a few penguins in a split area. None of them were interested in swimming and I didn't see the underwater viewing area! These penguins know how to pose!
I think the one in the background thought I was photographing him!
They had a few teenage chicks still losing their down. While they look cute when they're fluffy, and smart when they're fully feathered, when they're between, they look a bit scruffy.
See what I mean?
Some animals are a little more shy than the penguins. The red panda is definitely one of them. These are the only glimpses I got of them.
My cricket team is nicknamed the Sunbears after these particular sunbears at Colchester Zoo. Unfortunately they wanted to stay in their indoor space yesterday and the lighting wasn't great for photos, neither was the reflection on the glass. So didn't catch their lovely sun markings. They are quite a strange bear. Photos on Google show a selection of comical and more serious photos of these much abused bears.
This one looks suspiciously like a certain dog... (Mum, you know who I mean!)
The pygmi hippos were kind of cute but again they were inside and the lighting wasn't great.
This guy is a red river hog. He didn't have many visitors, poor thing.
This grey wolf was sunning himself but didn't stay here long as the rain came down. He and his pack spent most of their day down the bottom of their enclosure where only those who queued for ages for the "land train" could get a good look at them.
Same with the Wild, I mean, Hunting Dogs - name change! This one only showed itself when he saw the keeper in the wolf pen and was hoping for some food. He was a lot bigger than I expected. Beautiful markings of course but he was also very good at hiding.
The other dog species at Colchester. The spotted hyena. They're also bigger than I expected and just as ugly as I thought! They look like a strange mix of cat and dog and bear.
I searched far and wide for these cuties. Rock Hyraxes, called dassies by most South Africans. They spend their days sunning themselves on rocks but scatter into hiding places as soon as a bird of prey is spotted in the sky. Close up they look like a Pokemon.
This one wasn't as bold as the first one.
Dassie number one was very happy to be fed.
Dassie number 2 checked everything was safe first.
Added bonus. A bit of British wildlife. A dove, collared I think; it could be a pigeon... Couldn't tell because it was hunkering down from the cold. Hidden in the trees beside the path.
It took a number of walks past the blue duiker and blue crane enclosure before this guy finally showed himself. An endangered species in South Africa, they are very elegant. While the crowned crane is dressed for a party, this guy is dressed for a formal. I only spotted the duiker once but he was in the shade.
He started calling.
Andean Condor. The largest bird of prey in the world; the largest flying bird in the world. Unfortunately I didn't see him showing off his 3.3m wingspan.
And this strange and colourful bird is a King Vulture.
Wreathed Hornbill.
This cute little girl is a Kirk's Dik Dik, one of the smallest antelope.
The male has a funny hairstyle.
Ring Tailed Lemurs. The best of the primates. They look quite big in the photos but they're actually smaller than I remembered. They weren't enjoying the humid damp weather.
Cherry Crowned Mangabeys. I just like their name. It's fun to say. I think this one is the baby.
The adult looks a little tired...
Barbary Macaque. One of those animals that knows how to post for the camera!
Squirrel monkeys don't stay still for long, like their namesakes.
Female Pileated Gibbon.
The mandrills look strange on camera, like they're always blurred.
They looked like they were praying. 4 or 5 of them were sitting on the log, all facing the same way with bowed heads.
Rafiki.
And now to the big draw... the big cats.
The lion looked a bit miserable in the rain.
Female cheetah and her cubs chilling.
The Amur Leopard. Colchester has 4 leopards apparently. I only saw 2 and one of those was just a glimpse at the back of the visible enclosure. Unlike African leopards, these guys have thick fur for the colder weather. Their tails look almost as bushy as snow leopard tails and their paws are huge. We were lucky to see this one up close. He came down and paced around a pond before jumping onto a stepping stone and squatting. Cue the embarrassed laughter from his audience.
Despite the tigers being a main attraction, it look me a while to actually find them. Oops. But when I did I spent a bit of time watching them. Some of them were just relaxing in the grass or on their platform.
Look at those paws.
And then there was this one. He was a little bit more playful and restless.
Looks like the head of cuddly soft toy!
Drying his paws.
The tiger and the tyre.
African white-backed vultures. On the ugly scale, these guys are above the hyena. They have amazing wing spans.
I was there as they fed the vultures and I got to witness the typical vulture behaviour. A lot of the photos I got were just so messy and busy but a few showed some interesting moments.
I love the claws pushing the other vulture away.
Look at that wingspan as he protects his piece of meat from the others.
Cleaning himself after his meal.
I lost count how many times I walked around this area to find other areas but it was worth it. A piece of home in the middle of Essex.
I was very proud of myself for still being able to identify these as kudu. There was a mound in the middle of their enclosure and they seemed to enjoy standing on top of it, despite wild Kudu preferring to hide in shrubland.
These are not just any zebra. They are maneless zebra... apparently. Despite still having manes.
The reticulated giraffe. Possibly the one most animations and drawings are inspired by.
This one obviously wanted to tower over everyone even more than he already did. Perhaps he was trying to communicate with an animal across the park.
Ah, the iconic rhino. This is a white rhino, so called because some silly people mixed up the Afrikaans wyd, meaning wide, for white, at some point in history. It should be called the wide lipped rhino. He is a grazer, hence the wide lip. The more endangered black rhino, is a browser and has a v-shaped lip for picking off leaves from trees and bushes.
This little rhino decided he wanted a feed. Imagine being the rhino mum... ouch.
Lottie, the little baby rhino releasing some energy.
Cue the awkward parents explaining this one to their kids. I did hear the comment "piggy back" at one point.
Another awesome species, the crowned crane. As I said earlier, these guys look like they're dressed for a wild party, whereas the blue crane is more dressed for a formal.
Or perhaps they are runway models.
I love the sharp lines in this one's feathers.
No comment required.
Unless I saw elephant at Longleat (which I don't remember seeing; I think they got their elephant after I visited), this was my first real encounter with elephant. Definitely my first encounter with African Elephant. Honestly, I was a little underwhelmed. I don't know why. Perhaps it was the surroundings. I think I need to see these guys in the wild to appreciate them properly.
There was a lot I didn't see, or didn't take photos of, and a lot I just skipped. I didn't want to spend too much time in buildings as it was a humid day and there were times between the rain that I was dripping with sweat, not rain. I was also scared of going into one area and then getting lost and having to trek all over the place to get back to what I was originally aiming for. The indoor areas weren't well lit for photography either and were too busy to really enjoy.
So I left the zoo after 3pm having captured some great photos but feeling a little underwhelmed. There were some great moments but I feel they could be doing more still. I know they are restricted by space because of the roads around the park - at times you can hear the cars on the busy road to one side. And they are called a zoo not a safari park like Longleat or Woburn. At least now I can say I have been and maybe one day will go again with someone else. Although it was nice to do this alone as it gave me the opportunity to do what I wanted without pressure from someone else.
Would I recommend it? It depends on your views of zoos and what it is you want to get out of going there. For photo opportunities, it's alright. The dirty/scratched/distorted windows don't help and fencing is to be expected but there is certainly room for improvement to help photographers. As an animal lover? Some exhibits are better than others. I couldn't help but wonder if that tiger was bored and restless. He had places to hide so that wasn't the problem but maybe he wanted to find a new place to roam.
Positives... I got to see some of my favourite animals and a few special South African breeds like the blue crane. I saw tigers, leopards and elephants for the first time. And it was nice to go somewhere that wasn't a cricket match or the shop.
I wonder what my next adventure will be...
For more information on Colchester Zoo, you can go to their website here https://www.colchester-zoo.com/
