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Brand new exhibit World's Apart opens at
Colchester Zoo!
 Colchester Zoo is one of
the biggest Zoos in Essex, England. It was
opened in 1963 with a mission of
understanding and respecting animals.
Their mission is also to give a wonderful
experience to all its visitors so that
they can enjoy the natural beauty of
endangered species.
Action for the wild is a charitable
organization that is behind the Colchester Zoo.
It helps the zoo in both financial and
technical aspects. Zoo is spread in a 60 acre
of land; in a recent development they have also
acquired 1.2 hectares of land in the south of
the zoo. They have decided to use this land as
a conservation area of native wildlife species.
At present zoo has more then 350 species of
animals and the total number of animals exceeds
5600.
In the Zoo there are different zones for
different types of animals. They are based of
selected themes. Some of them are as
follows:
1. Kingdom of the wild: As the name
suggest here lives the wild animals like
African elephants, white rhino, giraffes, zebra
and many other wildlife species. This is also a
house for vulture, hippo, Meerkats, tortoise.
In this kingdom African animals are also lived
so it is also called edge of Africa where
Cheetahs, striped hyena, jackals, warthogs,
mandrill and many endangered species are found.
You can say it a mini African jungle.
2. Lakeland Zone: Like the name a lake
is made here for the birds that live in water
or lakes. You can find pelicans, flamingo
birds, beautiful ducks and geese floating in
the water. A special pool for harbor seal is
also made here. Red-eared terrapins are also a
main attraction here.
3. Kids Zone: This zone is specially
designed for kids to have a look of small and
pet animals. Kids love to see them and interact
with them. Animals like sheep, goats, farm
pigs, mongoose, cattle, Nile rat, Turkish
mouse, ponies, chinchillas and many other
animals stays here.
4. Valley zone: Columbian spider monkey,
lemur, lions, white tiger, endangered amur
leopards all you can find in this zone. The
blue-eyed lemur is a very rare species but in
Colchester zoo they are easily visible.
5. Aquatic zone: In this zone a state
of the art enclosure is made called Playa
Patagonia, that has 24 meter long under water
tunnel. It is being made for the five South
American Sea lions. Here lives the various
species of fishes, frogs and reptiles.
Specially designed enclosure is made for
Mammals like Meerkat, Porcupine and dwarf
mongoose. You can also find Humboldt penguins
here in the Aquatic Zone.
6. Heights Zone: This zone is specially
made for the birds of prey like Great gray owl
and vultures they stays in the world of wings
and in the call of the wild lives Amur tigers
and gray wolves. There is also a chimp world
for chimpanzees, monkeys etc. Komodo dragons
are also present in this zone in a separate
enclosure. African wild dogs, Geoffroy’cat,
Philippines spotted dear and many other animals
like them are the biggest attraction in the
zoo.
Along with these various zones there are many
new projects are also under development.
 Many special attractions are
also a part of Colchester Zoo mission.
Some of them are
1.organizing kids birthday parties along with
animals and natural beauty.
2. Animal adoption
3. You can also organize a corporate function
amidst the beauty of a jungle and wild
animals.
4. If you want to visit the zoo regularly then
zoo offers membership schemes that allow you to
avail many benefits.
All these features make the Colchester zoo
of Essex the most attractive place to
visit.
Colchester Zoo reveals plans for its next
multi million pound development!
Colchester Zoo is delighted to announce
that plans are now being made for its next
state of the art enclosure. This comes as
Orangutan Forest, Colchester Zoo’s £1.75
million pound enclosure is finally reaching
completion after three years.
Plans are to be submitted for the development
of the site for the new complex which will be
where the existing Orangutan and Lar Gibbon
enclosure currently stands and will also
incorporate the area behind where the
Encounters Marquee used to be and the area
presently known as Parrot Rock. This huge area
is to become a brand new tropical walkthrough
exhibit which will house over 7 new species to
Colchester Zoo, including a brand new species
of crocodile. The exhibit will be spread over
two floors and will incorporate an underwater
viewing tunnel in which you will be able to see
crocodiles swim and feed above your heads,
before coming out to see them basking around
their outdoor pool on their heated rocks,
through three metre glass windows. Visitors
will also be able to appreciate the crocodiles
whilst relaxing with a cup of coffee or a snack
on the terrace outside the present Kalahari
Capers Play area.
On the second floor there will be an immersive
tropical rainforest exhibit which visitors will
be able to walk through whilst reptiles, snakes
and tamarins surround them and birds fly over
head. This new exhibit will also house our
family of Buffy-headed Capuchins which will be
moving from their current home in the Aquatic
zone to a brand new enclosure within the new
development. The second floor of our new
complex will be constructed from glass so that
maximum use can be made of the natural
sunlight, UV rays for the reptiles and warmth
that this generates helping to minimize the
environmental impact of the exhibit.
One of the most important and exciting aspects
of this new development will be the fact that
Colchester Zoo will be able to support the
conservation of over five endangered or
critically endangered species which we do not
currently house within the collection. Many of
these species will belong to European Breeding
programmes that have been developed to help
protect the future of these species. There will
be wonderful new opportunities to educate
visitors on the plight of the New World and to
highlight the level of destruction that is
being caused to these animals’ habitats. We
will also be able to raise awareness of the
work of CEPA, a charity that is fighting to
save the Buffy Headed Capuchins (also known as
Yellow breasted Capuchins) which is supported
by Colchester Zoo’s own charity Action for the
Wild. It is thought that there are fewer than
3,000 of these sub-species left in the wild and
so it will be fabulous to have this new exhibit
to support this cause further here at
Colchester Zoo.
This new state of the art complex will be at
the forefront of modern zoo design and will be
one of Colchester Zoo’s most impressive
exhibits to date. Work is expected to start in
the Autumn of 2008 and it is hoped that it will
be completed by late 2010. It is thought that
it will cost over £2 million pounds to
create.
Please note that these plans are all subject to
planning permission.
Colchester Zoo's Nature Area
 In an exciting new development
Colchester Zoo has recently acquired 1.2
hectares of land to the south of the zoo
site. Colchester Zoo aims to manage this
land as a conservation area, enabling
visitors to see a range of native wildlife
species and highlighting local
conservation issues. Colchester Zoo have
been collaborating with the Essex
Biodiversity Project to design a nature
trail around this site, running through
the riverside marshland and providing
close up views of the Roman River.
Numerous species already inhabit the site
like Celery-leaved buttercup, Bog
Stitchwort and Yellow Flag, as well as the
locally rare Beautiful Demoiselle
damselfly and birds like the Song Thrush
and Turtle dove. Using a design created by
the Essex Biodiversity Project, Colchester
Zoo will create more wetland areas,
hopefully increasing the diversity and
abundance of invertebrate fauna and thus
encouraging more foraging birds to the
site. Colchester Zoo’s nature area is now
under development as planning permission
was approved by the council.
New Orang utan enclosure
 Work on Colchester Zoo’s new
enclosure for Orangutans is now well
underway. The new enclosure will provide a
wonderful new home for Rajang and Djambe,
which will include a large day quarters, a
night time quarters and a good sized and
very different outside play area. The site
of the new enclosure is next to the old
Stanway Church and will be accessible via
an underground walkway from Playa
Patagonia. In the future it is hoped that
the zoo will be able to take on a breeding
pair of the endangered primate in the hope
that one day Orangutans can be bred at
Colchester Zoo. The new exhibit will also
feature a selection of Asian fish in a
wonderful new state of the art aquarium
and a pair of Freshwater Asian Pond
Turtles – a greatly endangered species
that will be joining the collection at
Colchester Zoo for the first time. There
will also be an education house which will
be full of interesting facts about the
plight of Orangutans in the wild and why
the conservation projects that they are
supported by are so vitally important to
their survival.
The work on the building is now coming on well
after a long line of set backs including
problems having to renovate the old church to
receive planning consent! However, it is now
starting to take shape with the tunnel from the
Sealion tunnel to the new enclosure finished,
and the retractable roof and the external parts
of the building are all complete too! The ramp
that will take visitors up to the viewing
platform for the Orangutans outside play area
is nearly complete as is the new education
area.
Work for this development is likely to cost in
the region of £1,750,000, and it is hoped that
the entire exhibit will be finished and open to
the public by the summer of 2008.
Colchester Zoo is offering you the opportunity
to leave your mark permanently by having your
name and a short message displayed on a plaque
when the enclosure opens. Orangutans are
critically endangered in the wild and so it is
our hope that in the future in addition to
providing a new home for Rajang and Djambe we
can take a breeding pair which will give us the
opportunity to one day breed Orangs at
Colchester Zoo.
If you would like to make a minimum donation of
£30 just
Go to the Donations page and we will get in
touch with you regarding the wording for your
plaque.
For more information Sponsorship
opportunities are also available and any
enquiries should be e-mailed to mailto:marketing@colchester-zoo.co.uk
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