Then and Now: Connie’s photographs of Newquay Zoo late 1990s

 

Then: Coatimundis on the Animal Encounter Lawn c. 2000 – 2003 with Newquay Zoo keeper Wendy Winstanley (and left possibly Keeper Emma Nowak?

Connie, one of our longest serving volunteers, recently dropped in a handful of ‘snappy snaps’ as part of our NZ50 Anniversary request for photographs of the changing zoo over the last 50 years.

Her extended family having worked in various staff roles at Newquay Zoo, Connie basically grew up here!

Now 2018: the same Encounter Lawn, early morning before visitors arrive. Animal Encounters are still held here but the coatis are now sadly gone.

Now 2018: The Encounter Lawn now also houses a Bug and  Bee Hotel for 2018 “Nearby Nature”. The Giant Stone Rabbit from the Old 1980s Rabbit Warren (now Red Pandas) still lurks in the bushes.

These are pre-digital camera snaps, old school camera film and prints. Like many of my snappy snaps, they are occasionally a bit blurry, but nonetheless valuable for the glimpses that they give of Newquay Zoo in its 30th-something years (built 1969), when it was privately run by Mike Thomas and team (1993-2003).

That was Then, This is Now!

On a bright sunny morning in July 2018 before visitors arrived, I walked around Newquay Zoo trying to locate and photograph the scenes that Connie had photographed. This was not so easy in some areas, especially with two more decades of jungly exotic plant growth.

Connie’s photos (featured here) start from around  1999 / 2000  and up until the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust took over in August 2003, when Mike Thomas retired.

Then: When Iguanas roamed the Tropical House at Newquay Zoo … this may be Dino, that rare Green iguana – a friendly one!

Now 2018: No Green Iguanas left in our Tropical House but lots of jungle and tropical plants for our current rainforest animals.

Our 1987 Tropical House is shown in its original simple light green wall background, looking through big windows into the Village Farm area. 

Roxy Peru the Hoffmann’s Sloth or her mum c 2000-2003 in the Tropical House, before the lovely Indiana Jones style Temple walls and Jungle Ruins rebuild.

Then 2018: the same scene! Sloths still live here, but it’s much much more jungly!

Lake islands have long provided safe homes for many of our primates such as Lemurs and Tamarins.

Then: Connie’s photo shows Ring-Tailed Lemurs on what was once the Black Lemur Island and its old ‘shed’ house. Rear wire enclosures housed the occasional Tamarin (if out of its group for any reason). 1999-2003 era.

Now 2018: Ring Tailed Lemurs still live on this island. Beyond the back fence is now our much larger African Savanna (2009 onwards).

Then 1999? 2003? Connie’s photo shows Ring Tailed Lemurs on the old Marmoset / old Bamboo Lemur island.

Now 2018: What was once temporarily Ring Tailed Lemurs is now a Tamarin house and Island. It has got bigger, the bamboo platforms have been replaced by smaller linked islands  and there is  much more planting and cover for foraging.

Then: Connie’s photograph shows Meat in the scratchpost tree for one of our series of ageing retired ex-Longleat male lions – not dated but late 1990s, early 2000s.  This could be Major? Ronnie? Charlie?

Now 2018: The Lion House is now home to three young African Lions, non-breeding male  Boss and his sisters Amahle and Semira, all from Longleat. Photograph taken during the July 2018 heatwave, the ground is dry and the lack of rain is beginning to show.

Sometimes it was harder to work out where Connie’s  photograph was taken from, such as in the Oriental Garden. The steep stone steps and stonework of the original Japanese Water Garden can be glimpsed in the background of her photograph. These have now gone and the whole area is more accessible.

Before we opened up whole of  the Oriental garden stream to our Asian Otters, Connie’s photograph shows what  was once part of their land area. 1999-2003?

Then 2018: a little more tricky to find the right angle and exact spot but this is roughly the same view, with the whole of the Oriental Garden stream opened up to the Otters (glimpsed right). The old steep stone steps form part of the newer otter enclosure stream walls.

Then 2018: the view from over the other side of the stream, looking back towards where Connie’s photograph was taken from, Oriental Garden 2018.

Connie’s picture shows Humboldt Penguins in our current Penguin Pool (the old Sealion Pool) before the big feeding rock was built out into  the middle of the Penguin Pool. 1999-2003

Now 2018: the same scene with the much larger feeding rock out into the Penguin Pool.

Cranes feeding on the grassland area of the Tapir and Capybara enclosure.

Two (or two and a half?) slightly blurry Brazilian Tapirs. One may well be the original Tippy who arrived in 1996 and gave his  name to our original small café nearby.

Now 2018: Good forest shade around a rebuilt Tapir pool and Tamarin Island off to the right.

Now 2018: part of the Tapir and Capybara Paddock

Now 2018: Jungly! The same shady scene looking back to the Tapir and Capybara Paddock and Houses.

Then: This had me stumped!  Connie’s photograph (1999-2003) shows Bennett’s free ranging Wallaby in the area where Red Pandas now live. the carved wooden fence was where Prairie Dogs once dug (now home to Cusimanse mongoose).

Now 2018: The Wallabies have gone. This stone walled section is the viewing area for Cusimase mongoose, digging where Prairie Dogs once dug (out into the Red panda enclosure, but that’s another story). The entrance to Toad Hall (amphibians) is on the right and I am almost standing in the Native Amphibians Pond.

The free-ranging Wallabies and Patagonian Cavy or Mara were very popular with visitors, much less so with our zoo gardeners. Now these roaming herbivores  have moved on, the exotic planting has survived much better and Newquay Zoo is much more jungly. Funny coincidence that.

Now 2018: A few steps further back from my previous photograph, looking for where Connie’s  Wallaby photograph was taken leads to a jungly wall of bamboo! Happy Red Panda(s) though …

Connie’s final photograph shows the Newquay Carnival in 1999.

Newquay Carnival 1999 – the zoo van K292 NCV was our balloon clad float that year and lots of staff were dressed or facepainted as animals – centre kneeling, Connie the photographer, now one of our long-serving volunteers.

Identified members of staff 1999 – left in blue, Mary Slaney, Connie Slaney as a tiger (and owner of these  photographs), Jo Topham the Lion, whilst amongst the Keeper and Penguin Club crowd, a glimpse of Lucy Bennetts? I’m in there somewhere amongst the sunshine; Jo Topham and I are still working at the Zoo in 2018.

Newquay Carnival 1999 – the Daihatsu zoo van (“Rescue 2”) decorated as our float, a gorilla driver  and lots of zoo staff and volunteers dressed as animals. Fun times!

The Newquay Carnival still takes place in late June / early July. Sometimes we head up from Newquay Zoo to join the parade during a busy summer and sometimes not.

Compare our 1999 Zoo Van with its 1970s and 1980s Carnival equivalent here: https://newquayzoohistory.wordpress.com/2016/07/08/wheres-our-mini-van-orl-649m-now/

More interesting Then and Now pictures to come in our next Blogposts.

Thanks again, Connie, for letting us share these snaps.

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Jog any memories? Let us know any positive happy thoughts and memories via the comments section.

We would love to hear from you if you have any interesting “Then” photos of Newquay Zoo that you would like to share with us and our other blog readers.

Newquay Zoo is 50 years old on May 26th 1969 – look out for more news on how we will celebrate this big NZ50 birthday.

Blog posted by Mark Norris, Newquay Zoo Archive, Newquay Zoo, July /August  2018.