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--- zoomarwell [2023/09/13 12:35] – [III. THE POST-KNOWLES ERA - CRETNEY’S OFFICE [2007-2023]] zookeeper
+++ zoomarwell [2026/07/15 16:54] (current) – zookeeper
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 County: Hampshire
-Animal species: About 140 [as of 2022]
+Animal species: About 140 [as of 2026]
 Opened: 1972
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 that followed saw the arrival of more animals, including a number of endangered species - pygmy hippopotamus,
 cheetah, golden lion-tamarin, white rhinoceros [which replaced the former black rhinoceros], bongo,
-and Somali wild ass. Three years after the arrival of Somali Wild Ass in 1993, a foal was born, and the zoo's
+and Somali wild ass. The end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century saw Marwell gain expertise in many areas of animal care which they were prior inexperienced with; in that many arrivals of this time were small mammals, once not a significant part of Marwell's collection.  In 1996, the zoo's
-initial tropical house, Tropical World, was opened. Also in 1996 was the arrival of Marwell's first penguins -
+initial tropical house, Tropical World, was opened, and around this time an exhibit for nocturnal animals, 'Night Life', was opened, but closed in 2007. Also in 1996 was the arrival of Marwell's first penguins -
 Macaroni penguins and African penguins. By the turn of the millenium, a white rhinoceros calf was born,
 And the "Into Africa" African animal house was opened, as well as an enclosure for fossa. Two years prior
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 of a new Tropical House for Marwell, which houses an array of tropical birds, as well as several reptiles and
 a few small mammals.
-A wetlands area was planned for 2020, to revitalise the area surrounding tapirs, pygmy hippopotamus and flamingos, but was postponed heavily by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 it would acquire Blue-faced Honeyeater, making it the only collection in the United Kingdom to have the species. In 2023 a new carnivore plan was announced with the expansion of the snow leopard enclosure to follow; and the older Tropical World was repurposed as 'Thriving Through Nature' - a Mediterranean-type exhibit for rock hyrax, lizards, and green toad.
+A wetlands area was planned for 2020, to revitalise the area surrounding tapirs, pygmy hippopotamus and flamingos, but was postponed heavily by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 it would acquire Blue-faced Honeyeater, making it the only public collection in the United Kingdom to have the species. Later years saw breeding success of this species at Marwell. In 2023 a new carnivore plan was announced with the expansion of the snow leopard enclosure to follow; and the older Tropical World was repurposed as 'Thriving Through Nature' - a Mediterranean-type exhibit for rock hyrax, lizards, and green toad.
-In September of 2023, Cretney announced his resignation as Chief Executive of Marwell - a position held since 2005. As of September 2023, Cretney remains in post; but will leave once a new CE has been recruited.
+In September of 2023, Cretney announced his resignation as Chief Executive of Marwell - a position held since 2005. As of September 2023, Cretney remains in post; but will leave once a new CE has been recruited. The legacy left behind by Cretney has been hailed as one of perserverance - particularly through the COVID-19 pandemic; which saw Marwell lose much funding. During his time at Marwell, Cretney oversaw many expensive renovations and exhibit constructions. But not all are so endeared by Cretney's legacy - as several others feel that Cretney did little to properly maintain Marwell's animal collection - and many of the developments which he oversaw at Marwell quickly fell into obsolecence - as well as many developments before his time - and those that did not substantially add to the zoo experience. Still, just as it did under Cretney, the collection present at Marwell Zoo had a number of species arrive and leave before him.
-====== IV. MARWELL AS IT STANDS ======
+====== IV. THE POST-CRETNEY ERA - READ'S OFFICE [appointed 2024] ======
+In January of 2024, Marwell announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive - Laura Read, who has worked for many years in various leadership roles in sectors including retail, hospitality, and events - but also has a long-standing passion for conservation, and graduated from Warwick University in Biological Sciences. She was officially appointed in March of that year. In March, Marwell announced fundraising for the construction of a breeding centre for the white-clawed crayfish to take place in April.
+In the first year under Read's tenure, relatively little new construction took place. Even so, it was announced that the Fur, Feathers and Scales area would be redeveloped into an area for native species; 'Phase 1' being a development for white-clawed crayfish and sand lizards. Whether the Cold-Blooded Corner or walk-through areas will be subject to this development as well remains to be seen. Also under her tenure development was completed on an extension for the snow leopard enclosure.
+In March of 2025, the Native Species Zone, in the 'center' of the former Encounter Village, opened, featuring exhibits for White Clawed Crayfish and Sand Lizard, as well as an outdoor library for children, a play area, and a pond. Many minor changes have also occurred under Read's tenure - the arrival of a number of new bird species, particularly in the tropical house, as well as several new mammals; including bactrian camels and capybara. Even so, some mammals kept at the end of Cretney's tenure, including clouded leopards and bush dogs, were depleted from Marwell during Read's time from natural causes, as were mammals of longer tenure at Marwell, including the Amur Tiger. Even so, work continues under Read's tenure to restock the collection; the clouded leopard enclosure has been repurposed for red pandas, and the 'Island' area of the zoo, not used for animals after 2018, was repurposed for red river hogs. With her experience in other venues, Read has also introduced a number of non-animal attractions to Marwell. One of which is the Keeper's Kitchen which lies at the entrance of the zoo, which is available without zoo admission. Under her tenure many new events to attract families during the peak seasons have also been hosted, including a Virtual Reality demonstration which has a rotating show, and in summer of 2026 the zoo hosted //Zoofest//, which featured a variety of interactive experiences, including a silent disco and an 'elephant rave' interactivity featuring a large puppet elephant. It's likely that more events will be hosted at Marwell in the years to come with the intention to bring more traffic into the zoo, providing it with revenue necessary to develop further.
+====== V. MARWELL AS IT STANDS ======
 A number of Marwell's enclosures are simple in design - large, planted fields, of which house a hoofed
 mammal. Such enclosures work very well - with the animals breeding successfully. Having gained a
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 with paddocked surroundings.
-Smaller mammals of Marwell seem to have decreased somewhat compared to years prior, though they
+A relatively recent development in Marwell's history if the 'splitting' of the Encounter Village. The Cretney era saw expansion of the Village's reach further west, as "Fur, Feathers, and Scales" but Read's era saw the Village centre, which became largely disused under Cretney, redeveloped as the Native Species area. The Cretney-era Fur, Feathers, and Scales, encompasses several walk through aviaries as well as a wallaby walkthrough, an exhibit built for coatis but repurposed for red pandas, as well as one exhibit inside of the UK Native Species Zone - the Cold-Blooded Corner. The Read-era Native Species area has exhibits for White-clawed Crayfish and Sand Lizards, as well as a play area in the center of the village and a pond area. Elements of earlier times of the Village, such as the architecture, remain - though these are no longer used for animals. Some paces away from the Hall
-still exist somewhat. Marmosets and tamarins can be found at the 'Life in the Trees' exhibit [where siamang
-are perhaps a main attraction] as well as around the Marwell Hall itself. The Encounter Village exists once again in a new form - "Fur, Feathers, and Scales", where several exhibits exist for close viewing of mammals, birds, and reptiles. The more historical part of the Village, however, has seemingly fallen out of use - the enclosure once marketed as being the largest coati enclosure in Europe now used for Red Panda. Elements of earlier times of the Village, such as the architecture, remain - though these are no longer used for animals. Some paces away from the Hall
 can be found two of Knowles' greatest passion-animals - Amur tigers, and okapis, which continue to prosper
 and breed well at Marwell, as they have for years. The bird collection of Marwell appears fairly impressive -
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 honeycreepers [by extension the only honeycreepers at all] on public view in the UK, and in no small part also
 to the walk-through aviary of Fur, Feathers, and Scales, which houses the only white-quilled honeyeater
-on view in the UK. About 30 bird species are held at Marwell; including penguins, flamingos and ostriches - as well as more uncommon birds including tanagers, ibises and partridges. Perhaps an anachronistic addition to Marwell has came in recent years - namely the large structures of animals of which are created out of LEGO bricks. The craftmanship behind such structures, which may be larger-than-life models is undeniable, especially considering the millions of toy bricks necessary to create such structures - though in a world today where children and adults alike are surrounded by toys, video games and LEGO, it blurs the line between what is real and what is not at what is, by and large, an educational, zoological institution. Perhaps the same is to be said about the choice of imagery on the zoo map - rough, monochromatic outlines of animal shapes characterised by patches of alternate colour, as well as rounded eyes, undistinguished between species. For what good work Marwell carries out both in-situ and ex-situ, it will have to hold itself accountable for such potential discrepancies. But then again, it is that most major zoos of the United Kingdom, with their own fibreglass dinosaurs and other similar amusements, will too have to find a fine-line between showing zoological reality to the public, and caving in to that same public's desires. Even today, what may be called 'skeletons' of former exhibits exist at Marwell as they
+on view in the UK. About 30 bird species are held at Marwell; including penguins, flamingos and ostriches - as well as more uncommon birds including tanagers, ibises and caracara. Perhaps an anachronistic addition to Marwell has came in recent years - namely the large structures of animals of which are created out of LEGO bricks. The craftmanship behind such structures, which may be larger-than-life models is undeniable, especially considering the millions of toy bricks necessary to create such structures - though in a world today where children and adults alike are surrounded by toys, video games and LEGO, it blurs the line between what is real and what is not at what is, by and large, an educational, zoological institution. Perhaps the same is to be said about the choice of imagery on the zoo map - rough, monochromatic outlines of animal shapes characterised by patches of alternate colour, as well as rounded eyes, undistinguished between species. For what good work Marwell carries out both in-situ and ex-situ, it will have to hold itself accountable for such potential discrepancies. But then again, it is that most major zoos of the United Kingdom, with their own fibreglass dinosaurs and other similar amusements, will too have to find a fine-line between showing zoological reality to the public, and caving in to that same public's desires.
-have for years [ocassionally to be filled perhaps with a non-animal attraction made of LEGO bricks],
+Recent developments seem to give an optimistic view on the future of Marwell - a new Mediterranean-style enclosure, 'Thriving Through Nature', opened in what was Tropical World, providing a spacious area for species such as Egyptian Uromastyx and Sudan Plated Lizard, as well as Rock Hyrax. A small herd of banteng, which first arrived in 2021, has grown to sizable proportions. And several smaller animals - crested caracara, bush dogs, and Brazilian Guinea Pig, have all been introduced - and are popular with the public. Should the post-Cretney era provide similar developments, the future of Marwell seems very bright.
-but to those who claim that the torpor of Marwell's atmosphere is much to bear, they are to merely wait
-wth hopeful enthusiasm what is to come next in Marwell's timeline.