This is a report of ZooWatch’s first survey of zoo visitors in the UK. The aim of this survey is to gather the views of the visitor on zoos in the UK.
The ZooWatch website[1] had almost 20,000 visitors in 2003. In January 2003 the website announced the Survey with a direct web link to the instructions and its questionnaire. Despite the large number of visitors to the website, the number of returned Survey questionnaires is tiny.
A target of 50 responses was set as the threshold to warrant a report that could be in any way statistically analysed. In the event only 7 email responses were received and 4 more from ZooWatch’s webeditor have augmented these. Nevertheless, 7 people took the trouble to report back on their zoo visit, and it would be churlish to ignore their efforts.
Internet surveys are inherently flawed. Responses are from individuals and ZooWatch cannot know the motivations of the respondents nor whether they have any association with the zoos that they're reporting about.
The 2003 Survey will be treated as pilot survey for the methods of analysing the questionnaire. Because of the small sample, any general conclusions are few and hard to defend, however it is hoped that surveyed zoos will take notice of the views in this sample as they indicate both positive and negative views of a visit to the zoo.
Finally, the writer of this reporter has at one time or another visited all of the zoos in covered in this survey, except for the Dartmoor Wildlife Park, and with the additional rider that the visit to Southport Zoo was more than 5 years ago. This has enabled additional information to be included in the Report’s observations.
Eleven questionnaires were completed and covered ten zoos. Two people independently visited Chester Zoo. There is a reasonable geographical spread of the zoos, those covered in the survey are:
A copy of the questionnaire can be found at: http://www.zoowatch.freeserve.co.uk/survey2003.rtf. The questionnaire is divided into 11 subsections that are now summarised a section at a time.
a) Purpose of this section: To elicit some basic information about the visit.
b) Responses:
The 11 visits took place in the following months:
- February;
- March;
- April (2);
- June (2);
- August;
- September(2);
- October;
- and December.
The day of the week of the visits were:
- Sunday;
- Wednesday(3);
- Thursday(3);
- Friday (3);
- and Saturday.
With one exception (1:30pm) all visitors arrived before noon. Times are summarised in the Table 1 below.
Table 1: Arrival and Departure times of visits included in the Survey Arrive
Depart
Length of stay (hours)
10:15
15:15
5:00
10:40
14:10
3:30
11:30
14:30
3:00
11:15
16:20
5:10
12:00
15:00
3:00
11:30
16:00.
4:30
11:40
17:30
5:50
12:00
16:00
4:00
10:00
12:00
2:00
13:30
15:30
2:00
10:00
17:00
7:00
The visitors encountered most types of weather from: “Sunny, dry, but cold” to “Changeable – some heavy rain”.
Of the 11 visits, 7 people had been to that zoo before at least four previous occasions, 1 had been to that zoo twice before and 3 people were visiting that zoo for the first time.
c) Observations:
i. Respondents will visit a zoo at any time of the year.
ii. The average stay of a ZooWatch visitor is: 4:05 hours.
iii. Zoos should pay heed both to the first-time visitor and the regular return visitor.
a) Purpose of this section: To discover how the people travelled to the zoo.
b) Responses:
Of the 11 journeys, eight were by car, one by bus, one by train and one by tube.
All eight of the car journeys found car parking available, and only one zoo charged for the privilege of parking, where the fee was £1.00. For the public transport user, one visitor classed public transport as inconvenient, although 3 visitors, including some car users, noted that there were complimentary bus services from local population centres.
Three visitors noted the provision of secure bicycle lockers.
c) Observations:
i. Not all zoos are conveniently reached by public transport.
ii. Complimentary bus services should be considered in the high season from the nearest population centre to encourage visitors from farther a field.
iii. The provision[2] of secure bicycle lockers[3] strengthens the zoos environmental credentials.
a) Purpose of this section: To gather first impressions of the zoo by the visitor.
b) Responses:
The majority of the visitors found the admission prices to be clearly displayed, although 2 visitors found this not to be the case.
Most thought the admission price was “reasonable”, with 2 visitors finding it expensive or very expensive and one suggesting the admission price was cheap. (Respondents were asked to compare their admission price to the zoo with other tourist attractions.)
The Admission charges for a single adult are given in Table 2 below.
Table 2: Admission Charges Adult Admission Charges: £4.75 £6.00 £6.25 £6.25 £6.50 £6.95 £7.00 £7.95 £10.50 £12.50 £12.50[4]
Most visits were undertaken by couples, with a few singularly and one by a party of 4 adults.
c) Observations:
i. Most people find the admission charges for zoos are reasonable.
ii. Most zoos clearly display their admission prices. All zoos should follow this good practice.
iii. Is London Zoo the only Zoo reclaiming Gift Aid on admission to the zoo grounds? Most Zoos in the survey’s list are charitable trusts.
iv. If they do not already do so, zoos should offer secure bicycle storage and make play of this in their publicity material.
a) Purpose of this section: To find how easy it is for the visitor to find their way around the zoo.
b) Responses:
Five visitors were offered complimentary maps of the zoo, although the visitor to Paignton wasn’t offered a map, they commended the excellent provision of maps displayed around the zoo.
Seven of our visitors were able to buy a Guide to the Zoo, although only 5 made a purchase. Prices paid were 10p, £1.50, £1.50, £3.50 and £3.50.
6 people rated signposting within the zoo as good, poor by 2 visitors, fair by 2 people, and 2 visitors rating signposting excellent.
Two zoos had recommended routes[5], with the London Zoo system of coloured lines painted on the tarmac is highly commended.
Only 3 visitors noticed signs at the entrance announcing new arrivals at the zoo, although Twycross made such announcements on the entrance to their animal houses.
Most zoos gave announcements of about feeding times at the entrance, again this helps those who wish to plan their visit and include these events in their visit.
With the exception of the Welsh Mountain[6] Zoo[7] all zoos were reasonable friendly towards pushchair and wheelchair users. It should be pointed out that the Welsh Mountain Zoo grants wheelchair users free admission.
c) Observations:
i. Zoos should provide guides or maps for their visitors and failure to so can frustrate the first-time visitor. A guide can be read afterwards to provide valuable information on the zoo’s animals and its conservation programmes.
ii. Zoos that don’t already offer recommended routes for the visitor should do so.
iii. A “What’s on” or “What’s new” information board should always greet the zoo visitor when they go through the turnstile.
a) Purpose of this section: Most zoos have the twin aims of education and conservation[8] both aims require the zoo visitor to be informed about the animals in front of them. This section looks at both the basic signage and the provision of additional information.
b) Responses:
All zoos had the basic signage of common name, scientific name and a map of the animals' range. Most of the signs also had a picture of the animal.
Most zoos also had additional information about individual animals, this tends to be for the larger animals. This is a simple method for the zoo to convey the success of their breeding programme, and the breeding programmes of other zoos. The visitor gains insights into the longevity and fecundity of the animal in front of them.[9]
Most zoos carry information about the species conservation status and any captive breeding programme that the zoo is involved in.[10]
Only one zoo was noted for giving supplemental information about close species of the animals in their collection[11][12]
Nearly all zoos had interactive quizzes for their visitors, with Dartmoor Wildlife Park’s Animal Experience Centre being much more than an interactive quiz. Although not an interactive quiz, London Zoo’s Web of Life is a successful attempt at combining a diverse range of invertebrates and small vertebrates alongside multimedia displays that engage the visitor.
Overall, most visitors found the signs to be accurate, informative and satisfactory.
c) Observations:
i. In all cases basic information about the animals is provided[13]
ii. In general zoos do not set their animals in the context of related species or species that share the same environment. There is merit in breaking down the compartmentalised view of the animal kingdom.[14] It should be made clear that the animal in the zoo is only representative of a diverse natural world.
iii. Educational material shouldn’t be exclusively passive. UK Zoos seem to have taken this on board. There should be plenty of opportunities for visitors to test and enhance their knowledge of the natural world. This is another role for the Souvenir Guide.
a) Purpose of this section: Ascertain what other information there is besides that already listed.
b) Responses:
Ten visitors reported that there were keeper talks. The visitor at one zoo was critical of the talks, suggesting that the presenters only had limited knowledge.
Five visitors reported that there was information about future developments at the zoo. Our visitor to Twycross reported that here had been a lot of building activity but without any indication of its purpose.
c) Observations:
i. Zoos should give details of future developments so as:
a. To encourage a return visit
b. To use it as an additional fund raising opportunity.[15]
a) Purpose of this section: To assess the visitors’ facilities from a customer perspective.
b) Responses:
All zoos have some all weather facilities[16] along with benches and seating.
At all zoos you could buy meals, hot and cold snacks and drinks.
Six people thought that the pricing of food and drink was reasonable, but two did not.
All zoos had baby changing facilities.
All zoos had toilet facilities that were rated as good by 3, fair by 3 and poor by 2 people.
c) Observations:
i. There are few complaints about catering at UK zoos.
ii. Catering more or less meets the customer expectation.
a) Purpose of this section: To gather views on animal wellbeing as viewed by the visitors.
b) Responses:
Most people saw the range and number of animals that they expected to see.
Two zoos had supplementary charges to see some animals (for example 20p to enter the aquarium).
Only two visitors thought that enclosures at their two zoos were too small.
Most visitors thought that enclosures had a natural look to them, as far as was reasonably possible.
Most animals were reasonably active, except where the rain had driven them indoors.
c) Observations:
i. Zoos should avoid supplementary charges, unless there is good reason to do so on safety grounds (i.e. restrict admission to an aquarium to avoid overcrowding by visitors.)
ii. Zoos in the UK have over the years steadily enlarged the amount of space afforded to their animals.
a) Purpose of this section: To discover whether a zoo’s conservation message is received by their visitors.
b) Responses:
Seven of the eleven responses felt that their zoo promoted its conservation work.
Nine of the zoos had British animals, but only 3 visitors reported that any of these animals were part of a conservation programme.[17]
Ten respondents reported that their zoo kept European animals, but only 4 reported that these were part of a conservation programme.
Nine visitors reported that their zoo kept animals as part of a conservation programme, with Chester Zoo mentioned as being particularly active in conservation.
The list of animals recorded in this category is extensive and includes: Asian Lion, Lowland Gorilla, Asian Elephant, Jaguar, Black Rhinoceros and Komodo Dragon.
c) Observations:
i. UK Zoos (apparently[18]) do not highlight conservation programmes for British wildlife. It is important that conservation is not portrayed as someone else’s problem. UK zoos should individually become associated with the conservation of at least one species of British wildlife.
ii. UK Zoos underplay their conservation programmes for European species, and as with British Wildlife should demonstrate their commitment to the conservation of wildlife in Europe.
a) Purpose of this section: Zoos have to compete with tourist attractions for their visitors, and the overall impression of a visit to a zoo is likely to determine whether this or other zoos will be visited in the near future.
b) Responses:
8 visitors enjoyed their visit to the zoo (one was overjoyed!), whilst 3 thought it was “OK”.
Highlights included: Seeing the elephant calves bathing and playing, also the weather was lovely.; Storks and cranes; Elephants bathing in excellent outdoor pool; Seeing the monkey house; Gibbons, Birds of Prey; None; The conservation programmes; The Tigers, Lions (the) sheer dedication of the keepers – this time it was the Pumas ‘getting it on’ – going back to check if there’s any cubs soon.; Sloth bears, Otters; Red Panda, Miniature Donkeys; Zoolu the baby giraffe.
Whilst the lowlights were: The price of the food; Lack of signage on some aviaries; No picnic facilities; Seeing a lion on it's own; A few empty enclosures; Lack of certain animal groups, bears etc.; Lack of support for this worthy cause; Gorillas behind heavy mesh. Not enough time; Elephants: even more space would have been nice; You need more time to look around.
Ten of our visitors would recommend a visit to a friend, one of the Chester Zoo respondents said “Undoubtedly and have done so already”.
Ten said that they would visit the zoo again, six of these within a year.
Eight said that they’d visit another zoo within a year.
c) Observations:
i. Respondents to this survey can see positives and negatives in a visit to the zoo, although the positives greatly outweigh the negatives.
ii. It seems that 4 hours is insufficient for some of these visits, and given the admission charges this is remarkable value for half a day’s enjoyment.
iii. Animals in confined spaces or poor conditions detract from the otherwise positive experience of “going to the zoo”.
a) Purpose of this section: In this section of the survey questionnaire the respondent can summarise their views of the zoo. These comments have been reproduced verbatim The views expressed are not necessarily those of ZooWatch.
b) Responses:
These have been summarised in tabular form below.
| Blackbrook Zoological Gardens: I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the park and the variety of wildlife it contained. I thought the cranes and storks were particularly interesting and colourful. The South American Paddock was a good concept and well implemented. The Scarlet Ibis were stunning. You could get really close to most animals, which made photography worthwhile – especially of the brightly coloured birds and owls. The lemurs were only in pairs, when most zoos keep colonies, but no doubt that will change. Huge variety of waterfowl. |
| Blackpool Zoo: The Sea Lion talk was excellent. Enjoyed the monkeys. Pity it was too cold for the apes to go outside. Liked the big cats. |
| Chester Zoo: Delighted to see the zoo is so involved in the saving of certain species, appreciated the opportunity to talk to knowledgeable (people). |
| Chester Zoo: Some of the staff need lessons on how to be cheerful! Most looked miserable, especially on ground staff. |
| Dartmoor Wildlife Park: We are serial zoo
visitors – having visited nearly all on your (ZooWatch)
list. Being big cat fans, Dartmoor has always been one of
our favourites – since discovering about 8 years ago.
– but it’s not just about big cats. OK, it doesn’t generate the kind of income that some of the bigger Zoos and Wildlife Parks do, but it keeps delivering. In terms of experience, you can’t fault it. It’s a bit faded now – in terms of facilities, like restaurant and toilets etc – but what it lacks in these departments, it more than makes up for where it really counts. With Dartmoor you get to experience the animals AND the keepers love of them. You probably will never get closer to a big cat or bear or wolf at any other time in your life (safely!) Every time with the Tigers is special. The time when we got close to the Jaguar cubs in the Animal Experience Centre just can’t be topped! Add to this the chance to feed some of the native animals with recommended foodstuffs and the value of the experience means we will just keep coming back. Truly Brilliant! Never let it go away. |
| London Zoo: Should set aside 3 to 4 hours. I skipped the aquarium and reptile house. Wed of Life deserves closer inspection. Particularly struck by the planting in the enclosures – e.g. the birds of prey, it was glorious. |
| Paignton Zoo: I think Paignton Zoo has many great qualities, the new cages without bars are a great development and they’ve just let the Lemurs go wild, from what I understand there aim is to get as many animals rooming free as is realistically possible, taking in there safety with the public etc.. The whole environment of the zoo is fabulous and each year there is something new to see, they are constantly working towards conservation projects and as an established charity I understand there work really does make a substantial difference! |
| Southport Zoo: With more money and more space the zoo could become a vibrant breeding centre for endangered species. The protesters outside the zoo do not help what is overall a small zoo doing it's best. |
| Trotters World of Animals: A nice surprise. Plenty of open spaces. Hard to detect a theme. Several small collections of herbivores of the plains, 4 types of monkey, birds of prey, no carnivores, some semi-domestic animals. |
| Twycross Zoo: I have lived locally to Twycross Zoo for many years and have visited regularly. It is only in the last couple of years that I have noticed significant improvements being made to all animal enclosures. Twycross was always a good zoo for primates, but now it is good for other breeds too. |
| Welsh Mountain Zoo: The visitor to this zoo wrote at length about his visit to the zoo. There are a number of comments which go beyond the "visitor experience", which was the intention of the Survey. |
The first ZooWatch Survey was extremely limited in scope, but it has succeed in being a voice for a small number of people who are enthusiastic about zoos, but not blind to the limitations and faults of a zoo.
ZooWatch intends to repeat the survey with an updated questionnaire during 2004.
All correspondence.
[1] http://www.zoowatch.freeserve.co.uk/
[2] ZooWatch Comment: This provision should feature prominently in all publicity material.
[3] ZooWatch Comment: See Blackpool Zoo for more details.
[4] Visitor Comment: Additional revenue raised by London Zoo reclaiming Gift Aid.
[5] ZooWatch Comment: While some people either already know their zoo well or are prepared to take potluck, others prefer to take a route that takes in most of the animals.
[6] ZooWatch Comment: Wheelchair users gain free admittance to the Welsh Mountain Zoo.
[7] ZooWatch Comment: The car park of the Welsh Mountain Zoo is in the centre of the zoo, which is reasonably flat and affords access to most of the enclosures. Some of the aviaries especially birds of prey and one or two other enclosures are located in the hilly woodland around the central space. Made up paths would make a difference.
[8] ZooWatch Comment: They also have to remain commercially viable.
[9] ZooWatch Comment: Often overheard, parents and teachers asking children how old an animal is, with child expected to calculate this from information provided.
[10] ZooWatch Comment: There is an excellent display at Bristol Zoo on their role in the Asiatic Lion conservation programme, Blackpool Zoo has similar biographical information about its gorillas.
[11] ZooWatch Comment: For example, London Zoo gave information about the different sub-species of tiger.
[12] ZooWatch Comment: There may have been more zoos that give this kind of information; I recall displays at Chester giving details of African Elephants alongside information about their Asian Elephants and Twycross displaying information on the different subspecies of Giraffe. It maybe that these displays go unnoticed by some – more later.
[13]ZooWatch Comment: Although this style of sign must be practically 50 years old!
[14] ZooWatch Comment: For instance Bristol Zoo’s grouping of animals from Brazil together enables a “story to be told”.
[15] ZooWatch Comment: Bristol Zoo’s Seal and Penguin Coast ran a “buy a plank” fund-raiser.
[16] ZooWatch Comment: Although not mentioned by the respondents, Chester Zoo has a “wet weather trail”.
[17] ZooWatch Comment: I feel that this is an underestimate of the work done by UK zoos.
[18] ZooWatch Comment: I believe that there is conservation work for British wildlife by UK zoos, it is either underplayed by the zoo or by the visitor.