Colchester Zoo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Colchester Zoo

Colchester Zoo logo
Date opened	2 June 1963; 62 years ago (1963-06-02)
Location	Heckfordbridge, Essex, England
Land area	60 acres (0.243 km²)
Coordinates	51°51′45″N 0°49′58″E / 51.86250°N 0.83278°E / 51.86250; 0.83278
No. of animals	5666 (2007)
No. of species	240 (2018)
Memberships	BIAZA, EAZA, WAZA IZEA
Major exhibits	Edge of Africa, Wilds of Asia, Dragons of Komodo, Lost Madagascar, Orangutan Forest and Playa Patagonia.

Colchester Zoo is a fantastic place to visit near Colchester, England. It's a special kind of garden where you can see animals from all over the world. The zoo first opened its doors in 1963. In 2013, it celebrated its 50th birthday! You'll find many amazing animals here, including rare and endangered ones. These include big cats, monkeys, birds, and even tiny insects and fish.

Explore the Amazing Animal Exhibits at Colchester Zoo

Colchester Zoo has many different areas, each designed to feel like a natural home for the animals. Let's explore some of these cool zones!

What Animals Live in Butterfly Glade?

Opened in 2015, Butterfly Glade is a beautiful walk-through area. It's filled with many different kinds of butterflies, colorful plants, and flowers. It's a peaceful spot to enjoy these delicate creatures.

Meet the Birds at Australian Rainbows

In summer 2014, Australian Rainbows opened its doors. This exhibit has a waterfall, a big pond, and bright gardens. You can walk through an aviary (a large bird enclosure) and see many colorful lorikeets. You might even get to feed them a special treat of nectar!

Discover the Giants at Walking Giants

Walking Giants opened in 2012 and has two parts. This area is home to some of the world's biggest tortoise species. You can see Aldabra giant tortoises, Asian forest tortoises, and African spurred tortoises here.

Journey to Lost Madagascar

Opened in 2012, Lost Madagascar is a special walk-through area. It's home to groups of ring-tailed lemurs and red-bellied lemurs. To get there, you take a fun ride on the zoo's road train, called the Lost Madagascar Express.

See the Otters at Otter Creek

Otter Creek opened in 2011 and houses a family of smooth-coated otters. These otters are part of a special breeding program in Europe. This program helps make sure there are healthy populations of otters in zoos.

Animals of Wilds of Asia

Wilds of Asia is a collection of homes for different animals from across Asia. Here you can find pileated gibbons, red pandas, rhinoceros hornbills, and binturongs. You might also spot Burmese pythons and lion-tailed macaques.

African Adventures in Kingdom of the Wild

Kingdom of the Wild is a huge area with many different African animals living together. You can see reticulated giraffes, southern white rhinoceros, ostriches, zebras, and greater kudu. Inside, there are aardvarks, pygmy hippopotamus, patas monkeys, and various African reptiles, insects, and fish. There's also 'Vulture Valley', an aviary for white-backed vultures and Ruppell's griffin vultures.

Meet the Elephants at Elephant Kingdom

Elephant Kingdom is where Colchester Zoo's African elephants live. It's designed so the elephants can see, hear, and touch each other easily. It has special night stalls and a safe area for them.

Explore Edge of Africa

Edge of Africa is at the far end of the zoo. It has large outdoor areas for animals like cheetahs, spotted hyenas, mandrills, red river hogs, and warthogs.

Dive into Playa Patagonia

Opened in 2003, Playa Patagonia is home to five female Patagonian sea lions. Their names are Atlanta, Milan, Winnipeg, Paris, and Sydney. This exhibit has the longest straight underwater tunnel in Europe! It holds 500,000 gallons of water, letting you see the sea lions swim right over your head.

Orangutans in Orangutan Forest

Orangutan Forest is home to Tiga, a male Bornean orang-utan. This was also the home of Rajang, a beloved orangutan who lived at the zoo for many years before he passed away in 2018.

See the Dragons of Komodo

Colchester Zoo is one of the few zoos in the UK that can keep Komodo dragons. They have had success breeding these amazing lizards. The exhibit looks like their wild home, with a big pool and a glass roof that opens to let in sunlight.

Tigers at Tiger Taiga

Tiger Taiga is a large area for three Amur tigers: Igor (a male) and two females named Taiga and Anoushka. It has many areas, pools, and a high viewing platform. There's even a viewing tunnel that goes through their home!

Lions at Lion Rock

Opened in 2004, Lion Rock is home to three African lions: Bailey (a male) and two females named Malika and Naja. Inside, you can also see fennec foxes and Asia Minor spiny mice.

Bears of the Rising Sun

This area is home to a pair of sun bears, Jo-Jo (male) and Srey-Ya (female). They came to the zoo in 2010 after being rescued from poachers in Cambodia.

Leopards at Ussuri Falls

Opened in 2010, this exhibit houses a male Amur Leopard named Crispin.

Penguins at Penguin Shores

Penguin Shores is home to a large group of Humboldt penguins. It also has an aquarium with different kinds of freshwater and coral reef fish.

Meerkats at Suricata Sands

Opened in 2009, Suricata Sands is home to a group of thirteen meerkats, including a breeding pair named Robin and Pippa.

Worlds Apart: A Journey Through Habitats

Opened in 2008, Worlds Apart has six different areas. You can see rhinoceros iguanas, poison dart frogs, and green anacondas. There's also a walk-through area for small monkeys like emperor and cottontop tamarins. The outdoor part of Worlds Apart features two-toed sloths, golden lion tamarins, and silvery marmosets.

Chimpanzees at Chimp World

Chimp World was updated in 2013 and is now a bigger home for seven common chimpanzees. There are three males and four females, with Tombe being the dominant male.

Wallaby Walkabout

This is an Australia-themed walk-through area. You can walk among a group of Bennet's wallabies here!

Waterbirds at The Lakes

The Lakes has a small collection of waterbirds, such as Chilean flamingos. You can also see many red-eared terrapins living freely in the lakes.

Monkeys of Medellin Monkeys

The Medellin Monkeys area is home to one of the main groups of Colombian black spider monkeys.

Heart of the Amazon

This area is home to a large group of common squirrel monkeys. You can also see fish like silver dollar and angelfish, plus green iguanas and red-backed bearded sakis. Nearby, you might spot one of the zoo's Geoffroy's cats and a group of yellow-breasted capuchins.

Iguana Forest and South American Walkthrough

This walk-through area is home to golden lion tamarins, emperor tamarins, and white-headed marmosets. Iguana Forest has several green iguanas that were rescued from airport customs. You can also see yellow-footed tortoises and North American box turtles.

Meet Familiar Friends (Outdoor Area)

This outdoor area has farm animals like horses, goats, llamas, alpacas, Kune Kune pigs, and chickens. There's a walk-through section where you can feed the goats.

Journey on the Inca Trail

The Inca Trail has the zoo's second large group of Colombian black spider monkeys. You'll also find another group of Humboldt penguins and an aviary with scarlet ibises.

Wolves at Call of the Wild

This exhibit is near the Wilds of Asia. As of 2013, it features three timber wolves. You can see them from the Lost Madagascar Express train or through glass viewing areas.

Other Amazing Animals to See

Other animals you might find at the zoo include giant anteaters, collared mangabeys, African wild dogs, and black-backed jackals.

Walk with Mammoths: Woolly Mammoth Display

In 2016, the zoo opened a cool new augmented reality display. It lets visitors "walk" with digital mammoths! This special attraction is inside the elephant house and was the first of its kind in a UK zoo.

Colchester Zoo's Conservation Efforts

Zebras

Colchester Zoo has its own charity called Action for the Wild. This charity helps animal projects all over the world. They provide money and expert help. Their goal is to teach local people about protecting animals and nature. They also support research to help save animals globally.

Since 2005, Action for the Wild has been working on a huge nature reserve in South Africa called UmPhafa Private Nature Reserve. They are helping to restore this land, which used to be cattle farms. Their aim is to bring it back to a healthy state and reintroduce native animals. Many species have already been released, including zebras, giraffes, and ostriches.

Past Exhibits at Colchester Zoo

Remembering White Tiger Valley

This exhibit used to be home to Sasha, the zoo's famous and much-loved white tiger. Sasha passed away in 2010. After that, the area was completely changed and reopened as Lost Madagascar in 2012.

Hornbill Hill: A Former Pathway

Hornbill Hill was a steep pathway with enclosures for birds like Waldrapp ibis and southern ground hornbill. At the top, there was an enclosure that had housed animals like snow leopards and giant anteaters. Some parts of Hornbill Hill were later removed to make way for the new sun bear exhibit.

Future Plans for Colchester Zoo

The zoo is always planning new and exciting things! They are currently working on plans for a brand new tropical walk-through exhibit. This new area will bring over seven new species to the zoo, including a new type of crocodile. The exhibit will have two floors and an underwater viewing tunnel. Visitors will be able to see crocodiles swimming above their heads!

The zoo is also making improvements to its lion enclosure. The next big project will be to update the hippo enclosure.

Images for kids

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  A wolf at Colchester Zoo

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  A male gelada baboon at the zoo

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  A female greater kudu

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  A mother ring-tailed lemur with day-old twins

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  Lanner falcon

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  An African elephant

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  Bailey, the male lion

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  Igor, a male Amur tiger at Tiger Taiga

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  A swimming Humboldt penguin

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  The Colossoma macropomum, often confused with a piranha at the zoo. It is found on slow-moving rivers in the Amazon Basin of Brazil. The macropomum feeds on fruit and seeds.

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  Aardvarks