Today's Announcements

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

COLCHESTER ZOO STAMPEDE – SUNDAY 28th APRIL 2024:
Some areas of the zoo maybe closed for a period of time to allow runners to make their way round. Gates will be opening from 8:30am for runners’ friends & family who have booked. Catering outlets and Guest Services will not open until our usual opening time of 9:30am.

Visits between 15th April and 18th May 2024

From 15th April 2024, you may experience heavy traffic around the surrounding area on your journey home due to planned roadwork closures along the A12 southbound carriageway between J26 Stanway and J25 Marks Tey. Route diversions will be in place but traffic may be increased due to this.

Find out more here.

ADVANCED NOTICE:
Please be aware that our indoor soft play, Jungle Tumble, will be closed on the following dates due to annual maintenance and a thorough deep clean.

Tuesday 7th May to Friday 10th May 2024
Monday 13th May to Friday 17th May 2024

Go digital and download the Colchester Zoo App.
Find out more here

Important Information

Posted December 29, 2023 in Enclosures & Development

Exciting new developments taking place in 2024!

Winter is always one of the busiest times of the year for our Maintenance Team and this year it is no different. Our team are hard at work behind the scenes as we prepare to make improvements to various locations in the park this January. Winter is the ideal time of year for us to carry out vital upgrades within the park without majorly impacting our visitor’s experience.

It is important that we carry out these vital upgrades to ensure that the facilities for our animals is up to the highest standard as well as to continue to provide a first-class experience for our visitors.

During January we are aware that the weather can affect visits and whilst we have a number of improvements underway, we are pleased to be able to offer visitors our ever-popular January Blues offer where you can enjoy the Zoo for less.

Grab your wellies, coats and scarves and enjoy a cosy day out at the Zoo this winter with the whole family! Experience a crisp day out with tickets from just £10 per person. This offer provides unbeatable value for money! Find out more about our offer here.

You can support Colchester Zoo further by purchasing a Zoo Pass which offers you amazing benefits as you can return as many times as you like all year round to witness and enjoy the constant improvements plus take advantage of exclusive discounts!

Here’s a snapshot of some of the improvement work we plan to complete during 2024 plus a teaser of some exciting NEW developments…

Inca Trail

You may have noticed that our Inca Trail has been receiving some vital upgrades! The beach viewing area has been developed to provide further space for our penguins, a new shade area and improved viewing for visitors.

Tiger Taiga

Our Amur Tiger habitat, Tiger Taiga, will also be receiving some improvements at the beginning of 2024 as work begins on upgrading their indoor house and re-landscaping the planting in their outdoor space. These changes will not only provide an improved habitat for the Tigers in our care, but will also provide better visibility for visitors.

Call of the Wild

Work on the wolf habitat will take place so that in the summer the wolves will have an upgraded home to enjoy, and the visitors’ experience will be improved with updated viewing of this wonderful species.

Colenso Village

Our Goat walk through pathway will be revamped in stages. Some sections of the pathway will be closed to visitors whilst we improve the current walkway but the sheep and goats will still be visible despite the walk through experience being slightly limited whilst works take place.

Elephant Kingdom

New enrichment opportunities are being implemented in our African Elephant habitat, with additional scratching posts and feeding devices. The security boundary is also being upgraded with new state of the art technology.

Facilities

We are continuously looking to improve the facilities that we offer our guests and over the last few years, we have started to upgrade some of our older toilet blocks into better facilities for everyone. The toilets located at our entrance will be upgraded in stages with the female facilities receiving a refresh first, followed by the male facilities.

Buffy Headed Capuchins

We aim to redevelop the current Buffy Headed Capuchin house during 2024 to offer a much-improved facility for both the animals and visitors.

Nature Area

We plan to extend the boardwalk to improve the visitors’ journey whilst enjoying the natural beauty of British Wildlife. This work may not take place until the latter part of 2024, but we hope it will be ready for Christmas and enhance the Enchanted Trail of Light experience with the new walkway incorporated as part of the trail.

NEW!

Dinosaur Realm
Throughout the winter period, we have continued to work on our old display’s lawn turning the area into a DINO-MITE experience for all ages. Due to open in Spring 2024, our BRAND-NEW Dinosaur Realm area will include a Brachiosaurus that stands just under 5 metres tall. Keep up to date with the launch of this new area on social media.

There’s more…
We are constantly developing, and we hope to be taking our first steps towards our future vision with some exciting plans underway. Watch this space for more information coming soon.