Twycross Zoo is amongst Warwickshire’s most popular visitor attractions, a major part of its remit is animal welfare and conservation.
Construction is under way of a new £1.8 million gibbon habitat at the zoo, focusing on the development of a 30m long moat surrounding four islands that will create a safe and stimulating environment for the gibbons.
The innovative design for the new gibbon habitat at Twycross Zoo means that its inhabitants won’t be enclosed at all. Instead, they will be contained on the series of four islands that make up the new habitat by a 6-8m wide moat, calculated to be beyond the gibbons’ maximum jumping distance of five metres.
The project involved relocating the gibbons to other areas of the zoo so that the existing enclosure could be demolished and excavations for the new habitat could begin on the same site.
Once the ground had been levelled the moats could be dug out then compacted to create a level surface so that the lining could be laid.
The waterproof lining chosen for the installation was PondGard EPDM lining from Firestone Building Products. The company’s technical services team worked closely with specialist contractor, Turtle Productions
www.firestonebpe.com