Editing Chester Zoo (section)

==History==

===Early history===
[[File:At Chester Zoo 2023 039.jpg|left|thumb|Plaque in a garden at the zoo as a memorial to the founder, George Saul Mottershead.]]
[[File:Polar Bears at Chester Zoo taken in 1967 - geograph.org.uk - 737458.jpg|left|thumb|Polar bear exhibit, 1967.]]
The Mottershead family's [[market garden]] business was based in [[Shavington]] near [[Crewe]]. George Mottershead collected animals such as [[lizard]]s and insects that arrived with exotic plants imported by the business. A visit to [[Belle Vue Zoo]] in Manchester as a boy in 1903 fuelled his developing interest in creating a zoo of his own.

Mottershead was wounded in the First World War and spent several years in a wheelchair. Despite this, his collection of animals grew and he began to search for a suitable home for his zoo. He chose [[Oakfield Manor]] in [[Upton-by-Chester]], which was a country village then but now is a suburb of [[Chester]]. He bought Oakfield Manor for £3,500 in 1930.<ref name=history>{{cite web |title=From Polar Bears to Pandas: The History of Chester Zoo |publisher=Chester City Council |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure/culture_and_leisure/chester_history_and_heritage/past_exhibitions/from_polar_bears_to_pandas.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012024332/http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure/culture_and_leisure/chester_history_and_heritage/past_exhibitions/from_polar_bears_to_pandas.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 October 2008 |date=13 February 2008 |access-date=20 June 2008 }}</ref> The house had {{convert|9|acre}} of gardens and provided easy access to the railways and to Manchester and [[Liverpool]]. There were local objections, but Mottershead prevailed, and Chester Zoo opened to the public on 10 June 1931.<ref name="goodzoos"/> The first animals were displayed in pens in the courtyard.<ref name="history" />

An [[Ordnance Survey]] [http://www.ponies.me.uk/maps/osmap.html?z=14&x=-2.8887176513671875&y=53.2235588799907 inch-a-mile map] published in 1936 shows the area around as farmland and villages and marks the present Zoo area north of Oakfield as "Butter Hill".

Rapid expansion followed after the Second World War, despite the difficulty of sourcing materials. Mottershead had to be resourceful; the [[polar bear]] exhibit (1950) was built from recycled wartime road blocks and [[Pillbox (military)|pillboxes]].<ref name="history" /> "Always building" was the zoo's slogan at the time. Mottershead received the [[OBE]], an honorary degree of MSc, and served as President of the International Union of Zoo Directors. He died in 1978 aged 84.

===Zoo design===
Mottershead wanted to build a zoo without the traditional [[Victorian era|Victorian]] iron bars to cage the animals.<ref>{{cite book|title=Veterinary medicine: a guide to historical sources|first=Pamela|last=Hunter|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|year=2004|isbn=0-7546-4053-1|page=455}}</ref> He was influenced by the ideas of [[Carl Hagenbeck]], who invented the modern zoo concept and by [[Heini Hediger]], a pioneer of [[ethology]].

At Chester, Mottershead took Hagenbeck's idea for moats and ditches as an alternative to cage bars, and extended their use throughout the zoo, often with species that Hagenbeck had not considered. For example, when [[chimpanzee]]s were released into their new enclosure at Chester in 1956, a group of grassy islands, they were separated from visitors by no more than a {{convert|12|ft|adj=on}} strip of water. Nobody knew then if chimps could swim. It turned out that they could not, and today the chimp islands are a centrepiece of Chester Zoo.

In 1986 the zoo was enclosed with a fence, in line with the [[Zoo Licensing Act 1981]].<ref>{{cite web | title = The Zoo Estate | work = Chester Zoo website | url = http://www.chesterzoo.co.uk/corporate.asp?Page=130 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20031224105452/http://www.chesterzoo.co.uk/corporate.asp?Page=130 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 24 December 2003 | access-date = 28 February 2007 }}</ref>

===21st century===
[[File:Chester Zoo 2016 039.jpg|thumb|A garden area in the zoo.]]
[[File:Red panda at Chester Zoo 2.jpg|thumb|[[Red panda]] (''Ailurus fulgens'') with a zookeeper.]]
Realm of the Red [[Ape]], an [[Indonesia]]n-forest-themed exhibit, featuring [[threatened species|threatened]] [[Sumatran orangutan|Sumatran]] and [[Bornean orangutan]], opened in May 2007.<ref>{{cite web|title=Realm of the Red Ape Conservation Programme|url=http://www.chesterzoo.org/conservation-and-research/field-conservation/field-programmes/realm-of-the-red-ape-conservation-programme|website=Chester Zoo|access-date=2016-02-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207105843/http://www.chesterzoo.org/conservation-and-research/field-conservation/field-programmes/realm-of-the-red-ape-conservation-programme|archive-date=7 February 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In January 2009, Chester Zoo unveiled Natural Vision, a £225 million plan to transform itself into the largest conservation attraction in Europe. The first phase of the plan was to be a £90 million, {{convert|56|ha|adj=on}} enclosed African-rainforest-themed sanctuary containing a band of [[gorilla]]s and a troop of [[chimpanzee]]s, as well as [[okapi]] and a variety of tropical birds, [[amphibian]]s, reptiles, fishes, and [[invertebrate]]s, moving freely among lush vegetation. It included a water ride to take visitors through the exhibit. Natural Vision was to eventually include a 90-room hotel, a Conservation College, and a revamped main entrance that would link the zoo to a marina to be developed on zoo land, all to be completed by 2018.<ref name="bbc_unveiling">{{Cite web
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/7852542.stm
|title=Zoo unveils £225m transformation
|work=bbc.co.uk
|publisher=[[BBC]]
|date=27 January 2009
|access-date=12 August 2012
}}</ref> Plans went before the public for comment in June 2009.<ref name="bbc_public comment">{{Cite web
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/8122980.stm
|title=Zoo's rainforest plans considered
|work=bbc.co.uk
|publisher=[[BBC]]
|date=28 June 2009
|access-date=12 August 2012
}}</ref>

The projected Heart of Africa bio-dome, along with plans for the hotel, were shelved in 2011 due to the loss of £40m potential funding when the North West Regional Development Agency was abolished.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Holmes|first1=David|title=Zoo's bio-dome stalls but joy at £30m exhibit|url=http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/zoos-bio-dome-stalls-joy-30m-5194171|access-date=2016-02-07|work=The Chester Chronicle|date=2013-07-23}}</ref>

In December 2012 planning permission was gained for a later phase of the Natural Vision masterplan. One of the largest zoo developments in Europe, Islands at Chester Zoo is a £40 million redevelopment project to extend the zoo's footprint and recreate six island habitats of [[Southeast Asia]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Chester Zoo's £30m exotic islands development wins planning permission|url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/chester-zoos-30m-exotic-islands-3330504|access-date=2016-02-07|work=Liverpool Echo|date=2012-11-23}}</ref> As of 2017 it is now open.

A 600,000 square foot nature reserve was opened in April 2018. The reserve sits outside the boundary of the main zoo and is free for people to enter.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chester Zoo opens free 600,000 sq ft nature reserve to protect threatened wildlife – Liverpool Business News|url=https://lbndaily.co.uk/chester-zoo-opens-free-600000-sq-ft-nature-reserve-protect-threatened-wldlife/|website=Liverpool Business News|access-date=26 April 2018|date=25 April 2018}}</ref>

In October 2018, two Indian elephant calves (Nandita Hi Way, age 3 years, and Aayu Hi Way, age 18 months), died of [[elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus]] (EEHV). From 1995 on this virus disease has caused many deaths of Indian elephants across the world in zoos and in the wild.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/elephant-calves-die-chester-zoo-15327941|title=Two elephant calves at Chester Zoo die after contracting deadly virus|first=Alexandra|last=Rucki|date=25 October 2018|website=men|access-date=16 December 2018}}</ref>

On 15 December 2018, an electrical fault<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-46623824|title=Chester Zoo fire due to electrical fault|date=2018-12-19|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-12-19|language=en-GB}}</ref> caused a fire to break out at the Monsoon Forest Habitat. The zoo had to be evacuated and was closed. Fifteen fire crews attended the zoo along with two rapid response units and an ambulance. All mammals were accounted for and one person was treated for the effects of [[smoke inhalation]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Fire at Chester Zoo leads to evacuation of visitors |work=BBC News |date=15 December 2018 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-46579083 |access-date=15 December 2018}}</ref> [[Grosbeak starling|Some bird]]s, [[Nyctixalus pictus|frog]]s, [[Betta|fish]] and [[Therea (insect)|small insect]]s were killed in the blaze.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chester Zoo fire: Birds, frogs, fish and insects killed in blaze |url=https://news.sky.com/story/fire-hit-chester-zoo-launches-50000-fundraising-campaign-11582718 |website=Sky News |access-date=16 December 2018}}</ref> The zoo reopened on Sunday 16 December 2018.

[[Chester Zoo monorail]] was an internal transport system for visitors from 1991 to 2019, but was closed as it had become unreliable and covered less than half the zoo due to the zoo's expansion to over {{convert|125|acre}}.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/chester-zoos-popular-monorail-scrapped-16492269|title=Chester Zoo's popular monorail to be scrapped after 28 years|first=Carmella|last=De Lucia|work=[[Chester Chronicle]]|date=26 June 2019}}</ref><ref name=men-20190903>{{cite news |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/chester-zoo-monorail-make-final-16857972 |title=Chester Zoo monorail will make its final voyage today - it's the end of an era |last=Whelan |first=Zara |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=3 September 2019 |access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref> Land from the monorail will be used for a new attraction called Heart of Africa, an open African savannah habitat and vulture aviary. The zoo are also at the same time developing The Reserve Hotel project, a collection of 51 lodges, restaurant and access into the zoo.<ref name=le-20190703>{{cite news |url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/what-replacing-chester-zoos-monorail-16523266 |title=This is what is replacing Chester Zoo's monorail as it is scrapped after 28 years |last1=May |first1=Elle Rice |last2=De |first2=Carmella Lucia |newspaper=Liverpool Echo |date=3 July 2019 |access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref>