usenetposts
15.10.05, 22:41
... and I have to say I was pretty disappointed.
The website of Blue City shopping centre, where it is being hosted, as well
as the remaining propaganda about the place, is full of lies.
First off, it is set out as the largest display of reptiles and amphibians in
Europe. This is a lot of rubbish. Even if it had the 300 species of reptiles
and amphibians that they claim are there in 100 "well equipped" terrariums
(There cannot have been more than 80 terrariums and of the decorative quality
a beginner could manage, and I couldn't see a single one of them that
contained more than one species and I don't remember a single amphibian
there. However the exhibition was a good 30% invertebrates, which are not
included as amphibians or reptiles in the usual systems of cladistics which
taxonomists apply) then even then it would not have been bigger than the
reptile collections of many European zoos, including Moscow Zoo, London zoo,
and Berlin Zoo. It was a joke compared with them, although the entry price
was at a similar level. 16 PLN normal, and 12 for any child over 3 years old.
In a word, a total rip-off. Go to the zoo instead. Or go to Plock zoo. In
addition they had a sponsorship deal with www.szrek.pl with their ad on every
tank. Well, quite frankly I wouldn't be surprised if there were more animals
in their shop than in this "largest collection in Europe".
The next lie was that according to the website you would be able to take
photos. Well, that isn't true. I was told that I couldn't use my camera. But
seeing at most other people flaunting that rule with impunity even using
flash I saw no harm in making some, as I had no intention of using flash
anyway, on captive herptiles.
So I have some shots, which I will put up in due course for people to have a
look at.
The only photos were being taken by a cameraman of people holding an albino
reticulated python. The photographer was an absolute amateur, and the shot he
took of me and my daughter was totally out of focus and unuseable - but cost
5 PLN anyway.
On the plus side, all animals were healthy, not overcrowded, kept in decent
hygiene and once inside you could sort of hang out there all you liked. Not
that there was enough to keep you there more than about 20 minutes or so.