Newquay Zoo Newquay Zoo News

First visit in over 30 years to this brilliant little zoo!!

Highlights: Very active Eurasian Lynx, great bird collection, blue crowned hanging parrots, Greater Vasa Parrots with no bars, young zebra, Pied Tamarins, very friendly bleeding-heart doves, sleepy Fossa, Ecuadorian Amazons...
 
The zoos first Red Panda cub (a male) is due to be moved to Bojnice Zoo in Slovakia shortly
 
I had a short visit on Sunday 3rd July, on my way back from Paradise Park, Hayle.
The main news is that the exhibit for Asian birds, mentioned by Gigit in a post last year, is now under construction. It will be called 'Gems of the Jungle' and is on the site between the warty pigs and the exhibit for the tapirs and capybaras. This site was previously used for quarantine quarters and old aviaries for macaws etc. I have looked for plans on the Cornwall County Council website, but without success: perhaps planning permission was not required for some reason. At the moment it is not really possible to tell what the new exhibit will finally look like.



Perhaps in preparation, the aviaries are full of birds. The free-flight area in the Tropical House was very busy with lots of roulroul and a pair of collared hill partridge on the ground. From the first floor, the black bulbuls and some very tame scissor-billed starlings took the eye, plus green cardinal, blue-crowned laughing thrush and more that I didn't have time to see (not forgetting the Rodrigues fruit bats and I assume that the sloth was in a corner somewhere). In addition the aviary at the right hand end of the gallery was closed off and held more species including the blue-crowned hanging parrots (previously on show in the Village Farm area) and scarlet tanagers, plus a Javan chevrotain. I cursed that I didn't have more time to check things out fully, but I think that the new exhibit promises to be well stocked.
The vivaria downstairs in the Tropical House also held some treasures. There were 4 vine snakes, which I suspect may be new arrivals, as they all had rather bent noses; I hope these will straighten as they grow because I want better photos when I return. Also on show were one of the three-horned chameleon species, electric blue day gecko and a young brown pricklenape.

Alan
 
From Facebook:

We've said a fond farewell to Hu our juvenile red panda today. 8-month old Hu was born at the Zoo in November and has this evening jetted off to start a new life in Slovakia where he will join conservation efforts to save his species from extinction. We'll miss you Hu!
 
After visiting yesterday some exciting new avian additions have been made to the collection including Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Green Cardinal and Oriental Greenfinch.
 
Another avian species recently added to the collection: 1.1 Red-&-white Crakes (Laterallus leucopyrrhus).
 
A very nice species indeed :) had to go all the way to Walsrode to see them earlier this year!
 
Another nice avian addition: Chester has sent Newquay a pair of Grey-winged Blackbirds (Turdus boulboul).
 
MikeG said:
Another nice avian addition: Chester has sent Newquay a pair of Grey-winged Blackbirds (Turdus boulboul).
Click to expand...

Worth noting that a pair are now on show at Chester (in the aviary next to the entrance to Tropical Realm).
 
Another recent avian addition:
Chester sent 2 Asian Glossy Starlings (Aplonis panayensis) to Newquay.
 
A pair of Tambourine Doves (Turtur tympanistria) has come from a private breeder.
This species is rare in European zoos, but somewhat commoner in American collections.
 
MikeG said:
A pair of Tambourine Doves (Turtur tympanistria) has come from a private breeder.
This species is rare in European zoos, but somewhat commoner in American collections.
Click to expand...
Yes, tambourine doves have always been a rarity in the UK, with only a few in private hands these days, and even fewer in public zoos, any surplus are always highly priced too.
 
The new gems of the jungle exhibit is a brillant new exhibit. It is nice to see a U.K. zoo spending money on a well designed and thought through passerine exhibit. Newquay zoo now boasts one of the best Laughing thrush collections in the U.K., if not europe : Sumatran, White crested, Blue crowned, Red tailed, Spotted, Moustached laughing thrushes, Omei Shan liocichila and pekin robins. Other notiable species within this exhibit are Pink headed fruit doves, superb fruit doves, Silver winged blackbirds, timor doves, Blue crowned hanging parrots, Golden heart doves and Green naped pheasant pigeons. Fair to say I was very impressed. It will be interesting to see Newquays breeding results from this unusal mixed exhibit.
 
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