Paignton Zoo Paignton Zoo News 2018
- Thread starter Gigit
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The Brown Eared used to live in the aviary where I believe the Marabou Storks now live. If I remember rightly, they shared with the Oriental White Stork and a breeding pair of Black-necked Swans.
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Gigit
Well-Known Member
Quote:"The Brown Eared used to live in the aviary where I believe the Marabou Storks now live. If I remember rightly, they shared with the Oriental White Stork and a breeding pair of Black-necked Swans."
I thought I'd seen them before. They must have been lurking off-show somewhere since then.
I thought I'd seen them before. They must have been lurking off-show somewhere since then.
Gigit
Well-Known Member
There's a pair of Lesser Adjutant storks in that aviary now. The Marabou are off-show behind the Avian Breeding Centre - you can sometimes get a glimpse from the path behind the tigers.
Do they still have two pairs of Marabou, or are they down to one pair? I imagine they would be concentrating on Lesser Adjutants?
Gigit
Well-Known Member
Just the one pair, I think. The Marabou were practice for the Lesser Adjutants and they in turn are practice for Greater Adjutants in the future.
I saw the brown-eared pheasants today. The fishing owl has been moved into the first parrot aviary (nearest the red pandas), replacing the green peafowl.
I have a new theory about the 2 tanks in the former Tenrec House. The filters are creating considerable water movement and there is now vigorous aeration as well - which indicates that the inhabitants will be/are rheophilous (inhabiting fast flowing water). The tanks have gravel bases with a number of short lengths of tubing scattered across the bottom. If the thermofilters have their heating elements switched off, this might create good conditions for native white-clawed crayfish. The outdoor exhibit next to this house allegedly held this species and has now been emptied. I don't know if any crayfish were found when this happened, but if so, they may have been rehomed now.
A few more observations: all the blue monitors are now on show, three in the Reptile Nursery and the fourth in Reptile Tropics. The Bicheno's finches (aka double-barred finches or owl finches) are back in the Desert House and the pileated gibbon pair were quietly and discreetly mating shortly after I arrived.
I have a new theory about the 2 tanks in the former Tenrec House. The filters are creating considerable water movement and there is now vigorous aeration as well - which indicates that the inhabitants will be/are rheophilous (inhabiting fast flowing water). The tanks have gravel bases with a number of short lengths of tubing scattered across the bottom. If the thermofilters have their heating elements switched off, this might create good conditions for native white-clawed crayfish. The outdoor exhibit next to this house allegedly held this species and has now been emptied. I don't know if any crayfish were found when this happened, but if so, they may have been rehomed now.
A few more observations: all the blue monitors are now on show, three in the Reptile Nursery and the fourth in Reptile Tropics. The Bicheno's finches (aka double-barred finches or owl finches) are back in the Desert House and the pileated gibbon pair were quietly and discreetly mating shortly after I arrived.
Gigit
Well-Known Member
You never know what you're going to find in the aviaries. Today there was a Spectacled Owl where the Australian Magpies used to be and the Magpies (well, only one of them, I think) had replaced the Duivenbode's Lories. They weren't in any of the nearby aviaries and I didn't get as far as the Avian Breeding Centre to look. There's still a Spectacled Owl next to the Snowy Owls.
The main news is that the Peba's stubfoot toads have gone on show in the Amphibian Ark. There are 3 vivariums and I saw a total of five toads, but only one was clearly visible. I spotted it sitting on a branch, and took some wideangle photos around the displays.
When I went back it had moved to a leaf and didn't move again for 6 hours (unless it regularly waited for me to leave, did a lap of the tank and then returned to the same spot before I came back). Unfortunately it kept its back turned throughout.
Just visible in the Quarantine Room were a couple of Anatolian newts (Neurergus strauchii) next to the Lygosoma gecko units. I saw their label last week, but I glimpsed the newts for the first time today.
The weather was so humid that the Crocodile Swamp was like a Turkish Bath*, but through the vapours I could see that the two male Tomistoma have been moved into the water lily pool. Last week one of the volunteers told me that Lima, the big female, has been keeping them out of 'her' pool in the main display. I was reminded that P G Wodehouse abbreviated Kipling's famous phrase by saying that 'the f of the s is more d than the m'
* I have never been in a Turkish Bath, so this is guesswork - but it was quite unpleasant.
The weather was so humid that the Crocodile Swamp was like a Turkish Bath*, but through the vapours I could see that the two male Tomistoma have been moved into the water lily pool. Last week one of the volunteers told me that Lima, the big female, has been keeping them out of 'her' pool in the main display. I was reminded that P G Wodehouse abbreviated Kipling's famous phrase by saying that 'the f of the s is more d than the m'
* I have never been in a Turkish Bath, so this is guesswork - but it was quite unpleasant.
A couple of pieces of news from my visit today. There is a baby howler monkey, which I just glimpsed on the mother's belly as she was climbing into the trees this morning. I looked again several times, but she was either very high or invisible in the foliage.
The Tomistoma were all together again, but there were two large turtles in the former lily pond. I was told that they are alligator snappers and that they were only introduced today. I could not get a clear enough view to confirm this, but they are both certainly a good size for this species. I would not be surprised if there are fewer mbuna and guppies in this pool in a fortnight's time.
The Tomistoma were all together again, but there were two large turtles in the former lily pond. I was told that they are alligator snappers and that they were only introduced today. I could not get a clear enough view to confirm this, but they are both certainly a good size for this species. I would not be surprised if there are fewer mbuna and guppies in this pool in a fortnight's time.
Great news about the Howlers.
I noticed at the weekend that:
- there was a lapwing in the area between the Tropical & Desert house.
- the Mouse deer (& their signage) have gone (?) from Monkey Heights.
- the python rock exhibit in Croc swamp now has a pile of wooden pallets stacked up - anyone know what this is all about?
I noticed at the weekend that:
- there was a lapwing in the area between the Tropical & Desert house.
- the Mouse deer (& their signage) have gone (?) from Monkey Heights.
- the python rock exhibit in Croc swamp now has a pile of wooden pallets stacked up - anyone know what this is all about?
There was a lapwing in the Cottage Aviary and I presume that it is temporarily in that lobby area, like the other birds from that aviary which are distributed around the zoo. Incidentally, two workers were replacing parts of the new wooden framework of the Cottage Aviary, so it may a while before it is finished. I could also hear someone working below the visitors walkway in the Crocodile Swamp, as part of the refurbishment of the python exhibit and there were some tools lying around, but I don't know more than that. I agree about the mouse deer, I wonder if they have been moved to the Nocturnal House in Newquay.
The snappers are a great addition but it's always surprised me that there are not crocs in the Lily pool - the 3 Dwarf African crocs, the other juvenile Cubans (X2) or another adult Cuban?
Does anyone know what is held off-show?
Anything definite now over their Cuban breeding program???
Do they now have pure-bred paired up ... or is it still someway off?
Do they now have pure-bred paired up ... or is it still someway off?
Gigit
Well-Known Member
They could only be moved if the bovine TB restrictions have been lifted.
The main news is that the Peba's stubfoot toads have gone on show in the Amphibian Ark. There are 3 vivariums and I saw a total of five toads, but only one was clearly visible. I spotted it sitting on a branch, and took some wideangle photos around the displays.
When I went back it had moved to a leaf and didn't move again for 6 hours (unless it regularly waited for me to leave, did a lap of the tank and then returned to the same spot before I came back). Unfortunately it kept its back turned throughout.
Just visible in the Quarantine Room were a couple of Anatolian newts (Neurergus strauchii) next to the Lygosoma gecko units. I saw their label last week, but I glimpsed the newts for the first time today.
The weather was so humid that the Crocodile Swamp was like a Turkish Bath*, but through the vapours I could see that the two male Tomistoma have been moved into the water lily pool. Last week one of the volunteers told me that Lima, the big female, has been keeping them out of 'her' pool in the main display. I was reminded that P G Wodehouse abbreviated Kipling's famous phrase by saying that 'the f of the s is more d than the m'
* I have never been in a Turkish Bath, so this is guesswork - but it was quite unpleasant.
Not convinced that you would find Crocodilians in the average Turkish bath, even benign fish-eating ones.The main news is that the Peba's stubfoot toads have gone on show in the Amphibian Ark. There are 3 vivariums and I saw a total of five toads, but only one was clearly visible. I spotted it sitting on a branch, and took some wideangle photos around the displays.
When I went back it had moved to a leaf and didn't move again for 6 hours (unless it regularly waited for me to leave, did a lap of the tank and then returned to the same spot before I came back). Unfortunately it kept its back turned throughout.
Just visible in the Quarantine Room were a couple of Anatolian newts (Neurergus strauchii) next to the Lygosoma gecko units. I saw their label last week, but I glimpsed the newts for the first time today.
The weather was so humid that the Crocodile Swamp was like a Turkish Bath*, but through the vapours I could see that the two male Tomistoma have been moved into the water lily pool. Last week one of the volunteers told me that Lima, the big female, has been keeping them out of 'her' pool in the main display. I was reminded that P G Wodehouse abbreviated Kipling's famous phrase by saying that 'the f of the s is more d than the m'
* I have never been in a Turkish Bath, so this is guesswork - but it was quite unpleasant.
Komodo dragon I was told.
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