ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Whipsnade Zoo 2018

migdog said:
The wife visited yesterday, and said that they only have one sloth bear now. They only had the sign up for Colombo.
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Pertinax said:
I only saw a single one the other day too, but didn't realise he was the only one now.
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ajmcwhipsnade said:
That's sad :( was there only a couple of weeks ago and saw both more active then I ever have
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Very sad indeed.

Sadly Ursula, our 17 year old sloth bear was put to sleep on the 22nd September.

Keepers grew concerned when Ursula was unable to keep food down, and called the Zoo’s team of vets out to examine her. The veterinary team gave Ursula pain relief, but felt that she needed an internal examination under general anaesthetic. They called upon the assistance of the team at the Royal Veterinary College, who brought specialist equipment for an exploratory procedure.

During the procedure, vets discovered three nuts lodged within Ursula’s oesophagus which were causing an obstruction, which they removed - but they were concerned that she might not recover, due to the damage caused by the obstruction to the lining of her oesophagus (Nuts are a healthy part of sloth bears’ diet, both within the Zoo and in the wild but It is extremely unusual for nuts to form an obstruction in the throat)

Despite receiving the very best care from the veterinary team and keepers over the next two days, Ursula’s condition declined rapidly, and the difficult decision was made to put her to sleep.

Ursula’s brother, Colombo, remains at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo and is doing well.
 
Very sad news, this doesn't look good for the species future in UK collections.
 
It would be a good opportunity to take in Indian sloth bears from mainland Europe, the latest offspring went to the US as European zoos did not seem particularly interested in these wonderful bears.....
 
lintworm said:
It would be a good opportunity to take in Indian sloth bears from mainland Europe, the latest offspring went to the US as European zoos did not seem particularly interested in these wonderful bears.....
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It could be a chance and I hope you're right. But the remaining bear could live another 10 years. They do have 2 outdoor enclosures, but they probably couldn't hold a breeding pair at the moment
 
pipaluk said:
It could be a chance and I hope you're right. But the remaining bear could live another 10 years. They do have 2 outdoor enclosures, but they probably couldn't hold a breeding pair at the moment
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It seems that some of the latest births have been males (like a young in Berlin which soon will need a new home), so they could start with getting in males...
 
Panthera1981 said:
A quick perusal of the new ZSL Annual Report indicates that phase 2 of the Cloisters regeneration is imminent, with the construction of a freshwater aquarium. Stock will come from London’s retired aquarium.
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I thought that might be the case.
 
I am taking a day trip to Whipsnade tomorrow - only the second time I have been, and it's not a zoo I am likely to visit again for a long while due to the distance and cost. Any hidden treats I shouldn't miss there?
 
Make sure you visit the new tiger cubs who are about 5 months old now and they are adorable , if it rains head to the butterfly house as that’s a nice indoor area which to shelter from.
Try and catch one of the bird shows if not both, as they are usually pretty good depending on the winds, and they fly different birds at every show.
Make sure you see the elephants if you can daytime , and before you leave as by the evening they go into their new indoor house, in which you see them close up.
Same with the giraffe their enclosure it has been build to allow for an amazing upclose view of them.
Enjoy your day. Whipsnade is alway fun :)
 
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