Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo News 2018

Kifaru Bwana said:
Sending the non reproductive group to BD is the last thing one should do. By sending away bull Tembo they even signal none of that is on the cards. Aside, I would wish BD might eventually get a breeding group.
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Blair Drummond is not set up to have a breeding group and they have stated publicly they will only take retirement cows, they don't have big enough facilities to house a Bull, and the house can house up to 4 cows. They had been looking for retirement cows to join their current African Elephant for a while but concluded a few months ago that it would not be right to bring in one whilst Mondy was alive. The ones at Colchester if non reproductive, and they are sending away their Bull would be ideal to join BD when Mondy dies, as it would enable them to bring in whole new Cows and a Bull so they can breed successfully. BD will never breed Elephants from what they say, as the set up is for elderly cows and wouldn't have a separate paddock for both a Bull and Cow.
 
The Colchester Zoo autumn-winter 2018 magazine has been released recently. Very little in the way of animal news in it (which is seemingly the norm for this publication), but the magazine does confirm that the next phase in Kingdom of the Wild will be to turn the old patas and colobus monkey enclosure into an expanded pygmy hippo area. This redevelopment will also involve the creation of a new aquarium.

The magazine is included below (the small piece in question is on page 21):
Colchester Zoo Magazine Autumn/Winter 2018 - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo
 
DesertRhino150 said:
The Colchester Zoo autumn-winter 2018 magazine has been released recently. Very little in the way of animal news in it (which is seemingly the norm for this publication), but the magazine does confirm that the next phase in Kingdom of the Wild will be to turn the old patas and colobus monkey enclosure into an expanded pygmy hippo area. This redevelopment will also involve the creation of a new aquarium.
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Glad to see there is progress this, especially as they have a proven breeding pair, IMO the current enclosure is behind on the standards the zoo has set with all their other exhibits!
 
I went for a brief visit (just under two hours) to Colchester Zoo this afternoon. This is what I noticed on my visit:

Species Arrivals and Departures
  • The aquarium in Wilds of Asia (in front of the gibbon enclosure) has been cleaned up and most of the fish have been cleared out; there are now no more African cichlids in the tank. The flip-card signage on the nearby tree has been updated to reflect this, with just tinfoil barb, spotted archerfish, green-spotted scat and clown loach signed – I only saw the former two species.

Developments
  • The redevelopment of the terrarium in Heart of the Amazon is complete and now holds the Solomon Island skinks; the skink’s former exhibit in Worlds Apart now houses a single yellow-footed tortoise.
  • The domestic rats have been moved off-show in the kunekune pig house; the enclosure has been redeveloped and is currently being used to prepare the European spur-thighed tortoise for hibernation.
  • It looks like the indoor area of the old scarlet ibis aviary is now empty (formerly housed a single pied tamarin). Also, it looks like a new door (a large mesh-covered one) has been added connecting the indoor area and main aviary.

General Observations
  • From my two passes of the exhibit, it seems that the colobus and patas monkeys are now using the new enclosure on rotation. Also, the species identifying signage in front of the viewing window has been removed.
  • New signage has been put up by the mandrill enclosure showing all twenty individuals, with their names, date of birth and information on whether they are breeding females or the alpha male.
  • Signage has now also been added identifying the species of African cichlid and cuckoo catfish temporarily living in the smaller aquarium in Koi Niwa.
 
DesertRhino150 said:
  • New signage has been put up by the mandrill enclosure showing all twenty individuals, with their names, date of birth and information on whether they are breeding females or the alpha male.
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Last time I went the large Mandrill group also contained several adult males, which from their general appearance I suspect were castrated, apart from the most colourful/bulkiest 'alpha' one. Are they no longer in this group now?
 
Pertinax said:
Last time I went the large Mandrill group also contained several adult males, which from their general appearance I suspect were castrated, apart from the most colourful/bulkiest 'alpha' one. Are they no longer in this group now?
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Apologies for not making it clear in my notes - of the twenty mandrills on the sign, one is labelled as 'alpha' and three are labelled as 'breeding female'. The other sixteen animals have no labels next to them at all. I think the castrated males are included within this group. I've included the link to the picture below to show what I mean.

New mandrill signage | ZooChat
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Apologies for not making it clear in my notes - of the twenty mandrills on the sign, one is labelled as 'alpha' and three are labelled as 'breeding female'. The other sixteen animals have no labels next to them at all. I think the castrated males are included within this group. I've included the link to the picture below to show what I mean.

New mandrill signage | ZooChat
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Thanks. An interesting sign. I'm not sure the several oldest males are castrated but I think its most likely as I'm sure otherwise there would be fighting. From the names of some individuals, its not easy to work out their sexes.
 
Couple of things from a visit today;

-A massive pile of sand has been delivered into the elephant paddocks which I’m assuming is to “dry” the ground as the paddock as essentially turned into a bog. (Hopefully do the same in the mixed paddock across the way as it seems the Giraffe won’t be going out into the mixed paddock anytime soon)

-Inside the Elephant house there is a new enclosure being built...from the size I’m assuming it could be for a smaller reptile species (there was no one around to ask)
 
Tembo's paddock is being redesigned and having an added outdoor shelter, they have dug out foundations already and put the excess soil and sand in the cow's paddock, Tembo is being kept inside while work takes place and zola has been put into the back half of Tanya and Opal paddock
 
4ways NAP said:
Tembo's paddock is being redesigned and having an added outdoor shelter, they have dug out foundations already and put the excess soil and sand in the cow's paddock, Tembo is being kept inside while work takes place and zola has been put into the back half of Tanya and Opal paddock
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Ah so that’s where all that sand came from. Can the 3 cows not be mixed together as I assume they have contact when they are inside at night?
 
The zoo has released a small news piece about the juvenile male Komodo dragons, now up for adoption. Perhaps of greater interest, one of the four named Komodo dragons is Curu, the eldest offspring who was reported a couple of years ago to have departed for Flamingo Land. It now seems he never actually left Colchester.

More information is included on the link below:
Our male Juvenile Komodo Dragon are now up for adoption! - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo
 
Some sad news from Colchester - on 11th December Rajang, the 50 year-old orangutan, was put to sleep as he was found to be suffering from a degenerating neurological condition. In the near future Orangutan Forest will be renamed in his honour and the gardens by All Saints Church (located next to Orangutan Forest) will be dedicated to him with a timeline about his life.

More information is included on the link below:
Sleep tight Rajang - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo
 
Rajang - the news I've dreaded every time I've seen that someone's posted on this thread. Bless his heart :(:(
 
I remember seeing him on my very first visit to Colchester Zoo (can't remember the year but the Spirit of Africa had just opened and work had started on Kingdom of the Wild). Although the enclosure by the entrance was not great, we got so close to him and he seemed so big and impressive (I was only a kid!). Pleasure to have seen him every visit since. He will be missed.
 
Well I cried reading that tribute - because it was totally fitting. I will miss him very much.
 
I don't think Colchester will be quite the same again. Rajang was probably the single most iconic character in a UK zoo at the time of his passing, virtually everyone who made a visit would always go to see him interacting with the visitors, however short their visit time was.

On the favourite individuals thread, he was the only current individual I thought of! He is to Colchester what Guy the Gorilla or Chi Chi the giant panda were to London.

He will never be forgotten
 
Sad news about Rajang. As commented above, he was definately for Colchester what Guy and Chi Chi were for London. I remember his birth at Chester, their first surviving Orangutan one, and seeing him as a small baby in a little nursery house they had for him. I took a photo of him peeping through the glass but can't find it now.
 
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