Watatunga Wildlife Reserve Watatunga Wildlife Reserve

[Pertinax]

Ambitious project!

Any information on when they expect to start receiving female great bustards and building breeding compounds for them?

The only downside I see to this set-up is that you pay a lot to drive around and see probably only a fraction of the animals they have, as many remain invisible in the dense habitat. I know for a fact they have larger groups of e.g Axis, Sambar & Barasingha. I think I personally would be disappointed in a visit like that not to be able to see everything(or nearly) they have, unlike a Safari Park such as Knowsley where everything, including all their Asian ungulates, is visible if you look around for it. But as a 'safari' adventure to see them in a 'natural' setting it sounds excellent and many people are seemingly well-satisfied with their visits from comments I've read..

As to Bustards, I guess it depends on if/when the GBP/Salisbury Plain project has female individuals that are either unfit for release or any former-released birds that meet with injury on the Plain and can be back brought into captivity. I believe this was the last year of introduction of imported Spanish birds, as the wild flock is now beginning to breed well. So unless they get some from elsewhere, it might be a while till Watatunga can source females- but that is a guess obviously.

 

[DesertRhino150]

Ambitious project!

Any information on when they expect to start receiving female great bustards and building breeding compounds for them?

If I recall correctly from my tour at Watatunga last week, there are already female bustards at the site. As well as the four males living on-show in the bird quarantine enclosures, it was suggested that there is another male paired with a female plus another two unpaired females living away from the tour area. I guess building up the number of males would help the species to lek more easily.

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

That is good to hear. Looking forward to progress with the great bustard breeding project here.
I would have expected organisation like Slimbridge or something might get involved. Well, it being Watatunga ... is just as well-come!

 

[Pertinax]

I would have expected organisation like Slimbridge or something might get involved. Well, it being Watatunga ... is just as well-come!

Watatunga has the space and open land, plus Norfolk was within the historic range of Great Bustard in GB. I believe there may be a longterm plan to try and reinstate them there also, in which case Watatunga would presumably be the centre of operations I would think.

 

[Jennings]

That is good to hear. Looking forward to progress with the great bustard breeding project here.
I would have expected organisation like Slimbridge or something might get involved. Well, it being Watatunga ... is just as well-come!

Whipsnade was involved in the early stages of the reintroduction programme, although I don't think that the birds there ever reproduced. Most of the birds involved were off show although they could be seen from the train, but there was an elderly male in an aviary in the bird garden for several years.

 

[Pertinax]

Whipsnade was involved in the early stages of the reintroduction programme, although I don't think that the birds there ever reproduced. Most of the birds involved were off show although they could be seen from the train, but there was an elderly male in an aviary in the bird garden for several years.

That was an earlier previous programme. It was a total failure. I believe the last birds were moved to Whipsnade and the very last male, as you describe, died there too. It took place some time before the current programme started.

 

[FBBird]

That was an earlier previous programme. It was a total failure. I believe the last birds were moved to Whipsnade and the very last male, as you describe, died there too. It took place some time before the current programme started.

That was the Great Bustard Trust, started I think in the 1970s. I don’t think they had more than a dozen birds, which hatched at least one chick, but never reared anything.

 

[Pertinax]

That was the Great Bustard Trust, started I think in the 1970s. I don’t think they had more than a dozen birds, which hatched at least one chick, but never reared anything.

Yes, I think they had the birds on Salisbury Plain, at Porton Down somewhere. I think they only moved them to Whipsnade after it had already failed.

 

[FBBird]

Yes, I think they had the birds on Salisbury Plain, at Porton Down somewhere. I think they only moved them to Whipsnade after it had already failed.

They did indeed. I believe they had difficulty keeping the birds in good physical condition, although they did experiment with hormone implants for the males.

 

[Pertinax]

They did indeed. I believe they had difficulty keeping the birds in good physical condition, although they did experiment with hormone implants for the males.

I've visited the site of the current project a few years ago now. 2 years ago around Christmas I saw three Bustards(1.2) in fields near where I live(also Dorset). Apparently first year birds from the project frequently disperse in their first winter, but only the hand-reared ones..

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

That was the Great Bustard Trust, started I think in the 1970s. I don’t think they had more than a dozen birds, which hatched at least one chick, but never reared anything.

Their sourced founder stock was from a different genetic stock and population that was quite unrelated to the UK population prior to their extinction there. Since, they changed to birds from more southerly populations ... is when success really started.

I would be nice though if Whipsnade jumped the bandwagon too for obvious reasons, once again and then in a more active role!

 

[Pertinax]

Their sourced founder stock was from a different genetic stock and population that was quite unrelated to the UK population prior to their extinction there. Since, they changed to birds from more southerly populations ... is when success really started.

Yes, the current project started with birds from Russia- hatched from eggs collected that would other wise have been destroyed by farming. But this is a migratory population and a lot of the birds released on Salisbury Plain wandered away and didn't return. The project was struggling rather but after a few years they transferred to Spanish birds, having established these did in fact have a closer genetic link to the past UK population. Also the big plus is they aren't migratory, which has resulted in far more birds staying put and better success overall. I think the genes of a few of the Russian birds may be in the new population, though at the time of the transfer to using Spanish birds, only about nine of the Russian ones were resident/established on the Plain. Not sure if any of them are left now- possibly a few.

 

[TNT]

The reserve has now welcomed it's first Bongo! Log into Facebook

 

[DesertRhino150]

A new bird species has recently arrived at Watatunga - the Bornean crested fireback pheasant.

Information comes from the park's Facebook page.

 

[DesertRhino150]

A Pere David's deer fawn has recently been born at Watatunga.

Information from the park's Facebook page.

 

[DesertRhino150]

I have just noticed a couple of new bird species that have arrived at Watatunga that have not been mentioned here yet.

In early April, it was announced on Facebook that a breeding flock of Eurasian cranes has been moved over from Pensthrope Nature Park. And while I cannot find a post about its arrival, there is also a photograph on the Watatunga Facebook page that shows a white-naped crane.

 

[Pertinax]

In early April, it was announced on Facebook that a breeding flock of Eurasian cranes has been moved over from Pensthrope Nature Park.

I think their Common Cranes are a family trio of two adults plus a previous young one.

 

[migdog]

We visited on Monday. We didn't see the male Bongo, but they do have 3 females off show they plan to add to the reserve soon (one has a calf, second due to go e birth soon). They have a few more pheasant species too than I remember, will post a list later.

 

[migdog]

Watatunga have announced on Facebook that two female bongos and one calf have been released into the reserve.

List of pheasant species now in the reserve:

Bornean Crested Fireback pheasant (Lophura ignita)
Cheer pheasant (Catreus wallichli)
Copper pheasant (Symaticus soemmerringii)
Edwards's pheasant (Lophua edwardsi)
Elliot's pheasant (Symaticus ellioti)
Grey peacock pheasant (Polyplectron bicalcaratum)
Kalij pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos)
Lady Amherst's pheasant (Chysolophus amherstiae)
Koklass pheasant (Purcrasia macrolopha)
Reeves's pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii)
Silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera)
Swinhoes's pheasant (Lophura swinhoii)

They also have a single Javan peafowl that we saw in a holding cage in the forest area, that will be released soon.

 

[Pertinax]

Watatunga have announced on Facebook that two female bongos and one calf have been released into the reserve.

List of pheasant species now in the reserve:

Bornean Crested Fireback pheasant (Lophura ignita)
Cheer pheasant (Catreus wallichli)
Copper pheasant (Symaticus soemmerringii)
Edwards's pheasant (Lophua edwardsi)
Elliot's pheasant (Symaticus ellioti)
Grey peacock pheasant (Polyplectron bicalcaratum)
Kalij pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos)
Lady Amherst's pheasant (Chysolophus amherstiae)
Koklass pheasant (Purcrasia macrolopha)
Reeves's pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii)
Silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera)
Swinhoes's pheasant (Lophura swinhoii)

They also have a single Javan peafowl that we saw in a holding cage in the forest area, that will be released soon.

Are all these free-living or in pens? I imagine they'd lose a lot to foxes if they are free.