I think even people that have been critical of Marwell in recent years would agree that their hoof stock breeding is usually very good. Even if overall herd numbers aren’t what they used to be, the last few years have been really successful breeding wise
Marwell Wildlife Marwell Zoo News 2021
- Thread starter Cat-Man
- Start date
I think even people that have been critical of Marwell in recent years would agree that their hoof stock breeding is usually very good. Even if overall herd numbers aren’t what they used to be, the last few years have been really successful breeding wise
New feeder platforms for Giraffe which will be electric operated for browse.
Wild Place Project have just announced on their Facebook page that on Thursday 21st October female okapi 'Kibibi' will be moving to Marwell.
I wonder if this means that one or both of Marwell’s females will be moving elsewhere? They currently have the mother and daughter pairing of Daphne and Niari, and the new male that recently moved from Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
I understand that Niari will be moving at some point.
I thought their group was much bigger. Just the six. What is the breeding group 1.3 individuals?
Can't upload for some reason
Amur Leopard Akin has sadly passed away at the grand old age of 20 years. He has died from "deteriorating health associated with old age".
He was their last Amur and it states that
"Please bear with us while we consider a new species for this habitat"
Very sad news shame I never got to see him.
Amur Leopard Akin has sadly passed away at the grand old age of 20 years. He has died from "deteriorating health associated with old age".
He was their last Amur and it states that
"Please bear with us while we consider a new species for this habitat"
Very sad news shame I never got to see him.
That's a shame, especially as the once brilliant cat collection has dissipated further.
Hopefully they will source either leopards or jaguars for that enclosure. I'm not sure it would suit lions?
I'd love to see the cat collection built up again-over the years the cheetah, lion, sumatran tiger, clouded leopard, caracal and lynx have all gone. Not sure if any ocelot left?
Hopefully they will source either leopards or jaguars for that enclosure. I'm not sure it would suit lions?
I'd love to see the cat collection built up again-over the years the cheetah, lion, sumatran tiger, clouded leopard, caracal and lynx have all gone. Not sure if any ocelot left?
It’s a great shame to lose another holder of this stunning species, especially considering it’s critically endangered. I saw his daughter Milena at Colchester Zoo and she was a beautiful cat.
My initial thoughts were that Marwell could have phased them out to go into Sri Lankan leopards, but the message, “Please bear with us while we consider a new species for this habitat" makes me uneasy.
In Australasian zoos, this is code for “Something low key is going in here” - as any new species worth a visit is shouted from the roof tops well ahead of it’s arrival. Not sure if it’s the same for European zoos, but the death of Akin would have come as no surprise (given his age) - so Marwell have had plenty of time to “consider a new species.”
Sad.
Am I mistaken in thinking the only cat species are now Amur Tiger, Snow Leopard and Serval have I forgotten something?
Given the huge signs around the exhibit saying Leopards, I wouldn't be surprised if they are trying to see what Leopards can be sourced as a first choice.
On recent form I feel a lot more confident that something will be found to live in the exhibit then I would have been a short while ago.
Am I mistaken in thinking the only cat species are now Amur Tiger, Snow Leopard and Serval have I forgotten something?
Given the huge signs around the exhibit saying Leopards, I wouldn't be surprised if they are trying to see what Leopards can be sourced as a first choice.
On recent form I feel a lot more confident that something will be found to live in the exhibit then I would have been a short while ago.
Possibly to Wild Place, in due course, unless they have Kibibi back again?
I do not know but sure she will stay in UK.Am just pleased that Marwell will keep going with Okapi,at one time had doubts about them keeping them any more,as regards the Leopard enclosure think that it will have a make over for another cat species.
Yes, the Okapi stock started to diminish quite rapidly at one stage, given they had six previously, but these recent moves seem to re-establish them as a UK holder.
ZooAtHome
Well-Known Member
Excuse my rambly post
Visited Marwell yesterday (21st November) for the first time in 2 years, maybe more. Had a lovely day despite it being quite cold and overcast. Many of the older enclosures, particularly the area between the gift shop and the snow leopards, appeared empty and unused. A few other enclosures round the park were similar, however overall I left with the feeling that this was likely due to new things coming rather than it being rundown.
My last visit I saw the Tropical house for the first time (I think we visited the month it opened), so that may give more of an indication as to when my last visit actually was, I was probably way off.
This time the tropical house looked much more 'grown in' the plants were nearly bursting out of the roof, it was fantastic. We managed to spot the sloth in the canopy. The bird life in there looked very content though it seemed less busy than previously, but this may be due to the larger plants now providing more cover. Was very happy to see the Burmese Mountain Tortoises trundling around, as they are species we keep in our private collection. The area under the entrance of the tropical house looked liked they were doing some form of work there. The large pool still looks like it is severely missing a turtle or some kind of crocodilian, I hope it does not remain just fish forever. The waterfall near this area has a sign indicating it is inhabited by frogs, previously I had not seen these but this time we did spot them, and again and again. There was loads of them, and seeing them hop around and call next to this waterfall in essentially an open space was actually one of my favourite zoo experiences in recent years, despite them being so small and not that colourful. Definitely look out for them if you visit.
The Utila Island Iguana (another species we have in our collection and one close to my heart) had grown lots since our last visit as it was essentially a baby when we visited before, now he looks to be breeding size. It is a shame there are so few females in captivity. I enjoyed the aquatic Caecilian that lived in his pond below the leafcutter ants, a very interesting mixed exhibit and I imagine the Caecilian is often overlooked, though he was half buried in the substrate so I don't imagine this helps.
The Crocodile Monitor enclosure is still inappropriate for the species in my opinion, though it felt much warmer in there than it did on my last visit. Personally I feel it needs switching over to another species, maybe a more terrestrial monitor species (salvator or mertensi) or a West African Dwarf Crocodile or possible some kind of semi aquatic mammal.
There was a new play area up near the Ocelots old enclosure. The enclosure was closed off, along with where the bat eared foxes used to be. I hope they redo this for something again and it doesn't become more play area.
A tiger was out and about and I enjoyed the Yellow Mongoose house which in the past had sand cats. The way the enclosure extends around the entire building is actually very good and the animals seemed to use every inch of the space. The other desert house nearby with the addax remains good and they are a great species. The inside enclosure with the Laudakia sp, a very attractive lizard species that should be more popular, was very good and their lighting was excellent. Something which I went on to notice had been improved across loads more of the zoo for reptiles and some of the smaller monkeys; Callitrichids and the like. It was really great to see these positive husbandry changes, especially when some of the zoo enclosures were empty. It helped with my attitude that things were on the up not down.
I was disappointed the hyrax were no longer in the giraffe house, the lemur enclosure in there was very nice but I'm not hugely interested in that taxonomic group.
The cheetah enclosure has been merged with the savannah habitat which really confused me at first but it did give the ungulates lots more space. It was nice to see the new serval, really like that species.
As mentioned above the leopard enclosure was empty still with a sign indicating they plan to get a new species.
I enjoyed the new Red Panda area, and the expansion of the wallaby walkthrough gave them a lot more space, though I could only see 2 animals but they may have been sheltering from the cold.
The walkthrough bird aviary near the Red Pandas was great and seeing the Garrulax (Laughing Thrush) hopping about being busy was lovely and another highlight of the day. I keep visiting zoos and seeing particular birds and saying "I really like that one, I am not sure what it is but it's my favourite bird here" and then they always end up being a Garrulax species. So I guess I'll have to get some at some point! There was quite a number of them, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a load of fledglings with their parents. Really lovely birds. The Hamerkop and Weaver bird nests were also great to see.
The reptile house near the wallabies also appeared to have had a lighting upgrade which was great though the Dumeril's Boa needs more cover to allow it to shelter from its new lighting rig! The Chelodina mccordi are a nice addition though the enclosures height felt wasted and maybe some kind of arboreal lizard would be good to share with them. I couldn't spot any of the Laemanctus, another species I really like and keep at home, they should be more popular. The 2 babies in the small room near the cafe needed much more food and looked quite thin, having bred them in the past they should have food available at all times as it does go right through them.
The addition of the Visayan Warty Pigs near the otters and Siamangs was good, and the enclosures had been edited a bit to give them more rockwork which looked much better and helped with the overall look of that area. The binturongs and cusimanse were great and are both firm favourites of mine and cemented more that I needed some at home, so I will pursue that more in the new year.
The walled garden area is lovely, as it always has been. The indoor areas for the monkeys when you come in from near the cusimanse had been done up with much more lighting and decor and they all looked very happy. It was nice to see the Saki Monkeys so active. As you walk through the garden area the first enclosure on the left appeared to be empty. The red ruffed lemur were out and about.
I had heard about the addition of the Bokiboky, but I had forgotten about it until I saw the sign and then immediately was very excited, luckily by this time it was quite late in the day and the zoo was mainly empty. We stood and waited and after about 10/15mins the animal did appear and I managed to get a photo, then a pram came round the corner and the animal immediately bolted back into its house and disappeared. Very interesting species but unfortunately not the best display animal it seems, maybe a nocturnal house would be better for it.
After that we walked back to the entrance past the snow leopards which were asleep on a rock, standard. Then the remainder of the enclosures were quite empty, I was disappointed there was no peccary any more as I do like them a lot.
All in all it was a great visit, and I am hopeful that the empty bits and signs of building work are to allow for new developments and projects rather than a sign the zoo is fading away. The facelift of the majority of enclosures was lovely to see and I think is a sign of great things to come. I won't leave it another few years until I go again.
Visited Marwell yesterday (21st November) for the first time in 2 years, maybe more. Had a lovely day despite it being quite cold and overcast. Many of the older enclosures, particularly the area between the gift shop and the snow leopards, appeared empty and unused. A few other enclosures round the park were similar, however overall I left with the feeling that this was likely due to new things coming rather than it being rundown.
My last visit I saw the Tropical house for the first time (I think we visited the month it opened), so that may give more of an indication as to when my last visit actually was, I was probably way off.
This time the tropical house looked much more 'grown in' the plants were nearly bursting out of the roof, it was fantastic. We managed to spot the sloth in the canopy. The bird life in there looked very content though it seemed less busy than previously, but this may be due to the larger plants now providing more cover. Was very happy to see the Burmese Mountain Tortoises trundling around, as they are species we keep in our private collection. The area under the entrance of the tropical house looked liked they were doing some form of work there. The large pool still looks like it is severely missing a turtle or some kind of crocodilian, I hope it does not remain just fish forever. The waterfall near this area has a sign indicating it is inhabited by frogs, previously I had not seen these but this time we did spot them, and again and again. There was loads of them, and seeing them hop around and call next to this waterfall in essentially an open space was actually one of my favourite zoo experiences in recent years, despite them being so small and not that colourful. Definitely look out for them if you visit.
The Utila Island Iguana (another species we have in our collection and one close to my heart) had grown lots since our last visit as it was essentially a baby when we visited before, now he looks to be breeding size. It is a shame there are so few females in captivity. I enjoyed the aquatic Caecilian that lived in his pond below the leafcutter ants, a very interesting mixed exhibit and I imagine the Caecilian is often overlooked, though he was half buried in the substrate so I don't imagine this helps.
The Crocodile Monitor enclosure is still inappropriate for the species in my opinion, though it felt much warmer in there than it did on my last visit. Personally I feel it needs switching over to another species, maybe a more terrestrial monitor species (salvator or mertensi) or a West African Dwarf Crocodile or possible some kind of semi aquatic mammal.
There was a new play area up near the Ocelots old enclosure. The enclosure was closed off, along with where the bat eared foxes used to be. I hope they redo this for something again and it doesn't become more play area.
A tiger was out and about and I enjoyed the Yellow Mongoose house which in the past had sand cats. The way the enclosure extends around the entire building is actually very good and the animals seemed to use every inch of the space. The other desert house nearby with the addax remains good and they are a great species. The inside enclosure with the Laudakia sp, a very attractive lizard species that should be more popular, was very good and their lighting was excellent. Something which I went on to notice had been improved across loads more of the zoo for reptiles and some of the smaller monkeys; Callitrichids and the like. It was really great to see these positive husbandry changes, especially when some of the zoo enclosures were empty. It helped with my attitude that things were on the up not down.
I was disappointed the hyrax were no longer in the giraffe house, the lemur enclosure in there was very nice but I'm not hugely interested in that taxonomic group.
The cheetah enclosure has been merged with the savannah habitat which really confused me at first but it did give the ungulates lots more space. It was nice to see the new serval, really like that species.
As mentioned above the leopard enclosure was empty still with a sign indicating they plan to get a new species.
I enjoyed the new Red Panda area, and the expansion of the wallaby walkthrough gave them a lot more space, though I could only see 2 animals but they may have been sheltering from the cold.
The walkthrough bird aviary near the Red Pandas was great and seeing the Garrulax (Laughing Thrush) hopping about being busy was lovely and another highlight of the day. I keep visiting zoos and seeing particular birds and saying "I really like that one, I am not sure what it is but it's my favourite bird here" and then they always end up being a Garrulax species. So I guess I'll have to get some at some point! There was quite a number of them, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a load of fledglings with their parents. Really lovely birds. The Hamerkop and Weaver bird nests were also great to see.
The reptile house near the wallabies also appeared to have had a lighting upgrade which was great though the Dumeril's Boa needs more cover to allow it to shelter from its new lighting rig! The Chelodina mccordi are a nice addition though the enclosures height felt wasted and maybe some kind of arboreal lizard would be good to share with them. I couldn't spot any of the Laemanctus, another species I really like and keep at home, they should be more popular. The 2 babies in the small room near the cafe needed much more food and looked quite thin, having bred them in the past they should have food available at all times as it does go right through them.
The addition of the Visayan Warty Pigs near the otters and Siamangs was good, and the enclosures had been edited a bit to give them more rockwork which looked much better and helped with the overall look of that area. The binturongs and cusimanse were great and are both firm favourites of mine and cemented more that I needed some at home, so I will pursue that more in the new year.
The walled garden area is lovely, as it always has been. The indoor areas for the monkeys when you come in from near the cusimanse had been done up with much more lighting and decor and they all looked very happy. It was nice to see the Saki Monkeys so active. As you walk through the garden area the first enclosure on the left appeared to be empty. The red ruffed lemur were out and about.
I had heard about the addition of the Bokiboky, but I had forgotten about it until I saw the sign and then immediately was very excited, luckily by this time it was quite late in the day and the zoo was mainly empty. We stood and waited and after about 10/15mins the animal did appear and I managed to get a photo, then a pram came round the corner and the animal immediately bolted back into its house and disappeared. Very interesting species but unfortunately not the best display animal it seems, maybe a nocturnal house would be better for it.
After that we walked back to the entrance past the snow leopards which were asleep on a rock, standard. Then the remainder of the enclosures were quite empty, I was disappointed there was no peccary any more as I do like them a lot.
All in all it was a great visit, and I am hopeful that the empty bits and signs of building work are to allow for new developments and projects rather than a sign the zoo is fading away. The facelift of the majority of enclosures was lovely to see and I think is a sign of great things to come. I won't leave it another few years until I go again.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXDNMkUIA9G/?utm_medium=copy_link Any ideas on what this could be?
Ah.. my guess is on another lego display =[
I was hoping Marwell may have broken the habit by not having one this year, but perhaps I thought too soon...
I was hoping Marwell may have broken the habit by not having one this year, but perhaps I thought too soon...
AlexanderTHG
Well-Known Member
I reckon Lego Dinosaurs
!
!