Edinburgh Zoo Edinburgh Zoo News 2022

Jude T said:
One did mention that a previous stillborn in the group was snatched by a higher ranking female and destroyed shall we say. As I say this was a conversation between a keeper and another staff member that I overheard so perhaps take it with a pinch of salt.
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That sounds like a common occurrence. At Taronga Zoo, a female gave birth to a stillborn infant and Mary (a high ranking female) snatched it from her and cannibalised it.

In 2005, a high ranking female named Shiba was seen carrying the deceased infant of her rival. It’s unknown whether the infant was stillborn or killed by either Shiba or it’s grandmother (who had a habit of doing so).

Chimpanzees certainly live a complex life ranging from tender care to extreme violence, but it’s what makes them so fascinating. A large community of chimps is a species I could literally spend hours watching.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Chimpanzees certainly live a complex life ranging from tender care to extreme violence, but it’s what makes them so fascinating. A large community of chimps is a species I could literally spend hours watching.
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I think I probably spent about 3 hours at Budongo over 2 days last week, in which time you can really start to learn more about individuals and personalities. I got the chance to speak to a keeper and one thing I found really interesting is that there’s a small group within the group that they call the “Edinburgh chimps” who regardless of social standings within the overall group, still spend a lot of time together as their own little unit.
 
Jude T said:
I think I probably spent about 3 hours at Budongo over 2 days last week, in which time you can really start to learn more about individuals and personalities. I got the chance to speak to a keeper and one thing I found really interesting is that there’s a small group within the group that they call the “Edinburgh chimps” who regardless of social standings within the overall group, still spend a lot of time together as their own little unit.
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That I can certainly relate to!

The Edinburgh chimps remind me of Wellington’s troop. In 1992 a small family group of 3.3 were joined by 0.3 from Taronga Zoo. The three imported females were adolescents and remained low ranking for years. The family group was eventually reduced to 1.1 and even as the new chimps raised families and grew in ranking, the original female remained high ranking as her male companion was the alpha and they supported each other. She was past her prime, peer raised and had non offspring, but was highly respected nonetheless.
 
The Hedgehog said:
I know this may sound disgusting but could I see a photo of the stillborn infant?
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I visited today but unfortunately did not visit budongo trail.

Other updates:

• Taiwan beauty snake on show in a new tank next to the pancake tortoises in wee beesties

• Corn snake in the tenrec enclosure

• Milk snake in the Axolotl enclosure

• Vicunas seem to have left the collection

• I saw Tian Tian active outside for the first time

• The old maned wolf viewing area has been made into a virtual screen wild marine reptiles for the new dinosaurs

• The tigers and lions were both active

• The gibbons have moved out of the monkey house

• The pelicans are now in the Baer’s pochard and black stork.
 
felis silvestris said:
She’s been carrying it for approx. 7 months and there’s a sign about if it may disturb some people and it says that it is their maternal instincts in the wild.
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Pertinax said:
This is very strange- to continue to allow her to carry it for this length of time without sedating her and removing it. Have never heard of a situation like this before- as Zoofan15 said, a few days or a week, yes, but months?- it must be rotten by now...
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didn’t know anything about this until today so won’t pretend to be informed but i must say i think the duration is odd given the fact that carnivore keepers are required by eaza and aza policy to remove meat from enclosures regularly in line with health and safety. It would be interesting to understand the decision making and risk assessments behind it all
 
felis silvestris said:
I visited today but unfortunately did not visit budongo trail.

Other updates:

• Taiwan beauty snake on show in a new tank next to the pancake tortoises in wee beesties

• Corn snake in the tenrec enclosure

• Milk snake in the Axolotl enclosure

• Vicunas seem to have left the collection

• I saw Tian Tian active outside for the first time

• The old maned wolf viewing area has been made into a virtual screen wild marine reptiles for the new dinosaurs

• The tigers and lions were both active

• The gibbons have moved out of the monkey house

• The pelicans are now in the Baer’s pochard and black stork.
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Have the male and female tigers been introduced yet do you know?
 
"Sadly, we have to announce the loss of Goonaroo, one of our Queensland koalas at Edinburgh Zoo
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At 17 years old, Goonaroo had been experiencing age-related health problems. While he recovered well from an operation to remove his right eye in December, he still had chronic problems with his remaining eye and was not responding to treatment. Our dedicated vets and keepers reviewed his overall wellbeing and quality of life and advised he should be put to sleep.
Goonaroo was a real character who fathered three joeys as part of the international species breeding programme. He will be missed by everyone here at the zoo and our thoughts are with all those who cared for him."

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Apparently they had 3 male buff cheeked gibbons at the start of the year and only 2 at the end but there doesn’t seem to be a death or departure.

It also seems to suggest that all 3 banteng are males?
 
I can't answer for the gibbon but the three remaining banteng are all castrated males.
 
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A few updates from tonight's AGM:

  • The Giant Panda's are scheduled to leave in October/November 2023. It is not expected that they will stay beyond this time, and they will not be replaced by a new pair of Giant Panda's. Their current enclosure will be re-purposed for a different species. Which species has not yet been decided.
  • It is likely that, due to Avian Flu, the Penguin enclosure will have to be netted over at some point in the future.
  • The Jungle Café is close to re-opening after a £600k refurbishment. It will re-open as a posh fish and chip restaurant and will be re-named "The Gannet". The refurbishment was 50/50 funded by RZSS and their catering partner Compass.
  • The plan is for the Zebra's to move across to other side of the zoo and be in an enclosure next to the Giraffe's.
  • They are close to signing off on a £1.2million Solar field development which will see the very top paddock at the zoo turned into a solar field. This is expected to generate 1/5th of the zoo's electricity usage, it will have a 20 year lifespan, and will pay for itself after approximately 6 years.
  • They are looking to procure more vehicles to help transport people to the top of the zoo and back down again.
  • Current membership levels are above 40,000 and are expected to remain at this level.
 
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