Chester Zoo Chester Zoo Discussion and Questions 2022

Does anyone know what's going to happen to the old midwife toad/tuatara exhibit because I feel like its been boarded up for ages now dies anyone know what will happen to it because I feel like it could be home to a British species like harvest mice or a native reptile like maybe move the adders there so it's warmer for them to hibernate in in the winter
 
hari Jones said:
Does anyone know what's going to happen to the old midwife toad/tuatara exhibit because I feel like its been boarded up for ages now dies anyone know what will happen to it because I feel like it could be home to a British species like harvest mice or a native reptile like maybe move the adders there so it's warmer for them to hibernate in in the winter
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Is that still standing? I feel like I've not noticed it in about a decade.
Also just to point out that if it's warmer, the adders wouldn't hibernate.
 
Oh I didn't realise that I'm not that good with reptiles
And it is still standing as I walked passed it on my last visit
 
hari Jones said:
Does anyone know what's going to happen to the old midwife toad/tuatara exhibit because I feel like its been boarded up for ages now dies anyone know what will happen to it because I feel like it could be home to a British species like harvest mice or a native reptile like maybe move the adders there so it's warmer for them to hibernate in in the winter
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Adders are technically already under the ground in a sort of burrowed box they have in their exhibit, the reptile team around a month ago (mid September) were setting up a camera in it, so they could view them, so would be no need to move them.

The only Tuatara on show is a female who is next to the Chameleons in the Tropical Realm. The breeding group are off-show upstairs with all the other reptiles in the reptile holding centre. The one on show nearly went off to Australia, but in the end it fell through, and that was a shade fortunate as she is the most showy of the lot. The ones offshow just hide all day!
 
I mean in my opinion the only good thing about moving the tuatara to the former Moellendorf's ratsnake/ Parson's chameleon exhibit are that they are easier to spot and when you see them upclose you can really get a good look at them because when they were in their old enclosure I hardly saw them half the time
 
For the Himalayan section... we obviously don't know what area it's going to encompass - maybe those two paddocks by the red pandas (the one with the cheetahs in it - temporarily, probably - and the empty one across from it) are getting incorporated... who knows?

Having said all that, aside from, obviously, the snow leopards and red pandas (who are already there) my best guess for additional species would be an aviary of some kind - perhaps including Himalayan monal.

If those two paddocks, I mentioned before are getting incorporated... takin'd be nice. I don't know how well tahr/markhor/bharal are represented in Europe, but takin seem to be comparatively well-represented.

Yaks'd be good, too - partly because I quite like yaks.

(I was going to say snub-nosed monkey, but getting them from those Chinese/Japanese zoos might be a teeensy bit difficult... but it's Chester, so you never know).

Also, I haven't seen Gaston (bull banteng) my last several visits. Has anything happened to him?
 
Mayki said:
ZTL states that Chester have red-crested turaco but I'm pretty sure it is outdated or even inaccurate as I have never seen them. Their latest inventory report makes no mention of them so safe to say there is none currently in the collection.
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I think this is an error. I've been meaning to email ZTL and ask them about it. as far as I know red-crested turaco haven't been held since 2009.
 
Just to clarify the position on Euplerids.

Narrow-striped Boky-Boky are housed in the Tropical Realm in part of the old gorilla dens.

Grandidier's Vontisora are in the enclosure behind the bat cave.

I still call them mongooses, I grew up with that name, I used the modern names in case TLD reads this. :p
 
I like the sound of that Himalayan area with snow leopards, something I've noticed about Chester is the majority of their collection focuses on either tropical rainforest or dry grassland animals, so it would be nice to have an area focused on a colder climate. I'm wondering if I should push back my next visit (I was thinking mid May) until more information comes out about this, I'm still deciding whether to visit again while Heart of Africa is under construction, or wait until it's done.
 
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Jambi said:
I like the sound of that Himalayan area with snow leopards, something I've noticed about Chester is the majority of their collection focuses on either tropical rainforest or dry grassland animals, so it would be nice to have an area focused on a colder climate. I'm wondering if I should push back my next visit (I was thinking mid May) until more information comes out about this, I'm still deciding whether to visit again while Heart of Africa is under construction, or want until it's done.
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Given that you'll be waiting quite a while - probably a couple of years or so - I'd just say just go whilst it's under construction. (Of course, given that I a) live less than an hour's drive away from it and b) am a member means I might not be qualified to comment on this).
 
bongorob said:
Just to clarify the position on Euplerids.

Narrow-striped Boky-Boky are housed in the Tropical Realm in part of the old gorilla dens.

Grandidier's Vontisora are in the enclosure behind the bat cave.

I still call them mongooses, I grew up with that name, I used the modern names in case TLD reads this. :p
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When did they move there? They were near the Carnivore hub and kitchen a couple of months ago when doing a carnivore experience, as the carnivore team look after them. Boky-boky are in two groups and are now also part of the carnivore team, but used to be under the Twilight team, and were behind the bat cave in the offshow area at the start of September.
 
bongorob said:
Looks like there has been a change. Boky-Boky were in the Tropical Realm when I saw them, I will take your information as up to date Alwaysevergreen. Thanks for pointing this out.
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Just been on Google maps noticed something strange on the public path going down the middle of the zoo and to the left there’s two enclosures in line with the bat enclosure and in one was what looked like a goat/anoa just wondered if anyone could tell me what it is
 
The enclosure to the left left of the path, opersite the bat's on the right of the path, has held Anoa, barbirusa, seen from the Cheetah Bridge, if that's what your talking about
 
jde7582 said:
The enclosure to the left left of the path, opersite the bat's on the right of the path, has held Anoa, barbirusa, seen from the Cheetah Bridge, if that's what your talking about
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It’s is the one at the very top of the path near the houses
 
I do wonder what's going to happen to the old Marmot/Mongoose Mania section - seems a bit of a waste to just "widen entrance area to the Madagascar area".

Perhaps the narrow-striped boky-boky are going in there? They did say they were turning that area into a wider "Madagascar section" - I also wonder what's going to happen to the old Fountain gift shop (Madagascar reptile house/new aye-aye enclosure, maybe?).
 
Nathano said:
I don't know how well tahr/markhor/bharal are represented in Europe, but takin seem to be comparatively well-represented.
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According to ZTL, the Himalayan tahr is kept in 30 European collections, the Himalayan bharal in.14, the northern bharal in 20 and the Tajik markhor in 49 (including Russia)
 
Dassie rat said:
According to ZTL, the Himalayan tahr is kept in 30 European collections, the Himalayan bharal in.14, the northern bharal in 20 and the Tajik markhor in 49 (including Russia)
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How does that compare to takin?

EDIT: Never mind - the Mishmi takin is kept in 33 collections (in both the UK in Europe), the Shensi takin is kept by 16 and the Sichuan takin just five.

So, yeah.... somehow, I think it's more likely they'll just get yaks - however, I could be wrong.
 
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