Hemsley Conservation Centre Hemsley Conservation Centre

I visited Hemsley today, got a glimpse of the Aardwolf through a hole in the fence, but it is still shy as it’s only been in the enclosure a few days.

The main update is the new Maned Wolf enclosure up past the tapir enclosures, backing onto the camping field. Considering the space they have over there, I feel like the enclosure could have been built a bit bigger, especially as there are 4 in there. I put a couple of photos in the gallery.

Also, the signage was removed and lights turned off at the Echidna exhibit, I know they had some off show so am hoping that this is the case with the others now too.
 
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I noticed that a page of job vacancies has come up on Hemsley's website (it was posted on their Facebook page as well) and noticed something potentially interesting about their animal collection.

Under the 'Primate and Nocturnal Animal Keeper' job description, it mentions that Hemsley has two loris species. The pygmy slow loris is mentioned on their website and on Zootierliste, but I can find nothing about what the second species is.

Information comes from this page:
https://www.hemsleyconservationcentre.com/job-vacancies
 
DesertRhino150 said:
I noticed that a page of job vacancies has come up on Hemsley's website (it was posted on their Facebook page as well) and noticed something potentially interesting about their animal collection.

Under the 'Primate and Nocturnal Animal Keeper' job description, it mentions that Hemsley has two loris species. The pygmy slow loris is mentioned on their website and on Zootierliste, but I can find nothing about what the second species is.

Information comes from this page:
https://www.hemsleyconservationcentre.com/job-vacancies
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I would guess grey slender loris as the most likely candidate - they’ve worked with London before who have a lot from my memory.
 
Have Hemsley expanded outside f their zoo footprint as I'm mildly concerned they are cramming too much into such a small space?. Regardless,they are a fantastic little collection
 
Eric said:
Have Hemsley expanded outside f their zoo footprint as I'm mildly concerned they are cramming too much into such a small space?. Regardless,they are a fantastic little collection
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They have the old Garden centre area, which is where they have started to expand into, plus the other section, where the old trade stand area is, this hasn't been developed yet. It's probably only a couple of acres extra, but does give the place opportunity to expand.
 
Visited Hemsley today

Had an excellent time and have no trouble calling it one of the best zoos I've been to. I honestly don't know (or wouldn't know) why people wouldn't like it cause it's just amazing to see all of these rare species so close together, as well as the keepers being very friendly and helpful.

I did a Kinkajou feeding experience which was lovely and there's always new developments and species there which is so encouraging to see.

I managed to see absolutely everything including the Aardwolf which came out near the end of the day to feed. The Maned Wolves are all very active in their new enclosure and give great views.

They've also re-done the Echidna enclosure with even better viewing and have moved the Rusty-Spotted Cats next door to them which meant I finally got to see them for the first time.

To my complete surprise, sandwiched in-between the Cats and the Echidna was a Ring-Tailed Vontsira which was another first for me and appears to be the only one on show in the UK as far as I know (I'll upload photos of it soon) so I was delighted to see it and didn't expect it at all since it's not listed on the website. Aside from that there doesn't seem to be any sign of the Six-Banded Armadillos anymore.

So overall a very good day out to the centre. I'm definitely going to come back soon!
 
Daubentoniidae said:
Visited Hemsley today

Had an excellent time and have no trouble calling it one of the best zoos I've been to. I honestly don't know (or wouldn't know) why people wouldn't like it cause it's just amazing to see all of these rare species so close together, as well as the keepers being very friendly and helpful.

I did a Kinkajou feeding experience which was lovely and there's always new developments and species there which is so encouraging to see.

I managed to see absolutely everything including the Aardwolf which came out near the end of the day to feed. The Maned Wolves are all very active in their new enclosure and give great views.

They've also re-done the Echidna enclosure with even better viewing and have moved the Rusty-Spotted Cats next door to them which meant I finally got to see them for the first time.

To my complete surprise, sandwiched in-between the Cats and the Echidna was a Ring-Tailed Vontsira which was another first for me and appears to be the only one on show in the UK as far as I know (I'll upload photos of it soon) so I was delighted to see it and didn't expect it at all since it's not listed on the website. Aside from that there doesn't seem to be any sign of the Six-Banded Armadillos anymore.

So overall a very good day out to the centre. I'm definitely going to come back soon!
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Thanks for visiting, it was great to chat with you!

We decided that after being so successful with our rustys and sending offspring internationally that we would complete a new habitat for them, so they are residing here temporarily whilst we complete it - We currently have kittens again.
The echidnas will soon be mixed with our cuscus on a reverse light cycle so that they will be active during the day.
The vontsira recently arrived and is here until a mate is born.
The six banded armadillos are currently off show, but still here. We are intending to mix them in our new open topped kinkajou enclosure. Their inside is almost complete but the outside needs to facilitate both species and is in progress. Great that you managed to see our aardwolf too!
 
hemsleycc said:
Thanks for visiting, it was great to chat with you!

We decided that after being so successful with our rustys and sending offspring internationally that we would complete a new habitat for them, so they are residing here temporarily whilst we complete it - We currently have kittens again.
The echidnas will soon be mixed with our cuscus on a reverse light cycle so that they will be active during the day.
The vontsira recently arrived and is here until a mate is born.
The six banded armadillos are currently off show, but still here. We are intending to mix them in our new open topped kinkajou enclosure. Their inside is almost complete but the outside needs to facilitate both species and is in progress. Great that you managed to see our aardwolf too!
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Thank you, I just emailed you about further details of visiting and how much I enjoyed it since it won't let me start a conversation on here with you.
 
I just returned from my first visit to Hemsley Conservation Centre! I didn't really know what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and consider it to be a fantastic zoo, one of my favourites to date. It is true that the place is absolutely tiny in terms of area, but it fits a lot into that space, with most enclosures being of a perfectly acceptable standard, and the sheer amount of rarities present was very exciting. The atmosphere was wonderful and the staff were really friendly. I ended up spending more than 4 hours there.

The highlight, of course, was the Southern Aardwolf. Most of my views of the animal came from a hole in the fence opposite the toucans, which made photography near-impossible, but still offered some wonderful views. At around 2:30, a food bowl was placed in his enclosure, which he was quick to start feasting upon; the animal was very peculiar in many ways, from the length of its tongue to its abundance of hair (the latter, I gather, being unique to the Southern subspecies), and absolutely made my day.

Another highlight was the Ring-tailed Vontsira, which was wonderfully active and absolutely beautiful. Their neighbours, the Rusty-spotted Cats, who I gather are only housed there temporarily while a larger enclosure is being constructed elsewhere, were far more active and visible than they had been during my encounters with the species at other collections, which was excellent! The Short-beaked Echidna was asleep for the entire day, with only the white streaks on the tips of its quills visible.

I also got my best views yet of New Guinea Ground Cuscus, Brazilian Porcupine and Black-tailed Marmosets. I also received two, very long-overdue lifeticks, the Channel-billed Toucan and the Geoffroy's Cat, both beautiful animals. An unexpected highlight was seeing four Maned Wolves sharing the same enclosure; I am not sure if I had ever seen the species housed in such a large group prior.

Non-zoo lovers can still find a lot to love at this place. There are regular talks across the day, of which I attended two, the Maned Wolf and Brazilian Tapir / Capybara talks, both of which were very nice. There is a fantastic cafe serving amazing food by zoo standards, and the small size of the collection means that less walking is required, something that families with young children will most likely be very appreciative of.

Overall, I think that Hemsley Conservation Centre is a wonderful collection, and I would go so far as to call it a must-visit for anybody who finds themselves in the area. It is a shame that it is so difficult to get to by public transport from where I live, because if it wasn't, I will almost certainly visit this amazing place more often!

EDIT: The zoo also signed the newly arrived Binturong as A. B. Penicillatus (Javan Binturong), which if I am right would make them the only members of their subspecies in the UK.
 
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Rajang21 said:
Doesn’t Hamerton hold this subspecies?
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No, Hamerton hold an as yet undescribed population of Sumatran origin.
There are other holders of true Javan in the UK but none have put them on display (yet) or are open throughout the year so for now Hemsley would be the only zoo with them onshow…
 
A couple of little bits of news from Hemsley's Facebook page that have not been shared here yet:

- In late November a male pygmy slow loris (named 'Nuka') arrived at the centre, to be paired with the already-present female (called 'An').

- In early December, the birth of a young ground cuscus was announced. The birth probably happened in early November, but only now is the joey starting to emerge.

Both the loris and cuscus live in the centre's nocturnal house.
 
 
A black-tailed marmoset has been born (9/4) to Poppy, a marmoset born herself at the park in 2019.
 
The park announced today that a sloth (believe Linneaus’) has arrived, a new species for the park.

A new squirrel monkey (1.0) also joined the park on Wed 19th.

The rusty-spotted cats also moved enclosures in June.
 
Welcome to a new year of Conservation! I can’t wait to see how much the HCC will expand and grow this coming year!

Upon my visit in December, not much had changed. The Egyptian Fruit Bats were not in their enclosure but I managed to spot the Southern Aardwolf a couple of times! I also watched the small group of Asian Small-Clawed Otters play with some pebbles in their new exhibit! I also heard News that the Maned Wolf siblings were caught fighting and now the female may have to move collections :oops:. Apart from this, there is not much more new ‘News’ but I’ll update as soon as there is :D

EDIT: I forgot to add that when chatting with one of the keepers, they shared the information that they are planning to get a Partner for their Channel-billed Toucan! Apparently it has been delayed due to the Pandemic.
 
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Dr. Loxodonta said:
Welcome to a new year of Conservation! I can’t wait to see how much the HCC will expand and grow this coming year!

Upon my visit in December, not much had changed. The Egyptian Fruit Bats were not in their enclosure but I managed to spot the Southern Aardwolf a couple of times! I also watched the small group of Asian Small-Clawed Otters play with some pebbles in their new exhibit! I also heard News that the Maned Wolf siblings were caught fighting and now the female may have to move collections :oops:. Apart from this, there is not much more new ‘News’ but I’ll update as soon as there is :D

EDIT: I forgot to add that when chatting with one of the keepers, they shared the information that they are planning to get a Partner for their Channel-billed Toucan! Apparently it has been delayed due to the Pandemic.
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I don't wish to be pedantic, but I feel a need to correct you.

Hemsley do not hold Egyptian Fruit Bat, they hold Straw Coloured Fruit Bat (Eidolon helvum). They were definitely on show last week.

The four maned wolves are 3.1 Two of the boys have been fighting, not all of them. They are keeping one female and a male, and two males are departing soon. Female is on an implant to prevent breeding.

They only have 2 Asian Short Clawed Otters, both female.

You are correct, that another Channel-Billed Toucan is joining the collection, and the Toucans are moving to another exhibit in the park, to make way for a new bird species in the current Toucan enclosure.

Other news I can add is;

Rusty Spotted Cats are expecting a litter very soon. The zoo is hopeful to add a new Loris species soon, but are awaiting the departure of the Ground Cus-Cus born last year, whose move to another zoo recently fell through.

The Ring-Tailed Vontsira will be leaving the collection soon to go to another collection, but they hope to have a breeding pair later on in the year.
 
It is Completely Fine that you correct me :D
1. Yes this is my mistake.
2. During my visit I believe that this wasn’t yet decided, and she was going to be moved to Paignton! This is definitely wrong now as Paignton received a different female.
3. I have photos of 3 otters, this must mean one has moved or passed on?

I also meant November rather than December :p
 
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