Pairi Daiza Pairi Daiza News 2022

Dormitator said:
Try and wrangle your way into the restaurant in the reptile house, there were mudpuppy and Chinese giant salamander on display there which otherwise weren't viewable.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately when I visited on week days in mid-September, that restaurant was closed. During a week it might be open, but I think only if the weather is good enough and there will be enough people in the park.

TeaLovingDave said:
Damn, I wish I'd realised that - it's been well over a decade since I last saw mudpuppy!
Click to expand...

I don't know how recent you visited, but the Thai restaurant with terrariums in the Mersus Emergo reptile house ship only opened in early 2022. Until 2021 there was only a small restaurant without terrariums in the Mersus Emergo.
 
Pertinax said:
The Spix seem to behave rather differently to most parrots. They do seem to spend a lot of time in their indoor flight where you can hear but not see them. When they do come out they mostly cling to the mesh very high up- it doesn't help that that the heavy mesh and looking upward toward the sun/light both also make viewing them even more difficult. I don't think they are actually timid though- most of them were handraised and when a keeper entered, they came down low and he fed them by hand. Those were the best views I had of them, though they seemed more visible the 2nd day, though the weather was the same on both.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I think we visited at least half a dozen times over the two days, even before the gates officially opened, and saw them twice - once briefly at the top of the aviary before they flew in, and once on the branches at the back near the entrance.

TeaLovingDave said:
Damn, I wish I'd realised that - it's been well over a decade since I last saw mudpuppy!
Click to expand...

I said that with such confidence, but I've just checked ZTL to see who else holds them (I've only ever seen them in Slimbridge before) but PD aren't listed as holders... Do I have a photograph? No. Be good if someone could confirm that they are mudpuppies and I'm not going mad misidentifying axolotls.

KevinB said:
Unfortunately when I visited on week days in mid-September, that restaurant was closed. During a week it might be open, but I think only if the weather is good enough and there will be enough people in the park.

I don't know how recent you visited, but the Thai restaurant with terrariums in the Mersus Emergo reptile house ship only opened in early 2022. Until 2021 there was only a small restaurant without terrariums in the Mersus Emergo.
Click to expand...

Closed it might be, but you might be able to sneak under the barrier to have a quick look at the terraria if you were so inclined.
 
Dormitator said:
Thanks, I think we visited at least half a dozen times over the two days, even before the gates officially opened, and saw them twice - once briefly at the top of the aviary before they flew in, and once on the branches at the back near the entrance.
Click to expand...

I visited( it was pre-pandemic) specifically to see this species, one I've wanted to see a very long time. I expected to see them straight away and of course I didn't. After two unsuccessful visits to the aviary I began to panic-wasn't expecting this, did they ever come out....? Fortunately on the third visit they were outside and they stayed out all the time I was there, but nearly always very high up. They were also out when I re-entered the next morning. I think I was probably lucky in the event. When the keeper handfed them they came down to him very confidently.

Spix is strange, halfway to being a conure I think and their behaviour is perhaps rather similar. The Lears on the other hand are a more typical 'big' macaw- they perch on their branches etc and show themselves easily like other larger macaws.
 
Personally I have seen the Spix's on all of my five visits (four of which were two-day visits) since 2019, but there have been several instances where multiple passes were needed, and sometimes getting even a half-decent photograph was very difficult or impossible.
 
I seen Spix Macaws few days after they arrived, and they seemed very scared of being held in a relatively small aviary near the main visitor passage area. They spent most of the time clutching to the mesh away from visitors. If they are still there, I recommend going there first time in the morning. They really need a large aviary in a less visited part of the zoo, maybe near the eagle complex.
 
Jurek7 said:
I seen Spix Macaws few days after they arrived, and they seemed very scared of being held in a relatively small aviary near the main visitor passage area. They spent most of the time clutching to the mesh away from visitors. If they are still there, I recommend going there first time in the morning. They really need a large aviary in a less visited part of the zoo, maybe near the eagle complex.
Click to expand...

I think the aviary falls very short of good design. The birds do tend to cling on the mesh high up but I don't think its from shyness as they did it right at the front nearest visitors. They also cling on the ceiling mesh when they play. As I mentioned above they are mostly handraised and I saw them come down and take food from a keeper's hand. I think in the wild they like to perch very high up and somehow clinging on the wire is the nearest they can get to that. A much longer, better designed flight aviary might show them off better.
 
The aviaries and bird houses at Pairi Daiza will soon reopen, after testing has found no further cases of avian influenza and the authorities have allowed the lifting of quarantine measures taken after early November's avian influenza outbreak in the Australian pelican group. The pelicans will however remain indoors for the time being, and additional hygienic measures will be taken where needed.

Pairi Daiza NL Facebook post
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top