The Newquay and Linton Zoo hornbills are Papuan (sometimes also called Papuan wreathed).
Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo News 2023
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The Newquay and Linton Zoo hornbills are Papuan (sometimes also called Papuan wreathed).
Thank you! Where abouts are the Blue Duiker?
I will list off where each of the rare species mentioned lives, using this map as an aid:
Zoo Map | Colchester Zoo
Collared Mangabey - Lives in Mangabey Mangrove, shown near the top of the map.
Guianan Bearded Saki - Two enclosures for these; the one shown on the map (at the Inca Trail, opposite the upper viewing area for the penguins) is home to four younger animals. The two breeding adults live in Heart of the Amazon, near the squirrel monkeys (top-right corner of the map).
Maneless Zebra - Lives in the Kingdom of the Wild paddock, shown on the map.
Blue Duiker - In Edge of Africa, mixed with blue crane. This enclosure is opposite the mandrills and shown on the map (near the left-hand end).
Wreathed Hornbill - Lives in the space marked for pileated gibbons on the map.
Mindanao and Northern Rufous Hornbills - Both individuals live in an enclosure attached to the upper end of the sun bear enclosure. If they are not in their outdoor aviary (viewable next to the administrative office), they can be seen indoors from the sun bear indoor viewing.
Central African Rock Python - In the Kingdom of the Wild indoor house, on the lower level next to the pygmy hippos; shown on the map.
Giant Asian Pond Turtle - In the Rajang's Forest indoor area, accessed via the sealion tunnel (in the area marked for orangutans on the map).
Gariau Forest Dragon - In a small standalone building located along Billie-Joe's walk (just above where the chimpanzees are marked on the map).
Giant Plated Lizard - In a little alcove in the Kingdom of the Wild house, tucked between the access ramp and the African rock python enclosure.
Slender-Snouted Crocodile - In the Chimpanzee Lookout house, located near to the entrance (visible on the map). It may be possible that the crocodile is outdoors - if you cannot see it indoors, check around the side of the Southern Kitchen eatery.
Bony-Headed Toad - In the Rajang's Forest indoor area, accessed via the sealion tunnel (in the area marked for orangutans on the map).
Taiwan bitterling - Just in case you are at all interested in fish, this species cannot be seen in any other zoo in Europe. These live in the larger of the koi aquaria in Koi Niwa (in the building shared with the lorikeet display, left of the lions on the map). They can be difficult to see now that algae has covered the aquarium tiles, but I have found they often hang around the right hand side of the bottom of the back 'steps' in the aquarium.
Hope this is all helpful, and hope you enjoy your visit.
As part of World Lizard Day, Colchester Zoo have put up an article about some of the lizards they currently keep. This includes some news that I don't think has been reported before:
Fiji banded iguana - There are currently four at the zoo. The breeding male (Koro) lives in the old green anaconda enclosure, while the breeding female (Kalara) lives in the main banded iguana enclosure with two of their female offspring. It does say that the zoo has bred six young from this species - to the best of my knowledge, only the first breeding of three young (in 2020) was publicly announced.
Komodo dragon - The two at the zoo are both males (named Talibo and Atal), who are both nine years old and were born at Colchester.
Rhinoceros iguana - The sole individual remaining is the male (Rico).
Solomon Island skink - There is now a group of ten of these - I am sure that will have involved a few births, although only one in 2020 was publicly announced.
Emerald tree monitor lizard - Not much info about these other than the male (Kubor) is eight years old, and the female (Esmarelda) is five years old.
Green iguana - The two currently here (a 13-year-old male called Fernando and an 8-year-old female called Pusia) have been at Colchester since mid-2022.
No information about any of the other lizard species - the giant plated lizard, fire skink, blue-tongued skink or Gariau forest dragon (although it seems a photo of one of the latter has accidentally been used as one of the three green iguana images).
World Lizard Day 2023 | Colchester Zoo
Fiji banded iguana - There are currently four at the zoo. The breeding male (Koro) lives in the old green anaconda enclosure, while the breeding female (Kalara) lives in the main banded iguana enclosure with two of their female offspring. It does say that the zoo has bred six young from this species - to the best of my knowledge, only the first breeding of three young (in 2020) was publicly announced.
Komodo dragon - The two at the zoo are both males (named Talibo and Atal), who are both nine years old and were born at Colchester.
Rhinoceros iguana - The sole individual remaining is the male (Rico).
Solomon Island skink - There is now a group of ten of these - I am sure that will have involved a few births, although only one in 2020 was publicly announced.
Emerald tree monitor lizard - Not much info about these other than the male (Kubor) is eight years old, and the female (Esmarelda) is five years old.
Green iguana - The two currently here (a 13-year-old male called Fernando and an 8-year-old female called Pusia) have been at Colchester since mid-2022.
No information about any of the other lizard species - the giant plated lizard, fire skink, blue-tongued skink or Gariau forest dragon (although it seems a photo of one of the latter has accidentally been used as one of the three green iguana images).
World Lizard Day 2023 | Colchester Zoo
Rajang-GOAT
Well-Known Member
That's sad that they are down to one Rhinoceros iguana, but great to hear an update on these species, for example I wasn't aware of the current situation of Komodo Dragon individuals but it's interesting to hear how things are going with these reptiles. One other thing to mention is that the Wilds of Asia building is now being fully referred to as the Rivers Edge building which I don't think I have seen much of.
I'd need to double-check next time I visit, but I think the entire Wilds of Asia area is now referred to as River's Edge, including the hornbill and red panda areas (I seem to recall the sign above the walkway passing the gibbon indoor house has been changed).
Rajang-GOAT
Well-Known Member
That's interesting, I wonder if any other species could move in and increase the relevance of that name, there might not be space however.
Just double-checked the zoo's own website, and River's Edge now comprises everything from the lion-tailed macaques, through Wilds of Asia past the giant anteaters and also including the binturongs and small-clawed otters.
Rivers Edge Archives | Colchester Zoo
Rivers Edge Archives | Colchester Zoo
Colchester Zoo have announced the opening of the new cheetah enclosure, opposite the Komodo dragons.
The enclosure is currently only home to the male cheetah 'Abasi', father of the most recent cheetah litter (with previous female 'Sia') and more confident of the two cheetah brothers currently kept at the zoo.
The more nervous brother, 'Azizi', is remaining at the Edge of Africa enclosure alongside the new female cheetah 'Anika', another nervous animal that arrived at Colchester from Vienna Zoo in April 2023. It is hoped that Azizi will be calmer around Anika and so will be a better breeding partner.
More information can be found in the link below:
Cheetahs changing their spots | Colchester Zoo
The enclosure is currently only home to the male cheetah 'Abasi', father of the most recent cheetah litter (with previous female 'Sia') and more confident of the two cheetah brothers currently kept at the zoo.
The more nervous brother, 'Azizi', is remaining at the Edge of Africa enclosure alongside the new female cheetah 'Anika', another nervous animal that arrived at Colchester from Vienna Zoo in April 2023. It is hoped that Azizi will be calmer around Anika and so will be a better breeding partner.
More information can be found in the link below:
Cheetahs changing their spots | Colchester Zoo
Went for a morning visit to Colchester today. I saw the rock hyrax in their new enclosure, and my brother caught a glimpse of the cheetah in its new enclosure, but there is only one main piece of news from my visit:
- The old pied tamarin enclosure in Worlds Apart now has new occupants - the pair of young crested wood partridges and a new Victoria crowned pigeon. The Feathers of the Forest display still has the four Victoria crowned pigeons and the three adult partridges (one of the females was sitting on the nest near the exit door).
Today, Colchester have uploaded a report into the goings-on at the zoo during the month of July - I very much hope that this will be a regular thing, as it has produced several interesting bits of news:
The full report can be seen here:
2023 Monthly Reports | Colchester Zoo
- Six green-and-black poison-dart frogs have successfully metamorphosed from tadpoles into froglets; they are being kept off-show currently.
- On 6th July, 35 Boeseman's rainbowfish arrived at the zoo, which will be going on-show in the tank at River's Edge - the report does say that they are a new species, although I thought the zoo already had this species in the lorikeet walkthrough.
- A genuine new species has also arrived - 50 cardinal tetras arrived on 27th July, and will be going into the tetra tank in Worlds Apart in the near-future.
The full report can be seen here:
2023 Monthly Reports | Colchester Zoo
Colchester Zoo have announced that female Amur tiger Anoushka was put to sleep today, after her condition deteriorated due to her old age over the past few days. She was nineteen years old, being born at Linton Zoo on 20th July 2004 before moving to Colchester on 8th July 2005.
More information can be found in the link below:
Anoushka | Colchester Zoo
More information can be found in the link below:
Anoushka | Colchester Zoo
In preparation for International Primate Day on 1st September, the zoo have put up an article on their website about some of the primates they keep. I figured I would put up the information about the numbers of individual animals in each group:
Barbary macaque
Group comprises two males and four females.
Golden-headed lion tamarin
The pair (male named Harvey and female named Blondie) are siblings.
Lion-tailed macaque
Two males (Arthur and Connor) and one female (Pertina)
Pileated gibbon
Already mentioned in this thread - the male is named Lae and the recently-arrived female Qiwen.
Ring-tailed lemur
Two groups - the Lemur Island group comprises three males and ten females, while the Lost Madagascar walkthrough has nine males.
Colombian black spider monkey
The group comprises one male and five females.
L'Hoest's monkey
The group has five males and five females.
Mandrill
The group now has seven males, two females and one of unknown sex.
Coppery titi monkey
Six individuals, comprising a male-female pair, their two offspring and two brothers.
Gelada
The group has six males and eleven females.
Guianan bearded saki monkey
Six individuals, comprising a male-female pair, their two offspring and two brothers.
Common squirrel monkey
The group contains two males and eight females.
Primate species not mentioned in this article are the chimps, pied tamarins, Geoffroy's marmosets, Bornean orangutans, buffy-headed capuchins, mangabeys, golden lion tamarins and crowned, red-bellied and black-and-white ruffed lemurs.
The article can be seen here:
International Primate Day 2023 | Colchester Zoo
Particularly surprised by the size of the mandrill group - I'd never really paid attention to their numbers, but as recently as 2018 the group was double the size it is today.
Barbary macaque
Group comprises two males and four females.
Golden-headed lion tamarin
The pair (male named Harvey and female named Blondie) are siblings.
Lion-tailed macaque
Two males (Arthur and Connor) and one female (Pertina)
Pileated gibbon
Already mentioned in this thread - the male is named Lae and the recently-arrived female Qiwen.
Ring-tailed lemur
Two groups - the Lemur Island group comprises three males and ten females, while the Lost Madagascar walkthrough has nine males.
Colombian black spider monkey
The group comprises one male and five females.
L'Hoest's monkey
The group has five males and five females.
Mandrill
The group now has seven males, two females and one of unknown sex.
Coppery titi monkey
Six individuals, comprising a male-female pair, their two offspring and two brothers.
Gelada
The group has six males and eleven females.
Guianan bearded saki monkey
Six individuals, comprising a male-female pair, their two offspring and two brothers.
Common squirrel monkey
The group contains two males and eight females.
Primate species not mentioned in this article are the chimps, pied tamarins, Geoffroy's marmosets, Bornean orangutans, buffy-headed capuchins, mangabeys, golden lion tamarins and crowned, red-bellied and black-and-white ruffed lemurs.
The article can be seen here:
International Primate Day 2023 | Colchester Zoo
Particularly surprised by the size of the mandrill group - I'd never really paid attention to their numbers, but as recently as 2018 the group was double the size it is today.
Rajang-GOAT
Well-Known Member
Quite a few things that surprised me, the spider monkeys (less so), Mandrills (particularly females), and squirrel monkey (especially considering they used to have 2 groups!) seem smaller than I would of guessed. However it is again nice to be updated on the state of the individuals in the groups of these species, which may be difficult to keep up with otherwise.
Kalaw
Well-Known Member
A little bit unfortunate about the Mandrills. I remember they once had the largest group in the UK, very entertaining and lively to watch, and a highlight of every visit to Colchester. Chester's 2022 stocklist lists 2.11, meaning which they now hold the largest group in the nation, but even still their numbers have been reduced substantially over the past decade or so. I do worry what caused Colchester's numbers to fall so much...
At one stage Colchester had around 23 Mandrills. They originated from a trio from Southport/London stock and had already reached around a dozen in number in their original enclosure before moving to the current one. This reduction is pretty drastic- also I think out of the 7 males listed there is probably only one un-castrated one. The Gelada group now seems to have replaced them as being the largest.
The Lion-tailed macaques have also dwindled, but more slowly- highest count in th distant past was around 7, then for many years there were still 4- now three. This must be a geriatric group nowadays.
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Rajang-GOAT
Well-Known Member
I think the biggest mystery to me is what has happened to the females/breeding females, have they just succumbed to old age? I know there has really only been one female breeding in the last few years but on the signage on the individuals in the group that can't have been there more than 5 years ago there was quite a number of breeding females listed.
In terms of breeding females, the signage at the mandrill enclosure in 2018 indicated that there were only three at the time - Solomina, born in 1992, Orinoko, born in 1993, and Milly, born in 1996.
There's no indication what sex the non-breeders are, but based on what I can reasonably guess from the names, there were another five females. I can easily imagine a few of the older females passing since 2018 but I have no idea what's prompted such a big decline in the numbers of younger animals.
There's no indication what sex the non-breeders are, but based on what I can reasonably guess from the names, there were another five females. I can easily imagine a few of the older females passing since 2018 but I have no idea what's prompted such a big decline in the numbers of younger animals.
