Woburn Safari Park Woburn Safari Park News 2024

jtrbmvcq said:
Woburn have put up a teaser on their social media that suggests to me that young white rhino bull Granville will be moving from West Midlands.
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He will not exactly be creating waves here. The bull is way too young to be accepted as a fully grown breeding bull and the current cows (except for that new one just arrived) at Woburn are just way to old to breed or may have unresolved reproductive issues.

I could never understand why Woburn stayed so conservative over a non-functioning bull vis a vis their available freshly imported cows from the wild was not changed much earlier or action was taken to ensure a viable proven bull would come in (along with evaluating the cows for reproductive issues).

I think they have - once more - completely lost any windows of opportunity in the short term.
 
Very true as they say although females may begin having season when 3-4 it’s unlikely they have their first calf till 6+ and males are usually 10+ by the time they are ready to mate and create young! So Although it’s nice to have new rhinos unless a miracle occurs it won’t be new baby rhino anytime soon!’
Unless they think a younger male might make their currently male Kai more defensive and actually breed with the older females that woeburn originally had!
 
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Social media confirmation

Keepers are over the moon to welcome a critically endangered Somali wild ass foal, born Friday 13th September! The female foal is already showing of her confident personality often found exploring her habitat with mum following her closely.

With fewer than 1,000 individuals left in the wild, this birth is a major milestone for the species. As an EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) accredited zoo, Woburn Safari Park is proud to participate in the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), playing a key role in the conservation of endangered animals, including our breeding herd of Somali wild ass.
 
Coformation on social media

Woburn Safari Park is thrilled to announce the birth of one of the most critically endangered animals on the planet, an Eastern Mountain bongo calf! ❤️

On Wednesday, 16th October, first-time mum Othaya welcomed a male bongo calf in the late afternoon. Mother and calf are currently being kept inside to give them time to bond and grow stronger. Meanwhile the bongo calf has completely stolen the keepers’ hearts with his enormous ears and has been spotted walking around the stable exploring his environment, sticking close to mum while he grows steadier on his hooves!

The eastern mountain bongo has been hunted almost to extinction in the wild and, with less than 100 individuals remaining worldwide, this birth is hugely important for the future of this wonderful species.
 
Zookeeper rushed to hospital after huge elephant crushed him at UK safari park
News has come that one of the elephant keepers working at Woburn was attacked and seriously injured by one of the Park's cows.
Best wishes to the keeper.... but I do wonder if Woburn will rethink the way it maintains its cows after this. They do keep them free-contact, and even walk them around the Woburn estate which allows them to forage. This used to be something of common practice, but with the rise in protected contact Woburn has now become the only place in the UK to continue such a thing.
 
West Midlands may also still handle females in free contact but I am not sure about this.

I so hope Woburn will change to pc after this - Tarli is obviously not safe to handle in free contact anymore. And I have seen so much rough (you may also say brutal) bullhook use in the last 20 years that I can imagine why she has become aggressive. And I hope this incident will be the trigger for change.
 
I know from painful experience what happens when an elephant hits you. During 1992 ,I asked if I could get experience working with the elephants at Dudley Zoo, whilst doing my Animal Management course. First day was okay, second day wasn't. At that time there were two elephants, Flossie and a younger one named Kasama. Kasama gave me a friendly flick with her trunk, which hurt. Within 10 minutes, Flossie gave me a right whack with her trunk, that sent me flying. Fortunately, the elephants keeper came to my aid. Needless to say, that was the end of my elephants experience. I only had some bruises but as the elephant keeper pointed out, elephants choose their keepers. I do think that the keeper could be returning to his duties a bit early.
 
Strathmorezoo said:
I do think that the keeper could be returning to his duties a bit early.
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I'm not sure of the total extent of the physical injuries described... other than 'youch, that gotta hurt!'... but I think after such a thing like this I would be left with some mental trauma for sure.
But I think if you work with elephants as Woburn does at the moment you have to be somewhat bold. I have always wanted to see elephants in the same space, no barriers or such... but I now wonder how 'good' an idea that is...!
 
dillotest0 said:
I'm not sure of the total extent of the physical injuries described... other than 'youch, that gotta hurt!'... but I think after such a thing like this I would be left with some mental trauma for sure.
But I think if you work with elephants as Woburn does at the moment you have to be somewhat bold. I have always wanted to see elephants in the same space, no barriers or such... but I now wonder how 'good' an idea that is...!
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According to the newspaper report, he has cracked ribs and liver lesion.
 
Has anyone been to Woburn in 2024 and can tell me if the 4 female elephants are ever kept together in one paddock? The pictures and videos on their Facebook page only ever show 3 females together (Tarli, Chandrika, Damini). I do wonder if Yu Zin is seperated permanently?
 
Strathmorezoo said:
I only had some bruises but as the elephant keeper pointed out, elephants choose their keepers.
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Very true-a statement I’ve also heard from keepers at Whipsnade. They’re certainly not stupid, and will figure you out very quickly!

Sadly (and I’m not pointing the finger at anybody) what with recent events at Chester and Blackpool, 2024 has not been a good year for the UK elephant population and keeper community.
 
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Yassa said:
Has anyone been to Woburn in 2024 and can tell me if the 4 female elephants are ever kept together in one paddock? The pictures and videos on their Facebook page only ever show 3 females together (Tarli, Chandrika, Damini). I do wonder if Yu Zin is seperated permanently?
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Seemly so as I think her and Tarli aren’t good together and apparently Yu Zin is more a retired older elephant who they say can spend doing what she likes rather than always being on show to the public..
 
dillotest0 said:
Zookeeper rushed to hospital after huge elephant crushed him at UK safari park
News has come that one of the elephant keepers working at Woburn was attacked and seriously injured by one of the Park's cows.
Best wishes to the keeper.... but I do wonder if Woburn will rethink the way it maintains its cows after this. They do keep them free-contact, and even walk them around the Woburn estate which allows them to forage. This used to be something of common practice, but with the rise in protected contact Woburn has now become the only place in the UK to continue such a thing.
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I also think Tarli is just testing her boundaries as an adolescent near adult female elephant and just seeing what happens. Of course this isn’t good but she is the first ever calf raised at woeburn so it’s a new experience also for the keepers. I do think woeburn need to relook at maybe moving Raj on and bringing in fresh male to breed with Tarli at least , as the other cows maybe beyond breeding now but Tarli is in her prime!
 
Rosie183 said:
I also think Tarli is just testing her boundaries as an adolescent near adult female elephant and just seeing what happens. Of course this isn’t good but she is the first ever calf raised at woeburn so it’s a new experience also for the keepers. I do think woeburn need to relook at maybe moving Raj on and bringing in fresh male to breed with Tarli at least , as the other cows maybe beyond breeding now but Tarli is in her prime!
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I assume older females are 'easier' to deal with?
 
No. Many females become aggressive after they hit their 20th birthday and are no longer juveniles but adult females ready to be a matriarch of her own family, which also means more dominant. With just 10 Tarli is actually pretty young to challenge the dominance of her keepers. But if a female has reached her 40th birthday without ever being aggressive against humans there is a good chance she never will. However now Tarli knows she is stronger, and it would be highly dangerous and irresponsible to keep her in free contact (and in contact with the public) even a day longer.

And they really need to bring in a new, unrelated bull for her to breed with. It‘s a big failure that they never let go of Raja even though he never bred with Chandrika and Damini the natural way. He should have sent elsewhere 15 years ago!
 
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