ZSL Whipsnade Zoo ZSL Whipsnade Zoo News 2024
- Thread starter Rosie183
- Start date
The new baby Rhino was born Friday to Fahari.
It’s a little boy and so far so good
It’s a little boy and so far so good
He was that kind of a man. Alas even how learned he or his staff may have been it was a serious mistake....!
How solution-oriented or intractable is the edible removal (eradication) program?
How large and widespread is the current edible dormouse population?
Same for the garden dormouse (How large population and how widespread)?
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Lafone
Well-Known Member
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Edible dormice live in a fairly concentrated area - while there are reports of them further afield it’s rare and they mostly are found within around 30km of the original release site. Estimates suggest about 27,000 are around.
They can only be legally trapped with a licence and tend to be dealt with as they occur as pests via pest control ie someone has them in a loft. They are controlled in terms of it not being permitted to trade in them etc. But they are not running rampant across the nation at this point.
I do know someone who had them in their loft however. They live just outside Tring and the dormice were in a barn conversion which was thatched. Chewing everything. Rentokill charged quite a lot of money to eliminate them. The dormice not the people. Prior to that a couple of years ago I confess I’d never comes across them / wasn’t aware of them at all.
More on the edibles here.
Fat (or Edible) dormouse - People's Trust for Endangered Species
Dormouse conservation for our native species is doing better though as mentioned in this and other threads as a number of zoos are involved with the Hazel dormouse breed and release programme the most prominent.
@Lafone, thanks for your elaborate response on edible dormice.
Back to other Whipsnade and exciting zoo animal news! Another white rhino has been born in the small breeding group. Female Fahari gave birth to a male calf on 2nd October 2024!
Link: First pictures of adorable baby Southern white rhino born at Whipsnade Zoo
Back to other Whipsnade and exciting zoo animal news! Another white rhino has been born in the small breeding group. Female Fahari gave birth to a male calf on 2nd October 2024!
Link: First pictures of adorable baby Southern white rhino born at Whipsnade Zoo
According to an interview with the keepers, the calf initially had some “logistical issues” with feeding. However, this now seems to have been rectified.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Fun day at Whipsnade today. The zoo was pretty quiet thanks to the weather which featured torrential rain and high winds until about 330pm when the sun emerged in between showers. You know you are in for a bit of rain when the clouds obscure the whole hillside from the top of the downs near the penguin enclosure. Goretex on!
Was a lovely day all the same with lots of active animals.
Up at the penguin enclosure the wind was blowing so strongly the Rockhopper penguins were floating about without swimming, allowing themselves to be buffetted into each other by the wind like bumper cars - fun to watch.
The whole rhino herd were in the house (the new calf and mother in the end stable alone, the rest had chosen to come inside) and it was lovely to see the (relatively) little calf wandering about. No crush of people either which was a bit of a treat.
Was good to see the new Black lemur pair in the house, with new signs up at the enclosure. The ring tails were out later when the rain cleared a bit but the lemurs are still rotating access until they are mixed together.
The newly arrived Kashmir goats look to have settled in well with their signs joining the one for the Bagots
Quite a variety of ages in the herd with a few younger goats among them.
The lions were out after 3pm, having been confined in their house in the morning (strong winds cited), fun to see them racing about and hearing Malik the male roaring. Similarly the cheetahs were super active, jumping on and off their potting shed house which made for good views. The wolverines were out together and were fed in the same space, which was good to see and different to the position when Bodie the previous male was there.
No sign of the bears which was unsurprising, but good views of most other things and good to see both Japanese and Blue crane youngsters doing so well. No bird show due to the weather.
Today was also the last Sunday with 5pm closing in 2024. Made the most of it by trying to catch the tiger awake at 450pm (drowsy best describes that) but now onto winter opening times!
A couple of good wildlife sightings too. The zoo was promoting a day of wildlife spotting around the zoo with a sightings board and a list to look out for - nice idea to engage people in seeing other animals and birds than the ones in the enclosures. Must have brought things out as a kestrel flew in and sat on one of the branches in the Lemur walkthrough (twice, which was great) and there were more than 50 lapwings on the side of the Lake in A Passage through Asia.
Was a lovely day all the same with lots of active animals.
Up at the penguin enclosure the wind was blowing so strongly the Rockhopper penguins were floating about without swimming, allowing themselves to be buffetted into each other by the wind like bumper cars - fun to watch.
The whole rhino herd were in the house (the new calf and mother in the end stable alone, the rest had chosen to come inside) and it was lovely to see the (relatively) little calf wandering about. No crush of people either which was a bit of a treat.
Was good to see the new Black lemur pair in the house, with new signs up at the enclosure. The ring tails were out later when the rain cleared a bit but the lemurs are still rotating access until they are mixed together.
The newly arrived Kashmir goats look to have settled in well with their signs joining the one for the Bagots
Quite a variety of ages in the herd with a few younger goats among them.
The lions were out after 3pm, having been confined in their house in the morning (strong winds cited), fun to see them racing about and hearing Malik the male roaring. Similarly the cheetahs were super active, jumping on and off their potting shed house which made for good views. The wolverines were out together and were fed in the same space, which was good to see and different to the position when Bodie the previous male was there.
No sign of the bears which was unsurprising, but good views of most other things and good to see both Japanese and Blue crane youngsters doing so well. No bird show due to the weather.
Today was also the last Sunday with 5pm closing in 2024. Made the most of it by trying to catch the tiger awake at 450pm (drowsy best describes that) but now onto winter opening times!
A couple of good wildlife sightings too. The zoo was promoting a day of wildlife spotting around the zoo with a sightings board and a list to look out for - nice idea to engage people in seeing other animals and birds than the ones in the enclosures. Must have brought things out as a kestrel flew in and sat on one of the branches in the Lemur walkthrough (twice, which was great) and there were more than 50 lapwings on the side of the Lake in A Passage through Asia.
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Strathmorezoo
Well-Known Member
You are lucky to have seen such a large number of Lapwings,I remember seeing a similar number when I was a child in field near my house, something I will always remember.Fun day at Whipsnade today. The zoo was pretty quiet thanks to the weather which featured torrential rain and high winds until about 330pm when the sun emerged in between showers. You know you are in for a bit of rain when the clouds obscure the whole hillside from the top of the downs near the penguin enclosure. Goretex on!
View attachment 741410
Was a lovely day all the same with lots of active animals.
Up at the penguin enclosure the wind was blowing so strongly the Rockhopper penguins were floating about without swimming, allowing themselves to be buffetted into each other by the wind like bumper cars - fun to watch.
The whole rhino herd were in the house (the new calf and mother in the end stable alone, the rest had chosen to come inside) and it was lovely to see the (relatively) little calf wandering about. No crush of people either which was a bit of a treat.
Was good to see the new Black lemur pair in the house, with new signs up at the enclosure. The ring tails were out later when the rain cleared a bit but the lemurs are still rotating access until they are mixed together.
The newly arrived Kashmir goats look to have settled in well with their signs joining the one for the Bagots
Quite a variety of ages in the herd with a few younger goats among them.
The lions were out after 3pm, having been confined in their house in the morning (strong winds cited), fun to see them racing about and hearing Malik the male roaring. Similarly the cheetahs were super active, jumping on and off their potting shed house which made for good views. The wolverines were out together and were fed in the same space, which was good to see and different to the position when Bodie the previous male was there.
No sign of the bears which was unsurprising, but good views of most other things and good to see both Japanese and Blue crane youngsters doing so well. No bird show due to the weather.
Today was also the last Sunday with 5pm closing in 2024. Made the most of it by trying to catch the tiger awake at 450pm (drowsy best describes that) but now onto winter opening times!
A couple of good wildlife sightings too. The zoo was promoting a day of wildlife spotting around the zoo with a sightings board and a list to look out for - nice idea to engage people in seeing other animals and birds than the ones in the enclosures. Must have brought things out as a kestrel flew in and sat on one of the branches in the Lemur walkthrough (twice, which was great) and there were more than 50 lapwings on the side of the Lake in A Passage through Asia.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
They are a lovely bird! I see them in flocks at Slimbridge and Frampton on regular trips there and can never get enough of them. Great calls, great colours and great in the air particularly when they all fly up en masse. I haven't seen quite as many at Whipsnade for ages.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
The autumn 2024 edition of the wildabout booklet includes news about the black lemurs coming to Whipsnade and highlights a number of conservation messages and news from ZSL
Including the Sihek / Guam Kingfisher wild release, arrival of Kashmir goats and tiger at Whipsnade, an article on whale stranding, cheetah behaviour observations, a two page article on the new London lion cubs, an article on the baby gorilla at London, information on how rare fish are cared for at both zoos, Vietnam conservation trip notes and event news about activities at the zoo over Halloween.
Including the Sihek / Guam Kingfisher wild release, arrival of Kashmir goats and tiger at Whipsnade, an article on whale stranding, cheetah behaviour observations, a two page article on the new London lion cubs, an article on the baby gorilla at London, information on how rare fish are cared for at both zoos, Vietnam conservation trip notes and event news about activities at the zoo over Halloween.
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Lafone
Well-Known Member
Just noting Priya the red panda has gone to Edinburgh, as reported in the Edinburgh zoo thread
Scottish zoo welcomes endangered red panda
Good to see Priya going on to a new group and hopefully having a great life in Edinburgh.
Scottish zoo welcomes endangered red panda
Good to see Priya going on to a new group and hopefully having a great life in Edinburgh.
Great visit today : just one thing to point out for some reason they had separated Karishma and her daughter Elizabeth the elephants from the rest of the herd of Luca, Kaylee , Donna and Nang Phai! Allday they weren’t together and even in the evening in the house they closed the bars between the two sections so they couldn’t even walk around the entire barn! Wonder what’s happened if anything?
I guess they started fighting. Actually I have been waiting for this to happen - experience from the last 25 years have shown that female elephants strongly prefer the company of their own family members, and that 2 families cannot live together long term in one enclosure without fighting. Sometimes it`s the matriarchs that become incompartible, sometimes it`s the daughters, but the result is always the same. This happened in so many other zoos before so that almost all zoos that breed elephants are now down to just one matriachial family.
Lovely trip up to the zoo today, albeit with the first chills of winter coming in.
Lots of activity with the African hunting dogs who are usually sleeping in the trees whenever I visit; today, running around, rolling in the grass and being generally very interested in things.
The lions were equally as active: the 2 females were chasing each other, whilst the male was heard roaring several times.
Late in the day, the wolverines were out and about, and climbing trees. The bears were not to be seen as they head into torpor.
The lemur talk revealed that the zoo has been asked to no longer breed their ringtails but to concentrate on the black lemurs instead, as there are more than enough ringtails in collections at present.
The red panda talk confirmed Priya's move to Edinburgh, and the male 'cub' has also gone to a zoo in Wales, so they are planning for further mating at Whipsnade.
The bird show also showcased the Great Gray Owls which we'd never seen in the show before - 2 brothers called Gandalf and Bilbo, the sons of the pair of GG owls in Owl Wood.
Lots of activity with the African hunting dogs who are usually sleeping in the trees whenever I visit; today, running around, rolling in the grass and being generally very interested in things.
The lions were equally as active: the 2 females were chasing each other, whilst the male was heard roaring several times.
Late in the day, the wolverines were out and about, and climbing trees. The bears were not to be seen as they head into torpor.
The lemur talk revealed that the zoo has been asked to no longer breed their ringtails but to concentrate on the black lemurs instead, as there are more than enough ringtails in collections at present.
The red panda talk confirmed Priya's move to Edinburgh, and the male 'cub' has also gone to a zoo in Wales, so they are planning for further mating at Whipsnade.
The bird show also showcased the Great Gray Owls which we'd never seen in the show before - 2 brothers called Gandalf and Bilbo, the sons of the pair of GG owls in Owl Wood.
Rajang-GOAT
Well-Known Member
Nice review of your visit.
Did you see the elephants and what configuration the herd was in today, in relation to the two posts above yours in the thread?
Does this mean Whipsnade is down to just 1 individual?, I can't remember how many Red Pandas they have now
We didn't head round to the elephants today as we'd been the last few times - we 'did' the hippos and lions instead.
1 male, 1 female - the parents of the 'cubs'. The female is in the main enclosure at the moment, and the male in the 'old' smaller enclosure.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Some information on maintenance planned in November around Monkey forest in the latest members newsletter
- The Monkey Forest houses at Whipsnade Zoo will be closed from 4 November for at least 4 weeks for path improvements. Visitors can still enjoy the route but will need to turn back before reaching the houses.