Newquay Zoo Newquay Zoo News

Just finished my visit for today (was with family so couldn’t stay the whole day as they grew restless).

There’s more news than I expected, however much of it is small.

The biggest news is easily that despite two Lynx cubs being born (both of which I saw back in July), only one remains now, the other one having died shortly after its birth (according to a staff worker).

In other news, the Greater Vasa Parrots have been moved into the aviary which once housed Palm Cockatoos, alongside stilts, and teals.

The Chinese Grosbeak (the last of its kind outside of Shanghai) is currently offshow, as - according to a keeper - a disease is present that threatens its life. I did not see any evidence of this, however it was a no-show all day. The Javan Green Magpie was also missing from its aviary today.

Again, I missed out on the civets, amazon milk frogs, and the cane toad. The golden gecko was also a no-show.

The female Papuan Hornbill was around today, so I’m assuming their breeding stint earlier in summer was fruitless.

A pair of tambourine doves still reside (unsigned) in the Yellow Cardinal aviary, and two bearded tits still accompany (unsigned) liocichlas and doves in the aviary adjoined to the Swinhoe’s squirrels.

That is all the news I can remember for now. All in all it was a good visit, however animal-wise it was much quieter than last time I went.
So have the Palm Cockatoos gone?
 
We had a ‘quick’ visit yesterday. It was one of those underwhelming visits where bad luck means that most animals were out of view or off show. The otters were off show but their newly revamped house looks good. Seeing Crowned Crane in a small carnivore enclosure looks weird! The Penguin Pool looked awful, lacking in greenery & substrate, but also the pool was very green with algae and the water didn’t look very clear - a real shame! The Golden lion Tamarins were very active & it was nice to see the Boky Boky. Most of the birds in Gems of the Jungle stayed off show, but I loved the Hanging Parrots in the tropical house.
I felt like the Savannah area needs one more charismatic species, like Ostrich or Ground Hornbill or Kudu?
Has anyone ever seen the Fishing Cats or Civets outside during daylight hours?
 
We had a ‘quick’ visit yesterday. It was one of those underwhelming visits where bad luck means that most animals were out of view or off show. The otters were off show but their newly revamped house looks good. Seeing Crowned Crane in a small carnivore enclosure looks weird! The Penguin Pool looked awful, lacking in greenery & substrate, but also the pool was very green with algae and the water didn’t look very clear - a real shame! The Golden lion Tamarins were very active & it was nice to see the Boky Boky. Most of the birds in Gems of the Jungle stayed off show, but I loved the Hanging Parrots in the tropical house.
I felt like the Savannah area needs one more charismatic species, like Ostrich or Ground Hornbill or Kudu?
Has anyone ever seen the Fishing Cats or Civets outside during daylight hours?

No to seeing the civets out during the day but have been lucky to see the fishing cats out on a few occasions. Always best to ask a keeper when they may be fed and thus out. I even saw one fishing in their small pond once when they had food in there.

Where are the crowned crane being kept?
 
I do worry about the future of Newquay, what with all of the discussion of Paignton going to the wall. I would imagine, like Living Coasts, PZ would be prioritised by Wild Planet Trust. I think NZ have already had redundancies?

I think the cranes are in the old lion enclosure? Please correct me if I’m wrong.
 
Yes, the Cranes are in the old lion enclosure. It should have been used to house Bush Dogs or Serval at least, or netted over with glass viewing added?

I’ll speak to a keeper re. Fishing Cats next time.

The old Celebes Macacque pit needs something doing with it.

The zoo was busy, but most people didn’t seem that impressed and most leaving with kids made a beeline for the playground outside the zoo. I hope, like Paignton, it can improve and get back to where it was a couple of years ago?
 
Yes, the Cranes are in the old lion enclosure. It should have been used to house Bush Dogs or Serval at least, or netted over with glass viewing added?

I’ll speak to a keeper re. Fishing Cats next time.

The old Celebes Macacque pit needs something doing with it.

The zoo was busy, but most people didn’t seem that impressed and most leaving with kids made a beeline for the playground outside the zoo. I hope, like Paignton, it can improve and get back to where it was a couple of years ago?

we are visiting soon as we’re in Cornwall to see family, have never seen the fishing cat would be really interested if there is a best time of day to see them
 
we are visiting soon as we’re in Cornwall to see family, have never seen the fishing cat would be really interested if there is a best time of day to see them

Think it was early to mid afternoon but, as mentioned, ask a keeper as they’ll be able to let you know.
 
I had a nice long 5 hour visit to Newquay yesterday and noticed a fair few changes since my last visit (end of March), some of which haven’t been mentioned here yet:

Firstly, as mentioned in June by Smaggledagle, the former Owston’s palm civet enclosure in the nocturnal house is now home to dwarf mongooses. It is a nice enough setup for the 3 individuals (I believe all boys) but certainly isn’t massive. This new addition gives the ‘Wildlife at Night’ building a slightly different feel with only half of the residents in a nocturnal setup.

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A white-fronted capuchin has also been born. Not sure how old it is but I can see no mention of the arrival online.

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In the tropical house a previously empty vivarium has now been setup with various inanimate objects depicting a sort of garden scene. Upstairs, the smaller of the two side aviaries that used to hold the green aracari has been opened up for use by the main section inhabitants. The green aracari can now be found in the bottom corner of the zoo in an aviary behind the meerkats next to the pied tamarins.

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In the village farm, the newly built budgerigar aviary looks nice, and the birds are currently sharing it with the domestic guinea pigs.

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The Cape porcupine(s) is still in the on-show den of the old lion enclosure. In the outdoor (crane) enclosure the old wooden platforms have come down and a new (I think) mock rock formation has been built. The design and shape of this doesn’t seem to indicate it is for the cranes, so perhaps there are plans in the pipeline for new inhabitants. In the far corner, the enclosure behind the meerkats is currently under development. There is a sign for cape porcupine further along it so this may well be where they end up, though the shape and size of the house might suggest not.

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The former vasa parrot aviary next to the penguins has been taken down and new development is taking place. This is also mentioned in the ‘Zoo Updates’ section of the zoos website (Zoo Updates - Newquay Zoo).

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As mentioned on the zoos website, there is maintenance work in the main flight of gems of the jungle, and so the birds were confined to the side aviaries and the building (you could go through the walkthrough). In the oriental garden, the aviary that used to house an Asian fairy-bluebird is now home to common hill myna’s and Vietnam pheasant (not seen). On the savannah, new fencing was being installed so the zebra/wildebeest/nyala were once again confined to their hardstanding. According to the website, this should be complete by the end of the week. The cinnamon and ringed teal signed at the vasa parrot aviary were instead unsigned in the wetland aviary.

Finally, the fishing cat viewing windows are taped off from where a tree came down in the most recent storm. I didn’t think this would be much of an issue, however when she showed herself for 20 minutes shortly before 4pm, I had to watch from afar.

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All in all a good visit and nice to see several minor ongoing improvements. The visit certainly felt different though without the substantial amount of time that would normally be spent in gems of the jungle.
 

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Piece of October 2024 News Not Mentioned:

On October 24th, it was mentioned that the zoo acquired a (1.0) dusky pademelon from the Exmoor Zoo in Devon*.

* Information provided by @Kalaw in the Exmoor Zoo News 2024 thread (Page 2 Post #25).


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On January 23rd, the zoo announced that a superb fruit dove hatched and fledged (the first for Newquay since 2018) now on display in the Gems of the Jungle exhibit.

Newquay Zoo
 
A new 4 year old male Asian Short-Clawed Otter called Branston (his mum is called Pickle if you wondered!) has arrived at Newquay today, from Messingham Zoo in North Lincolnshire. He has been paired up with a female of the same age and early reports suggest that they're getting on extremely well.

Also on February 14th, the zoo announced that a (1.0) Asian small-clawed otter named Lloyd was transferred to Noah's Ark Zoo Farm in Somerset.

2.8K views · 100 reactions | Otterly smitten❤ We had a very important new arrival just before Valentine's Day - meet Branston, a 4-year-old male Asian short-clawed otter. He has come to us from Messingham Zoo and was introduced to his new partner, Tamale, over a breakfast buffet of trout and smelt You can see Branston is already scent marking everywhere, and Tamale has been following him around like a smitten kitten. The pairing marks an important step in the conservation breeding programme for this species. Tamale's brother, Lloyd, also moved earlier this week to form a new breeding pair at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm in Bristol. For now, Branston and Tamale will spend their first days together bonding in their playroom and nesting box before Branston explores his new outdoor home in the Oriental Garden later in the week. Visitors can see the budding romance unfold daily from 10am as the pair get to know each other and, hopefully, start a family of their own in the near future! | Newquay Zoo

On February 19th, it was announced that the zoo transferred a fishing cat to ZooParc de Beauval in France.

Ventura Wildlife Services
 
Lynx kitten chosen as candidate for rewilding:

UK's first zoo-bred lynx selected for release into the wild - BBC News

Newquay Zoo's Carpathian lynx kitten, born on 29 May 2024, has been chosen by Europe's Linking Lynx rewilding conservation programme.

The lynx will have to pass examinations and be relocated to a rewilding facility in Germany, where she will spend time in a semi-wild environment.

If she does well during this preparation period, she will be released into the wild.
 
Piece of January 2025 News Not Mentioned:

On January 23rd, it was announced that the zoo transferred a (0.1) grey slender loris named Ribke to Shaldon Wildlife Trust in Devon sometime in 2024.

Shaldon Wildlife Trust

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On March 8th, the zoo announced that 2 dwarf mongooses were born (a few months apart) which are now on exhibit.

Newquay Zoo
 
Cornwall-born lynx kitten prepares for rewilding journey - BBC News says a 9-month-old Carpathian lynx born at Newquay Zoo will be transferred to Zoo Karlsuhe at the end of April. She will undergo specialised training in hunting and survival skills within a semi-wild environment under the auspices of Europe's Linking Lynx programme. She should be released into the wild in autumn, contingent on her progress.
 
Other April 2025 News Not Mentioned:
On April 24th, the zoo announced they closed the Village Farm area for 5 weeks for renovations, during which the six-banded armadillos were moved to the squirrel monkey exhibit, and the pygmy goats moved near the tapirs/capybaras*.

Newquay Zoo

On April 4th, it was announced that the zoo acquired (0.2) hill mynas from Paradise Park in Cornwall.

Paradise Park

On April 29th, the zoo announced that 2 Humboldt penguins hatched a few weeks apart.

Newquay Zoo

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On May 15th, the zoo announced that 2 more dwarf mongooses were born a few weeks prior which are now on exhibit.

4.8K views · 214 reactions | We have got two very tiny, very mischevious dwarf mongoose pups! These teeny babies are just a few weeks old and have started to venture out of their den, with mum and dad always close by. Even as pups, they show signs of the bold, curious, and social nature that makes mongooses such fascinating animals! | Newquay Zoo

On May 22nd, the zoo announced they acquired a (1.0) Asian small-clawed otter.

Newquay Zoo

On May 24th, the zoo officially opened a new area called Wonders of the Wild to the public, which includes new exhibits for Cape porcupines, long-nosed potoroos, and cardinals (species not specified) as well as a large hairy armadillo named Rex*.

Newquay Zoo

* Wonders of the Wild could be the revamped Village Farm mentioned earlier in my post, but with no confirmation, I've decided to treat them as separate areas. If anyone is around to visit to correct me, it would be appreciated.
 
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