Banham Zoo Banham Zoo News

Max Blundell said:
Last week 2 female water buffalo arrived at Banham zoo from Watatunga wildlife reserve. They can be seen in the former camel paddock.
Does anyone know if these were the last water buffalo at Watatunga?
Click to expand...

Watatunga puts water buffalo onto the reserve from the farm they are connected to, as I understand it. I was there on 13th May and the ear tag numbers on the water buffalo I took pictures of are different to the ones on the Banham facebook page (the horns look a bit different too but the tags are individual) so I assume they are more females who no longer are on the farm and Watatunga still have them on the reserve too, but happy to be corrected by someone better informed.
 
Lafone said:
Watatunga puts water buffalo onto the reserve from the farm they are connected to, as I understand it. I was there on 13th May and the ear tag numbers on the water buffalo I took pictures of are different to the ones on the Banham facebook page (the horns look a bit different too but the tags are individual) so I assume they are more females who no longer are on the farm and Watatunga still have them on the reserve too, but happy to be corrected by someone better informed.
Click to expand...
Sounds more logical than moving the two on the actual Watatunga reserve.
 
Banham have just announced the arrival of a new animal, whether this is an acquisition, a birth, a new species or not, etc is yet to be confirmed.
 
Piece of April 2024 News Worth Mentioning:

On April 29th, it was announced that the zoo transferred 2 hooded vultures to Africa Alive in Suffolk.

Africa Alive Reserve

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On June 26th, the zoo announced that 2+ black-tailed prairie dogs were born which are on exhibit.

Banham Zoo

On July 3rd, the zoo announced that a southern pudu was born on June 1st which is now on exhibit.

Banham Zoo

On July 5th, it was announced that the zoo transferred 2 striated caracaras named Claude and Lucian to the Blair Drummond Safari Park in Scotland.

Blair Drummond Safari Park
 
She’s here!

We are thrilled to announce the recent arrival of Aurora, a two-year-old snow leopard from Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens. She joins Shen, our resident male snow leopard, as part of the EAZA European Breeding Programme.

Initially, Aurora and Shen will be kept apart, allowing them to acclimatise to each other from separate areas of their habitat. However, they will be gradually introduced over the coming weeks, with the aim of them eventually producing cubs.

We are very excited about the future of this young pair and hope you can visit soon to meet Aurora
 
On August 7th, the zoo announced that a domestic water buffalo was born on August 3rd which is on exhibit.

Exciting news! We've welcomed an adorable baby water buffalo! The calf was born on 3rd August, and is doing well, enjoying plenty of snoozes in the... | By Banham ZooFacebook

On July 11th, it was announced that the zoo transferred 2 red-legged seriemas named Lily and Sylvia to the Hertfordshire Zoo in Hertfordshire.

13K views · 227 reactions | FEATHERED NEW ARRIVALS! We are excited to announce the arrival of Sylvia and Lily, the red-legged seriemas from Banham Zoo! Did you know that red-legged seriemas are one of just several species that prey upon venomous coral snakes! #seriema #bird #birds #animals #wildlife #announcement | Hertfordshire Zoo | Liqwyd · Sunkissed

On August 5th, the zoo announced that a coppery titi was born on July 14th which is on exhibit.

Coppery Titi Birth | On 14th July, we welcomed a baby coppery titi monkey to our family! The infant, who was born to mum, Izzy, and dad, Juanitio, is doing well. While we... | By Banham ZooFacebook
 
On August 13th, the zoo announced that a scarlet ibis named Walt hatched which is on exhibit.

Banham Zoo

On August 23rd, the zoo announced they are raising funds for an expanded Asian small-clawed otter exhibit, adding in new ponds, structures, etc.

Banham Zoo

On September 9th, it was announced the zoo transferred a (1.0) white-faced saki named Izan to Lakeland Wildlife Oasis in Cumbria.

Lakeland Wildlife Oasis
 
Had a fun day out at Banham today, weather was warm and sunny and it was fairly busy. Good amount of animal activity.

Was nice to see Aurora and Shen the snow leopards out together - Aurora the female was happy to be front and centre in the enclosure which was a good visitor draw and reflects her time spent very close to visitors at Thrigby. The two cats seemed to be getting on well.

The water buffalo have had a calf (assume one arrived pregnant) which was fun to see and they were all in their mud wallow. I failed to see the young Pudu, but the male was out and about.

The maned wolves killed a pigeon in their enclosure which caused some visitor excitement.

The empty enclosures in the bird area near the now retired flying zone and a couple in the primate / bird walkthrough near the coffee shop hadn't changed since my last visit.

The walkthrough penguin enclosure was open - the train narration mentioned it had been closed due to illness among the birds but they were now fine.

The climbing frame in the tiger enclosure with the high platforms has been demolished. It was looking a bit tired the last time I was there, so assume it had become unsafe, or perhaps was found unsuitable for the cub who broke his leg to be leaping up and down on.

banham21septemberframes.jpg
 

Attachments

  • banham21septemberframes.jpg
    banham21septemberframes.jpg
    223.1 KB · Views: 107
Piece of August/September 2024 News Worth Mentioning:

Lafone said:
The water buffalo have had a calf (assume one arrived pregnant) which was fun to see and they were all in their mud wallow.
Click to expand...

On September 20th, the zoo announced its name, Flurry.

Banham Zoo

On August 26th, it was announced that the zoo transferred 2+? sitatungas to Africa Alive in Suffolk.

Africa Alive Reserve

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TNT said:
At least one Flamingo chick has hatched - the first since 2017!
Click to expand...

On October 6th, the zoo announced that 3 more Chilean flamingos hatched of which some are now on exhibit while others are being hand-raised behind the scenes.

Banham Zoo
 
Lafone said:
The climbing frame in the tiger enclosure with the high platforms has been demolished. It was looking a bit tired the last time I was there, so assume it had become unsafe, or perhaps was found unsuitable for the cub who broke his leg to be leaping up and down on.
View attachment 731943
Click to expand...

On October 29th, the zoo announced they built a new platform structure inside the Tiger Territory exhibit.

Banham Zoo
 
The Eastern Daily Press (local newspaper to Banham)has a frustrating single sentence headline "Banham Zoo has committed to bringing in more exotic species, dispelling fears that the attraction shifting its focus to species from the British Isles ". Has anyone heard of anything more detailed ?
 
Strathmorezoo said:
The Eastern Daily Press (local newspaper to Banham)has a frustrating single sentence headline "Banham Zoo has committed to bringing in more exotic species, dispelling fears that the attraction shifting its focus to species from the British Isles ". Has anyone heard of anything more detailed ?
Click to expand...

I don't know much beyond also seeing things in local newspapers, but a little bit of context to this is that early last year (so almost 2 years ago) there was a bunch of stuff and several news stories about Banham switching to native species. This was variously reported on a scale from being at the complete expense of all exotics or as the focus for future new exhibits in the unused woodlands of the zoo without affecting the existing collection. Brexit and increased difficulty exchanging animals with EU zoos was cited as the reason.

Since that original suggestion that the zoo would be switching focus to natives, there were stories about staff redundancies and the CEO of ZSEA was also replaced so I imagine much of that original stuff about native species is long gone and nothing is changing. Not sure what has brought about this mention in the EDP recently, possibly nothing in particular.
 
LaughingDove said:
I don't know much beyond also seeing things in local newspapers, but a little bit of context to this is that early last year (so almost 2 years ago) there was a bunch of stuff and several news stories about Banham switching to native species. This was variously reported on a scale from being at the complete expense of all exotics or as the focus for future new exhibits in the unused woodlands of the zoo without affecting the existing collection. Brexit and increased difficulty exchanging animals with EU zoos was cited as the reason.

Since that original suggestion that the zoo would be switching focus to natives, there were stories about staff redundancies and the CEO of ZSEA was also replaced so I imagine much of that original stuff about native species is long gone and nothing is changing. Not sure what has brought about this mention in the EDP recently, possibly nothing in particular.
Click to expand...
OK,thank you
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top