Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo news 2025

DesertRhino150 said:
Colchester have put an update about the aardvark baby on their Facebook page - it is continuing to grow well.

Some news from the update as well, in that the father, Koos, will be returning to Chester Zoo on Thursday 16th January.
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I noticed that the female from Chester, Oni, wasn't mentioned. Surely she is returning also or is she staying?
 
Rajang-GOAT said:
I noticed that the female from Chester, Oni, wasn't mentioned. Surely she is returning also or is she staying?
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I actually did the aardvark keeper shadowing last week and the keeper mentioned to me that they would be returning to Chester soon but that they would keep the female at Colchester for longer if she was pregnant. Apparently aardvark pregnancies are very difficult to confirm (skin too thick for ultrasound) so they might be waiting for signs of possible pregnancy before returning her? Just a thought… (it would be very exciting to have a second aardvark baby!)
 
jtrbmvcq said:
That’s not true? I find it odd the keeper would have told you this, especially when Colchester breed aardvark quite successfully.
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I might have misremembered the exact reason but she definitely told me that they can’t ultrasound the aardvarks. I think because the foetus develops quite anterior in the body so they don’t show many signs of pregnancy until the foetus shifts towards the posterior, which is just before birth. They look for pregnancy in other ways such as listening for a heartbeat.
 
I did the aardvark experience at the start of the year and got to meet OQ’s baby. They did think that Oni was pregnant but not 100% sure at that point. I wouldn’t think she had gone back yet but I’m going on Saturday so I’ll have a look.
 
I visited Colchester for the first time in a couple of years today and had a great day, I particularly enjoyed seeing Striped Hyena and Pygmy Hippo up close. Just wondering:

1) Where is the Mindanao Rufous Hornbill located as I couldn’t find it today.

2) Does anyone have much luck with seeing the Rock Hyraxes in their new(ish) enclosure?

3) There are two empty arid enclosures in Kingdom of the Wild and (I think) Worlds Apart, does anyone have any ideas on what species may be going into these? New pancake tortoise enclosure maybe?

I also commend the zoos huge Black Tree Monitor and Fiji Banded Iguana enclosures!
 
Typhlonectes said:
I visited Colchester for the first time in a couple of years today and had a great day, I particularly enjoyed seeing Striped Hyena and Pygmy Hippo up close. Just wondering:

1) Where is the Mindanao Rufous Hornbill located as I couldn’t find it today.

2) Does anyone have much luck with seeing the Rock Hyraxes in their new(ish) enclosure?

3) There are two empty arid enclosures in Kingdom of the Wild and (I think) Worlds Apart, does anyone have any ideas on what species may be going into these? New pancake tortoise enclosure maybe?

I also commend the zoos huge Black Tree Monitor and Fiji Banded Iguana enclosures!
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1) The two species of rufous hornbill are housed together, in an aviary next to the sun bear house. They can also be seen inside from the bear's indoor viewing area.

2) Hyraxes are hit and miss - on cold days, I don't think they are let out at all. When they are out, I will tend to see one at the top of one of the rock pinnacles against the wall on the left of the enclosure.

3) Not sure which enclosures these are that are empty? If I have it right, there is a cacti display in Worlds Apart, next to the entrance to the outdoor walkthrough enclosure.

I will be visiting tomorrow, so will check things out further.
 
Typhlonectes said:
I visited Colchester for the first time in a couple of years today and had a great day, I particularly enjoyed seeing Striped Hyena and Pygmy Hippo up close. Just wondering:

1) Where is the Mindanao Rufous Hornbill located as I couldn’t find it today.

2) Does anyone have much luck with seeing the Rock Hyraxes in their new(ish) enclosure?

3) There are two empty arid enclosures in Kingdom of the Wild and (I think) Worlds Apart, does anyone have any ideas on what species may be going into these? New pancake tortoise enclosure maybe?

I also commend the zoos huge Black Tree Monitor and Fiji Banded Iguana enclosures!
Click to expand...
1) The Rufous hornbill pair have their indoor area next to the on show sun bear indoor enclosure, so I'm guessing they are a pair made up of two different subspecies? Their outdoor aviary, Clock of the Mountain, is just uphill from the entrance to the Bears of The Rising Sun indoor area.

2) I've only seen the Rock Hyrax in their new enclosure at Ina Trail twice from what I can remember, once in 2023 after they moved in in the summer, and once in October 2024 after they had produced twins in July.

3) You are right about those two displays. They were built 2 or so years ago I believe when a few other enclosures in Kingdom of The Wild were redeveloped, however they have never held animals and I don't get the impression they are intended to do so, at least for now, so they may be remaining as plant only displays in the near future.

4) Those two reptile enclosures are certainly great for their current inhabitants, but funnily enough only in the last couple of years the Black tree monitor enclosure has held Fiji banded iguana and/or Soloman islands skink and the current Fiji banded iguana display held Green anaconda before they replaced the Reticulated python (that passed away) in the current River's Edge building.
 
Thank you both for the replies, I will tick both Hornbill subspecies off then as I did see both animals in the indoor area! No luck on the Wreathed though.
The empty enclosure in Kingdom of the Wild definitely looks like it will be a future animal display. Time will tell
 
Typhlonectes said:
I visited Colchester for the first time in a couple of years today and had a great day, I particularly enjoyed seeing Striped Hyena and Pygmy Hippo up close.
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It's a while since I last visited Colchester; when did striped hyaena return to the collection?
 
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Tim May said:
Thanks for your speedy response.
That's a shame; I would love to see striped hyaena at Colchester again.
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More rarities altogether would be nice for us… let’s see what these new developments bring. As for the speedy response, I am on this website far too much for my own good ;)
 
I went for a visit to Colchester Zoo this morning. First of all, to clear a couple of things up:

Typhlonectes said:
There are two empty arid enclosures in Kingdom of the Wild and (I think) Worlds Apart, does anyone have any ideas on what species may be going into these? New pancake tortoise enclosure maybe?
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I checked both of these places - the two displays you mention here have both been long-term used just for cacti. They could change; I remember the display for tropical plants in Kingdom of the Wild before it also became home to the Madagascar tree boas, although I am less confident with the arid displays.

I also checked out the plated lizard enclosure, to see if the signage had been changed (as mentioned here). When I checked, the signage still labelled the plated lizards as Gerhhosaurus validus validus, which was the giant plated lizard that definitely did inhabit that enclosure. I did not see that individual, and have not for the past several visits, but did see the new individual that has been there since March 2024 and has not been labelled - I still think it is the Sudan plated lizard, having seen very similar animals labelled as such in other zoos.

In terms of other things I noticed:
  • The capuchin enclosure has progressed even more, with more work done to the outdoor viewing area. Although I did not go around the back to see it, it looks like the indoor area is now nearing completion.
  • A nice little update in that the silver dollar and stingray tank in Heart of the Amazon has new lighting in place, which makes the display much easier to see into.
  • Even though it is still lit up, the bony-headed toad tank in Rajang's Forest remains empty - really hoping that something moves in there, rather than it just being forgotten about.
  • Was good to see both cheetahs out and relaxing together in Kingdom of the Wild.
  • Dropped in to see all five of the chimps before the two males move out later this month.
  • One thing to note - it was extraordinarily busy today at the zoo. When we arrived, five minutes before opening, there were already well over a hundred cars. When we left, there were lines of traffic in both directions of the main road stretching back for probably close to a mile. Think it might be because of the winter offers - anyone on here wanting to visit should plan accordingly.
 
DesertRhino150 said:
I went for a visit to Colchester Zoo this morning. First of all, to clear a couple of things up:



I checked both of these places - the two displays you mention here have both been long-term used just for cacti. They could change; I remember the display for tropical plants in Kingdom of the Wild before it also became home to the Madagascar tree boas, although I am less confident with the arid displays.

I also checked out the plated lizard enclosure, to see if the signage had been changed (as mentioned here). When I checked, the signage still labelled the plated lizards as Gerhhosaurus validus validus, which was the giant plated lizard that definitely did inhabit that enclosure. I did not see that individual, and have not for the past several visits, but did see the new individual that has been there since March 2024 and has not been labelled - I still think it is the Sudan plated lizard, having seen very similar animals labelled as such in other zoos.

In terms of other things I noticed:
  • The capuchin enclosure has progressed even more, with more work done to the outdoor viewing area. Although I did not go around the back to see it, it looks like the indoor area is now nearing completion.
  • A nice little update in that the silver dollar and stingray tank in Heart of the Amazon has new lighting in place, which makes the display much easier to see into.
  • Even though it is still lit up, the bony-headed toad tank in Rajang's Forest remains empty - really hoping that something moves in there, rather than it just being forgotten about.
  • Was good to see both cheetahs out and relaxing together in Kingdom of the Wild.
  • Dropped in to see all five of the chimps before the two males move out later this month.
  • One thing to note - it was extraordinarily busy today at the zoo. When we arrived, five minutes before opening, there were already well over a hundred cars. When we left, there were lines of traffic in both directions of the main road stretching back for probably close to a mile. Think it might be because of the winter offers - anyone on here wanting to visit should plan accordingly.
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Apologies yes you are right about the lizard! And yes yesterday was jam-packed with queues stretching along the main roads
 
DesertRhino150 said:
One thing to note - it was extraordinarily busy today at the zoo. When we arrived, five minutes before opening, there were already well over a hundred cars. When we left, there were lines of traffic in both directions of the main road stretching back for probably close to a mile. Think it might be because of the winter offers - anyone on here wanting to visit should plan accordingly.
Click to expand...

Is this just a weekend thing being busy, I'm planning on going midweek wondering if it will be just as busy.
 
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