ZSL Whipsnade Zoo ZSL Whipsnade Zoo News 2025

ajmcwhipsnade said:
A chilly but beautiful afternoon up at the Zoo. Got some great shots of the White Rhinos that were right up at the fence. Didnt get to see the Gemsbok calf or Lion cubs sadly.

The White Rhino in the Asian Rhino paddock seems to have left for its new home, with all signs removed.

Did see the baby Macaques and amazingly they think another female is pregnant.

The divide in the Warty Pig/Spotted Deer yard has been removed so I assume they are now mixed although I didnt see the Deer.

Interestingly the current Banteng paddock now has a new gate that opens into the Passage Through Asia, so my guess would be that maybe the plan is to have them mixing with the Deer and Blackbuck which would be amazing.
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I wonder if White rhino bull Mazungu has indeed departed Whipsnade, could that paddock could potentially be used as a separation enclosure for the Philippine spotted deer/Visayan warty pigs? Assuming there aren't plans to get another Greater one-horned rhino female or another species for that space.
 
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Where do I need to look for the banteng?

Also, what is the deal with the Greater one-horned rhino - how many do they currently have and what mix? I cannot figure out the paddocks/houses down there at all.
 
Rajang-GOAT said:
I wonder if White rhino bull Mazungu has indeed departed Whipsnade, that paddock could potentially be used as a separation enclosure for the Philippine spotted deer/Visayan warty pigs? Assuming there aren't plans to get another Greater one-horned rhino female or another species for that space.
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I think Mazungu has gone, as AJMC mentioned the signage which was put up about him has been taken down and he was usually visible at least some of the time wandering around. I'd hope they put another rhino in.

JoB198 said:
Where do I need to look for the banteng?
Also, what is the deal with the Greater one-horned rhino - how many do they currently have and what mix? I cannot figure out the paddocks/houses down there at all.
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The Banteng are in one of the enclosures on the right at the start of A Passage through Asia, behind the Barisingha and Hog Deer enclosure...you can walk up to it as it's before the cattle grid entrance where pedestrians can't go.
 
Lafone said:
The Banteng are in one of the enclosures on the right at the start of A Passage through Asia, behind the Barisingha and Hog Deer enclosure...you can walk up to it as it's before the cattle grid entrance where pedestrians can't go.
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Is it after the sign saying 'no pedestrians' because that'll be why I've never seen the enclosure as I'm freakishly well-behaved.
 
JoB198 said:
Is it after the sign saying 'no pedestrians' because that'll be why I've never seen the enclosure as I'm freakishly well-behaved.
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Yes, fearing the same I asked a keeper who was at the enclosure a while ago and they said it was fine as long as you don't go over the grid.
 
JoB198 said:
Where do I need to look for the banteng?

Also, what is the deal with the Greater one-horned rhino - how many do they currently have and what mix? I cannot figure out the paddocks/houses down there at all.
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Sorry forgot that I believe they now have 1:1, Hugo and Behan.
 
Lafone said:
Yes, fearing the same I asked a keeper who was at the enclosure a while ago and they said it was fine as long as you don't go over the grid.
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Am going tomorrow!

I don't know why I'm like this given how some people behave at the zoo.
 
Lafone said:
Saw the back of the lion cubs as they headed indoors, not to come out again. Brief but cute. Malik the male is mixed with Winta's cubs now so that's nice to see. There's a one way system in the windowed lion viewing area, I dread to think what that will be like when the zoo is busy.
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The one way system isn't TOO bad when busy, although very very weird to queue. And also people can't read the sign asking them not to take their buggies in.

The mixing must have only happened this week as last weekend they said so far Malik had only touched noses with the cubs through the wires between their inside areas.
 
JoB198 said:
The one way system isn't TOO bad when busy, although very very weird to queue. And also people can't read the sign asking them not to take their buggies in.

The mixing must have only happened this week as last weekend they said so far Malik had only touched noses with the cubs through the wires between their inside areas.
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Yes they mentioned it was recent, they all seemed happy enough. Bodes well for the many lions they now have. The empty buggies were getting a great view when I was in there. Will be interesting to hear how busy it is there on a Saturday. Apparently the cubs are mostly out in the mornings so might be worth heading straight there.
 
Lafone said:
I think Mazungu has gone, as AJMC mentioned the signage which was put up about him has been taken down and he was usually visible at least some of the time wandering around. I'd hope they put another rhino in.
.
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Mazungu was still there today, great views as he wandered around outside. But as already stated the signs have gone so presumably a move is imminent.
 
We visited yesterday with the highlight being the lion cubs.
We spent over an hour waiting for them to appear in the morning, without success.
Came back in the afternoon and they emerged just after 2 and we had sightings until 3 when we left for the bears. Great.

Looked for the young Gemsbok, but didn’t see.
 
I was lucky in seeing the lion cubs when I visited on 27th Feb, I was told it's two boys and a girl.
Winta was not happy with the audience and kept her cubs well clear. Thankfully there were a lot of staff about to ask people to keep the noise down.
All four bears were out playing in the sun which was an unexpected treat.
 
Regarding the lion cubs, forgot to mention that the cubs and mother were out with the father Malik, who I understand was first out with the cubs on Friday 28 February.
 
Few hours in the sunshine up whipsnade today, the bears were very active although only saw 3 of the 4,the lion cubs were out in the afternoon and very playful.
Saw the new new gate from the Benteng into Passage Through Asia, I'm not overly keen on the idea of them joining the deer purely because they are a wonderful species and won't be seen unless you take your car in.
The spotted deer was nowhere to be seen with it's indoor area empty as well so not sure what's going on there.
Everytime I see the female zebra it looks bigger and bigger and surely must be pregnant and due soon.
 
sparkes12 said:
Few hours in the sunshine up whipsnade today, the bears were very active although only saw 3 of the 4,the lion cubs were out in the afternoon and very playful.
Saw the new new gate from the Benteng into Passage Through Asia, I'm not overly keen on the idea of them joining the deer purely because they are a wonderful species and won't be seen unless you take your car in.
The spotted deer was nowhere to be seen with it's indoor area empty as well so not sure what's going on there.
Everytime I see the female zebra it looks bigger and bigger and surely must be pregnant and due soon.
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Just to clarify, I don’t know if the gate is actually for the banteng. It was just my guess :)
 
Am I missing something in the 2025 stock take where it lists that they have 2 male wolverines and 1 female?

I've always assumed they had a pair. Have they bred without anyone knowing? Or have they had a secret male offshow somewhere?
 
JoB198 said:
Am I missing something in the 2025 stock take where it lists that they have 2 male wolverines and 1 female?

I've always assumed they had a pair. Have they bred without anyone knowing? Or have they had a secret male offshow somewhere?
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The current male, Nova, was brought in hopefully to breed as the previous male, Bodi, and Fi did not get on. Bodi was taken off show and presumably has not yet been found a new zoo to go to.
 
rjh said:
The current male, Nova, was brought in hopefully to breed as the previous male, Bodi, and Fi did not get on. Bodi was taken off show and presumably has not yet been found a new zoo to go to.
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Ah, I see, thank you.
 
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