Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo news 2025

Kifaru Bwana said:
It must be ... that pretty soonish 1 and if bonus 1+1 white rhino should calve..., as why else move young subadult/juvenile male Tayo on now?

Safari Madrid maintains a bachelor group of white rhino. I do believe they already have 3 on site from other zoos around (Continental) Europe.
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As mentioned, Tayo is now over 4 and a half years old being born in October 2020 and his older half sister (Lottie) born in January 2020 left all the way back in October 2022. I don't think he got on with the rest of the crash as well as he once did, and the Kingdom of The Wild paddock isn't massive either. Now the zoo has the females Emily, Astrid and Binta, and the juvenile female Dara (full sister of Tayo born in Jan 2023). I believe the plan is for a new bull to arrive in the nearish future, possibly later this year? Emily had I believe 3 calves with Otto, Astrid has had two with him, while Binta hasn't bred since her arrival in Autumn 2019.
 
Went for a very brief visit to Colchester Zoo this morning, and had a quick dash about to see if anything was new. There was little animal news of note - did not see the golden lion tamarins at all, the crowned pigeon was still on its nest and the two rhinoceros iguanas appeared to be courting.

However, there were quite a few bits of development work underway:
  • The construction outside Heart of the Amazon I saw on my last visit is a penguin sculpture - hopefully this means that work on the Penguin Shores area will become apparent in the near future.
  • There is some development going on in the old gold panning area (between the elephant house and koi building), with workmen and diggers present. No idea what it is for, but the Elephant Bush Walk was also closed as part of the work.
  • A large peak-roofed house is being built in the old Wallaby Walkabout, between the walkthrough entrance and exit doors.
  • The lakeside fence of the old ruffed lemur enclosure has been removed, so the flamingos can theoretically enter this space. Saw one bird standing near the former boundary, but none actually within this new area.
 
DesertRhino150 said:
I have just noticed some photographs added to a Colchester Zoo fan page on Facebook showing two new baby golden lion tamarins, apparently born on 12th June.
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The zoo has announced that, actually, only a single golden lion tamarin baby was born on 13th June. This is the fifth offspring for mother Freia, who arrived at Colchester on 3rd December 2024 from Banham, but the first offspring for father Tree Trunks, who arrived from Jersey on 4th December 2024.
 
Colchester Zoo have released two of their monthly reports. Firstly, the animal news from the report for April 2025:
  • As well as updates on the chimpanzee and two-toed sloth arrivals, a new male green anaconda named Jake arrived on 23rd April from Crocodiles of the World and has since been mixed with Nino (the third male, Houdini, is not mentioned at all).
  • The white-backed vultures moved back on-display on 30th April.
  • The two Barbary macaques that moved back into Out of Africa when the capuchin monkeys moved back to their renovated enclosure on 8th April were mother-offspring pair M'Punky and Safi.
  • The two black tree monitors, named Velma and Vinnie, were mixed together on 25th April.
  • Also mentioned is some old news, like the death of female sea lion Atlanta on 13th April, movement of female cheetah Anika to the enclosure opposite the Komodo dragons on 3rd April and the developments of the African livestock and lemur walkthroughs.
The monthly report for May 2025 has also been put online:
  • The three wallabies that have moved off-show joined the reindeer in their paddock. It has been confirmed that the wallaby walkthrough will be turned into a second walkthrough for sheep and goats.
Charles said:
My only thought with this is that maybe it went to Bristol to be with a group of them, I know there in the new tropical house and radiated tortoise weren’t kept at the old zoo site
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  • Confirmation that the last female radiated tortoise did indeed move to Bristol Zoo Project on 7th May.
  • The new rhinoceros iguana and green anaconda have been successfully mixed by this stage.
  • Two rainbow lorikeet chicks hatched on 21st May.
  • For the first time, four Philippine tree skinks (or green tree skinks) have hatched and been moved off-show for rearing.
  • On 7th May, 15 young koi carp arrived and moved into the smaller aquaria in Koi Niwa.
  • On 23rd May, 50 penguin tetra arrived and are currently off-show for their 30-day quarantine.
  • This month, dummy eggs were added to the Chilean flamingo flock to encourage breeding.
 
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Had a good visit to Colchester Zoo this morning - managed to see quite a lot of the animals either active or more clearly than usual, including the new baby golden lion tamarin. A couple of updates about the developments are:
  • Rajang's Forest has reopened - apart from the fixes to the roof, nothing has changed. The former bony-headed toad terrarium is still empty.
  • The new shelter in the upcoming sheep and goat walkthrough (former wallaby walkthrough) has progressed further, and seems to be almost complete. However, the walkthrough is still closed, and the paths seem to have been taken up.
  • The development of the old gold panning area has continued, albeit slowly. There is now a boundary being put next to it, and a small wooden building has been erected between it and the elephant house. Access to the Elephant Bush Walk has been reopened.
 
Anyone know if the plans which was announced a few years ago for gorillas and bonobo are still going ahead
 
According to a BBC news item, a wild Otter cub was found asleep on the bank of the pool within the flamingos enclosure ,(doesn't say when). After checking if the cubs parents were near the cub was caught after.a few hours and found to be in fairly good condition. A local wildlife rescue centre collected him and he weighed in at 800gms. He was named Mingo and transferred to the UK Wild Otters Trust in Devon where he is making good progress. Ironically, the zoos Smooth Coated Otters are housed near the flamingos enclosure.
 
Went for a visit to Colchester Zoo this morning. Not much to note - the redevelopments of the old wallaby walkthrough (for goats and sheep) and the old gold panning area (for unknown purposes) have continued a bit, but both still seem to be a while off opening.

I only saw two smooth-coated otters on this visit - I couldn't see them in any of their indoor areas, but they could have been hiding in their underground dens (where the two visible otters were standing around).

One bit of pleasant news is that the lone elderly male lion-tailed macaque has now been joined by two younger females. I do not know where they both originated from.
 
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DesertRhino150 said:
One bit of pleasant news is that the lone elderly male lion-tailed macaque has now been joined by two younger females. I do not know where they both originated from.
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The zoo has now announced this arrival - the two females are named Kizzy (who is 22 years old) and Jade (who is 15) arrived from Fota Wildlife Park on 16th July. The two females have settled in well with resident male Connor (21 years old), and the zoo is hoping to breed the macaques.

I didn't know one of the females was actually older than the male - I guess his appearance makes him look more aged than he actually is.
 
Went for a visit to Colchester this morning. Very little actually in the way of news, but these are a few things I noticed:
  • Redevelopment of the old gold panning area next to the elephant house seems to have stopped for the time being - still no idea what it is intended to be.
  • The former wallaby walkthrough, while still closed, is now home to some African pygmy goats and Cameroon sheep.
  • It was interesting to see the male ostrich out in the Kingdom of the Wild main paddock doing a full courtship display towards the three females, who were all confined to part of the hardstanding.
  • For the first time in a very long while, I managed to see the mother Philippine spotted deer and her fawn out in their paddock. The trees planted in there have grown up well recently - hopefully they will have a proper canopy over them in a couple of years' time.
  • Lots of good activity from some of the animals - the orangutans were all active in their indoor area, the chimps were moving between their outdoor and indoor enclosures and vocalising a lot, and got a superb view of the royal python climbing around the branches in its enclosure.
  • Also a pleasant wildlife sighting at the zoo - saw my first-ever Jersey tiger moth, inside the house for the pig in the farmyard section.
 
First post in a while, with travelling for work commitments I’ve not been able to be as active in the zoo community or visit as much as I would like to!

Has there been any real progress on the “zoo of the future” plans and the new lion exhibit that was mentioned in July last year?
 
Badgerman91 said:
First post in a while, with travelling for work commitments I’ve not been able to be as active in the zoo community or visit as much as I would like to!

Has there been any real progress on the “zoo of the future” plans and the new lion exhibit that was mentioned in July last year?
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The planning process for the lion enclosure seems to be taking a long time, and keeps getting pushed back. There were quite a few objections, including one from the property just beyond the zoo's boundary next to the lion development (although I think the issues may have been resolved in a newer version of the plan), from some of the environmental groups regarding biodiversity impacts and effects on the river and from highways, as the development may affect a major detour route from work on the A12.
The consultation was supposed to be completed in June, but the zoo was still uploading documents into early July. I'm at the point of just waiting - if it happens, it happens.

I'm more interested in what will happen should Bailey die before the new enclosure gets approved. The current plan is for the geladas to get the lion enclosure and the vultures to get the gelada enclosure. I'm curious if the zoo would just process with steps 2 and 3 and go without lions until the new enclosure gets built, or try to get new lions to fill the space even though it is no longer really suitable for a group of them.
 
Went for a visit to Colchester Zoo this morning. Not much in the way of actual news, but this is what I noticed:
  • The building site next to the elephant house has had a giant green plastic container placed there - I'm starting to think that it won't be any sort of animal development.
  • Although it was closed when I went around, I could see through the doorway of the Sensation Station that almost all of the signs for the encounter animals has been removed - only the guinea pig is still signed. I've got no idea what that means for the other animals, like the skunks and large hairy armadillos, that were formerly shown on these signs.
 
Today, Colchester have released two monthly reviews. Starting off with June:
  • Female cherry-crowned mangabey 'Suna' was transferred to Les Terres de Natae in France on June 4th.
  • On 28th June, 40 penguin tetras finished their quarantine and moved on-show in the Worlds Apart tank.
  • On 29th June, 5 Cameroon sheep ewes arrived and were in quarantine (they are now on public display, and their walkthrough is now open to the public).
  • Some additional enrichments were added, including a feeding zipline in the cheetah enclosure and additional perching for the rainbow lorikeets.
  • On 25th June, male green iguana 'Fernando' was put to sleep after he stopped responding to treatment for arthritis.
  • Also mentioned is previously shared news, such as the departure of white rhino 'Tayo' on 10th June, the birth of the golden lion tamarin on 13th June and the closure of Orangutan Forest for repairs.
And now news from the July report:
  • On 15th July, 6 Orpington hens arrived from a private breeder. They are currently out of view and serving a 30-day quarantine.
  • On 13th July, female rock hyrax 'Cindy-Lou' gave birth to twins - her second litter since arriving at the zoo in 2023.
  • Smooth-coated otter 'Dara' moved off-show in preparation for transfer to another zoo.
  • Male squirrel monkey 'Malcolm' was transferred to Ponderosa Zoo in Yorkshire on 22nd July.
  • Male Philippine spotted deer 'Flynn' was transferred to Watatunga on 26th July.
  • A group of 17 silver dollar fish arrived on 26th July, and are currently off-show for their 30-day quarantine.
  • The female green tree skink moved off-show, leaving just a single male on-display in Kingdom of the Wild.
  • Quite a bit of development took place, including adding new perching for the Solomon Island skinks and Victoria crowned pigeons, new lighting for the slender-snouted crocodile, renovation of the rhinoceros and elephant indoor quarters, the continued conversion of the wallaby enclosure as a second sheep and goat walkthrough and the completion of the orangutan repair work.
  • Linked to this, it is mentioned that a new heating system is being made for the elephant house - I am now wondering if that is what is taking the place of the old gold panning area.
  • Also mentioned is the previously shared news of the arrival of the two lion-tailed macaque females on 16th July.
 
Got back from a brief visit to Colchester this morning. Not a lot of news to report on, but things I did notice:
  • The development next to the elephant house (I personally think it may be the new heating system) has continued, with the first rows of bricks now laid.
  • The leopard tortoises were not visible at all in the weaverbird enclosure at Kingdom of the Wild, although they are still signed.
  • The grey wolves were all out and on-show - I wasn't sure if they would be, as a few days ago the Essex Fire Brigade's urban search and rescue crew were called in to check out burrows dug in the wolves' enclosure. They have now apparently been filled in.
 
Colchester Zoo have released their monthly report for August today. This is the animal news mentioned:
  • On 1st August, female smooth-coated otter 'Sai Lam' joined the other female 'Dara' in an off-show enclosure ready for transfer to a new collection. This leaves six otters on-show at Otter Creek.
  • On 6th August, female red river hog 'Charlie' was put to sleep. At 14 years old, she was an elderly animal that had been under veterinary care for ongoing chronic arthritis.
  • On 8th August, male Kirk's dik-dik 'Squash' transferred to Howletts.
  • The 8th August was also the date in which the five new Cameroon sheep completed their quarantine and moved on-show in the old wallaby walkthrough.
  • The pair of large hairy armadillos that were used in the animal encounters left for Ashlyn's Farm on 20th August. The species is no longer in the collection.
  • On 14th August, 33 new silver dollars arrived and are currently in quarantine.
The report also mentions the previously-known news of the death of Abasi - the overview still states that they are awaiting the results of the full post-mortem.
 
I visited yesterday for the second Starlight Safari Night and for the first time since early July. As I arrived in the late afternoon it was by no means a full visit but it was still nice to be back and there were a couple things of particular note.
  • The development next to the elephant house mentioned above does indeed look quite likely to be to do with the new heating system- there is a decent size wooden shed with 4 chimneys/pipes in close proximity on its roof. Elephant Bush Walk is still closed off, at least from that direction.
  • On the topic of the elephant house, I was surprised to see the aforementioned renovations from the July monthly report. I was not aware of them as I have been off zoochat for a few weeks, but I noticed that all but one of the stalls (located on the left from a visitors perspective) in the main/fully on show part of the house have been removed. In their place a painted yellow wall has been added to the fence which is helping to contain the sand, which has now been spread across the entirety of the indoor cow area. The next time I can I might try and ask a keeper about these changes, but I would assume it is mainly to provide the female elephants more indoor space, which can be provided as I believe only one stall is usually used at a time as part of training procedures/check ups anyway.
  • It was nice to see the Aardvarks stirring up attention with their usual nocturnal activity that intrigues visitors on these late night openings.
  • I saw 2 lion tailed macaques snuggled together around 20 past 8 as I was making my way out, I assume this may well have been the new females?
  • The White-lipped tamarins in Worlds Apart seem to have been moved from their enclosure near the exit to the first primate enclosure you encounter where the Goeldi's pair were first kept after their arrival.
  • A new wooden structure/room has been put up near the entrance of Kingdom of The Wild, seemingly to function as a more permanent face painting location. It is on the end of the Weaver bird aviary and it seems the skeleton and I possibly benches also that were here previously have been displaced.
  • In Edge of Africa, most of the Common Warthog viewing area was blocked off by benches, although one viewing station was still accessible.
 
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