ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Whipsnade Vsit

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Mike11

Well-Known Member
Hi All, Im off to Whipsnade tomorow between about 2.30-6.00 im going later so will have a better chance of seeing the Big Cats out and about on a summer's afternoon.
If anyone has any questions or anything for mind to find out on i will be more then happy.
Cheers,
 
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No Worries,
Okay i will try and find out i should go to that side of the zoo to see the Tigers anyway.
 
Riziki said:
No Worries,
Okay i will try and find out i should go to that side of the zoo to see the Tigers anyway.
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Thankyou. They had problems with it as the females wouldn't enter the water possibly it was too steep.

Any news on Karishma the elephant would be interesting too i.e. is she pregnant definately and if so, when due? Thanks.
 
Yeah i will try to im bound to get to see the Elephants and i will ask if there is a keeper about :)
 
Riziki said:
Hi All, Im off to Whipsnade tomorow between about 3.30-7.00 im going later so will have a better chance of seeing the Big Cats out and about on a summer's afternoon.
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Does whipsnade close late then?

An update on Tuli the new female White rhino would be good, also if she has been fully intergrated into the main group.

Thanks
 
Sadly it is only 7 on sundays and bank holidays :/
But it closes at 6 so will be getting there bit earlier will hopefully spend about 3 or so hours there so should be able to see everything :)
 
Hi everyone as we got there at about 3.00 we headed straight to the bears but sadly there was no sign of them perhaps all indoors for some sort of check up?
We then went to see the Chimps and they were all outside and were great to watch.
We then spent most of the day with the Lions and Cheetahs and unfortunately didnt have enough to see the Ele's and i didnt see the Rhino's outside at all.We did see the Elephants out on there walk and i can report that the baby seemed to be getting on really well and was good keeping up with mum Kaylee!
As we went to the lions a thunderstorm started and spent mos of the downpour in the lions viewing shelter.When the rain really started coming down it made a hell of a noise on the roof.This even managed to get some very scared looks from the big male Spike as he and the other 6 where sleeping under the roof next to the glass so we got some great views of lions on the back just centermeters away from us.
Overall it was a great visit it was very quiet with most of the little kids having left so we got great views of the animals and for the last hour or so it turned into a great evening.
Sorry didnt get to Rhinos of Nepal or to check the Elephant situation properly as we just simply ran out of time.
Regards,
 
Riziki said:
Hi everyone as we got there at about 3.00 we headed straight to the bears but sadly there was no sign of them perhaps all indoors for some sort of check up?
We then went to see the Chimps and they were all outside and were great to watch.
We then spent most of the day with the Lions and Cheetahs and unfortunately didnt have enough to see the Ele's and i didnt see the Rhino's outside at all.We did see the Elephants out on there walk and i can report that the baby seemed to be getting on really well and was good keeping up with mum Kaylee!
As we went to the lions a thunderstorm started and spent mos of the downpour in the lions viewing shelter.When the rain really started coming down it made a hell of a noise on the roof.This even managed to get some very scared looks from the big male Spike as he and the other 6 where sleeping under the roof next to the glass so we got some great views of lions on the back just centermeters away from us.
Overall it was a great visit it was very quiet with most of the little kids having left so we got great views of the animals and for the last hour or so it turned into a great evening.
Sorry didnt get to Rhinos of Nepal or to check the Elephant situation properly as we just simply ran out of time.
Regards,
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The bears really dont have an indoor area as such, there is a smaller catch up area but they really are masters of disguise and would have been embedded in a bush somewhere
 
Thanks for that i saw the small holding area is it towards the road side of the enclosure? Pretty sure i saw something that looked like a holding area, but as you say they were probs just in the middle within the think vegitation.
 
Riziki said:
Thanks for that i saw the small holding area is it towards the road side of the enclosure? Pretty sure i saw something that looked like a holding area, but as you say they were probs just in the middle within the think vegitation.
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catch up area is the opposite end, the far end from the road, there is a small area sectioned off plus there are individual barred dens that looked like they were fairly new as I nosed about today. There are a few stone winter/birthing dens scattered through out the enclosure.
 
Oh yes i do remember wrong place i wrote,I have seen the old dens throughout the enclosure in the woods.It is a great enclosure for the age it was built!
 
Whipsnade update.

Some notes from my( very Windy)visit yesterday;

Asian Rhinos-the pools in the New House are still only being used by one rhino, the male 'Hugo'. The entry is too steep but they have not done anything about it yet-too expensive but they might do so 'in the future' They seem to rotate the animals around but the male was still in the old paddock and yard, and because of the paddock entry system, I'm not sure if only one female+calf, or both mother/calf pairs are using the new House.:confused: I think they need to split the main paddock. Here is a new House that isn't being used properly because of design and access problems.

I also noticed there is only a proper pool in the larger outdoor paddock(the female and calf were in it) so on any one day the other rhinos can't bathe. It is far from an ideal system at present.:(

White rhino- new female 'Tula'(?) from Germany is in the group. The last original w/c female' Caroline must have died this last year as her nameplate has gone.

Greater Kudu- young male has joined the 5 females.
Onager- male has three females now (original one plus what look like a new mother/daughter pair). Young male that was born there now seperated(behind Kudu enclosure).
Gaur- mother & calf(nearly same size as mother now) seperated possibly to prevent breeding.
Elephants. A poor display- because the 'herd' cannot be together, only the mother/baby/aunt combination can be seen. The older calf and three females were hidden away in the off- display paddock. Unless you are around when they walk them, it isn't a good display like e.g. Chester's.
Reticulated Giraffe- new female 'Ina' has come from a Czech Zoo but now the adult bull(Bruno?) has gone(died or moved?) So they currently have two females plus the two most recent male calves from 'Savanah'
Blackbuck in Asian Plains almost defunct- just 2.1 plus calf. A fresh input is needed.
Bird garden- closed for renovation.
Penguin pool- main pool was empty.
RR Hogs- female believed pregnant.
Chimpanzee-old female Koko living in the group. They could still do with a couple more females to balance the sex ratio better but I imagine they won't do so.
American Bison- back to just one pair of Bison.
I forgot to check out the islands in the central zoo area, or the Sealion display.
 
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Thanks for seeing the bits i didnt really get a chance to look out for :)
It is a shame about the Elephant herd who is the problem elephant? If she was to be moved that could be the best option.
 
it is interesting that they don't keep them all together...because i went to the sleepover membership event in august and when we went for our early morning tour we saw all the elephants (except emmett obviously!) out for an early morning walk around the park like they do with the five others during the day when the public are there!
 
catinthehat said:
it is interesting that they don't keep them all together...because i went to the sleepover membership event in august and when we went for our early morning tour we saw all the elephants (except emmett obviously!) out for an early morning walk around the park like they do with the five others during the day when the public are there!
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Are you sure it was all of thefemales and calves? I have NEVER seen them altogether at Whipsnade- they always seem to be seperated into the two subgroups, certainly when they are outside unattended in their paddocks. Emmett the bull always seems to be on his own nowadays as well.
 
yeah was definitely all 5 of the females and euan holding tails and the new calf running alongside...was quite a sight!! i was pretty surprised, but the girl leading our tour said they quite often walk them all together in the morning because they are building up to getting karishma to walk during public opening because she is pregnant (due in april) and they obviously want her calf to be able to go on walks when its born.
 
Thats great news :)
Hopefully another healthy calf to make the Whipsnade herd strong again, After the very sad deaths of Aneena,Lee-Lee and Donaldson,
 
catinthehat said:
yeah was definitely all 5 of the females and euan holding tails and the new calf running alongside...was quite a sight!! i was pretty surprised, but the girl leading our tour said they quite often walk them all together in the morning because they are building up to getting karishma to walk during public opening because she is pregnant (due in april) and they obviously want her calf to be able to go on walks when its born.
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That's very interesting. It sounds as if the females can all be together during the 'walks' perhaps because they are supervised and 'dominated' by their handlers, so maybe it is just in the paddocks where they have always to be seperate. It is a shame as they would present a more interesting group if they could be seen all together. The group in the far paddock is almost totally invisible.

Glad to hear about Karishma being pregnant too.
 
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