Marwell Wildlife My Monthly Updates 2011 #1

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The usual dash of notes...

- In Heart of Africa, the potto and bug displays are still empty but with notes saying they are undergoing redevelopment as part of 'exciting new developments to the park', or something along those lines. The old nile monitor enclosure has been turned into a display of antelope skulls.
- The five baby coatis are out and about and pushing up the cute factor as usual.
- The crocodile monitor has joined the leaf-tailed geckos and kimberley rock and phillipine monitors in going off-display in Cold Blooded Corner - for reasons the same and I know but won't tell.
- And there has been an exciting birth but once again, my lips remain sealed till the news is properly out...
 
@Zambar
I do hope they do something on the reptile dept. ... buildingwise as there is way too many changes in the year with tanks going empty and that ...
 
A few observations from today's visit to Marwell:

1) The giant anteater enclosure has been separated into two halves, presumably in preparation for the arrival of the new female
2) 12 capybaras have been born (7 to one mother and 5 to another)
3) 2 male meerkats have arrived from West Midlands and Chester and are in the enclosure behind the snow leopards
4) A gentle lemur has been born
5) The emus have moved into the enclosure next to the wallaby walkthrough (where the camels spend the winter months)
6) The pair of Southern ground hornbills have moved into the old Stanley crane enclosure as the lone male has been transferred to Beekse Bergen
7) A Grevy's zebra has been born
8) The construction of the new meerkat enclosure has begun
9) A female Rothschild's giraffe called Irsulah has arrived from Woburn
10) 2 male warthogs have left the collection (I think they went to Flamingoland, but I'm not sure)
11) The male cheetah Turkus is separated from the females at the moment
12) 3 female maras have transferred to Blackpool (as has been mentioned on the Blackpool thread)

New arrivals (since the information board was last updated) are as follows:

25/05/11 - Male bongo from Whipsnade
26/05/11 - 7 Dendrobates auratus from Flamingoland

New births (since the information board was last updated) are as follows:

18/05/11 - 1 Eider Duck
26/05/11 - 1 White-faced Saki Monkey
26/05/11 - 1 Mara

There is a notice on the enclosure where the roan antelopes and then emus used to be which says "Good news: although you won't see animals in here today, we're busy making some big improvements to our park. Please come back and see us again soon."
 
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@mhale
I suppose that means all roan antelope have now left Marwell and be distributed amongst other UK collections?
 
No, there are still about eight roan antelopes left in the collection. They do look somewhat dwarfed now in their large enclosure (previously occcupied by ankole cattle) :)

To explain properly, the enclosure with the sign on it had previously exhibited the roan antelopes until some months ago when they were moved to a larger paddock and emus took their place. Now the emus have also moved, leaving the enclosure empty.
 
The same sign was on the empty potto enclosure last week: Has anything more been done there?
 
No, the sign now says something along the lines of "This enclosure is empty for refurbishment" and it is absolutely empty.
 
No, there are still about eight roan antelopes left in the collection. They do look somewhat dwarfed now in their large enclosure (previously occcupied by ankole cattle) :)

To explain properly, the enclosure with the sign on it had previously exhibited the roan antelopes until some months ago when they were moved to a larger paddock and emus took their place. Now the emus have also moved, leaving the enclosure empty.

Why have Marwell decreased the roan herd by so much?
 
A few observations from today's visit to Marwell:

1) The giant anteater enclosure has been separated into two halves, presumably in preparation for the arrival of the new female
2) 12 capybaras have been born (7 to one mother and 5 to another)
3) 2 male meerkats have arrived from West Midlands and Chester and are in the enclosure behind the snow leopards
4) A gentle lemur has been born
5) The emus have moved into the enclosure next to the wallaby walkthrough (where the camels spend the winter months)
6) The pair of Southern ground hornbills have moved into the old Stanley crane enclosure as the lone male has been transferred to Beekse Bergen
7) A Grevy's zebra has been born
8) The construction of the new meerkat enclosure has begun
9) A female Rothschild's giraffe called Irsulah has arrived from Woburn
10) 2 male warthogs have left the collection (I think they went to Flamingoland, but I'm not sure)
11) The male cheetah Turkus is separated from the females at the moment
12) 3 female maras have transferred to Blackpool (as has been mentioned on the Blackpool thread)

New arrivals (since the information board was last updated) are as follows:

25/05/11 - Male bongo from Whipsnade
26/05/11 - 7 Dendrobates auratus from Flamingoland

New births (since the information board was last updated) are as follows:

18/05/11 - 1 Eider Duck
26/05/11 - 1 White-faced Saki Monkey
26/05/11 - 1 Mara

There is a notice on the enclosure where the roan antelopes and then emus used to be which says "Good news: although you won't see animals in here today, we're busy making some big improvements to our park. Please come back and see us again soon."

An endangered species of lemur has been born at Marwell.

BBC News - Endangered lemur baby born at Marwell Wildlife park
 
Any news on the following?

1. Is Bingo the Hartmann's stallion (from Paignton) mating the mares?

2. Any changes/improvement to the Siamang enclosure?

3. Any sign of a paddock for the Black Wildebeest?
 
Pertinax, I am going to the Members' only picnic-in-the-park evening opening tonight (weather permitting), so will try to find out for you :)
 
OK Pertinax, here are the answers to your questions:

1) Unfortunately Bingo (the Hartmann's stallion) is still scared of the mares, especially the two half-sisters when they gang up on him, so he hasn't mated any of them as yet

2) The Siamang enclosure has not had any changes or improvements made to it

3) The wildebeests will not have a paddock in the near future
 
Bad news on all counts then.:(

I think not providing the Siamangs with better swinging equipment is either just slackness or is motivated by a (management?) desire not to clutter the enclosure- at the inhabitants' expense.

Keeping grazing Wildebeest permanently in a small hardstanding yard where they can see a grassy paddock but never graze or gallop seems totally wrong to me.
 
Bad news on all counts then.:(

I think not providing the Siamangs with better swinging equipment is either just slackness or is motivated by a (management?) desire not to clutter the enclosure at the inhabitants' expense.

Keeping grazing Wildebeest permanently in a small hardstanding yard where they can never graze or gallop seems totally wrong to me.

Newquays Black wildebeest seem to go out on the paddock. Why can't Marwells?
 
Because they're tishy about mixing with Zebra, though a number of European zoos keep them successfully as mixed groups and also nowadays at Newquay too?. AFAIK they have been confined in that little yard ever since they arrived, and now there are three in there.
 
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The thing that bothers me about it all is why they can't just build a simple fence in the middle of the zebra paddock: And cost doesn't really seem to be an excuse when they are replacing fences left right and centre across the zoo. I appreciate the difficulties in the zoo's management, but I agree with Pertinax that 'anomalies' like these are really starting to bug me...
 
I am intruged by the Siamang enclosure-its a bit like building a large flight aviary for e.g. Macaws, but without any perches. They should take a look at Monkeyworld's gibbon enclosures.

Splitting the zebra paddock seems an obvious solution for the Wildebeest though I presume they have never even tried to mix them? If not why not. Fear?
 
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