Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo news 2012

I also visited yesterday. Most of what I saw has already been covered, but here are some of my observations:
- There were a pair of Linne's two-toed sloths in the walkthrough indoor area (I assume something happened to the previous female- either gone to a new collection or died)
- At least one of the Chaco chachalacas was in with the scarlet ibises
- The main giant anteater enclosure has been shrunk considerably, with the addition of a walkway and a decidely hideous anteater statue
- Saw the Amur tigers being fed today; at this time you really do notice how overgrown the enclosure is with bamboo.
- Pancake tortoises are now in the enclosure by Penguin Shores that previously housed the Home's hingeback tortoises
- The giant plated lizard enclosure has pancake tortoises labelled, but instead seemed to house another species (possibly some of the star tortoises)
- L'Hoest's monkeys and rock hyraxes are yet to be released into their enclosure
- Spotted hyenas were confined to the back enclosure; I think I might be cursed to never see them active in the main exhibit
- There was a keeper sitting in with the mother and baby aardvark on CCTV; she was moving it around whenever the mother tried to roll over
- There is an RSPB stall about their Harapan Rainforest reserve in Chimp World
- L'Hoest's monkey enclosure by Chimp World is now completely empty- I assume they are just in the indoor area at Edge of Africa
- Several life-size models of various sea creatures have been added to the Playa Patagonia corridors (a killer whale, great white shark and giant squid)
- The Lost Madagascar exhibit is very nice, although the red ruffed lemurs showed no real sign of activity; it would be nice for there to be a few more species in there such as some red-bellied or Alaotran gentle lemurs
- There was also a three-day old baby ring-tailed lemur in the Lost Madagascar enclosure
- At least three wild house mice were having a great time in one of the Orangutan Forest indoor enclosures, happily feasting on the orangutan faeces
 
I wonder when you saw the Hyena yesterday because the female was out in the main bit.

I also saw rats in the squirrel monkey enclosure for the third time in a row.
 
DesertRhino150 said:
I also visited yesterday. Most of what I saw has already been covered, but here are some of my observations:
- There were a pair of Linne's two-toed sloths in the walkthrough indoor area (I assume something happened to the previous female- either gone to a new collection or died)
- At least one of the Chaco chachalacas was in with the scarlet ibises
- The main giant anteater enclosure has been shrunk considerably, with the addition of a walkway and a decidely hideous anteater statue
- Saw the Amur tigers being fed today; at this time you really do notice how overgrown the enclosure is with bamboo.
- Pancake tortoises are now in the enclosure by Penguin Shores that previously housed the Home's hingeback tortoises
- The giant plated lizard enclosure has pancake tortoises labelled, but instead seemed to house another species (possibly some of the star tortoises)
- L'Hoest's monkeys and rock hyraxes are yet to be released into their enclosure
- Spotted hyenas were confined to the back enclosure; I think I might be cursed to never see them active in the main exhibit
- There was a keeper sitting in with the mother and baby aardvark on CCTV; she was moving it around whenever the mother tried to roll over
- There is an RSPB stall about their Harapan Rainforest reserve in Chimp World
- L'Hoest's monkey enclosure by Chimp World is now completely empty- I assume they are just in the indoor area at Edge of Africa
- Several life-size models of various sea creatures have been added to the Playa Patagonia corridors (a killer whale, great white shark and giant squid)
- The Lost Madagascar exhibit is very nice, although the red ruffed lemurs showed no real sign of activity; it would be nice for there to be a few more species in there such as some red-bellied or Alaotran gentle lemurs
- There was also a three-day old baby ring-tailed lemur in the Lost Madagascar enclosure
- At least three wild house mice were having a great time in one of the Orangutan Forest indoor enclosures, happily feasting on the orangutan faeces
Click to expand...

Were the Pygmy Hippos together?
 
Bearcat just thought incase you didn't know the flags are there to stop birds flying/landing in the lions enclosure given the very recent demise of the barn owl and the red kite.
 
Pertinax said:
Was the Red Kite a wild one or a zoo bird? Presumably it was attracted by bones/meat scraps in the enclosure?
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The red kite was a wild one that could often be seen circling above certain area's at the zoo presumably looking for food. The keepers were excited to be able to watch a wild one and observeit's behaviour
 
Snippets of news;
-Female ring-tailed lemur Madison, gave birth to a healthy single offspring on the 29th March 2012. The father of the youngster is Rio; yet to be named or sexed, the new born is doing well, and can be spotted clinging tightly to experienced mum, Madison's belly within their enclosure - the Lost Madagascar walkthrough.
-Three Red River Hog piglets were born to female red river hog, mathilde on the 21st March 2012!
-Our group of aardvarks celebrated another birth of a healthy offspring on the 20th March 2012! Female aardvark, Oq, gave birth to her 7th baby at around 11.30am on the 20th March, with the baby a good healthy size and continuing to develop well alongside the care of mum and its keepers!
 
(Sorry for another post all together! But came across this exciting snippet of news!)

Spring is in the air with the first possible successful mating of Colchester Zoo’s Komodo dragons!

"Colchester Zoo’s two Komodo dragons, Telu and Mutu, have continued a slow process of mixing under close observation by their keepers with the aim of successful breeding; and are now hopeful that the first successful mating has occurred!

Initial mixing sessions went well, and with continued sightings of positive mating behaviours building over time, it has appeared that a possible first successful mating has now been seen between the pair. Mixing sessions will continue in the hope that keepers will see mating repeated, and with a successful mating, we would hope to see our female, Mutu, produce a clutch of eggs which would then be incubated for a period of around 9 months before hatching if successfully fertilized.

Keepers remained close on hand to observe the pair; usually solitary in the wild, komodo dragons will come together to mate. The process of courtship within the species can be hazardous at times for the females, with the male competing for access to a receptive female through wrestling behaviour, and are sometimes known to rear-up on the hind legs supported by their thick, muscular tail."

Very Exciting News!! Fingers crossed then!!
If they were to be successful were would the "Baby" Komodo Dragons be kept?? My only initial thoughts would be in the section on the far right of the enclosure??

And also "The start of the hatching season has begun for our penguins, with the first successful hatching of penguin chicks to one of the established breeding pairs, Oliver and Bailey at their enclosure at Penguin Shores"
 
DesertRhino150 said:
The four rock hyrax and L'Hoest's monkeys (including a new male from Szeged, Hungary) have moved into their new enclosure.
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How many L'Hoest's Monkeys does Colchester currently have?

What's happened to the original breeding pair? Have they now got two groups and if so whereabouts is the other group living?
 
Pertinax said:
How many L'Hoest's Monkeys does Colchester currently have?

What's happened to the original breeding pair? Have they now got two groups and if so whereabouts is the other group living?
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AFAIK, Colchester have the new male 'Harry' the young male, Zeema and two females, Biko and Casey.

Biko and Chris were the original pair, I believe Chris either moved on or died. One of there offspring is now a part of Blackpool's new pair.
 
Just got back from another visit to Colchester:

- In reply to Pertinax, there was definately one L'Hoest guenon in the Edge of Africa outdoor enclosure (and I might have seen another one inside, but I can't be sure) and there are also another trio next door to the buffy-headed capuchins
- There was definately at least one of the new Syrian rock hyraxes out with the guenon too
- Tiga the orangutan and the entire timber wolf pack both vocalising very loudly at different points in the day
- The red river hogs were at the front of their enclosure today along with their new young
- Noticed that the old railway in Familiar Friends has been demolished and has a new building going up on the site
- The main coral reef tank in Kingdom of the Wild has been restocked with a shoal of African moony fish
- The Nile monitor and lungfish in Kingdom of the Wild were both unexpectedly active- the lungfish coming up to gulp air and the monitor lizard being fed on locusts and what I think was a hamster
- There are definately three two-toed sloths- two are in the Worlds Apart walkthrough and the other in the old South American walkthrough
- Could only see one tamandua, the same as my last visit- does anyone know if something has happened to the other one?
- Both giant anteaters were outside today, and got to hear a real corker of a misidentification- "Hey look, a fox!"
- I didin't realise previously, but there is a set of laminate fact-sheets for all the fish in the Wilds of Asia aquarium attached to a tree
 
i would assume any Komodo dragon hatchlings could be kept in large vivs until they are big enough to go into the far right part of the enclosure where the adults lived whilst they were small.

They seem to have great breeding success with their pair of aardvarks is this a record for the most offspring from a female in the uk?
 
Not a bad breeding record for the Aardvarks especially when i was told by a keeper that the male is blind! =O
 
DesertRhino150 said:
- In reply to Pertinax, there was definately one L'Hoest guenon in the Edge of Africa outdoor enclosure (and I might have seen another one inside, but I can't be sure) and there are also another trio next door to the buffy-headed capuchins
Click to expand...

I have been reliably informed there are currently two groups, it seems they are 2.2 and 3.0 and it appears the females(mother + daughter + youngest male baby?) from the original group have been paired with the new male in the 'Edge of Africa' section, while three males are in one of the old Bear enclosures.
 
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