Blackpool Zoo Blackpool Zoo News 2012

Nisha said:
The Iberian Wolves are due to arrive from Woburn today. They will be off show initially
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I hope people aren't disappointed when they do go 'on show'. The ones at Howletts and PL, even the ones born there, are incredibly shy and hide away almost the whole time during daytime hours. Consequently visitors normally just see an empty-looking enclosure. I imagine it might be the same at Blackpool if there is somewhere they can get away from view- if not they will be incredibly stressed.

Also there are issues with fighting as they mature as they are not really true 'pack' animals.

I wonder if Blackpool are prepared for these scenarios. I would be interested to know if their behaviour here turns out differently from what I described above.
 
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the iberians at woburn where actually very active i saw them very well on my last 3 visits and blackpool have only had 1.4 because of the fighting.
 
Maybe they're less spooked by cars than by people. It does make sense that Canadian wolves, with only a century of serious human persecution in their collective memories, would be more laid back than those from Spain, hammered by shepherds since time immemorial.
 
Basically, ecology driven is the pack number and social structure of Iberian wolf packs. You will certainly never find large packs as you would find in Central Eurasian or Centre US/Canadian wolf packs. Prey basis is smaller and habitat is decidedly more open and drier hence lower pack numbers and frequent fighting in larger packs.
 
Pertinax said:
I hope people aren't disappointed when they do go 'on show'. The ones at Howletts and PL, even the ones born there, are incredibly shy and hide away almost the whole time during daytime hours. Consequently visitors normally just see an empty-looking enclosure. I imagine it might be the same at Blackpool if there is somewhere they can get away from view- if not they will be incredibly stressed.

Also there are issues with fighting as they mature as they are not really true 'pack' animals.

I wonder if Blackpool are prepared for these scenarios. I would be interested to know if their behaviour here turns out differently from what I described above.
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Having seen there exhibit I can confirm that they will have places to get away from the public. There is two paddocks, one on-show and one off-show, the off-show paddock isn't as big as the on-show one and is attached to the back off the house but can be slightly seen via the Zoo's miniature train.

Apparently the Wolves have been incredibly active in there indoor housing, the male has even been howling during the night according to one of the keepers I spoke to during my visit today.
 
IanRRobinson said:
Maybe they're less spooked by cars than by people. It does make sense that Canadian wolves, with only a century of serious human persecution in their collective memories, would be more laid back than those from Spain, hammered by shepherds since time immemorial.
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Both suggestions make good sense. A lot of wildlife is far easier to watch from the 'hide' that is a car and it may apply to these Wolves too.

Agree that their secretive nature may also have been instilled from centuries of persecution, and so still applicable in captive-bred ones also.
 
Jordan-Jaguar97 said:
Having seen there exhibit I can confirm that they will have places to get away from the public.
Apparently the Wolves have been incredibly active in there indoor housing, the male has even been howling during the night according to one of the keepers I spoke to during my visit today.
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I imagine if they want to hide away they will quickly find a favourite spot where they are invisible. The ones at Howletts tend to lie up at the back of the enclosure right away from the public pathway.

Activity might be related to the change of enclosure perhaps? It will be interesting to hear how they behave once they are settled. Look forward to your photos.....;)
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
Prey basis is smaller and habitat is decidedly more open and drier hence lower pack numbers and frequent fighting in larger packs.
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agree on all this. Have seen videos of wild ones in Spain, there are no more than 4 or 5 together- may be parents and offspring, which I think a lot of wolfpacks generally speaking are made up of anyway.

I guess the fighting is an attempt at dispersal- which in captivity can only be done by splitting them up. They told me at Howletts its the females that fight the most.
 
Jordan-Jaguar97 said:
Having seen there exhibit I can confirm that they will have places to get away from the public. There is two paddocks, one on-show and one off-show, the off-show paddock isn't as big as the on-show one and is attached to the back off the house but can be slightly seen via the Zoo's miniature train.

Apparently the Wolves have been incredibly active in there indoor housing, the male has even been howling during the night according to one of the keepers I spoke to during my visit today.
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do you have their names please Jordan :)
 
My visit to the Zoo for this weekend is on. I will be looking forward to seeing the Iberian Wolves, I have also heard that a Californian Sea Lion has been born. The parents are Anya and Max, the male Max was brought in from Madrid in May two years ago. Glad to see them breeding they've haven't bred for four years.
 
Jordan-Jaguar97 said:
My visit to the Zoo for this weekend is on. I will be looking forward to seeing the Iberian Wolves, I have also heard that a Californian Sea Lion has been born. The parents are Anya and Max, the male Max was brought in from Madrid in May two years ago. Glad to see them breeding they've haven't bred for four years.
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I suppose his excuse for the first two years not breeding was the commute from Spain. :eek:
 
mazfc said:
I suppose his excuse for the first two years not breeding was the commute from Spain. :eek:
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Well he was in quarantine for the first six months and then he had to get used to all the female attention.:p When he was at Madrid Zoo apparently he lived with three males and apart from his mother he has never had any other female companions or there attention.
 
I went to Blackpool today and here are what I observed;

Wolves- three of the five Iberian Wolves were in there on-show exhibit. They were three females, the mother and two daughters from there last litter. They were very active, the male and one of the females is being kept indoors due to some health checks. Pertinax, they are very active and were being fed fish. The keepers gave them a bowl with vegetables in them but they were nervous to approach it.

Sea Lions- Anya's pup is outdoors. He was born on the 2nd June and is the first to be born at the zoo in four years. The last one was Elmo, the young male born in 2008. In the past few days, Gina gave birth to another pup wasn't very old.

Elephant/Reptile house a pair have gone on-show in the Elephant/Reptile house. They are in the old Chinese Soft Shelled Turtle exhibit. A new exhibit near the Rattlesnake is being prepared for the Turtle (Afaik)

These were my main observations, I spent most of my day at the Wolf exhibit. I was very interested in there behaviour.
 
Jordan-Jaguar97 said:
Elephant/Reptile house a pair have gone on-show in the Elephant/Reptile house. They are in the old Chinese Soft Shelled Turtle exhibit. A new exhibit near the Rattlesnake is being prepared for the Turtle (Afaik).
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Sorry, but a pair of what? :confused:
 
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