ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Whipsnade; 2012 and beyond

Some exciting news, female moose Minnie (I assume that's how you spell it :P) gave birth to twins on Monday! Today the babies were out in the main paddock for the first time looking very cute with their extremely long legs :) Sexes of the two are unknown for now and names aren't quite decided on, though after a discussion is seems keepers may continue with the theme :P Last year's calf Chocolate is still at the zoo in a paddock adjacent to the mother and young, but she didn't seem to happy with him being there now that she has the babies to protect! I got a couple of not very good photos that I'll try and upload but they'll do for now until another member has the chance to go and visit them with a good camera :)
 
AdamD601 said:
Some exciting news, female moose Minnie (I assume that's how you spell it :P) gave birth to twins on Monday! Today the babies were out in the main paddock for the first time looking very cute with their extremely long legs :) Sexes of the two are unknown for now and names aren't quite decided on, though after a discussion is seems keepers may continue with the theme :P Last year's calf Chocolate is still at the zoo in a paddock adjacent to the mother and young, but she didn't seem to happy with him being there now that she has the babies to protect! I got a couple of not very good photos that I'll try and upload but they'll do for now until another member has the chance to go and visit them with a good camera :)
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Nice news - seems Whipsnade have a good pair in Minnie and Melka. Both are only three/four (?) the young male 'Chocolate' is due to move to Curraghs this year maybe this is why there separating him to get him used to be alone without his mother as well as the new twins.
 
i visited yesterday and got some pics of the new babies!
i will try to load them later.
 
Visited yesterday for the first time in 2 months, the park was fairly busy given the suspect weather, though there was only one heavy shower that lasted about 10 minutes shortly after we arrived at midday.

The moose twins were asleep by their mother in the corner of the enclosure,oddly nearest where the public can get closest. They have apparently been named toffee & caramel.

All 4 giraffe were out together in the grass paddock, quite a rare sight for me, I think only the second or third time I've seen them using it in the last dozen or so visits and the first time i've ever seen one drinking from the pool!

The common hippos were all on view, unlike my previous visits this year, with Nigna & Hoover in seperate outdoor enclosures, though not using the remarkably clean pools, whilst Lola & calf were in the indoor pool. The baby pigmy hippo was alone in the indoor pool with the parents in seperate outdoor enclosures, the male munching on the grass (another rare sight for me, they always seem to be asleep when I go) and the female asleep in a hut.

Looked for the black fallow deer mentioned earlier in this thread and saw a few quite close to the fence by the hippos & at least 20 in the distance. Also saw at least 5 emu & an oryx ( s-horned i think) in the paddock backing onto the kudu.

Was good to see the male indian rhino out in the main paddock for a change.

The wolverine were both pretty active when I went by, one was frantically trying to scratch & bite its way into an ice block containing meat. Its good that theyve started the wolverine feed & talk again, as this will give less regular visitors more of a chance to see them instead of scanning a seemingly empty enclosure in the hope of spotting one sleeping.

I also notice that the sitatunga which vanished from their paddock by the red river hogs have turned up again on the map in the paddock with the roan & waterbuck.
 
There should be around 50 black fallow deer (I think 51 as far as I know), they are a nightmare for headcounts! :P I think there are 9 or so emus in that paddock, and when I first started volunteering in January the black fallow were in the same paddock but were moved to the other one a while ago. The male scimitar-horned oryx and onager are both housed in that area :)
 
pipaluk said:
Visited yesterday for the first time in 2 months, the park was fairly busy given the suspect weather, though there was only one heavy shower that lasted about 10 minutes shortly after we arrived at midday.

The moose twins were asleep by their mother in the corner of the enclosure,oddly nearest where the public can get closest. They have apparently been named toffee & caramel.

All 4 giraffe were out together in the grass paddock, quite a rare sight for me, I think only the second or third time I've seen them using it in the last dozen or so visits and the first time i've ever seen one drinking from the pool!

The common hippos were all on view, unlike my previous visits this year, with Nigna & Hoover in seperate outdoor enclosures, though not using the remarkably clean pools, whilst Lola & calf were in the indoor pool. The baby pigmy hippo was alone in the indoor pool with the parents in seperate outdoor enclosures, the male munching on the grass (another rare sight for me, they always seem to be asleep when I go) and the female asleep in a hut.

Looked for the black fallow deer mentioned earlier in this thread and saw a few quite close to the fence by the hippos & at least 20 in the distance. Also saw at least 5 emu & an oryx ( s-horned i think) in the paddock backing onto the kudu.

Was good to see the male indian rhino out in the main paddock for a change.

The wolverine were both pretty active when I went by, one was frantically trying to scratch & bite its way into an ice block containing meat. Its good that theyve started the wolverine feed & talk again, as this will give less regular visitors more of a chance to see them instead of scanning a seemingly empty enclosure in the hope of spotting one sleeping.

I also notice that the sitatunga which vanished from their paddock by the red river hogs have turned up again on the map in the paddock with the roan & waterbuck.
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Do you know the sexes of the Moose calves? Seems there carrying on with the Food names (Chocolate, Caramel and Toffee) ;).

Did 'Hugo' the bull Indian Rhino have access to the indoor 'on-show' area? Where the females confined to the old house?

They've probably separated the male Hippo calf from his mother as he's over a year old although he won't start being sexually mature for another two years or so he's probably become to much of a hand full for his mother. Another reason is he maybe moving onto another collection but I doubt that.
 
Last time I was up there I asked a keeper and calf is a little girl, so wouldn't she stay with mum as Lola was with Nigna until she had this calf.
 
catinthehat said:
Last time I was up there I asked a keeper and calf is a little girl, so wouldn't she stay with mum as Lola was with Nigna until she had this calf.
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Sorry for the confusion, I was actually talking about the Pygmy Hippos. You would be correct 'Hula' would probably stay with 'Lola' until ZSL were ready to mix 'Lola' with 'Hoover' again. Maybe if Nigna dies then they'll keep Hula but I think she'll probably move to another collection in a few years.
 
Jordan-Jaguar97 said:
Do you know the sexes of the Moose calves? Seems there carrying on with the Food names (Chocolate, Caramel and Toffee) ;).

Did 'Hugo' the bull Indian Rhino have access to the indoor 'on-show' area? Where the females confined to the old house?

They've probably separated the male Hippo calf from his mother as he's over a year old although he won't start being sexually mature for another two years or so he's probably become to much of a hand full for his mother. Another reason is he maybe moving onto another collection but I doubt that.
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Sorry, I don't remember the sexes of the moose being stated on the sign.

It was quite late in the day when I reached the Indian rhino, but Hugo was shut out of the new house as it was being hosed down, but on my last few visits he has either been shut in or restricted to the hardstanding behind the house. The females and there calves were in the two adjacent hardstanding areas behind the old house, but they probably hadn't been there all day, on recent visits one mother & calf have usually been in the old paddock with the others in one of the new paddocks.

The baby pigmy hippo doesn't appear that big that it would be too much for the mother, but maybe they will be moving him on soon or are getting ready to breed the adults again.
 
Jordan-Jaguar97 said:
Sorry for the confusion, I was actually talking about the Pygmy Hippos. You would be correct 'Hula' would probably stay with 'Lola' until ZSL were ready to mix 'Lola' with 'Hoover' again. Maybe if Nigna dies then they'll keep Hula but I think she'll probably move to another collection in a few years.
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I don't think you can count on Nigna leaving us any time soon, she is 34 this year, which compared to some of whipsnade's hippos of the past is not very old at all. The previous breeding male Ben lived to over 40 and Henry & Belinda lived to 45 & 47 I seem to remember the heritage sign stating.
 
pipaluk said:
I don't think you can count on Nigna leaving us any time soon, she is 34 this year, which compared to some of whipsnade's hippos of the past is not very old at all. The previous breeding male Ben lived to over 40 and Henry & Belinda lived to 45 & 47 I seem to remember the heritage sign stating.
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If there was a house big enough, this would be an opportunity to swap "Hoover" for an unrelated bull to have a proper social grouping. It's a shame because the house with the indoor viewing is surely too small for Common Hippo.
 
pipaluk said:
I don't think you can count on Nigna leaving us any time soon, she is 34 this year, which compared to some of whipsnade's hippos of the past is not very old at all. The previous breeding male Ben lived to over 40 and Henry & Belinda lived to 45 & 47 I seem to remember the heritage sign stating.
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‘Henry’ and ‘Belinda’ arrived at Whipsnade in 1950 when they were approximately two years old. ‘Henry’ and ‘Belinda’ died in 1993 and 1995 respectively.

Although there are several records of individual hippos living longer than these two, there cannot be many instances of two hippos, in any zoo, that have lived together for longer.

‘Ben’ was born at Chester in 1965; he died at Whipsnade in 2008.
 
pipaluk said:
The females and there calves were in the two adjacent hardstanding areas behind the old house, but they probably hadn't been there all day, on recent visits one mother & calf have usually been in the old paddock with the others in one of the new paddocks.
.
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It remains a mystery to me why the two mothers and calves continue to be kept in the old sheds and yards. A considerable number of years after it was built, the 'Rhinos of Nepal' building continues to be two thirds empty most of the time.:confused::confused:
 
IanRRobinson said:
If there was a house big enough, this would be an opportunity to swap "Hoover" for an unrelated bull to have a proper social grouping. It's a shame because the house with the indoor viewing is surely too small for Common Hippo.
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Agree, they do need a decent indoor building and pools for the Common Hippo- so all could be displayed indoors in decent surroundings.(Hoover and Nigna must mainly live in that 'shed' which has been there as long as I can remember.:( ) A building along the lines of the Asian rhino one, with a good pool and viewing area -which would allow them to keep e.g. four or five adults.
 
On my most recent duty day on Friday, scimitar-horned oryx Violet had just given birth the night before/that morning. We were able to see the calf lying on the ground but didn't manage to see it properly. Apparently it is her first, and I actually managed to find her on the 2011 studbook from Marwell if anyone is interested in her background. I know the calf was tagged but not sure of the sex.

I'm not breaking any rules by saying it either, because if you were there you would've seen it, just about! :) :P

Also, the Gaur are having a change-around. Male Mohan is being moved to one stall in the old rhino house, where Asha used to be, so that Mia and Odin can be split into the two Gaur house stalls to wean Odin before hopefully a new calf comes. The family is, as far as I know, still together on the gaur paddock during the day, but I'll have to check that on Friday...

You could see that/ask that too, so still no rule-breaking :P
 
AdamD601 said:
On my most recent duty day on Friday, scimitar-horned oryx Violet had just given birth the night before/that morning. We were able to see the calf lying on the ground but didn't manage to see it properly. Apparently it is her first, and I actually managed to find her on the 2011 studbook from Marwell if anyone is interested in her background. I know the calf was tagged but not sure of the sex.

I'm not breaking any rules by saying it either, because if you were there you would've seen it, just about! :) :P

Also, the Gaur are having a change-around. Male Mohan is being moved to one stall in the old rhino house, where Asha used to be, so that Mia and Odin can be split into the two Gaur house stalls to wean Odin before hopefully a new calf comes. The family is, as far as I know, still together on the gaur paddock during the day, but I'll have to check that on Friday...

You could see that/ask that too, so still no rule-breaking :P
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Thanks for the news on the Gaur. Hopefully they'll start a bigger herd up in years to come.
 
A few heifer calves would help. The technology is there in the dairy industry now to help determine the sex of a calf; I'm mildly surprised that someone in the USA hasn't tried getting more hands on with some of the rarer wild cattle.
 
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