Bristol Zoo (Closed) Bristol Zoo news 2012

Jabiru96 said:
I haven't even seen a kowari in any zoo or wildlife park here in Australia!

EDIT: Supposedly, according to ZAA census, no kowari are currently kept in any zoo/wildlife park in Australia. It lists only two institutions (Alice Springs Desert Park and Hall's Gap Zoo) to acquiring kowari and starting a breeding program.

So, you guys get captive kowari before even we do! :D
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the European kowari derive from captive-bred animals from Australia (Adelaide Zoo) exported in the 1970s. Read the thread I linked to above which discusses some of the issues around maintaining captive populations.
 
Chlidonias said:
the European kowari derive from captive-bred animals from Australia (Adelaide Zoo) exported in the 1970s. Read the thread I linked to above which discusses some of the issues around maintaining captive populations.
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Interesting. I suppose they have a small founder base in Europe, but for a species that isn't successfully kept in captivity, they have seemed to have survived in Europe. They are listed at Bristol, Frankfurt, Liepzig, Poznan and Skansen.

Either way, Bristol is still fortunate to have a species from Australia that isn't currently held here.
 
I believe Marwell used to keep them, its in one of their old guide books.. not sure where they were kept though?
 
JamesB said:
I believe Marwell used to keep them, its in one of their old guide books.. not sure where they were kept though?
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Marwell did indeed keep them,I only ever saw the in the old Nocturnal House near the house,and for a bonus point the last public collection to keep the species was Lakeland Wildlife Oasis!
 
zoogiraffe said:
Marwell did indeed keep them,I only ever saw the in the old Nocturnal House near the house,and for a bonus point the last public collection to keep the species was Lakeland Wildlife Oasis!
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Either the ZTL listing for Lakeland Wildlife Oasis is wrong, or the listings for London, Marwell and Whipsnade, as the site lists those three collections as having held the species more recently than LWO has.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Either the ZTL listing for Lakeland Wildlife Oasis is wrong, or the listings for London, Marwell and Whipsnade, as the site lists those three collections as having held the species more recently than LWO has.
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ZTL is wrong but given how small and unknown the place is I can forgive them for not having the species listed!
 
zoogiraffe said:
ZTL is wrong but given how small and unknown the place is I can forgive them for not having the species listed!
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Oh, they list LWO as having had them - but say they went out of the species in 2000, whilst claiming London and Whipsnade had them until 2006, and Marwell until 2007.
 
zoogiraffe said:
Marwell did indeed keep them,I only ever saw the in the old Nocturnal House near the house
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I saw them in the Desert House (where they've got the Sand Cats) once, I believe this was towards the end of them keeping them.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Oh, they list LWO as having had them - but say they went out of the species in 2000, whilst claiming London and Whipsnade had them until 2006, and Marwell until 2007.
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Hmm!!!It would appear I'm wrong or getting confused with something else then.Really cannot remember seeing them that late at Marwell or the 2 ZSL's but I could be wrong and my memory is playing tricks on me again!
 
I was offered some kowari in the mid-nineties from a member of NAPAK. Shortly after that, they seemed to appear in a number of zoos for around a decade, before declining sharply. I had assumed they weren't very long-lived and were either from too small a founder group or from an import that didn't successfully sustain itself even before the gene pool became problematic. With small mammals, especially if they are short-lived, you can have a very successful breeding program that grounds to a halt in just a few years.

Either they are now restricted to a very small number of the better zoos (it doesn't surprise me Poznan has them), and this was how Bristol came upon them, or there is still a large population in private hands, doing well. Given the Kowari isn't that impressive and can be hard for visitors to spot, it struck me that perhaps zoos kept them for a while and then stopped for those reasons.
 
zoogiraffe said:
Hmm!!!It would appear I'm wrong or getting confused with something else then.Really cannot remember seeing them that late at Marwell or the 2 ZSL's but I could be wrong and my memory is playing tricks on me again!
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Could you be thinking of the round-eared elephant shrews zoogiraffe? I believe Lakeland Wildlife Oasis was the last UK public collection to have these?
 
I was extremely embarrassed by Ned's post because I must have walked straight past the kowari without a glance when I visited Bristol on the 22nd of September. My only excuse is that it was a busy Saturday and I 'knew' the enclosure held kangaroo rats that were rarely visible.
Anyway I had to pass through Bristol again today, so I made an early start to see them. I had only seen the species previously at Regents Park years ago. They are wonderful. They are larger than I remembered (almost degu size I guess), showing quite well before lights out at 9.45 am, and active in the 'dark' as well. Very fast over the ground, but quite clumsy when climbing - the twigs provided seemed too thin and smooth for them to climb easily. One or two photos may find their way into the Gallery eventually.
There are 3 kowari and a keeper told me that they came in from Poland.
Incidentally the former bat enclosure in the nocturnal house houses at least one armadillo as well as a sloth, which I presume is the young one that was born at the zoo. I think the armadillo(s) may be the one(s) that were formerly kept with the howler monkeys.

Alan
 
gentle lemur said:
Incidentally the former bat enclosure in the nocturnal house houses at least one armadillo as well as a sloth, which I presume is the young one that was born at the zoo. I think the armadillo(s) may be the one(s) that were formerly kept with the howler monkeys.

Alan
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As far as I know, this is correct; the six-banded armadillo was moved from the howler monkey enclosure into the other sloth enclosure for a time, but has been offshow since the start of the year. Nice to hear they've put it back on show.
 
Drills

gentle lemur said:
Anyway I had to pass through Bristol again today, so I made an early start to see them.
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Alan- did you photo the Drills- or rather the revamped 'monstrosity' enclosure on either of your recent visits? What's it look like now- woodchip floor etc? any info or pics appreciated.;)
 
Pertinax said:
Alan- did you photo the Drills- or rather the revamped 'monstrosity' enclosure on either of your recent visits? What's it look like now- woodchip floor etc? any info or pics appreciated.;)
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I have a few photos and I will post one soon. As previously discussed, I think both male drills are castrated but the larger one certainly has all the male characteristics except the blue and purple skin colour in certain areas.
I don't think the enclosure has been changed significantly since the spider monkeys were there; there are lots of ropes and a wood chip floor (if I remember correctly). The spider monkeys show much better in the former howler enclosure.

Alan
 
0.0.6 West African Dwarf Crocodiles have hatched. On show in the reptile house
 
Kamal, the male asiatic lion, has been euthanised. He was 18 and was euthanised yesterday (21st) due to deteriorating health, reported on the zoo's facebook page. This has made me pretty sad today, but glad I get to see his most recent son doing well at Edinburgh regularly these days. Can anyone give me a run down of how many surviving cubs he has?
 
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