The enclosure close to the Entrance to the Park? There were no Cheetahs in it a couple of months back, it was empty,- so possibly they are new additions and currently in transit.
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Whipsnade Report
- Thread starter JamesB
- Start date
The enclosure close to the Entrance to the Park? There were no Cheetahs in it a couple of months back, it was empty,- so possibly they are new additions and currently in transit.
Nope, can't have been. When I went not only was that enclosure empty but the only sign was to say they were now living in the new exhibit.
Just got back from a very long visit today!
I'll post a comprehensive review in another thread soon, so i'm not hijacking Tigerlemurguy's own thread.
Some points though
- There were indeed two cheetah in the original enclosure close to the entrance
- 6 cheetah are visible in Cheetah Rock
- The Gaur (well at least 2 of them) are in the old enclosure by the Indian Rhinos (i've got some pics to post as well!)
- Kaylee the elephant is pregnant, one of the keepers mentioned it during 'elephantastic'
- Roopa is currently living alone in the old rhino accomodation, whilst Hugo and the mother/daughter pairs use the new house.
- No sign of Ben (the old male hippo). His enclosure was empty and the two females used the enclosure by the bridge.
I'll post a comprehensive review in another thread soon, so i'm not hijacking Tigerlemurguy's own thread.
Some points though
- There were indeed two cheetah in the original enclosure close to the entrance
- 6 cheetah are visible in Cheetah Rock
- The Gaur (well at least 2 of them) are in the old enclosure by the Indian Rhinos (i've got some pics to post as well!)
- Kaylee the elephant is pregnant, one of the keepers mentioned it during 'elephantastic'
- Roopa is currently living alone in the old rhino accomodation, whilst Hugo and the mother/daughter pairs use the new house.
- No sign of Ben (the old male hippo). His enclosure was empty and the two females used the enclosure by the bridge.
Gaur- if you saw two, which was it, the mother and calf? Which was missing- the male? He could still be in the Black rhino area, perhaps.
Glad to hear the new Rhino house now has a full complement. But sadly I don't think Roopa will ever see inside it.
Hippo Ben. Hope he hasn't died. He was there in June- in the smaller outdoor pool nearest the bridge, the two females were in the bigger/lower enclosure & pool. Did you know he was born at Chester- either their first or last calf, I can't remember which, but one of very few surviving.
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
Ben was the last calf born at Chester if my memory serves me correctly.
Gaur- if you saw two, which was it, the mother and calf? Which was missing- the male? He could still be in the Black rhino area, perhaps.
Glad to hear the new Rhino house now has a full complement. But sadly I don't think Roopa will ever see inside it.
Hippo Ben. Hope he hasn't died. He was there in June- in the smaller outdoor pool nearest the bridge, the two females were in the bigger/lower enclosure & pool. Did you know he was born at Chester- either their first or last calf, I can't remember which, but one of very few surviving.
I think it was the mother and calf gaur that I saw.
There wasn't any sign of Ben, the doors from the house to the lower paddock were closed and I stayed outside the hippos for a while (unless of course the calf from a couple of years ago has moved on and the two I saw were Ben and the other female)
Its possible the male Gaur is still at the black rhino house then.
Re the Hippos; the 'calf' was still there in June- its nearly as big as the mother, I forget its name (Ema?) but the mother is 'Nigna' Its possible its been moved in the last few weeks(the previous calf was moved at about this age) and what you saw were the adult pair back together again, but we need to find the answer to this somehow.
Re the Hippos; the 'calf' was still there in June- its nearly as big as the mother, I forget its name (Ema?) but the mother is 'Nigna' Its possible its been moved in the last few weeks(the previous calf was moved at about this age) and what you saw were the adult pair back together again, but we need to find the answer to this somehow.
Its possible the male Gaur is still at the black rhino house then.
Re the Hippos; the 'calf' was still there in June- its nearly as big as the mother, I forget its name (Ema?) but the mother is 'Nigna' Its possible its been moved in the last few weeks(the previous calf was moved at about this age) and what you saw were the adult pair back together again, but we need to find the answer to this somehow.
The calf's name was lola I think, but yeah I'd be interested to see what has happened with the hippos.
Thanks, I knew he was either the first or last, but not one of the in-betweens...
He's getting on a bit now(provided he hasn't just died that is
)
Ben must have moved on he wasnt there when i visited either.
and jimmy can you recall what the sign said by the original cheetah enclosure?
Whipsnade Gaur & Hippos.
Just looked on ISIS and they're listed with O.2. so 'Ben' the Hippo isn't there now(okay, I was skeptical...
) However West Midlands are now listed as having 1.8 Is this a young male bred there or could Ben been transferred there for breeding? . He is quite old now. I somehow think its more likely he has died at Whipsnade though I hope I'm wrong..
Gaur- still listed as 2.1. As the hippo listing has been changed recently, any change in the Gaur status would have been altered too.
Just looked on ISIS and they're listed with O.2. so 'Ben' the Hippo isn't there now(okay, I was skeptical...
) However West Midlands are now listed as having 1.8 Is this a young male bred there or could Ben been transferred there for breeding? . He is quite old now. I somehow think its more likely he has died at Whipsnade though I hope I'm wrong..Gaur- still listed as 2.1. As the hippo listing has been changed recently, any change in the Gaur status would have been altered too.
Just looked on ISIS and they're listed with O.2. so 'Ben' the Hippo isn't there now(okay, I was skeptical...
Gaur- still listed as 2.1. As the hippo listing has been changed recently, any change in the Gaur status would have been altered too.
WMSP have always had a young bull hippo (I think he was a calf from a couple of years ago) I read on here though that he hasn't appeared interested in any of the females. It's looking more and more likely that Ben has died...
That's what I thought. Ben was definately still at Whipsnade in June. I guess 43 is a good age. If they want a new male they may have to get one from Europe, or Dublin(2.1) as there are no others in UK (I think the Flamingo Park one is castrated?) Or maybe they'll just keep the mother and daughter now.
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
You are correct the 1 at Flamingoland is castrated not sure about the ones at Dublin.But as you say plenty in europe if they wany another male.
I believe castrating a hippo is actually difficult and has only been done without losing the animal on very few occassions.
I don't think Dublin's have been done, presumably they are father & son.