Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo news 2014

Pertinax said:
I was a bit speculative about the true sex of the previous two 'male' cubs as well. I wonder if they both really are...;)
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I suppose if they end up getting significantly bigger than other male hyenas in the same enclosure that will be a reasonably good indication they are actually female :p

That, and getting impregnated ;)
 
Good to hear that further breeding success has been had with the smooth-coated otters - just a shame that nowhere further north has gone into the species, really. They would make an active and attractive replacement for the ubiquitous ASCO's methinks.
 
Some news from today's visit:

- Lorikeet walk-through appears to have progressed well- the walls have been planted up and the rockwork is now being laid down
- Two warthog piglets were born on 10th June, although I didn't manage to see them
- The old buffy-headed capuchin and Geoffroy's cat enclosures have been completely sealed off and hidden behind bamboo planters
- The warty pigs and Visayan spotted deer were mixed again today; a number of trees in wire protection cages have been planted in the enclosure
- Only two black-backed jackals remain now; both of them are males
- There is a new young Victoria crowned pigeon chick (not indicated on the signage)
- The rufous hornbills are now using their very good outdoor enclosure
- Only one rhino was in the outdoor paddock today; I could see at least one of the females in the indoor stalls
- The new enclosure for the young Komodo dragons has been completed although there didn't appear to be any in the enclosure yet
- Did a cherry-crowned mangabey count for Pertinax today- there were four in the main enclosure and three in the smaller 'quarantine' exhibit; one was separate from the other two and the viewing windows covered with hessian sacking

Some other things which I either didn't notice or were mentioned on the zoo's website/Facebook page:
- There is at least one new red river hog piglet (Facebook picture from 8th June)
- There is also a picture of the developments in the lorikeet aviary including the living wall: http://www.colchester-zoo.com/explore/news/enclosures-developments/entry/australian-rainbows
 
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DesertRhino150 said:
- Did a cherry-crowned mangabey count for Pertinax today- there were four in the main enclosure and three in the smaller 'quarantine' exhibit; one was separate from the other two and the viewing windows covered with hessian sacking
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Yeah, well done. Good attention to detail. Take a Pertinax' Gold star.:)

Sounds like everything isn't quite rosy in the Mangabey forest at present then.
 
DesertRhino150 said:
- The new enclosure for the young Komodo dragons has been completed although there didn't appear to be any in the enclosure yet
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I visited on saturday, there were in fact four in the enclosure, however they were pretty small and I had to have a keeper point them out to me.
 
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Went on another visit this morning. Only a couple of new things to report:

- The black mollies in the moat of the old leaf-cutting ant island have produced large amounts of young
- There is a new squirrelfish in the new marine aquarium in Kingdom of the Wild; however it doesn't look like the latticed squirrelfish indicated on the signage
- Green iguanas and yellow-footed tortoises were let out into the old South American walkthrough today
- Managed to see the new red river hog piglet born on 24th May although the new warthog piglets and hyena cub both eluded me
- The male reticulated giraffe was confined to the hardstand area again while the two females were out in the paddock
 
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This weeks Maldon and Burnham Chronicle (a local newspaper} states the sign unveiled by Rolf Harris when he opened the edge of Africa Exhibit in 1997 is to be removed after his court case and subsequent conviction.
 
Just got the first issue of the new Colchester Zoo magazine; although it is half-filled with adverts there were a couple of snippets of potentially interesting information from the 'Curators News' page:

- Akio the hand-reared pileated gibbon is soon to be reintroduced back to his parents
- The lone male Darwin's rhea is soon to be joined by a female to start a breeding programme

EDIT- Just typing about reintroducing the hand-reared gibbon made me realise I had forgot to mention something from my previous visit:

- Kato the young red-backed bearded saki was on show, but was shut into the indoor area and separated from the adults
 
just come back from being a keeper for a day ( scheme b )

and i have got some news

* first of i asked about the giraffe breeding and the keeper said they are currently having problems between the giraffes and rhinos so there is no breeding for the time being.

* breeding for the Amur leopards is looking good so hopefully it wont be to long now until there are some cubs.

* there are plans to build a new pygmy hippo enclosure (when the patas monkeys have passed away) on the bottom floor to the kingdom of the wild house. personally i do not think this will happen anytime soon.

* and the rhino calf is due anytime this week .

and if anyone has any other questions then feel free to ask and i will upload some photos of behind the scenes areas soon!:)
 
banham.tiger said:
just come back from being a keeper for a day ( scheme b )

and i have got some news

* first of i asked about the giraffe breeding and the keeper said they are currently having problems between the giraffes and rhinos so there is no breeding for the time being.

* breeding for the Amur leopards is looking good so hopefully it wont be to long now until there are some cubs.

* there are plans to build a new pygmy hippo enclosure (when the patas monkeys have passed away) on the bottom floor to the kingdom of the wild house. personally i do not think this will happen anytime soon.

* and the rhino calf is due anytime this week .

and if anyone has any other questions then feel free to ask and i will upload some photos of behind the scenes areas soon!:)
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The bottom line with giraffe is …. they need a new yard without the rhinos. On the space they are in it just is not working for them.
 
banham.tiger said:
just come back from being a keeper for a day ( scheme b )

and i have got some news

* first of i asked about the giraffe breeding and the keeper said they are currently having problems between the giraffes and rhinos so there is no breeding for the time being.

* breeding for the Amur leopards is looking good so hopefully it wont be to long now until there are some cubs.

* there are plans to build a new pygmy hippo enclosure (when the patas monkeys have passed away) on the bottom floor to the kingdom of the wild house. personally i do not think this will happen anytime soon.

* and the rhino calf is due anytime this week .

and if anyone has any other questions then feel free to ask and i will upload some photos of behind the scenes areas soon!:)
Click to expand...

I believe that Colchester and Edinburgh were due to be doing a swap in an attempt to get cubs, is that not the case?
 
two visits this week that:-

on my 2nd visit two of the 3 red ruffed lemurs are now in walk through part with the ring tailed getting along fine

6 of the ring tailed have been split from the many group and put on the island and the zoo are hoping to bring in a new male

both the red river and the 2 warthog piglets were out and about playing.

new bird table platform has been added in familiar friends which the doves love

Cynthia has been shut up all week in one of the indoor pens

2 female and one male kudu outside in kingdom of the wild, the other female who was under veterinary treatment is now no where to be seen

female aardvark was outside

they have moved some of the young koi into the bigger tank with the adults

all 3 giraffes were on the hard stand together at the start of the day then the two females were let in to the paddock
 
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