Bristol Zoo (Closed) Bristol Zoo news 2015

These articles are painful to read at times, not due to the subject matter but because of the way it's presented, with little to no research or even grasp of the English language. I only skimmed the article and counted several errors, stating that warty pigs are 'ciritically' endangered and the tamarin is referred to as a 'golden lion tamarind,' a 'lion headed golden tamarin' and a 'golden-headed lion tamarin.'

I would be interested to know if rainbow lorikeets would thrive or even survive in our climate if a pair had escaped? They always seem to be kept in heated tropical buildings - is it an error they are playing the invasive species card?
 
Javan Rhino said:
I would be interested to know if rainbow lorikeets would thrive or even survive in our climate if a pair had escaped? They always seem to be kept in heated tropical buildings - is it an error they are playing the invasive species card?
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I noticed the errors too-'tamarind' etc.:rolleyes:

Ring Necked Parakeets are from hot climates and have certainly proved they can establish in our climate. I think Rainbow Lorikeet is a more specialist/nectar feeder though, so that might prevent it surviving here. I think the suggestion that if a pair had escaped they could establish here is rather far fetched also.
 
Javan Rhino said:
I would be interested to know if rainbow lorikeets would thrive or even survive in our climate if a pair had escaped? They always seem to be kept in heated tropical buildings - is it an error they are playing the invasive species card?
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Since there is a very well established population in Perth, Western Australia where it does drop below zero sometimes in winter I think it may be possible. However, the main problem in the species establishing in the wild would be food but I think well-meaning people who don't know of potential problems of invasives would feed them so it's plausible imho.
 
Considering the weather right now, the birds would have to take on a lot of energy during daylight hours just to survive the night. As their natural diet includes nectar and pollen, two things they wouldn't find much of in a UK winter, the chance of them surviving long is unlikely I'd of thought.
 
Theoretically speaking that is as only one is still missing so no chance of the species establishing itself.
 
mazfc said:
It seems a bit of a mountain out of a mole hill to me.
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I agree, obviously a disgruntled (staff member perhaps) has gone to the press, which has happenened before elsewhere. But of course sometimes these things happen, yes it is unfortunate, but not really that bad, when put into perspective, most of the time these things are quietly dealt with by the zoo concerned.
 
Nanook said:
I agree, obviously a disgruntled (staff member perhaps) has gone to the press, which has happenened before elsewhere. But of course sometimes these things happen, yes it is unfortunate, but not really that bad, when put into perspective, most of the time these things are quietly dealt with by the zoo concerned.
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I really do find it rather peculiar that a - (erstwhile?) - disgruntled staff member should go to the press first thing and not go speak to more senior staff and management about their concerns.

I am sure that this incident was rather unfortunate as Bristol Zoo has a very high standard in animal husbandry care and management. I sincerely do hope they can acquire another breeding group of warty pigs in due course. I assume they are also on the list for the Wild Place project.
 
Winnie the Pygmy Hippo calf is going to France next week: Statement from Facebook

Winnie, our pygmy hippo recently celebrated her first birthday and has grown immensely in confidence and independence over the last year. Sirana has done a fantastic job raising her and it’s now time for her to move to another Zoo, to eventually become a mother herself.

Winnie will be moving to La Teste Zoo in France on Monday 23rd March, where she will live in a large enclosure, which includes a pool and outdoor space, similar layout to Winnie’s home here at the Zoo.
We’ll miss Winnie but we're looking forward to watching her progress in France
 
Some information regarding the new Wallaby enclosure which will house; three yellow-footed rock wallabies, five parma wallabies, and a flock of exotic Australian birds including masked plovers and budgerigars.

Bristol Zoo - Wallaby Walkabout
 
Very nice, even if I would have preferred Tammar to Parma as the second wallaby taxon :p
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Very nice, even if I would have preferred Tammar to Parma as the second wallaby taxon :p
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for non-UKers (and so I don't need to consult Zootierliste :p), is that because tammars are rare/non-existent in the UK and parmas are common? The two look very similar in any case.

Yellow-footed rock wallabies are gorgeous critters.

They need some quokkas though :p
 
Chlidonias said:
for non-UKers (and so I don't need to consult Zootierliste :p), is that because tammars are rare/non-existent in the UK and parmas are common? The two look very similar in any case.
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Partially, yes, there are no Tammar in the UK - but also the fact I have missed out on seeing the species twice. I visited South Lakes shortly after David Gill managed to kill off the Tammar he held, and when I visited Leipzig they were on-show in a bloody stupid location which I didn't think to check when searching for them, and thus missed the species then too.

Quokka would indeed be even nicer..... but also not in Europe at all :p
 
matthew said:
Some information regarding the new Wallaby enclosure which will house; three yellow-footed rock wallabies, five parma wallabies, and a flock of exotic Australian birds including masked plovers and budgerigars.
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Nice wallabies, but I can't believe that they have made this exhibit 9 metres tall for a pair of plovers and a flock of budgies; so I still expect that the other birds to be added eventually will be a little larger and rather more exotic :)

Alan
 
gentle lemur said:
Nice wallabies, but I can't believe that they have made this exhibit 9 metres tall for a pair of plovers and a flock of budgies; so I still expect that the other birds to be added eventually will be a little larger and rather more exotic :)
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While there are examples in other countries, I really feel that the first UK zoo to depict a large flock of wild-type budgerigars (even just in the coloration) in anything vaguely resembling a natural habitat will really capture the imagination of visitors in a way that is only possible when you show a culturally familiar species in an unfamiliar context. For the many visitors who will have known budgerigars as a family pet or back garden aviary bird, I think it will be mind-blowing to see a large flock in an enclosure of this size, rather than something chattering into a mirror in a foot-long cage in a pet shop.

What's more, many interesting species of parakeet and grass finch are often overlooked by zoological collections, I assume because of how common they are in private aviculture, but I would assume if Bristol plan to hold a flock of budgerigars, they would be likely to introduce other small psittacines not listed.

The only disappointing thing will be if the budgerigars destroy the vegetation, which is very possible. I'm assuming the robust-looking structure is in part due to the lorikeet escapes and the negative attention that attracted, and therefore designed perhaps to hold up heavier-duty mesh.

Parma wallabies have a much, much more interesting conservation story than similar species not seen so often in the UK and, together with the rock wallabies Bristol will be alone in the UK in having a multi-species macropod exhibit where none of the species are 'Least Concern'. I think that's more important than having rarely-seen species. Given the evident pressure to develop walk-through spaces as visitor attractions, it's impressive that Bristol, uniquely, have not lost focus when it comes to allocating space in the collection for new animals that are of some conservation importance.

I didn't think it when I first heard the old zebra/okapi/cassowary block was being turned into an Australian walkthrough, but I really feel this is a far more innovative use of that area than any of its previous incarnations I can remember, especially now that some of those species formerly houses here are now at Wild Place.
 
Communityzoo said:
For the many visitors who will have known budgerigars as a family pet or back garden aviary bird, I think it will be mind-blowing to see a large flock in an enclosure of this size,
I've seen wild Budgerigars, and they fly in tight evolutions, similar to Starlings, Weavers and other flocking birds. If they have space enough to exhibit that behaviour, it will be worth seeing.

I wonder if Bristol can obtain genuine wild-strain budgies (if any are available), or will have to breed their own using 'natural' coloured birds of domestic origin.
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Pertinax said:
I wonder if Bristol can obtain genuine wild-strain budgies (if any are available), or will have to breed their own using 'natural' coloured birds of domestic origin.
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There *are* genuine wild-strain budgies around in European collections, that's for sure.
 
The collections that certainly hold wild Budgies are Koln and Prague - and I'm pretty sure Magdeburg do too.
 
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