When the old Zootopia zoo in Bognor Regis closed, the serval - a breeding pair went to Drusillas. Does anyone know if they bred again once they had arrived and if so, what happened to the offspring?
A pair, which were named 'Cleo' and 'Claude', arrived at Drusillas around the time Hotham Park in Bognor Regis closed. I wasn't aware they had come from there. I believe Drusillas had not kept felids prior to this, and in fact never kept any other cat species, choosing instead to replace their servals with more of the same species. They have remained on the site of the original row of cages they were housed in. These cages housed birds and mammals of various species and were already there when the servals arrived. Within a year or so the adjacent pot-bellied pig sty was used for dens, and the row was demolished for a large glass-fronted outdoor cage (still a novel way to view animals at that time). Much of the roof was solid, like a barn, however refurbishment over the years slightly extended the enclosure and let more light in. By todays standards, it is starting to look a little small when you consider Africa Alive or Howletts serval exhibits. However, others such as London are still smaller than Drusillas unless my sense of scale is dramatically off.
One litter of kittens was successfully raised around 1987/88, and at least one further litter was born but not raised in the 90s. I've no idea where any offspring were placed once they left Drusillas. It may have changed now, but aside from the two (adjacent) indoor dens, there were no facilities to really separate the adults during breeding other than rotating use of the outdoor exhibit. This is not to say this was not common in zoos at the time, or even now.
I'm not convinced there wasn't more than one 'cleo'. Obviously the servals now at the park are not the same individuals that arrived in the 80s, and are no longer named 'Cleo' and 'Claude'.
