Bristol Zoo (Closed) Bristol Zoo news 2012

Yes, I thought Woburn's(ex Hanover) were all castrated too, so the idea of adding females later for breeding is a bit confusing. If they are it may be put like that for simplicity's sake. I also wonder why Woburn decided to/were asked to move a couple of their males..perhaps because Bristol asked for some.

They should check their facts- it is not 'the first time Bristol have had this species'- they had both Drills and Mandrills in the old fifties/sixties Monkey House( same site as existing Monkey House.)
 
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Would male drills, if castrated, not them grow up to resemble large adult females, rather than developing the markings synonmyous with adult males of this species? I could be wrong.

Spare a though for these two. They have come from one of the best captive environments for this species, a very large mixed reserve with many live trees, to a very (IMHO) standard large monkey cage in Bristol. This is not a recent construction, I would hope Bristol would go ahead with something fantastic and open-air once they begin to establish a group.
 
Excellent news on the Drills. Good to see another UK zoo with this species. Does anyone know where are they housed currently?
 
johnstoni. said:
Would male drills, if castrated, not them grow up to resemble large adult females, rather than developing the markings synonmyous with adult males of this species? I could be wrong.

Spare a though for these two. They have come from one of the best captive environments for this species, a very large mixed reserve with many live trees, to a very (IMHO) standard large monkey cage in Bristol. This is not a recent construction, I would hope Bristol would go ahead with something fantastic and open-air once they begin to establish a group.
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The male at Drusillas in the early 1970's was castrated but looked like a fully mature male otherwise. On the other hand, the castrated male Kasalo at PL looks like a leggy female but he's not mature yet.

I still think the five received from Hanover were all castrated.:confused:

The change in the quality of venues crossed my mind too.;) But I'm sure Bristol will have made that concrete monstrosity into a decent habitat for them.
 
Thanks for posting. It gives a very good idea of what the new indoor area will look like and the design of the new 'corridor/tunnel' public viewing area. It is going to give the Gorillas far more indoor space too- not only the other half of the House formerly holding the Okapi, but also the rather narrow indoor 'L' shaped section they live in now looks like it can be extended out more using some of the existing public viewing area.

It is definately needed and will put Bristol in the forefront again as far as accomodation for this successful group is concerned.
 
Apparently not although we didn't see her.

Really loved the kea exhibit, they are as entertaining as little primates ;)
 
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excellent news from Bristol today (the turtle was hatched seven weeks ago so it may have already been covered on here, but worth repeating anyway):
Zoo welcomes birth of rare turtle - Offbeat, Breaking News - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk
One of the world's rarest species of turtle has hatched at a British zoo for the first time.

The tiny seven-week-old Vietnamese box turtle is so precious that it is being kept in a climate-controlled room at Bristol Zoo Gardens and is hand-fed chopped worms to give it the best possible start in life.

It is the first time a British zoo has ever bred this critically endangered species and is only the second in Europe, after a zoo in Germany, to have done so. The youngster, which keepers have named Vernon, weighs just 28g and measures around 5cm long - roughly the size of a matchbox.

An adult box turtle weighs around 1kg, measures around 20cm long and can live up to 50 years old. The new arrival lives in a custom-built Asian turtle breeding room in the reptile house alongside 10 adult box turtles and a few other young turtles, under the watchful eye of the zoo's team of reptile experts.

Curator of reptiles Tim Skelton, who has cared for turtles for more than 40 years, said: "This is a very difficult species to breed so I am thrilled with the arrival of this baby after so many years; it is certainly a career highlight."

The birth takes the total number of Vietnamese box turtles at Bristol Zoo to seven. However, there are so few of these turtles in captivity that there is no dedicated zoo breeding programme for them.

The zoo has joined forces with private turtle experts around Europe to form a European breeding programme in an effort to save the species from total extinction.

"Not a lot is known about this species so we can learn an awful lot from this baby to improve our chances of breeding more in future," said Mr Skelton.

"These are secretive animals so we are keeping it in a warm, humid and quiet room with a constant temperature, in a boggy tank to replicate its natural habitat where it can burrow among the soil and leaves."

Box turtles are mainly terrestrial, although they will enter shallow water to hunt and soak. They are hunted for their meat, for use in medicine or as pets and have been listed as 'critically endangered' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
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@Chlidonias, you just beat me to it ... :)

I was just about to post this important little captive-breeding effort.
As Tim Skelton said .. given that box turtles and particularly this species is bred in so few numbers, we can and learn from every hatching.

With the second institution in zoo community in Europe having bred the species, perhaps we are onto the breakthrough required for this species! :cool:
 
Some brief points form my last visit:
Pallas’ bats have gone, their enclosure now houses sloth.
Kowari are to be seen in the nocturnal house.
Some nice landscaping has been done in front of the reptile house.
Howler monkeys have moved out and the spider moneys have moved in from their old home by the entrance (which in turn now houses the two male drill).
The prairie dogs seem to have been thinned out, there seems less of them and the grass in their enclosure is looking a lot healthier.
 
It certainly makes me happy; dasyurids are few and far between in Europe and as a group I'm quite fond of, I'd rather like to actually *see* some.
 
mazfc said:
I've just had to look kowari up :) the natural world is truly diverse and amazing
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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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