Chester Zoo Chester 2012 #4

Nisha

Nisha

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Small news to begin thread four with...
Paid a visit to Chester over the weekend and there is a new Buffy Headed Capuchin baby, Also haven't see it mentioned yet that another Porcupine was born in the last few weeks
 
I think someone posted a photo of the baby porcupine, I tried to get a photo last week but the glass was dirty
 
Prague just sent 2 Dalmatian pelicans to Chester.

According to the last annual report, Chester had 10 pelicans at the end of 2011. How big collony do they plan to keep? The aviary is big so there is enough space for more I think.

And what is the actual count by Chilean flamingo chicks?
 
12 Chilean Flamingo chicks have been hatched this year and breeding has now ceased for the year
.
 
Aung Bo Intro to Herd

I was very lucky yesterday to watch the elephant keepers as they set up and introduced Aung Bo to one of the cows for the first time yesterday afternoon.
They chose Jangoli as a dominant cow and used an electric curtain fence to keep physical separation.
It was great to watch the reaction from both Jangoli & Aung Bo as they slowly made eye contact and it was very interesting talking to the keepers about the signals they were looking for from Jang and from Aung Bo - it all went very well and I have all 11 or so minutes of it on video - I will edit it down a bit if that's too long for uploading though.

The plan is to do a few more introductions with Jangoli and then extend that.
Aung Bo is already an impressive bull and he's only 11 years old so still go growing to do - it's looking good for Chester's Herd!
 
karoocheetah said:
I was very lucky yesterday to watch the elephant keepers as they set up and introduced Aung Bo to one of the cows for the first time yesterday afternoon.

It was great to watch the reaction from both Jangoli & Aung Bo as they slowly made eye contact and it was very interesting talking to the keepers about the signals they were looking for from Jang and from Aung Bo -
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I've always loved seeing new animals introduced to others for the first time in Zoos, though opportunities are usually pretty rare as often its done for the first time behind the scenes or outside visitor hours.

Might be worth a thread in its own right for people's experiences.;) Update; Have now opened one on the General Forum if anyone has interesting contributions.
 
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Indian Moon Moths have emerged in Butterfly Journey. They have a lifespan of around seven days so anyone wanting to see them needs to get there soon!
 
Aung Bo met Jangoli today on two occassions without the electric fence in place, both apparently went well with a bit of shoving from him but nothing more serious than that. Looking positive so far :)

Appears to have got over his fear of sand now as well ;)
 
It doesn't look like we have a 'true' matriarch in the purest sense. Jangoli as a very dominant cow, the others tend to look to her reaction to new things. Maya is a foodie which isn't always easy. I suppose it should be Thi being a grandmother and mother but she's not the pushy type. The herds dynamics are certainly interesting to watch, especialky with a new bull thown into the mix, Aung Bo is still a relative youngster so I think I'm expecting good things from him as he settles in.
 
karoocheetah said:
Jangoli as a very dominant cow, the others tend to look to her reaction to new things. ..... Thi being a grandmother and mother but she's not the pushy type.
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Thanks for the info. Sounds like the title/role may eventually fall to Jangoli given time.
 
The definition of a "matriarch" in terms of Chester's Elephants has always been a cause for confusion as well - Jangoli has always been a more dominant animal, but the Sheba role of being the aunty figure who holds the group together has been the one needing filling of late - Maya tried to step in at first, then changed her mind. At the moment the closest to that role is Thi, though it is expected that Sundara will be "the new Sheba" in the long-term (though Sundara is very much subordinate at the moment so that will take time).
 
HGibbins said:
The definition of a "matriarch" in terms of Chester's Elephants has always been a cause for confusion as well
I guess in a wild herd the female lines are all related to each other and the matriarch tends to be just a very senior female who is related, at least in some way, to all the others. Whereas in a zoo group like Chester where not all the females are related, the definition may be slightly different.

Most mention of 'matriarchal' elephants come from studies of Africans, I'm presuming herd dynamics in the Asian Elephant are similar.
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Chester's Elephant herd.

Normally all the females would be related in some way as you say. Most of Chester's (Bar Maya and Jangolie) are. The 'Thi sub-group' is rather nice IMO. Thi- Sithami and Jamilah. Sithami- Sundara and Nayan. I find it weird that Jamilah is actually Nayan's auntie even though she's younger than him, I know it's common but it's just weird to me. :p

It was mentioned that 'Thi', 'Sundara' and 'Sithami' are all pregnant. Does anybody know when Thi is due?
 
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