Chester Zoo Chester 2012 #4

Great stuff - if you are still there don't forget 3x Capybara Babies, The baby Orang & the dwarf mongoose had pups too when I was there on sunday.

thanks am home now but have seen the Capybara Babies looked just like guinea pigs!
Will check out the dwarf mongoose next time:)
 
Brief, but very good, visit this afternoon.

There is a third Congo Buffalo calf, born in the last few days. Giraffe and Okapi calves both showing well. Okapi female seems very, very attentive and calf looks very sturdy. Baby Orang visible, though mum (Emma?) seemed far more interested in possibility of food ... :)

Saw both adult Giant Otters, but no sign of cubs :( Spoke to a couple of visitors in the Orang House who had not only seen the cubs but even managed to capture a video clip of their swimming lessons.

The remaining tiger cub displaying interesting behaviour. Hearing keepers/ maintenance staff working near the On The Edge Aviary he climbed around 8 feet into a not very sturdy tree in order to get a better view. Fascinating.
 
I had a bracing wander round this afternoon in the wind and rain. A chilly and empty zoo - great!

The young otters were cavorting in the indoor area with mum and dad, the young Okapi was very visible too.

Highlight for me though, was that I was the only visitor in Tropical Realm. Whole place to myself, just me and the free flying birds. Never seen so many :)

So much better than crowded summer days.
 
Ps I know you said just the one cub Nila is going but I guess the other one won't be long before she goes to a new home

The Chester Facebook page has now reported the following:

We're saying auf wiedersehen to Tila, our Sumatran tiger cub, who is moving to Heidelberg Zoo in Germany today.

So that answers that question, then.
 
Excellent news. It seems the tactic to send 'Upali' to Dublin has payed off with him leaving Chester with a few calves. It is also worth noting that the news is great as she is a first time mother, 'Sithami' and 'Thi' her mother and grandmother will also probably help out a lot too. 'Thi' did this a lot with 'Nayan' when he was first born to 'Sithami'.
 
Great news, this - shame about the boatloads of anti-zoo folk who came out in boatloads to comment on the article......
 
Not to take away from this wonderful event, but wasn't it determined through DNA test that upali was the father? making this calf inbred? Regardless, congratulations Chester!!
 
Not to take away from this wonderful event, but wasn't it determined through DNA test that upali was the father? making this calf inbred? Regardless, congratulations Chester!!

One close parental/sibling inbreeding does not make a major issue in animal populations. It really is small tuppence (but let the masses stay uninformed and blinkered to enable them to rattle and roll ... in ignorance). :D
 
Not to take away from this wonderful event, but wasn't it determined through DNA test that upali was the father? making this calf inbred? Regardless, congratulations Chester!!

As Kifaru Bwana says this need not be a major issue - possibly not ideal, but plenty of cattle breeders would allow - even encourage - such a mating, so long as there is a subsequent outcrossing.
 
Visited today, it is the end of November and it was one of the sunniest days I have had at Chester this year.

Life size model animals have appeared on the Oakfield lawn. Flamingo, chimpanzee, giraffe, tiger, zebra and Asian elephant. No idea why they are there but I thought it just looked untidy.

The red-crowned crane aviary is empty and all signage has been removed. I hope some birds will be moved into here, there are far too many offshow at the moment.

I counted ten spoonbills, I wonder if they reared some chicks this year, they started the year with seven.

By the lemur island a family asked where the dinosaurs were, not being able to read the map, and were disappointed when I said the dinosaurs had gone.

I was just photographing a green and black poison frog when its tongue darted out and it ate something which was far too small for me to see.

The remaining white-winged wood duck was perfectly posed for photographers but the glass was very dirty on the inside and a taking a picture proved to be an impossible task.

I planned to try and spot a duiker but work was being carried out in the enclosure. I doubt that I will ever see a duiker during my lifetime.

A boat has appeared in Glorious Grasses garden, I have no idea why.

The portaloos which were blocking off the south end of the path alongside the roan antelope have been removed and the path is open again. Work was being done on the old gemsbok hardstanding area.

A nice surprise was the sight of two West African crowned crane chicks with their parents, one of which took an instant dislike to me.

noticed that the tree shrew label shows the range as Myanmar but the region highlighted is Nepal. Something wrong there.

A new roof is being put onto the Derbyan Parakeet aviary.

Saw the baby elephant, just missed seeing the baby giant otters and there was no sign of the baby okapi.

There was the obligatory school party running amock, including some children who attempted to pull feathers off a guineafowl in full view of a teacher who said nothing.
They stopped when I glared at them.

Had a listen in on a practice session of the Chester Zoo orchestra. Three guineafowl banging on an oil drem and a red-winged starling banging on the tin roof. It sounded quite nice, but not as nice as the gibbon call resounding around east zoo. I half expected the chimps to respond but I was in luck. They didn't.
 
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