Chester Zoo Chester Zoo 2017

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Nisha said:
Some news reports (not yet confirmed by zoo themselves) indicate that Kitani's calf (born 19 June) is a female. Zuri's calf (born 26 June) is male
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The female calf born to Kitani has been named 'Hazina' and the male calf born to Zuri has been named 'Ike'
 
After being lucky spotting the crane chick at Slimbridge on Sunday, I can now claim a hat-trick of spottings this week. I saw Baby Bear at Chester this morning and *drum roll* two blue-legged mantellas this afternoon :p
I was rather late arriving at the zoo and it was almost 10.30 when I reached the spectacled bears. Some other visitors kindly pointed out the dead tree Baby Bear was climbing (at the back and just to the left of the slope of the hill). BB was hard to see through the foliage of the other planting, but with some patience I got pretty good views with my long lens (photos downloading as I write). Binoculars would have been a useful alternative. He/she climbed up and down a bit for 20 minutes or so, but then mum came up the tree to collect him/her and they went off towards the den. I did go back several times, including just before chucking out time, but without reward.
The mantellas were much less spectacular. I saw two dark lumps in a crack in the rocks, looking a little like small sea anemones after the tide has gone out - but the nearer one had a blue stripe along it (which I assume was its thigh). Unfortunately my photos are very distorted because I had to shoot through the glass at a very acute angle. They show no more than I have described.
I was also pleased to see 2 charming crested guineafowl chicks with their parents in the Tsavo aviary, and the little male great argus pheasant was practising his courtship display on his mum, by running round and round her and then crouching and spreading his secondaries and tail feathers. This looks pretty silly as his plumage is dull brown like a female's and he is only half size, so it was a bit like a bantam displaying to a turkey hen. The adult male great argus has been moved into the aviary next door as he is moulting. I was tempted to steal one of the old secondaries that were lying on the aviary floor - but I couldn't think how to do it.
Finally in the little tank at the back of the aquarium (which was made by knocking 3 tiny tanks together) there are freshwater pipefish fry, which look like strands of button thread, 2 or 3cm long, floating horizontally in the water. The label says they are Doryicthys deokhatoides which may be correct or it may not. I don't have a high opinion of pipefish taxonomics, but I love the animals - I hope the aquarist team can raise them successfully.
Note: the old Cattle House was closed and the horsebox was still outside, so I presume the tapirs were still inside; the sunbears were still in the Jag House; work was still going on in the new part of Islands and the Bat Cave was also closed.
 
Bat House could be closed for any number of reasons, but my guess would be for maintenance.
 
gentlelemur,

Was it you photographing the monkey islands labels this afternoon?

I thought "Zoochatter" when I saw such behaviour. :)

Didn't see Lima's offspring, nor the Mantellas, but 4 Tuatara and 3 Sand Lizard (and cracking views of both Aye-Aye) were compensation.
 
SHAVINGTONZOO said:
gentlelemur,

Was it you photographing the monkey islands labels this afternoon?

I thought "Zoochatter" when I saw such behaviour. :)

Didn't see Lima's offspring, nor the Mantellas, but 4 Tuatara and 3 Sand Lizard (and cracking views of both Aye-Aye) were compensation.
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Not Guilty, Your Honour :)
I didn't shoot a label all day. I did get some nice shots of old Mamy (female aye-aye) and lots of bad ones of the elephant-nose fish (making a wonderful show with the butterfly barbs). I only saw 3 tuatara and 1 baby rhino (which I couldn't get a decent shot of it in spite of walking past the meerkats and trying the Tsavo House three times).
 
gentle lemur said:
I saw Baby Bear at Chester this morning and *drum roll* two blue-legged mantellas this afternoon :p
. . . . . . . .
The mantellas were much less spectacular. I saw two dark lumps in a crack in the rocks, looking a little like small sea anemones after the tide has gone out - but the nearer one had a blue stripe along it (which I assume was its thigh). Unfortunately my photos are very distorted because I had to shoot through the glass at a very acute angle. They show no more than I have described.
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My apologies to everyone, I think I misled myself and I certainly misled you all. I did not see the mantellas yesterday.
At ShonenJake's urging in another place, I took a very close look at my photos and I then realised that what I had actually seen was not a blue line on the leg of a small dark frog in the gap between two rocks. It was the blue head and thorax of one the stick insects in the same vivarium, which had somehow got into the crack. Peering into the shadow in the crack, my eyes and my brain interpreted the angle between the head and thorax as a curved line, and then filled it with body of the frog (and added another behind it). As I said in my post, I wrote it while my photos were downloading, and at first glance the photos showed the blue line I described.
I was horrified when I saw how I had been mistaken and I apologise to everyone for this error. I am going to search for a recipe for humble pie and I promise to be more careful in the future.
We don't have a redface emoticon available now, so please imagine a couple of dozen of them in the space below.



My thanks to ShonenJake.
 
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gentle lemur said:
My apologies to everyone, I think I misled myself and I certainly misled you all. I did not see the mantellas yesterday.
At ShonenJake's urging in another place I took a very close at my photos and I then realised that what I had actually seen was not a blue line on the leg of a small dark frog in the gap between two rocks. It was the blue head and thorax of one the stick insects in the same vivarium, which had somehow got into the crack. Peering into the shadow in the crack, my eyes and my brain interpreted the angle between the head and thorax as a curved line, and then filled it with body of the frog. As I said in my post, I wrote it while my photos were downloading, and at first glance the photos showed the blue line I described.
I was horrified when I saw how I had been mistaken and I apologise to everyone for this error. I am going to search for a recipe for humble pie and I promise to be more careful in the future.
We don't have a redface emoticon available now, so please imagine a couple of dozen of them in the space below,
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The nickname of Mythical Mantella still stands then :p
 
Had a visit today with Water Dragon
Here is what I saw
Finally saw the blue legged mantellas.Only saw one and just it's leg in the pool,I took a photo but it was blurry so i don't think I will upload it
Napo was separate from Goshi today.She may have been hiding or she may have been off show.I'm not sure if she is pregnant though can anyone correct me on this if possible?
Mezcal was in her outdoor exhibit today.Because the weather got quite hot she was digging up the earth to cool herself down.
Had a talk with one of Zoo Rangers at the Komodo dragon talk and there are plans for when she is big enough Mezcal will hopefully be put in with Jantan for mating.
Sun bears are still in Spirit of the Jaguars
Horsebox still outside the cattle house for the Malayan Tapirs.Betong is separate from Solo and Margery
Babirusa have moved out of the Asian short clawed otter enclosure
Saw Zuri's calf today,Kifaru is off show,Ema Elsa and Gabe are together and Magadi was on his own.
Saw Narus and Murchison
There was only one false gharial in Monsoon forest today,Don't know what happened
Fruit Bat Forest was open today
Both red river hog piglets came out and are still suckling
Football is separate from the other Radiated Tortoises
I'm not sure whether or not this is true since it came from a zoo volunteer but the zoo is hoping to develop a Madagascar themed area with some more Lemur species.Not sure what to think of this though.
Female cheetah enclosure now has signs up for Southern pudu
Saw the Lake Patzcuaro Salamanders

My photos are downloading now and will post them soon.
 
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Haven't the false gharials got an off show area as such, I have often been and not seen one or both of them
 
Football is dead. Are you sure it was a mantella,and not a stick insect as GentleLemur was mislead by that.
 
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