Chester Zoo Chester Zoo Discussion and Questions 2024

bongorob said:
In the forest zone in east zoo, when the giraffe, okapi and tropical houses get re-developed. No official plans have yet been released, there probably aren't any yet.
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Does That mean they'll be in the old giraffe enclosure next to the okapi, congo buffalo, red river hog & chimps? Other animals from the african forest?
 
Olek said:
Does That mean they'll be in the old giraffe enclosure next to the okapi, congo buffalo, red river hog & chimps? Other animals from the african forest?
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No news yet, its still quite a way off so we have no clue really.
 
Olek said:
Does That mean they'll be in the old giraffe enclosure next to the okapi, congo buffalo, red river hog & chimps? Other animals from the african forest?
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Probably not, although what happens to the giraffe enclosure once Heart of Africa opens is another question. The original plan back around 2009 was for a new African rainforest area (originally called Heart of Africa) to be built in the field expansion that currently contains only the Asiatic Lion Habitat, however the funding fell through, plans were scrapped and a bunch of ideas were recycled into Islands (such as the tropical dome and the boat ride). The zoo still wants to do an African rainforest area in that part of the site after Heart of Africa, but there are no plans at present.
 
From memory birds in the Tsavo aviary which will move back onshow in 2025 were

Hamerkop
African White-backed Duck
Hottentot Teal
Maccoa Duck
Kenya Crested Guineafowl
Blacksmith Lapwing
Lilac-breasted Roller
Snow-crowned Robin Chat
Western Village Weaver
Purple Glossy Starling
Red-winged Starling

I think there was also Bruce's Green Pigeon just before it closed, but I am not certain.

There is one Guineafowl left, so may not move back into the zoo.
 
I know this is old news for Chester's regulars, but did they go out of bush dog or are they off-display right now or have I just missed them entirely?

Do they still keep Scottish wildcat and are they on-show?

Also are there any photos of the Philippine chevrotain in the enclosure? I didn't manage to spot that one, naturally.

Would also appreciate if anyone has a list of species held in the okapi or giraffe buildings as that is mostly what I missed today. Sorry to bother.
 
JVM said:
I know this is old news for Chester's regulars, but did they go out of bush dog or are they off-display right now or have I just missed them entirely?
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To the best of my knowledge they are still in the first (desert/grassland) indoor enclosure within the Jaguar house :)

JVM said:
Do they still keep Scottish wildcat and are they on-show?
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I believe they do still have them, but they have never been onshow.
 
Bush dogs are currently off display, their former enclosure currently occupied by a Spectacled bear.

Okapi house contains: African pygmy mouse, acacia rat, round-eared sengi, Lethrinops chilingali cichlids, Western gaboon viper, Ugandan flower beetle, red duiker and okapi. Giraffe house only contains giraffes.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
To the best of my knowledge they are still in the first (desert/grassland) indoor enclosure within the Jaguar house :)
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Swampy said:
Bush dogs are currently off display, their former enclosure currently occupied by a Spectacled bear.
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On one hand, I'm terribly disappointed to miss bush dogs, as they are not only a longtime favorite species but one of the reasons I am even aware of Chester to begin with (I first saw them through an episode of Secrets of the Zoo) -- on the other hand, I saw them in Birmingham for the first time yesterday and will be visiting Yorkshire soon, so I can comfortably be happy to have seen an Andean bear instead, a species that has eluded me for over a decade despite visiting multiple recent holders. Definitely not the exhibit I'd have expected used to hold the bush dogs though! Wow!

I believe they do still have them, but they have never been onshow.
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Good to know. Glad I stopped at Battersea and saw the species, as I first assumed the wildcats were on-show when I saw them on ZTL months ago. It did occur to me when reviewing the map the other day that they might not be on show though.

Okapi house contains: African pygmy mouse, acacia rat, round-eared sengi, Lethrinops chilingali cichlids, Western gaboon viper, Ugandan flower beetle, red duiker and okapi. Giraffe house only contains giraffes.
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The three small mammals and red duiker are a real shame to miss! I'll have missed red duiker twice on this trip. Gaboon viper is a cool species too but one I can see in Chicago, at least -- and I mean, ditto Okapi.

Glad to know the giraffe house is only giraffe.
 
JVM said:
Definitely not the exhibit I'd have expected used to hold the bush dogs though! Wow!
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In fairness, the enclosure only held them for around a year or two. For the longest time they were held in the enclosure currently home to a single cheetah.
 
Fallax said:
In fairness, the enclosure only held them for around a year or two. For the longest time they were held in the enclosure currently home to a single cheetah.
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Aha! That makes more sense. I remember finding that exhibit felt like an odd place for a Cheetah and found references in this or the news thread about how they would 'move back to their old exhibit' Who is the original resident of the Andean Bear habitats at Spirit of the Jaguar? or has it always been Andean Bears.... but then who was over by the current Andean exhibit near Islands?

Chester's South American collection is quite spread out...
 
JVM said:
Who is the original resident of the Andean Bear habitats at Spirit of the Jaguar? or has it always been Andean Bears.... but then who was over by the current Andean exhibit near Islands?
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Originally both of the indoor exhibits within SotJ held the eponymous jaguar; the "jungle" exhibit has continued to do so since the house opened, whilst the first exhibit has variously held Spectacled Bear, Sun Bear and Bush Dog on-and-off for the last decade or so - with the precise species tending to depend on the wider needs of the collection.

For instance, back when the "main" bushdog exhibit still held the species, the SotJ exhibit was used once or twice to hold surplus animals when group dynamics broke down; at times when the adult male Spectacled Bear has needed to be housed away from the female due to the birth of a cub, the SotJ exhibit has been used to house him; and during the period between the demolition of the original Sun Bear exhibit in order to make way for the current Madagascar complex, and the completion of the current Sun Bear exhibit, this species was housed temporarily in SotJ too.
 
JVM said:
Good to know. Glad I stopped at Battersea and saw the species, as I first assumed the wildcats were on-show when I saw them on ZTL months ago. It did occur to me when reviewing the map the other day that they might not be on show though.
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I think the wildcats are part of a breeding for reintroduction scheme and - therefore - minimal human interaction is understandable.
 
Does anybody know if the hyrax are going to be moved into the heart of Africa or will they be phased out of the collection?
 
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