Chester Zoo Chester Zoo News 2024

bongorob said:
I have never seen Imbabura Tree Frogs at Chester but I have seen the species at Manchester Museum.

I find frogs at Chester Zoo to be very hard to see.

Last week I saw a Mountain Chicken at Chester for the first time in many years. I never failed to see them at Bristol.
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I have only seen the Imbabura Tree Frogs a handful of times, and it does usually take a while to spot one due to their colour and their nature of staying on the underside of leaves.

The Mountain Chicken I’ve only ever seen once, sometime last year. I still haven’t seen the Haitian Giant Galliwasp in the section next to it though.

I agree though, aside from the dart frogs, the Lake Titicaca Frogs and the Fea’s Flying Tree Frogs, amphibians at Chester are usually very hard to spot. Case in point the Asian Giant Toad in Realm of the Red Ape. Still not seen that either.

Not been in over a month and a half, but last time I was there the new Yellow Spotted Tree Toads were very easy to spot.
 
olhl.animal.photography said:
I have only seen the Imbabura Tree Frogs a handful of times, and it does usually take a while to spot one due to their colour and their nature of staying on the underside of leaves.

The Mountain Chicken I’ve only ever seen once, sometime last year. I still haven’t seen the Haitian Giant Galliwasp in the section next to it though.

I agree though, aside from the dart frogs, the Lake Titicaca Frogs and the Fea’s Flying Tree Frogs, amphibians at Chester are usually very hard to spot. Case in point the Asian Giant Toad in Realm of the Red Ape. Still not seen that either.

Not been in over a month and a half, but last time I was there the new Yellow Spotted Tree Toads were very easy to spot.
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Spotted the Galliwasp last weekend it was on the left hand side at the front trying to hide its head under the rock
 
derek said:
Spotted the Galliwasp last weekend it was on the left hand side at the front trying to hide its head under the rock
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Are you sure it was the galliwasp and not its shed? It has a very cobwebbed shed on the left at the front with its head under said rock. I’ve always debated whether it’s a shed or the real thing which has died there, but I’m assuming the former as I highly doubt Chester would just let a dead animal lie there for ages.
 
derek said:
Spotted the Galliwasp last weekend it was on the left hand side at the front trying to hide its head under the rock
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olhl.animal.photography said:
Are you sure it was the galliwasp and not its shed? It has a very cobwebbed shed on the left at the front with its head under said rock. I’ve always debated whether it’s a shed or the real thing which has died there, but I’m assuming the former as I highly doubt Chester would just let a dead animal lie there for ages.
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That's a fake lizard tail incorporated into the physical fabric of the exhibit for theming purposes - and made I believe from the exact same mock rock as the surrounding area - which has been there since the building was first opened over 15 years ago and that exhibit was the indoors for a female Komodo :rolleyes::D
 
TeaLovingDave said:
That's a fake lizard tail incorporated into the physical fabric of the exhibit for theming purposes - and made I believe from the exact same mock rock as the surrounding area - which has been there since the building was first opened over 15 years ago and that exhibit was the indoors for a female Komodo :rolleyes::D
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Ah okay thanks, that clears it up.
 
gentle lemur said:
The galliwasps were always on the right hand side of that double exhibit. I did see them several times between 2019 and 2021, but I don't think I have seen them since and I noticed earlier this year that their label seemed to have been removed.
Giant Hispaniolan galliwasp

Giant Hispaniolan galliwasp

DinD, Chester, 21st September 2019
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Great shot. I thought the Galliwasps were on the left and the Mountain Chickens were on the right. Or do you mean the galliwasps were on the right hand side of their section?
 
bongorob said:
Mountain Chickens and Galliwasps were housed together in the viv on the right.
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Oh.
That’ll be why I’ve never seen the galliwasps then. I’ve been looking in the wrong bit! The signage needs updating then I suppose as it still says the galliwasps are in with the tortoises on the left.
 
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They have never been kept in that enclosure, only with the Mountain Chickens. I saw a Galliwasp when thy first went onshow. I couldn't get a picture and I haven't seen one since.
 
I may make a thread about how to spot each herp at Chester, I will say with the Imbabura tree frogs it is best to look through the side window closer to the aye-ayes, look underneath the big leaves and you are sure to spot them. I have yet to see galliwasps in with the mountain chickens after hours of looking, but the Asian giant toad in there always affords good views (usually on or near the log at the far right of the enclosure)
 
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A new article on the Liverpool Echo website claims that Heart of Africa should be open next year, and includes Gorillas. I suspect this is poor journalism quoting from old press releases; would be interested to know of any confirmation or indeed refutation of this.
 
Tetzoo Quizzer said:
A new article on the Liverpool Echo website claims that Heart of Africa should be open next year, and includes Gorillas. I suspect this is poor journalism quoting from old press releases; would be interested to know of any confirmation or indeed refutation of this.
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The current development 100% does not include gorillas. This will be someone at the paper conflating it with a previous proposed 'Heart of Africa' at Chester that was for a tropical house including gorillas among (many) other species but that is long since defunct as a proposal. Indeed the zoo recently explicitly stated that under their current long-range plans they don't plan on acquiring gorillas at all.
 
That was my suspicion; is there a part of the current plan called “Heart of Africa”? If so, perhaps the powers that be should consider whether a name change might be helpful?
 
The new development is called Heart of Africa, it's name during planning was Grasslands, which is more descriptive as to the species in the area.

The Original HofA was for forrest species and was planned for the land the Lions now occupy.
 
Typhlonectes said:
I may make a thread about how to spot each herp at Chester, I will say with the Imbabura tree frogs it is best to look through the side window closer to the aye-ayes, look underneath the big leaves and you are sure to spot them. I have yet to see galliwasps in with the mountain chickens after hours of looking, but the Asian giant toad in there always affords good views (usually on or near the log at the far right of the enclosure)
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I am still yet to see the Asian Giant Toad, despite many hours of trying.
 
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