Chester Zoo Chester Zoo updates *3
- Thread starter adrian1963
- Start date
Yay, that is really cause for celebration. Congrats to the Mammal Team ... it has been a trying time for them. Fingers crossed for more good tidings!
Thanks, I was just wondering yesterday if anything was happening, fingers crossed!
Potentially this is an even more noteworthy event ... Now the first hurdles have been negotiated, I would expect at some point full tuatara breeding success.
Jordan-Jaguar97
Well-Known Member
Brilliant news for Chester and the Okapis themselves.
It did seem to amaze me how long it took Dicky to mate with Stuma. The first of many I hope for Chester. Dicky's not the youngest of Okapis he's fifteen years old. However I always seemed to think that he would get there in the end. 
Brilliant news for Chester and the Okapis themselves.
How long was that? Did someone let you know after the first time?
lol
Was a bit wet at the zoo today. Got absolutely soaked around lunch time. Thought it was slightly on the silly side to have a Tiger talk and have the tigers locked in because Alan had to cut the grass. Would have thought that they would have wanted to have the animals on show when the talks were going on.
Also noticed they seem to feed the lions/tigers/dogs etc before the actual talks. Seems rather odd. Was much better when we first went, when they were fed at the same time as the talks. Does anyone know a specific reason for the change. Or was it the usual thing of people complaining that it was upsetting for children to see?
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
Yes it is excellent news about the Okapi,but please lets not get to excited just yet as things could still go wrong!I for one certainly hope they don't,but you just don't know what can happen between now and then!
karoocheetah
Well-Known Member
The zoo say that they vary the feed times to prevent the animals becoming habituated to the whole food/talk cycle.
So the animal would behave differently as soon as they heard the talk taking place as they would know they were getting fed too, I'm sure I'm not alone in having seen this behaviour in other zoos where talks/feeds are set times every day - I'd rather see natural behaviour but I do agree that feeding time always gives you an active engaged exhibit - even if it is only to wolf down as much food as possible as quickly as possible.
Some animals are fed quite regularly and they coincide with feeds - such as the Tropical Realm Bird Feed and the Tsavo Aviary live feed. The giant otters talk quite often coincides with a feed - or they at least think it does and they start charging around screaming for fish
and the Penguins talk is normally a feed too. It seems it's mostly the big cats that they like to keep on their toes
The giant otters talk quite often coincides with a feed - or they at least think it does and they start charging around screaming for fish
In my experience they tend to charge around screaming for fish even when they've been fed already!
karoocheetah
Well-Known Member
In my experience they tend to charge around screaming for fish even when they've been fed already!
You're not wrong - Icana the female is particularly vocal
always makes me think of the Red Dwarf episode where Cat is asking the food dispenser for fish, I imagine Icana screaming FISH....
People always say the gibbons are the species which can be heard from across the zoo, but I've certainly heard Icana long before I've got anywhere near her enclosure in the past!
I think the record was a visit in the middle of last winter, when the zoo was particularly quiet, and I heard the giant otters from the owl aviaries!
I think the record was a visit in the middle of last winter, when the zoo was particularly quiet, and I heard the giant otters from the owl aviaries!
Today's fish is Trout a la Creme, enjoy your meal.
Today's fish is Trout a la Creme, enjoy your meal.
Today's fish is Trout a la Creme, enjoy your meal.
Today's fish is Trout a la Creme, enjoy your meal.
"I WILL!"
karoocheetah
Well-Known Member
That's the one!!
back to the zoo noise thread - I have also noticed that when Upali the Bull Elephant mates one of the females he tends to trumpet in triumph and the other ladies join in, so there is a cacophony of trumpetting elephants echoing across the zoo - I was over by the Tigers when I heard it last time - blooming marvellous.
Iblis's the Male Lion's "Huff" also carries across the zoo when he puts the effort in
back to the zoo noise thread - I have also noticed that when Upali the Bull Elephant mates one of the females he tends to trumpet in triumph and the other ladies join in, so there is a cacophony of trumpetting elephants echoing across the zoo - I was over by the Tigers when I heard it last time - blooming marvellous.
Iblis's the Male Lion's "Huff" also carries across the zoo when he puts the effort in
Jordan-Jaguar97
Well-Known Member
Yes, as you say things could go very potentially wrong. All of the collections that hold Okapi have bred at least one calf which hasn't survived thirty days. Bristol's was the most recent.
Well todays noise was that of the chainsaw. The Willow trees were having a severe trim. You could hear them cutting over that half of the zoo, from the Jaguars to the elephants.
They were working in Pele's indoor part today so he was out by the waterfall. Although he did decide by the wall out of the wind, so never even got a chance to take a photo. All we saw was his tail as it vanished out of site.
We've finished with Chester for another year. Tomorrows weather is going to be terrible and I don't fancy getting another drenching after yesterday.
Jamilah is also becoming a noisy little devil. three or four times this afternoon she was making a lot of noise, generally in the direction of Nayan.
They were working in Pele's indoor part today so he was out by the waterfall. Although he did decide by the wall out of the wind, so never even got a chance to take a photo. All we saw was his tail as it vanished out of site.
We've finished with Chester for another year. Tomorrows weather is going to be terrible and I don't fancy getting another drenching after yesterday.
Jamilah is also becoming a noisy little devil. three or four times this afternoon she was making a lot of noise, generally in the direction of Nayan.