Chester Zoo Chester zoo's small mammals

[Writhedhornbill]

As most of you will be well aware by now, Chester zoo has a rapidly growing collection of small mammals, from Mice and rats to tree shrews and squirrels.

I've just been on zoolex (My first look for quite a while now) and on the elephant pages there are a few things that intrigued me...

In the long term these squirrel enclosures will serve as breeding facilities for threatened giant squirrels and palm squirrels.

This exhibit is currently (as of 2006) inhabited by Elongated tortoises and Belanger’s tree shrews. In the long term it will serve as an enclosure for a threatened tree shrew species.

What species are being considered for this, and when will it happen?

Also, what species of animals are being kept in the off-show small mammal centre?

What species of Small mammals (Mice, rats, Tree shrews, squirrels etc.) does the zoo currently have?

What species of Small mammals (Rodents, Colugos (Wishful thinking I know!) and tree shrews) do the zoo plan to get in the very near future?

Thanks in Advance!

Jonathan

 

[bongorob]

Small Mammals at Chester that I know of. There could be others

Turkish Spiny Mouse
Mount Kulal Spiny Mouse
Harvest Mouse
European Water Vole
Woodland Dormouse
Grass Rat
Mesic Four-striped Grass Mouse
Tree Rat

Tree Shrews currently red listed are (data is very old)

Vulnerable
Bornean Smooth-tailed (Dendrogale melanura)
Golden-bellied (Tupaia chrysogaster)

Endangered
Long-footed (Tupaia longipes)
Nicobar (Tupaia nicobarica)

 

[Writhedhornbill]

Zoogiraffe or Chris_walton, do you know of any small mammal plans?

Chris_walton, I doubt that you'd get told about a female Mouse coming past your house

What about the pouched rats? Does the zoo still keep them?

 

[bongorob]

They still keep pouched rats.

 

[zoogiraffe]

I know they are still after Shrews also they are after more squirrels but don`t know what species as for the small stuff i think they will take what ever they can get as long as its endangered.

 

[ZooMania]

Im not really liking Chesters ever growing small mammal collection so i like it that most of them are going off-show.