Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo news 2009 #1

Hyenas

ashley-h said:
That would be good, it's a shame Hyenas aren't in more zoos.
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I agree there are not enough hyenas in captivity. Chessington Zoo had a spectacular pair of the Spotted variety. I don't think they ever bred (possibly due to the cage) but I loved to stand and watch them, especially at feeding time. To see them crunching solid bone was a sight to see.
 
I went to Colchester on Monday just gone.

The new group of African Hunting Dogs have arrived ..... but didn't get to see them very well as they were all in a huddle asleep. No info up about age or sex.

Saw Talia the baby chimp quite clearly, clinging to her mum. I've put a few (bit blurry I'm afraid) pictures up in Colchester's gallery. She's adorable. Big brother Tumba was keeping mum in his sights.

I also spoke to one of Rajang's keepers, as per my comments on this photo:

Rajang

..... really hope he's okay and that there's nothing to be worried about. Perhaps he'd been disturbed by the same t**t we came across at Lion Rock ? ........

..... the lioness was in the indoor area, when this complete idiot (who must have been at least 30) started banging on the glass at her, and I mean, really going for it. My partner said, in a perfectly reasonable tone "don't bang on the glass mate, it disturbs them" whereupon this t**t got all agressive and squared up to him shouting "where does it say not to bang on the effing glass" (except he didn't say effing obviously). At that point, in my best schoolmarm voice I shrilled at him "It doesn't but it's basic common sense and decency, and please don't swear like that in front of my 5 year old daughter thank you very much" ....... and thankfully, he then slunk off (as opposed to knifing me or something), but obviously, this kind of thing takes the shine off a nice day out and makes me so angry. You wonder what on earth people like that get from going to a zoo ?

Anyway, I digress ........... they've now finished improving the walkway past the Gelada baboons. Instead of a waist high fence as there used to be there is now a full height wall, with windows, which are currently meshed (not so good for photos) but presumably awaiting glass. As ever the dominant male, with his beautiful cape of fur was sitting with his back to me.

Round to the lemurs, there was no sign of the ring tailed twin babies who were presumably inside.

Across the wobbly bridge the otters were very lively. Unless I am imagining it I have only ever seen 1 otter on all previous visits, if that's correct, it's good to see it with a companion at last.
 
Just thought of this as I was going off to do something else - I was at Monkey World yesterday and I noticed, as I've done before, that there are fewer or none of those aggressive zoogoers about. Instead, complete strangers chat to each other about the animals. The difference could be that if you go to MW, you are actually interested in animals, but if you go to Colchester, Paignton etc, it's just a day out with the kids.
Someone will now tell me that I've just been lucky :)
 
Luck probably does come into it but I also think you could be on to something as well. Larger zoos are always going to be better publicised, and will therefore be in the forefront of people's minds as a day out, whereas somewhere like Monkey World maybe isn't as well known, except in its immediate locality, unless you happen to have seen Monkey Life etc on TV. There's probably also an element of some people dismissing Monkey World as only having monkeys (because of course apes are monkeys according to some ......), and therefore not being interesting enough !
 
GillP said:
Across the wobbly bridge the otters were very lively. Unless I am imagining it I have only ever seen 1 otter on all previous visits, if that's correct, it's good to see it with a companion at last.
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Yeah, I've only seen one otter for about the last year, its good that she (I believe its a female) has got some compny now. Since being moved in with the langurs the otters seem more active than when they were kept in the old round otter house.
 
GillP said:
Luck probably does come into it but I also think you could be on to something as well. Larger zoos are always going to be better publicised, and will therefore be in the forefront of people's minds as a day out
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you are both correct in your summary. Go to many of the 'lesser' wildlife parks/bird gardens/animal collections and unless you are very unlucky, you'll find the same relaxed & tranquil atmosphere, quite different from the bigger 'mainstream' zoos. Places from the size of Cotswold, Cricket St Thomas, Jersey downwards fall into this bracket.

Although I am pretty active on this forum I only rarely visit the bigger collections nowadays for just that very reason, and when I do go I am careful as to when I visit to try and minimise the crowds. When i went to Twycross last year it was a mid week day but still not an enjoyable experience(apart from my gripes about the zoo generally) but as zoos exist for people, that's just a fact of life.
 
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I won't let the less desirable visitors stop my visits though, as summer gets underway, I'll change my visiting hours to try and avoid the bulk of them. It helps to have like-minded people to grumble to. And there is some consolation from relating the horror stories to incredulous non-zoo goers :D
 
We are more winter zoo goers, we love it being quiet and the animals are always more active and I don't have to use my BIG ELBOWS to get a good look!

Although without all the summer one off zoogoers they wouldnt keep going, they dont make a lot of us with our platinium cards and 2 coffees :rolleyes:
 
:D I also enjoy staring intently into empty enclosures (no visible animals) with my camera poised just see how many people come and look and then walk away puzzled :p
 
We are more winter zoo goers, we love it being quiet and the animals are always more active and I don't have to use my BIG ELBOWS to get a good look!
I couldn't agree more!!! I hate having to barge in and fight for a look!! You have your big elbows ... I simply grow roots - particularly infront of Rajang :), and refuse point blank to move despite all the tuts and shoves from all directions! Some of the comments the zoo-daytrippers come out with re the animals etc are unbelievable and often infuritating too!! I dread to think how many times Rajang has been called a 'big red monkey' and the black Jaguar at Chester is referred to as a Puma despite it having signs up!!!! Still, they keep the money flowing to keep the animals well fed I guess!!
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Andiii said:
... I simply grow roots - particularly infront of Rajang :), and refuse point blank to move despite all the tuts and shoves from all directions!
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Same here. When I used to visit Bulu she'd come over to the glass and we'd go through my bag of 'interesting things' until she got fed up. I'd hear things like 'the lady will let you have a turn in a minute'. But as soon as 'the lady' went, so did the 'monkey' :D.
I was recently in Monkey Heights entertaining, and being entertained by, a macaque when a school party came along and were urged by the adult 'to come and have a look at this'. I couldn't bear being surrounded by them so I walked off, with the macaque doing the same on his side of the glass!
(I'm not quite so mean spirited if people are really interested!)
 
Gigit said:
Same here. When I used to visit Bulu she'd come over to the glass and we'd go through my bag of 'interesting things' until she got fed up.
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Ha Ha, I like it!! You've got me intrigued though - who was Buluh and moreover, just what was in your bag of 'interesting things'??? LOL. I obviously need to work on my technique a little! :)
 
I find it interesting that some of you (re above posts: Andiii and Gigit) will block a viewing area and refuse to move for other visitors and think that's a good thing to brag about, and yet if there was a normal (for want of a better term) person there doing the same thing you would no doubt complain till you were blue in the face.
 
Chlidonias said:
I find it interesting that some of you (re above posts: Andiii and Gigit) will block a viewing area and refuse to move for other visitors and think that's a good thing to brag about, and yet if there was a normal (for want of a better term) person there doing the same thing you would no doubt complain till you were blue in the face.
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On the contrary, as I go to the zoo a lot, I'll just go back to that area another time. I'd do the same at any other zoo that I was visiting for the day. I can find many worse things to complain about at the zoo than someone looking at an animal that I'd like to see.
My point about Bulu (a female orang who died last year aged 47) and the macaque was that they chose to come over to me, a familiar face, so I wouldn't move on till they wanted me to. As I stood at just one part of a large viewing window, there was plenty of room for others to see the orangs/macaques. But they wanted to see the interaction I'd instigated, thinking it would continue once I'd left.
 
Andiii said:
Ha Ha, I like it!! You've got me intrigued though - who was Buluh and moreover, just what was in your bag of 'interesting things'??? LOL. I obviously need to work on my technique a little! :)
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Bulu was the old female orang at Paignton who sadly died a year ago aged 47. We built up a good relationship over the years and she enjoyed looking at different objects that did something, like some toys available from Hawkins Bazaar for instance. It all started by just showing her things I was carrying about with me, and progressed to me being the only person in a toyshop looking for amusements for an orangutan rather than a child :)
 
I think the indoor viewing area of the Mary le Fevre Ape House at Paignton was badly designed. The show dens are very spacious but the viewing area is so restricted that on busy days people are crammed three or four deep in a very small space to view the Apes, particularly the Gorillas. As this is a Colchester thread, I'll add that from the photos the indoor viewing areas in the new 'Orangutan Forest' there seem to be pretty extensive and I would always prefer to look at, or up to Orangs and Gorillas rather than(mostly) down on them as at Paignton.
 
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