Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo news 2013

From a facebook post Colchester Zoo confirms 2 panda cubs were born 19th June.

Also via UKzooguide on facebook a post from The Cornish seal sanctuary 'babyface' is not so innocent or old!! (ex Colchester zoo)
*May we introduce our new (and rather unexpected!) arrival!*
Our newest resident, a beautiful Common Seal pup, was born on Saturday to mum Sija, and dad Babyface. Both mum and pup are doing well, and have been spending a lot of time bonding. We are all thrilled, and the birth comes as a bit of a surprise as dad Babyface, is thought to be the oldest Common Seal in the world at 36! We are keeping a close eye on his/her progress, so watch this space for more photos to come....
 
DesertRhino150 said:
I think it does look quite nice and understand why it was being built, but I think it just seems like a bit of an excessive enclosure for something that you could see for free in a pet shop or at Colchester Castle. I think a basic pond would have served the koi just as well and then opened up the building to keep more exotic species.
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Can i ask why it was built??

Also fantastic news about the Red Pandas, was wondering when i visited the other day why there was only one out and about! :D
 
Badgerman91 said:
Can i ask why it was built??
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I believe the koi formerly belonged to Raymond Sawyer, who posthumously donated them along with the giant and Burmese mountain tortoises to the zoo.

On another note, visited the zoo this afternoon. Here are some notes:
- Baby pileated gibbon continues to progress, and the adults are apparently showing an interest in it
- No sign of the red panda cubs (hardly surprising seeing as they are only 2 weeks old) or one of the adults
- The female rhinoceros hornbill was adding mud to the inside of her outdoor nest box
- Only saw one Francois langur today
- Oriental fire-bellied toads have replaced the emperor scorpions and Carolina green anoles the corn snakes in the Discovery Centre
- Several of the Chilean flamingos appeared to be sitting on 'mud-pie' nests- didn't see any eggs however
- African marine aquarium in Kingdom of the Wild is now completely filled
- Koi Niwa was closed today- wet floor signs were prevalent
- The pond turtle enclosure in Orangutan Forest has several new inhabitants; the full species list is now giant Asian pond and yellow-margined box turtles, clown and spanner loach, clown barb and banded archerfish
- The terraria in the elephant house (formerly housing star tortoises and Nile monitors) have been demolished and replaced with planted beds
- All signage for the Montserrat oriole has been removed and there was no sign of the bird itself
 
Article about the Aardvark-birth :
July 06, 2013
Another Aardvark Calf for Colchester Zoo

Aardvark Baby edited 13 small

Colchester Zoo’s group of Aardvarks welcomed a healthy offspring on March 15, adding to the most successful Aardvark breeding program in the United Kingdom and one of the most successful groups in Europe. The calf, whose gender has not been confirmed, was born to female Aardvark Oq.
Aardvark baby8
Photo Credit: Colchester Zoo

Sarah Forsyth, one of Colchester Zoo’s curators, said, “We believe the baby is female and she has grown a great deal already! She is starting to venture into the outside enclosure at night and as usual Oq is proving to be a great mother.” The new arrival will be named by keepers once the sex is confirmed.

Oq and baby are currently housed in the birthing burrow while the baby grows stronger. When the youngster is strong enough, they will join the rest of the group, who are notoriously clumsy. Until Oq and baby join the group on exhibit, visitors can see them via closed circuit television.

Aardvarks are native to grasslands and open woodlands througout sub-Saharan Africa. They feed on ants, termites, and fruits. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Aardvarks are listed as Vulnerable due to changes in land use and intensive crop farming.
Source : Zooborns
 
More news from today's visit:

- At least four young ring-tailed lemurs have been born in the walkthrough enclosure
- No sign of any black-and-white ruffed lemurs (I believe they might have all gone to Blair Drummond)
- Three smooth-coated otter pups were born on the 25th May
- Outer wall on the sun bear outdoor enclosure has been added since my last visit
- Signage was being put up early this afternoon on the new rufous hornbill aviary
- A baby golden lion tamarind was born on the 4th July
- Although neither species is visible, there was a savigny (or pharaoh) eagle owl chick born on 8th May and a barn owl chick born on 2nd June. Both species are in the off-display falconry mews.
 
Where have the last years litter of Smooth Coated Otters gone or are they still at Colchester??
 
Snippets of news from website;

-On the 20/21st June Red Panda, Liwei gave birth. It wasn’t until a few days later that this could be confirmed when two small bundles could just about be seen by looking through the hatch of the nest box. A little further on and Liwei was observed moving two cubs to one of the other nest boxes; there are three nest boxes in total and this behaviour of moving the cubs from box to box is quite normal.
-Smooth Coated Otter Chea gave birth on Saturday 25th May. She had kept the cubs hidden down a natural den in the enclosure so keepers were only able to hear noises coming from the Holt. After patiently waiting, keepers have seen 3 pups emerge from the den with Chea. Chea is proving to be a great mum and the pups are healthy and well.
-On 27th June, Meerkat Pippa, gave birth to another five healthy pups. This is her third litter in 2013, making it a total of thirteen pups for her this year already
-Since the 10th April our resident Humboldt Penguins have successfully hatched a number of chicks! The pairs of penguins to have raised chicks this year are: - first time parents Fizzy and Big Baby, Dotty and Sid, Becks and Regina, first time baby Boomerang and Tequila, Angel and Aslan, and Vera and Oreo!
 
My brother is a supervisor in the shop at the zoo and he said that one morning the keepers arrived and the red river hogs had got out of their enclosure, fortunately they managed to escort them back in before opening the zoo.
 
Combined news from a visit this morning and one made on Thursday last week:

- The baby pileated gibbon has now been named 'Akio'
- Sun bear outdoor enclosure is continuing well- the climbing frame and mock rock structure has been put up (here's hoping the landscaping helps soften the current appearance)
- A baby buffy-headed capuchin was born to mother Wicket and father Fabio on 29th June
- Saw all the new golden mantella as well as a pair of the bony-headed toads in Orangutan Forest
- One of the orangutans (unsure which) had ripped up a huge length of undersheet in the outdoor enclosure to cover itself with
- Part of the Komodo dragon exhibit was closed off so that a new computerised misting system could be added to the female enclosure
- There were three green anacondas in the enclosure at Worlds Apart, as opposed to the usual two
- There was a sloth in the tamandua side of the Worlds Apart walkthrough- the tamandua itself stayed inside and fast asleep
- The African marine tank at Kingdom of the Wild has become home to the zoo's school of African moony fish
- In the indoor area for the kunekune pigs there is an enclosure being built for a new group of sugar gliders due to arrive soon; while it will be nice to see these I wish that the feathertails could have returned instead
- The red-bellied lemurs have moved to 'Out of Africa' opposite the colobus monkeys, and there old enclosure is now empty and 'awaiting renovation'
- The new rufous hornbill enclosure (named 'Clock of the Mountain') looks pretty much finished now
- Visayan warty pigs and spotted deer were being fed separately; unfortunately much of the paddock looks completely ruined around the edges and back
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Visayan warty pigs and spotted deer were being fed separately; unfortunately much of the paddock looks completely ruined around the edges and back
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Are they still kept together? IMO this was never a good mixing- apart from how the animals get on, pigs of any sort ruin a paddock, making it less easy for the deer to move about or find grazing -they could even break their legs in the furrows/holes the pigs make too. I think the deer are too valuable to risk them like that.
 
Pertinax said:
Are they still kept together? IMO this was never a good mixing- apart from how the animals get on, pigs of any sort ruin a paddock, making it less easy for the deer to move about or find grazing -they could even break their legs in the furrows/holes the pigs make too. I think the deer are too valuable to risk them like that.
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I didn't hang around long enough to see if they were put in together, although I wouldn't be too surprised if they did seeing as a large part of the lower end of the zoo is now advertising the 'new' exhibit. I would agree that it would have been best to continue focusing on the deer; they have kept them for longer and seem to have a larger herd than elsewhere.
 
DesertRhino150 said:
I would agree that it would have been best to continue focusing on the deer; they have kept them for longer and seem to have a larger herd than elsewhere.
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I think they have 1.3(?) but afaik they have not actually bred them yet. I may be wrong there.
 
DesertRhino150 said:
- In the indoor area for the kunekune pigs there is an enclosure being built for a new group of sugar gliders due to arrive soon; while it will be nice to see these I wish that the feathertails could have returned instead-
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Agreed! I'll be having a first visit to the collection in a little over a fortnight, and it is a shame such an attractive species has left the collection - and the UK.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Agreed! I'll be having a first visit to the collection in a little over a fortnight, and it is a shame such an attractive species has left the collection - and the UK.
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Agreed, but i'm still pleased to see a new species arriving at the zoo.

It was mentioned earlier the red bellied lemur are now opposite the colobus, i assume where the Sclaters lemur were previously- what has happened to them?
 
pipaluk said:
Agreed, but i'm still pleased to see a new species arriving at the zoo.

It was mentioned earlier the red bellied lemur are now opposite the colobus, i assume where the Sclaters lemur were previously- what has happened to them?
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I remembered seeing something about the Sclaters lemur on Facebook- it says that they are on the lemur island viewable from the road train (I think where the red-bellied lemurs were previously) but would leave the collection after a recommendation was received. I haven't seen them at all on my recent visits, so they may have already gone.
 
DesertRhino150 said:
I remembered seeing something about the Sclaters lemur on Facebook- it says that they are on the lemur island viewable from the road train (I think where the red-bellied lemurs were previously) but would leave the collection after a recommendation was received. I haven't seen them at all on my recent visits, so they may have already gone.
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Thanks, even though that wasn't necessarily the news i wanted to hear!
 
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