Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo news 2015

Communityzoo said:
Perhaps there was a recommendation to suddenly keep these deer on bark chip, who knows, but the factor that precipitated it seem to be the introduction of the pigs.
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I rather doubt it. Other groups in the UK still live on grass. I think they did the mixed exhibit and the Warty Pigs then ruined the grass paddock quickly, so they redid it as a bark-chip paddock. I felt sorry to see the Deer now with no grazing whatsoever- though they do provide browse in the form of tree branches I think. Its also interesting how this group of Phillipine Deer seem to have remained constant at 1.3. for a long time, with no evidence of breeding.

I would prefer to seem the two species kept as Newquay does, adjacent but not together so that the Deer's paddock remains intact.
 
I have to disagree with the suggestion that they should scrap the mixed African exhibit & double the size of the elephant paddock! There is nothing wrong with the size of the elephant enclosures, there aren't many better ones in the UK that I can think of, Whipsnade possibly or Howletts. I can't think of any zoo that gives their bull better space. Also it's unlikely they will breed from the current group again.
However I will concede that the pygmy hippo accommodation is the worst I have seen in the UK( never been to South Lakes).
 
Went on another long visit today, with not a great deal of news:

- With the death of Dume, the dominant male mandrill, it was interesting to see how some of the younger, lankier males were bickering amongst themselves. The most dominant of these males also then proceeded to mate with a log - not sure if this is normal or not?
- The eldest spotted hyena cub (Kalabi) is due to leave this coming Tuesday to form a new breeding pair at Beauval Zoo in France.
 
visit today,

1. The male giraffe Epesi has left the zoo
2. A new young female cheetah is due to join jack in the summer
3.Cameroon sheep have had lambs, twins and a single
4. 2 pygmy goat kids have been born
5. The revamp on the Inca Trail looks good only down side is the penguins have now lost the use of half the enclosure where they use to sit but now have a added beach
6.The redevelopment on the squirrel monkey is looking good.
7. load of new signs have been going up all round the zoo.
8. Emily was showing Otto who the boss is
 
I am going to colchester zoo today so I will take photos of the new penguin area and the squirrel monkey enclosure. :)
 
Had a visit today but didn't take any photos but i am going back Monday so i will just take some then.

The squirrel monkey enclosures are very good and i enjoyed watching them climb around their new enclosures.

The new look penguin enclosure is also very good but the music being played in the background is very annoying!

The new butterfly walk through has opened but only has 10 butterfly's at the moment until a lot more arrive in a couple of weeks.

Most of the daily animal displays have changed and the zoo now includes training sessions with the animals once a day. Today was the sun bears and i really enjoyed watching it.

Little work has started on the chimp development.

If you visit the zoo in holidays it is very busy but i would recommend going to the chimp feed at 4:15 as you get to help create some enrichment for the chimps which i thought was a good idea.

Will return next week and take photos of the new developments then!:)
 
banham.tiger said:
The new look penguin enclosure is also very good but the music being played in the background is very annoying!
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Fake Rock and Music are Colchester specialities, but many on here tend to forgive Colchester these downsides because it has such a good collection.:)
 
Have seen some photos on Facebook that seem to indicate that the spotted hyenas have had another cub - not unsurprising considering the female was heavily pregnant on my last visit.
 
The website has been updated with news of Epesi's departure. No mention of whether or not they plan to bring in a new male in the future

Epesi the male giraffe moves on to join bachelor group! - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo

The latest Aardvark baby (born in December) is confirmed as a male and has been given the name AJ (Adela Junior) after his father, Adela who is now confirmed to have died earlier in the year. Unfortunately this death leaves Colchester without a breeding male for now
It's a boy! - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo
 
Went on a six-hour visit today - here are some things I noted:

- The butterfly walkthrough now has inhabitants; almost all of them are one of the owl butterfly species although there was one individual of a second, unidentified species
- The two yellow-margined box turtles have moved with the Philippine sailfin lizard into the Heart of the Amazon iguana exhibit
- The updated Heart of the Amazon squirrel monkey enclosure is now open; the viewing windows along the ramp have all been removed, the climbing frame has been made taller, there are new large viewing windows at the bottom of the ramp and the enclosure is now open-topped
- The Ruppell's griffon vulture chick was just visible in one of the indoor covered areas at the back of the aviary
- The chimp redevelopment is well underway, with the outdoor public walkway now completely demolished; it looks like the new outdoor area will extend out towards the car park
- There is a webcam view into a bird box occupied by a blue tit in the Nature Reserve's viewing hide
- Although their enclosure was not viewable thanks to wet paint, it looks like new Asia Minor spiny mice have been added to their enclosure at Lion Rock
 
Been back there today and noted....

-There is now a wooden platform in the tiger enclosure.

-The exit has been slightly relocated due to the chimp work which is now well underway with part of the old mesh roof now gone.

- The lion tailed macaques have moved in with the Asian small clawed otters and binterong.

- The Francois langurs are soon to be moved into the old lion tailed macaque enclosure.

- The zoo now has two green anacondas instead of three.
 
Went for a visit today; here are some of the things I noticed:

- Lion-tailed macaques are back in their old enclosure, with just the otters and binturongs in the mixed-species enclosure
- Common roach and European minnows have been added to the sun bear pond
- A spotted porcupinefish has been added to the marine aquarium in Kingdom of the Wild

Nothing else was really of note.
 
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