Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo News 2018

popped in today and the zoo was packed which i suppose is good for the zoo bringing in all at that cash. But it looks like they are back down to 4 female zebras no sign of the Male.

Otto mated Emily 3 times while i was there, he seems to settled back in very well, he not to keen on Astrid tho she kept trying to get in the way of the mating and was a lot of snorting going on.

A lot of small fish have been added to the crocodile pool and more tiger barbs next to the chimps.

Saw all three young wolves sleeping together no sign of the male anywhere might have been in the den.

Would love to know what happened to Cedric after he just disappeared from the collection

Saw one of the warthogs out and about which is a first in a long time
 
The zoo has released news about the new young rock hyraxes. There are five of them, born in July 2018 to the zoo's two female hyrax named Helga and Hazel just a few days apart from each other.
Since their birth, Hazel died but her young are all being cared for by the lone female Helga; the keepers are monitoring the progress of these animals closely.

The full article is included below:
Meet our 5 new arrivals! - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo

Does anyone know where the two female hyrax came from and when they arrived? It would be useful for finding out what subspecies is being kept at Colchester.
 
Went this afternoon for a short visit Kingdom of the wild house was only half open the bottom section was closed off with tape across it. There was no sign of either female kudu out in the paddock so wondering if they have had a arrivel of new male to replace Cedric. Also Otto appeared to be being kept inside today. went back twice to see if he appeared on the hard stand but with no luck. Baby hyrax are very active playing about inside the run. one of the Tamandua's was outside feeding for a short while before going back inside.
 
I paid a visit also today and noticed a lot of work going on sporadically around the crowded zoo,including the bottom of the Wild House,as 4ways NAP stated,and the Lion Rock section was being renovated,and the Pied Tamarins enclosure off limits. A keeper mentioned that one of the kudu's had just given birth,whether this is confirmed or not later on the official site.The Patas Monkeys were with the pygmy hippos but did not get to see them. Surprisingly,i did not see the Ellies either,big as they are.
What frustrated me was how busy with families it was today,clogging up certain viewing windows.
 
@Eric the patas monkeys are sharing with the colobus monkeys opposite the pygmy hippos but if they're outside you can sometimes see them over the fence by the outdoor hippo wallow.
 
Great news about the Greater Kudu birth...the zoo is long overdue an ungulate birth!

The new admissions building seems to be going up at a good pace...the zoo has paid a lot of attention to visitor attractions in the past couple of years
(new restaurants/food outlets, toilets, mini zoo). With the zoo becoming busier and busier I do think the zoo needs to discuss with the local council about the road access to the zoo both for cars and public transport as the last few times I have visited on weekends I have been stuck in bad traffic on the approach to the zoo which has resulted in multiple cars turn around (which is loss of income for the zoo and also annoyed potential customers) and with the large scale housing developments going on aswell as the restaurants going up near the Sainsbury’s the whole area is only going to get worse!
 
I got to the zoo rather late.12.40 ish,so even in 5hrs or so walking up,down,in and out,dictated by the throngs,i did not check all,so missed some out.But I really do love the lay out. Will post some pix soon.The Bush Dogs are not best suited by the queue for the train.The Orang house was bustling,saw the orangs but no clear pics.
 
Eric said:
I paid a visit also today and noticed a lot of work going on sporadically around the crowded zoo,including the bottom of the Wild House,as 4ways NAP stated,and the Lion Rock section was being renovated,and the Pied Tamarins enclosure off limits. A keeper mentioned that one of the kudu's had just given birth,whether this is confirmed or not later on the official site.The Patas Monkeys were with the pygmy hippos but did not get to see them. Surprisingly,i did not see the Ellies either,big as they are.
What frustrated me was how busy with families it was today,clogging up certain viewing windows.
Click to expand...
That great news always say one thing colchester lack sometimes is the number of births compared to other zoos. Wonder if the new female they brought in was already pregnant and they was unaware like when they first had kudu. I know Cedric was a non breeding male so he can't be the father, just seemed strange where he has gone. I also wanted to go see the bush dogs but was unable to get close due to the long queue, i know its making space of empty space but can't view unless your going on the train.
 
Can anyone give anymore details about the Lion Rock extention regarding the lion area? What is involved? Will it be much bigger?

Any pictures would be great. Thanks
 
A couple of pieces of news have been released on the zoo's website:

- The latest blue duiker calf has been sexed as a female and has been named Penelope.
Blue Duiker calf is a girl! - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo

- A pair of crowned lemurs have arrived at Colchester Zoo, the first time in the zoo's history this species has been held. The female (named Triskie) arrived on 23rd July and the male (named Ala) arrived on 26th July. They are being mixed in with the red-bellied and ring-tailed lemurs in the Lost Madagascar walkthrough.
Two lemurs leaping! - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo
 
Notes from a visit over the weekend

Red Panda cub was poking her head out of the nesting box
-Kudu calf was visible when looking through the glass on the slope leading to the Pygmy hippos
-Colobus and Patas monkeys are now in their new enclosure by lion rock. Both were incredibly active
-Lion Rock extension is nearing completion; glass is now in place
-Indoor viewing of the Gibbons was closed off by barriers and I could only see the Male in the outdoor part of the enclosure so unsure of reason why?
 
Badgerman91 said:
Notes from a visit over the weekend

Red Panda cub was poking her head out of the nesting box
-Kudu calf was visible when looking through the glass on the slope leading to the Pygmy hippos
-Colobus and Patas monkeys are now in their new enclosure by lion rock. Both were incredibly active
-Lion Rock extension is nearing completion; glass is now in place
-Indoor viewing of the Gibbons was closed off by barriers and I could only see the Male in the outdoor part of the enclosure so unsure of reason why?
Click to expand...

I was just coming along to say the same after our visit on Saturday. - the little Kudu is very sweet indeed!

On the subject of the bush dogs - tbh we found it easy to view them and you can do so without going all the way down the queue.

No luck spotting the crowned lemur from outside the walkthrough though. It does bug me that you have to go on the train for this.
 
Last edited:
Badgerman91 said:
Notes from a visit over the weekend

Red Panda cub was poking her head out of the nesting box
-Kudu calf was visible when looking through the glass on the slope leading to the Pygmy hippos
-Colobus and Patas monkeys are now in their new enclosure by lion rock. Both were incredibly active
-Lion Rock extension is nearing completion; glass is now in place
-Indoor viewing of the Gibbons was closed off by barriers and I could only see the Male in the outdoor part of the enclosure so unsure of reason why?
Click to expand...
 

Attachments

  • DSC_4146.JPG
    DSC_4146.JPG
    85.4 KB · Views: 8
I think she came from Arnhem - who have now gone out of Warthogs. The rest of her former group are now residing at Sosto
 
Went for quite a long visit today; unfortunately almost as soon as I arrived I realised I had left my camera memory card in my laptop at home, so all these observations are relying on my memory:

Species Arrivals and Departures
  • The bearded dragons have been removed from their terrarium in the Sensation Station and the terrarium itself has been completely emptied.
  • There was no sign today of either the new crowned lemurs or the red-bellied lemurs in the Lost Madagascar walkthrough – the exhibit is simply too heavily planted with bamboo to be effective.
  • Although it is still signed, I saw no sign of the rock beauty angelfish in the Worlds Apart Caribbean aquarium.

Developments
  • The butterfly splitfin aquarium opposite Penguin Shores has now been boarded up as well; it seems most of the fish within that aquarium have now been released into the slender-snouted crocodile pool.
  • The patas and colobus monkey mixed enclosure was in use today; both species (comprising two patas and three colobus) were using the space well and seemed comfortable with each other.
  • There is signage indicating there are coppery titi monkeys in the old South American walkthrough nearer the entrance. There is still a pair in the Worlds Apart walkthrough – I am not sure if that means those two will move over to the older walkthrough or if new animals are to arrive.

General Observations
  • Both the tamandua (I have only seen one on the past few visits) and two aardvarks were in their outdoor enclosures today.
  • For the first time, saw the Solomon Island skinks – there are at least two of them, which I saw in the hollow cork bark logs suspended from the high branches in their enclosure.
  • Saw two warthogs in Edge of Africa – I assume the newly arrived female was one of the animals I saw.
  • In the Southern Wilds exhibit in Familiar Friends, the two Darwin's rhea are now together with the two alpaca and a single llama; the second llama is now separated off in the other exhibit where one of the Darwin's rhea was kept separately until recently.
 
Just seen a reply by Colchester Zoo on a Facebook comment; the Asia Minor spiny mice have left the zoo and moved to a private collection. That now leaves Colchester with no species of wild rodents - only domestic rats on-show and domestic guinea pigs used in encounter sessions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top