Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo News 2019

Went for a visit to Colchester Zoo this morning. This is everything of note that I recall:

Species Arrivals, Departures and Movements
- The new Fiji banded iguana is living in the enclosure in Worlds Apart opposite to the rhinoceros iguanas
- New signage has been added for the Wilds of Asia fishes - as well as the new barbs mentioned in my last report, the rainbow sharkminnow Epalzeorhynchos frenatum (called the red-tailed shark on the signage) has also been added
- A new species of small sucker-mouthed catfish (unsigned) have been added with the butterfly splitfins in the slender-snouted crocodile pool
- The Cuban crocodile has now left the collection and its enclosure in the Komodo dragon house will be redeveloped
- There are now at least two Southern tamanduas on-show again in the indoor area of the South American walkthrough

Developments
- The pygmy hippopotamus indoor extension is now being built, with the old patas monkey enclosure now demolished and the new foundations being laid
- All three of the larger terraria (formerly the tree boa/mud turtle, Nile monitor/lungfish and tree boa/radiated tortoise) in Kingdom of the Wild have been emptied and are being refurbished. New glass has been added to the old monitor lizard enclosure and it looks like all three terraria may be combined
- A new platform has been added next to the lion enclosure that looks like it will be used for public training sessions
 
DesertRhino150 said:
. . . the rainbow sharkminnow Epalzeorhynchos frenatum (called the red-tailed shark on the signage) has also been added
. . .new platform . . . looks like it will be used for public training sessions
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Epalzeorhynchus frenatus used to be called the red-finned shark(minnow).
Training the public in Essex is probably going to be a dangerous job, so I hope the platform is a nice high one :) (I worked as a teacher on the other side of the county for several years).
 
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gentle lemur said:
Epalzeorhynchus frenatus used to be called the red-finned shark(minnow).
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But the Red-tailed Shark is bicolor.

I have only ever known frenatus as the Rainbow Shark (which is kind of a weird name if I think about it, because they aren't exactly rainbow-coloured...).
 
Chlidonias said:
But the Red-tailed Shark is bicolor.

I have only ever known frenatus as the Rainbow Shark (which is kind of a weird name if I think about it, because they aren't exactly rainbow-coloured...).
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Red-finned is/was a common pet trade name for frenatus, in the UK at least. Red-tailed always referred to bicolor; I guess whoever designed the signage simply got them mixed up.
 
14556 said:
We are bringing new heights to Colchester Zoo - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo

Sad to see the display arena go for a kiddies high rope course. I wonder how we'll see most of the displays animals in the little sensation station hut??
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I imagine they might be discontinuing the shows to stop anymore birds from plunging into the lion enclosure.
As for the animals moving to the Sensation Station, I cannot imagine very many animals making the transfer over there - maybe the skunks and the flightless scarlet macaw? Beyond that I struggle to think of any animals in the shows that would be suitable for sharing such a confined space with the public.

I think this will only result in the bird situation at Colchester becoming even more ridiculous than it is now.
 
The zoo might surprise us all by building some aviaries around the zoo? I can think of a few areas that could be changed or convertered fairly easy for the birds as the displays team have a fairly nice collection of birds which would be a shame to lose.

Also would be nice to see the serval, skunks, coati on show.

If the new high wire attraction helps bring in more income to help fund more ambitious builds in the future then I guess it’s a good thing!
 
Badgerman91 said:
Also would be nice to see the serval, skunks, coati on show.
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I would say Coati's on show is highly unlikely. A lot of big zoo's wont have them on show now, as they are an Invasive species and can't be bred, so the only Zoo's really showing them are the smaller ones now like farm parks with zoo licenses and smaller zoo's. A lot of big zoo's are off loading their Coati's at present.
 
Reading through the zoos Facebook feed the removal of the displays area seems very unpopular with the public...
 
It baffles me why they would choose this particular area as it is hardly that spacious if they are looking to create a “Go-Ape” type experience.

It does seem as though the zoo is increasingly focused on the visitor facilities developments with the restaurants, admissions building & shop/cafe and now this.

On a visit today I actually walked the entire zoo as it was quiet (as this was my first visit in a while which wasn’t either a school holiday or weekend) and there is quite a lot of the far part of the zoo that is wasted such as the area behind the Vultures and also the edge of Africa area of the zoo I personally think needs a new breath of life as some of the other regular Colchester visitors I work with very rarely venture down to that part, so I hope the zoo focuses back on the constant development or redevelopment of animal exhibits like it has previously!
 
I went for another visit to Colchester for a couple of hours this morning. This is what I noted that was new to me:

Species Arrivals, Departures and Movements
- The terrarium in the elephant house has been completed and is now home to the zoo's radiated tortoises and Madagascar tree boas
- There is an aviary partly visible through the vegetation behind the Sensation Station that is housing a macaw - although I couldn't see it completely I think it was a green-winged macaw

Developments
- The terrariums in the Kingdom of the Wild House continue; the middle enclosure seems to be a large tank of water with a small island and a couple of flat banks, the left-hand terrarium is about two-thirds land to one-third water and the right-hand one looks to be all land.
 
Gigit said:
Are there any whispers about female orangs arriving at some point?
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Having done a few experiences there recently and met the Orang, whilst they would like to bring in a female or another Orang in due course, this is not something they have suggested is imminent. Certainly I wouldn't expect to see anymore Orangs arrive in the near future.
 
Zooreviewsuk said:
Having done a few experiences there recently and met the Orang, whilst they would like to bring in a female or another Orang in due course, this is not something they have suggested is imminent. Certainly I wouldn't expect to see anymore Orangs arrive in the near future.
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That's very surprising and disappointing :(
 
Visited this morning only a couple things to add from the above posts;

-New admissions building now open...it has been done very well imo and passholders and pre-booked tickets can now actually go straight through rather than get caught up in the queues. Still more work going on around to complete the development.
-Tembo (Bull Elephant) has recovered well from his dental surgery and was back out in his outdoor paddock after only a few days after
 
I went for a few hours to Colchester today; here are some of the things I noticed particularly:

Species Arrivals, Departures and Movements
- The aviary behind the Sensation Station is now home to at least one of the blue-and-yellow macaws, presumably an ex-show bird
- There are now at least five freshwater butterflyfish in the ant colony tank in Kingdom of the Wild, where on previous visits there has just been one

Births
- The first baby ring-tailed lemur of the year was born on 27th March 2019 on the Lemur Island
- Although I didn't see it, I heard the commentary from the road train that suggests there has been another recent birth in the gelada troop

Developments
- The three new terraria in Kingdom of the Wild have really taken shape, with the following designs noted:
  • The leftmost terrarium (about two-thirds land, one third sunken concrete area that will presumably contain water) has several branches sticking out of the water area with the land area mostly containing lower ground-based plants such as bromeliads
  • The middle terrarium looks completed - the island has a couple of live bamboo plants, there are two smaller land areas in both back corners with heat lamps suspended above them and the pool is filled with the waterfall at the back now running
  • The rightmost terrarium is perhaps the oddest - the plants are still in the process of being added but do include some small trees and bushes; the entrance to the exhibit is hidden behind a woven wooden board and the front of the exhibit has a number of twigs added in the space between the glass and the railway sleepers that contain the soil and plants
- The leaf-cutting ant colony has full access to their island again, with a large number of ants making the journey across

General Observations
- Saw my first wild brown rat at the zoo for quite a few years; it was in the Lost Madagascar walkthrough chasing and being chased in turn by one of the ring-tailed lemurs
 
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