Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo news 2024

There's a scheme underway by some breeders in East Anglia UK to create a strain of non-migratory Turtle doves that won't have to undergo that danger if they stay in the UK year round. Collared doves are being used as foster parents, possibly to increase the number of successful breedings.
 
Pertinax said:
There's a scheme underway by some breeders in East Anglia UK to create a strain of non-migratory Turtle doves that won't have to undergo that danger if they stay in the UK year round. Collared doves are being used as foster parents, possibly to increase the number of successful breedings.
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It’s actually domestic Barbary Doves that are used as fosters to increase production. Each pair of Turtles gets to rear at least one brood. Turtledove Trust has been breeding and soft releasing for several years now, with supplemental feeding of released birds
 
I'd quite like to see a zoo build an aviary complex to house various species of doves and pigeons. Maybe introduce with a video of both in popular culture - Jack Duckworth's pigeons in Coronation Street, Dastardly and Muttley's catch the pigeon and the pigeon lady in Home Alone 2 and the turtle doves Kevin gets from the toy shop then we meet the real life pigeons and doves from around the world - Pink Pigeons, Bleeding Heart Doves, Victoria crowned pigeons and Turtle Doves. Get the band Pigeon Detectives to open it. Would really raise awareness of these charismatic species
 
FBBird said:
It’s actually domestic Barbary Doves that are used as fosters to increase production. Each pair of Turtles gets to rear at least one brood. Turtledove Trust has been breeding and soft releasing for several years now, with supplemental feeding of released birds
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Yes, I knew it was Barbary Doves but wrote the wrong thing... I wonder if they have evidence of the scheme working i.e. with survival rates and proof of over-wintering etc?
 
Had a good day out at Colchester today. Bright and cold, was pretty busy and some of the narrower walkthroughs etc were a bit crowded at times, but varying the route turned up some nice quiet moments.

I do notice the lack of birds (though there are some nice hornbills etc) and was just thinking about that today.

One of the things I did notice was a survey around the zoo concerning 'under represented' species (birds, reptiles and amphibians) being conducted with the zoo and Writtle University College.

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Scanning the QR code opened a simple survey about dwell time, the sort of animals the visitor had come to see, how long you were spending at an enclosure and what made you spend time there (keeper interaction, information etc). There was also a question on whether seeing animals was important with a few questions about viewing angles and windows / enclosure size. Interesting given the discussion above. I expect I was something of an oddity declaring my long dwell time at the vultures! Mind you they had just been fed.

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Also enjoyed seeing the Goeldi's monkeys in their new cleared viewing windows as that was in progress on my last trip.

Highlight of the visit for me was the Philippine spotted deer fawn, really pretty. A keeper explained the female deer has an old injury and a plate in her leg so was limping. The male was showing great interest in the female and she appeared to have had enough and lay down in front of him a few times, but later on the fawn was with both of them and they were all enjoying the sun. Nice to see them. As mentioned above the pig signs are all gone, so guessing they have moved on. Was also lovely to see the young crane again, now with mostly adult plumage.
 
I had a brief first visit of the year on Sunday afternoon, here are a few things I noticed:
  • It was nice to see the new Goeldi's monkeys as well as all 3 Tamanduas snuggling together at Worlds Apart.
  • Orangutans once again (I'm beginning to sound like a broken record) being quite active foraging in the indoor enclosure for food with Tatty swinging around and spending time in the top half of the area too, good to see.
  • As DesertRhino mentioned the developments at Inca Trail seem to now be complete, they may not be the most noticeable for non regulars but there are 2 new big blue gates at each end of the path, I guess allowing it to be shut off if necessary in icy weather with its extreme gradient.
  • I saw both barbary Macaque youngsters grooming with their mothers at Out of Africa, they are getting so big!
  • A lot of maintenance seems to have taken place since my last visit in early November, notably:
  • The bush bordering the main road has been cut down a bit and is now significantly shorter than before.
  • Plants being cut down especially in the area around the lakes- you can now see the enclosures opposite Dragons of the Komodo from Otter Creek (I was able to get my first view of male Cheetah Abasi in the space he has fairly recently moved in to) and vice versa. You can get much better views of the lakes also, it is quite easy to see the island next to the recently refurbished ice cream shop. It is very noticeable when looking in and through the wolf enclosure at Call of The Wild as well.
  • Going past the outdoor Aardvark area, one of the trio was outside briefly, although it headed in as I entered the Burrow, where the other two individuals were asleep.
  • The Philippine Spotted Deer family were nicely huddled up together in their shelter in the damp weather.
  • There was still ice in one of the ponds at World of Wings, despite it having warmed up a bit from the colder temperatures experienced at one point last week.
Nice first visit of the year and hopefully I will be back before long.
 
Panthera1981 said:
Is the plan to phase out the chimps? I didn’t see them on the link.
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DesertRhino150 said:
The map in the link definitely isn't complete - I remember when the masterplan was first announced, the zoo said (in response to a question on Facebook) that the sea lions and penguins would both be staying in the same place.

That being said, part of me does wonder if the bonobos will end up replacing the chimps - I don't think the chimps will be bred any more, and there aren't that many left now (five, I think?).
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I wouldn't be surprised if the long term plan is to phase out the chimps, especially considering the masterplan details the addition of two new great ape species, as well as a brand new quality exhibit for the existing orangutans. Even though some areas aren't mentioned on the new map, I think that just means that those areas will not be at all new, especially as a lot of the existing exhibits not mentioned are still visually shown (Playa Patagonia, Dragons of Komodo, Bears of The Rising Sun, Chimp Lookout), and there should be no reason to expect the unprovoked demolition of these areas (two of which are the most expensive enclosures ever constructed at Colchester Zoo).

Despite this chances are chimps could also be on the way out, as they are pretty much all related, and I believe they are all hybrid subspecies. They range between 14 (Talia) to nearly 40 (Tara) so even if they are being phased out the likelihood is they will not all have passed away by the time this masterplan is complete however (whenever that is), but thankfully with the recent upgrades turning Chimp World into the more modern Chimpanzee Lookout the current exhibit should be able to last the group for a while yet. This should also apply if the zoo do deicide to go into the breeding programme for a pure subspecies, at least while the group is still in single digits. I'm not sure if the group being completely moved out together is very likely especially so soon after the significant improvements to their exhibit.
 
The news article about the birth of the Philippine spotted deer (#18 on the first page of the thread) has been updated to confirm that the youngster is a male. The young animal is yet to be named, but will get a name that begins with 'F' - following the pattern where the parents and three preceding offspring have all been named in alphabetical order.
 
Visited today
27/01/24
Highlights of the day
- Seeing all 5 Dikdik running around together in their enclosure
- The wolves were very active running around as the trains went past
- Was nice to see the crocodile swimming around its pond rather than lying still

Looking at the potential new map of the savannah in particular, it seems apparent that the elephants will be moving, do we think the zoo has any plans to bring in more zebra/antelope as it’s quite sad seeing only 2 of each walking around when they’re herd animals.

I’m really hopeful they introduce Okapi to the zoo as well.
 
Benmad1994 said:
Visited today
27/01/24
Highlights of the day
- Seeing all 5 Dikdik running around together in their enclosure
- The wolves were very active running around as the trains went past
- Was nice to see the crocodile swimming around its pond rather than lying still

Looking at the potential new map of the savannah in particular, it seems apparent that the elephants will be moving, do we think the zoo has any plans to bring in more zebra/antelope as it’s quite sad seeing only 2 of each walking around when they’re herd animals.

I’m really hopeful they introduce Okapi to the zoo as well.
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Nice but what do you mean the elephants will be moving ?
 
Rajang-GOAT said:
On the masterplan the African Elephants are set to be given a new much larger exhibit complex, on some of the new land that is at least partly currently occupied by the car park. In short the elephants should be moving to a new enclosure eventually.
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I know this is the plan, but moving the elephants seems a total waste of money to me! They already have a perfectly adequate enclosure!
 
I believe it's because of new zoo regulations and standards being introduced meaning the minimum enclosure requirements for elephants are being drastically changed.
 
Rajang-GOAT said:
On the masterplan the African Elephants are set to be given a new much larger exhibit complex, on some of the new land that is at least partly currently occupied by the car park. In short the elephants should be moving to a new enclosure eventually.
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Does the masterplan mention what will be going in the old elephant enclosure, as I have always thought it was rather good (although indeed it could be better, and the bull yard did feel a little small for me - hopefully the new one will have better grass coverage, although I suspect that it is a difficult thing to maintain with elephants!)?

EDIT: Re-read your post and looked at the map you alluded to, and I see that the elephant enclosure will be incorporated into the savannah, and that the new one is surely close to three times the size. This new masterplan will be spectacular!

On an unrelated note, and apologies for my ignorance, but I see no mention of the Bonobos on the masterplan map - have their plans been scrapped, or are they simply more long-term with the map only showing the earlier stages?
 
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pipaluk said:
I know this is the plan, but moving the elephants seems a total waste of money to me! They already have a perfectly adequate enclosure!
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Although there is nothing much wrong with it in particular, especially given the current number of individuals, it could definitely be better as it is turning 26 years old next month- I am sure it is in the handful of oldest exhibits at the zoo not having undergone significant redevelopment. We also need to remember that the new elephant exhibit (along with many other developments from the masterplan) could not be for quite a few years yet. Especially this build will not be one of the first on the plan as it requires the current car park (as well as new land?) to be built on. This would be backed up by the fact that the zoo have already mentioned that developments of enrichment and security to Elephant Kingdom will be taking place in 2024, suggesting it's having quality of life improvements to make it as good as it can be in its current form until then. However I do agree that by then it will probably be the right decision for Colchester Zoo, as controversy over the keeping of elephants in zoos is certainly present and the moment and could grow, a new complex would also help the zoo to continue and make their next steps with the elephant herd in whatever state it will be in when the time for their new exhibit eventually arises.
 
Kalaw said:
On an unrelated note, and apologies for my ignorance, but I see no mention of the Bonobos on the masterplan map - have their plans been scrapped, or are they simply more long-term with the map only showing the earlier stages?
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The map of the masterplan isn't complete (the okapi aren't mentioned on it either), and I definitely haven't heard anything suggesting the bonobos have been scrapped - any time the masterplan is mentioned in detail, the bonobos are still mentioned as one of the three planned new species.

What I am perhaps most interested by is what will happen to the former enclosures that will be left empty if the masterplan goes ahead - some pretty big enclosures such as the lions, orangutans and pygmy hippos will become available.
 
DesertRhino150 said:
The map of the masterplan isn't complete (the okapi aren't mentioned on it either), and I definitely haven't heard anything suggesting the bonobos have been scrapped - any time the masterplan is mentioned in detail, the bonobos are still mentioned as one of the three planned new species.

What I am perhaps most interested by is what will happen to the former enclosures that will be left empty if the masterplan goes ahead - some pretty big enclosures such as the lions, orangutans and pygmy hippos will become available.
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Colchester? Personally, whilst for some small animals, they may make nice enclosures, I don't think I've ever heard anyone refer to the Lion enclosure as pretty big.
 
Alwaysevergreen said:
Colchester? Personally, whilst for some small animals, they may make nice enclosures, I don't think I've ever heard anyone refer to the Lion enclosure as pretty big.
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That's fair - more what I meant was that while the lion and probably the pygmy hippo enclosures (even after the recent expansion) aren't big for their current inhabitants, it would still open up a fair chunk of land for potential new enclosures.

Walking around the zoo today, a few other enclosures that I remembered are due to become vacant are the gelada enclosure and the vulture aviary. And if the 'zoo farm' on the new map replaces the Familiar Friends area, that is a big parcel of land that will become available.
 
As for the visit today, there isn't much new that I recall - these are the things I remember off the top of my head:
  • There has been a switcharound with some of the lizards - the first display in Worlds Apart (formerly for the male Fiji iguana) is now home to the female Fiji iguanas, the second display in Worlds Apart (formerly for the female Fiji iguanas) is now home to the Solomon Island skinks and the former skink display in Heart of the Amazon is now home to the male Fiji iguana.
  • I could only see three mangabeys - the large male was calling rather spectacularly. I know that one of the smaller (female?) mangabeys had been getting picked on by the others, but I don't know whether she's been separated or if I just didn't spot her.
  • I think there is only one radiated tortoise remaining in the enclosure in the Elephant Kingdom house.
  • Not necessarily zoo animal related, but there is a mink monitoring raft on the stream running parallel to the queue area for the road train. There are signs up explaining what it is there for.
 
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