Is it normally a male and three females now ? That loud noise the males make is called a 'whoop-gobble' call.
Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo news 2024
- Thread starter DesertRhino150
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Is it normally a male and three females now ? That loud noise the males make is called a 'whoop-gobble' call.
I had thought that it was two males (an adult male and his offspring) and two females. I know that was the group's configuration not too long ago, but I'm not sure if that had changed more recently.
Perhaps they've removed the younger male, leaving 1.2?
Kalaw
Well-Known Member
Far from the largest or best lion enclosure that I have ever seen, but it certainly does cover a large area that could make for an interesting replacement, and is far from small.
Rajang-GOAT
Well-Known Member
I'm quite sure that is what the Cherry Crowned Mangabey group consisted of last time I checked, but on my most recent visit I also saw only 3 individuals (all inside), so it is entirely possible that a slight rearrangement has taken place as you have both suggested. Can't comment on one of the females possibly being picked on but I wouldn't be surprised if the young male has been moved on as he must be nearing full maturity by now. Perhaps I will have a look on my next visit.
Lion Rock may not be big for lions, but in agreement with @DesertRhino150 and @Kalaw, it does leave a fair sized space to be filled (assuming it is no longer inhabited by lions) that on the larger side could house something like one of the male cheetahs or future cubs, it would also be nice to see the return of a second hyena species. Considering it has housed lions for 19 years, more realistic new additions that I'm sure would be appreciated would be small/medium sized cats (e.g. Serval), of which it would be great to see more return to the collection, the enclosure could even be split to allow more options for multiple individuals/species. So although it isn't massive as an African Lion enclosure, the space could allow for some respectable redevelopments in the first few years of the masterplan and it has a lot of potential to do so.
When I visited late last year (or maybe earlier in January) there was one of the standard 'We are aware of the injury to one of the animals' sign in the indoor area, and the largest mangabey was chasing the smallest individual down to the ground and leapfrogging over it, throwing it back into the wall behind it in the process. Unfortunately, I do not know the individual mangabeys by appearance, so I couldn't tell if the smallest animal was male or female.
Rajang-GOAT
Well-Known Member
Should be 2 as a new female, Qiwen (6) arrived last year to join male Lae (17).
I went for a visit to Colchester Zoo earlier this morning. Not that much new of note, but I did record a couple of things:
- Again, only three mangabeys on display. However, I did notice that the door to the off-show indoor area was shut, so there is a chance that the fourth animal is being kept separate.
- NEW SPECIES - Looking through the door of the Sensation Station building, I did notice a sign that mentions a new handleable animal, the giant Malaysian leaf insect, Pulchriphyllium giganteum.
Piece of January 2024 News Not Mentioned:
On January 25th, it was announced that the zoo transferred a (1.0) coppery titi monkey to the Dudley Zoo in the West Midlands.
Dudley Zoo
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On February 19th, the zoo announced the deer's name, Flynn.
Colchester Zoo
On January 25th, it was announced that the zoo transferred a (1.0) coppery titi monkey to the Dudley Zoo in the West Midlands.
Dudley Zoo
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On February 19th, the zoo announced the deer's name, Flynn.
Colchester Zoo
Strathmorezoo
Well-Known Member
The zoo has announced that Tembu the bull,has been taken off show for two weeks to allow essential maintenance to be carried out
Osedax
Well-Known Member
The bull of what species?
Kalaw
Well-Known Member
Tembo is the zoo's African Elephant bull, which poses the question of where there is space to keep him offshow! I suspect it is more likely that the Elephant Bush Walk (the only way to view the bull enclosure, which is quite well-hidden and often missed by visitors) is closed due to renovations, which would still make it possible to view Tembo indoors, if memory serves. That is, of course, unless the indoor area is under renovation as well.
Rajang-GOAT
Well-Known Member
Second visit of the year on Thursday, quite a few things of note and some questions answered. Wet weather wasn't great but many animals were still out and active despite this.
- I got my first good view of the Pied Tamarins in their enclosure in Worlds Apart (since they replaced the golden lion tamarin group), a pair of them on the floor rummaging around the foliage, nice to see.
- The orangutans were all fairly active and entertaining enough for visitors with the two females on the move around the main indoor enclosure, however they were fairly distanced with Tiga in the smaller bedroom area, Mali staying on the ground and Tatau exploring up high.
- In Feather of the Forest I counted 4 Victoria Crowned Pigeons and 3 Crested Wood Partridges.
- The Barbary Macaque youngsters were still having fun despite the rain, both of them throwing their weight around a bit by making some big jumps between their climbing structures.
- I did only see 3 Cherry Crowned Mangabeys including the dominant male and 2 other smaller individuals, who did look quite different from each other but no confirmation yet.
- Edge of Africa seems to have had some maintenance and thinning out of foliage like the rest of the zoo as I mentioned after my last visit, it generally feels like a much more open area and hopefully it will look very good come the summer months.
- In the enclosure for the male Amur Leopard, Crispin some of the thick bamboo seems to have been cleared out a fair bit allowing a view across to the other side of the enclosure to the side with the grill.
- One of the Lion-tailed Macaques was visible in the Rivers Edge building in the late afternoon.
- I got to see the Sun Bears in their indoor enclosure for the first time in a very long time for me, possibly ever, though they seemed to be waiting for their dinner.
- At the Mandrill encounter, it was confirmed that following the death of dominant male Gizmo towards in the second half of 2023, Morgan will be the new dominant male of the group currently numbering 10 individuals including the 4 sons Gizmo sired: Sinbad, Miroku, Merlin, Minkebe. The group will be non-breeding for the foreseeable future as the older animals are all the bloodline of Dume (the dominant male before Gizmo), meaning the whole group is related. I believe the group currently stands at 8:2, with Suki mother to Sinbad and Mindy mother to Miroku, Merlin and Minkebe who turned two years old yesterday.
- Walking into the zoo, one of the notices in the entrance building said that the dinosaur display is intended to be completed by a date around Easter if I remember correctly.
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- The other main notice stated "Our African elephant (bull), Tembo, is currently OFF-SHOW and the Elephant Bushwalk is currently CLOSED due to essential maintenance work taking place.", as mentioned above. On my visit I could clearly make him out in the bull section of the elephant house, on the same side of the house as the Discovery Centre, which is where I imagine he will stay most of the time while these renovations are taking place to his paddock. These developments will be what was announced to take place at Elephant Kingdom in late December by the zoo on their news page (January at the Zoo | Colchester Zoo), so should not involve any work on the house itself. However, the Bush Walk was still completely open to visitors despite the ongoing work.
- The maintenance work was said to include new enrichment opportunities and security technology, both of which were evident on my visit, and in addition work is being carried out on the drainage of the paddock, which was also very evident to me. I did take some photos on my phone of the ongoing work so can post them if people think they could be useful.
- Zola (who normally is with Tembo in the day) was out in the cow paddock with Tanya and Opal, though she seemed to be a touch distanced from them and it was easy to tell the pair that spend the most time together usually.
Went for a morning's visit to Colchester Zoo today - this is what I noticed:
- Although the Sensation Station was closed, I could see that the strawberry poison-dart frogs are signed on one of the enclosures - the one normally home to the Macleay's spectre stick insects. The insects are still signed, so I will possibly need to wait until another visit planned for next week to see if the two species are mixed, or whether the stick insects have gone and the signage has just not been updated yet.
- Saw, for the first time in years, the catfish in the angelfish aquarium in Heart of the Amazon. It is quite an unusual-looking fish - although it is labelled as a common plecostomus, Hypostomus plecostomus, it had large pale bands that do not seem to correspond to that species. It also didn't look like the red gibbiceps catfish, Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps, that live in Worlds Apart. If anyone has even a faint idea of what it could be, that would be greatly appreciated.
- Also, there was a second plated lizard in the reptile enclosure in Kingdom of the Wild. However, it seemed to have rougher back scales and a different head shape to the giant plated lizard, Matobosaurus validus, that has been in there since the house opened. I was wondering if it could potentially be a second species - I personally think it looks more like a Sudan plated lizard, Broadleysaurus major, but would also like this confirmed.
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Rajang-GOAT
Well-Known Member
I somehow forgot to mention in this thread that I saw the Strawberry Poison Dart Frogs in the Sensation Station on my last visit (22/2), but I did mention their unexpected appearance in the GB, Ireland and Crown Dependencies challenge thread at the time.
I don't think they were mixed with any other species (though I certainly do not recall them living alongside stick insects), I also remember that there was at least one other tank with stick insects still in, possibly multiple enclosures. I will upload some photos I took on my phone of the frogs in the gallery if I can to give you an idea of their space, But I am not too familiar with the species on show in the Sensation Station currently.
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The line-up of invertebrates in the Sensation Station was, from left-to-right, the Madagascar hissing cockroaches, Macleay's spectre stick insects (where the strawberry poison-darts now live), giant spiny stick insects and West African giant land snails. It could be that the Macleay's spectres simply died off - at the start of 2023, there may have only been three individuals left. I'm really hoping that isn't the case though, and they still have some off-show.
Went for another morning visit to Colchester Zoo today. These are some things I noticed:
- Unfortunately, the last Geoffroy's marmoset was no longer visible, nor was it signed. I rather suspect the species is no longer present.
- Likewise, I do now think the Macleay's spectre stick insects have gone. I did manage to see the strawberry poison-dart frogs though, which were lovely.
- Briefly going back to the Worlds Apart walkthrough, but the right-side tamandua enclosure had, for whatever reason, had all its substrate removed and replaced with sheets of cardboard.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Oh that'll be such a shame if the Geoffroys has gone. One of the highlights for me to be able to see the small primates with no glass or wire etc and such a handsome example.
I have just seen a photograph on a Colchester Zoo fan's page, apparently taken yesterday, that shows a new warthog piglet. No official confirmation yet, but it seems that they are breeding them again (I cannot remember how many warthogs they had before this birth - definitely the two adults and maybe two well-grown youngsters).