Dudley Zoological Gardens Dudley Zoological Gardens in 2017

To complicate matters, three of the bears in question arrived at Dudley in 1993 when their previous home - the World Owl Trust at Muncaster Castle - decided to focus solely on birds and got rid of their few remaining non-avian species; I've heard contradictory things over the years regarding a) whether these bears were born at Muncaster, or originally came from Dudley and b) whether or not Inca is one of these bears, or one of the ones which were already present at Dudley in 1993.
 
Nanook said:
.... Though I am not so sure about Chico being the second born in the UK ?? What about Bristol Zoo, and there were certainly a few born at London (though many also did not survive of course).
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Indeed "Chico" was defintely not the second polar bear to be born in the UK.

I assume that the Dudley article was only referring to successful births but even then "Chico" was not the second.

For example, "Brumas" and "Pipaluk" (both born London Zoo) and "Sebastian" and "Sabrina" (both born Bristol Zoo) all predated "Chico".

(Incidentally, the first polar bear to be born at London Zoo was way back in 1861 and then there were numerous subsequent unsuccessful births there before the famous "Brumas" was born in 1949.)
 
I've dug out a copy of the Asiatic Black Bear studbook from 2003. Here's a timeline of the Dudley bears up to 31.12.2003:

04.05.1974
Male OLD MAN and female OLD BAG (both wild born ca.1966) arrived from Knaresborough.

07.01.1975
Females PRETTY BABE and UGGY BABE born to OLD MAN and OLD BAG.

01.01.1977 (convenient date: an estimate?)
Female WELLINGTON born to OLD MAN and OLD BAG.

10.12.1978
Male SPARTAN born to OLD MAN and OLD BAG.

15.04.1979
OLD MAN and OLD BAG returned to Knaresborough.

27.09.1984
PRETTY BABE died.

02.01.1987
Male MAXI born to SPARTAN and WELLINGTON.

11.07.1987
MAXI sent to Heythrop.

11.01.1988
Males BRUNO and DENNIS born to SPARTAN and WELLINGTON.

29.03.1988
BRUNO and DENNIS sent to Heythrop.

29.03.1990
Female WINNIE (wild born ca.1975) arrived from Muncaster with her two daughters: GRETEL (born ca.1979) and INCA (born ca.1980).

10.05.1996
UGGY BABE died.

14.07.1997
GRETEL and INCA sent to Glasgow.

02.12.2000
SPARTAN died.

17.04.2002
WELLINGTON and WINNIE died. (euthanised?)

... 18 month period with no bears at Dudley ...

16.10.2003
GRETEL and INCA returned from Glasgow.
 
Many thanks Rob - a brilliant list and very interesting. I wonder if the Knaresborough pair Old Man and Old Bag were renamed upon their return to Knaresborough ? There were three in early 80s - elderly bears - Yogi, Dolly and youngster Treasure.
 
Great list. Seems to be a lot of inbreeding going on. Aren't SPARTAN and WELLINGTON siblings?
 
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Benosaurus said:
Great list. Seems to be a lot of inbreeding going on. Aren't SPARTAN and WELLINGTON siblings?
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It appears so, whether that was intentional or not who knows, but back then inbreediing was rather more common than it is today.
 
A little bit off thread, but does anyone have any information about the number of Asiatic black bears once kept at Muncaster Castle, out of interest ?
 
The bridge in the picture posted by Benosaurus is part of the enclosure, a viewing window is at the other end of the bridge.

New in the reptile house is Hart's Glass Lizard Dopasia harti. Bele and I did not see any though, but this is a species that likes to bury itself.
 
Yes, she's the last in Britain - they are kept in nearly 30 zoos across Europe though.
 
Ah. Apologies. That statement in the article was from the marketing manager :rolleyes:. Normally they are from the keepers/ curator/ director etc.. Will remember to double check next time.

Would still be nice to see more Asiatic black bears in the UK though.
 
Visited y'day.

Mara looked good in with the howler monkeys in the right hand Tecton.

No change to the snow leopard enclosure. However, I don't think they even have planning permission for it yet! Female was separated from the male.

Didn't see Inca (Asiatic black bear).

Saw the three new bush dogs. They look great in that enclosure. Wish they had some open water to swim in though. It looks like a brand new house has been built for them at the top of the enclosure.

Bart's (Geoffroy's cat) former enclosure has been demolished to make way for an extension to the lynx house.

The new anteater enclosure has come a long way since my last visit. New viewing area being constructed. Lots of landscaping and fencing put up. Large new house, with indoor viewing, looks like it's nearing completion. Didn't see the female in the other enclosure (only seen her once since she arrived).

No change to the triple parrot aviaries.

Could not see any sign of the new lion viewing platform being built.

Obviously no changes to the orang enclosure or nearby.

No changes to the Queen Mary aviary.

Saw the bull sea lion in the right hand pool (as you face the castle) for the first time.

The new capuchin enclosure is great and very well built. Very pleased they didn't just do the bare minimum as seemed to be the way in the past. Lots of viewing windows all the way along as well. Now making the other small primate houses next to it look very drab though. Could not enter the house due to sign saying recent capuchin birth. However, I saw the new-born out in the enclosure attached to the mother with the rest of the group.

Seems to be some work going on in the wildfowl pool next to the penguins. Lots of foliage cleared to open it up.

Reptile house has improved. Lots of refurbished enclosures and new species. Only one empty enclosure, but has a sign saying it's currently undergoing a refurb and will soon house a new species.

Saw the agouti in the lorikeet walkthrough. They look good in there, but wish the enclosure was a tad bigger. Also, can't imagine seeing them going for a swim with all the huge koi carp in the pool. Obviously, lorikeet walkthrough is now open after the recent UK avian flu scare, but foot trays were in place and someone was at the entrance providing everyone with hand sanitizer before they went in.

No changes to the farmyard.

Left wondering if the camels will get an extension to their enclosure soon.

Finally, very impressed with all the new visitor information signs around the zoo explaining about all the work going on.
 
I visited today and was lucky to see Inca out and about. I'm assuming the snow leopard timeshare their enclosure, is that right? Also, are the tigers always together or do they timeshare at times too?
 
The snow leopards are a pair. I'm not sure why they are separated at the moment, but they have been successfully introduced to each other and I've seen them outside together I think on at least the last two of my previous visits. On Saturday the male was curled high up on the platforms in his usual spot and the female was staring up at him through the mesh before she settled down.

The tiger pair are always together, as they have been for years. They were both out in the enclosure on Saturday like they usually are.
 
Thanks, this was my first visit for at least 5 years. I think they had one Amur and one Sumatran tiger at the time, both young animals mixed together.
 
No problem. The Sumatran tiger you saw 5 years ago was probably the same female Sumatran tiger they have now; Daseep (my profile pic).
 
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