Chester Zoo Elephant Birth at Chester!

zoogiraffe said:
I would suggest The North of England Zoological Society would be a good starting point.
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Ahh cool, I will look into it (I am becomming a first time member to the zoo itself at Christmas, can't wait for that). Quick question though, just done a google search for NEZS and couldn't find any direct website for the charity, only a small section about it on Chester's website. Are Chester and NEZS one and the same. Probably being thick here so sorry to be a bother, can you tell me how to become a member (online website, contact details etc)?

Thanks :)
 
This isn't really the correct thread and Chester's organisational structure is often more complex than people think, but NEZS is essentially the charity that operates Chester Zoo and was formed three years after the zoo first opened. If you become a member of Chester Zoo, in reality you are becoming a member of the society, which in addition to the obvious benefits on entry and pricing, allows you to vote at the AGM.

If you want to know more about anything at Chester, ask staff members and regular visitors, but the first rule is always to be discreet. The zoo's staff are helpful and friendly, but they won't share candid information with anyone who splashes it all over the Internet.

I'd also advise getting to know more about the zoo's history, which in turn helps to understand how it operates. The zoo has made a vast amount of relevant information available to visitors via their library and that's the first port of call. Also read Zoo Without Bars by June Johns, and Reared in Chester Zoo - The Story of June Mottershead by Janice Madden. The former you'll have to hunt around for, the latter should be available from either of the zoo shops.

The walk-and-talk Zoogiraffe refers to was organised specifically for members of ZooChat. It was intended as a method of sharing information between enthusiasts and the zoo, and reducing some of the speculation about future developments. Curator of Mammals Tim Rowlands spent a large part of one Sunday afternoon walking around the zoo answering our questions and sharing some of the zoo's plans. As (I think) we were all NEZS members and supporters of Chester, some of the issues that we spoke about were in confidence. You can read past threads about what a success it was - for which we thank Tim and Zoogiraffe.

More... PM me, we're waaay off topic.
 
Javan Rhino said:
Ahhh, sorry. I didn't realise you meant you couldn't share it. When you said walk and talk I assumed you meant a public tour or summat, I didn't realise it was a private talk. My mistake :).

Also, do you know any good organisations to get involved with regarding Chester? It is my favourite zoo and would love to walk around the grounds feeling like more than just a regular visitor, having a little insider knowledge and generally feeling closer to the zoo as a whole. As a regular visitor, I feel a little alienated in the fact that I show so much interest and get to know so little in return.

(Also, that second point is not related to the first, I completely understand that you can't say :))
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You should do some of the out-of-hours events too. The recent elephant and jaguar talk (with delicious BBQ) was great, and there's "A Roaring Event" coming up in October. The Bats by Torchlight evening is also well worth going to.
 
Maisie said:
You should do some of the out-of-hours events too. The recent elephant and jaguar talk (with delicious BBQ) was great, and there's "A Roaring Event" coming up in October. The Bats by Torchlight evening is also well worth going to.
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Off Topic! :p
 


I braved the truly atrocious weather to see the new calf today (Tuesday). Be aware that a) the elephant house is only open intermittently and when it is open, the calf is not always on show and b) the zoo is full of school trips - two thousand children on average each day this week - so viewing in the house is like a rugby scrum. With an eye to the other thread, it was open to the public for a brief period late yesterday afternoon (Monday).

The herd and the calf were allowed out onto the paddock just after lunch, then went back into the house at about 3:30pm. They spent the entire time huddled around the calf and demonstrated an excellent matriarchal structure, but that did make the calf difficult to see - a trunk here, a leg there. They also stayed within the confines of the bull area (the old hippo area) and only ventured out when called back into the house. I talked to Eveline De Wolf for a while, who told me that mother and calf were doing really well. The calf is not particularly large, despite the apparent size of Sithami.
 
SMR said:


I braved the truly atrocious weather to see the new calf today (Tuesday). Be aware that a) the elephant house is only open intermittently and when it is open, the calf is not always on show and b) the zoo is full of school trips - two thousand children on average each day this week - so viewing in the house is like a rugby scrum. With an eye to the other thread, it was open to the public for a brief period late yesterday afternoon (Monday).

The herd and the calf were allowed out onto the paddock just after lunch, then went back into the house at about 3:30pm. They spent the entire time huddled around the calf and demonstrated an excellent matriarchal structure, but that did make the calf difficult to see - a trunk here, a leg there. They also stayed within the confines of the bull area (the old hippo area) and only ventured out when called back into the house. I talked to Eveline De Wolf for a while, who told me that mother and calf were doing really well. The calf is not particularly large, despite the apparent size of Sithami.
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Fantastic news to see a picture of the calf outside and thanks for the info!
 
On the website elephant.se it is stated that Shitamis and Upalis calf was conceived by artificial insemination. This sounds rather odd to me. Does anyone know if this is true?
 
Selma05 said:
On the website elephant.se it is stated that Shitamis and Upalis calf was conceived by artificial insemination. This sounds rather odd to me. Does anyone know if this is true?
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Upali did the job himself. AI was not used
 
Zoos worldwide are on an elephant baby boom!

We (Sydney/Australia) are just waiting for 2 more elephant births this year........or if im wrong, 3!
 
A baby Asian has also be born at Rotterdam Zoo. It was born two days after Chesters and both, Chesters calf and rotterdams calf, share the same great grandfather, Chieng Mai!
 
My guess would be Sithami on the left, Sundara on the right(if she is that big now?) and Thi behind them (slightly larger bodied by the look of it.).
 
Sundara is not at the front, she is still significantly smaller than the rest (she is still referred to as a 'baby' by the public). Might be Thi left, Sithami right and one of the old girls behind.
 
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