cerperal
Well-Known Member
Zaya and Warjun are snow leopards, Pasha is an Amur tiger
Marwell Wildlife Marwell Zoo news 2025
- Thread starter Nisha
- Start date
Strathmorezoo
Well-Known Member
I agree, as solitary animals, they normally only meet up to mate. The male can be very aggressive.
Indeed, Pygmy Hippos are usually solitary animals. Therefore it's likely they've been paired up with hopes of successful breeding if the female is cycling.
Zalika (the female) is now five years old, so is sexually mature.
Okapi calf born September 10:
Marwell Zoo welcomes new endangered okapi calf
The rare youngster, born on September 10 to proud mum Daphne, is the third okapi born at the zoo in as many years and the 18th in its history.
The okapi house will remain closed to visitors for now, though other members of the herd can still be seen nearby.
The calf will stay indoors through winter before venturing out in the spring.
Marwell Zoo welcomes new endangered okapi calf
The rare youngster, born on September 10 to proud mum Daphne, is the third okapi born at the zoo in as many years and the 18th in its history.
The okapi house will remain closed to visitors for now, though other members of the herd can still be seen nearby.
The calf will stay indoors through winter before venturing out in the spring.
This is good news but not unexpected as a post upthread indicated this birth and it was also confirmed previously in the Okapis in Europe thread. On my visit a couple of weeks ago, I asked why the house was closed and told something about the oldest female being not well. Didn't matter as there is a second house and enclosure with two Okapi that you can still go in and the previous male youngster,now well grown, can also be seen too.
The father of the calf, Nuru, died some months ago now.
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They currently have 1.4.1 Okapi on site:
0.1 Kibibi (06/03/2008) Born at Diergaarde Blijdorp
0.1 Daphne (24/04/2013) Born at London Zoo
0.1 Niari (17/04/2019) Born at Marwell Zoo
0.1 Nkutu (21/07/2023) Born at Marwell Zoo
1.0 Kayemba (28/10/2024) Born at Marwell Zoo
0.0.1 Unnamed (10/09/2025) Born at Marwell Zoo
Daphne is the mother of Niari, Nkutu and the new calf; Niari is the mother of Kayemba.
It’ll be interesting to see if the new calf is given a name beginning with ‘N’ like his older siblings.
It’ll be interesting to see if the new calf is given a name beginning with ‘N’ like his older siblings.[/QUOTE]
Is this not a system with some studbook held animals that all animals born at a particular collection should have names starting with a specific letter? Perhaps someone can confirm this and give example of another species where this happens?
Congratulations to all who work with the okapis at Marwell.
Is this not a system with some studbook held animals that all animals born at a particular collection should have names starting with a specific letter? Perhaps someone can confirm this and give example of another species where this happens?
Congratulations to all who work with the okapis at Marwell.
I haven’t heard of this naming convention with regards to a facility; but the siblings sharing an initial (usually with the dam) naming convention is a very common naming convention in Australasia (dating back to the 1970’s). It appears to have been inspired by the work of the late Dr. Jane Goodall, who used this naming convention on the Gombe chimpanzees. It’s used to track lineages in populations with multiple family lines.
I could name endless examples, but a few include Taronga Zoo’s chimpanzee community (Lisa is the mother of Liwali and Lemba; Naomi is the mother of Niambi etc); and Perth Zoo’s Sumatran orangutan colony. In the case of the latter, the first generation offspring were all named with their mother’s initial (e.g. Puan’s offspring all had ‘P’ names); and then second generation offspring were named with a the third letter e.g. Puteri had Temara; Puspa had Sekara; Pulang had Lestari etc.
Different dam. Perhaps Niari’s offspring will all have K names?
Trying to work out which two females I saw together in the second house. By a process of elimination I think was probably Kibibi and Nkutu, as Daphne is the mother of the (then unannouced) new calf and Niari is the mother of the young male Kayemba, who I was told was being weaned. (I did see the head of another adult briefly in the adjacent outside pen to him or that could have been the new mother).
Anyone know which two Okapi are currently living in the second house that is open?
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Wisent studbook uses convention that each holder has to name own offspring always with name that starts with the same two letters, determined by the studbook keeper. For Prague, those letters are PR. So we have wisents babies named Prvosenka, Prskavka etc.
Some zoos traditionally give names starting with same letter (and starting with A) to kittens and pupies born there. It copies convention of local studbooks of purebred domestic dogs/cats. So when Plzen named its 2018 bunch of manned wolf puppies Isabella, Iggy, Ike and Idris, you would know instantly they come all from the same litter and they were nineth litter of manned wolves in Plzen zoo´s history.
Some zoos prefer naming convention where offspring reflects first one or two letters of its dam. Dvur Kralove names its black rhinos in this fashion. But because they had successfull program and many babies, they ended with too many breeding cows with the same first letter and it got wattered down.
Some zoos traditionally give names starting with same letter (and starting with A) to kittens and pupies born there. It copies convention of local studbooks of purebred domestic dogs/cats. So when Plzen named its 2018 bunch of manned wolf puppies Isabella, Iggy, Ike and Idris, you would know instantly they come all from the same litter and they were nineth litter of manned wolves in Plzen zoo´s history.
Some zoos prefer naming convention where offspring reflects first one or two letters of its dam. Dvur Kralove names its black rhinos in this fashion. But because they had successfull program and many babies, they ended with too many breeding cows with the same first letter and it got wattered down.
Ptvirgata
Member
I believe you're correct. Kibibi and Nkutu are in the open house. Both females with young are in the house that is closed. Niari and Kayemba are in the side closest to the tigers, with access to the large paddock behind the house. Daphne and her calf are in the other half, with access to the hardstanding, where you would have seen Daphne. Kayemba was born in that part of the okapi house, as there is a stable that can be darkened to serve as an area for the calf during the 'nesting phase' of its development. I'm not sure exactly when Niari and Kayemba moved to the other side of the house; presumably, in the days/weeks/months leading up to the new calf's birth. I'd be interested if anyone knows for certain.
Kayemba was on his own in the hardstand and large paddock nearest the tigers. So it was his mother Niari whose head I saw next door. Daphne would have been in the further area or just indoors.
Springbok
Well-Known Member
Notes from yesterday:
- unsigned blue faced honeyeater in the large walkthrough aviary.
- I don't think we'll be waiting too much longer for the new red panda exhibit, it's basically finished now.
- the play area in wild explorers was closed off, looked like it was a getting a new lick of paint.
- 1 warty pig had access to the on show area of the house, the outside was empty. I'm assuming the other 2(?) are being held off show atm.
- the former warty pig enclosure is unfortunately still empty, same goes for the Bush dogs.
- good progress is being made up at Eco Island, the house is now being constructed.
- unsigned blue faced honeyeater in the large walkthrough aviary.
- I don't think we'll be waiting too much longer for the new red panda exhibit, it's basically finished now.
- the play area in wild explorers was closed off, looked like it was a getting a new lick of paint.
- 1 warty pig had access to the on show area of the house, the outside was empty. I'm assuming the other 2(?) are being held off show atm.
- the former warty pig enclosure is unfortunately still empty, same goes for the Bush dogs.
- good progress is being made up at Eco Island, the house is now being constructed.
I just saw a very recent video on Marwell's Okapis hosted by keepers. It confirmed I was correct in the two females that I saw together, as well as featuring the new birth.