Chester Zoo My Chester Zoo Visits

I had my third weekly visit today, very little to report back.
Finally saw some Bornean Orangutans! I saw Leia, Sarikei, Latifah and Iznee.
Also saw all Sumatrans but Padang and Puluh. All but one male Lar Gibbon were visible.
All Asian short-clawed otters were visible, no sign of Babirusa.
Iblis and Asha were getting on very well, some affectionate behaviour from Iblis towards Asha.
Despite the work, the Zebra and Oryx were on show.
Not sure if this has been posted, but there was a young Gemsbok.
So no major changes at all.

Might not be visiting next weekend.

Thanks
Harry
 
taun said:
The "third" pair was definitely a male and female when I saw them on Monday. I would suggest ISIS is a little out of date.
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Today the two birds in the aviary next to the birds of paradise were both male...

Female bush dog looking very rotund so may be there are more pups on the way.

I really like the giant otter pool, I think it's been very well planted. Agree that viewing is not brilliant with wire and high glass panels. I would have thought that the barrier could be a little lower although I don't know quite how agile they can be, and giant otters have been known to kill people.

Keepers were covering up the fencing between the cheetah pen furthest from the yurt, I wonder what the significance of this is?
 
Pygathrix said:
Today the two birds in the aviary next to the birds of paradise were both male.
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It get's more confusing by the minute. At first glance I thought the two new Tarictics were both male, but I was assured that they were a true pair. Someone PM'd me confirming this.

We need someone to go and investigate.

No disrespect to Pygathrix is intended.
 
bongorob said:
It get's more confusing by the minute. At first glance I thought the two new Tarictics were both male, but I was assured that they were a true pair. Someone PM'd me confirming this.

No disrespect to Pygathrix is intended.
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None taken:) What I should have said was that there were two birds in the aviary next to the BoP which looked like males to me. They looked the same and both had the pale head and chest. I don't know what immature birds look like, do females resemble males until they mature?

Zambar said:
Killer otters... very monty python! :D
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I knew I might look like an idiot when I posted this. I definitely remember a story about a wild giant otter killing someone, although it is obviously not commonplace. I can't recall the details and I can't find anything on the web. I have a feeling it was a female researcher. Can anyone help?


Anyone got any cheetah news?
 
Pygathrix said:
I knew I might look like an idiot when I posted this. I definitely remember a story about a wild giant otter killing someone, although it is obviously not commonplace. I can't recall the details and I can't find anything on the web. I have a feeling it was a female researcher. Can anyone help?
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from this link 3.10 Carnivores
large-scale captive breeding is extremely expensive because of the animal's size, diet and the type of installations required (captive giant otters are highly dangerous to humans)
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the sources for this paragraph are:
Autouri, M.P. and Deutsch, L.A. Contribution to the knowledge of the giant Brazilian otter Pteronura brasiliensis. Zool. Garten 47: 1 -8; 1977.
Crandall, L.S. The management of wild mammals in captivity. Univ. Chicago Press; 1964; 761 pp.
Duplaix, N. Observations on the ecology and behavior of the giant river otter Pteronura brasiliensis in Suriname. Rev. Ecol. (Terre et Vie), 34: 495-620; 1980.
Trebbau, P. Notes on the Brasilian giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) in captivity. Zool. Garten 41:152-156; 1972.

that's the best I could find, but I also have the recollection of at least one person being killed by giant otters. I think it was in a zoo in South America, and the person fell into the enclosure from a plank walkway overhead.....but it is just a vague memory so may be entirely inaccurate
 
Pygathrix said:
I knew I might look like an idiot when I posted this. I definitely remember a story about a wild giant otter killing someone, although it is obviously not commonplace.
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It may not be as crazy as you think.;) 'Tame' or handraised Otters of any species can on occassion be very aggressive to people and inflict nasty wounds. More than one person has lost a finger or two from such attacks..

So size for size a Giant Otter could potentially inflict lethal damage. My guess is that if a fatality did occur, it was with a tame or otherwise captive one, rather than in the wild.
 
I can see the point that they could easily take off a finger and could potentially inflict lethal damage but to call them "highly dangerous" seems a bit over the top. Golden retrievers are far more dangerous :rolleyes:
 
jwer said:
I can see the point that they could easily take off a finger and could potentially inflict lethal damage but to call them "highly dangerous" seems a bit over the top. Golden retrievers are far more dangerous :rolleyes:
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I wouldn't be so sure about that. If a European(sized) otter can remove fingers, a Giant Otter could potentially do much more damage. Otters can be very 'fierce' pugnacious creatures prone to mood swings, and I would much prefer a fence between me and any otter, particularly a Giant.
 
Pygathrix said:
None taken:) What I should have said was that there were two birds in the aviary next to the BoP which looked like males to me. They looked the same and both had the pale head and chest. I don't know what immature birds look like, do females resemble males until they mature?
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Young Tarictic hornbills have similar plumage to the adults, but the bill is brown. Like you Pygathrix I thought they were both males when I first saw them. I did not go back to look at them again after being told that they were male and female. I'll take a closer look on my next visit.
 
Visited today, Kinky Tail the female cheetah has been moved into the furthest enclosure from the Bouma. A mound of dirt has been used to create a shelter for her. Caught a glimpse of the Pygmy Marmosets aswell, the viewing window has some sort of covering over it apart from a very small gap not sure why it is like this. Work is still ongoing in the Elephant paddock it looks like a pool is being created.
 
No visit for me this week as my father is away (at the age I am, obviously he takes me)
 
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