ZSL Whipsnade Zoo My Comprehensive Review of Whipsnade

[tetrapod]

Do you know which species of Oryx this applies too?

Are there any UK collections where species like Kudu & Eland are kept which are free of contamination?

Definitely Arabians. Not sure whether it applies to Gemsbok and Scimitar; possibly guilt by association... athough I am aware of Knowsley breeding Scimitars.

I don't believe contamination comes down to actual collections, rather species. Not 100% sure about eland as West Midlands and Knowsley both seem to breed theirs. Very few Greater kudu in the country. Edinburgh's Lesser kudu would be exempt, but there wouldn't have been any in the UK until recently.

 

[tetrapod]

Ruffed Lemur seems to be popular too, probably because of colour. But when they suddenly start their loud 'roaring' its probably enough to scare little children.

Problem with ruffs is that they rarely seem to stay in a large enough group before splits occur. Happens in ringtails also, but they seem to maintain bigger groups. Possibly difference of rainforest species versus woodland.

 

[Pertinax]

Definitely Arabians. Not sure whether it applies to Gemsbok and Scimitar; possibly guilt by association... athough I am aware of Knowsley breeding Scimitars.

That's interesting, probably explains why a. Arabian Oryx have become a 'cinderella' species in Uk and b. I can't remember when I last saw an Oryx calf( of any species) in UK. I can see why 'species contamination' is across the board though because of the various exchanges between collections. I'm pretty sure I have seen Greater Kudu calves at Howletts in recent years though....

 

[CZJimmy]

Pertinax, Chester have currently got 2 Scimitar-horned oryx calves and I'm pretty sure they had a gemsbok calf last year.

 

[bongorob]

A male gemsbok was born at Chester in 2007, but it was not reared. Chester stopped breeding from their scimitar-horned oryx for a while. A new male arrived in 2007 and his first calves were born this year.

 

[Pt123]

Pertinax, Chester have currently got 2 Scimitar-horned oryx calves and I'm pretty sure they had a gemsbok calf last year.

Four now

(Take 27/8/08)

 

[Pertinax]

ahhh, Oryx calves again.. Well I hope they've well and truly cleared this BSE issue up and the animals test free of it 100%- because at West Midlands there are Eland and Nilgai and all sorts of others poking their heads into cars to be fed, probably leaving their saliva on childrens hands, and then the hands go into mouths etc.

 

[JamesB]

I think Whipsnade do their animal shows very well- informative and with only the minumum of 'razza matazz' to keep youngsters interested. Much better than some other places.

The large Nile Lechwe group have their own dominant male(s). The one in Asian Plains I think is an escapee from the small bachelor group which is/was held in the small paddock near the lake cafe. He is very distinctive as he's almost black among all the herds of brown deer. Maybe he jumped the fence when he saw or smelt the bears nearby for the first time...

The kudu group have no male- there hasn't been one for several years now.

Perhaps Ringtailed Lemurs were chosen for their their temperament, bold enough to show properly & interact with visitors in a walkthru exhibit?

yes thats right the lady on the train told us that he jumed the fence

 

[JamesB]

I think they are also limited by the dangerous animal act. They had an exhibit of free roaming silvery marmosets and golden headed tamarins. The tamarins had to be placed in with the white faced sakis after a legislative issue. I was interested to read on one of the Colchester threads that they were planning a walk through tamarin exhibit

the geofferys marmoset still occupie the free ranging house but are shut in

and was that the same issue with marwell as they moved thier free ranging tamarins to a walkthrough enclosed area?