Marwell Wildlife My Monthly Updates 2010 #1

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Zambar said:
The colobus are staying on to breed according to the keeper.
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What have they got left currently, is it 2.0 or 2.1 I think?

So they will probably need to source a couple more females- Blackpool has the largest UK group and is currently very successful with them. But this species seem prone to breeding well then followed by deaths(as Marwell have already experienced) so I'm a little concerned about Marwell continuing with them in case it proves a repeat situation in the future.
 
Not completely sure, but I think it's either 2 males or a pair.

JamesB, personally I would just like them to keep the colobus there to rebuild the group until this gorilla exhibit gets off the ground and they can move them there as part of the theming. Then I'd like to see the enclosure occupied by gelada, which were mentioned in early masterplan drafts and would appreciate the grass outside, maybe with part of the bongo paddock given to them too.
 
ISIS lists 2.O.

Surprisingly there are only about 6 zoos worldwide(?) holding this type of Western Colobus(polykomos). 4 in UK and 2/3 in Europe. Only Blackpool(3.9) and one zoo in Germany have large groups. In the UK there are 1.2 at Banham, 1.3 at Paignton and 2.0 at Marwell. I really think Marwell might do better by keeping another, less difficult species of Monkey which also makes a better (more active) exhibit but I guess they will persevere with these.:(
 
Zambar said:
Not completely sure, but I think it's either 2 males or a pair.

JamesB, personally I would just like them to keep the colobus there to rebuild the group until this gorilla exhibit gets off the ground and they can move them there as part of the theming. Then I'd like to see the enclosure occupied by gelada, which were mentioned in early masterplan drafts and would appreciate the grass outside, maybe with part of the bongo paddock given to them too.
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thiking of that i do agree that part of the bongo paddock should be given to them if they go with this idea, or mabye move the bongo to the new Congo zone, have african civets in the colobua enclosure and the Geladas in the bongo paddock
 
African civets were kept at Colchester during the late 80s in a duirnal exhibit and were often visible.

I agree that the current Marwell Colobus enclosure would be far more suitable for Geladas. They could then also entertain the idea of introducing hyrax into the exhibit.

If they are keeping on the Colobus, great. I just hope they become a net producer rather than consume a second wave of them (I could be wrong here, perhaps they sent some of their earlier offspring on to other collections?) I'm sure, given the diana monkey move, there is every reason to suggest they are committed to building up a successful group. I just hope they move that giant pile of porcupines somewhere more suitable.
 
I think maybe the porkies should be outside-they always were before-don't really understand the reason for keeping them in 24-7.

Perhaps they could go into one of the hardstandings that was empty over by the tigers (or have they been filled now?)

And no costs would be incurred apart from some logs and leaf litter etc.

I thought this might be a solution for the warthogs too so they could all have access outside at the same time.

I personally feel the colobus would be better in a less public environment-I've heard before that they are nervy animals and they don't have much privacy at the moment.
 
johnstoni said:
. I just hope they become a net producer rather than consume a second wave of them (I could be wrong here, perhaps they sent some of their earlier offspring on to other collections?)
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I think the previous group got up to about six in number with a couple of births, but then they died off again- Paignton's has a similar history. I have a feeling this will just repeat itself again if they add to the survivors.

My preference would be for a different, less nervous, more active species. Geladas would be a good show but they would pluck the outdoor enclosure bare of grass in a very short time(as Colchester's have done) so it would soon become a very unsightly enclosure.

Possibly something like Patas or Vervets would be a better choice.
 
There are some porcupines in the outdoor monkey enclosure, though it would be better to get them all out there I agree.

Anyway, went again today because I had oryx club. Very good today though of course I'm not really allowed to go into detail, but we did watch Marc put a paper mache warthog stuffed with meat with camel hair on top be thrown into the cheetah enclosure. Only Turkus went to tackle it, but he was understandbly more interested in the camel hair. Not really anything else to say apart from the fact the golden lion tamarins seem to have gone off show and there's new przewalski's horse and grevy's zebra foals.
 
Quite a bit of news from my visit to Marwell today. I was talking at length to a keeper and to a couple of volunteers, and I'm sure it is O.K. to post on here what was said (I certainly wasn't told that anything was confidential).

1) There have been four (?) more mara births
2) There are three more capybara pups
3) A sable antelope calf was born on Friday and I think the keeper said that there were a few more pregnancies in the herd
4) It is still on the cards for a couple of two year old Rothschild giraffe females to join the herd from overseas hopefully this year, along with a third female hopefully coming from Woburn next year. Apparently, as a result of the hybrid female Makeda not knowing how to be a mother with her first calf recently (he didn't suckle at all and the decision was eventually made to put him to sleep), she will most likely be given contraception so that she doesn't have to go through it again. The two young hybrid females Christa and Tiye will also be put on contraception when they reach breeding age, so Isabella will be the only hybrid breeding female in the group. Due to this decision, it is intended that the group will not be split into Rothschild's and hybrids after all. Kwame, the hybrid male calf, will eventually leave the group, of course. So, eventually, the herd will consist of Kismet (male Rothschild), Matilda (breeding female Rothschild), Isabella (breeding female hybrid), Makeda (non-breeding female hybrid), Christa (non-breeding female hybrid), Tiye (non-breeding female hybrid), Nsia (female Rothschild born April this year), plus three new young Rothschild females.
5) The female Colobus monkey is pregnant and there are hopes to form a larger group of them as they intend to give them free-reign of the indoor and outdoor enclosures now that the Diana monkey has moved on
6) There is another pregnant Grevy's zebra (I think it's Esther) and a new stallion was brought in about 2 months ago (the original stallion has transferred to Chessington Zoo)
7) Several scimitar-horned oryxes are pregnant
8) Yenna and Gamin the tigers were together in the larger half of the enclosure
9) There are now two enclosures in Aridlands which hold desert locusts
10) The five keeled spiny tailed iguana enclosure seemed to be empty and the sign had been taken down
11) The goeldi's monkeys are now in what was the golden lion tamarin enclosure at the back of the Hall, as their own enclosure is being refurbished
12) The new formal gardens look almost complete, ready for next month's grand opening
13) The whole family of douroucoulis were in their outside enclosure, which is the first time I have seen them out there
14) There is a panther chameleon exhibit in the lemur house

I hope I haven't forgotten anything!
 
I do not see why they need to let 'Isabella' produce any more hybrid Giraffes .
 
Good news about the colobus, with so much uncertainty about their future at Marwell, good to hear there are plans to enlarge the group, and give them the run of a decent exhibit
 
Bele said:
I do not see why they need to let 'Isabella' produce any more hybrid Giraffes .
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This more is to combat not enough pure giraffes around. Therefore the studbook has given permission for some collections to breed their hybrids to ensure that there is still enough to go around or that is how I have read it. (If am wrong please fill me in and Bele).
 
taun said:
This more is to combat not enough pure giraffes around. Therefore the studbook has given permission for some collections to breed their hybrids to ensure that there is still enough to go around or that is how I have read it. (If am wrong please fill me in and Bele).
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You are quite correct Taun.
 
mazfc said:
Ah that's so sad, I saw him the day after he was born.
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I did too (my photos are in the Marwell gallery). I must admit he didn't suckle at all whilst I was in the giraffe house (whereas last year Kwame seemed to be suckling nearly all the time), but I obviously didn't realise that he hadn't suckled full stop.

mazfc said:
Everyone at the park must be devastated, what an awful decision to have to make.
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Yes, the keeper was very sad about it and said that obviously everyone else concerned felt the same way. Apparently, handrearing wasn't an option.

Their next chance of having a calf will be with Isabella again.
 
Any news on getting another mate for Yenna (Amur Tiger) or a new breeding pair being sourced?
 
News from today's visit to sunny Marwell:

1) Another penguin chick has hatched
2) Four rhea chicks have hatched (some of them white)
3) A baby colobus monkey has been born
4) Six ostrich chicks have hatched in the ostrich/zebra/oryx paddock
5) At least two scimitar-horned oryxes have been born
6) The desert locust exhibit at the end of Aridlands was empty
7) The formal gardens have opened behind Marwell Hall
8) The fossa enclosure was empty due to maintenance
9) There is a Madagascan giant jumping rat back in Lemur World now

I found out that one of the porcupines was transferred to Chessington at the same time as the sitatunga. Also, a team from Chessington visited recently to look at the design of the giraffe house.
 
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I visited Marwell again today. These are my notes:

1) The female colobus monkey and her baby (which is, apparently, male) have been separated from the male and are being kept offshow for the time being due to some aggression between the parents
2) Makeda the giraffe was kept in the giraffe house (so that she can't get pregnant), with Isabella in there keeping her company, whilst the rest of the herd were in the African valley
3) The black wildebeests (white-tailed gnus) have produced a female calf. Mother and baby are being kept indoors for the next couple of days whilst the boundaries of their hardstanding are covered with green netting (so that the calf can see the boundaries of the enclosure), then they will be let out. The keeper said that, despite the fact Orana was hand-reared, she is showing signs of being a very good mother :)
4) The kookaburras and parma wallabies are back in the Wallaby Walkthrough area
5) The indoor area next to the free-flight aviary has had the windows painted over, but when I looked through a small unpainted bit of glass, I saw a turaco staring back at me (sorry I can't be more specific) and my husband said he saw two in there
6) The fossas were back in their enclosure
7) I found out that the otter enclosure in Life in the Trees has been closed for maintenance because one of the otters escaped
8) The semi-aquatic mammal house was closed to the public today (the tapirs were all outside, but there was no sign of the pygmy hippos)

Some sad news is that Paka the cheetah has died (she was being held offshow since she was swapped with her two daughters) :(
 
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