Marwell Wildlife My Monthly Updates 2010 #2

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Zambar

Zambar

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
15/8/10:

- Some very young and cute rhea chicks are being kept in one sectioned off corner of the flamingo paddock with their Mum.
- Saki Monkeys are finally back on show at Marwell; a pair, which had a baby in that time, have been off-show for about a year or so but they haven't been displayed since 2007. All three of them are in one-half of the the double-winged primate enclosure nearest to the Hall, with the Golden Lion Tamarins next-door. The other new arrivals, the touracos, were doing their best to be invisible as with mhale.
- Half of the vivariums in the reptile barn are empty for renovation; this includes the yemen chameleon enclosure and every enclosure on the right side of the building.
- The pygmy marmosets, and their box, have been moved out of Tropical World. Again.
- The anteaters have had a fantastic new enrichment device mad up of a water dispenser tub filled with crickets stuck into the fence, and Ernesto was busy sucking them out through the nozzle.
- And finally, ambients have been added to the penguin underwater viewing area; however, rather than pipe music it's sounds of the sea lapping against a beach with gulls and seals calling, and is actually quite relaxing to listen too while sitting on one of the benches facing the windows, resting knackered feet. ;)
 
Key points from today's visit to Marwell were:

1) The rhinos were all enjoying a mud bath
2) The baby colobus monkey has been named Muhimbi
3) Bingo, the male Hartmann's zebra, was out in the paddock with the three females and the gemsboks
4) Two more Grevy's zebra foals have been born
5) A cotton top tamarin baby was born on 15th August
6) A keeper said that Summer the Brazilian tapir could give birth any day now
7) The same keeper also said that they were unlikely to source another male pygmy hippo (since Antone's death) as they had now separated Wendy and Lola, but that a possibility they were looking into was for a sharing system with Bristol Zoo of their male hippo so that he only visited for breeding purposes
 
What are the plans for the rhino breeding-wise? They have not had any positive news nor births for yonker years now .... :confused:
 
Going to a zoo on bank holiday weekend? :shocked: Well, wasn't too bad actually, unlike this time last year where I ended up being crapped on by a crow. Twice. ;) Still, only a couple of things today that is mainly just personal notes.

- Main reason for going today was for the International Wildlife Art Fair in Marwell Hall, along with a marquee area just outside which included this year's winners of the BBC Wildlife Magazine art competition. Although there were a few I thought were really fab, no photos as it was prohibited. ;) And definitely not buying them for £XXX lol.
- A pigeon has decided to build her nest on top of the TV in the gibbon longhouse that showed the otter box webcam; I was suprised I was the only one that seemed to notice her sitting there!
- I caught a glimpse of one of the new touracos in the Encounter Village aviary, albeit from the grille by the house and at a strain to look; it was incredibly shy, but looked a stunning bird from what I saw. :cool: The windows on the house are still white-washed, but signs for douroucoulli and red-mantled tamarin have gone up and I managed to see and photo one of each curled up in one of the gaps in the paint.
 
Zambar said:
- I caught a glimpse of one of the new touracos in the Encounter Village aviary, albeit from the grille by the house and at a strain to look; it was incredibly shy, but looked a stunning bird from what I saw. :cool: The windows on the house are still white-washed, but signs for douroucoulli and red-mantled tamarin have gone up and I managed to see and photo one of each curled up in one of the gaps in the paint.
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Sorry, I haven't been to Marwell for a couple of years....I have a couple of questions:

- ISIS list Marwell as the only global holding for 'Red-mantled tamarin', listing a single animal for the last few years. Is this a taxonomic issue/incorrect listing? (as sometimes explains things on ISIS)...

- Do you mean a new exhibit is being set up for Red-mantled tamarins and Douracoulis? Is this mixed? Where is it located? Do you think this is to set up a second douracouli group?

- what was previously in the aviary in the Encounter Village? Are you talking about the former golden lion tamarin walkthrough? Are any other bird species currently mixed with the touracos and can you tell which species they are?

thanks!
 
- There was a lone red-mantle at Marwell for a while a few years ago, but it didn't turn up in any recent reviews, so it's probably another ISIS error. No idea where this one/ones came from.
- Not exactly, they're in the old tamarin house linked to the walk-through aviary, so it looks like they're gonna be mixed with the birds in the walk-through. (Formerly golden lion tamarins)
- And, as I just said, yup, which before that was the rabbit mound. The hammerkop and Madagascan teal have been in there since Easter, and initially there little egret with them, but they moved back to the marabou aviary soon after.
 
I am assuming the lone male red-mantled tamarin has been alone for some years because Marwell are unable to obtain a mate for it. While ISIS list a handful of european (not UK) collections exhibiting the generic 'brown-mantled' tamarin, the illigeri red-mantled subspecies, is listed as being only in one captive location globally - the single animal at Marwell.

Either this is as a result of a misidentification on Marwell's part (which I doubt), or Marwell is in the unique position of being the only UK establishment to hold the sole example of a callitrichid species in the country.

Marwell have held this species for as long as I can remember. I am really surprised, given their popularity in zoos of all sizes, that any callitrichid species has died out in zoos. This could be memory playing tricks on me though; I visited Marwell alot when I was younger, however I remember Geoffroy's Tamarins disappeared from the UK after Kilverstone, and I think another zoo, perhaps Colchester, held Weddell's tamarins in the 1980s, which then vanished from the UK.

I do wonder if there are several private keepers of this subspecies in the UK, as this invisible pool is often an explanation for how certain, easily bred, mall mammal species can disappear from UK zoos only to reappear some years later.
 
I made a spur of the moment trip to Marwell this afternoon. The key points of the visit were:

1) Summer the Brazilian tapir gave birth today
2) The pair of Southern ground hornbills have moved into the annexe of the "Marabou Mansions" aviary
3) A pair of (I think) grey junglefowl have moved into the hornbills' old enclosure, next to the vicunas
4) The sarus crane enclosure is empty and the info board has been removed
5) A keeper told me that the red-mantled tamarin and the douroucoulis currently in the annexe to the walk through aviary are only there short-term whilst their offshow accommodation is being refurbished :(
6) A keeper told me that the new snow leopards are getting along very well and he is hopeful that they will have cubs next year

New births (since the info board was last updated) are as follows:

02/08/10 - 3 common rhea
03/08/10 - Male nyala
07/08/10 - 1 mara
10/08/10 - Male Grevy's zebra "Quiggley"
12/08/10 - Male Grevy's zebra "Quaid"
15/08/10 - 1 cotton-top tamarin
 
I visited Marwell this morning. The key points of the visit were:

1) There is an open horsebox located in the tapir paddock - I couldn't find a keeper in that section to ask about it, but I wondered if Rio (15 month old female tapir) was due to move to another collection?
2) The marabous are back in the annexe of the "Marabou Mansions" aviary
3) The pair of Southern ground hornbills are back in their enclosure next to the vicunas
4) The annexe to the walk through aviary is now empty but refurbishment has begun on the small outdoor area to the left of it
5) The old pudu house has been demolished - again, I couldn't find anyone to ask about plans for this area

New births (since the info board was last updated) are as follows:

19/08/10 - Male nyala
26/08/10 - 1 mara
27/08/10 - Male scimitar-horned oryx
02/09/10 - 1 Brazilian tapir
02/09/10 - 1 mara
05/09/10 - Female greater kudu
11/09/10 - 2 capybara
16/09/10 - 4 Bahama pintail
18/09/10 - Male nyala
20/09/10 - Male Dama gazelle
21/09/10 - Male sitatunga
23/09/10 - Female greater kudu
26/09/10 - 2 mara
30/09/10 - Male addax
01/10/10 - Female greater kudu

I also saw a fourth greater kudu calf today (I saw all four at once).
 
mhale said:
1) There is an open horsebox located in the tapir paddock - I couldn't find a keeper in that section to ask about it, but I wondered if Rio (15 month old female tapir) was due to move to another collection?
5) The old pudu house has been demolished - again, I couldn't find anyone to ask about plans for this area
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I'm at the zoo tomorrow stall-holding for the Prowl in the Park event, so I shall pass these questions on to one of the volunteers I'll be with. :)
 
In reply to that, I can say that they don't know if anything's gonna be done with the pudu site, and that it is Rio leaving, she's going to the Cotswold Wildlife Park.
 
Zambar said:
In reply to that, I can say that they don't know if anything's gonna be done with the pudu site, and that it is Rio leaving, she's going to the Cotswold Wildlife Park.
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Rio's new mate will be Gomez (born 2006 at Longleat) then :)
 
I visited Marwell this morning. The key points of the visit were:

1) There is a sign stating that the new cheetah enclosure will be open in April 2011 (photo attached)
2) All of the giraffes are now in the house together, so Kismet and Makeda are no longer separated
3) The Arabian oryxes were in the bongo paddock (on their own) - this is the first time I have seen them off the hardstanding
4) The pair of Southern ground hornbills are in the annexe to Maribou Mansions again
5) The Somali wild ass stallion is now mixed with the mares
6) The Demoiselle crane enclosure and the Stanley crane enclosure are both currently empty
7) The last two remaining Ankole cattle have left the collection, which means Marwell now have an empty paddock to be used for rotating stock (I was told)
8) The Madagascan giant jumping rat enclosure is currently empty
9) The otter enclosure next to the fossas now houses the four otters rather than the pair of otters
10) The meerkat enclosure behind the snow leopards is currently empty
11) The Amphibian Ark is currently off-limits
 
SWA said:
Ocelots

The male died last year and one of the young females left. This leaves the mother and 1cub So there will be no cubs! (unless a new male has arrived recently - but I really don't think this is the case:))
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Marwell's old female Ocelot 'Libby' is 15 years old and has had 10 kittens at Marwell and at least 1 at Southport.
The male 'Manduri' (originally from Port Lympne) died last year aged 11, he was father to Libby's 10 Marwell young.
The last litter born to Libby & Manduri were 2 Females 'Isabella' & 'Giselle'.
Giselle went to Banham in September last year.
Therefore Marwell's remaining Ocelot are Mother & Daughter Libby & Isabella, so there will definitely not be any young expected!
The mounting behaviour is sometimes seen in young females that have not bred, so it may have been Isabella 'experimenting' with Mum.
Isabella is now 3 years old and potentially could be next breeding female if a new male was sourced. Although clearly from Libby's efforts the Marwell Bloodline is fairly well represented, so there's probably no urgency.
 
Question to all other Marwell regulars, with the existing Carnivore enclosures, if they stopped keeping certain species for whatever reason, what would you replace them with?? Example:- if Ocelot left Marwell and where replaced by Margay/Jaguarundi.
I wouldn't touch the 4 Big Cat species that they have, but things like Serval,Ocelot, Sand Cats, Fossa, Otters, Bat Eared Fox, various Mongoose species etc etc havn't bred for a while and seem a bit stale at the moment (in terms of breeding or any developments). I read someone elses post the other day reminding me that the original plan for where the Yellow Mongoose are was for Madagascan Ring-Tailed Mongoose, which would be really cool- haven't seen them in UK? Any Thoughts?
 
Welcome to ZooChat, nice to have another regular on board. :) In answer to that it's a bit of an odd one, and you'll find personal visions will soon lose they're appeal (generally through the realisation it'll never (usually) come true! :p). But I definitely agree with you on the ring-tails, and can confirm they were originally planned for the enclosure. The main carnivores I'd love to see at Marwell (again) though would be sun bears and clouded leopards.
 
Thanks for that, although you slightly misunderstood my question, I meant what would you put in the existing enclosure if a species left, rather than bringing in a new species and building a new enclosure for them? I'm just trying to be realistic in my suggestions knowing there is not much of a budget to build new exhibits at the moment!
Cheers.
 
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