Newquay Zoo Newquay Zoo News

Today I visited Newquay Zoo for the first time today. Unlike my day at Paradise Park yesterday which was sunny all day, today the day started off with the return of the rain and I decided I would visit from 12 o'clock onwards to avoid the poor weather. For the remainder of the afternoon the zoo was relatively quiet and I had parts of the zoo to myself at times.

Lots of the zoo had work going on so the African Savannah occupants were confined to their hardstanding, the Owston's civets' enclosure in the Creatures of the Night house appeared boarded up although I was told on an email they were fed at a given time and may have been visible from then till the zoo closed, apparently not. The old lion enclosure was inhabitated by some Black crowned cranes and to my eyes it felt a tad on the smaller side for its past occupants. I wonder what species may go in there if the cranes are only there temporarily.

The zoo as a whole had a lovely feel to it with lots of nice planting particularly the Asian Garden section of the zoo. Although only 13 acres in size Newquay was the perfect size for an afternoon out. Some species highlights included: African black duck, Black wildebeest, Bramhiny starlings, Hoffman's two-toed sloth amongst many others. Sadly, the fishing cats nor the Owston's civets made an appearance which I knew was unlikely with the latter.

All in all, I found Newquay to be a pleasant collection with a great diversity in birds and its fair share of interesting mammal taxa.
 
Prochilodus246 said:
the Owston's civets' enclosure in the Creatures of the Night house appeared boarded up although I was told on an email they were fed at a given time and may have been visible from then till the zoo closed, apparently not.
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The former night exhibit is vacant subsequent to the single inhabitant being sent to Thrigby Hall - the remaining 1,1 civets at Newquay are onshow in their usual exhibit at the other end of the zoo. It'll be *that* exhibit to which the email was referring.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
The former night exhibit is vacant subsequent to the single inhabitant being sent to Thrigby Hall - the remaining 1,1 civets at Newquay are onshow in their usual exhibit at the other end of the zoo. It'll be *that* exhibit to which the email was referring.
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Great! So not really an 'onshow' Owstons in the UK any more then. Seen them in nocturnal exhibit every time but never in other Newquay exhibit!
Not seen last 2 year's annual visits to Thrigby or Shaldon either
 
pipaluk said:
Great! So not really an 'onshow' Owstons in the UK any more then. Seen them in nocturnal exhibit every time but never in other Newquay exhibit!
Not seen last 2 year's annual visits to Thrigby or Shaldon either
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The civets at Shaldon are still very much onshow, and I saw them on my visit to the collection last summer. The indoor viewing offered is, indeed, exceptionally poor, and as they are nocturnal, your only real chance of seeing them outdoors is when they are fed. However they are indeed fed daily, usually in the late afternoon, but keepers are more than happy to let you know the exact times, and the male in particular is more than likely to venture outdoors shortly after this.
 
pipaluk said:
Great! So not really an 'onshow' Owstons in the UK any more then. Seen them in nocturnal exhibit every time but never in other Newquay exhibit!
Not seen last 2 year's annual visits to Thrigby or Shaldon either
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I'm batting a 33.33% success rate for both outdoors at Shaldon and the outdoor Newquay exhibit, having seen them active in 2021 at the former and 2014 at the latter, but failing in 2014/2024 and 2021/2024 respectively.

My odds at Newquay would possibly have been higher had I stuck around all day on the two more recent visits rather than moving onto Hayle in the afternoon.
 
Doesnt Thrigby’s exhibit have indoor den viewing? On both of my visits since their new enclosure just before the cat cloisters area was built i swear there was a viewing window into the den with a curled up civet in view?
 
pangolin12 said:
Doesnt Thrigby’s exhibit have indoor den viewing? On both of my visits since their new enclosure just before the cat cloisters area was built i swear there was a viewing window into the den with a curled up civet in view?
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Yes there is an indoor area you can see into, but the sleeping quarters are not visible and you could only see into them on a TV screen when I was last there. In the previous enclosure you could always see them as the sleeping area was on show.
 
I remember on my visit in April that the keepers had said lots of mating had been taking place, so this definitely appears to have payed dividends.
 
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