Paignton Zoo odds and ends from Paignton

News just in - I don't have all the details yet, I'm afraid:
A male cheetah is arriving tomorrow from a European zoo. One of our female cheetahs is moving to Dartmoor tomorrow.
Accompanying the male cheetah is a male Saki monkey to pair with the female who arrived from Sweden on 17 June.
Chat, the male Bongo, is leaving soon and will not be replaced as they are 'full up'. Two female bongos have been born recently.
Two emu chicks have arrived from another zoo.
That's it, I think.
 
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Cool about the cheetah, I guess she'll go in the old tiger "mountain". Have Paignton ever had success breeding cheetah before?
 
No, they've had no success with previous cheetahs so are really hoping that the new pairing works.
 
No, they've had no success with previous cheetahs so are really hoping that the new pairing works.

I didn't think the paignton cheetah enclosure was up to much, but then it was a long time ago since I visited and my memory is a little hazy, perhaps a picture would be good? please?
 
The male cheetah is from Austria and is 4½. He was in with the female this morning and all looked quite calm. The other female (Sita) has gone to Dartmoor to give this pair the chance to bond, and may return after the summer.
I did take a photo, and I'll see if it's OK later, but it's not easy to get a good view of the enclosure. You can only view it from one side and that has just two viewing windows. It's on a slope with grass, trees and shrubs and a couple of platforms. The male was exploring and marking for a while and then joined the female who was hiding at the top of the enclosure behind a shrub.
 
Male orangutan, Demo, was doing some extraordinary vocalising yesterday. He looked annoyed but I'm not sure why, except that he'd been let out and the door was closed and the girls were still inside. He was curling back his top lip and making a loud squeaking sound followed by a low rumble, while angrily hitting things with a stick. Not quite a long call, but very interesting to hear it.
 
Gigit;196033 He was curling back his top lip and making a loud squeaking sound followed by a low rumble said:
That sounds like a version of the 'Kiss-squeak' another vocalisation know for Orangutans which I think indicates tension or annoyance/fear.

I doubt if Demo could long call at his age, I think its an 'adults only' call. And if he is destructive now, he will probably get worse as an adult and Paignton could find it very frustrating long term.
 
Male tapir, Zorro, is due to move to Whipsnade.
Half of the elephant house is now covered with sand to help ease Gaye's ongoing foot problem.
The youngest gorillas have been introduced to silverback, Pertinax. He's an old hand at this sort of thing and shows them how big he is. Yesterday, all four youngsters were keeping a very respectful distance from him.
The zoo continues to be inundated by school visits. I appreciate that they need the revenue, but it doesn't make for pleasant visits for others when there are a lot of unsupervised groups everywhere. During the week, one school was so horrendous that they were thrown out an hour after their arrival. I'd like to name and shame them but I'll just say that it was a church school from Torquay. I wonder what Zoochat's Under 20's would think if this happened to their school?
 
Oh yeah, they don't have any do they? Wonder where they'll go?
 
Hi, Can I ask some questions, what is the problem with gays foot? How many cheetahs were there, 2 females, we only ever saw one.
Were/are any of the Orangs pregnant?
 
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One Cheetah was out the front and one was in the back enclosure not on show both females.

Re; Orangotangos see Gigit comment !!!!!!!!!!!

Dont know about Gay.:D
 
Hi, Can I ask some questions, what is the problem with gays foot?

I don't know exactly. A toe on her left front foot is affected. I saw the vet treating it a couple of days ago. Gay was being very patient with her foot raised on a bar as the vet scraped, poked, prodded and filed it. The newly arrived sand in one half of the enclosure had been levelled but there were only human footprints on it at that time.
 
The zoo continues to be inundated by school visits. I appreciate that they need the revenue, but it doesn't make for pleasant visits for others when there are a lot of unsupervised groups everywhere. During the week, one school was so horrendous that they were thrown out an hour after their arrival. I'd like to name and shame them but I'll just say that it was a church school from Torquay. I wonder what Zoochat's Under 20's would think if this happened to their school?[/QUOTE]

Hi Gigit can I just say that I have checked with the education centre who are the people responsible for all students in the zoo and who monitor reports of bad behaviour. They would also ultimately be the ones who decide if a school is to be asked to leave. This incident did not happen!
I don't know who your sources are but they have given you wrong information. This time of year is always very busy with students as it is the Summer term. As the zoo is a conservation and EDUCATIONAL charity, it welcomes and appreciates school groups. There has never been a case in memorable knowledge when a school group has been asked to leave on mass. It is not good to publish hear say as it can be very damaging to the zoo's reputation.
 
The zoo continues to be inundated by school visits. I appreciate that they need the revenue, but it doesn't make for pleasant visits for others when there are a lot of unsupervised groups everywhere. During the week, one school was so horrendous that they were thrown out an hour after their arrival. I'd like to name and shame them but I'll just say that it was a church school from Torquay. I wonder what Zoochat's Under 20's would think if this happened to their school?

Hi Gigit can I just say that I have checked with the education centre who are the people responsible for all students in the zoo and who monitor reports of bad behaviour. They would also ultimately be the ones who decide if a school is to be asked to leave. This incident did not happen!
I don't know who your sources are but they have given you wrong information. This time of year is always very busy with students as it is the Summer term. As the zoo is a conservation and EDUCATIONAL charity, it welcomes and appreciates school groups. There has never been a case in memorable knowledge when a school group has been asked to leave on mass. It is not good to publish hear say as it can be very damaging to the zoo's reputation.[/QUOTE]

Did you actually visit on that day? Gay Ducchess?
 
I did and I can assure you they were kicked out, for their Behaviour was appauling .They were abusive,Smoking fondling each other threatening to hit the animals commenting on how discusting the zoo was for locking up animals,need i go any further.Were they also responsible for kicking out three youths who were demanding money of people and were very intimidating to people they were also kicked out .Did you phone the security people.I can only admire the zoo for doing this as most of the students are allowed to run around the zoo unsupervised.Some of the schools are absolutely fantastic and care about the zoo and understand what the zoo is about.and the teachers care about their charges and that reflects in there behavior.I personally have been kicked hit punched climbed on covered in ice cream,food etc and no teachers in sight.
I think CHARITYBegins at home!
 
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