I think the suggestion of moving the rockhoppers to Edinburgh is a good one, as if they are more regular breeders then that can stimulate the pairs at Edinburgh and also their youngsters may then have the possibility of breeding with the younger (or older) birds at Edinburgh. The larger the group the greater chance of success I would say.
ZSL London Zoo Penguin Beach
- Thread starter John Dineley
- Start date
-
- Tags
- penguins
I think the suggestion of moving the rockhoppers to Edinburgh is a good one, as if they are more regular breeders then that can stimulate the pairs at Edinburgh and also their youngsters may then have the possibility of breeding with the younger (or older) birds at Edinburgh. The larger the group the greater chance of success I would say.
It wasn't so much a case of trying to breed from the Drusillas animals, but Edinburgh have said on their facebook that they have limited success because rockhoppers breed better in colonies - I thought even if there were additional non-breeding birds it would increase the colony size and the chance of breeding as a result
johnstoni.
Well-Known Member
But Edinburgh's point is not made in the case of the Whipsnade birds, as one prolific pair exist in the absence of a larger group of rockhoppers. It is possible that the conditions at Whipsnade make a contribution to the success of this pair, far better for Edinburgh to relocate some of its Northern rockhoppers to Whipsnade if the argument is to trigger breeding in other pairs in the UK, rather than disrupt the Whipsnade pair by moving them to a new environment. Maybe this and last years rockhopper chicks at Whipsnade, plus Ricky at London, should be exchanged with birds at Edinburgh to build the Whipsnade group?
Slightly off-topic - am I imagining this, or did Edinburgh used to keep its rockhoppers in a separate exhibit to the other penguins? And when the current penguin pool opened, the rockhoppers only moved there after the macaronis all left?
Slightly off-topic - am I imagining this, or did Edinburgh used to keep its rockhoppers in a separate exhibit to the other penguins? And when the current penguin pool opened, the rockhoppers only moved there after the macaronis all left?
I can certainly remember the rockhoppers being exhibited separate from the other penguins as far back as the early seventies.
When I visited Edinbugh a couple of years ago the rockhoppers were confined to the smaller enclosure to the side of the main one and were nesting in there . I believe this is only during their breeding season and that later in the year this enclosure is used for 'weaning' the youg gentoos hatched that year .
ZSL AGM Penguin Beach
I attended the Fellows AGM yesterday and we also had an interesting presentation on penguin field work and a guided tour of penguin beach.
The current plan is for the zoo to keep Humbolt and Macaroni penguins - although currently all of the later are males but there is plans to bring in females.
The juvenile Blackfoots and 'Ricky' the Rockhopper will be moving to Whipsnade at the end of the summer.
The feeding time is really worth watching from the seating stand with such a large group of birds and the large panoramic windows.
Video footage here:
I attended the Fellows AGM yesterday and we also had an interesting presentation on penguin field work and a guided tour of penguin beach.
The current plan is for the zoo to keep Humbolt and Macaroni penguins - although currently all of the later are males but there is plans to bring in females.
The juvenile Blackfoots and 'Ricky' the Rockhopper will be moving to Whipsnade at the end of the summer.
The feeding time is really worth watching from the seating stand with such a large group of birds and the large panoramic windows.
Video footage here:
Last edited by a moderator:
toucanwalk
Well-Known Member
Mentioning living coasts where di they get there gentoos come from I have a feeling they came from seaworld in the US but not sure?? love the new penguin pool at London nicer than the new one at falmingo land although that is nice too - am looking forward to seeing if twycross is going to re do theres as I herd it could be a possibility.
Living Coasts did import a group from the USA in 2004 although the collection wasn't named at the time. The existing birds at LC had come from Edinburgh before that
After losing many of their gentoos, the remainder were sent to Edinburgh (some were original Edinburgh birds, some originated from the US and one bird originated from Bristol).