South Lakes Wild Animal Park South lakes news

Any idea what happened to the crested macaques that used to be between the siamangs and the white handed gibbons?

In reference to the history of the lions I'm pretty sure the male and one of the females were 2 of 4 that originally came from West Mids Safari Park. The 2 other females came over from a zoo in France and their introduction to the other 2 was covered by one of the Michaela Strachan programmes on Channel 5

Any idea where the new giraffe came from?
 
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Back to the flamingos - they came from cuba from a specalist flamingo breeding facility although I have my doubts that they are bred I have herd they 'rescue' late hatched chicks from the near by wild carribean colony in accordance with CITIES.They have a website showing how they send the birds they send them all over the world! Caribbean flamingos - International Flamingo Services
The flamingos and south lakes were shown a few years ago on channel 5 on michaela's
animal road trip - they were being put with black swans,various warter fowl,storks and wallabies they pool looked very muddy and the flamingo house was very steep and muddy,not sure if they have bred since.
 
(Dont know whether this has been posted before but here goes)

South lakes are going to be getting Tayra.

The guide lists them as having "the only ones in the UK," but its wrong, they haven't actually got them yet as we asked a keeper where they were, and they havent arrived! (also, even if they did have them, exmoor keep them too :D)

The baby Paca was quite active, unlike his parents. Also in there exhibit, the sloths dont seem to have any proper access to the outdoor exhibit as the only hole big enough, is on the floor for the Paca and the Bettong, can it actually have access outside?
 
Ash, who are you? expert indeed. why are you suggesting that the South american exhibit is unsafe? before you make comments like this you need to look at the sucess of this exhibit and the research completed by numerous institutions and in particular the support from the Andean Bear EEP for the interaction and stimulus the animals all get from being placed together in a large enclosure. i get a feeling from a lot of the posts on here that doing something different and more stimulating for the animals is not acceptable to traditional zoo fans. Well it certainly gets the vote from the public and the animals, good health and welfare results and south Lakes just had the best summer in its history and the best bank holiday attendance in its 16 years of opperation. dont knock it because you dont understand it . I for one think more mixed exhibits are a positve thing for animal welfare if thoughtfully done and carefully monitored. I am a very experience ex zoo professional and see the developments at south Lakes as forward thinking and excellent use of investment funds so they can do what all zoos should do put most of their profits into conservation in the wild in a big way. £200,000 a year is an amazing feat for a smaller place and out performs virtually every zoo in the country in its direct programmes overseas. so crtisism is ok but zoos are not just about keeping animals, but sadly most still are, they are about education and conservation but not just talking about it as south Lakes do say, they actually do it. well done all the staff you are looking at the future not the past.
 
Quarantine. there are no hybrid lemurs at south Lakes as you suggest. the areas are seperate , one for breeding animals and one for males only. the area where Red , black and white and subcincta mix are all males. there is a very careful control of all management within the EEP programmes. the emus have been in the walk through mixed exhibit for 16 years without any issues at all. I am certain that the zoo inspectorate would not allow any of these things if they were of any concern for safety and to date I am certain they have not had any problems with this.
 
simmojunior said:
Please don't tell me theTamanduas and Sloths are going in this South American exhibit as well.
Knowing South Lakes, the Jaguars probably are :eek:
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Simmojunior: you "know "south Lakes do you? I read many of these posts with distaste at the "know it all" comments. A zoo like South Lakes is a serious conservation centre with moral and ethics that are far above many zoos. It does not take much to see how the whole strategy is to put animals welfare first and conservation of them at the top of the list. you disrespect the management who have vast experience with your comments about their decision making. I wonder where some of the people who write in these columns actually get all their "expertise". I know south Lakes staff read these items as they have discussed it with me on my visits and find the attitude of a few to be negative and dare I say it, traditional.
 
mhale said:
Egor had already died when I visited in September last year, but Nina was still going strong. She may have died since then, of course.
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Nina is still doing fine at the age of 15, you are correct to say that in their new plans for the zoo expansion they are only keeping sumatran tigers to represent the huge direct commitment they have in Sumatra for the past 14 years. the jaguars are due to have the whole of the two old tiger areas into one. Egor died of kidney failure at the age of 14 .
I understand that in examination of Egor by Edinburgh museum once again they have proven that muscle, tendon and bone structure in South Lakes Tigers are superior to any other zoo tiger examined . and the closest to wild tiger structure as has been noted. a scientific papaer has been produced on this subject . so why do other zoos not make their tigers and lions work hard for their food? Once again another commitment that is not recognised by others as it is not traditional practice, but obviously better for the animals.
 
I do agree that South Lakes by emphasis on new challenging multi-species exhibits is ground-breaking. It may be unorthodox to some, it is a journey moving forward what works/will not work.

I see quite a lot of similarity between South Lakes and the philosophy of John Aspinall in both his wildlife parks at Howletts, Bekesbourne and Port Lympne.

For what it is worth: John Aspinall did manage to create a new train of thought and perceptions on animal enrichment and animal oriented exhibitry and management techniques. I may not have agreed with all of them, but ... hey give the man credit where credit is due.

IMO the same goes for David Gill and his South Lakes zoo park. :D
 
yorik said:
and in particular the support from the Andean Bear EEP for the interaction and stimulus the animals all get from being placed together in a large enclosure.
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Do you know what the intention is with the Spectacled Bears at South Lakes as far as breeding is concerned i.e. do the EEP want any of these bears to breed, - or not?
 
Ash said:
Jersey only has otters and coatis (I think) with their bears, makes more sense and is fine IMO as they can actually escape from the bears
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They have lost at least one Otter to the Bears in the past.
 
With regards to the Bears, I have been told the EEP has a recommendation to breed from the 2 Zurich born females. the other two females have been patiently waiting for a new home since they were brought into South Lakes with the intention of being transferred after quarantine to go to chester years ago and the plan was changed by the EEP. The EEP is and has been looking for a new home for them for a long time. Meanwhile they are happy to remain. I dont know where you get the "facts" about otters in that enclosure , I do not know of any fatilities due to anything other than internal fights with other otters in the area. there has been at least 12 births in there that I am aware of since its inception and no more or less issues than when the group was kept in its own isolated enclosure. The Bears have never lilled or injured any other animal in there, yes there is sometimes clear interaction but the facility is large enough to handle dissagreements etc . i have heard people suggest that marks on the tapirs backs were scratches from the bears but they were caused by rubbing on tree branches or scratching themselves on the branches . i was there a few weeks ago and the Tapirs were mating, the bears were mating and the capys, tapirs , bears and otters were all in the water together swimming happily with capuchins and spider monkeys looking on with envy !
 
yorik said:
With regards to the Bears, I have been told the EEP has a recommendation to breed from the 2 Zurich born females. the other two females have been patiently waiting for a new home since they were brought into South Lakes with the intention of being transferred after quarantine to go to chester years ago and the plan was changed by the EEP. The EEP is and has been looking for a new home for them for a long time. Meanwhile they are happy to remain. I dont know where you get the "facts" about otters in that enclosure , I do not know of any fatilities due to anything other than internal fights with other otters in the area. there has been at least 12 births in there that I am aware of since its inception and no more or less issues than when the group was kept in its own isolated enclosure. The Bears have never lilled or injured any other animal in there, yes there is sometimes clear interaction but the facility is large enough to handle dissagreements etc . i have heard people suggest that marks on the tapirs backs were scratches from the bears but they were caused by rubbing on tree branches or scratching themselves on the branches . i was there a few weeks ago and the Tapirs were mating, the bears were mating and the capys, tapirs , bears and otters were all in the water together swimming happily with capuchins and spider monkeys looking on with envy !
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The mix seems very interesting and I look forward to seeing it when I visit (hopefully sometime before the year is out). I think the otter death mentioned by Pertinax was at Jersey, not South Lakes (or that's how I read it anyway). So long as the exhibit works and the animals are safe/happy then there is nothing wrong with it :).
 
yorik said:
I understand that in examination of Egor by Edinburgh museum once again they have proven that muscle, tendon and bone structure in South Lakes Tigers are superior to any other zoo tiger examined . and the closest to wild tiger structure as has been noted. a scientific papaer has been produced on this subject . so why do other zoos not make their tigers and lions work hard for their food?
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South Lakes is not the only zoo sending deceased tigers to Andrew Kitchener, or taking note of his findings on skeletal structure :)
 
yorik said:
I dont know where you get the "facts" about otters in that enclosure
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Thanks for the information on the Spectacled Bears. I imagine the two additional females may need to be moved before the others will breed successfully though. Is there a reason they didn't move to Chester ?

The otter death I was referring to was at Jersey, not South Lakes.
 
Pertinax said:
Thanks for the information on the Spectacled Bears. I imagine the two additional females may need to be moved before the others will breed successfully though. Is there a reason they didn't move to Chester ?

The otter death I was referring to was at Jersey, not South Lakes.
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Would at some point Edinburgh / Highland Wildlife be able to take the spectacled bears for S.American mountain exhibit? Or perhaps even the safari parks like West Midlands or Woburn (even Longleat would be great)?
 
The 1.4 Spectacled/Andean Bears have been living at South Lakes for a considerable period of years now, without, to my knowledge any breeding taking place. I think its unlikely there will be any successful breeding with so many bears sharing one enclosure, so I'm surprised the 0.2 additional females have not been moved elsewhere previously, to give South Lakes a better chance of breeding with the others. If they were destined for Chester originally, I wonder what changed the EEP's mind regarding that move? At Chester they have a very large enclosure and could easily accomodate one or more additional females. Also I think Belfast are currently left with just a single male(?) at present.

Or perhaps, as you said, here's a chance for an additional UK holder to start keeping this species- and hopefully breeding them too. No Spectacled bears have been born in the UK (or Jersey?) for a number of years.
 
It's a shame that there are still not that many zoos with bears. If I am right in thinking this, CAPs managed to all-but rid the country of them, but that was back when bear husbandry was not good, back in the days of bear pits.

Now, however, the way bears are kept has evolved and a few zoos seem to be testing the water by having one bear species (or occasionally two). I think more zoos should have spectacled bears, and if South Lakes need to move a couple on it can only be a wise decision for somewhere to make an exhibit for them?

A side-note just while it is relevant. Is it possible for any zoo to ever contemplate having all species of bear in the zoo (whilst keeping them in modern, good enclosures). American and Asian Black, Sloth, Sun, Spectacled, Brown, Polar and Giant Panda? So, that's 8 species?
 
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