taun
Well-Known Member
I gather this is also know as the east african sub species?
Chester Zoo "Superzoo"- rumours, confirmed etc...
- Thread starter brokehalo7
- Start date
I gather this is also know as the east african sub species?
Soemmeringii ranges from Nigeria to Solmalia and possibly the Arabian peninsula but raineyi inhabits east Africa.
I know soemmeringii as the North African cheetah but hecki is found furthur north.
Actually I am amazed that the cheetah has any recognised subspecies, they are all supposed to be very closely related having experienced a genetic bottleneck around 10,000 years ago.
Chester and Whipsnade have A.j.soemmeringii
All other UK cheetahs are A.j.jubatus I think.
I know soemmeringii as the North African cheetah but hecki is found furthur north.
Actually I am amazed that the cheetah has any recognised subspecies, they are all supposed to be very closely related having experienced a genetic bottleneck around 10,000 years ago.
Chester and Whipsnade have A.j.soemmeringii
All other UK cheetahs are A.j.jubatus I think.
Last edited:
Whipsnade has A. j. jubatus and A. j. soemmerringii - as I understand it the ones in the front, display pens are the jubatus and the soemerringii are just about visible in the off-show pens behind.
The offshow area looks like a cross between a dog breeder's kennels and Guantanamo Bay- I think they should plant a belt of trees to sheild it from public view as it is pretty unnattractive. A big contrast to the fancy public display.
:cool
sorry, had to have a little laugh here! i cant believe anyone on here doesnt know what biota is!
Writhedhornbill
Well-Known Member
thanks Taun& kzjimmyAre you referring to Chester's old polar bear enclosure?
If so, it's not an exhibit to be "really impressed" with, it was just above average for it's era...
If so, it's not an exhibit to be "really impressed" with, it was just above average for it's era...[/QUOTE]
Chesters Polar bear exhibit was at its time l belive. A fantastic exhibit. I did personally see it many years ago. It did not have filtration or a viewing window. What it did have was space and enrichment.
Most polar bears at the time were still kept in "bear pitts" with a pool smaller than that in most back yards.
This particular bear if memory seves me right was not even using its previous pool. There is a beutifull story that is included in this book "Zoo without bars: The story of Chester Zoo and its founder George Saul Mottershead"
Stuart R Webster
Chesters Polar bear exhibit was at its time l belive. A fantastic exhibit. I did personally see it many years ago. It did not have filtration or a viewing window. What it did have was space and enrichment.
Most polar bears at the time were still kept in "bear pitts" with a pool smaller than that in most back yards.
This particular bear if memory seves me right was not even using its previous pool. There is a beutifull story that is included in this book "Zoo without bars: The story of Chester Zoo and its founder George Saul Mottershead"
Stuart R Webster
No Sea world Orlandos, It is the Artic!
That is if the arctic were all concrete and plaster and fitted indoors. I've not seen the exhibit 'in the flesh', but from photos I wouldn't say it provides for polar bears like somewhere like detroit zoo does.
I would agree. It wasn't exceptional but it did have the all important space and a very large swimming area and was certainly the best in the Uk for the era it was built in it- but so were most of Chester's buildings in those days...
Do you mean keeping or breeding?
Most polar bears in zoos in those days gave birth to cubs annually but with insufficient privacy only rarely reared them. Later some zoos improved their denning facilities so more cubs survived.
Chester only ever reared one cub successfully but maybe they didn't try too hard- finding new homes for them wasn't easy even then.
The reason for Chester's lack of breeding with polar bears has been explained previously, by Gentle Lemur I think, my apologies if it was someone else.
There were no facilities for isolating the male when the female was due to give birth, so a deliberate policy of non-breeding was adopted.
I'm sure if polar bears were ever to return to Chester, an exhibit capable of housing a breeding pair would be constructed.
As Perinax says in 1950 it would have been one of the best bear enclosures in the country.
There were no facilities for isolating the male when the female was due to give birth, so a deliberate policy of non-breeding was adopted.
I'm sure if polar bears were ever to return to Chester, an exhibit capable of housing a breeding pair would be constructed.
As Perinax says in 1950 it would have been one of the best bear enclosures in the country.
johnstoni
Well-Known Member
I mean that the last few adults did not seem to survive long at chester, but yes I was unaware that there was no proper facility to allow cubs to be reared. I am not suggesting chester was particularly bad at keeping polar bears, only that, given the high standard of enclosure for that era, and still fairly good compared to other collections up until the 90s, I had always assumed chester might have had a better record that most other UK zoos. I just remember the exhibit and mentally compared it to, say, chessington, glasgow, london, dudley, bristol etc, and expected Chester to have been more successful. I have made the same assumption about Belfast, but now you've got me thinking that I only have one study to go on regarding Belfast, does anyone know how successful they were in terms of rearing cubs/adult longevity and health?
