Twycross Zoo Twycross Zoo News 2011 #2

Maguari

Never could get the hang of Thursdays.
15+ year member
Premium Member
Will be visitng on the 2nd August

What should I look out for and what have they got unique to there collection that no one else has got

Major rarities these days at Twycross:

Crowned Guenon
Lowe's Guenon
Roloway Guenon
Hamlyn's Guenon
Allen's Swamp Monkey
Spectacled Langur
Francois' Langur
Humboldt's Woolly Monkey
Black-eared Marmoset
Crowned Lemur
Mueller's Gibbon
Agile Gibbon
Bonobo
South African Aardwolf
Arabian Striped Hyaena
Dhole
Northern Yellow-throated Marten
Michie's Tufted Deer

Little Pied Cormorant
Purple Heron
Black-throated Monitor

Probably forgetting a few - particularly I feel there's probably some other birds. Twycross has a lot of things in the level of 'in two or three or four UK zoos' - not astoundingly rare but certainly not common. The ones I've bolded above are the only ones in the UK (or at least the only ones on show!). The Crowned Guenon is the only one of his subspecies in Europe.
 
And from what I've come to believe, the last of his subspecies in captivity full stop?

I'm not aware of any others - there are a few C. p. grayi about, but I don't know of any other C. p. pogonias. That said, there easily could be some, particularly in Africa (rescue centres maybe?).
 
Does anyone know details of the origin of Twycross's Crowned Guenon? Although listed as being a C. pogonias pogonias, visually [i.e. chestnut-coloured back] she looks like a C. p. grayi to me.
 
Does anyone know details of the origin of Twycross's Crowned Guenon? Although listed as being a C. pogonias pogonias, visually [i.e. chestnut-coloured back] she looks like a C. p. grayi to me.

Didn't they come from a French university? Something at the back of my mind says Rennes.
 
Didn't they come from a French university? Something at the back of my mind says Rennes.

Well remembered; the "Station Biologique de Paimpont" to be exact, which forms part of the University of Rennes.

The original group of four animals arrived in 1992 (one died shortly after arrival, leaving 1.2). The group did quite well for a few years and they were Twycross' only real success story with guenons in recent years. Regular births got the group up to six animals in 1997/98, but a disastrous year in 2000 saw the death of a new-born infant plus three adults and this brought the group down to 1.1. The remaining male died in 2003.

A census of captive primates in 1992 listed three C. pogonias at Twycross and one C. p. grayi at Paimpont (another two animals were recorded at Antwerp). Even without the physical appearance of the animals, this seems like pretty compelling evidence for identifying the Twycross animals as grayi.

For the record, Groves (2001) accepts four subspecies: C. p. pogonias, C. p. nigripes, C. p. grayi and C. p. schwarzianus.
 
Just laid my hands on some more annual reports ...

The remaining male from Paimpont was sent to Twycross in 1993.

Surprisingly, two animals left the collection in 1995: does anyone know where they went to?

There were five successful births between 1994 and 1999.
 
A census of captive primates in 1992 listed three C. pogonias at Twycross and one C. p. grayi at Paimpont (another two animals were recorded at Antwerp). Even without the physical appearance of the animals, this seems like pretty compelling evidence for identifying the Twycross animals as grayi.
Nice work, robmv. The evidence for a grayi identity for the Twycross guenon looks strong. It's also the most widespread of the pogonias subspecies.
 
The zoo's facebook is showing pictures of a new (male) sealion pup born yesterday!

That's a surprise - the pair have been there so long with no births I didn't even consider them as possible breeding animals! Good news though - I'm struggling to think of another UK Patagonian Sea Lion birth recently*.





*and yes, I am now expecting someone to produce a whole list! :D
 
Edinburgh and Colchester come to mind although;

Colchester have an all-female group of five.

Edinburgh's male has only recently matured.
 
Edinburgh and Colchester come to mind although;

Colchester have an all-female group of five.

Edinburgh's male has only recently matured.
Also you have missed Dudley Zoo who currently hold 1.2
None of which have had a birth yet,so don't count in regards to Maguari's post!!

In regards to Twycross and births they have had a few dns 30 days,in recent years will dig out the annual reports later and check the years,unless someone beats me to it!!

It also explains why the female was hiding away on the pebbled area that acts as a small beach for them,when I visited last sunday!!
 
Last edited:
This is correct....Twycross, who coordinate the ESB, have only had births that haven't survived. So the odds are against this one surviving, although it will be a wonderful accomplishment if it does, and possibly some aspects of the husbandry regime may have been altered following previous infant mortality (that is, if it was found there was room for improvement).

I remember a small group of Patagonians, maybe three or four, that lived on the jetty in one of the Cricket St. Thomas lake enclosures, until the mid-eighties, in the late 80s Banham had a mature pair, as did Gweek Seal Sanctuary, but I don't think any of these collections bred them. Dudley may have had births, but I don't think any have been reared successfully in the last few decades. I am fairly certain the last successful rearing of a Patagonian sea lion birth in the UK was in the late 80s, at Curraghs wildlife park, which no longer keeps this species.

I have no idea why Colchester hold five females in the best exhibit for this species in the UK, yet have never introduced a male to the enclosure. When they opened the previous Sea Lion exhibit (now the second penguin pool), around 1988, I believe they had either 1.2 or 3.0 young Patagonians which were trained to perform, I've no idea whether any of these made it into the current exhibit when it opened.

This thread is devoted to the subject:

http://www.zoochat.com/38/most-recent-patagonian-southern-sealion-uk-136020/
 
Last edited:
It also explains why the female was hiding away on the pebbled area that acts as a small beach for them,when I visited last sunday!!

Yes maybe, but from the photos it looks like the female gave birth on the island, possibly the least appropriate place in the enclosure. I hope the pup survives.
 
We will have lions back at the Zoo in our new project Kuno, an exciting exhibition featuring Asian carnivores! The Kuno containers will be open in the next few weeks which will explain what you can expect and show plans of the Kuno project.

A baby Bat Eared Fox has been born.

From facebook.
 
Observation from today's visit:

Langur house now contains a pair of Lowe's Guenons in the old Javan langur exhibit. (This house now has only a couple of Spectacled Langurs, De Brazza's Monkey's and the Lowe's.) Also the inside of the empty exhibit is currently being revamped.

Another Crowned Lemur has been born.

A Striated Caracara chick has fledged.

Hamlyn's Guenon's have been moved into the so-called "Quarantine House" in one of the larger outdoor exhibits which used to be home to the Spider Monkeys, and before that the Spot-nosed Guenons.

The revamp of the outdoor Woolly Monkey enclosure seems to be finished. Looking rather bare atm but seems to have a much stronger roof.

The newly moved White-faced Saki's (moved from the Woolly monkey house to the large monkey house near the penguins) have had a new baby.

Photo's to follow in the next few days. :D
 
We will have lions back at the Zoo in our new project Kuno, an exciting exhibition featuring Asian carnivores! The Kuno containers will be open in the next few weeks which will explain what you can expect and show plans of the Kuno project.

From facebook.

Any dates mentioned (sorry, I don't do facebook)?
 
Hamlyn's Guenon's have been moved into the so-called "Quarantine House" in one of the larger outdoor exhibits which used to be home to the Spider Monkeys, and before that the Spot-nosed Guenons.

They do seem to shift them around quite a bit. They were in this house previously before being transferred into the Monkey House a year or two ago. They(or other Hamlyn's) have been in that Monkey House before too.
 
Ethan Leaving

Just found out that Ethan, the charasmatic Concolour Gibbon, will be leaving for a French Zoo (EEP breeding recommendation) within a month or so.
 
Back
Top