Unusual animals in UK zoos.

The Rare Species Conservation Centre, in Sandwich, Kent, has many unusual species and has only recently opened. It is possible the Malayan Tapirs formerly listed by ISIS at Howletts have moved there. If so, it seems as shame, as the enclosure does not appear to offer as much cover or space as Howletts.

There are photos of some of the half-finished enclosures here:

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Their site lists the following speces, although it seems like alot to exhibit on 1.5 acres of land. According to ISIS, their clouded leopards have already bred, and although there is no database listing, a picture of a hand-raised Malayan Sun bear has just appeared on their site. As the only Sun bears in the UK are at Belfast Zoo, and have never bred, surely this is not actually an animal in their care?

RSCC - Animals

BINTURONG
BRAZILIAN OCELOT
CLOUDED LEOPARD
COTTON TOP TAMARIN
CROWNED LEMUR
FAT TAILED DWARF LEMUR
FOSSA
GOELDI'S MONKEY
JAGUARUNDI
LESSER ANTEATER
MALAYAN TAPIR
OWSTON'S CIVET
POTTO
PYGMY SLOW LORIS
RED RUFFED LEMUR
SLOW LORIS
ST VINCENT AGOUTI
WESTERN GREY BAMBOO LEMUR
WHITE CHEEKED GIBBON
WHITE FACED SAKI MONKEY

BALI STARLING
CROWNED PIGEON
CUBAN FLAMINGO
MADAGASCAR TEAL
SCARLET IBIS
TOCO TOUCAN
DWARF CROCODILE
GOLDEN MANTELLA
RADIATED TORTOISE
TOMATO FROG
 
As for Wapiti, Bush Farm Bison Centre near Warminster hold a Wapiti herd as well as Bison and Red Deer, possibly the from Flamingoland or Cricket St. Thomas when these collections stopped keeping them? Edinburgh also hold a small group of Bactrian Wapiti.
 
Hadley said:
As for Wapiti, Bush Farm Bison Centre near Warminster hold a Wapiti herd as well as Bison and Red Deer, possibly the from Flamingoland or Cricket St. Thomas when these collections stopped keeping them? Edinburgh also hold a small group of Bactrian Wapiti.
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I didn't know that. Yes, Cricket St Thomas used to have Wapiti so perhaps they sent them over to Warminster- not very far away. Also Cricket nowadays have some American Bison- perhaps from this Bison centre?
 
Cromer will be keeping pumas when it opens next Easter;the old Cromer Zoo,run by Olga Kerr,kept them too.
 
Sorry for double posting (mea culpa) but are there any musk oxen in the UK.Last time I was at Whipsnade over ten years back there was one near the wisents.
 
Is there any more American Bison left in the UK?

I remember some at Chester before Tsavo was built - but they might have been European...
 
American Bison are still quite common in the UK....at Port Lympne, Knowsley Safari Park, Blair Drummond, Manor House Wild Animal Park and Cricket St. Thomas. There are a couple of 'Bison Farms', the founder stock of which tend to have come from the UK zoos that have phased out this species (eg. Chester), notably Bush Farm Bison Centre in the West Country.
 
The bison you remember from Chester were American Bison, they can be seen at Knowsley and Woburn, and I think several farms now keep bison for their meat.
 
Hadley said:
American Bison are still quite common in the UK....at Port Lympne, Knowsley Safari Park, Blair Drummond, Manor House Wild Animal Park and Cricket St. Thomas.
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American Bison also at Whipsnade(3) and Paignton(2-3) zoos.
 
ZooMania said:
So Chester didnt actually give their bison to farms like CAPS and Born Free suggest.
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That's an interesting concept- sending them to farms. They are then far more likely to be either slaughtered for meat, or used for breeding more bison for meat. Do CAPS and Born Free think the farms will take them so they can graze contendly in fields? . And if they do, how is life in an enclosure on a farm really any different for the Bison from that in a moderately spacious zoo paddock.? What a ridiculous suggestion....
 
Well, CAPS appears to have a very negative stance on any zoo, so i would take some of the information with a pinch of salt.
 
grantsmb said:
That's an interesting concept- sending them to farms. They are then far more likely to be either slaughtered for meat, or used for breeding more bison for meat. Do CAPS and Born Free think the farms will take them so they can graze contendly in fields? . And if they do, how is life in an enclosure on a farm really any different for the Bison from that in a moderately spacious zoo paddock.? What a ridiculous suggestion....
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Thanks, I had forgotten about Paignton and Whipsnade....

What Zoomania refers to is the suggestion by the groups concerned that this is what actually happened - rather than a suggestion to repatriate them to farm fields or whatever. They were unhappy that the animals went to a farm as they imaginged they would be slaughtered, even if they were initially breeding stock. I have no idea what happened to them. When I worked with animals years ago some Emu chicks were sent to an ostrich farm, so I guess its commonplace in zoos where there are surplus stock. It is pretty unpleasant, though, but then I'm a vegan so I'm bound to be biased.
 
kiang said:
are there any raccoon dogs in britain
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Yes, there are. Several are kept and bred by NAPAK members, and I think the only ones (kind of) on public display are in some guy's 'zoo' of animals he hires out to take round schools and suchlike I think in the midlands somewhere, and there is one very small obscure wildlife/bird park which has them but I can't remember where it is.
 
ZooMania said:
So Chester didnt actually give their bison to farms like CAPS and Born Free suggest.
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Almost nearly but not quite they did send some but under the agreement they were only to be used as breeding stock and not for sale,but somebody at the farm forgot and sent some to the killed for the meat trade.
 
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