zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
Just been on isis and its show as them have 1.1.0 Virginia Opossum (Didephus virginiana) at this collection has any body seen them and if so which part of the zoo are they kept in.
Paradise Wildlife Park Virginia Opossum
- Thread starter zoogiraffe
- Start date
Yes, I've seen them. They were being held off show when I saw them. I think they might be being used in the animal encounters session. There are other members of this forum who could give you the precise details though.
hi yes there are indeed a pair of virginia opussums at paradise and as paradoxurus has said they are kept backstage and are used in the shows there.
They were rescues and were found to be very tame so were used for shows. although they are currently not being used as their keeper is hoping they may breed and is giving them a break from shows to see if that helps.
they are quite amazing animals and its a shame there arent many around
stu
They were rescues and were found to be very tame so were used for shows. although they are currently not being used as their keeper is hoping they may breed and is giving them a break from shows to see if that helps.
they are quite amazing animals and its a shame there arent many around
stu
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
Yep that does help many thanks.
hi yes there are indeed a pair of virginia opussums at paradise and as paradoxurus has said they are kept backstage and are used in the shows there.
They were rescues and were found to be very tame so were used for shows. although they are currently not being used as their keeper is hoping they may breed and is giving them a break from shows to see if that helps.
they are quite amazing animals and its a shame there arent many around
stu
I am just nearing a holiday in the UK and just visited Paradise park, I was impressed with the changes. I have used virginia oppossums in the USA zoo where I volunteer, the only issue is that their life span is 2-3 years. We generally recieved them as rescues where the mothers were run over and they were hand raised but needed a lot of handling to make them tame enough for presentations. The advantage is they have around 12 offspring at a time. They are crepusicular so dont make great static exhibit.
yes paradise has improved alot in the past 5 years that ive been regularly going. the opussums deffinatly wouldnt make good display animals they spend the majority of the day in the inside area of their enclosure and only go out in the evening, amazing to watch them climb using their tails to help balance and climb up the branches.
stu
stu
Sorry to bump a old thread but it doesn't need a new one making.
The last of the Virginia Opossum's died in 2010
The last of the Virginia Opossum's died in 2010
yes unfortunatly there are no more Virginia Opossums left at the park... with such a short lifespan and coming in as an adult pair fully grown they did live quite a long while.
Would love to see more of these being bred in UK zoos (privately there seems to be trend with keeping them at the moment)
Stu
Would love to see more of these being bred in UK zoos (privately there seems to be trend with keeping them at the moment)
Stu