Chester Zoo Visits Winter
- Thread starter Cheetah fan
- Start date
Geographically they'd be OK there, but the area isn't big enough. When funding allows they're supposed to be located in the paddock opposite Bears of the Cloud Forest.
Cheetah fan
Well-Known Member
Perhaps they're building a shelter for you to live in!
Cheetah fan
Well-Known Member
Jordan-Jaguar97
Well-Known Member
A Young Red Lechwe is being hand reared by Chas Mackenzie head of Rhino's he is named Astrid and is currently 2 weeks old.
lechweoryx
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He will be taken home with Chas over Christmas.
Jordan-Jaguar97
Well-Known Member
I dint think they had a male Red Lechwe?
Neither did I, I thought they were all Kafue Flats lechwe and the whole 'red lechwe' was a massive misprint that has never been altered?
A very handsome male was brought in soon after Tim Rowlands took over as curator - I believe he was making a conscious effort to get species like the lechwe back into breeding situations.
And here he is: http://www.zoochat.com/42/chester-zoo-kafue-flats-lechwe-115351/
These animals were listed as Red Lechwe Kobus leche leche for a long time, but they are pure Kafue Flats Lechwe Kobus leche kafuensis.
The first pair arrived as a gift from the Game Department of Northern Rhodesia in February 1958. They were the first inhabitants of the zoo's new quarantine station at Birkenhead.
The Kafue subspecies was not described until 1963, so the zoo would consider them to be Kobus leche leche when they arrived, and apparently it took many years before they were listed under the correct name.
The first pair arrived as a gift from the Game Department of Northern Rhodesia in February 1958. They were the first inhabitants of the zoo's new quarantine station at Birkenhead.
The Kafue subspecies was not described until 1963, so the zoo would consider them to be Kobus leche leche when they arrived, and apparently it took many years before they were listed under the correct name.
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Indeed, although they're still often referred to as 'Red Lechwe', both at Chester and at other zoos with animals of the same population. As it stands, there are no Red Lechwe in the UK, only Kafue Flats Lechwe and Nile Lechwe (which of course are a different species altogether, Kobus megaceros).
Jordan-Jaguar97
Well-Known Member
So are these the one's who share there enclosure with the 4 Roan Antelope?
lechweoryx
Well-Known Member
Yes. There are currently 5 females.
The male was brought in earlier in the year I think but he didn't stay for very long. Last I saw of him was a picture of him in a paddock next to the cheetah.
Yes, although they are sometimes split with the lechwe in the old wallaby paddock and the roan in the larger paddock.
As far as I'm aware he's still in the collection, but might not be with the females at all times. He's been there since at least November 2009 - see the date of the photo I linked to above.
lechweoryx
Well-Known Member
The male has been removed from ISIS and it just lists 5 females. I haven't heard of any sightings for a while.