ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Whipsnade; 2012 and beyond

i saw all 4 when i visited on march 19th. which is why i wondered why nigna and hoover were not outside together as they had been.
now that i think about it i dont remember seeing a sign outside for hoover :(
 
kaz said:
i saw all 4 when i visited on march 19th. which is why i wondered why nigna and hoover were not outside together as they had been.
now that i think about it i dont remember seeing a sign outside for hoover :(
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Hi

I went to Whipsnade today (6 May).

There were four common hippos on display, Lola and baby Hula were inside; another hippo was inside the pen and another was in the water outside. I haven't looked at the hippos in details before so unfortunately I am not sure exactly who the two outside were. There was a sign outside for Nigna but not one for Hoover. In fact one of the signs a bit to the right of the one for Nigna may have been removed as it was blank.



Del
 
Has Hula been confirmed as being a female? If she HAS, then it would be IMO a good idea to swap bulls, so a proper group can be established.

A decent, Emmen-sized group of Common Hippo would be a massive draw at Whipsnade. It would help if a decent indoor facility could be created; the present house really would be better suited to displaying Pigmy Hippo only.
 
I am very pleased to hear that all hippos are alive & well! I haven't seen it confirmed whether hula is female either, but as the only 'proper' zoo to hold the species in uk(certainly the only breedingroup) agree that whipsnade has an oppurtunity to make more of this group and should do so if at all possible.
 
IanRRobinson said:
Has Hula been confirmed as being a female? If she HAS, then it would be IMO a good idea to swap bulls, so a proper group can be established.
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I believe the bull Hoover and his father Henri at Dublin are the only entire bulls in the UK/Eire so a fresh bull would have be sourced from Europe.

If they did increase the group, an indoor barn more on the scale of the Rhinos with a big indoor pool would be needed, perhaps in a totally different place? They could perhaps incorporate underwater viewing either indoors or outside too. I agree the current modern house is really too small for this species.
 
Pertinax said:
I believe the bull Hoover and his father Henri at Dublin are the only entire bulls in the UK/Eire so a fresh bull would have be sourced from Europe.

If they did increase the group, an indoor barn more on the scale of the Rhinos with a big indoor pool would be needed, perhaps in a totally different place? They could perhaps incorporate underwater viewing either indoors or outside too. I agree the current modern house is really too small for this species.
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Totally agree. At a younger, more earnest age I once suggested to a keeper at Whipsnade that when Henry and Belinda died that the space would all be given over to Pigmy Hippo. He looked at me with horror, mixed with incomprehension.

"They're our most popular exhibits".

Common Hippo are anything but common in the UK/Ireland. Not only are there only five holders in our two countries, there are only four extant collections (London, Chester, Dudley and Woburn) that have ever held them in the past. A state-of-the art Common Hippo facility would surely be a huge draw at Whipsnade.
 
Pertinax said:
If they did increase the group, an indoor barn more on the scale of the Rhinos with a big indoor pool would be needed, perhaps in a totally different place? They could perhaps incorporate underwater viewing either indoors or outside too. I agree the current modern house is really too small for this species.
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I can't remember what the landscape is like in the adjoining field to the largest pool,but maybe a new house,additional indoor & outdoor pools & paddock could be built there for the females/young?i dont think themoney or the will to spend it would be there for anything too flash though , for a species they already hold.
 
IanRRobinson said:
"They're our most popular exhibits".
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Definately agree they should make more of them. 'Pygmies' just don't have the same cachet/draw. But of course it would be more expense, especially as that little 'cube' house is still relatively new. But it could be done. I don't think the existing site(though attractive) lends itself very well to enlargement for them so I think it might need to be somewhere else in the Park. The cube house would remain ideal for Pygmies though.
 
Pertinax said:
You forgot Chessington.;)
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Agreed, And you forgot Flamingoland..;)


In an ideal world, this would be an opportunity to open up the adjoining unused land. It is obvious that, left to themselves, the Hippo Ponds would flow downhill and there would be an area of wet woodland. Why not use that as an advantage, dig out a lake, and create a decent sized Common Hippo facility? Once the area had been opened up, other, preferably African species could be added to the slope leading away from the Hippos.

I can dream...:rolleyes:
 
IanRRobinson said:
Agreed, And you forgot Flamingoland..;)


Why not use that as an advantage, dig out a lake, and create a decent sized Common Hippo facility? Once the area had been opened up, other, preferably African species could be added to the slope leading away from the Hippos.

I can dream...:rolleyes:
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No, I remembered it after and quickly obliterated that bit..:D

Is that a bit too imaginative for Whipsnade perhaps?;)
 
I've always thought it odd myself that of the various large ABC species, the Hippopotamus is quite uncommon in UK collections.
 
IanRRobinson said:
Agreed, And you forgot Flamingoland..;)


In an ideal world, this would be an opportunity to open up the adjoining unused land. It is obvious that, left to themselves, the Hippo Ponds would flow downhill and there would be an area of wet woodland. Why not use that as an advantage, dig out a lake, and create a decent sized Common Hippo facility? Once the area had been opened up, other, preferably African species could be added to the slope leading away from the Hippos.

I can dream...:rolleyes:
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If you are referring to the large hill beyond the hippos that is visible from the path/road, that land is used but is not accessiblefor the public. It is currently occupied by a large herd of black fallow deer :)
 
AdamD601 said:
If you are referring to the large hill beyond the hippos that is visible from the path/road, that land is used but is not accessible for the public. It is currently occupied by a large herd of black fallow deer :)
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This has been discussed elsewhere, but Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell (whose ashes are buried in this area) intended this area to be the entrance into the park, which he wanted to call "The Chiltern Wild Animal Park".

Hence, no doubt, the short road down to the hippo ponds being called Sir Peter's Way..
 
Both of those hills on either side of that sort of valley downwards if you walked straight on from the road are huge and I agree it would be good if they used them for some interesting new species or better facilities for existing ones. The one on the left is very steep though, and the one on the right is both steep and extremely lumpy, bumpy and ditchy so they would need some serious landscaping!

In other news, not particularly an animal development but Whipsnade has announced today that it will be creating a new indoor play facility, based around different habitats, named Hullabazoo. I actually found the plans for this a couple of months ago while being very stalker-like and searching for Whipsnade planning applications on the Central Beds website (I know you have all done it too Im sure :P) and they have finally announced it today to members in an e-mail. It will be located at the Children's farm and is due to open in October :)
 
In other news, not particularly an animal development but Whipsnade has announced today that it will be creating a new indoor play facility, based around different habitats, named Hullabazoo. I actually found the plans for this a couple of months ago while being very stalker-like and searching for Whipsnade planning applications on the Central Beds website (I know you have all done it too Im sure :P) and they have finally announced it today to members in an e-mail. It will be located at the Children's farm and is due to open in October :)[/QUOTE]


So, no polar bear enclosure in the pipeline then, not really the planning application i was hoping for, fortunately this development has come too late for my daughter. At least it will give young children somewhere to shelter on days when the weather turns for the worse & members with young children living locally may visit more often ,if its free that is!
 
Haha, unfortunately a Polar Bear enclosure seems a dream for many but an unlikely reality! I think cost would be just too much for ZSL, but you never know I guess... I'm keeping an eye on the Central Beds planning pages every now and then to hopefully catch an exciting animal development but have yet to see any. Am I right in saying there hasn't been any significant animal developments since Wild Wild Whipsnade?
 
AdamD601 said:
Haha, unfortunately a Polar Bear enclosure seems a dream for many but an unlikely reality! I think cost would be just too much for ZSL, but you never know I guess... I'm keeping an eye on the Central Beds planning pages every now and then to hopefully catch an exciting animal development but have yet to see any. Am I right in saying there hasn't been any significant animal developments since Wild Wild Whipsnade?
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I can't think of any, though it was only 2 years ago and introducing 4 'new' species in one hit was quite a major thing for Whipsnade,probably 5 years worth in one!
I do think it was well done though at low budget i would guess.The brown bear/wolverine walk is one of the best parts of the zoo.
 
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I agree the species they added are a nice addition to the zoo, and they seem to be doing very well with the lynx kittens, moose calf and constant supply of baby wild boar haha.

Some news from my most recent day, a very cute male Przewalski's horse foal was born on Wednesday morning! He was running around outside with mum (I'm not actually sure which is his mum) so I'm not breaking any volunteer rules by saying it :P I was very surprised to see him, seeing as the Friday before there were no babies! Interesting that the past 3 babies have all been males.
 
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