ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Whipsnade; 2012 and beyond

AdamD601 said:
Most people rave about the lodge! I think it's probably really good, especially if you go on a lovely sunny day. The sunset on Monday was gorgeous! And waking up on a foggy morning for sunrise would also be beautiful!

There is one exciting piece of news that happened on Friday, but I'll have to give it a few more days to be okay to say it I think. Unless anyone knows? :P
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I have no real knowledge, but if it's exciting, the best news for me would be a wolverine birth- perhaps too much to hope for! If it isn't that then maybe another common hippo birth or if it's an arrival, maybe a new tiger? We'll just have to wait a few days though i guess.
 
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AdamD601 said:
Most people rave about the lodge! I think it's probably really good, especially if you go on a lovely sunny day. The sunset on Monday was gorgeous! And waking up on a foggy morning for sunrise would also be beautiful!

There is one exciting piece of news that happened on Friday, but I'll have to give it a few more days to be okay to say it I think. Unless anyone knows? :P
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And the news is..? :)
 
AdamD601 said:
Sorry to tease, I will see tomorrow when I am there if I can reveal it!
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I hope you can! My next best guess having thought about it may be a white rhino, only because 2 females were being kept away from the rest a few weeks ago, but it has to be one of them! Still hoping for wolverine !!
 
pipaluk said:
I hope you can! My next best guess having thought about it may be a white rhino, only because 2 females were being kept away from the rest a few weeks ago, but it has to be one of them! Still hoping for wolverine !!
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The White Rhinos at ZSL Whipsnade haven't bred in a few years quite a surprise considering how regularly they bred. They did import a new female 'Tootsi' (?) from West Mid's in 2011 however I as wondering if they can get her breeding.

I hope it's a Gaur calf. Another one would be excellent.
 
AdamD601 said:
Hmm, not aware of any animals going in...

What I can report is that anyone visiting the Asian rhinos will notice that there is a huge crate there as Karamat is now being crate trained for her move to Belgium in a few weeks :)

Could that crate have been what your husband saw kaz?
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Is there any plans for 'Ajang' the other half sibling of 'Karamat' to move on soon? As I know the female is due to leave soon I suspect the male will follow in due course.
 
Jordan-Jaguar97 said:
Is there any plans for 'Ajang' the other half sibling of 'Karamat' to move on soon? As I know the female is due to leave soon I suspect the male will follow in due course.
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As i said before, i'm surprised how quickly they have moved the first calf on this time, given the last female must have been 4 -5 when she was moved about a year ago, so maybe the other one will be moved on soon too!
By one of them, i meant wolverine, hippo or white rhino, I forgot about the Gaur, that's a fair shout too!
 
I`m surprised no one has guessed an elephant birth yet. Kaylee had her last in 2009 so my guess is she has given birth again.
 
rachie2 said:
My guess is a baby single horned rhino. Aj was separated from his mum as she was due to give birth.
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That was one i'd never have thought of, i've always seen the mothers with their calves on my many visits, i didn't realise they had been mixed with the male since the last births!
 
ZSL Whipsnade's surprise. ;)

Yassa mentioned that he wouldn't be surprised if the surprise is an Elephant calf. 'Kaylee's' last calf was 'Donna' the only (surviving) female calf to be born to the current group. It wouldn't surprise me either as the last female to give birth was 'Azizah' and that was last year.

It was reported on this thread earlier that 'Ajang' the young male Indian Rhino was separated from his mother 'Behan' (?) as she was due to give birth. I thought that both calves from the bull 'Hugo' were due to leave ZSL Whipsnade hence the reason they were separated?:confused:

I hope the surprise is a Gaur calf. It took a few years to establish a breeding pair, now they have a pair with a male offspring so far it's possible the new arrival is a Gaur calf. I think the gestation period for Gaurs is around nine months so it is possible that it could be. I'm hoping...;)
 
Jordan-Jaguar97 said:
It was reported on this thread earlier that 'Ajang' the young male Indian Rhino was separated from his mother 'Behan' (?) as she was due to give birth. I thought that both calves from the bull 'Hugo' were due to leave ZSL Whipsnade hence the reason they were separated?:confused:
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I would be surprised if another pregnancy was the reason for this separation. The birth interval in GI Rhino is usually much longer than this and I cannot imagine them seperating the cow and calf temporarily, just to get her mated again, while she would not normally come into oestrus anyway while she still had a calf with her.
 
Pertinax said:
I would be surprised if another pregnancy was the reason for this separation. The birth interval in GI Rhino is usually much longer than this and I cannot imagine them seperating the cow and calf temporarily, just to get her mated again, while she would not normally come into oestrus anyway while she still had a calf with her.
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That was my thinking too, and why another indiam rhino birth never entered my earlier thoughts!
 
I assume that - in all fairness - both females have already been serviced by the bull at the advice / recommendation of the studbook keeper. Both earlier calves have been born during 2010.

As an example: most other zoos breed their Indian rhino cows at an inter-birth interval is approx. 3.0 - 3.3 years. Breeding would generally take place at approx 1.5 years or so to make the average 3 year cycle (which by and large mimicks their capacity in breeding in the wild). Admittedly, in this case it would be rather early and perhaps due dates are for 2013, rather than 2012.

However, given that both females are wild born Nepali cows - and breeding - the studbook keeper might have had other plans and have advised to breed both early. In perspective: both females first pregnancies and interval dates between the first and second calves were somewhat extended by European standards.


Let us be surprised what high profile birth will come out of the hat shortly!
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
I assume that - in all fairness - both females have already been serviced by the bull at the advice / recommendation of the studbook keeper. Both earlier calves have been born during 2010.

As an example: most other zoos breed their Indian rhino cows at an inter-birth interval is approx. 3.0 - 3.3 years. Breeding would generally take place at approx 1.5 years or so to make the average 3 year cycle (which by and large mimicks their capacity in breeding in the wild). Admittedly, in this case it would be rather early and perhaps due dates are for 2013, rather than 2012.

However, given that both females are wild born Nepali cows - and breeding - the studbook keeper might have had other plans and have advised to breed both early. In perspective: both females first pregnancies and interval dates between the first and second calves were somewhat extended by European standards.


Let us be surprised what high profile birth will come out of the hat shortly!
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So are the Nepali actually split as a separate subspecies now?
 
I was at the park on Saturday and there was a female Indian rhino looking very large in one of the old yards, with access to the smaller new paddock, with one of the calves shut out in the 'hardstanding' by the new house. The other female and calf were in the largest paddock. I think it was the bull who was shut in the new house - he had access to all three stalls and was limping so I assume thats why he was shut in. So I doubt it was an Indian rhino birth on Friday.

I think the female gaur was also separated from the two males, although I don't know the enclosure well enough to be 100% sure. She was inside while they were both out in the yard. Had I checked this site prior to going I would have looked more closely into the stall for signs of a calf.

We saw very few elephants, but there were none visible inside the cow barn, which doesn't mean there hadn't been a birth.
 
Javan Rhino said:
So are the Nepali actually split as a separate subspecies now?
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@JR, I would say that is somewhat debatable. There have been shown to be differences through genetic research. However, I would rest it .. and concur that both now somewhat separated populations in India and Nepal were once part of a single larger population. Call it genetic drift ... if you will.

This notion is also the driving force behind IRV 2020 in India to reconnect populations and promote genetic interchange and at some point reconnect the Assamese ones in Kaziranga, Pobitora, Manas et al with Dudwha, Chitwan and the western Nepali parks.


Back to zoo news: ... (birth)!
 
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