ZSL Whipsnade Zoo whipsnade 2013
- Thread starter anidude
- Start date
All good news, but I suspect the imminent births may well be the usual suspects i.e. Cheetah, deer & antelope and we know giraffe are due. What i'm hoping for most is for wolverine or maybe tigers (haven't had cubs since i became a regular visitor again 7 years ago). Or for the white rhino to produce again.
Was this recently communicated? 
catinthehat
Well-Known Member
Don't know if anyone has seen but there is a new series of "The Zoo" starting next Wednesday on ITV1
The Zoo Episode 1 | presscentre
The Zoo Episode 1 | presscentre
BongoHardwood
Well-Known Member
Few bits:
1. Work has now started on the giraffe exhibit.
2. Sloth bear paddock is undergoing renovation/changes.
3. Baby-wise, one scimitar-horned oryx born a few weeks ago (can't remember sex) and 2 red-crowned crane chicks have hatched and can be seen out with mum and dad, as well as the usual deer babies all over the drive-through.
1. Work has now started on the giraffe exhibit.
2. Sloth bear paddock is undergoing renovation/changes.
3. Baby-wise, one scimitar-horned oryx born a few weeks ago (can't remember sex) and 2 red-crowned crane chicks have hatched and can be seen out with mum and dad, as well as the usual deer babies all over the drive-through.
catinthehat
Well-Known Member
Novel idea to keep the animals cool...hopefully they will put up a video of the animals actually using it!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151844741057650
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151844741057650
Had a fairly brief visit yesterday, but not much to report from a very hot summer's afternoon, a busy one for the zoo.
Dont remember reading this, but the penguin area is being surrounded by a 6 foot hotwired fence with gated access, presumably fox-proof. This will make the American Bison even less obvious and accessible to most visitors probably (since they've been off the map for 5+ years. There were still 2 in the near corner though.
I didn't see the new lynx kittens, but noticed the pens adjoining the house have now been boarded up, so apart from the odd hole or gap they can't be viewed from there.
Only saw 2 bears & no wolverine, another disappointment, but hardly a surprise in that heat!
Flora the pygmy hippo(recently shown on the itv programme to have a mouth tumour), was out in the pool with her daughter.
Saw the manchurian crane chicks, which seem to be doing well.
Went to the Sloth bear talk, so they were very lively! Lanka their mother is still alive and it was said she has occasional access to the main paddock when the zoo is closed.
Tigers still seperated, the male was sat in the hatch to the house watching the visitors, whilst female slept by the pool.
Hugo, the indian rhino bull was again confined to the new house & yard.
Dont remember reading this, but the penguin area is being surrounded by a 6 foot hotwired fence with gated access, presumably fox-proof. This will make the American Bison even less obvious and accessible to most visitors probably (since they've been off the map for 5+ years. There were still 2 in the near corner though.
I didn't see the new lynx kittens, but noticed the pens adjoining the house have now been boarded up, so apart from the odd hole or gap they can't be viewed from there.
Only saw 2 bears & no wolverine, another disappointment, but hardly a surprise in that heat!
Flora the pygmy hippo(recently shown on the itv programme to have a mouth tumour), was out in the pool with her daughter.
Saw the manchurian crane chicks, which seem to be doing well.
Went to the Sloth bear talk, so they were very lively! Lanka their mother is still alive and it was said she has occasional access to the main paddock when the zoo is closed.
Tigers still seperated, the male was sat in the hatch to the house watching the visitors, whilst female slept by the pool.
Hugo, the indian rhino bull was again confined to the new house & yard.
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I do hope Whipsnade continues with sloth bears, only exchanging the Sri Lankan ones for Indian subcontinent fully participate in the revived sloth bear EEP by instituted by Leipzig Zoo (erstwhile Artis-Amsterdam).
I hope so too, they have a fairly good enclosure and offshow one for Lanka. The younger ones are not that old though, considering how long lived their mother is, so unless they move them to another zoo, it's doubtful they can bring in more for the EEP for at least 10-15 years.
I still think it is a damn waste to have sterilised the only Sri Lankan Slothbears in Europe....
I doubt they would ever bother. They are only at Whipsnade because they made such a poor showing at London and they didn't know what else to do with them. Although they seem happier at Whipsnade, I can't see the Zoo being any more committed to this species than just keeping the current bears as they are. Even if they were, its not an easy species to find another home for either.
I thought Moscow had a breeding pair of Sri Lankans as well? Am I getting confused with an American zoo?
I thought Moscow had a breeding pair of Sri Lankans as well? Am I getting confused with an American zoo?
ZTL confirms you are correct, Moscow has had them since 2002!
Yeah, they do - I just never really class Moscow as Europe mentally even though it is listed in ZTL. After all, the site also includes collections in the United Arab Emirates which hold Arabian Leopard but I wouldn't say the subspecies is found in Europe 
I hope you're wrong, above probably any other zoo in the UK, Whipsnade has the potential (dictated by modern standards) to hold 3 or 4 bear species, like the good old days. The sloth bear enclosure should remain for bears (whatever the species) and as well documented, the return of polar bear would be my prority for the next newbuild.
Yeah, they do - I just never really class Moscow as Europe mentally even though it is listed in ZTL. After all, the site also includes collections in the United Arab Emirates which hold Arabian Leopard but I wouldn't say the subspecies is found in Europe
But Russia and the UAE are completely different, Russia is a lot more "European" in culture, climate and just in general terms. At least the part that's this side of Siberia is!
The UAE is a different kettle of fish altogether though. (I'll be honest, I don't understand why it's included in ZTL either!) 