Thanks for this news Tim, this is terrific news and long overdue return to these shores of an African iconic species and well done to Whipsnade reacting to the public's wish to see their enormous paddocks appear a little less barren.
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Whipsnade Zoo 2014 #1
- Thread starter BongoHardwood
- Start date
Thanks for this news Tim, this is terrific news and long overdue return to these shores of an African iconic species and well done to Whipsnade reacting to the public's wish to see their enormous paddocks appear a little less barren.
As I said here...
One male cleared the high fence with ease also- just decided to jump out one day. They were extremely nervous. The idea was to mix them with Giraffe etc but they never (afaik) left their hardstanding as it would have been impossible to get them in at night etc. I wish Whipsnade good luck with them but fear they may have the same problems if they try to keep them in anything but one single paddock where they aren't moved around. Even with minimum disturbance they can be difficult.
Last edited:
IanRRobinson
Well-Known Member
It ought to be easier to provide quiet space for Impala at Whipsnade than Marwell. It might help, too, if they were kept with their dens offshow. The latter applies to Blesbok too in my experience - although generally speaking, alcelaphine antelope seem very easily spooked by the close proximity of humans. Durrell talked in "Beasts in My Belfry" as to just how frighteningly nervous the White-tailed and Brindled Gnu kept at Whipsnade were in 1945.
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
They had certainly boarded the area off in December last year for them to settle in,as I could find no possible place to view them,unless they could be seen on the hardstanding which they couldn't that day!
All things considered, when one looks at the unusual hoofstock species which have disappeared from the UK in recent years (Mhorr and Red-necked Gazelle among them) and the species which look to disappear any day now (Mountain Gazelle being the most notable) it is a great feeling for a collection to be investing in bringing new species in 
especially one with the footplan to play with of Whipsnade.
especially one with the footplan to play with of Whipsnade.At Marwell it wasn't the public which upset them as they were always a static distance away. It was usually keeper movements e.g. cleaning, moving them indoor/outdoor or other unexpected 'frights' that caused the occassional sudden flight panics.
In the wild of course they run with those huge leaping bounds and it would be great to see them doing that in an open paddock. I'm sure if they can be kept on a 'hands-off' basis at Whipsnade without intervention necessary on a day to day basis, longterm success is more likely. That means stalls not open to the public either- more than once I have entered the public passageway of one of the ungulate houses at Whipsnade e.g. the Bongo house, and unwittingly frightened the animals into stampeding outside, just because they are so unused to visitors going inside. But I guess the Impala area would be closed anyway.
On the topic of Antelope, does Whipsnade still have Gemsbok? I should really know this, but last time I went, we didn't go near the paddock I last saw them in.
Yes, Whipsnade does still have gemsbok; I saw five there last Saturday.
I don't think that, in general, the antelope at Whipsnade are forced inside each night. Those that are nervous are provided with shelter that they have the choice to use. This is definitely true of some species there.
Plankendael has a decent herd of impala that are mixed with giraffe. And these are brought in every night.
One of the first impala I ever saw was in a pretty small enclosure in the old Poznan Zoo in the city centre. Considering the confines of its enclosure, it did not show any nervousness at the proximity of visitors.
The Whipsnade animals seem to have come from Emmen. A batchelor group of five yearlings. The history of these can be traced back to original imports by Dvuur Kralove in the 1970s. A batchelor herd = an experimental group. If things go tits-up then no valuable breeding females will have been sacrificed. If things go well, then presumably there is scope for females in the future.
Although relative flightiness is species-specific, the background of particular herds and individuals also has a major influence. As an example, Nile lechwe from Rome Zoo (where they are kept on a small hardstanding with very close public viewing) would behave totally differently to the same species originating from, for instance, Whipsnade (where they are basically feral and are never exposed the pressure of close proximity to people).
My own experiences with blesbok are entirely different. They are comparatively steady animals. They are not good jumpers either. They are better at ducking beneath or ploughing through obstacles rather than jumping over them. I am not sure how other hartebeest-type antelope compare.
I'd agree with that- to an extent. But the 'tame' group released in a larger area with no more or little close human approach, will eventually become much more timid and 'wild'. For example, put a group of Fallow Deer from e.g.a small park enclosure where they will feed out of people's hands, into a larger parkland setting, and provided they weren't handreared, their tameness will soon wear off.
Reading the previous posts, if the impala are in the bongo paddock,I can't imagine they'd be too impressed with the wolves as next-door neighbours!
So, from 1 to 10, what are the most nervous antelope/hoof stock to keep? I remember the Sable at Marwell being quite flighty!
So, from 1 to 10, what are the most nervous antelope/hoof stock to keep? I remember the Sable at Marwell being quite flighty!
went to whipsnade yesterday and made the following observations
the old Burmese python enclosure currently houses a reticulated python guessing just one animal
the bird arena is having a make over with shows starting either this week or next guessing sealions too
saw them flying a lanner falcon by the arena and a bald eagle having its lunch didn't look like apache so could be a new male / female also the pelicans can get under the electric wire in the lake and were being teased by guests
photos to follow
the old Burmese python enclosure currently houses a reticulated python guessing just one animal
the bird arena is having a make over with shows starting either this week or next guessing sealions too
saw them flying a lanner falcon by the arena and a bald eagle having its lunch didn't look like apache so could be a new male / female also the pelicans can get under the electric wire in the lake and were being teased by guests
photos to follow
A female yak was born on Saturday, March 29th.
The newly revamped Children's Farm, now renamed Hulabazoo Farm, is due to open this weekend.
The newly revamped Children's Farm, now renamed Hulabazoo Farm, is due to open this weekend.
Is there any news on the new antelope species at whipsnade?
I have never seen impala or blesbok so both would be great to see there.
I remember thompson's gazelles there (I think where the scimitar horned oryx are now) and of course quite large herds of blackbuck.
Trying to think where they will put the gazelles, blesbok and impala
I have never seen impala or blesbok so both would be great to see there.
I remember thompson's gazelles there (I think where the scimitar horned oryx are now) and of course quite large herds of blackbuck.
Trying to think where they will put the gazelles, blesbok and impala
As of this week, a small group of impala are housed in a partitioned hardstand of the Bongo stable.Im not sure whether they've been given full access to the paddock yet.
Whipsnade is blessed with a vast amount of space which,in my opinion, is grossly underused-a fact noted by fellow zoochatters and visitors alike. The acquisition of more hoof stock species should go someway to rectifying this,though no further arrivals yet...watch this space!
On a separate note, both the Discovery Centre and Lubetkin elephant house are looking increasingly worse for wear-the former now affected by Damp. Hopefully, both buildings can be found a future use for, but with the elephant house being listed, I fear nothing will be done.
Whipsnade is blessed with a vast amount of space which,in my opinion, is grossly underused-a fact noted by fellow zoochatters and visitors alike. The acquisition of more hoof stock species should go someway to rectifying this,though no further arrivals yet...watch this space!
On a separate note, both the Discovery Centre and Lubetkin elephant house are looking increasingly worse for wear-the former now affected by Damp. Hopefully, both buildings can be found a future use for, but with the elephant house being listed, I fear nothing will be done.
Hoofstock has always been their strong point at Whipsnade. Its refreshing to see them actually adding to their list again after so many years without doing so, or losing species(Thompson's Gazelle, Arabian Oryx, Nilgai, Wildebeest, Musk Oxen, Cape Buffalo, several deer sp. to name but some of them).
My wish list for the place just increased!
Have Whipsnade ever kept pronghorn or saiga?
Have Whipsnade ever kept pronghorn or saiga?
Although you write “as of this week”, as I mentioned in an earlier post of this thread, I first saw the impala on the hardstand behind the bongo paddock three weeks ago. And I understand that they were there some while before that.
Whipsnade kept – and bred – pronghorn in the 1960s.
Apologies Tim,I stand corrected. I shall choose my wording more carefully next time!
IanRRobinson
Well-Known Member
Zootiereliste state that the only UK collections that have ever kept Saiga are London, Woburn, Edinburgh and the Highland Wildlife Park. ZootierlisteHomepage.There is a photo of Saiga in James Fisher's "Zoos of the World", dating from 1965, that I would state with some confidence was taken in the old ungulate pens that stood at the foot of the Mappin Terraces, and which those over 40 will remember holding Wild Boar and Collared Peccaries.
I'm not sure that Whipsnade's proximity to the M1 and Luton Airport would be to the tastes of Saiga. They're pretty sensitive to pollution, I believe.