ZSL Whipsnade Zoo ZSL Whipsnade Zoo News 2022

Lafone said:
How very sad that they have had to put one of the lionesses to sleep because of this situation. What a shame.
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From what I have read it seems like Sarabi was in poor health condition for months before this anyway. Not saying that the move was not a factor towards the decision of her being PTS, but I don't think it was entirely because of the move.
 
Rajang-GOAT said:
From what I have read it seems like Sarabi was in poor health condition for months before this anyway. Not saying that the move was not a factor towards the decision of her being PTS, but I don't think it was entirely because of the move.
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She’d apparently been suffering from ill health for months. The stress of the move could have contributed to her decline and ultimately led to the same outcome a few weeks later.
 
Rajang-GOAT said:
From what I have read it seems like Sarabi was in poor health condition for months before this anyway. Not saying that the move was not a factor towards the decision of her being PTS, but I don't think it was entirely because of the move.
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Yes and quite right it’s not directly because of the move - still a shame the storm seems to have brought it to a head as an issue though.
 
AlexanderTHG said:
Yes, you are correct, they are being phased out in Europe. And as FBBird said, in favour of the banteng.

Here is their EEP page from the EAZA website that clearly states their phase out: Gaur EEP » EAZA

It's a shame, as they are one of my favourite species at Whipsnade and it would have been great to see a calf.
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That is a shame as like you they are one of my favourites.

Always wanted to see Banteng, haven’t been lucky enough yet
 
AlexanderTHG said:
Yes, you are correct, they are being phased out in Europe. And as FBBird said, in favour of the banteng.

Here is their EEP page from the EAZA website that clearly states their phase out: Gaur EEP » EAZA

It's a shame, as they are one of my favourite species at Whipsnade and it would have been great to see a calf.
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Agree, a very charismatic species and I’ve been lucky to see a number of calves in recent years. Maybe it’s because they’re more high maintenance than other bovine? I remember being told you couldn’t put Gaur on pasture (the Aspinall parks lost a whole herd in doing so) so their zoo diet was predominantly bran-based.

How long have Whipsnade held Gaur? I remember first seeing them in the early 1990s.
 
It's a shame to see them phased out of the programme here and to watch them go from whipsnade in decline.

Does anyone know how they will be protected and preserved going forwards?

Is the emphasis moving more to programmes in local countries like the projects in Thailand around habitat preservation and making the most of the Gaur as a tourist draw?
 
Ectotherm said:
In case anyone hasn't seen it, here is the current stock list after this years "audit" I must say I am a little dismayed with the confirmation of what I suspected with regards to the carnivours.

As an aside, I never knew there were prairie dogs up there, and I've been going for years.
It seems there are 19 (Unk). I guess they must be free roaming?


https://www.zsl.org/sites/default/files/media/2022-02/ZSL Whipsnade Zoo - Stocklist 2022.pdf
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Yes they are free roaming, mainly seen in the ex-American Bison paddock.
 
Ectotherm said:
As an aside, I never knew there were prairie dogs up there, and I've been going for years.
It seems there are 19 (Unk). I guess they must be free roaming?
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Only 19?!?!? Would love to know how they managed to count them!

The group’s been inbreeding itself to extinction for years. The B4506 and Dagnall Road have acted as a natural barrier to any further expansion. It was a hidden gem when they shared the paddock with the American bison-not many people visited beyond the penguins.
 
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I wonder if there are lynx plans - it will be really sad to dwindle to one over time (or none) and we don’t have any prospect of cubs etc.

Mind you I adore lynx and spend far too much time at that enclosure!
 
Cat-Man said:
Where did London keep them, Tim?

When did the bison leave Whipsnade?
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Cat-Man said:
Where did London keep them, Tim?

When did the bison leave Whipsnade?
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Bison have been gone at least three years. The herd was run down to two or three castrated males. Much missed by me at least.
Gaur at London Zoo were on the Cotton Terraces, and imho looked magnificent there.
 
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