Lafone
Well-Known Member
Yes they are in the butterfly house (and were there on 9th March). If you can go on a weekday outside the school holidays it's pretty quiet all round.
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo ZSL Whipsnade Zoo News 2024
- Thread starter Rosie183
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Yes they are in the butterfly house (and were there on 9th March). If you can go on a weekday outside the school holidays it's pretty quiet all round.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
One male Anoa was living in one of the enclosures at the start of the Passage Through Asia drive through (signed) and who is in the 2023 inventory. The Babirusa occupied the same enclosure before they moved down to their new space.
Sparkes12 mentioned they might have another arrived more recently.
Assume he / they will move to the new Monkey Forest.
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I went to the Fellows Preview of Monkey Forest today.(And very nice it is too.)
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There are currently ten Sulawesi macaques in Monkey Forest and this number should rise to fourteen soon.
There is a male anoa in Monkey Forest and a female anoa temporarily held in the Bongo House.
Yeah I only visit outside of term time, I usually go at least once a month
Kalaw
Well-Known Member
How much outdoor space does the female have, as I am struggling to recall what the Bongo House had in terms of separation options?
As a side-note, with the discussion about the Butterfly House, are the Spiny Hill Turtles still kept in there and has anyone managed to spot them? When I visited in October, they had a very new enclosure within the House, although I had no luck seeing them. Given that it was just a sectioned off portion of the house's natural floor space and foliage, barring a few heating lamps, it looked somewhat temporary.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
I've seen them in there a few times, they are in the enclosure at the end of the butterfly area as you mentioned. One of them tends to spend quite a bit of time on the far right of the enclosure near the tree in the corner, which you can see by looking along the edge if that makes sense, so have had luck seeing them there.
I've never seen the anoa in the Bongo House myself so cannot really answer your question; however keepers were telling visitors today that there was a female anoa temporarily housed in the Bongo House, thereby confirming an earlier post in this thread.
(I walked past the Bongo House several times today on my way to see the recently born white rhinoceros. I saw a bongo and several sitatunga in their outside paddock but didn't see the female anoa which appears to be off-exhibit.)
It has a small enclosure closest to the rhino house with some small hardstanding and a small indoor enclosure, certainly not somewhere you would hope it would be housed in for long.
The anoa will only be there temporarily. The new monkey forest can be split and each area has its own separate holding areas for anoa
That is a respectable sized group to start with, I wonder where the four more are coming from...
Went today for the members preview of monkey forest,had to wait a while as they were doing some interviews for tv.
It's a massive enclosure for the macaques with access to 2 areas and great outdoor viewing areas, we were lucky as most of them came out as the keepers had fed them for the TV crews. The female anoa is on the far enclosure on her own with the male due to be in the first enclosure (closest to the babirusa) soon with the macaques having access to join the the male anoa i think.
The emu have moved back to there old enclosure by the entrance/exit of monkey forest, however the 3 times we passed we only saw 1 emu.
As previously mentioned they have 10 macaques with 4 joining soon and they hope to build up to 30!
Also went to see the baby rhino a couple of times but both times was sleeping behind mum, the lions were off show with a sign saying maintenance was going on,nice surprise to see 3 baby meerkats have been born and we had good views of them in the old indoor meerkat area.
All other animals were also out and about enjoying a lovely spring day.
It's a massive enclosure for the macaques with access to 2 areas and great outdoor viewing areas, we were lucky as most of them came out as the keepers had fed them for the TV crews. The female anoa is on the far enclosure on her own with the male due to be in the first enclosure (closest to the babirusa) soon with the macaques having access to join the the male anoa i think.
The emu have moved back to there old enclosure by the entrance/exit of monkey forest, however the 3 times we passed we only saw 1 emu.
As previously mentioned they have 10 macaques with 4 joining soon and they hope to build up to 30!
Also went to see the baby rhino a couple of times but both times was sleeping behind mum, the lions were off show with a sign saying maintenance was going on,nice surprise to see 3 baby meerkats have been born and we had good views of them in the old indoor meerkat area.
All other animals were also out and about enjoying a lovely spring day.
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Very encouraging. Nothing like a really big troop of monkeys(macaques) to make a decent display. Whipsnade will not have had monkeys in this sort of number since the 50/early 60's era when they had a colony of Rhesus, though I can't remember the numbers. I think they were near the old Musk Ox paddock.
I'm guessing the 10 already there are 4 from Jersey, 4(?) from London and two from either Dudley or Chester. Maybe the other of D& C will be the source of the other four more.
I'd also be interested to know the final breakdown of sexes in this founder group.
Cotswoldgent
Well-Known Member
Visited yesterday, having just got a season ticket after a visit earlier this month, and was delighted to see:
- Baby rhino - this was inside sitting beside mother
- Baby porcupine - this was hiding next to parents
- Three baby meerkats
- Baby Francois Langur monkey
Really glad you had a great time! Lucky you spotted the porcupines, took me over a year to see them haha
Lafone
Well-Known Member
The langurs lived off show at Whipsnade after moving from London when land of the lions was being built I believe.
They then went on exhibit in May / June 2023 in the enclosure with the Babirusa that had previously held sloth bears but was updated and had new fencing and furniture forming the first part of the new Monkey forest.
Edited to add that they have added both youngsters since they moved to their new enclosure.
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I think the Francois langurs have been at Whipsnade since 2014 although, as "Lafone" has pointed out, they were off exhibit until comparatively recently.
Don't think this has been mentioned but Nilo the male red panda has moved to Bristol zoo, wonder what this means for the whipsnade female and 2 cubs, also strange they had a sign stating Nilo would return to the female in the spring, guess plans changed.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
I should have linked the Bristol zoo thread - Whipsnade said nothing at all while Bristol went big on their socials!
As you say it’s all been a little odd in terms of that sign saying Nilo was moving back into the enclosure.
I guess this gives them potential space to have another mate in for Ruby or later one of the cubs and have two enclosures or something. It looks now like the intention was Nilo was never going back in. Will miss seeing him there.