Dartmoor Zoo News

Over the past month the zoo has come alive with the sights and sounds of new animals.On the 27th May our curator, Will Walker and head keeper, Colin Northcott went on a quest to Knowsley Safari Park near Liverpool to collect eight Kafue Lechwe antelope.The animals were loaded up early on the 28th May and just over six hours later they were released into their new Devon home here at DZP.Although still a bit shy, visitors can see these special antelope in the new African Savannah exhibit in front of the Jaguar restaurant. The species is classified as vulnerable on the endangered species list and we have good reason to believe that some of the seven females may be pregnant, so watch this space.As part of the same development project, Will and senior keeper Trudy Willetts made the same journey earlier this week to collect four ostrich. These are now the new companions of the zoo’s original Ostrich, Pete.The introduction was rather tense. Pete has been without the company of other ostriches for almost five years now so this was a big surprise for him. In addition, he’s had to cope with a few major changes in recent weeks with the relocation of the fallow deer, alpaca and llama to make way for the new additions. After a few minor scuffles with the new arrivals, Pete retired to the lower end of the paddock to gather his thoughts.The four new ostrich took a little longer to get over their journey and adjust to their new surroundings but we’re confident they’ll settle in nicely.This marks an important step in the creation of the African Savannah exhibit. Other developments include a large waterhole where the Lechwe can wallow, and an area for the Ostrich to dust bathe when it’s hot. Next step will be a pair of Waterbuck – a large and impressive looking antelope – courtesy of Marwell Zoo. The waterhole is going to be very busy this summer.Marwell were also instrumental in the recent changes for our Otters. Finding themselves with two males, we arranged a swap with one of our resident females. Snowdrop went off to Marwell and Tito was introduced to her twin sister, Attitude about 3 weeks ago. Although to begin with Tito was very shy and quiet (a great contrast with our own otters), within 24hrs of his arrival love was very much in the air. Hopes are high for some new arrivals this summer.Among the first of the babies to make an appearance this season is a beautiful Japanese Sika Deer. The male fawn was born on the 29th May. You’ll be lucky to spot him hiding out amongst the ferns at the moment but he will soon be skipping around the enclosure to greet his admiring public.Keep a keen eye out in the aviaries for the newly hatched Lovebirds. The Black cheeked and Peach faced Lovebirds have all been busy with spring nests and several chicks will be stretching their wings throughout the coming months. The Mandarin ducks and Golden Pheasants have also been sitting on eggs and we hope to see some youngsters from them very soon.Not to be out-done, the education department has been producing off-spring of their own. Nine tiny harvest mice made an appearance on the 18th May effectively doubling our stock in this adorable species. Education officer Silvia Pedretti is currently making a new home to house the tiny tearaways.Our walkthrough exhibit will also be seeing a few changes over coming weeks. Our two resident Muntjac deer will be getting a new friend from Reaseheath College, near Chester. This will be welcome addition to the enclosure but these small deer can be quite elusive so keep your eyes peeled.Another addition for the walk-through will be a group of Bennett’s Wallaby. They’ll be coming to us from Porfell Zoo in Cornwall and they’ll be very much at home among the resident Goats, Muntjac and various wildfowl. They’ll be a firm favourite with visitors of all ages.

Bristol Zoo News

Gorillas make the best animal dads, according to the results of a Father's Day poll run by Bristol Zoo Gardens.The Zoo ran the survey on its new website, asking visitors to choose between six animals the Zoo staff nominated for their good parental behavior.The choices were: western lowland gorilla, cassowary, meerkat, posion dart frog, Malawi cichlid or Geoffroy’s marmoset.Jock, Bristol Zoo’s impressive silverback gorilla, won the poll with 30 per cent of the votes, followed by the zoo’s male Geoffroy’s marmoset, who took 18 per cent of votes. In joint third place were the alpha male in the Zoo’s meerkat family and the male cassowary, which each took 16 per cent of the votes.

Jock the silverback gorilla keeps a watchful eye on his playful son, KomaleJock lives on Gorilla Island with two female gorillas, Salome and Romina, and has fathered two youngsters: Namoki and Komale. He has recently also taken Kera under his wing – a young orphan gorilla that joined Bristol Zoo’s gorilla family almost two years ago.John Partridge, Senior Curator of Animals at Bristol Zoo Gardens, said: “Jock is probably the most well-known animal ‘dad’ we have here at Bristol Zoo. Gorillas live in structured family groups usually dominated by a single, mature male gorilla that forms strong bonds with his mates. Gorilla dads play an important role in protecting their families, particularly their young.”He added: “Jock does a great job of looking after his family, and, despite his impressive size, he is actually quite a softie at heart - we often see him playing with and tickling the youngsters - it’s lovely to watch. Importantly though, he also does a great job of keeping the three boisterous young gorillas in line!”Unlike Jock, many male animals raise their young almost single handedly, such as the Geoffroy’s marmoset, which cares for his babies (usually twins) from birth – cleaning them when they are born and carrying both twins on his back. The babies are completely dependent for the first two weeks and the father only carries them to the mother when they need to be nursed. When the babies are old enough to eat solid food, the father will feed them.Male cassowaries are also known for their outstanding parenting skills, taking great care to incubate three to five eggs in a clutch, for around 50 days until the eggs hatch. Once hatched, the male will rear the tiny chicks single handedly for nine months, protecting them from predators and teaching them to find food on their own, until they are old enough to fend for themselves.

Chester Zoo News

Eight Sumatran orang-utans have been weighed at Chester Zoo after Keepers cleverly devised means to weigh them within the animals’ enclosure.
The group of orang-utan were encouraged to climb up a rope which was hung from a digital weighing devised. The keepers enticed the orang-utans onto the rope by lacing it with an edible treat.
The heaviest of the group was adult male Puluh at 95.5kg and the lightest was 6 year old Utara weighing in at 17.5kg. The female orang-utans Subis and Emma were weighed with their 1 year old babies Kirana and Indah who still cling to their mothers.
Visitors regularly ask the keepers ‘how much does the ‘big one’ weigh?’ when referring to the group’s adult male Puluh. Chris Yarwood, Senior Primate Keeper at Chester Zoo, said:
“This is first time we have weighed our Sumatran orang-utans since they have been housed in our Realm of the Red Ape enclosure. Most of our animals at the Zoo can be weighed as they walk over platforms but it was not possible in this case.
One at a time they were encouraged into the area containing the weighing device. As they climbed a single rope to enjoy the treat, the digital scales above the enclosure recorded the weight of each orang-utan.”
The Zoo’s enclosure is the largest in Europe and the orang-utans can benefit from both the indoor warmth and the fresh air in our outdoor areas

newquay zoo news

The African Savanna has some new residents roaming around on it. Two beautiful White Storks who go by the names of Sylvia and Maggie and a stunning Waterbuck named Jenny.
The Storks have joined Newquay Zoo from Colchester Zoo and have settled in very well. Head Keeper Sam Harley stated, “They are really impressive birds, standing at around 120cm tall and with a wingspan of nearly 2 metres.” White Storks can be found in many parts of the world in the wild, from Central Europe, to northwest Africa to southwest Asia. During winter they can migrate to South Africa and also to the Indian subcontinent.
Jenny the Waterbuck is six years old and has come from Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park. Waterbuck are a species of antelope and have a reddish brown coat with a very distinctive white ‘bib’ under their throats and white ring around their rump.
The African Savanna is also home to a number of other animals including; Nyala, Lechwe, Zebra, Grey Crowned Cranes, Ostrich and Wildebeest

zoo news

An African Rhinoceros Beetle was recently taken to Newquay Zoo after falling out of the luggage belonging to a Newquay resident who had recently returned from a holiday in Africa.The beetle was later taken to Newquay Zoo where Animal Collections Manager, John Meek identified it as an African Rhinoceros Beetle. The Rhinoceros Beetle is a member of the Scarab Beetle family.They are among the largest of beetles, and their common name refers to the characteristic horns borne by the males of most species in the group. The male beetles use their horns in mating battles against other males. John Meek said, “This is a fabulous specimen, around 7cm in length. The ‘horn’ at the front of his head is most impressive. We’re glad it was brought it to us – we can give it a good home.”Newquay Zoo is host to a number of delightful creepy crawlies including; Assassin Bugs, Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches, Emperor Scorpions, Stick Insects and African Train Millipedes.