My Comprehensive Review of Whipsnade » Whipsnade Zoo

29-08-2008

I think Whipsnade do their animal shows very well- informative and with only the minumum of 'razza matazz' to keep youngsters interested. Much better than some other places.

The large Nile Lechwe group have their own dominant male(s). The one in Asian Plains I think is an escapee from the small bachelor group which is/was held in the small paddock near the lake cafe. He is very distinctive as he's almost black among all the herds of brown deer. Maybe he jumped the fence when he saw or smelt the bears nearby for the first time...

The kudu group have no male- there hasn't been one for several years now.

Perhaps Ringtailed Lemurs were chosen for their their temperament, bold enough to show properly & interact with visitors in a walkthru exhibit?

30-08-2008

I think they are also limited by the dangerous animal act. They had an exhibit of free roaming silvery marmosets and golden headed tamarins. The tamarins had to be placed in with the white faced sakis after a legislative issue. I was interested to read on one of the Colchester threads that they were planning a walk through tamarin exhibit

30-08-2008

I seem to remember there was a health issue with the greater kudu some time ago , perhaps that is why they no longer breed them . This group originates from the animals on the Cotton terraces at Regent's Park for many years .

30-08-2008

I remember them at ZSL, with a fine male in the group. Its a shame to see a male- less group though.

30-08-2008

The health issue was BSE related which is why I dont think ZSL has done much with the greater kudu

30-08-2008

At one stage in the 80's/90's it was discovered a whole lot of Antelope species in zoos in Uk ( + elsewhere too?) carried BSE from being fed contaminated concentrate feed. I don't know how many of those species are now clear of it.

30-08-2008

Virtually all large antelopes (kudu, oryx, maybe eland) in the UK are tainted by the BSE fiasco. As a result European zoos won't exchange/mix stock until these lines die off. For this reason you are unlikely to see any of these species breeding. The only exception to this that I am aware of are bongo, which appear to breeding like the plague in British collections.

30-08-2008

I don't think this is the issue because other UK collections have walk-throughs with B & W ruffs, red ruffs, blacks, and various brown subspecies (ie. Cricket St Thomas, Blackpool, Howletts, Paignton, South Lakes). The main issues are temperament, popularity, group size and group management. On all three issues ringtails come out tops over other lemurs. There is nothing stopping Whipsnade adding a small number of a different species to complement the ringtails, assuming there is enough space in the exhibit.

The tamarin issue may be more due to the individual species' behaviour. Jersey had problems with their GHLTs roaming far and wide, biting lemur's tails and stealing visitor's food. They swapped them for Black lions without any problems.

30-08-2008

Do you know which species of Oryx this applies too?

Are there any UK collections where species like Kudu & Eland are kept which are free of contamination?

30-08-2008

Ruffed Lemur seems to be popular too, probably because of colour. But when they suddenly start their loud 'roaring' its probably enough to scare little children.

30-08-2008

Definitely Arabians. Not sure whether it applies to Gemsbok and Scimitar; possibly guilt by association... athough I am aware of Knowsley breeding Scimitars.

I don't believe contamination comes down to actual collections, rather species. Not 100% sure about eland as West Midlands and Knowsley both seem to breed theirs. Very few Greater kudu in the country. Edinburgh's Lesser kudu would be exempt, but there wouldn't have been any in the UK until recently.

30-08-2008

Problem with ruffs is that they rarely seem to stay in a large enough group before splits occur. Happens in ringtails also, but they seem to maintain bigger groups. Possibly difference of rainforest species versus woodland.

30-08-2008

[quote=tetrapod;69814]Definitely Arabians. Not sure whether it applies to Gemsbok and Scimitar; possibly guilt by association... athough I am aware of Knowsley breeding Scimitars.[quote]


That's interesting, probably explains why a. Arabian Oryx have become a 'cinderella' species in Uk and b. I can't remember when I last saw an Oryx calf( of any species) in UK. I can see why 'species contamination' is across the board though because of the various exchanges between collections. I'm pretty sure I have seen Greater Kudu calves at Howletts in recent years though....

31-08-2008

Pertinax, Chester have currently got 2 Scimitar-horned oryx calves and I'm pretty sure they had a gemsbok calf last year.

31-08-2008

A male gemsbok was born at Chester in 2007, but it was not reared. Chester stopped breeding from their scimitar-horned oryx for a while. A new male arrived in 2007 and his first calves were born this year.