A puma has been born at the zoo, keepers are fairly sure it is a female. Puma cub born at Cromer zoo - News - Eastern Daily Press
This is actually quite a notable birth considering there have been no Puma births in the UK for many years (unless someone knows any different?) as far as I know.
Correct; one of these went to Wingham, one to Wildlife Heritage Foundation, and one was slated to leave for a private collection shortly after my visit in January - do not know if this has happened yet though.
Thanks guys, that`s interesting. Hopefully these two births will help in re-establishing Puma once again in UK zoos. Does anyone know if those Exmoor cubs have been paired up yet?
Amazona has been sold to new owners Cromer estate owner aims to make zoo a roaring success - Business - Eastern Daily Press
It sounds as though the zoo will become much more commercial as a leisure facility within the community. My gut feeling is not great about this, Ken Sims is a good zoo-man through and through, he has lovingly created a nice specialist collection in Cromer and I can see all this work gradually falling apart, to be replaced by something of less quality perhaps ??
Visited today, not a lot to comment on really. Puma cub is no longer on show, anyone know where its gone? Someone previously mentioned Margay and Raccoons being here, neither of these species are on show/in the collection anymore, I am yet to see the ever illusive Margay... one day! Surprised by the amount of Common Marmoset and Coati enclosures, 3 Coati enclosures and lost count of the Marmoset ones! And hurrah for no meerkats, they really do stick to the American animals. Happy to answer any questions.
Had an enjoyable first visit here today. The highlight for me were 2 young jaguarundi, which are recent arrivals according to the sign and something I hadn't expected.
No this one is in a different location, the old Cromer Zoo site is still derelict and fenced off I believe.
A press release today reveals they have come from a private keeper in Cornwall: We are please to officially announce our two new residents - Jaguarundi! Small cats which originate from South America. We have adopted them from a private collection in Cornwall, and our new residents will benefit from a brand new enclosure at Amazona Zoo which features platform levels and hidey holes for the cats to play on and hide in. Like the rest of the zoo’s animals, the Jaguarundi cats are native to South America. Small, long haired felines with tiny ears, the cats, when fully grown, will be about 3 ½ foot in length. The Jaguarondis are carnivores and eat a selection of meat and fish, including day-old chicks and chicken. Imogen White, head zookeeper at Amazona Zoo, says “We’re very excited to welcome the Jaguarondis to the Amazona Zoo family. We look forward to them joining us, and hope they’ll settle into their brand new, purpose-built enclosure. We’re sure they’ll become well-loved members of the zoo.”
Jaguar Bonita has passed away aged 22 "It is with great sadness that we have to inform you all of this news. Today we had to say goodbye to our very beautiful female Jaguar Bonita. She reached the great age of 22 and had been suffering with her kidneys for a while now. Over the last few days her kidneys started to fail and even with the treatments she received, had become very weak so we made the very hard decision to put her to sleep. We will be keeping a close eye on Coro, her son, over the next few weeks, as he has always been with her. Male Jaguars are normally solitary animals, so we are hoping that he moves on positively. We will all miss Bonita terribly, she was a lovely girl who even in old age thought she was still a teenager. Goodbye Bonita"
Bonita was originally from Belgium. Coro was born at Marwell in 2000 to mother Bonita and father Pele. Coro is neutered to stop him breeding with his mother. They all moved to Chester in 2004 and then to Amazona Zoo in 2012.
Yes i thought as much, Bonita also produced another male cub called Cali, at the same time as Coro his brother, though i cant remember where Cali went to now.
Had a pleasant walk around this morning despite the rain and wind. Several animals were visible, with the exception of Jaguarundi and the otter, although given the size of the otter enclosure and natural pond, not really that surprising. Again, we paired this up with a visit to Thrigby Park (having done Africa Alive and Banham yesterday) and was in the park for a couple of hours. I also would like to make a special note of how very reasonably priced the food and drink in the cafe is, and good quality.
Went on a visit today is a really nice collection despite the rain showers. One observation is that the Pumas were mating throughout the day.