There was no thread for Belfast Zoo news....until now! Belfast is unusual for a UK zoo in that it is still operated by the local council. They had a particularly successful year last year with over 250,000 visitors and won the Northern Ireland Visitor Attraction of the Year 2007. What prompted me to start this thread is the news that they've just had their FOURTH baby bongo of the summer! The group now numbers 11. They have had over 125 babies this year including a Barbary lion cub, 3 giraffes and a Moloch gibbon. The Moloch gibbons are the rarest species and only arrived at the zoo in 2006.
Do you know if it's correct that at the moment they only hold 1.0 Sifaka? 2 males arrived last year but if i'm correct one of them moved quite rapidly again...
I was told by the keepers it was moved to Alpenhaul because they used to beat the crap out of each other,any way the Male they have at the moment will move on the move when the pair and youngster arrive from Paris,I believe he is going to Cotswold.
you are right i have just checked, so belfast are getting a pair and cotswold for their new madagascar exhibit
Yes they are getting a pair the one going to Cotswold is as daft as a brush have been in with him twice at Belfast!!!!!!!
To me Belfast is the most under rated zoo in the U.K it has a habit of bring in unusal animals and doing well with them.
Yes, they have a lot in interesting animals there. Being on the other side of the Irish Sea means they aren't so accessible to Zoofans though. I've only been once, back in the days when it was just a small '2nd rate' zoo, before its expansion phase. I would like to visit again now..
I suppose Vincennes Zoo is testing the ground a bit here and there? Apenheul and Belfast are both top unusual primate keeping zoos. It surely is nice to know that Belfast will get a pair. I was fortunate enough to see them in the wild (Perinet and Mandakia) and my oh my ... what are sifakas ... too top dollar !
Belfast really is a top zoo which is sadly under-rated though maybe the odd slight imrovent here and there woudnt go a miss. Nothing major though
Does anyone know if they are working on any new exhibits? Hopefully with their current boom in visitor numbers they are generating funds to put back into zoo development and/or in-situ conservation projects. I also wondered if being in Northern Ireland they would find it easier to qualify for regional development funding (as Twycross have just successfully done).
When i was their in July they were working on a new enclosure for White-nosed Coati which were being held off-show in the old zoo,and the re-furb of the old tropical bird house into a south american mixed exhibit and the complete re-build of the bird garden.
I liked it. Lots of room for the animals, they all seemed happy. Although I was annoyed because they'd just got rid of the polar bears when I went :-( Does anyone know when they left the zoo?
Polar bear left pre 2000 so have been gone for some time,if you ever get the chance the old old Polar Bear enclosure is still their in the old zoo its a real eye opener.
Can anyone tell me more about the Francois Langurs in Belfast? How many animals do they have? Are they still breeding? Thanks!
I;ve never been to Belfast, does anyone know why they have an 'old' zoo, I don't get why the enclosures aren't refurbished. It seems odd for a major zoo to sit on land that could hold many more exhibits. I'm sure there's a reason, but I find it interesting that there's this entire other zoo just laying (mostly) empty of animals.
