I went for another long visit today; these are my general observations: Species Arrivals and Departures I managed to see two of the new spiny turtles under a log near the front of the right-hand end of the new reptile enclosure. The West African giant land snails in the Discovery Centre have left the collection and been replaced by a small group of purple flower beetles Smaragdesthes africana oertzeni, which is a new species for me. Births For all those minnow fans out there, the male European minnows in the sun bear pool have again developed their breeding colours and are beginning to compete for the same general spawning site as last year. Developments The pygmy hippopotamus development is continuing - the African cichlid aquarium has been removed and boards put down, presumably so construction can begin. As an aside, I also noticed a wooden building seems to have gone up behind the former Ibis Walk walkway - whether that is linked to the pygmy hippo construction I cannot say. From what I can now gather, the netted enclosure in the Lion Rock development will be the mixed exhibit for patas and colobus monkeys, the area that remains without netting will be the expanded part of the lion enclosure - if that is the case then the monkey enclosure looks almost finished. General Observations As part of an enrichment programme, the Aldabran giant and African spurred tortoises have swapped over into each other's enclosures in the Walking Giants display. I could only see two Aldabran giant tortoises; I was sure there were more of them.
The zoo's website has announced the hatching of 'a number' of Humboldt penguin chicks in both the Penguin Shores and Inca Trail penguin colonies. The exact number of chicks is not stated. Penguin chicks hatch at Colchester Zoo! - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo
Another brief morning visit today. Here are the things I noticed, some of which I almost certainly missed from earlier this week: Animal Arrivals and Departures - The Costa Rican tiger-rump tarantula in the Discovery Centre has gone off-show while its exhibit is refurbished (whether for the tarantula or for another species I don't know) Births - Had a very good, prolonged view of the three new bush dog pups in the outdoor enclosure with the adults General Observations - A small number of butterfly splitfin have now been added in with the tiger barbs in the pool for the slender-snouted crocodile - Had a great sighting of the new Amur leopard female (Esra), who repeatedly climbed up onto the upper wall of the exhibit to look over at the spider monkeys across the path from her
I visited yesterday and think the minnows in the sun bear pond make a superb exhibit at this time of year (a photo is in the gallery). I was especially pleased to see a very young blue duiker but, frustratingly, never saw the bush dogs despite waiting patiently for a very long time....
Flossy the Rhino News on Flossy, our white rhino - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo "Over the past year, Flossy, one of our White rhino has been receiving treatment for a skin condition which appeared as weeping growths. This has been kept under control and managed by keepers and our veterinary team to treat the problem and also ensure Flossy remains comfortable."
Another Victoria crowned pigeon chick, hatched on 27th May, has successfully fledged at Colchester. For the first time since the zoo received the pigeons, the previous fledgling (a female) is still in the enclosure with parents Violet and Ozzy and the new chick. More information on the link below: Young pigeon flies the nest! - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo
Male L’hoest monkey arrived; We are excited to announce that we have welcomed a new male L’hoest monkey! With World Cup fever taking over the nation, our keepers have named him “Kane” after England’s captain Harry Kane! #worldcup #goodluck #itscominghome
Had a great visit today, getting there for 7:30am for the Wake Up! event. Few things to note: 1. 1 buffy headed capuchin born a week ago. 2. 2 eastern crown cranes born recently. 3. 1 blue diuker born recently. 4. 4 smooth coated otters born around 4 weeks ago. 5. There is some climbing apparatus in the aaardvark enclosure, not sure who for though.
went today and still no sign of Cedric the male kudu. not seen him for a few weeks now wonder if he has left the zoo. The great grey Owl enclosure has had most of the trees cut back allowing more light into it and more room for owls to flap about. Otto has spilt his horn while he has been away.
Now that I think about it, what happened to the new male L'Hoest's monkey that the zoo had a while back? I'm sure they had one living in one of the indoor patas monkey enclosures, before the colobus moved in, with signage saying that they were waiting for their current breeding male to move on before introducing him to the females. Wondering whether they may be the same animal, who has simply been renamed to reflect the World Cup.
The Colchester Zoo website has now released an article about the new smooth-coated otter pups. The four were born on 17th May and are now increasingly leaving the underground den. More information on the link below: Our otter pups learn how to swim! - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo
The zoo website has released an article about the newest blue duiker calf, a male born on 16th June. Also of interest from the article is the statement that the blue duikers are sharing their exhibit with demoiselle cranes. Certainly on my last visit it was the blue cranes they lived with - I had thought that the demoiselle cranes formerly in Edge of Africa had left quite a while back. So I'm a bit baffled as to what has happened with the cranes in this part of the zoo. The brief article is included here: Blue Duiker calf takes their first steps - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo
