(As someone whose visits to Paignton revolve around Mali and Tatty, I'm dreading their departure. May sound overly dramatic, but Tatty has been a source of joy for the last 7½ years and I'm not ashamed to admit it)
The lion enclosure has recently been refurbished slightly so I doubt theres any plans to build a new one and especially with all this covid stuff happening I doubt we will see any new enclosures there for a while. I think there are long term plans to move the african animals up the top where the car park is so maybe they will go up there??
The zoo own land behind the Nature area and to the far side of the car parks which is currently rented out to local farmers and plans to build a hotel on it for guests
Could someone please update me on the status of the African Elephant heard? For example are all three Cowes still residing in the same enclosure. I ask this as Zola the aggressive and lowest ranking Elephant is often kept in solitary confinement. I’m aware that Tembo was due to move to an other European Zoo,until his Tasks started to cause problems. In response to this is Tembo still planned to move on? Personally I think that Tembo should be moved as he has not sired any alive offspring at Colchester for 16 years. I’m aware that a couple of years ago Colchester were contemplating used Artificial Insmination (AI) on the Cowes. The sperm in question would have been that of Jambo Tembo’s adolescent son Jambo. Incidentally Jambo has fallen out with the Dominant Cow at Bioparc Valencia,this situation in my opinion could provide the perfect opportunity to bring Jambo back to Colchester in exchange for his Dad. In addition to the African Elephants can someone please give me an overview on Colchester Zoo’s news? I have heard that the planned arrival of Mali the Bornian Orangutan and her daughter Tatu from Paignton Zoo is liniment. Can someone please tell me how the renovations on the Orangutan house & enclosure is progressing,if possible can someone please post a picture of the renovated Orangutan abode?
Zoo have announced this morning that Lioness Malika has passed away on 14th October: Facebook: Colchester Zoo Read more about Malika here > Colchester Zoo mourns the passing of beautiful Lioness Malika | Colchester Zoo
1.0 White Rhino calf born on 14th October: 6th White rhino calf born at Colchester Zoo! | Colchester Zoo
I went for a morning visit to Colchester today - it was good to get out on last time before Thursday. This is what I noticed that may be of interest: The Cuvier's Madagascar swift is now on-show in Kingdom of the Wild; it is in the leftmost of the three larger terrariums, with all signage of it at the middle enclosure (for mud turtles and cichlids) now removed. Managed a brief sighting of the new fire skink, while the blue-legged mantella remain elusive. Looked again at the new ‘Feathers of the Forest’ display – unfortunately from the signage I could see the chances of there being any birds other than the Victoria crowned pigeons are slim. It was nice to see some of the babies I hadn't seen much of before; I don't think I have seen the pygmy hippo calf before and the newest rhino calf was visible in the Kingdom of the Wild indoor area. The new walkway being built around the edge of the Kingdom of the Wild paddock seems to have progressed well and is now signed as 'African Plateau'.
@DesertRhino150- any idea or update from your visit if the long awaited female orangutans are arriving in the near future?
Unfortunately not - when we were in the orangutan house there were no staff around to ask about that.
A Colombian black spider monkey was born at Colchester Zoo on Tuesday 20th October, to mother Cheekaboo and father Julius. The baby's sex is currently unknown. More information can be found in the link below: Spider Monkey baby born! | Colchester Zoo
Colchester Zoo have announced that the redevelopment of the older Humboldt penguin enclosure, Penguin Shores, will begin during the current lockdown. The zoo will be using materials purchased before the first lockdown as well as making use of available leftover materials. Because of these cutbacks, it is expected that the work will take a year, instead of the six months already planned. The redevelopment will include a new filtration system and an updated underwater viewing area. While the work goes on, the penguins living in Penguin Shores have been moved to join the second group living in the newer enclosure at the Inca Trail. More information in the link below: Penguin Shores Redevelopment | Colchester Zoo
Voting has opened on names for the male Southern white rhinoceros calf: Colchester Zoo wants your help to name adorable rhino calf The options are: -Tayo -Mosi -Jelani A
Colchester Zoo have now officially announced the birth of the mandrill on 31st October. It is the second baby for the mother 'Mindy' and the baby has already been sexed as male. More information can be found in the link below: Mindy the Mandrill becomes a 2nd time mum! | Colchester Zoo
Colchester Zoo pays tribute to long standing vet, John Lewis, who has sadly passed away. Colchester Zoo pays tribute to renowned vet who cared for animals for decades
Female chimpanzee Tekita was put to sleep on December 1st, at the age of 25 years old. She had been unwell and under veterinary care for the past few weeks but following exploratory surgery it was decided that there was no treatment available to help. In the coming days a full post mortem will be completed to determine the exact cause of death. Tekita was born in February 1996 at Colchester to mother Tara, who still lives at the zoo. She was also mother to both Tumba and Talia, the youngest chimpanzees in the troop. More information can be found in the link below: Goodbye Tekita | Colchester Zoo
Can any regular visitors to Colchester please help me with a bit of an investigation? A female Amur Tiger has left (or will shortly be leaving) a UK zoo headed for Plzen. Is this Tatana?
A fourteen year-old female large hairy armadillo named Allie arrived at Colchester Zoo on November 23rd, joining one year-old male armadillo Gomez that arrived earlier in the year. There is more information in the link below (which does also falsely claim it is the largest armadillo species): Gomez the Armadillo welcomes a new friend! | Colchester Zoo
I'm confident this is milashki from woburn who was born at the park in 2015. The cubs at colchester have at least 8 months left at the zoo as said in colchesters Facebook live show two weeks ago which you can watch on youtube
