Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens Cotswold Wildlife Park news 2010

I went thursday too, i guess i was very lucky with the Wolverine, i watched it running around for a good 10-15 minutes

 

The langur baby looks fine, I got a couple of photos which I will post soon.
No great hornbills yet; their aviary has a notice saying that they will be getting a pair from San Diego soon. The great blue turaco pair were in residence.

Alan

 

Thanks Alan. I hope to revisit later in the year.

 

Visited on Friday (16th April). Really impressed with changes since my last visit (2004).

Saw pretty much everything except Pallas Cat, Jagaurundi, Wolverine and Cuscus (I couldn't even find the enclosure for this???), and only saw back end of tenrec.

Have some good photos (especially of lemurs & birds) which I will upload on specific request but I guess most will be repeats of whats recently been uploaded.

Cheers

 

The cuscus enclosure was in the tropical house doorway in between the sloth and the outside world. i didn't see any cuscus though.

 

Cuscus enclosure was empty today with a 'closed for maintenance sign.


Headed down to Oxfordshire today becuase ti looked too good a day to waste and my word I was right - had a great time, think I saw all the mammal species (bar the cuscus) - including at least five new on show since my last visit - the Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec, Prehensile-tailed Porcupine, Striped Grass Mouse, Pallas Cat and Wolverine.

Once again reaffirming why this is my favourite smaller zoo.


The sky today was an attraction in itself - I'm rarely unlucky with the weather at Burford but today was corker. Not only not a cloud to be seen but, of course, not a vapour trail either!

The always-impressive rhino-zebra-manor house view had a stunning sky as a backdrop:

 

Its also the first shot I've seen with the three newish White Rhinos together- just like they used to have in days gone by.

 

They are a very new group as you say but you wouldn't know it to look at them - seem to be getting on swimmingly. And there's a young zebra for the first time in years so the paddock's looking pretty good all round.

There'll be some more shots of the place uploaded tomorrow.

 

A good way to start a new thread is with a news article on a bumper spring full of births at the park.

Wildlife park springs into life with baby boom (From Oxford Mail)

 

I spent a pleasant couple of hours here the other day. Not sure how many of these 'zoobabies' apart from the camels, zebra and donkey, I actually saw, but the Park looked neat and trim as always- it has a lovely setting.

The Giraffe barn still has some way to go before it is ready and the hardstanding and paddock aren't fenced yet. I can't see it being fnished and the Giraffes installed before the summer now.

The two new rhino females are still a lot smaller than the new male.

Visayan warty pigs have not bred yet.
Whitelipped Peccaries now reduced to four(?)
Wolverine was active- I liked both the enclosure and viewing.
Baby Purple-faced Langur is doing well. They really need additional females though to have any real hope of building up a group of this species.
Jaguarundis were out of sight unfortunately so didn't see the kitten.
Still no Giant Hornbills at present.

The thing that impressed me most was the male Asiatic Lion 'Chandra'(ex Bristol) who looked HUGE. I've noticed before here how when the Lions are inside, the close viewing windows of the indoor dens make them look particularly enormous.

 

Wolverine,Cotswold Wildlife Park.

The male wolverine will be released into the small cage at the back of the
large wolverine enclosure so both can become accustomed (tuesday 4th May) and if all goes well will be released fully soon.

 

You know it's a big paddock when you lose 3 white rhino! We thought they must be shut in for some reason. We walked all the way round before we found them asleep under the trees!

 

0:0:3 Pallas Cat kittens were born earlier this year. Sadly one has since passed away due to an infection but the remaining two are doing well.

The father came from Howlett's/Port Lyme (not sure which park sorry) last year.

 

A few (disappointingly poor) pictures of the giraffes!

 

Can we assume the ground cuscus has gone?

 

4 Yemen Chameleons have been bred at the park for the first time
Write little critter - Yorkshire Post

 

As well as the baby chameleons mentioned above, which are wonderful replicas of their parents, there are lots of other baby reptiles, including a fresh batch of Morelet’s crocs, Utilan iguanas, Dumeril’s, Sanzinia, retic python.

Also bred a Lady Ross turaco, African openbill stork which is being hand-reared, and two Temminck’s tragopans which posed in full view with their parents

A pair of greater blue turacos are in with the hornbills and look stunning. I was really pleased to see a Coendou in the fruit bat house, he was very active. It has been a long time since I saw this species.

The wolverine enclosure is very impressive and naturalistic. The giraffe house is basically a functional stable and not particularly exciting. The gardens as ever looked great.

 

Great news they have settled down and started to breed, how old is the chick?

 

Excellent news that the bakeri have bred!! Fantastic exhibit for them at Cotswold and a really nice little iguana! Has the renovation of the retic viv started? The plans for it sounded amazing!

 

Openbill hatched on 31st July IIRC. I don't think the reticulated pythons are in a new vivarium.