I finally got round to packing this morning and I'm now on my way to the airport. I'm a little reluctant to post about my plans when my reviews are so far behind, but I'll now be able to catch up as my sister has lent me her laptop, so I hope to post some photos and reports while I'm away. I'm leaving London tonight, and land in Sao Paulo on Monday evening. Tomorrow I have a 17 hour stopover in Bogota, Sunday I have 25 hours in La Paz, and then I have 5 hours in Santa Cruz on Monday. La Paz was a costly addition to the trip but I expect it will be worth it if my ideal plans fall into place. In Bogota I hope to catch Bioparque La Reserva in the morning, and catch one of the feeding sessions for an animal I'm keen to see. If there's time I will also visit Parque Jaime Duque, although they've not yet been able to confirm the presence of some rarities. Beyond that it's difficult to say just yet, but my plans are ambitious!
To whom it may concern: Let it be hereby known that, should any person(s) at a future date seek re-entry to the United Kingdom and be found in possession of a smug demeanour due to having seen live specimen(s) of Leopardus jacobita, that person is liable to arrest and detention under the 2016 'Zoological Envy Act'. Under this Act, the convicted felon faces a maximum sentence of a lifetime ban on viewing any non-domestic carnivore other than the Meerkat.
And the moderators editing a little "I am an irredeemably lucky bastard" image pin into his every post, if he's not careful
After missing the black Springbock at Artis I realy hope you are more lucky with the Andean cat ( and check your SD-card !!!! ) !
An update: I hadn't seen the last few posts on this thread but it looks like I might be needing that pin! Tomorrow morning I fly to Chiloe Island for a few days to look for some wild animals. I have fortunately been far from the terrible devastation of the Ecuadorian earthquake (having opted for Chiloe over the Galapagos), and missed a Uruguayan tornado by a day. All's well. I quite like the inclusion of images in my posts but I'm unable to upload them properly from the macbook I'm using. I'm therefore writing up reports on the night of my visit (when I can), and I'll probably upload everything when I get back to the UK. There's a small backlog but hopefully I'll work my way through it soon.
That is where my friend Jim Sanderson did his pioneering study of guignas (formerly known as kodkods), seeing both black and normal morphs. If you are lucky you may see them. Of course if you see both guigna and Andean cat I may never forgive you!
I'm now in Bogota airport waiting for my flight back to the UK. Because I left the UK at such short notice, I have a few very busy days ahead of me but hope to start catching up on this thread shortly. My stay in South America has been absolutely incredible. Even work here was absolutely fascinating. Almost everywhere I've been, the odds have largely been in my favour and I've been unbelievably lucky. I'm so fortunate to have had such a great trip. So far only one temporarily lost bag, a couple of lost items which are replaceable, and we managed to repair a broken camera lens. A relatively smooth trip over all (so far!). Some brief stats: this will be my 33rd flight of 2016, and the 37th of the 'year of adventures'. Whilst in South America: Nights spent in hotels/lodges -* 47 Number of different hotels - 20 Nights spent in air bnb accommodation - 4 Nights* spent in planes - 3 Nights spent in airport lounges -1
Great to hear you had such a wonderfull time in South America ! Howmany - and which - counties have you visited and did you find all your "bucket-species" ? Hope your flight will be OK and..... welcome back !
Thanks very much! I ended up visiting eight countries but with my work in Brazil a few were very brief. I made it to Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Peru, with my trips to Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay each lasting less than 36 hours. I got to see a couple of species which I thought I might never see, and I was extremely lucky with a few rarities (Lear's macaws, for instance, now feel almost commonplace!) I'm gradually backing up and sorting through my photos so that I can start the flow of reports again.
From my point of view he is even more of a bastard, considering a breeding group of said species has been in a collection only an hour from me for the last decade, but without any prospect of ever seeing them
Alexandria Zoo, Egypt (2) Hahaha! So (temporarily?) putting aside speculation on my parents' marital status... Sorry for the delay. Here’s my first post to get back on track with this thread. Hopefully by the time I get to the South American reports we’ll have some more zoos added to the gallery. : ) Once again, on my last day in Alexandria a paid a morning visit to the zoo. This is my first repeat visit on this thread, and although my previous account was a bit brief, I have decided to write this in more of a 'walk-through' arrangement, in keeping with my more recent reports. This is, after all, one of my most frequently-visited zoos. We had first attempted to visit the previous day; on a Tuesday. Unfortunately I had not really been keeping track of days, and although I remembered that all Egyptian zoos and aquaria are closed on Tuesdays, I didn't register this, and only realised once we arrived at the closed zoo. I therefore visited alone the following day. Although the zoo was built in the 1950s, the vast majority of cages still seem Victorian, with little difference in allocation of space to the animals between here and the much older zoo in Giza (Cairo). As such, a large number of smaller cages are now empty. Several enclosures are empty and have been for so long that they've started to crumble. The zoo is spread over two levels. The lower level used to house many of the largest animals, as well as some from cooler climates - there is apparently a marked difference in temperature due to the air flow accentuated by the zoo's design. The bears are still kept at the far end of this level, but otherwise a mix of animals are kept here. If you enter via the zoo's side entrance on the lower level of the zoo, the right wing contains a number of disused enclosures, with camels occupying the old rhino paddock, and ostriches in each of the two tiny elephant yards. The left wing contains small hoofstock initially; Shetland ponies which visitors can ride, goats and sometimes fallow deer. A nice development is the use of the former giraffe paddock & house for a pair of Nubian ibex - nice because a male was often kept in an overcrowded sandy deer paddock, and because the giraffe paddock has been mostly left uninhabited for several years, except for a corner fenced off for more domestic goats. Beyond this is a Bactrian camel paddock - again, used for rides - and a number of bear 'enclosures'. Four of them still hold bears; three cages hold Asiatic black and European brown bears, and a small enclosure houses American black bears. Currently two more cages here house spotted hyena and a pair of lions, with an old bear pit holding crested porcupines and a ludicrously small cage for the zoo's only Egyptian wolf. Stairs in this area lead to a cage used for either spotted hyena or Olive baboon, a pair of hippo enclosures, and the waterfowl lake (mostly housing pelicans and domestic waterfowl). A pair of open-topped enclosures for white storks and greater flamingos (all pinioned) complete the vague wetland theme. Following the perimeter wall around, we pass the vacant plot previously used for fairground rides and get to the enormous monkey mountain. In true historic fashion, visitors view this enclosure almost from the level of the summit, as the mountain sits in a very deep pit. A massive group of Hamadryas baboons live here, and when not being harassed by visitors it’s actually quite interesting to watch their behavior. Nearby are a row of cages housing small monkeys and adult baboons. This was the first time I noticed that there was a very old sign for lions in the keepers’ area behind one of the cages which isn’t even suitable for the grivets now inhabiting it. It also suggests that the public used to be able to access the indoor quarters for these cages. Around the corner is the rest of the zoo’s primate collection, maintained in unpleasantly small cages. Bonnet and Barbary macaques are the most notable animals here. Nearby is one of the zoo’s bigger entrances. Guests entering here are greeted by a pair of small, domed enclosures on either side (which are now used for porcupines and spurred tortoises), in front of two rows of enclosures which almost converge to form what would look like a semi-circle from above. The left wing houses a scattering of birds, mostly peafowl and unlabelled birds of prey – as well as a few raccoons. The right wing typically houses some domestic animals but this time none of the enclosures had any visible inhabitants in. As this was where the red foxes had been last time, I spent some time near one of the empty enclosures to eventually catch a glimpse of both red foxes on a ledge three metres off the ground! These cages are very simple, with a sandy substrate, a small water source, and virtually nothing else in the enclosure, although there is a platform over the keepers’ door and maintenance corridor with no visible way to get up there. Amazingly the foxes were both on top! I had only seen one on my last visit, so I’m guessing the other must have been hidden up there. I wrote to the zoo to suggest a more suitable enclosure for them but have yet to receive a response. Beyond this area is a series of paddocks for llamas and large birds (ostrich, emu, peafowl) with a few small aviaries for cagebirds and doves. There must have once been several thousand finches and budgies in this area but over time they’ve all been stolen, leaving behind just a few pairs of the small birds. The next area centres about the zoo’s giant observation tower; it has been closed for many years but used to offer nice views across the site and the neighbouring gardens. Sadly with every passing year it seems to be in a worse state, with more glass panes missing from the staircase. Encircling the tower are a set of hoofstock paddocks. These are generally of an ‘average’ size but very plain; currently housing a zebra and a scimitar horned oryx (previously a nilgai was also a popular resident here). One side of this tower circle faces the reptile house – a two-storey building in disrepair which used to house a museum upstairs (now closed since the 1990s) and a small reptile house downstairs. The reptile house features mostly native or commonly-seen reptiles, as well as a trio of African grey parrots and a white cockatoo which are kept in cages inside the house, but they might be moved just outside the doorway during the day. Also on this floor used to be an outdoor café. I’ve not seen it in use for many years. Another side of the tower circle faces the magnificent lion house (which was surprisingly closed on this visit); one of the most impressive places to hear a lion roar due to the acoustics of the building. Unfortunately, for a small fee, all the lions can still be made to roar on command. The lion house is flanked on either side by an ‘island’ enclosure which is separated from the public by a very deep moat. Typically a small number are kept outside with the remaining animals in the indoor cages. A very primitive set-up. On one side of the lion house complex is a row of cages for surplus lions (several looking poorly-kempt and malnourished) and sometimes spotted hyenas, and on the other side is an enclosure for Barbary sheep (complete with an artificial hill), and beyond that the stairs to return to the lower level of the zoo near the rhino and elephant enclosures and the exit not far away.
