New female Pygmy Hippo Gloria has arrived, from Marwell, to join male Otto. Previous female Ellen has been sent to a zoo in Spain to retire.
Planning permission sought for a new enclosure, including a new animal house with cubbing dens. Additional enclosure for the Sumatran tigers? 15/05538/FUL | Construction of new animal enclosure with metal fencing approx 6m high, new paths + tunnel through enclosure. New single storey building with accommodation and welfare facilities for animals. Viewing Platform + Canopy, landscape works within and around enclosure. | Edinburgh Zoo 134 Corstorphine Road Edinburgh EH12 6TS
Intesesting, not least because the location plan map is so old! Lion enclosure where the Koalas now are! That area had never been developed prior to the Dinosaurs exhibition, and even then I don't think it went that far south. I'd been told once it couldn't be developed as there was a badger sett there - probably just rumour! This could be the cat species that they mentioned when announcing the closure of the terraces. Looks like a big species - Amur Leopard, Jaguar? or as you suggest, a bigger area for the tigers (So both can get access )
There seems to be a tunnel connecting the current Sumatran tiger enclosure and the new housing. To me it looks like an extension to the current Sumatran tiger facilities, with some badly needed, decent indoor housing. But then i can't help but look at the attached plan and think of YWP's Amur leopard enclosure.
Yes, the animal house connects to the existing Sumatran tiger enclosure so it's definitely an extension - and there's a new viewpoint into the existing enclosure from the NE. I've added site plan and section images to the gallery. The section shows how the glazed visitor tunnel will allow the animals to cross between the two new enclosures.
RZSS Edinburgh Zoo have announced they have received an additional £200,000 of funding from the People's Postcode Lottery, meaning they have now received £500,000 in total since the beginning of 2014.
there are strong prevailing rumours among staff, based on words given (such as a vet letting it slip by accident) that the Zoo will be getting big cats back again in a wee while (not sure when) - perhaps they realized just how bad it was getting rid of them. certainly in my time volunteering since they left, one of the most common questions I get, indeed I got it 10 times just last week, is "where are the big cats". Sure, we still have the Lions and Tigers but people want to see others.
Hello RicaFan One of the commonest questions at London Zoo is, "Where are the elephants?" Some people also ask about giant pandas, koalas and polar bears, but it's a long time since anyone asked about leopards or jaguars, as far as I know.
The original CEO blog about scrapping the big cat terraces said: It also said: Has either been done yet - I keep hearing rumours about the rhinos. Original blog: https://rzss.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/chief-executives-blog-134/
As far as I am aware, still working on what to do with rhinos - whether to carry on being a bachelor housing estate or whether to build a breeding estate.
chimp move It appears a female Chimp was transferred from Edinburgh to La Palmyre, France, back in December. Her name is 'Emma'- is she one of the purebred West Africans, or one of the generics?
Emma was born at Whipsnade in 1981 and transferred to Edinburgh 10 years later. She is Qafzeh's mother which may be one of the reasons they decided to move her (with him being dominant male) So to answer Pertinax's question - likely to be generic
Thanks Nisha. From that I deduce La Palmyre's small group (she will be the third female) are generic also.
Emma moved as an EEP recommendation as she is troglodytes troglodytes. News from La Palmyre zoo website A newcomer in Homer's group | Zoo de la Palmyre
That is correct: Emma was already a known troglodytes chimp (pre current 2nd program). The Chimp EEP is slowly branching into setting up this second SSP breeding program for the troglodytes subspecies and given there is still a fairly high number of wild-caught and untested chimps the likelihood of an increase in these or one of the other subspecies is not unthinkable.
I should have read this fully before commenting. So Emma's parents at Whipsnade must both have been Central African chimps also.
