I visited on 04/01/2019. I was glad to see a number of developments around the zoo. 0.15 Red-whiskered bulbul from Burger's zoo are now living Brilliant birds, in addition to the 1.1 Swift parrots and 0.1 White-rumped shama who moved in last year. The swift parrots gave me my first lifer of 2020. The Visayan warty pig have moved to the old red river hog enclosure (I hope the enclosure is renovated tho) and the wee building that held the Taiwan beauty snake is still closed. Hammerkop seems to have left the collection with no signs for them. A sign is up for White-winged wood duck at one of the bottom duck aviaries which is perfect for them. A volunteer informed me that they are renovating the koala area, hopefully to have two breeding females. I think a new pair of Geoldi's monkey have arrived.
An 11-week old giant anteater pup has been spotted riding on its mother’s back at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Edinburgh Zoo: First look at Edinburgh Zoo’s giant anteater pup | Edinburgh Zoo
Western Chimpanzee born on February 3rd to Velu's mother Heleen! Edinburgh Zoo welcomes rare chimp birth | Edinburgh Zoo
Is she the only breeding female in their group? That appears to be the case given the 2014 birth of Velu was to her also.
I know that they're focused on the breeding of the Western subspecies, so they've placed all the zoomix or other subspecies chimps (including alpha male Qafzeh) on contraceptives, but I'm not sure exactly which of the females are pure westerns, that might be something I could look into
I believe it is just the ones that came from Holland that are pure West African, plus either one or two of their original males. But so far Heleen seems to be the only breeder of the four(?) females that came in the Dutch group.
I visited today, unfortunately didn't get to see either of the recent new borns (Giant Anteater & Chimp) although most species were very active even in the cold, wind and snow! A lot of building work going at the moment all over the zoo. The new Giraffe house is looking great and is quite a sight right at the top of the hill. Elsewhere the former Visayan Warty Pig enclosure is being prepped for new arrivals. There is work going on in the paddock between the Panda's and the Zebra, not sure exactly what is going on there. There is also work being done at the entrance to the car park, with visitors having to drive through the hotel car park before being re-directed into the zoo car park. There was no one around in the chimp enclosure to ask about Heleen being the only breeding female and none of the display material mentioned it either, in fact one sign spoke of one of the other females rising higher in the hierarchy if she were to have a youngster. Other points of note today were the Cassowary viewing was covered over and the Asian Short Clawed Otters appear to have left the collection, signs up saying an exiting new development coming in their former enclosure and no mention of them on the website.
No sorry, I thought it might have been in background of one the Gelada pics I took, but unfortunately not.
Cassowaries are probably breeding/egg laying atm so that's why they'll be covered. Did you see any developments in the old red river hogs/visyan warty pigs enclosure near the otters? That enclosure needs renovation
This area is still closed off for renovation, just the Visayan Warty Pigs on display in the former Red River Hog enclosure.
From the zoo in Amiens opening Archipel news bulletins: 2.0 Alfred's deer were transferred from Edinburgh to Amiens in/around January 2020.
Voting has opened in a public poll to name a rare baby chimpanzee at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Edinburgh Zoo. One of the wildlife conservation charity’s patrons put together a shortlist of names inspired by the Budongo forest area of Uganda, where RZSS supports conservation efforts for the species in the wild. Born on Monday 3 February to mum Heleen, the baby girl is only the second chimpanzee born in Scotland for over 20 years. Donald Gow, Edinburgh Zoo’s Budongo Trail team leader, said, “One of our patrons has chosen four beautiful names for our new arrival, Sonso, Waisoke, Siba and Masindi. The first three are streams in the Budongo forest and the last is the nearest town. We can’t wait to see which name the public chooses.” Vote opens for baby chimpanzee name | Edinburgh Zoo
The RZSS WildGenes Lab has been working in collaboration with the Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine at the University of Glasgow on a project that aims to inform the conservation of Botswanan Rhinos: The trials and tribulations of identifying rhino parents | Edinburgh Zoo
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Edinburgh Zoo has announced their newborn chimpanzee has been named Masindi following a public vote. The youngster now shares her name with the nearest town to the Budongo Conservation Field Station in Uganda where RZSS funds vital conservation efforts for the species: Edinburgh Zoo’s baby chimp named | Edinburgh Zoo
I'd say the public who voted had good taste in this case, it is the only one of the four names put forward that has a nice ring to it...
Female Malayan Tapir, Sayang, has been removed from the Zoo's website, with the page stating they are home to a single adult male, Mogli. No announcement as to whether Sayang has passed away or been moved to another collection: Malayan tapir | Edinburgh Zoo
Update from the zoo about Sayang advising that after ongoing health complications Sayang was put to sleep on veterinary advice.
Edinburgh Zoo welcomed a new resident earlier this month, 11-month-old Nymeria, a large hairy armadillo: A large hairy arrival at Edinburgh Zoo | Edinburgh Zoo
