I enjoyed a visit in beautiful weather yesterday. I really liked the new parrot range, with a fine collection of species: pairs of Cuban amazon, blue-throated and grey-breasted conures, red-crowned amazon, greater Patagonian conure, Bodin's amazon and blue-throated macaw, plus mother and daughter thick-billed parrots. There are also a pair of Buffon's macaw and a mixed group of amazons on the other side of the zoo. As I didn't visit last year, I was pleased to see the Chacoan mara in the Marmoset House, but I was frustrated that I couldn't get a photo. There have been some nice arrivals. A young pair of bush dogs are settling into the old otter enclosure, which should suit them well; their keeper told me that one came from Chester and the other from Mulhouse, but she couldn't remember which one came from which zoo. I wasn't surprised that I didn't see the margays until they looked out of their nestboxes at feeding time, just before the zoo closed. The young male came from Jihlava to pair with an older female from Shaldon. But of course the animals I really wanted to see were the two fanaloka. They were curled up asleep until it was their turn for supper, just after the margays. Fortunately I had time to get a few decent photos (and a lot of poor ones). They are nice creatures and I hope that they will become a little more active as they settle into their new home.
Pretty exciting addition to a UK zoo I would have thought. Only visitors of Burgers Zoo would have seen this amazing animal in Europe (carefully disguised as a ringtail).
Oh, most certainly just thought it worth making sure no one jumped to any conclusions! It's still pretty exciting in-and-of itself.
They both have Ringtails which is why I posted the above - Cacomistle would be a new arrival for Europe and hence even more exciting than Ringtail.
Exmoor have released news on their website about their new ringtails - they arrived in autumn 2018 from a zoo in Texas, where they were rescued as orphans from the wild. Quite a lot of inaccuracies in the article however - it says that they are the first ringtails ever held outside their native range, even though there is one other current holder in Europe (at Burgers Zoo) and as many as twenty former holders in Europe (as per Zootierliste). The article is included below: Exmoor Zoo
I purchased a pair from Ravensden in the mid 1980s - a couple of years after Flamingo Gardens, Weston Underwood closed (if that helps with a timescale) - as we kept them in accommodation converted from buildings I bought from Christopher Marler. We had them privately for several years. They were two of four animals Ravensden imported. Ravensden called them Cacomistles, presumably to differentiate them from Ring-tail Lemurs - but the were definitely NA Ringtails.
Edit - I have checked the few records which remain from the time and am annoyed that none can be found of where they went. The pair were housed together at the dealers. The first two had been sold and collected before we were offered these, so I can't shed any light on who had them. Our female only had half a tail, so was very distinctive - they were perfectly compatible, totally nocturnal and were only ever seen in their outdoor aviary by torch-light in complete darkness. They never bred, and definitely did not die here. My guess would be that they went back to Ravensden in exchange for something more visible (!) sometime around or before the opening of Hamerton. They were lovely, but in a public collection would require the right accommodation...
I remember Dublin zoo had a single Cacomistle? on display for a short while in the eighties. It was held in the old lion house (Roberts house) and when I saw it, it was always curled up on a perch motionless. I'm sure it was terrified hearing the Leopards and other Cats roaring nearby, plus the overpowering cat smell.
I was there today and got a brief glimpse of one of the ringtails. Unfortunately my photo was spoiled by the reflection. The Fanaloka were visible but sleeping in their boxes, as was the Margay, but I managed to see the Rusty-Spotted Cat. Heres hoping for a good breeding season for the new parrot centre as well - Exmoor is one of the top UK zoos for small mammals and uncommonly seen birds.
