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Flamingo Zoological Park, Olney

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by Hadley, 22 Jul 2007.

  1. Hadley

    Hadley Well-Known Member

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    Does anybody know what happened to this collection? I read about it several years ago, the only Gayal in the UK were held here, and 6 or 7 pelican species. I believe it was the headquarters for the Pelican Trust, but I can find nothing about what happened to this trust, or where any of the animals went. It may have been a private collection open only on selected days of the year, but I'm almost certain it is no more.
     
  2. bongorob

    bongorob Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    It was owned and run by Christopher Marler. It closed in 2001 but I think it still exsists as a private collection.
     
  3. Writhedhornbill

    Writhedhornbill Well-Known Member

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    Do they still have all those pelicans?
     
  4. Pertinax

    Pertinax Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    He had a very extensive Bird collection. Also a huge collection of domestic waterfowl as he was also a BWA waterfowl judge. There were also some larger mammals such as Guanacos. He also had American Bison and the existing ones at Whipsnade are from a pair donated by him.
     
  5. Hadley

    Hadley Well-Known Member

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    So what became of the Gayal herd? They were almost certainly impure (domestic) Gayal. I read that they were the only ones in the UK.
     
  6. ^Chris^

    ^Chris^ Well-Known Member

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    I thought Gayal could only be domestic? Isn't it just a name for domesticated Gaur or am I mistaken?
     
  7. Hadley

    Hadley Well-Known Member

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    You're completely right, I didn't know that. I thought they existed as a separate wild subspecies.
     
  8. robmv

    robmv Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    I visited Christopher Marler a couple of years ago. He still maintains a private collection although this is not on the site of the collection that was open to the public (it's only down the road). He still has the Gayal plus Yak, Lechwe and some lovely red dwarf zebu.

    His bird collection is much reduced but he has kept a few representative species - Ruddy-headed Goose, Giant Canada Goose, Bewick's Swan, etc. He still keeps Eastern White Pelicans but the others have gone. He has several species of vulture: Ruppell's Griffon, White-headed, Palmnut, Hooded and most interestingly, two pairs of (Lesser?) Yellow-headed Vultures.
     
  9. Writhedhornbill

    Writhedhornbill Well-Known Member

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    The palm nut, yellow headed and white headed are the most interesting. Hardly any of them are kept in UK zoos.
     
  10. Mike.R.

    Mike.R. Active Member

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    I get this is a massive long shot but does anyone know what happened to the birds that was being kept on at the other site in particular interested in what happened to the two pairs of lesser yellow headed vultures?
     
  11. FBBird

    FBBird Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    I suspect they are on the Continent somewhere. Christopher had a lot of international connections. He died two years ago.
     
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