If anyone is interested...I'll be at the zoo from Monday (22nd) for 5 weeks doing some research on the bears for my dissertation. So feel free to come say hi or chat to me about it or chat to me in general I'm generally a nice and chatty person! I will be the lone figure hovering come sun, wind or rain around the bear enclosure
only 1 Bear, Franka, unfortunately Sangay sadly died a few weeks ago Sangay | Zoo News | Chester Zoo UK
Perhaps you can teach me how to count, I've been told I can manage up to one. I'm sure I'll see you there at some point.
Thanks for info - I did know and actually typoed! It's sad though but I'm keeping my fingers cross a new male for Franka arrives! @karoocheetah - excellent! Will be nice to put names to faces and meet a few zoochatters! @bongorob - hehe I can but try!
*her to appear. I am but it's not a problem as: A) it will go down as "not visible" on my ethogram and B) I'm viewing on and off throughout the day trying to make it around feeding times etc when she's more likely to be out
James and the Bear Team often do a scatter feed around 11am ish - although nothing is set in stone of course! Agreed that it's a shame that Sangay is no longer with us - his relationship with James was interesting to watch and always made for good photos if he spotted us chatting! See you at the "Speckled Bears" then......get used to hearing that
Ahh thankyou! I'll definitely adjust observing time around the feed! Yeah - it's a shame but can still observe some interesting stuff with just Franka! Oh dear that will annoy me - apparently people mistake the coatis for baby bears sometimes too - I'll have to learn to hold my tongue!
I now collect "wrong names for animals" it's the only way to stop me slapping people around the zoo! It's fun and I can forgive kids getting it wrong when they have a go but adults who are stupid - unforgivable! My favorites so far are: The Watery Hogs (Warthogs obviously) The Tap-Pier (In a pseudo posh accent - Tapir believe it or not) Speckled Bears as I said Hyenas (Hunting Dogs) Baby Bears - ah surely they should be with their mums!! (Bush dogs) Skinny Leopards (Cheetah) my current top two are: in a broad scouse accent " Kyle come and look at da Cappacino Munkies" Capuchins and a small boy reading the sign for the Macaques - after trying to get his mouth round it a few times came up with "Mack a Quees" I love it personally and phonetically he was spot on!
Can I join in this game please; Coati - I thought a coyote was like a dog. Hunting Dogs - just like an alsation with big ears Serval - there's not several, there's only 2. Chimps - thats the daddy gorilla, with the mummy chimp, with the baby monkey. Giant otters - the sealions aren't as big as I remember Warty pigs - for water pigs they haven't even got a pool.
Today: Anoa - "no dear, they're not bats" Years ago I spent a lot of time watching binturong. The weirdest I heard was "oh look - flamingo" !!!
My Chester favourite is still "What are these?' "I don't know" disappears for a couple of minutes "They're red realms"
My favourite, in any accent other than scouse, Don't those leopards look skinny!!!!!! you guessed it Cheetah
well since we're continuing - how about: "Oh it's such a shame, they would be so much happier running around the savannah in Africa hunting deer" whilst looking at the Jaguar!! <signs>
@rob - definitely - keep facebooking me about it it's easier Also I think I saw a zoochatter today but they didn't introduce themselves! I also met some of the lovely regular photographer visitors - there's an old guy with tattoos and a camera on a stalk who is apparently constantly there? And another lovely guy who spent ages chatting to me at the tigers also with a mega camera! Incidentally if I'm not at the bears I will be watching the tiger cubs chew mum, the servals, the cheetahs or the bushdogs Today I heard: Speckled bears - 50+ times Is that a panda? Look look the bear has funny raccoon markings? Swear someone called a bongo - a zebra as they walked past xD Coatis - coyotes constantly - also multiple people tried to say the coatis were the bears I had to walk away not to fall about laughing! Met one of the zoo interns who told me someone once asked if the bear was a koala! Children wetting themselves in laughter over the bushdogs peeing upside down (in all honesty it's a tad amusing) as well as the fact that the male ones are..err....very obviously male? Oh and someone called the coatis - a monkey thing! I'm writing them all down in the back of my notebook to repeat to you all each evening
Lucky sods, I've wanted to see that for years (to no avail) since seeing it in an educational graphic at Twycross. Yes, part of the reason I want to see it is pure prurience, on some levels I've never grown up much past the "urinating/defecating can be very funny" stage. But that doesn't make me a bad person (OK?).
