Marwell Wildlife Marwell Zoo News 2019

23-year-old pygmy hippo female, Wendy, has sadly passed away:

Marwell Wildlife

 

Okapi calf born.

 

Great news

 

This really is excellent news from Marwell for once! I really had started to think okapi were on their way out now that they were down to just two!

 

Visited today, few things to note.

* Tapir is back in the hippo house now instead of in with the capybara.
* The 3 remaining peccaries are in and settled into the old anteater enclosure.
* They are pumping some fake noise out from the flamingo paddock, like a background rainforest loop, no idea why, any ideas?
* The Okapi are all off show currently, asked a keeper and they don't know the sex of the calf yet but said they were doing well.

 

In response to your comments about the sound system at the flamingos, a sound tape of a flamingo colony has been used in recent years at Marwell to encourage the birds to nest. You may also have noticed that the flamingo pool has been re-landscaped with a sandy island in it which is almost certainly to try to encourage the birds to nest there. Previously the flamingos have chosen to nest in the corner of their enclosure close to the train and road which may not have been the ideal location to successfully rear chicks.

 

Thought you might like to see this footage of the calf shown on the BBC news:
Rare okapi calf born at zoo

 

QUICK QUESTION:

Does Marwell still have any Giant anteater in their collection? I do understand that their male Ernesto had been moved elsewhere and the 3 remaining Collared peccary are now in his old enclosure, yet the website no longer seems to show this species in their Animal Guide page.

 

Simple answer - No

 

Ernesto was the last Giant anteater and he went earlier this year to Szeged Zoo in Hungary, where they have two females, on an EEP recommendation. When I last visited the peccary were still there but they may well be relocated as part of the proposed redevelopments in that section of the Zoo.

 

I dont think that the peccary have any future at Marwell as they dont seem to in UK zoos,a second Lesser Kudu has been born.the Lego dinosaurs are doing well,the Studbook keeper has not allowed any breeding,but some new dinosaurs are due to arrive soon.

 

So, the giant anteater have gone and it looks like the peccary are next. Has Marwell lost or is it likely to lose any more species this year? Also looks like they are doing there best to remove everything from that boundary of the zoo, never to see animals there again (as had been suggested by others previously) - sad!

 

Open door question right!

 

I think a few species will go this year,but to be fair a few new species will arrive,the last crane at Marwell is due to leave.The point I make in the last few years Marwell has had animated dinosaurs,lego animals and now lego dinosaurs,are real animals not enough anymore at a zoo in the last ten years has lost so many.

 

Had a trip to Marwell today and I know I sound like a bit of a broken record - but if we did not get in with our Colchester passes I have definitely reached the point that I would no longer pay to visit. We take a picnic and I have a Marwell mug for life that gets us free drinks all day - so it is a cheap day out for us and as we wanted to see the okapi calf and przewalski's foal it was worth the drive. Otherwise, the amount of empty enclosures - many of which are now filled with lego-esque dinosaurs - is a joke. I don't mind the lego / dinosaur gubbins (not my cup of tea but brings in the families) but as an addition to the actual animals... not instead of.

Anyway... things of note today - not sure if they've been mentioned before or not:

• Lemur Loop is closed under 'veterinary advice'
• Wallaby walk through was closed for maintenance work.
• Former Stanley Crane enclosure up near the walk through aviary is empty.
• Former red panda enclosure is empty.
• Anteaters have left and peccary are now in that enclosure.
• Giraffe were kept in all day.
• Windows are blocked out on the first aviary behind Marwell House.
• One of the Blesbok had been darted. Watched it for a while and it remained upright . There were no keepers about as far as I could see so not sure what was going on.
• White Rumped Shama chicks have fledged in the tropical house and were scattered around the floor and on low hanging leaves.
• Keepers really did seem to be thin on the ground today and I noticed a number of the enclosures were overdue a cleaning.
• The date on the 'Wetlands' marketing signage has been pasted over with a sticker and now reads 'coming 2021'. Looking online they seem to be saying it will be done in five stages and they 'hope to have planning permission for stage 1 by the end of 2019'.
• Foal and little okapi were delightful.
• One positive is that they have added drinking water refill stations around the park so I was able to fill up my water bottle.

 

I havent been to Marwell for a few years now, I think the last time i went they were building the new rhino house so im due a visit soon really to see what its like now however after reading so many negative comments on here im not exactly desperate to return!

Such a shame for a place that has so much potential and land to be an amazing collection. I hope in a few years time they get some new species and fill in the empty areas. Perhaps they are going out of species for long term plans for the areas to make way for new species? I personally would love to see bears or an ape species at marwell.

 

Visited today and had a much better experience than some previous posters - but then again, it was fathers day and maybe viewing the experience through the eyes of my 1 year old son makes for a different visit!

One note to add - the main meerkat enclosure by the cafe and the arid lands enclosures is currently empty, with signs in it explaining that this is for essential maintenance. The animals have been moved to the previously empty enclosure between Marwell Hall and the Roan Antelope paddock. I must say they were showing incredibly well there and an enthusiastic crowd was gathered around. I'm a regular visitor to Marwell and don't wish to add to the negativity but it did make me think what a shame it is that this area is usually empty!

 

I was at Marwell today and I agree that the Przwalski's foal and young okapi are delightful.

On the subject of young ungulates, it's worth adding that there are two young lesser kudu and a recently born Grant's zebra too.

 

A scimitar horned oryx was born yesterday afternoon to the delight of many zoo-goers who got to see!

There's also a lot of new life in the Tropical house - many new birds including the shama, red tanagers and asian glossy starlings

 

Sitatunga are now with the Nyala in part of the Okapi house.A Monal Pheasant is now in the old Stanley Crane area.