Marwell Wildlife Marwell Trip - 19/7

no swa there are two sable groups, one by the desert house and one in girrafes, believe me because i saw them with my own eyes on saturday!

 

and johnstoni they the gazzeles have been moved to just by the diana monkey enclosure, you know the small paddock?

 

re Sable

OK I stand corrected. Maybe some of the Sable are still in their old enclosure at the back of the Gemsbok.

I must have missed them

 

What prompted the dama gazelle move?

Have they now been reclassified as all G. (Nanger) dama ruficollis? It is insane that some are listed as hybrids where all these damas actually originated from central Chad-eastern Niger border area!!!!!

 

In that case perhaps they've split the herd into two, and some have now been mixed with the Giraffe. A month ago there was only one group.

 

yes that is what i believe i saw, sorry i sounded harsh swa! :S one group (gemsbok area) had the babies didnt see any in the main paddock with giraffes

do people understand where the gazelle are, its pretty hard to describe! (its not even marked on the zoo map because the enclosure is so small!

 

Marwell May have a good herd, but have you ever visited, The Enclusure is Tiny, It is Concreat, no trees or grass. It Also Clames the Bongos have a Grassed Paddok, But Even in the Summer i have never seen them out!

 

Tigerlemurguy - no worries I don't mind my posts being queried. I am not always right!!

Cat-man - Do you mean the Buffalo enclosure is tiny?. I think the hardstanding and indoor housing is a fair size and they have access to the large giraffe paddock in the summer.

I have seen the Bongo out in the paddock quite a bit in the past - although they do seem to be the hardstanding area more recently. But maybe they have access, but chose to stay inside - I didn't notice if the gate was open.

 

Bongo herd were all out in their grass paddock on my recent visit. (This is the first time I've ever seen them outdoors- formerly they were always inside their old quarters near the Okapis.) They also used the hardstanding and all followed each other indoors to lie down and chew cud.

 

At chester the Buffalo have access to a large grass enclosure but tend to stay on the hard stadning, or indoors.

 

Bongo and Congo Buffalo now live in the new 'Africa House'. Both species have access to large grass paddocks- the buffalo share with the Giraffe. Both species were out on grass on my last visit (though its the first time I have seen them like that).

 

that's interesting as I got the impression at Marwell they were only using the paddock for grazing- as soon as they were 'full' they all followed each other onto the hardstanding and straight indoors. Perhaps another case of a forest species being ill at ease out in the open for long?

It would explain why in the past at Marwell (and Whipsnade too) I have often found them indoors.

 

But if I remember correctly Chesters grass paddock has a few trees giving shelter, but maybe they need more shelter similar to the level the Okapi have (or will do when trees mature) at chester to feel really secure

 

Are you Talking about the ones at Chester or Marwell, cos i meen Marwell

 

Yes am talking about chester's herd, I was pointing out that chester have similar set up to Marwell but have all year round access to the paddock (someone correct me if am wrong) but they tend to use the hardstanding instead.

Basically pointing out that is seems the species prefer hardstanding to a grass paddock.

 

basically catman they mean that marwells does have acsess to outside but arent always aout using it (maybe you were there at wrong time catman!) anyway its lovely too see them mixing with the giraffes so well!

does everyone understand where the gazzeles now are? opposite the diana/colobus enclosure!

 

oh,oh, more confusion looming- you must be referring to the Congo Buffalo at Marwell here, as the Bongo have a seperate paddock.

 

bongo & trees.

I've seen the Bongo at Whipsnade twice since they were moved from London. There is a strip of woodland at the rear of their paddock and they definately seem to prefer this part to the open area, even though its close to the wolves....

 

what do the woburn/knowsley congo buffalo tend to do? Do they have much tree cover? I always thought it was strange for Marwell to position 'heart of africa' on an open south-facing grassy bank. You'd think they would opt for the areas with trees. The groups breed well though.

 

Woburn's Bongo live in the 'monkey forest' which is entirely a mature oak wood- very dark and shady and probably perfect for them though not for viewers.

Woburn Congo Buffalo I think were in an open reserve.

I agree these forest species would be better exhibited in woodland settings but Marwell's only main woodland is along the margin on the south side of the park- where the Sitatunga, Takin etc are exhibited. there are comparatively fewer treed areas here than e.g Whipsnade or Woburn.
But Marwell is the only place where I've seen Okapi using a paddock with trees. The Wisent also used to look good in the paddock the Sitatunga now have as it was natural for them too.