Folly Farm News from Folly farm

A Pancake Tortoise has hatched at Folly Farm.

 

Have added photos from my visit last Friday to the Gallery .

I was impressed with the new Kifaru Rhino Reserve . Unfortunately there was not access to the Rhino paddocks as the grass was being mowed . Female black rhino Manyara was on show in the house , only part of it has public viewing . They hope to receive a young female in the near future .

The Interactive Zone has been modified . The marmoset/armadillo exhibit has been enlarged for the Rodriguez fruit bats and two-toed sloth , from Paignton .

Quite a few new bird species have been added . Juvenile inca terns in the Flamingo aviary , comb-billed ducks in the African aviary , tragopans in the aviary next to the cusimanse .

Banded mongoose housed in the small enclosure by the Camels brings to 4 the mongoose species on show .

 

I think George at Chester was oft-quoted as 'the tallest recorded' Giraffe in those days. I think its fairly easy to measure the height in the many/most zoos which had a customary scale marked on the house doors or wall. The problem being there might be others that didn't or were innacurrate. The key words here being 'recorded height'

 

Plans have been unveiled to expand the park with a £2 million pound holiday village. The first phase is expected to open next year

Zoo plans to invest in multimillion-pound village | Wales - ITV News

 

A zebra calf has been born:

Oh happy Dayo! Baby zebra makes himself at home (From Western Telegraph)

 

Folly Farm no longer holds Fossa. The parks final female left for the new Ventura Zoological Gardens in Hertfordshire on Monday

 

Male Bongo Sam has left the collection. Does anyone where he is going?

A new group of Bongo are due to arrive, in the interim whilst the enclosure is empty the bongo and camel enclosures will both be made larger with brand new animal housing.

 

I was told that the Bongo and Camel enclosures were going to get bigger by one of the keepers there, so I'm guessing the Emu's that live inbetween them will either leave the collection or move elsewhere in the zoo.

I was also told that they might be getting a possible new entrance.

I hope that the zoo will expand in the next few years.

 

From facebook:

“It’s with great sadness we announce the passing of Zulu, one of our giraffe herd. We know you’ll all join us in sharing your condolences with our giraffe keepers, zoo keeping team and wider Folly Farm family who’re feeling this immense loss to our zoo.

“Zulu joined Folly Farm in 2009 when we first brought giraffes to Pembrokeshire, a significant moment in the development of our zoo. He was the dominant male and the tallest of our herd and hugely popular with our visitors and the whole team. He was 15 years old.

“He was a real character and was truly a gentle giant.

“Zulu received a severe injury to his eye which, on the recommendation of our veterinary partners, required medical attention under anaesthetic. As with humans, general anaesthetic always carries a risk and this risk is significantly higher with giraffes. Anaesthetising Zulu was our last resort but unavoidable and unfortunately Zulu did not fully recover from the surgery.”

Tim Morphew, Zoo Curator

 

Just come back from a really nice day at Folly Farm. I was very impressed with the new entrance area and very spacious gift shop with a little Carousel in the middle.

As for the zoo itself, the Emu's have moved to the Parma Wallaby paddock and work is going on for a new Bongo and Camel indoor area and extensions to their enclosures. The Bongo's have moved to Howletts and I guess a new group will join the collection once the work is complete.

New for the zoo are Kirk's Dik-Diks which I sadly didn't see. They are in the former Crowned Crane area by the Ocelots.

African Aviary walkthrough was closed off today for whatever reason as was the Cusimanse enclosure, and the old Fossa enclosure has been knocked down totally. Banded Mongoose have moved next door to the Meerkats. Also a new playground area was being built by the Macaque enclosure.

Very impressed with the zoo in general and I hope it will expand more in the future.

 

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

Unfortunately there has been an incident today at our Pride of Pembrokeshire enclosure where one of the viewing windows has been damaged. Having reviewed CCTV we can see that a stone was used.

We'd like to reassure our guests that this is triple safety glass so whilst the outer layer has shattered the window is still intact and our zoo team have been able to lock our lions into the smaller part of their enclosure.

We will make be making a temporary repair to the window whilst we order a replacement. The windows are high grade specialist safety glass and we cannot say how long this will take.

Obviously we're deeply saddened by this incident but would like to reassure our visitors that their safety and our animal welfare was never at risk.

We'd like to ask that anyone who witnessed the incident speak to a member of staff before they leave the park.

 

I visited last Saturday and was impressed by the large amount of development , both in the Zoo and other areas .

The sloth/bat enclosure has been split with 2 sloths in the original area and the Rodriguez bats in the extension area . Work is progressing well on the new Bongo paddock and big house with an indoor viewing section . This takes up the old bongo and emu areas . A new Camel house is also being built next to the Bongo house , to replace the old shed at the other end .

I saw a single dik-dik , there are now also 2 Stanley crane in this paddock . Good to see that the 2 female black rhino are now sharing paddocks and were lying down close to each other , with the male in the next door paddock .

The Humboldt penguins have reared chicks again this year .

 

What are the future plans for folly?

 

I am not aware of any definite plans for the zoo but there is talk of an additional major exhibit for the future . There are plans for lodges to be built before the next season so that visitors can stay on site .

 

From facebook:

Third rhino arrives at Folly FarmWe're delighted to welcome Dakima, the latest member of the Folly Farm family. Dakima, a breeding female, joins us from Chester Zoo and will live alongside 18 year old Manyara and six year old Nkosi at Kifaru Reserve.

 

Possibly a bear or an ape species????

 

Eastern Bongo are back - a single female arrived in July (called Maja, not sure where she originates from?) and others expected soon

 

Another 0.2 Bongo have now arrived - both from Chester
More endangered bongo join the zoo family

 

4:0 Macaroni Penguin have arrived at Folly Farm from Living Coasts
Meet the Mafia! Four vulnerable penguins become latest residents at zoo

 

Glad to see another collection holds this species now! And one that is closer than Living Coasts