The first of a new Snow Leopard pair has arrived - male, Jamir came from Thrigby Hall in the UK. A female will arrive shortly
I visited Warsaw Zoo today and saw the new Snow Leopards in their new enclosure. The enclosure does look really good, especially compared to their old enclosure. The vegetation is nice, it's an interesting enclosure to look at, and it looks to be really good for the cats as well with two large sections that can be separated or joined. I have seen bigger enclosures though. I wouldn't call it small, but it's not the biggest I've ever seen and probably my biggest criticism is that the mock rock looks quite cheap, even from a distance it's obviously concrete made to look like rock. In other news, quite a bit of new bird stuff including a new and much bigger aviary for Himalayan Monals. Also, now that they have grown into adult plumage more I believe the widowbirds I mentioned in my previous post are indeed the black morph of Red-collared Widowbirds which is a very interesting species for the zoo to have and according to ZTL the second holder in Europe. Also newly on show (I believe formerly held off show) is a Yellow-fronted Canary (Serinus mozambicus) in the same enclosure as the widowbirds actually. And one other new species is probably the most interesting of the lot because if my identification is correct (none of these new species are signed yet) it would be the only European (zoo) holding and the second ever European zoo (according to ZTL) because I think the zoo now has two Red-knobbed Imperial-pigeons (subspecies D.r.rufigula). I'll upload some pictures now to double-check my identification because that's a very interesting new addition if correct!
According to ZIMS, Warsaw received a total of 6 Red-knobbed Imperial Pigeons (Ducula rubricera) and 12 Red-collared Widowbirds (Euplectes ardens).
That's great to know. I believe that of the total, 5 Red-collared Widowbirds and 2 Red-knobbed Imperial-pigeons are on show.
"Last Reported Owner = POLICE" Thus sayeth ZIMS. Sounds like a confiscation? (Unless the Polish police force is noted for its avicultural expertise & collection of unusual bird species???)
Interesting all the same. I expect deplorable conditions ..., even so a nice addition to the zoo community in Europe. OK, D. rubricera from Solomon and Bismarck Islands is listed as near threatened. Only D. mindorensis an Appendix I listed taxon is on CITES. Red collared widow birds are not even categorised, so widespread.
Based on appearance, the imperial-pigeons look to be the Solomon Islands subspecies (subspecies D.r.rufigula) to be precise.
It's been far too long since I last visited Warsaw Zoo, but I visited today and there are a number of additions to the bird collection that are particularly worthy of note: New species: Pied Crow Tataupa tinamou Guira Cuckoo Rosy Starling Radjah Shelduck Brahminy Starling White-shouldered Starling (according ZTL held since 2016 but not previously on-show) White-necklaced Partridge (previously held off show) Wonga Pigeon Common Scops owl (returning after approx. 4 year absence) Gulls, unsigned, I think Slender-billed Black-necked Aracari Quite the list! Warsaw Zoo's bird collection is becoming increasingly extensive.
Where are the new species being held @LaughingDove? Presumably not all are in the bird house? I'm especially interested in how and where the gulls are housed.
The Pied Crows are in the smaller section of the Condor aviary, with Condors now only in the larger section. The Radjah Shelducks are with the flamingos, and the gulls are in a medium-sized aviary along the main path, the one with Scarlet Ibis and various ducks. Everything else is in the bird house.
Another new species that was unsigned that I've just identified is a pair of Madagascar Partridges, also in the bird house.
Warsawa Municipality had a nice short English language report on the new snow leopard exhibit. LINK: http://www.um.warszawa.pl/en/Highlights/snow-leopards-return-warsaw-zoo BTW: what is the situation with tigers at Warsawa?
Afaik, they still just have the single female. On my last visit however, two of the three sections on the lion/tiger mountain were connected to the tiger side rather than more usually two for lions and one for the tiger, which may or may not indicate something different going on.
It's about two weeks late, but I've now uploaded pictures of Warsaw Zoo including some of the new species. I've also uploaded some pictures of the gulls that I'm not sure of the ID. Warsaw Zoo | ZooChat
