Hence the reason for my post. Their website says Geladas but when I asked I was told Mandrills. Time will tell I guess.
First birth of the year for Wild Place, a Ring Tailed Lemur born on Tuesday 1st March. The White Belted Ruffed Lemur, has started to nest, so fingers crossed for a birth there! 8 Guinea Fowl are now free roaming around the edge of Africa exhibit. There was lots of volunteers out in force today doing lots of maintenance work whilst the weather was good. A further Lemur enclosure is being built to house the Mongoose Lemurs (currently a mother and son group), it is hoped a new female will be available to breed with their male. Work is continuing to develop the aviaries in the walled gardens, I'm assuming they will be opening for Easter. New features have been added around the barefoot trail included a secret music space, where there are African instruments. The pond area opposite the Okapi paddock is being cleared, possibly they will do pond dipping.
Busy today at Wildplace - a very good sign. The aviaries in the walled garden are now on show and looking good - Edward's pheasant, Blue Crowned Laughing Thrush and Socorro Dove among those on show. Now 3 Ring-Tailed Lemur babies ( a singleton and a set of twins).
The Wild Place website now contains information on the aviaries in the walled garden: Asian Aviaries - Wildplace This information includes a complete stocklist of what is on display within the aviaries: Visayan Tarictic Hornbill (Penelopides panini) Mindanao Bleedingheart Dove (Gallicolumba crinigera) Luzon Bleedingheart Dove (Gallicolumba luzonica) Socorro Dove (Zenaida graysoni) Palawan Peacock Pheasant (Polyplectron napoleonis) Edwards’s Pheasant (Lophura edwardsi) Blue-crowned Laughing-thrush (Garrulax courtoisi) Sumatran Laughing-thrush (Garrulax bicolor)
I think it's a good move to get more species on show, relatively cheaply. The more people get to see the more likely they are to return. I think they should put as many aviaries & small mammal enclosures as they can in the walled garden area then add a couple of bigger hitters a year and maybe a few other larger mammals or birds that can be accomodated cheaply needing only a fence & shed e.g native/invasive deer, lynx, or even an aspinall style tiger enclosure!
Work looks to have started on the perimeter of what will be the gelada enclosure. The enclosure is situated behind, and to the right of the cheetah enclosure. Hopefully an even better Summer for Wild Place!
Plans are now underway for the UK's first zoo medicine and learning space open to the public, called the European Centre of Excellence for Zoological Medicine. It will include a zoological medicine training facility and vet hospital together with a large interactive exhibition space and classrooms for members of the public. Plans revealed for state of the art vet centre - Wildplace
0.1 okapi born last Thursday https://www.facebook.com/wildplacebristol/photos/pcb.705624122912125/705623639578840/?type=3&theater
Was there today. The baby lemur was born 5 weeks ago but was doing some outdoor exploration today. Very energetic, jumping around all over the place. Only 69 in captivity in Europe apparently. 3 of which are in the Wild Place and it appears their already very good enclosure is being expanded. Does anyone have any info as to when it will be ready?
Sadly the White Belted Ruffed Lemur has now passed away, a real blow to the pair. Hopefully they will have another birth next year. Twin Ring Tailed Lemurs were born unexpectedly Sunday in front of guests. It was believed the female was infertile, so she was not given contraceptives. Talking to the operations director, I had not realised the extent of what the site was when it was Bristols B site with lions, elephants, bears, and at one point 12 okapi being held there at the same time. Dik dik are planned for the walled garden collection in the next year.
Did an accident befall the baby Lemur perhaps? from the above description it sounds as if it was fit and healthy until very recently. I remember Wild Place when it was the Hollywood Towers estate. They certainly had a lot of Okapi( they stockpiled them and would not let other zoos have them- same with White Tigers, also held there). I do not remember Lions or Bears though its possible they were kept at a different time- I am very doubtful about any claim for 'Elephants' though.
I thought this was the Whipsnade of Bristol Zoo but was shocked they only list 11 species of mammals. I will delay my visit until they get a bit bigger. I will also wait for them to get some footpaths. I read the following on their website and it has put me off visiting. We have some fantastic woodland and grassland areas but if you are visiting in the spring, summer or autumn, it’s important to be aware of insects and ticks Wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers when walking through tall vegetation Light fabrics are useful, as it is easier to see insects against a pale background Inspect skin frequently and make sure that children's head and neck areas are properly checked. At the end of the day, check again, especially in skin folds Check that insects are not brought home on clothes If you get bitten, treat with care If you think you may have been bitten, please visit guest services for assistance.
It will be... one day As for your other point: They have footpaths throughout the captive collection, so you have no need to worry - those warnings apply specifically to the vast expanse of grassland and woodland which surrounds the collection, and which comprises the land on which the collection will expand over time.
In fairness, although it's not a big zoo by any stretch of the imagination, it does now have around 20 'wild' species on show (including ABCs like cheetahs, wolves and zebras and rarities like okapi and Belted Ruffed Lemur), plus a few domestics.
0.3 Alaotran Gentle Lemur have arrived from Bristol Zoo, taking residence in the new lemur enclosure. Geladas have arrived and went on show Friday 12th August. There are Plans for a new exhibit in the Walled gardens with their Grey crowned cranes, and kirks dik dik.
