Join our zoo community

Paignton Zoo Paignton Zoo News 2019

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by Gigit, 8 Jan 2019.

  1. Gigit

    Gigit Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    7 Oct 2007
    Posts:
    2,956
    Location:
    England
    It looks as though they've started taking apart the climbing equipment inside the mangabey house, as well as having dismantled the outside area a while ago. The mangabeys and the Dianas swapped homes a few years ago but I can't quite remember why now - the mangabeys didn't get on with the macaques possibly??

    Great news on the subject of the Dianas - male, Toby, has been mixed with the two females and today they were sitting closely together and he was being groomed rather than assaulted :) Fingers crossed for them at last!
     
    Pertinax, TriUK and gentle lemur like this.
  2. gentle lemur

    gentle lemur Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    8 Sep 2007
    Posts:
    4,979
    Location:
    South Devon
    I wasn't planning to write about a fairly quick visit today. Quite a lot of school parties around, but I saw no poor behaviour; I did take a quick look at the bookings list outside the Education Centre - nearly 1000 children in are due in this week so I hope they are all as good as today's. I am pleased to say that Gambira (orang) was looking quite well, but still separated from the others, and that Toby (Diana) was getting along well with the females. The real news is that there is a baby howler monkey, which surprised me as its little brother born last year is still quite small. All baby howlers look like little old men with long tails.
     
    TriUK and pipaluk like this.
  3. pipaluk

    pipaluk Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    10 Feb 2012
    Posts:
    4,585
    Location:
    England
    So do I, I'm going this week for my annual visit!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: 9 Jul 2019
    gentle lemur likes this.
  4. Gigit

    Gigit Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    7 Oct 2007
    Posts:
    2,956
    Location:
    England
    School parties - I won't mention what I saw then! Good news about the baby howler monkey, which I didn't spot. Pablo was born on 8 June last year.

    I see there has been some rehousing in Monkey Heights. The squirrel monkeys have moved to the emperor tamarin enclosure and the golden lion tamarin is in their old quarters. I didn't spot them, but presumably the emperor tamarins have moved into the former golden lion tamarin/saki enclosure. There was a dish of food in there. As mentioned before, the mangabeys are in the colobus enclosure and work is being done in theirs. The colobus aren't on show.
     
    TriUK likes this.
  5. Gigit

    Gigit Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    7 Oct 2007
    Posts:
    2,956
    Location:
    England
    I've now seen the emperor tamarins in that enclosure.

    Word has it that there will be 12 schools in tomorrow :eek:
     
    gentle lemur likes this.
  6. Gigit

    Gigit Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    7 Oct 2007
    Posts:
    2,956
    Location:
    England
    This week is Bee Week at the zoo and there's an interesting display in the Education Centre. We should all be looking out for, and reporting sightings of, Vespa Velutina, the Asian Hornet, an invasive non-native species from Asia. As a highly effective predator of insects, including honey bees and other beneficial species, it can cause significant losses to bee colonies, other native species and potentially ecosystems. The first 2019 sighting was in June in New Milton, Hampshire.
     
    Pertinax likes this.
  7. Pertinax

    Pertinax Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    5 Dec 2006
    Posts:
    20,707
    Location:
    england
    It has a chiefly black body with a yellow band on the end I think, as against the yellow/black wasp- like bars of the usual native one. I saw an absolute giant of the usual sort today while looking for Purple Emperor butterfly.
     
  8. Gigit

    Gigit Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    7 Oct 2007
    Posts:
    2,956
    Location:
    England
    Yes, and a bit smaller than the native one - we were shown a pickled specimen.
     
    Pertinax likes this.
  9. Giant Panda

    Giant Panda Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    24 Jan 2016
    Posts:
    798
    Location:
    UK
    Very sad news: Duchess, the zoo's African elephant, has died. She will be sorely missed.

    From the Paignton Zoo facebook page:

    "We are utterly devastated to announce the death of Duchess, our African elephant, earlier today.
    Keepers found her collapsed in her enclosure early this morning, and after being assessed by our veterinary team, we took the difficult decision to euthanise her on humanitarian grounds.
    We do not know the cause at this time; further details will be released once we receive the results of the post mortem examination.
    Duchess was a much loved character at the Zoo and will be extremely missed by everyone."
     
  10. Crowthorne

    Crowthorne Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    13 Jan 2014
    Posts:
    1,570
    Location:
    UK
    Very sad news :( condolences to the staff and Paignton regulars
     
  11. pipaluk

    pipaluk Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    10 Feb 2012
    Posts:
    4,585
    Location:
    England
    Very sad news. I'm glad I got to see her one last time just 4 days before she died.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: 14 Jul 2019
    Brum, ShonenJake13 and Tim May like this.
  12. The Hedgehog

    The Hedgehog Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    23 Aug 2017
    Posts:
    953
    Location:
    England
    Rip Duchess I always loved seeing you and I'll never forget you!

    Will Paington zoo be getting more elephants
     
  13. ajmcwhipsnade

    ajmcwhipsnade Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    21 Sep 2009
    Posts:
    694
    Location:
    hertfordshire
    Glad I got to see her in early 2013 on my only trip to the Zoo. Thoughts and prayers for all involved
     
  14. Embu

    Embu Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    13 Apr 2016
    Posts:
    1,288
    Location:
    North Wales United Kingdom
    Very sad news, my condolences to her keepers and all connections. How old was Duchess?
     
  15. Tim May

    Tim May Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

    Joined:
    16 Nov 2008
    Posts:
    3,150
    Location:
    London, England
    The African elephant "Duchess" arrived at Paignton Zoo, from Longleat, in 1977. I think she was about forty-nine years old.
     
  16. Gigit

    Gigit Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    7 Oct 2007
    Posts:
    2,956
    Location:
    England
    Duchess - so many memories over so many years. The end of an era.
     
  17. Yi Qi

    Yi Qi Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    24 Feb 2018
    Posts:
    1,438
    Location:
    Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
    I barely know anything about the zoo, let a lone Duchess, and I'm saddened by her death.
     
  18. ShonenJake13

    ShonenJake13 Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    18 Mar 2014
    Posts:
    2,484
    Location:
    London
    To put it simply, I don’t think so. Duchess was the last of a long history with elephants for Paignton but I would think that, if anything, they’ll use the space she filled for more giraffe holding.
    I too will miss her, she was a real character :(
     
    Last edited: 15 Jul 2019
    Nisha, Crowthorne and FunkyGibbon like this.
  19. Panthera1981

    Panthera1981 Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    9 Mar 2014
    Posts:
    1,511
    Location:
    Buckinghamshire,UK
    Very sad, and an end of an era for Paignton.

    I did a Keeper Experience over 10 years ago, which included working with Duchess and her stablemate Gay. The staff said there were no plans for elephants in the zoo’s longterm plans once the pair passed away. There was mention of Gaur as a replacement.
     
  20. Gigit

    Gigit Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    7 Oct 2007
    Posts:
    2,956
    Location:
    England
    When the Savannah was still part of the future, white rhino were supposed to replace Duchess. The enclosure is suitable for two elephant cows but not for a bull, so the current thinking on holding elephants wouldn't allow them to continue.