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Paignton Zoo Paignton Zoo News 2019

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

  1. TriUK

    TriUK Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    I think they may landscape the old penguin/meerkat/bat area with soil and other substrate & planting and allow Bruce access outside and yes, use the upper level for the Loris, or, split one or both indoor areas to make 3-4 exhibits?
     
  2. Gigit

    Gigit Well-Known Member

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    Yes, it's the building behind the former meerkat area.
     
  3. pipaluk

    pipaluk Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    I agree it seems odd to move Bruce now! As a fairly elderly animal who has lived happily in his current enclosure for years it must be a risk. I have never had problems seeing him and he was very active when I visited recently even on a December afternoon . It will never be a better view through glass than can be got now!
     
  4. TriUK

    TriUK Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Does it help to have more space for the red pandas?
     
  5. pipaluk

    pipaluk Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Do they need more space ? It isn't small as red panda exhibits go! And will giving them the Echidna enclosure really make much difference? I would suggest the UK's only Echidna's welfare is of more significance, but that's just my opinion
     
  6. Zooreviewsuk

    Zooreviewsuk Well-Known Member

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    The Echidna exhibit is quite small anyway, can't imagine the extra 8-10 yards it would add to the Red Panda's would make any difference.
     
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  7. Brum

    Brum Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    I don't understand why (apart from geographical problems) they don't combine the panda/echidna enclosures. It would give more floor space to Bruce, more climbing opportunities for the pandas, and a bit of enrichment for both species. Echidna on the ground, pandas in the trees, hopefully never the twain shall meet! :p
     
  8. TriUK

    TriUK Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    All of this, and thanks Gigit, is confirmation in my mind that the planned Savannah exhibit has been postponed or shelved. My concern now are all of the big spaces not being used. Something will need to be added to the paddock )ex bison/Anoa) next to the nocturnal house. The cheetah extension, Takin enclosure & Saki aviary all need completing & the Lechwe paddock has an emu in it! The Orang island is pending too! The zoo still holds tree shrews, so maybe they're going in the nocturnal house too?
     
  9. gentle lemur

    gentle lemur Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Tree shrews are diurnal (except for the pen-tailed tree shrew, which has never been kept in a European zoo, according to Zootierliste).
    I think the chevrotains are at Newquay, though I suppose they could move to Paignton if the Nocturnal House were revamped. I suppose everything depends on the status of the Savanna plans, if they are postponed indefinitely the former meerkat area and the kusimanse enclosures could be redeveloped - as the remaining kusimanses are getting quite old.
     
  10. Pertinax

    Pertinax Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    No mammals allowed in or out currently?
     
  11. gentle lemur

    gentle lemur Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    I'm not sure what exactly the regulations are. There may be exceptions for some species or for specimens that were or will be completely isolated from any possibility of infection, for example by being kept indoors and cared for by different staff. Anyway new developments do not happen rapidly at Paignton, so we can hope that the restrictions can be lifted by the time everything is ready.
     
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  12. Kifaru Bwana

    Kifaru Bwana Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Early next season at the earliest
     
  13. Gigit

    Gigit Well-Known Member

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    To be fair, there are two emus in the lechwe paddock! I wonder what's going to happen to the former badger area which was destined to be a vulture aviary in the Savannah plans? That's a big empty space too, although it did look glorious last summer when it was full of flowers. And I don't suppose many people spot the lone Darwin's rhea in the neighbouring enclosure, also a large space.
    Other outstanding jobs, which probably need to be completed before Easter, are the new Gibbon House, some sort of platform structure in Lemur Wood (started a while ago) and some of the parrot aviaries where work also began some time ago and seems to have stopped.
     
  14. Gigit

    Gigit Well-Known Member

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  15. Gigit

    Gigit Well-Known Member

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  16. Gigit

    Gigit Well-Known Member

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    Bruce the Echidna has a travel box in his enclosure now, with the door enticingly ajar. So he could be on the move to the nocturnal house sooner rather than later.
     
  17. pipaluk

    pipaluk Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Not sure this is a good idea,, he is always active outside , I hope he won't be imprisoned in the nocturnal house
     
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  18. Zia

    Zia Well-Known Member

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    He had a travel box in his enclosure the last time we visited - which would have been summer last year - so he may just be heading in for a checkup or something. I also think it would be a shame to move him into the nocturnal house if that is the plan though.
     
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  19. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    (Reproducing my comment from the gallery here for relevance/visibility)

    It would be quite a pity if he was - he is far more active and visible than *any* echidna I have ever seen in a nocturnal exhibit, and people with longer memories have noted that he was very inactive and unshowy when in a nocturnal exhibit at Bristol;as such I think putting him in a dark enclosure would be an overall negative.
     
  20. Gigit

    Gigit Well-Known Member

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    Wow! 10 year old male orang, Wousan, was in the showden today with Chinta and her 5 year old daughter for possibly the first time (a volunteer wasn't sure if they'd been together at the weekend). Not only that but Chinta, who has a history of aggression and who never seemed keen on the previous male Demo, was tolerating him. They were skirting round each other to some extent. Natalia seemed a bit wary of him and was keeping out of his way - she's only ever had the company of her mother. Not earth-shattering news for most Zoochatters, but certainly significant for Paignton's orangs.
     
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