Just uploaded my recent photos of my visit to Edinburgh Zoo... Flickr: Lesley4444's Photostream It was an enjoyable day.. most of the big cats were getting fed..so they were all out... Have a few questions tho... 1. are they going to keep the tigers where they are and the Jaguars where they are? or swapping them? i know they have recently split the brother and sister tiger up.. so she is likely to be moving on soon. Do you know where she will be moving too? and what female will be moving into Edinburgh? 2. What are the plans with the wolfs? they didn't appear to comfortable in wolf wood.. very jumpy and one was really stressing to get out. Never saw them that stressed when i visited them at the HWP bit i guess thats normal? 3. Are they planning to mate the jaguars? any progress in that?? 4. Is one of the lioness's pregnant? cause she looked very... round.. as you can see in the picture Both the baby ringtails were out, the baby giant anteater and pygmy hippo was out too... The new baboon troop looked settled in.. tho one of the bush dogs looked VERY ill All in all was a good day...hope you enjoy the pictures
Great pic as usual Lesley, i see you were in Oban and Mull too, hope you enjoyed your visit. I was sorry to hear about the wolves, maybe the reason is the size of enclosure from a couple of acres to what is now about half an acre enclosure. Good to see the pics of the anteater too.
excellent photos. on my last visit to the zoo i heard that they were trying to breed the jaguars but so far had not had much success as the female kept lying down so the male wasn't able to mate her. any idea how mercedes is getting on with her training to get into her travel crate?
Hi Lesley, I'll try and answer your questions with what I know of what's happening from a volunteers point of view. 1 - As far as I am aware there are no immediate plans to swap the tigers and jaguars. It was the original pland however see my answer to question 3 as regards the jaguars. I would imagine that at the moment only the studbook keeper will have a rough idea as to which female Sumatran tigers will be moving. 2 - That is to be the wolves permanent enclosure. As kiang says, perhaps they are still getting used to the smaller space and the new smells all around them as well. Remember the omega male was kept up at HWP so there will be a new omega and there might even have been a shuffle in the status of all three in the group! 3 - the plan was always to breed from Tina and Mowgli. Tina, however, was a circus animal before ending up at Edinburgh Zoo and was a bit unsure as to jaguar "behaviour" as it were. The pair do get on, indeed the story is that on earlier attempts at mating saw Tina roll on her bag with her legs in the air and Mowgli just being totally confused! SInce moving to the top enclosure, however, Tina has really come out of her shell and has found the true jaguar in her! Mowgli hasn't found a decent log to sprawl out on by the looks of things! 4- Possibly! Apparently she was in season during the macaque adventures and there was no way she was going inside and risk being seperated from Royal for anything! Finally on my last volunteer duty it was announced that, sadly, the breeding female bush dog had to be put to sleep. She had been ill for quite some time and since the birth of this years pups had steadily got worse with the same virus as that which had caused the problems for the pups. It was decided that it would be best to have her put to sleep as she had got much worse! Edinburgh's breeding programme with the bush dogs has never gone according to plan with the animals themselves taking things into there own hands and when all hope is lost a pup would put in an appearance! They have a bizarre and amazing history, but let's hope Edinburgh can have a more successful future with them. They deserve it!
I was there on Sunday the 2nd of August.. thats when i noticed the ill bushdog.. or it appeared to be ill.. its was very thin and its hindquarters just didn't look right... i hope that its not another of them that has became ill
That doesn't sound too good then. My last volunteer shift was July 25th! Hopefully I'll find out more on Saturday (my next shift). macca, I spent about 15 minutes watching Mercedes along with a researcher and we both watched her walk into her crate of her own accord. She spent about three or four minutes in it and then walked out.
A Mate for Mercedes? Is there any chance that when she is moved, RZS will get another Polar Bear as a partner for her?. Or is she going to have to be solitary for the rest of her life? She is only middle-aged. What are the longterm plans for her new enclosure at HWP?
I believe I read somewhere (prob on here) that they planned to bring in a breeding group after she passed away.
It would be rather odd to create such a spacious new exhibit just for a single Polar Bear- even though her move there will be good publicity for all concerned. Perhaps they will bring in a pair of younger bears to mix with her- that would probably benefit her as much as the much greater enclosure size.
In regards to Mercedes I have heard by RZSS CEO that a younger female may be brought in to keep her company no exact time scale was given with RZSS who knows they keep changing their mind with plans. Does any one know what is happening with the Addax was at the zoo yesterday and saw a new map of the zoo for visitors and noticed where the Addax are say Development Area!!!!!!!
I wonder, what development is planned for the what will be former addax paddock, this is a fairly substantial chunk of land, admittedly on quite a slope, but this is around 2 acres of land. There were rumours on here earlier in the year of a walk through Barbary macaque exhibit, but after recent events, i can't see this happening, but who knows, i would like to see the paddock retained for a hoofstock species, but i know it won't be gaur! http://www.zoochat.com/61/addax-enclosure-edinburgh-zoo-2008-a-37111/ http://www.zoochat.com/61/addax-enclosure-edinburgh-zoo-36960/
im sure that area in the zoo was around where the masterplan had the site for the malayan tapirs and possibly a site for orangutangs however not sure if that plan will happen now
Really can't see a major capital construction going ahead at the zoo for a few years now, this will either be a new species of hoofstock, with little work required to the paddock and stabling or an entirely outdoor exhibit.
the news from the society has been scarce since the land sale (in its current ridiculous format) was rejected so i dont think any of us really know what is going to happen I am planning to contact the CEO next week to see if there are any plans to provide members with information on what the next step is
Kiang, would you have any idea when a female Indian Rhino maybe obtained for the Edinburgh zoo to pair with one of the males they now have, also any cule where one of the males may go to, maybe another UK zoo?. If I remember right did the Bristol zoo have the species in there long term collection plan?
Mark, to be honest with you i simply don't know. There will be no female coming in for a few years yet, until one of the two males is sexually mature, and then there is the issue of a suitable exhibit, the current enclosure is fine for a couple of young males, but far from ideal for a (hopefully) breeding pair and young. The plan was for a new enclosure and indoor area at the top of the hill to be incorporated into the grasslands biome, and the plans for the paddock and house looked very impressive, with plans for a mixed enclosure with possibly Asian small clawed otter. But with the financial problems that have hit the masterplan it will be a few years before anything is done, thankfully the zoo has breathing space when it comes to the rhino and when they are ready to reproduce. Where the spare male go will be anybodys guess, i think i am right in saying that both males genes are fairly well represented in the EEP.
Blackpool maybe? However I see Edinburgh holding a batchelor group for a while with the current accomodation.
I think Blackpool may be getting rhino in time from their sister zoo in Madrid, but this is just hyperbole at the moment, all ifs and maybes, nothing set in stone
