Apart from it being FREEZING!... had a great day at the zoo today, the weather meant that it was pretty quiet which always makes for a more pleasent trip. First point, i went to the top of the hill first..wanting to catch a glimpse of the new zebra foal... and was delighted to see there is actually two!.. not just one... one looked younger than the other so i am assuming they have not announced its birth yet. The three wolf brothers were out and appeared calmer than on previous visits so maybe the extra boards over the window have worked. Both sumatran tigers were still there... Tibor the male was calling to the female <his sister> so i am assuming that she was in season as they seemed very intent to try and get to one another. They have no began work on mercedes old pad yet that i could see, and the three scottish wildcat brothers are still there but they were doing alot of work on the golden cat enclosure that is behind mercedes...so maybe joining them both up? no idea what would happen to the golden cats if that happened tho. Only saw one shortclawed otter... which looked rather tubby <pictures will follow>... and the new king penguin chick and its parents have been seperated from the others and looks very healthy. Both parents looked calm and appeared to be looking after it well. I actually got a chance to see the bushbabys, tho not sure how good those pictures will turn out. In the monkday house the Aye Aye is no longer there... has it left the collection?? or just offshow?? What was exciting was that the drills are all together... and...rather embarassingly for me... the male was mating with a female continually while i was there.. i could only see one male... and there was a seperate drill enclosure so i am assuming the other male was in there?? As always the beaver proved elusive.. tho i did manage to glimpse the otters for the first time All in all it was a good day... seeing the two zebra foals make my day... Pictures as always will follow soon
There is an Aye-Aye in Jersey's brand new Madagascar exhibit (which I believe is seperate from the regular Aye-Aye enclosure at Durrell) so perhaps this is the old Edinburgh one?
Would be interesting if we could have some more news on the Asian Golden cat? Good news that the Drills are all together and mating.
Vassago the female Aye-Aye left Edinburgh for Jersey on 16th Nov so there are no longer any in the collection. As you saw, the Drills are getting on very well and are together permanently and have been for some time now. The new females no longer use the second enclosure, preferring to stay in with the group but they still have access to the overhead adjoining tunnel for the time being. Their quarantine period ends on 10.12.09. As far as I know the Golden Cat will not be moving enclosures. There may be a new arrival in the next week or two!
It is a great personal shame to me that the aye-aye never established themselves at Edinburgh, like they did at say Bristol. The group of drill all in together will make quite an exhibit, all they need is an exhibit to show them off to their best. Could it be the female cat from France is pregnant?, at the moment they occupy the former binturong and margay enclosures, so surely no room for another animal?
I agree about the Aye-Aye, they really need a dedicated nocturnal house which we don't have at Edinburgh at present. The Golden Cat is not pregnant but I hear there may be a male arriving shortly. I don't know details of housing as yet but will post when I do.
I assume they way you worded your post you also have an idea about which collection he is coming from?
Sorry, did'nt mean to sound cryptic it's just the way I write! I don't know the collection but can find out. All I know is there is a male arriving soon....that's all. I should stick to primates
Thats fine, it would be good if you could find out. (Asian Golden Cats being a particular favourite of mine) I try to keep an on all news about these beautiful cats.
If one male Drill is to leave, do you know yet where he might go? What is the current Situation with the Hamlyn's Owlfaced Monkeys. Is it two seperate pairs and are they related in some way?
The Drills will be staying as they are with both males in the group. Moving one male on was discussed prior to the new females arriving but was not taken any further. There is only one group of Hamlyn's at present, an adult pair and their female offspring from 2007. Their older male offspring was housed in a seperate enclosure for a short time prior to his departure to Antwerp.
Unlikely but not impossible! She was hand-reared but integrated back into her natal group so she has seen reproductive behaviours and infants being reared. She has regular oestrus cycles and will let the males attempt to mount her but a successful mating has never been observed.
Thanks Malachi for the monkey news, great that the drills are doing well together! Any chance that the hamlyn`s female is pregnant again?
How frustrating. I read about a handraised female at Atlanta that behaved in exactly the same way. Has AI been successfully done on Drill/Mandrill before? It sounds like she would be a candidate.
Yassa- The Hamlyn's may be pregnant but would not be due until late January at the very earliest due to a stillbirth in July. Pertinax - AI has been attempted between San Diego and LA in the past but the first few attempts were unsuccessful. I'm unsure whether there have been successful attempts since?? Kiang - At present, a female Siberian musk deer has yet to be sourced.
