Tropical Wings Zoo (Closed) Tropical Wings trip report and news

I thought I would open up this thread to firstly place in a trip report, and also for me to upload news for any future visits.

The first area you enter is the butterfly house. This is a large and very humid tropical environment, with a main emphasis on butterflies- some species I could identify were tree nymph, blue morpho, owl, postman, Indian leaf and heliconia butterflies, but as well as these there were also a series of pools home to koi carp and goldfish, hottentot teal and free-flying birds (the only species I could positively identify were bronze sunbirds). Also in here are a total of four seperate enclosures, each one housing animals too large, valuable or destructive for the main house. In order the four enclosures contained three red-bellied tamarins, a pair of red-flanked lorikeets, a mixed exhibit housing two leopard tortoises and a common hill myna and finally green iguanas, red-footed tortoises and Argentine black-and-white tegus.

A small area branching off from the butterfly house is a small bug and reptile area with four terrariums, a series of small invertebrate tanks and a mixed leaf-cutter ant and Mediterranean tortoise (various species) enclosure. As well as these, the only animals in here were hatching butterflies, a green basilisk, a common boa constrictor, olive and train millipedes, deaths head and hissing cockroaches, spectre and Sabah thorny stick insects and fruit beetles.

The outside area has four main areas. The first section houses most of the bird collection, with a series of aviaries varying in size housing a range of mostly birds, with some smaller mammals and reptiles. Birds I can recall were- long-billed corella, yellow-naped Amazon, yellow-headed Amazon, African grey parrot, blue-and-yellow macaw, scarlet macaw, chattering lory, a pair of spotted eagle owls, a lone silvery-cheeked hornbill, lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo, Australian king-parrot, turkeys, little owl, green-winged macaw, a mixed aviary for budgies, cockatiels, plum-headed parakeets and quail, an aviary housing white-cheeked turaco, village weaver, red junglefowl and Madagascan teal. An interesting mixed enclosure houses Australian species- namely galah, Princess of Wales parakeet and long-nosed potorros. Also there were African spurred tortoises, mixed in two different enclosures with moluccan cockatoos and blue-and-yellow macaws and the four black-and-white ruffed lemurs respectively. Completing the mammals here were three ring-tailed lemurs, two ring-tailed coati and eight Geoffroy's marmosets.

The next area is one of the most lacking spaces for animals, mostly being made up of a large falconry area and several play areas for children. The animals that were found here are two common raven, a European white stork, two Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, a pair of trumpeter hornbills, a striated caracara, a barn owl and a pair of laughing kookaburra. Also in here is the 'Wise Owl Barn' which doesn't actually hold owls at all, and is instead home to chipmunks, ferrets, chinchillas, degus and a pair of marbled polecats.

The third part holds most of the larger livestock and some more exotic mammals. Domestic animals in this area include various breeds of chicken, guinea pigs, giant rabbits, Nubian dwarf and British boer goats and some rare breed mangalitsa pigs- one of which has recently had a litter of piglets. As far as I am aware, this breed is extremely rare in the UK. As well as the domestic animals, there was also a breeding pair of ravens, a trio of North American 'wild' turkeys, an enclosure with at least twenty meerkats (this is the situation in which I really enjoy them- when they are in a large breeding group) and the wallaby enclosure housing both albino and standard-coloured Bennett's wallabies, a trio of mara and lots of brahma chickens.

The final area is the quietest area, and houses the smallest number of species. The main exhibit here is a large enclosure for a family of five Asian small-clawed otters, and as well as this there are also a trio of Shetland ponies, a pair of bar-headed geese and a polytunnel for breeding rare purple emperor butterflies for reintroduction to Essex. A paddock that used to house a pair of rescued donkeys seems to be being redeveloped at the moment.

In closing, the park is a nice little place to go, with a small motley crew of exotic mammals and a nice array of birds, but of course some things could be better. The lemurs could do with larger and nicer enclosures, the West Mexican chachalacas, Costa's hummingbirds and Egyptian fruit bats that once lived here have since either died or left (although the latter's departure is perfectly understandable) and some nice species I have heard are kept here are presumably living off-show such as striped skunks, Gambian giant pouched rats and hairy armadillo.

 

The new website has now been developed and online. Unfortunately, I still can't find evidence of the Gambian pouched rats or armadillo supposed to live there.

Tropical Wings Zoo - Home Page

Several pieces of news include:
- The arrival of yellow-banded poison-dart frogs (Dendrobates leucomelas) in the tropical house
- Following the success of the purple emperor butterfly (Apatura iris) reintroduction programme, tropical wings have begun projects to reintroduce the following species to Essex: the grizzled skipper (Pyrgus malvae), the Duke of Burgundy (Hamearis lucina) and the dingy skipper (Erynnis tages); which has been extinct in Essex since the 1970s.
- Also there is a page posted about the future of Tropical Wings, which states that over the next ten years they want to "grow and develop the small mammal side of the zoo with plans to concentrate on a handful of carefully selected species" and to "take down the barriers and the wire mesh, (whilst maintaining the highest possible safety standards) to create more walk-through style exhibits housing mixed species in a multi-habitat type environment, that will allow for a much more naturalistic feel, for the benefit of both our animals and visitors"

 

Last time i visited the Armadillo was kept off show pretty sure it was a three banded.

 

I actually sent a Facebook message to Tropical Wings regarding their armadillo, and they confirmed that they have a lone male hairy armadillo by the name of Tank, who lives off-show and currently appears in the 'Animal Antics' encounters. Their reply also stated that later in the year they were due to move him into a new outdoor enclosure and get him a mate.

 

Good luck to them in trying to obtain him a mate in the UK. Methinks they will have to look to Europe...

 

There has been a new arrival in the otter group, a single male pup named Raj was born on the 27th of August but has only recently ventured out of the den.

 

A relatively recent arrival is Percy, a male Indian crested porcupine.

Hopefully, I will be able to visit Tropical Wings over Easter to see any new developments.

 

My son and I just visited today and while we did not see the porcupine and the armadillo is still off view, we had a good time.

A lovely welcome from Jethro the Hill Mynah bird who said "oh wow" as we entered the tropical house. Some other highlights from our visit included the butterfly who did not want to leave my son's shoulder, the potoroos feeding frenzy, the baby kookaburras ( 3 I think) and the cute baby coatis.

Sadly the tenrec and marbled polecats slept out of view thoughout our visit.

 

Did you actually find out that they were both off-show? I have sent them a message regarding both of these and haven't recieved a reply yet.

I went on a two-hour visit that was nonetheless very enjoyable. The new lemur/spurred tortoise enclosure on the site of the old goat paddocks is a huge improvement on their old exhibits.

Regarding the species list, Zootierliste is vastly out of date regarding much of the collection. The mammal species definately on show are:

- Black-and-white ruffed lemur, brown-nosed coati, domestic ferret, Geoffroy’s marmoset, long-nosed potoroo, marbled polecat, meerkat, Oriental small-clawed otter, Patagonian mara, red-necked wallaby, ring-tailed lemur, Shetland pony, Siberian chipmunk, Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, Richardson’s ground squirrel, greater hedgehog-tenrec, black-tailed prairie dog, domestic rabbit, domestic guinea pig, Nigerian dwarf goat, Boer goat

Those possibly off-show (undetermined as yet) are:

- Big hairy armadillo, Gambian giant pouched rat, Indian crested porcupine, striped skunk

Those that are no longer present include:

- Degu, Eurasian red squirrel, long-eared hedgehog, long-tailed chinchilla, swallow-bellied mangalitsa pig, red-bellied tamarin

Also there have been some swaparounds amongst the birds. The pair of trumpter hornbills, the Princess of Wales parakeets and the American black vultures have all left, but new arrivals are present in the forms of red-crested turacos, lots of crested pigeons, speckled mousebirds and a trio of young greater rhea in the Savannah Plains exhibit (formerly spurred tortoises)

I had missed out on a Bug weekend by a day, and judging by their Facebook photos there were species including giant pill millipedes, jungle nymphs and Malay ghost grasshoppers. Pretty gutted I missed that.

The reptile and amphibian collection has changed a bit too, with no labelled exhibits for either boa constrictors or plumed basilisks (although the former recently had a photo updated on Facebook, so it could be hidden elsewhere). The new species of herptile consist of corn snakes, a royal python, European spur-thighed tortoises, both yellow-banded and green-and-black poison-dart frogs and green anole lizards.

The coatis have had a pair of young, the bronze sunbirds and wild turkeys have youngsters with them and there are African spurred tortoise and Argentine black-and-white tegu eggs in the incubation room.

Also, if anyone is nearby there is an absolutely phenomenal flight of butterflies at the moment. I have never seen anything quite like it- anyone who likes insects will enjoy it immensely!

 

An announcement has just been posted on the zoo's Facebook page to say they the otters will be moving to another collection, giving TWZ 'space to keep another endangered species'.

Wonder what they're thinking of bringing in...?

 

When i last visited (2011) they had the Armadillo, Gambian pouched rats, Striped skunk, Galah cockatoo and 2 male Potoroo off show. I was told these were all to be used in the show

 

Sounds like a nice collection. I´ve 2 questions :
the breeding of the Bronze sunbirds, was it a one-time event or have they bred more regulary and is there some published information about it ?
Did the eggs ( howmany ? ) of the Argentine black-and-white tegus hatch ( howmany ? ) ?

 

Does anybody know what species has replaced the ASC Otters?

 

Tropical Wings have launched their new website, complete with updated species list.

Tropical Wings

It seems the Indian crested porcupine is still present and now on-show and other new arrivals are capybara and European polecat. Unfortunately the species list indicates that the armadillo, ruffed lemurs and marbled polecats have all left along with the otters.

 

I am not sure how recent this news is, or where the animals in question came from, but a pair of Eastern pygmy marmosets have arrived and taken up residence in the tropical house (presumably in the former red-bellied tamarin enclosure).

Tropical Wings

 

Recent births at Tropical Wings include a single capybara pup, a litter of European polecats and Eastern pygmy marmoset twins.

 

A new species has recently arrived at Tropical Wings - a pair of Northern caiman lizards are now on-show. There has also been a new enclosure built for the pair of Goeldi's monkeys, which I do not think have previously been listed as being held there.

 

Received the email autumn newsletter from Tropical Wings today - among recent new arrivals are two squirrel monkeys, soon to be joined by four more from Colchester Zoo.

Births include meerkats, potoroo, European polecat, striped skunk, red-crested turaco, capybara, phantasmal poison-dart frogs and iris lorikeets - the latter species is not mentioned on the zoo's website and, if it is kept at Tropical Wings, it would be one of only three places in Europe to keep them (according to Zootierliste).