Wouldn't hippos need an indoor pool too? Retrofitting a pool and all the plumbing into the existing house would probably be very expensive. Indian rhinos seem much more likely to me.
Hmmmm, good point. Hippos probably wouldn't seem like the best choice as much so I'm leaning towards Indian rhino for now as they would be more suitable for the exhibit.
But in an ideal world wouldn't the rhino house also require a pool or bathing/wallowing area? We're not talking underwater viewing are we?
Indian Rhino really need indoor bathing facilities also, to keep the skin in good condition, during periods they can't go outside, though they might get away with installing a water sprinkler system instead as being cheaper. As far as display value is concerned, Rhino are more active and visible than Hippos which tend to either be submerged or lying prone like logs on the land- Indian rhino do both too but are generally more active in between times. IMO the enclosure with modifications would lend itself to either species but the zoo have made no mention yet of what they might bring in when the Elephants leave. I just hope its not White Rhino though...
I would be very surprised if anything that is not already in the zoo makes makes use of the elephants old enclosure, in the short to medium term.
It's been many years since I visited Twycross but do they still have Malayan tapir? There was one semi-offshow near the carpark in 2011?
Does anyone think that Twycross are making a big mistake going out of Asian elephants considering how popular they are with the visitors?. Their house and outdoor facilities are quite good, would it not have been better in the long term to have built a bull house, the visitor numbers could suffer badly when they go to wherever.
Nope; it is certainly the right move for the collection if it is to continue improving and developing away from the quagmire within which it had found itself. If memory serves me correctly, this would not have been feasible given the fact the outdoor facilities are insufficient to adequately hold a bull whilst also making it possible to separate him from the cows. They would need a vast amount of redevelopment and rebuilding to make this possible. As for the visitor numbers, I doubt they will suffer all that much.
I don't think Twycross should ever have had Elephants really but of course their first ones were acquired in the days before there was focus on breeding them or attention to keeping family groups. Their sporadic breeding since, by sending the two females away to Chester and subsequent AI attempts highlight the continuing lack of facilities to bring in a male, and I think its a good decision they are finally leaving. As to visitor numbers, some people may complain short-term at their loss, but overall I doubt it will have any real effect. People forget very quickly.
I think it`s the right decision to send away the current group of females in breeding age, but I wish Twycross would continue with older females past breeding age. The facility is certainly fine for a non-breeding group of 3-4 females; most zoos that keep non-breeding female elephants have conditions that are way worse. But these zoos continue to get elephants, since there is a lack of zoos with better enclosures that are willing to take non-breeding females.
The last Malayan tapir they had was named Madge and she sadly passed away a few years ago back in like early 2013. Which was a shame for me because even though I have been to Twycross only a few times I do not remember seeing them on my visits. If only there was pair of Malayans at Dudley Zoo right now....
Given that Chester and Edinburgh have bred the species recently perhaps there is a chance of other places getting the species ...
The Malayan Tapirs at Twycross were in a rather unvisited corner of the Zoo nearest the entrance from the road. They were often invisible or went unnoticed if they were indoors also. I often did not see them at all.
I went to Twycross today, about 9 months after I last went. I do like Twycross but I was disappointed today. A lot of the ape and monkey enclosures, the glass around them was so covered in condensation that you couldn't really see in them and as for taking any photos it was near impossible. I don't understand how before the animals are let out in the morning, that the windows can't be wiped over? The new Chimpanzee enclosure is starting to take shape and looks massive. I was disappointed to see the old Hyena enclosure empty, and Dik Dik's now live in the Dhole enclosure. The signposts say they have Tapir's round by the Penguin's, but I couldn't see any, only Vicuna and Capybara in the paddock. Same as the other 3 times I have gone, I couldn't see the Snow Leopard, from inside the cafe or out in the zoo. The Amur Leopards were out and playing, well two of them. I think it was the youngsters as they didn't look full size. Does the Zoo still have the parents of the cubs who were born last year, or is it just the 2 they have now? There was a new baby Gibbon who was very cute and the baby Gorilla was playing with it's mother and was very cheeky. They were about the only animals I got great photo's of. Apparently where the Hyena enclosure is, and the other paddock enclosures along there, are going to be converted into a new big enclosure next year and will be the next building project once the Chimpanzee's section is finished. The keeper I spoke to suggested it was going to be developed for a new species of big cat, but didn't know what. The best part for me about Twycross is the mass of different monkeys and apes, but the photo opportunities aren't great sadly. I had a nice morning out and then headed to Drayton Manor Park to look round their zoo section. It's very poor for my liking.
You've just reminded me why I don't rush to Twycross out of summer months; condensation. As far as I know, the daddy leopard is still in the far end of the enclosures, while mum and the cubs have the rest of it. Was the baby gibbon the White Cheeked one?
Yes he was a white one and was with his mother, although he was posing for selfies at the Window with kids, which made me chuckle as he was trying to touch the kids and vice versa. As per normal, the gibbons were inside, bar the Siamangs who were outside singing to eat other. I've never understood why they have two enclosures of Siamangs though, as they have another collection by the Leopards. Only the two younger leopards were visible in the far right of the Amur Leopard section. It was closed off in the middle (access to only 2 areas). The other areas looked empty but it's possible the adults were inside.
As Twycross currently lack both Lions and Tigers, that seems to be a logical step. Regarding the condensation, I found it worst in the row of Monkey/Lemur cages nearest the entrance where the inmates can be impossible to see. Have not noticed it much in the other houses though.
Agreed, I can't imagine by a possibility scale of 100% that it will definitely be either lions or tigers (even though I wish they'd bring them back) but who knows... I'm also kinda hoping for Jaguar or Cheetahs on that note but I can't imagine that's what they will be aiming for next year neither. Fingers crossed!
