Chester Zoo Visit - 26/06/2010

Today's main news is that the elephants are going back out on the paddock. The bull, Upali, was out today and the rest of the heard will follow. Mid-afternoon and Upali was taking full advantage of the fresh air and sunshine, and enjoying a shower.

The paddock looks excellent, a deep sand substrate beneath which are hidden drainage terraces. The hard standing transitions are now at ground level and almost hidden. Kudos to everyone involved, and for completing the work ahead of schedule.



We went looking for the duiker on multiple occasions, but were thwarted by two rather amorous okapi. Moments after I'd given up, some other jammy devil managed to see her in the house.


Credit: ZooGiraffe

We counted four bush dog pups, but they were really difficult to see. They do move dens regularly however, so should be easier to spot as time progresses.


Lousy photo credit: me

In other, lesser news, both spectacled bears were enjoying each-other's company and were in close proximity, with the occasional communication from the female. Regular Chester visitors will know that it's often tricky to see one bear, so both together is an excellent sign.



The elusive Cabot's tragopan remained elusive despite multiple visits to the aviary. A friendly keeper showed us a photograph of it on her mobile 'phone, so we do know it's in there, somewhere...

 

I've actually been quite lucky with Bear viewings in recent months

 

I've seen the tragopan once out of three attempts.

 

I've not seen the duiker yet, or the tragopan. There are seven bush dog puppies.

 

I don't think many people have seen her tbh.

 

It seems I missed out on almost everything today. I did count five bush dog puppies, but the keeper told me there are seven (as Pygathrix has already reported). But I don't mind, I was testing a new lens and the results are downloading at the moment (you have now been warned )

Alan

 

My blood is boiling, you have seen everything, including the duiker!!! Weldone.... *mutters to myself*

 

When we were there a few weeks ago, one of the bears (I think the male, but not totally sure) came right down to the water to cool off. He got into the water and laid in it for several minutes before shaking himself off and wandering away.

I don't go to Chester often so didn't realise just how unusual this is.

There are some pics of this in the gallery.

 

Completely forgot to mention that the pair of occipital blue pies (red-billed blue magpies, if you insist) in the horrible aviary next to the bush dogs have fledged two chicks.

Alan

 

A couple of great shots here- 'Upali' in mid 'spray'- you really caught the exact moment with that one.

Seeing the two bears close together is also very good news.

 

Also the Giant Anteater is now being allowed out at the back of the Giraffe House but I didn`t see it.

 

I didnt know Chester had Cabot's Tragopans (im so behind!) What aviary are they in?

 

He is in the first aviary along the path to the old kestrel aviary, opposite the otters.

 

Oh dear! My memory has been addled by the wonderful football (I mean the success of the Black Stars on Saturday, not matched by the other team I hoped would do well).
The other notable observation I forgot to post was a pure white jackdaw in the warthog & banded mongoose paddock - which I saw just as I was packing my camera away, of course. Has anyone else seen it?

Alan

 

After this pair were introduced the bears spent most of the winter alternating in the outdoor area, so chances of seeing one were reduced by half. The female is more visible, but that and the fact that the area available to them is so large often meant that many people didn't see a bear at all, even those of us who visit regularly. However, now that they're mixed and have become more comfortable, they've also become more visible, although sightings of the two together are still fairly unusual. In mid afternoon they're often given some enrichment - scatter feeds or water melons for example - and that brings them to the front of the enclosure so it's a good time to wander by. The seasonal growth of native plants is also due to be thinned soon and that'll help create a few more clearings.

I know ZooChat member Maisie has seen the one at Chester, which I believe is leucistic rather than albino. I've seen a fair few leucistic jackdaws in Chester recently, including one where I live, but not an all-white specimen or the one in the zoo.

According to the AP:

"Ornithologists say there have been only 15 confirmed sightings of white jackdaws in the world over the past three decades."

So that's certainly something to keep an eye out for. There's a large colony of jackdaws in the right-hand side of the bear enclosure, so that might be a good hunting ground.

 

Ancient Zoochatters might remember the (pure) White Jackdaw at Bristol Zoo in the late 1950/early 1960's era. It lived in one of the Aviarys which is between the bird house and the restaurant.

 

I'm pleased to hear it's still around!! I saw it back in February but haven't seen it since. I thought it might have been got, being so obvious, but apparently not. Thanks for posting that!

Here it is:

 

Iw onder if any visitors have seen it and thought to it to be an escapee from the zoo.

 

Excellent photos, Maisie.
When I first saw it, I blinked and remembered that I had received an eye-test reminder a few days previously
Your photos confirm that my eyes can't be that bad.

Alan

 

An update today:

As people will have noticed from the gallery, I managed to see the duiker! There still seems to be some confusion amongst the general zoo staff as to what times she has access to either the day pen or the outdoor enclosure, so it's just a question of being patient. Thanks to the vet team for trying to find her on my behalf, and thanks to the girl in the blue overalls for making the zoo a more beautiful place.



All the elephants have now been reintroduced to the paddock.



I saw all the bush dog pups as their mother moved them to the den nearest the pedestrian entrance. That was thirty seconds after I entered the zoo and my camera was still in its bag, but they all look well.

The white jackdaw was visible around the elephant enclosure and I have some detailed photos of it. They confirm Maisie's evidence and I'm sure it's fully-leucistic (not albino) as the eyes and feet are the correct colour. The crowd around the elephants must have thought I was nuts, facing the wrong way and towards the trees, but it could well be extremely rare.

The red-billed blue magpie chicks have fledged, and like most young magpies have a significant percentage of their adult plumage.



The fence around the Geoffrey's marmoset enclosure is being removed; it is not part of the anteater development though, I was told it was just being replaced. A keeper was feeding live locusts to the marmosets and I heard a guy say "That's a big monkey, innit?" ZooGiraffe and I were joking about whether people actually said that... and it seems they do!

Then there was the idiot who was throwing things into the short-clawed otter enclosure, and another banging on the glass in Spirit of the Jaguar. A coarse woman told me in a really loud voice that "I've come to the zoo and haven't seen a %*&!ing thing", while standing three feet away from the female okapi. They must have all escaped from the same place.

Having said that, I still haven't seen the tragopan.