This year 2015 a new visitor centre will be open and although I heard about the work on extending the elephant house but the elephants will be as usual go out for their walks around the zoo so do keep an eye out for them
Twin silvery marmosets born, the group now numbers 8. Personally, I've always found the silverys a bit of a "lost" group at Whipsnade. The enclosure's very much "blink and you'll miss it" and numerous attempts to have them as free-roaming have ended in abject failure.
Probably not then, it has been stated elsewhere that they are being held offshow along with the gibbons & Francois Langurs from London. I thought for a moment they might actually be ON show!
I saw spider monkeys at London on Friday. They were in the first enclosure of Gorilla Kingdom where the colobus were before.
Strange, I'm sure someone posted that the macaques had gone to that enclosure. It sounds like the spider monkeys haven't been moved at all.
For those interested, a computer rendering of what the new main entrance/visitor centre will look like has appeared on the ZSL website. Hard to define whether it's a view from outside or inside the zoo!
Some baby newsygmy hippo Flora gave birth on Boxing Day! The calf is male-a rarity in captive Pygmy's so a very welcome addition.
In case it hasn't been mentioned but Whipsnade are building a crocodile house and small aquarium. Extract from a job advert on ZooNewsDigest - This section will be formed in early 2015 with the opening of a new butterfly and crocodile facility as the first phase of a major development including a state of the art small aquarium and a reptile and amphibian collection.
I am happy , a seriously overlooked group at Whipsnade (as are birds … alas). Perhaps they are looking the way of Safaripark Beekse Bergen (here in Hilvarenbeek, NL)?! The pygmy hippo MALE calf is a definite plus and still hoping some of the primate species relocated from Regent's Park London Zoo will remain eventually at Whipsnade and start a proper primate area!
A group of Rockhopper penguins has arrived from Vienna Zoo, 4 female/3 male. They are in the main enclosure, though separate from the African group. A welcome return! If only the Kings returned too (wishful thinking I know!)
The last four (breeding pair + offspring) were killed by foxes, I think in 2012, as were all but one (ricky) at ZSL, I think again produced by the one pair. Because they tend not to use boxes at night and stay more in the open more, rockhoppers are more vulnerable should a fox get into the enclosure. It will be interesting to see if the 3.4 means they plan on bringing the solitary 'star' of London's penguin exhibit to Whipsnade to pair with the fourth female. Potentially, if breeding is successful, ZSL could repeat their attempts to establish a group once more at London over time, and hopefully now both sites are far better fox-proofed, they may both one day have breeding groups.