Paignton Zoo » Paignton Zoo

17-12-2007

Yes, I thought I was probably wrong there.....

Do you know if Twycross have ever bred from theirs? I think its now only Twycross and Paignton keeping them in UK.

17-12-2007

Gigit- the good news is that gorilla 'Mapema' is already mating the youngest of the females(Safiri- from Sydney) at Duisburg.

18-12-2007

Twycross had a young one their a few years ago but after asking the staff i discovered it had been born at Edinburgh,but its mother had rejected it so it was sent to Twycross for hand rearing as they have a little bit of experience in that department,sadly i believe the youngster has now died.

18-12-2007

That is good news. If only they could tell Damisi what the future holds for him!

19-12-2007

I forecast a veritable population explosion at Chessington with Damisi! They have FOUR females of breeding age( 2 mothers, 2 daughters) plus two more younger daughters coming along too. That's SIX potential females for him. That still excludes the two much older females Kaja and Baffia who will probably not go with him and stay instead with the old male Kumba.

I think they will certainly need new accomodation soon- unless they have made major changes recently. Chessington have the most successful uk gorilla group after the Howletts groups. Its the group London Zoo would like to have!

It will be interesting to see which male breeds first- Mapema or Damisi....

19-12-2007

These lonely weeks for Damisi won't have been in vain! Chessington does seem a surprising place for successful breeding. I would imagine that most visitors don't give the gorillas a second look, or even know they are there. I'll do my best to find out about the accommodation after Christmas.

20-12-2007

Actually, the Gorillas at Chessington are not far from the entrance area, and well advertised- I think they do get a lot of visitors, even if most people have come for the Amusements and rides rather than to see animals and then of course the whole place is shut for most of the winter..... Its an odd situation really- particularly as its been a very successful gorilla group in recent years (they had a very good keeper at a crucial period who managed them very skillfully)

My guess is they will have made at least some changes to the cage as earlier this year they were threatened with having their zoo licence revoked by the local council if they didn't!

Diana monkeys
03-01-2008

Pertinax - I've solved the mystery of the extra Diana Monkey! For some reason, I failed to notice that a male infant was born on 22 June 2007. The previous birth was a female - Akia - in February 2006.
I'll check on the Damisi situation next week.

Damisi
03-01-2008

I was told that there was a photo of Damisi 'dancing' in a newspaper and I've found a link:
Photo Order: South West Media Group Ltd

03-01-2008

oh well, at least they have started breeding regularly since being moved into the new area.. they were kept in the old Monkey house for a long time without any sign of breeding(that I know of...) maybe the move to more spacious accomodation was the key. I'm trying to find out what's happening with the ones they've still got at Newquay.

Damisi- he looks well grown from the photo so he should be able to take control okay when he arrives at Chessington.... I'm still very interested to know if they have had to make any changes to their cage though.

Damisi
17-01-2008

I saw Damisi outside at Paignton today. He was doing a bit of chest beating. I didn't get the chance to speak to keepers about his move.

17-01-2008

I'm surprised he hasn't left yet- maybe Chessington still aren't ready for him.

24-01-2008

Some news from an unofficial source:

Damisi: He won't be going to Chessington until one of the females there leaves. Pertinax - I'm sure you'll be able to work out who's involved

Giraffes: Two females are coming from the Czech Republic in March.

24-01-2008

Are this the first new giraffe since the fire? I think i remeber them acquiring a male?

Giraffe
24-01-2008

The females are coming to join the male who arrived from Denmark after the fire. It'll be good to see him with some company at last.