Zoo News Archive

Autumn 2009

Depart: Edinburgh Zoo

19
October
2009

Mercedes the Polar Bear has moved to her new, much larger home at the Highland Wildlife Park

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Arrival: Highland Wildlife Park

19
October
2009

Mercedes the Polar Bear has arrived from Edinburgh Zoo, and has taken up residence in her huge new 4 acre enclosure.

It is hoped that a male Polar Bear will also eventually join her at the park, but will be kept in a separate, similarly large enclosure; Polar Bears are solitary animals in the wild.

It is also the intention that, when Mercedes eventually dies, she will be replaced by another female, who will then be introduced to the male only during the breeding seasons, replicating the bear's natural behaviour in the wild.

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Arrival: Chester Zoo

19
October
2009

A 19-year-old Rothschild Giraffe called Orla has arrived from Holland. Two other Giraffes, Margaret and Molly, have also moved to London Zoo.

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Depart: Chessington World of Adventures

7
October
2009

Kabus, the Sumatran Tiger cub born last year, has moved to Belfast Zoo, where a female is expected to join him next year to form a new breeding pair for this critically endangered species.

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Birth: Colchester Zoo

3
October
2009

A baby male White Rhino has been born, to mum Cynthia. He has been named Zamba and is the first White Rhino calf to be born at the zoo. His father is Simba, who sadly died earlier this year, and Cynthia was made pregnant by pioneering artificial insemination treatment.

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Birth: London Zoo

October
2009

A baby male White-Naped Mangabey called Paddy has been born, to parents Bella and Lucky. Great news for his species, which is one of the most endangered of primate species.

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Birth: Blair Drummond Safari Park and Adventure Park

October
2009

A second litter of baby Meerkats have been born.

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Birth: Chester Zoo

October
2009

Four baby Mangrove Snakes have hatched, the first at the zoo.

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Birth: Colchester Zoo

October
2009

Mandrill babies have been born.

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Birth: Edinburgh Zoo

October
2009

A King Penguin chick has hatched, the first at the zoo for five years. Its sex is yet to be determined, and therefore it has not yet been named.

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Arrival: Belfast Zoo

October
2009

A male Sumatran Tiger called Kabus has arrived from Chessington Zoo, where he was born 19 months ago. He should be joined by a female next year to form a new breeding pair for the European breeding programme for this Critically Endangered species.

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Depart: Isle of Wight Zoo

October
2009

Davidson the Brown Capuchin has moved to the Lakeview Monkey Sanctuary, Berkshire, where he will join a rescued female. He had recently been challenging his brother, Harley, for dominance of the bachelor group, which caused unrest among the rest of the group.

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Arrival: Newquay Zoo

October
2009

A pair of Channel-Billed Toucans have arrived from Leeds Castle, to join the large mixed species Tropical House enclosure.

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Arrival: Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm

October
2009

A group of Vampire Crabs have arrived. The species originates from SE Asia, and is unusual in that they do not need the sea to breed.

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Arrival: Woburn Safari Park

October
2009

Five male Drills have arrived from Hanover Zoo, Germany. They actually arrived back in February, but have since been in quarantine; they are now on show in the African Forest mixed species enclosure. It s planned to exchange three of them for females within the next year, to start a new breeding group for this Critically Endangered species, one of the rarest of African mammals. There are less than 3000 left in the wild, due to hunting and habitat loss, and only 75 in captivity.

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Arrival: Newquay Zoo

Autumn
2009

Two Dwarf Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Piglets, called Justin and Colin, have arrived, to take up residence in the Village Farm.

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Notes:

Where possible, the dates given are for the event itself, but some zoos do not make this information available, when the date of announcement is used instead.

Seasons: Winter = Jan - Mar, Spring = Apr - Jun, Summer = Jul - Sept, Autumn = Oct - Dec.