Introducing a collection of exciting zoo stories you may have missed over the last few months!
Get up to date on the latest zoo news and impress all your friends with your new found zoo expertise!
ARRIVAL OF EDIE, THE baby giraffe
On Tuesday 12 March a new female baby giraffe was born to new mum Orla. The giraffe calf has now been named Edie (pronounced e-dee) and is named after Lake Edward in Uganda, one of the African Great Lakes, her moniker is inspired by the zoo’s conservation efforts in the country.
At two days old, Edie already weighed more than 70kg and stood 6 foot tall, and by the time of her first outing in April, had gained 30kg and had grown even taller. The calf will continue to grow to be more than 18 foot tall and weigh about 900kg!
After spending some weeks bonding with mum Orla, and getting used to her long legs, Edie enjoyed her first outdoor adventure in April and could be seen excitedly running and playfully chasing about outside in the sunshine.
Rothschild’s giraffes have an IUCN Red List Status of ‘Vulnerable’. Edie is an important addition to the international conservation breeding programme, which is working to secure the future of the species.
ARRIVAL OF EDIE, THE baby giraffe
On Tuesday 12 March a new female baby giraffe was born to new mum Orla. The giraffe calf has now been named Edie (pronounced e-dee) and is named after Lake Edward in Uganda, one of the African Great Lakes, her moniker is inspired by the zoo’s conservation efforts in the country.
At two days old, Edie already weighed more than 70kg and stood 6 foot tall, and by the time of her first outing in April, had gained 30kg and had grown even taller. The calf will continue to grow to be more than 18 foot tall and weigh about 900kg!
After spending some weeks bonding with mum Orla, and getting used to her long legs, Edie enjoyed her first outdoor adventure in April and could be seen excitedly running and playfully chasing about outside in the sunshine.
Rothschild’s giraffes have an IUCN Red List Status of ‘Vulnerable’. Edie is an important addition to the international conservation breeding programme, which is working to secure the future of the species.
Guillermo’s TRIP TO THE VET
Guillermo, or ‘Gilly’ for short, is our 14 year-old male southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla), a tree-climbing anteater species from South America.
When he’s not curled up in a ball and sleeping inside our Tamandua House, he's quite the character: interacting with staff, slurping his food (anteaters don’t have any teeth) and exploring his indoor and outdoor habitats.
Earlier this year, our keepers noticed that Gilly was losing weight, so our veterinary team were called and investigations revealed something quite unusual: his right ureter (the tube linking his right kidney to his urinary bladder) was ruptured and this was causing urine to slowly leak and accumulate inside his abdomen.
It wasn't possible to fix the damaged ureter so the only solution was for our vets to surgically remove the affected kidney and prevent more urine from being produced.
We don’t know how and why this issue first occurred but such urine accumulations (known as ‘urinoma’) have been recorded in humans. That said, this is the first case we know of in a tamandua… or any similar creature!
Gilly was returned to the Tamandua House and was eating and climbing around within hours of his surgery. Several weeks have since passed, and Gilly appears back to full health and fitness. He's put on weight and body condition and he’s back to waiting impatiently for his breakfast in the mornings!
Following his ‘nephrectomy’ procedure, our keepers and our veterinary team will continue to monitor Gilly closely to check that his remaining left kidney is working well and able to cope with the burden of working twice as hard.
Guillermo’s TRIP TO THE VET
Guillermo, or ‘Gilly’ for short, is our 14 year-old male southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla), a tree-climbing anteater species from South America.
When he’s not curled up in a ball and sleeping inside our Tamandua House, he's quite the character: interacting with staff, slurping his food (anteaters don’t have any teeth) and exploring his indoor and outdoor habitats.
Earlier this year, our keepers noticed that Gilly was losing weight, so our veterinary team were called and investigations revealed something quite unusual: his right ureter (the tube linking his right kidney to his urinary bladder) was ruptured and this was causing urine to slowly leak and accumulate inside his abdomen.
It wasn't possible to fix the damaged ureter so the only solution was for our vets to surgically remove the affected kidney and prevent more urine from being produced.
We don’t know how and why this issue first occurred but such urine accumulations (known as ‘urinoma’) have been recorded in humans. That said, this is the first case we know of in a tamandua… or any similar creature!
Gilly was returned to the Tamandua House and was eating and climbing around within hours of his surgery. Several weeks have since passed, and Gilly appears back to full health and fitness. He's put on weight and body condition and he’s back to waiting impatiently for his breakfast in the mornings!
Following his ‘nephrectomy’ procedure, our keepers and our veterinary team will continue to monitor Gilly closely to check that his remaining left kidney is working well and able to cope with the burden of working twice as hard.
AUNG-BO GETS WEIGHED
In our Autumn edition last year, we announced Aung-Bo’s big move and the time has now nearly come for us to finally wave the 22 year-old male elephant off to his new home. Bull elephants in the wild naturally move between herds to breed - we’re a part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) and Aung-Bo’s move will replicate this movement to a new herd. This is part of the EAZA breeding programme and helps support conservation of the species.
In preparation for his move, we need to know his weight. Aung-Bo was last weighed in 2017, aged 15, weighing 4410kg. In March this year, aged 22, he weighed 4934kg!
Male elephants will keep growing well into their late thirties so this weight will only increase. We weren’t sure Aung-Bo would fit on the weigh scales due to his size, but he came into the training area calmly and managed to position himself correctly within just a couple of attempts.
We hadn’t weighed Aung-Bo since 2017 because the weigh scales for the elephants are located in the training area, which is primarily used by Maya and the Hi Way family. This training area has not been designed for adult bulls, as Aung-Bo has his own separate training area (without scales!).
Aung-Bo was very calm and appeared quite content in the training area, before having a wander around Maya and the Hi Way's indoor area. Our team is working closely with Aung-Bo on a daily basis to continue with his transport training, ensuring he is comfortable and ready for his move.
AUNG-BO GETS WEIGHED
In our Autumn edition last year, we announced Aung-Bo’s big move and the time has now nearly come for us to finally wave the 22 year-old male elephant off to his new home. Bull elephants in the wild naturally move between herds to breed - we’re a part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) and Aung-Bo’s move will replicate this movement to a new herd. This is part of the EAZA breeding programme and helps support conservation of the species.
In preparation for his move, we need to know his weight. Aung-Bo was last weighed in 2017, aged 15, weighing 4410kg. In March this year, aged 22, he weighed 4934kg!
Male elephants will keep growing well into their late thirties so this weight will only increase. We weren’t sure Aung-Bo would fit on the weigh scales due to his size, but he came into the training area calmly and managed to position himself correctly within just a couple of attempts.
We hadn’t weighed Aung-Bo since 2017 because the weigh scales for the elephants are located in the training area, which is primarily used by Maya and the Hi Way family. This training area has not been designed for adult bulls, as Aung-Bo has his own separate training area (without scales!).
Aung-Bo was very calm and appeared quite content in the training area, before having a wander around Maya and the Hi Way's indoor area. Our team is working closely with Aung-Bo on a daily basis to continue with his transport training, ensuring he is comfortable and ready for his move.
BLUE MONITOR TREE LIZARD
Have you spotted our blue tree monitor, located in Realm of the Red Ape yet?
A recent addition to our zoo, this endangered species is only found on Batanta Island and the surrounding islets off the coast of Irian Jaya, in Indonesian New Guinea. Batanta island is just 455 km2 meaning this species has one of the smallest distributions of any monitor lizard.
Blue tree monitors are sought after for the international illegal pet trade which has caused decline in the wild population and is likely a threat to the long-term survival of this species in the wild. It's now a protected species in Indonesia, and there's no legal collection of the species from the wild. Blue tree monitors are exclusively arboreal with a prehensile tail for grasping and balance when in the canopy of the lowland tropical forest.
We're pleased to now be home to a young male and more may arrive from other zoos in the future. He's settling well into his habitat, though he's still a little shy and likes to sit on his elevated hide.
BLUE MONITOR TREE LIZARD
Have you spotted our blue tree monitor, located in Realm of the Red Ape yet?
A recent addition to our zoo, this endangered species is only found on Batanta Island and the surrounding islets off the coast of Irian Jaya, in Indonesian New Guinea. Batanta island is just 455 km2 meaning this species has one of the smallest distributions of any monitor lizard.
Blue tree monitors are sought after for the international illegal pet trade which has caused decline in the wild population and is likely a threat to the long-term survival of this species in the wild. It's now a protected species in Indonesia, and there's no legal collection of the species from the wild. Blue tree monitors are exclusively arboreal with a prehensile tail for grasping and balance when in the canopy of the lowland tropical forest.
We're pleased to now be home to a young male and more may arrive from other zoos in the future. He's settling well into his habitat, though he's still a little shy and likes to sit on his elevated hide.
ELEVEN PENGUIN CHICKS HATCH!
Humboldt penguins are becoming increasingly rare and are now listed as Vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
We're delighted to have welcomed eleven new Humboldt penguin chicks, the most to hatch in one season at the zoo for more than 10 years! The new chicks are being weighed regularly and our expert keepers are keeping a close eye on their growth and development.
To keep track of new chicks keepers choose a different theme to inspire their names each season, with previous topics being NHS heroes, brands of crisps, chocolate bars and British Olympic athletes. In keeping with this tradition, Nettle, Thistle, Dandelion, Tulip and Daffodil have been confirmed as some of the names amongst the new arrivals!
ELEVEN PENGUIN CHICKS HATCH!
Humboldt penguins are becoming increasingly rare and are now listed as Vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
We're delighted to have welcomed eleven new Humboldt penguin chicks, the most to hatch in one season at the zoo for more than 10 years! The new chicks are being weighed regularly and our expert keepers are keeping a close eye on their growth and development.
To keep track of new chicks keepers choose a different theme to inspire their names each season, with previous topics being NHS heroes, brands of crisps, chocolate bars and British Olympic athletes. In keeping with this tradition, Nettle, Thistle, Dandelion, Tulip and Daffodil have been confirmed as some of the names amongst the new arrivals!
