Author Topic: Bristol Zoo  (Read 425 times)

LornaMcA

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Re: Bristol Zoo
« Reply #15 on: July 05, 2011, 07:04:58 pm »
I've booked my ticket today  :)   I'm hoping I will be able to get the day off or at least a half day off to visit the zoo before the evening event.  I'm also going to the Marwell Members Evening the following week.   :)

Troglodytes

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Re: Bristol Zoo
« Reply #16 on: July 05, 2011, 07:27:31 pm »
Hurray! I'm going on my own so it'll be great to know someone. It should be really good.

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Re: Bristol Zoo
« Reply #17 on: July 29, 2011, 06:33:49 pm »
We had a good evening. First we had our canapes and chatted to a lady who is in the travel business and has visited various apes in the course of her (obviously very horrible) work :) I now wish I'd got more info but she has visited gorillas in Rwanda and been back to an orphanage a couple of times.

We split into groups and our first port of call was the monkey house. It's interesting that a lot is up high because it's natural for the monkeys to go high and it allows them privacy. The lion tailed macaques were not at all happy to see us and made it plain! The De Brazza's monkeys were rather more sweet natured and a bit shy but won over by food, they have really spectacular faces. The howler monkeys also came to see us.

We then went into the lemurs and the man who talked to us had worked on research projects in Madagascar, one of the interesting things he was saying was that the mongoose lemur is active (in bursts) day and night which poses a challenge for feeding & enrichment because zoos work in the daytime. It started to rain which meant the next group got their thing in the twilight house with the aye-ayes which we were a bit jealous about.

We then went to the vet and it was really interesting. She was telling us about the regular stuff they do and showed us their smallest and biggest ET (endo-tracheal) tubes for giving anaesthetic, a huge range of sizes compared to what a human doctor would have to deal with. She told us about the tests they do regularly and the checks when animals come into or out of the zoo. Someone had placed an range of cuddly animals on the operating tables :)

Then we went to the gorilla house (inside because it was raining) and the gorillas were fed. Kera is fully integrated in the group now but she's still a bit wary of Jock, she loves Komale and they play a lot together. She was doing Sally twirls whilst he was talking.

They may treat Romina with Clomid like Salome was because she isn't cycling properly. Kera is beginning to but they'd like her to see a bit of Jock action with the other females before he starts on her and he is interested in her. It'd be good if there was at least one other baby before she has one. Jock is just amazing at close quarters! Namoki is a naughty girl but allowed to get away with it by Jock, they said if he's in her way in the doorway she just hits him with a rope until he lets her go past.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2011, 08:56:51 pm by Simon de Monkeyworld »

LornaMcA

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Re: Bristol Zoo
« Reply #18 on: July 29, 2011, 07:09:52 pm »
Bristol put on a lovely evening.  It was great to go behind the scenes in the monkey house and to hear the experts talking about primates.  The highlight for me was probably the hour we spent with the gorillas.

I also wish I had got more information about gorilla trekking from that lady.  I was also talking to her about Namibia, one of the places were are considering for next year.

Joan

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Re: Bristol Zoo
« Reply #19 on: July 29, 2011, 07:30:11 pm »
What a fantastic event, great to go behind the scenes and get the lowdown on the primates.  The gorilla family there is captivating and Salome and Romina are fantastic mothers, Jock is magnificent and very protective.


mazzy

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Re: Bristol Zoo
« Reply #20 on: July 29, 2011, 07:54:36 pm »
sounds wonderful ladies glad you both had such a good time xxx

mazfc

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Re: Bristol Zoo
« Reply #21 on: July 29, 2011, 08:40:48 pm »
Sounds a great evening  :) really wish I could have made it.

It always seems to make a place even more special when you get to see behind the scenes.
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~ Immanual Kant

"Man is rated the highest animal, at least amongst all the animals that returned the questionnaire." Robert Brault ;-)

Troglodytes

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Re: Bristol Zoo
« Reply #22 on: July 30, 2011, 12:33:31 am »
Some pictures of the gorillas, the island was looking beautiful with lots of flowers, everything is edible (no good for poor Salome's waistline!)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lolamon/sets/72157627187053903/

MWmadgill

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Re: Bristol Zoo
« Reply #23 on: July 30, 2011, 01:24:12 pm »
Oh love the one of Namoki - she's gorgeous.

LornaMcA

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Re: Bristol Zoo
« Reply #24 on: July 30, 2011, 07:38:09 pm »
Excellent pics, Simon.  I must sort mine out too!

Joan

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Re: Bristol Zoo
« Reply #25 on: July 30, 2011, 08:44:46 pm »
Fantastic photos Simon, wonderful family of gorillas at Bristol.


Troglodytes

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Re: Bristol Zoo
« Reply #26 on: July 31, 2011, 09:07:35 am »
We went again the next day and first went into the fruit bats before they went to bed, they were being fed and flying round our heads, if you g to Bristol it's worth making this your first stop because they are really special and are asleep later on.

The aye-ayes were all very active in the twilight house, I just wish you could actually see properly what they look like.

I fed the rainbow lorikeets which is fun but as ever I ended up with one poor chap who kept missing his chance and getting shoved out by the others and it was so sweet sitting on my arm. I was amazed to discover the 'feed' was a liquid because they are nectar eaters, I assumed 'bird=seed' :)

The keeper we'd been talking to the night before was there, he'd been back to the zoo at least twice to feed an animal they were trying to hand-rear since he left us at 9.30pm and started work about 7!

The 2 lion cubs are absolutely beautiful and (sorry mums) it's always lovely to see baby animals with their dad. I said "they appear to be a boy and a girl" as they rolled around showing off their equipment, a lady said "I read that they were but I wouldn't know the difference" :)

mazfc

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Re: Bristol Zoo
« Reply #27 on: July 31, 2011, 09:36:45 pm »
Mmmmmmm boy or girl? There's only one way to tell...


...fiiiiiiiigggggghhht!!!!
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~ Immanual Kant

"Man is rated the highest animal, at least amongst all the animals that returned the questionnaire." Robert Brault ;-)

mazfc

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"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~ Immanual Kant

"Man is rated the highest animal, at least amongst all the animals that returned the questionnaire." Robert Brault ;-)

Troglodytes

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Re: Bristol Zoo
« Reply #29 on: August 08, 2011, 06:11:52 pm »
We had one in our hotel, and when we went to Slimbridge on the way home there was one there too! So the answer is Yes! There's one in my Facebook pics.