I am Jonathan Beilby and this is my guide to the zoos of the world, their animals and the role they have in conservation.
I’d like to thank the many people who have made this site possible, especially Pierre de Chabannes, who has provided many pictures for this site, and all the members from the zoobeat forums.
If you’d like to talk more about zoos in the format of a forum, visit www.zoobeat.com.
Zoo News
• Chester and Edinburgh now have Negros Island warty pigs. These critically endangered species are only found on the island of Negros in the Philippines. Chester has 2.2 in the old babirusa exhibit opposite the chimp house and Edinburgh has 1.1 in their old babirusa exhibit opposite where the geladas were housed.
• Edinburgh has 1.1 white lipped deer. The only ones in the UK.
• Blackbrook now has 6 out of the world’s 7 species of pelican, with the arrival of a new Australian pelican. This male lives with a group of about 15 brown pelicans. Blackbrook also has the only brown and American white pelicans in the UK.
• Chester has recently acquired a male Bornean orang-utan to go with its three females in the new enclosure Realm of the Red Ape.
• Coming soon to Blackbrook will be torrent ducks. This enclosure will be one of many built this year as it is going under a major redevelopment scheme.
• Chester Zoo has also received 4.4 pure bred tarictic hornbills (Penelopides panini panini). Two pairs are in the Tropical realm and another two pairs are in islands in Danger. The two pairs in the tropical realm are on the top row of aviaries, One in the old salvadori’s pheasant aviary (they came to the zoo in late 2006, and there are two pairs in the ‘Bird corridor’, the row of aviaries outside islands in danger.) The other tropical realm pair of Tarictic hornbills are kept in the aviary where the hybrid pair were kept. One of the pairs in Islands in Danger is kept in the old St Lucia amazon aviary, while the other is kept in one of the old red Bird of Paradise aviaries. Consequently all three males are now living together.