This week I thought it would be a good opportunity to give you an update on what has been going down on the mammal section over the last few weeks as there has been quite a lot happening!
We are now deep into the summer holidays, which in my opinion is the busiest time of the year for the park and it’s full steam ahead for us keepers.
The Nocturnal House
The Nocturnal House is now open and it’s great to see the nocturnal species in there. A few of the animals that are found down there were off show for a short period of time while the house was being built, so now having these purpose built enclosures I hope everyone will be able to appreciate them more.
I’ve always thought the bats are one of the most underrated species in a zoo setting and seeing them now in their new enclosure I think they are fascinating to watch. So, next time you’re in the Nocturnal House spend an extra few minutes appreciating them and their awesomeness. It’s not only the bats that are cared for by the Mammal section that are found down there, we look after the sugar gliders, common palm civets and the cloud rats and eventually when they arrive, naked mole rats too.
Babies
Excitingly, there have been quite a few new babies that have been born in recent weeks.
We have welcomed 3 meerkat pups into our group which now takes the total to 13! In the last 3 years we’ve had 10 pups, so it appears all is well down at Wingham’s meerkat burrows.
Next door to the meerkats are our two red pandas Mai Xlang and Kai and if you haven’t heard they also have just had a cub born. It’s been 8 years since we last saw baby pandas at Wingham so this is excellent news as currently red pandas in the wild are in serious decline.
Being a newly matched couple with Kai only being 2 years old and Mai being 10 years old, Kai now finds himself in a toy-boy role. Mai has always preferred a younger man so their first breeding season was always going to be hit or a miss. However, it seems Kai must have wined and dined her properly for them to now start their own family (that being said I think Mai prefers the single mum life and doesn’t want Kai near the baby).
As I’m writing this blog the panda cub doesn’t have a name but personally but my fingers are crossed for ‘Tai’ to match with her parents names Mai and Kai ????.
Baby is doing really well and growing quickly, eyes are open and she’s starting to sit up by herself, by about 3 months old she should start poking her head out of the nest box and maybe take her first steps, so watch this space as I know there will be a lot of invested people wanting to watch her grow up and track her journey throughout her lifetime.
It doesn’t just stop there on the baby front we have recently welcomed a baby mara to our group, they have been with us for a few months now and have settled in well, becoming more confident with us day by day. Baby is about the size of a domestic rabbit so keep your eyes peeled walking past their enclosure next time you visit.
Capybaras
If you have been coming to the park over the last few years you will have seen the Lake enclosure transformation. Species that are found around the lake are lowland tapirs, Patagonian mara, rhea, emu and our newest arrivals, 4 female capybaras. Recently coming to us from Jimmy’s Farm they are already proving to be popular amongst the keepers and after a few years of absence it’s nice to see the return of capybara to the park.
Thanks for reading, enjoy the rest of your summer and hopefully the weather stays in our favour!
