W ZOOLIFE
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CHESTER ZOO GETS TO
WORK ON £7M INVESTMENT
Chester Zoo is set to invest £7 million this autumn,
enhancing its world class reputation for animal wellbeing
by further improving the habitats of some of its 20,000
animals.
UK FIRST AS
WORLD’S RAREST
MAGPIE HATCHES
Unprecedented visitor figures in 2015, which saw almost 1.7m people flock
through the conservation charity’s gates, have been followed up by even higher
visitor figures so far in 2016. Income from ticket sales and visitor spending has
already helped boost the zoo’s 80 conservation projects to help endangered
animals in more than 30 countries worldwide. Now, an extra £7m will be spent
within the zoo, including developments to the facilities for animals in Chester.
The work continues the ‘always building’ philosophy of the zoo’s founder George
Mottershead, 85 years after he created the UK’s first zoo without bars centred on
animal wellbeing.
BABY ZEBRA BIRTH AT THE ZOO
Four Javan green magpies have
hatched at Chester Zoo - the first time
the world’s rarest magpie has been
bred in a UK zoo - providing a major
boost to conservation efforts to save
the species from extinction.
Conservationists and bird staff at the zoo are making
every effort to try and save the species, which has been
trapped to the very brink in its native Indonesian
forests.
A baby zebra caught zoo
visitors by surprise after it
was born in front of them.
The latest arrival to Chester Zoo’s herd
of endangered Grevy’s zebras arrived
to mum, Nadine and dad, Mac. The
foal became the second to be born at
the zoo in the space of just six days.
After her 14-month-long gestation,
zookeepers spotted that Nadine was
showing signs of labour early on Sunday
afternoon. They carefully monitored
the momentous event from a distance
and Nadine gave birth after 40 minutes,
in front of astounded onlookers.
Kim Wood, assistant team manager
at the zoo, said: “Nadine gave birth in
the middle of the afternoon in front
of a group of some pretty amazed
visitors. At first Nadine was seen lying
on her side trying to make herself
more comfortable as she began to feel
what was about to happen. She then
got to her feet and picked her spot in
the paddock and a healthy youngster
appeared less than an hour later. It
was a really smooth delivery. The foal
is looking great and, with it being the
second to be born here in the space
of just a week, we’re sure the two new
arrivals will be as thick as thieves.”
The zoo has been working with assistance from
Taman Safari Indonesia and conservation partners
Cikananga Wildlife Centre. In late 2015, six pairs of
the birds were flown from Java, Indonesia to Chester
in to establish a conservation breeding and insurance
population for the species in Europe, before the birds
vanish in the wild altogether.
The J avan green magpie is listed as critically
endangered by the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) but bird experts
are warning that the situation may have worsened in
recent months amid fears that the magpies may now
be close to extinction in the wild – with no recent
sightings reported.
But now, the breeding of the four new chicks in
Chester has given a huge lift to conservation efforts
to save the birds.
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