Assistant Section Head Chris Kibbey describes the dental care needed for a 'beautiful' Squirrel

When handling or moving an animal is necessary, consideration is needed regarding that animal’s temperament, nervousness and stress levels.  The East Section recently received a pair of Prevost’s squirrels, Callosciurus prevostii, a very colourful Asian species also known as the beautiful squirrel, which were to go into a new exhibit among the pheasant aviaries, which can be found just next to Bradwell Grove Train Station.  These are particularly nervous, flighty animals and handling them can be difficult without causing injury to the animals or the keepers!  Therefore, a simple mesh tube was constructed, which meant that once the squirrel had been caught in a soft net, it could be guided into the tube for closer examination.

Once the squirrel had been confined to the tube, it was immediately obvious that the female had overgrown upper incisors – a common problem with rodent species.  Therefore, the vet was informed and the animal taken to the Park’s operating theatre.  As the squirrel was already in the mesh tube, to avoid unnecessary handling, the tube and squirrel were put into a plastic bag and anaesthetic gas was piped into the bag.  The animal quickly went to sleep which meant that the vet could then trim the teeth to normal levels using specialist equipment.  The incisors of rodents are constantly growing and, under normal circumstances, the bottom teeth will rub against the top teeth and keep both sets at normal length.  Occasionally, these teeth can miss each other, and with nothing to rub against, they will keep on growing which ultimately can make it very difficult for the animal to eat.

After the quick operation, the squirrel was put back into the tube and allowed to wake up.  It was then taken back to the section and put back into its enclosure.  The female is now doing really well, and has since been moved to the new exhibit with the male.  They seem to have settled quickly, and we hope to breed from these in the near future

Assistant Curator Jamie explains the captive breeding and quarantine process for our new Greater Bamboo Lemurs

It is always exciting to work with new species of animal – particularly if the species in question is in urgent need of our help, both in captivity and in the wild. In December 2007, after much negotiation (and paperwork!) we were fortunate to receive “Gizmo” a female Greater Bamboo Lemur from Köln (Cologne) Zoo in Germany. A few weeks later “Ivongo”, a male, arrived from Besancon museum in France to form a new pair of this critically endangered species.

In the wild, the population of Greater Bamboo Lemurs is decreasing rapidly due to deforestation in its homeland of Madagascar; it is only found in one protected area and is thought to be one of the most severely threatened mammals. It is therefore very important to ensure that there is a stable and viable population in captivity to form a safety net should this animal decrease further in the wild. The Greater Bamboo Lemur is part of an EEP (European endangered species breeding programme) of which we are members of the committee.

Due to the fact that the two lemurs were imported from Europe, it is essential that they undergo a quarantine period of six months to ensure that they are both fit and well and cannot pass on any diseases to our current animal and vice versa. Staff working within the quarantine area must be fully up to date with all relevant inoculations such as rabies and hepatitis and must wear protective clothing whilst working in the enclosure.

Working at close range with a species such as this allows us to record all types of information such as feeding habits, behaviour and breeding details, which is all useful information to be shared with other Zoos worldwide participating in this captive breeding programme. The two lemurs will have completed quarantine in June 2008 and having observed breeding behaviour, it is hoped that the future will bring an addition to the pair!

East Section Keeper Chris Green talks about breeding the Omei Shan Liocichla at Cotswold Wildlife Park

The Omei Shan Liocichla (Liocichla omeiensis) is a medium-sized babbler and one of three in its genus and is unlike similar species in that it is sexually dimorphic. The Omei Shan Liocichla is endemic to china, where it is known from mountain ranges in south central Sichuan province and has recently been found in extreme north-east Yunnan province .We received a new pair of Omei Shan Liocichlas in November from Nigel Hewston (studbook holder working with Cotswold Wildlife Park) and they soon settled into their off-show enclosure .

Their enclosure has an outside flight area measuring 6.2 feet wide and 6.4 feet high with an inside shelter measuring 4 feet deep, 6.4 feet high and 6.2 feet wide. Their diet consists of finely chopped fruit (apple, pear, grapes, tomato), insectivorous mix with fruit, and mini and standard mealworms. The Liocichla’s breeding season in the UK has been recorded usually starting in April and finishing in August.  However, I noticed a change in our pair’s behaviour in mid-January, with the male becoming more vocal and their live-food consumption increasing, so I decided to introduce a 6 foot Christmas tree into their enclosure. To my surprise, the Liocichlas took to the Christmas tree and with the addition of  fine grass, hay and moss the pair decided to start building their nest, a small cup-shape construction measuring 8cm wide and 7cm deep .The nest was also constructed three foot up in the tree; however, this species has been recorded  nesting at up to 1.2 metres in the wild and a pair at Chester built a nest 2.5 metres up a tree .

About three days after the pair had finished the nest construction, the female was observed sitting on the nest  and after checking the nest we discovered the Liocichlas had laid three  turquoise eggs (with the usual clutch being between 2 and 4  eggs).  The pair subsequently incubated their clutch of eggs for fourteen days and on the twelfth and thirteenth day I noticed the live-food consumption had rapidly increased so I started to feed them crickets in addition to the mealworms they were already having. The pair were observed carrying live-food down to their nest and I presumed the eggs had hatched. However, on the seventeenth day the pair were not on the nest so I decided to check it and to my surprise found three unhatched eggs, I then candled) the eggs (checked fertility) and all three were infertile. I have since found out that the pair of Liocichlas had produced a clutch of infertile eggs last year, so hopefully the next clutch will be fertile and we will be able to raise some chicks.  We will keep you informed of future developments.

East Section Keeper Cath explains the preparation involved for the breeding season for our pair of Citron-crested Cockatoo.

The Citron-crested Cockatoo is a sub-species of the Yellow-crested Cockatoo, (also known as the Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo). They are critically endangered and come from Sumba , an island off the Southeast of Indonesia. The captive population of this species is being managed by an EEP and we have recently received recommendations from the Species Co-ordinator that it would be very important to the programme if we could get our pair to breed.

Our male arrived at the Park in 2002 and a few months later we received a female from Dudley Zoo. In 2005 we had our first eggs from this pair, but unfortunately most of the eggs went missing; we did manage to save one egg and attempt to artificially incubate it, regrettably despite being fertile the egg failed to hatch.

In 2006 both birds chewed every nest box we built for them and they failed to show any breeding or nesting behaviour.

In 2007 we are making a concerted effort to provide them with a chew proof nest, and to distract them from attempting to destroy the nest by providing them with other items which they can destroy instead!

We will be monitoring the birds very closely to look for any breeding behaviour and any eggs laid will be removed and artificially incubated; dummy eggs will be placed in the nest so that the birds can continue their nesting behaviour. If the pair incubate the dummy eggs properly we will replace the dummy eggs with the real eggs just before they are due to hatch, in order that the parents can rear the chicks themselves. If, as we suspect, the birds are not incubating the dummy eggs properly, then we will hand-rear any chicks that hatch.

Fingers crossed we will be rewarded with some very important chicks by the end of the breeding season.

East Section Head Jamie explains health issues concerning a Scimitar-horned Oryx.

The monitoring of animal health is perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of the job of a Section Head. So many species and all with different ways of hiding illness! This month we have had some recurring problems with one of our Scimitar-horned Oryx. Such a large animal can obviously not be restrained by hand so the vet was needed to anaesthetise her so she could be thoroughly examined.

The main area of concern was wear and tear to her teeth, a common problem with grazing animals as they get older. The right hand side of her jaw showed some uneven growth and this was swiftly rectified by filing them down into a suitable position - not a procedure to be witnessed by those with a fear of dentists!

Once the work was complete, the anaesthetic was reversed and the keeping team and vet monitored the progress of the Oryx as she came round and ensured she was standing and behaving as normal; this can be a daunting time as all animals behave differently to the effects of the anaesthetic but I'm pleased to report all went as planned and she was soon returned to the herd.

East Section keeper Amy explains the importance of diets.

The diets of the animals we keep here at the Park vary as much as the species themselves. Some require only meat, others only fruit and many will take a mixture of what we can offer.

The birds in the Walled Garden provide an example of the varied diets we need to prepare daily. More than half of the bird species in this area of the Park eat meat, which often surprises many visitors, who I presume think that birds should be vegetarian! Think of all the worms, beetles, grubs, caterpillars and snails you might see your garden birds eating. That's not even counting the birds that catch fish, scavenge from carcasses or hunt and catch small mammals or other prey.

Some birds require supplements to provide them with something which is not present in the food we are able to offer. The Scarlet Ibis Eudocemus rubber illustrates this point. These birds birds are from South America and feed in flocks on marshy ground and mud flats, hence their long legs and bill. Their scarlet colouring comes from food they have access to in the wild, including crabs, shrimp, algae and aquatic insects and larvae. These items of food contain something called Carotene and this is what the birds metabolise to colour the feathers. For lots of reasons we don't feed these birds on crab, shrimp or algae so they are not able to obtain the Carotene naturally from their captive diet. In order to keep the birds colourful we add a supplement to the diet for a few months before the breeding season starts. It is called Carophyll Red and has the same effect on the birds as the Carotene found in their natural prey.

What is the reason for this colouring? In the wild a bird which has been able to find a good quantity and variety of food is likely to be healthier and stronger than one which has struggled to find enough to eat. The stronger and more healthy bird should be more colourful and therefore a better choice of mate when it comes to producing and maintaining chicks. Thus a better choice of mate when it comes to producing and maintaining chicks. Thus plumage (feather) colour is used to advertise breeding quality to potential mates.