As many of our recent visitors may have seen, our Colobus Monkeys have welcomed a new addition, named Dubu. Where his fur was white all over before, it is now slowly turning black and soon enough he will look just like the rest of his family. Dubu is growing in confidence each week to venture away from mum to explore the enclosure independently and he seems to really enjoy playing with his siblings.
Photo credit: Rebecca Louise
Photo credit: Rebecca Louise
The Colobus Monkey family group at the Park consists of parents, Tallus and Lexi, older brothers Daki and Mushaka, and last year’s baby, little sister Pili.
This species of primate will work together as a family to rear their new young, with the siblings at the Park quite often pitching in to help look after Dubu or show him key skills that he needs to learn such as climbing and leaping!
You can find the Colobus Monkeys opposite the Emu enclosure.
DID YOU KNOW?
The name “colobus” derives from a Greek word meaning “shortened”.
They don’t have fully formed thumbs, instead they possess a small, vestigial bump. This evolutionary adaptation makes it easier to swing and hook onto tree branches without thumbs getting in the way!
The fundraising stall for Lemur Week took place from May 23rd to 31st and we would like to express our deep gratitude to every visitor that stopped by, chatted with us and donated. Thank you to our lovely volunteers for helping to man the stall as well as without you, we wouldn’t be able to host these important fundraising days.
The stall raised around £1500 for lemur conservation projects in Madagascar, supported through two different charities. You can read about the work of the Helpsimus and Impact Madagascar charities here:
https://www.helpsimus.org/en/homepage-helpsimus/
https://www.impactmadagascar.org/en/
Photo credit: Simon Needham
Photo credit: Richard Wardle
Stork season is well and truly underway, with just over 100 birds currently inhabiting the enclosure. Over the last couple of months, we have seen 54 chicks hatch to the 25 adult pairings, the highest number of chicks bred here at the Park since joining the project at its inception ten years ago in 2016.
Richard, the Deputy Head of Birds, Primates and Small Mammals said: “We’re incredibly proud that we’ve seen the highest number of chicks born this year and it’s always gratifying to see the chicks through from birth to release as part of such a great conservation project.
To now see how the project and our involvement over the last ten years has made such a positive impact on this particular species is incredibly rewarding.”
You can read about the project and view the interactive flight map for some of the released birds here. There will be a further update on the White Storks in August, as the chicks prepare for release at the Knepp Estate.
EXTRA EXTRA!
Photo credit: Rebecca Farrow
As you may have seen on our social media stories, Klaus the Bactrian Camel was born recently, Cleo’s third calf in 5 years.
He has settled into family life incredibly well and loves napping, getting giddy with his siblings and simply watching the world go by. He has also been treated to some icy enrichment over the last few weeks during the heatwave, a very welcome treat indeed!
Photo credit: Philip Joyce
Next time you visit, you can find Klaus and the rest of the group in the large paddock by the Little Africa kiosk.
Opening times: The Park is open DAILY from 10.00 am until 6:00 pm or dusk (whichever is earlier, with last admission being at 4:00 pm)
Please could we remind visitors to always check our website or social media for updates ahead of visiting the Park.