First full day in Jersey
Jul. 24th, 2010 09:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
urbpanMy dad and I got up from our hotel, took a cab up the windy windy narrow roads up to the "village" of Trinity (not much village to speak of really--a pub, a church) to Durrell Wildlife, which most people still know as The Jersey Zoo. They changed their name in 1995, after founder Gerry Durrell died. We hurriedly met some people, figured out where our dorm room was, dropped off our bags, and dad and I went our separate ways--he went back to St. Helier to do some tourism. I dug out my notebook and handouts and started up some school. Good introductory lectures (made even better by British accents, I confess) and then a tour of the zoo!
The exhibit that visitors encounter immediately is called "First Impressions." It's a mixed species South American exhibit, with howler monkeys (pictured), coatis, Andean bears, and an Asian small-clawed otter that somehow got mixed in but the bears have adopted so they leave it in. There are no fences or hotwires between the different mammal species. They keep to their own vertical realm, based on their own habitat preferences. I didn't get to talk to the zoo's veterinarian, but I bet he dislikes this exhibit for various reasons. Howler monkey droppings falling down to the other mammal species, for one example. It looks great, however, and our professor pointed out that it's not always easy to see the animals, because they have so many opportunities to retreat from view, and that's okay.
There are several aviaries, including this one "Jewels of the Forest." It's actually a pretty small space, but the serpentine visitor path and dense landscaping makes it feel big. I didn't make note of what kind of dove this is. Hopefully one of my classmates will read this and tell me what it is. (Macky, you there?)
This reptile and amphibian room had mostly very endangered species, but also some common ones like marine toads and dart frogs.
This was my favorite exhibit in the room, replicating the field conditions of the conservationists who work for Durrell. This skink could be a St. Lucian species, or one from Mauritius.
Some of the animal exhibits display endangered species, some are flagship species for their endangered environments, and some are there simply to give the visiting public what they want. Meerkat Manor is hugely popular in Britain right now, so Durrell has a massive meerkat exhibit, recently enlarged and relocated directly across from the concessions. The bubble allows children to pop up among the meerkat burrows.
There are no large hoofed animals at Durrell (probably in part due to the ban on livestock importation to Jersey, to preserve the Jersey cow and whatnot) and the only hoofstock at the zoo were these little red river hogs. (Stone Zoo will be getting a pair of red river hogs soon, so I was excited to see these in person.) This was also the only area of the zoo where I could smell animal feces. (If you're gonna have pigs...) I don't know how they kept the place smelling so good, honestly.
Durrell is known for their many species of primates. I saw lots of callitrichids (marmosets and tamarins), TONS of lemurs, a bunch of monkeys and several great apes. This white-handed gibbon was the only one I got a decent photo of.
Finally, a zookeeper approached Jill (who was running the course, and our tour of the zoo) with a biscuit box. Inside was a recently weaned Jersey bank vole. This species is a protected endemic, with little fear of predators. Unfortunately, it's also a animal disease-carrying pest. They catch them in traps where they are problematic and release them elsewhere on the property. It's not a perfect solution, but it seems to be working fairly well.
The exhibit that visitors encounter immediately is called "First Impressions." It's a mixed species South American exhibit, with howler monkeys (pictured), coatis, Andean bears, and an Asian small-clawed otter that somehow got mixed in but the bears have adopted so they leave it in. There are no fences or hotwires between the different mammal species. They keep to their own vertical realm, based on their own habitat preferences. I didn't get to talk to the zoo's veterinarian, but I bet he dislikes this exhibit for various reasons. Howler monkey droppings falling down to the other mammal species, for one example. It looks great, however, and our professor pointed out that it's not always easy to see the animals, because they have so many opportunities to retreat from view, and that's okay.
There are several aviaries, including this one "Jewels of the Forest." It's actually a pretty small space, but the serpentine visitor path and dense landscaping makes it feel big. I didn't make note of what kind of dove this is. Hopefully one of my classmates will read this and tell me what it is. (Macky, you there?)
This reptile and amphibian room had mostly very endangered species, but also some common ones like marine toads and dart frogs.
This was my favorite exhibit in the room, replicating the field conditions of the conservationists who work for Durrell. This skink could be a St. Lucian species, or one from Mauritius.
Some of the animal exhibits display endangered species, some are flagship species for their endangered environments, and some are there simply to give the visiting public what they want. Meerkat Manor is hugely popular in Britain right now, so Durrell has a massive meerkat exhibit, recently enlarged and relocated directly across from the concessions. The bubble allows children to pop up among the meerkat burrows.
There are no large hoofed animals at Durrell (probably in part due to the ban on livestock importation to Jersey, to preserve the Jersey cow and whatnot) and the only hoofstock at the zoo were these little red river hogs. (Stone Zoo will be getting a pair of red river hogs soon, so I was excited to see these in person.) This was also the only area of the zoo where I could smell animal feces. (If you're gonna have pigs...) I don't know how they kept the place smelling so good, honestly.
Durrell is known for their many species of primates. I saw lots of callitrichids (marmosets and tamarins), TONS of lemurs, a bunch of monkeys and several great apes. This white-handed gibbon was the only one I got a decent photo of.
Finally, a zookeeper approached Jill (who was running the course, and our tour of the zoo) with a biscuit box. Inside was a recently weaned Jersey bank vole. This species is a protected endemic, with little fear of predators. Unfortunately, it's also a animal disease-carrying pest. They catch them in traps where they are problematic and release them elsewhere on the property. It's not a perfect solution, but it seems to be working fairly well.
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