Wildplace 3: Guineafowl

The next exhibit along the path is the Malagasy village and lemur walk through. The first section is linked to a project that Wildplace and Bristol Zoo support on the Sahamalaza peninsula in the remote north west of Madagascar, where the researchers are investigating the endemic Blue-Eyed Black Lemur and Sahamalaza Sportive Lemur among other species of this little-known region. As with all the habitats on Madagascar there is grave human pressure from subsistence farming and bushmeat hunting, and so the consortium of organisations also support local education, improvements in farming practises, and healthcare in order to simultaneously increase local support and hopefully reduce pressure on the environment. For this reason the visitor first passes through a village exhibit, with a open-fronted primary classroom like the ones that the zoo supports, and typical farm animals that one might encounter. The first of these is a small flock of chicken-sized domestic poultry, guineafowl.

Wildplace 2: Common Eland

Sharing the zebra paddock are two young male Common Eland, Taurotragus oryx. There are three subspecies – I am not sure which the Wildplace animals are, but probably the southern subspecies T.oryx oryx. The only other species in the genus is the Northern or Giant Eland, T. derbianus. Also closely related are the eight species of Tragelaphus, including Kudu and Sitatunga. These are placed in the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae, which means that although commonly called “Antelopes” they are actually more closely related to cattle than to the smaller members of the family which are often generically referred to with the same English name.

Wildplace Project Animals: Plains Zebra

Plains Zebra

A year ago Bristol Zoo finally opened its long planned development at Wildplace, located at Hollywood Towers Estate near Bristol by the M5. A lot of the site is old woodland, which makes it a good site for birders to visit, especially in the spring. Butterflies are also plentiful.

New Arrivals: Visayan Warty Pig

Visayan Warty Pig

Hornbills 4: Von der Decken's Hornbill

Von der Decken's Hornbill (male)

The only African hornbills in the collection are rather smaller than the species I have covered up to now, and occupy a very different environment. The Von der Decken’s Hornbill, Tockus deckeni, is an aridland species associated with thorn scrub and similar habitats in East Africa, along the rift valley from Ethiopia south into Tanzania. In this habitat food is harder to come by than in Asian rainforest, and they feed mainly on the ground, taking fruit, seedpods, insects, and small vertebrates. With such a large range, and a lifestyle that makes it a bird that is opportunistic when it comes to taking advantage of resources that must be variable in location and availability, they seem to be surviving well at present, and are evaluated as Least Concern by the IUCN. The most likely threats are destruction of potential nesting trees and habitat fragmentation.