HELLO! WELCOME TO COLCHESTER ZOO

ZOO NEWS

There's always a new story to tell at Colchester Zoo, from welcoming new arrivals, to exciting things to see and discover.

UmPhafa Reserve welcomes some new arrivals!

in Action for the Wild & UmPhafa
  • Font size: Larger Smaller
  • Hits: 3660
  • Print

At the end of June, five African wild dogs arrived on UmPhafa from Tembe Elephant Park.  African wild dogs are listed as endangered, with approximately 6,600 left in the wild. They require large areas to hunt and can have a pack range of 900 square miles in wilderness areas. They are very successful hunters and have high metabolisms, therefore they require large homes where food is abundant. 

The main threats to this species in the wild are human conflict and contracting diseases, such as rabies and canine distemper. Our ability to assist the Endangered Wildlife Trust in holding and take pack bonding is essential in helping with the survival of this species. We will be holding these 5 dogs in our purpose-built boma on UmPhafa for a short period of time until a new home can be found for them.

Staff at the UmPhafa also worked in conjunction with the Endangered Wildlife Trust to help bond a group of African Wild Dogs back in 2014 and 2015 In total, 13 wild dogs passed through the UmPhafa boma in just over a year, before being relocated to other reserve’s in South Africa.

Due to the length of time that the dogs remained with us last time, it was felt that we needed to increase our freezer storage capacity for the meat to feed the pack whilst they reside in the boma and so have just purchased a new, walk in freezer in order to accommodate enough meat for the animals. 

OPENING TIMES

5.00pm close or dusk if earlier
Last admission to zoo grounds at 4.00pm

Click here for further closing times

 

upcoming events
March 2024
Sun mon tue wed thu fri sat
25 26 27 28 29 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 1 2 3 4 5 6

feature-read-review

Animated gif of a elephant