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CLOUD RATS AT RSCC

Monday 21 June 2010

Recently RSCC received a a pair of Philippine Cloud Rats (Phloeomys pallidus), one was born at a zoo in The Philippines and one was born at Prague Zoo in the Czech Republic. They are primarily nocturnal, but are active later on in the day. You can see them next to the Ground Cuscus in our Forest building. Cloud Rats are one of the largest species of non aquatic rodent and are incredibly beautiful. They are found in the northern forests of Luzon in The Philippines.

GROUND CUSCUS NOW ON EXHIBIT

Monday 21 June 2010

RSCC is now home to a pair of Ground Cuscus (Phalanger gymnotis), they are marsupials from the jungles of Papua New Guinea, Irian Jaya and Aru and rear their young in a pouch. They are seldom seen in captivity and we hope that they will breed in the near future. They can be found in our forest building near the Sri Lankan Rusty Spotted Cats.

FIRST CAPTIVE BIRTH OF SMOOTH COATED OTTERS IN OVER 30 YEARS!

Monday 21 June 2010

RSCC is proud to announce the first captive birth in Europe for over 30 years of Asian Smooth Coated Otters. On May 17th 3 otters were born to the pair at RSCC which we imported from Cambodia in 2008. When they arrived we had a great deal of training work to do with our pair as they had some severe stereotypical behaviour due to the fact they had to often beg for fish from passers by at the facility they came from. After a while they calmed down, stereotyped less and settled into their new home. Clearly now they are happy enough in their new home to breed and rear the cubs successfully! Smooth Coated Otters need to be able to burrow in order to give birth successfully, and at RSCC you can see their extensive burrows at the rear of the enclosure - this is where the cubs are currently being kept. Sadly one of the cubs was rejected by her mother a week after birth and is being hand - reared by the director, we think this was because she is a first time mother - as the cub is in perfect condition and has no birth defects that we can see so far! The other two cubs are being reared by their parents and hopefully will be out of the nest learning to swim in the next few weeks. Watch this space as there will be more news on the cubs soon....

BEARDED SAKI MONKEY PROJECT

Tuesday 01 June 2010

RSCC recently received 1 male and 2 female captive bred Red Backed Bearded Saki Monkey (Chiropotes chiropotes) from Guyana. A further 3 animals were sent as part of the new breeding program to Belfast Zoo. RSCC will be co ordinating the European breeding program for this rare species. Bearded Sakis are declining in their range and we are going to work in co operation with a project in Guyana to study them and hopefully protect them in the wild. An education program will also be initiated at The Guyana Zoo which we will be funding in due course. We are very excited to have initiated a new captive breeding program for this species, Bearded Sakis have not been bred in captivity in Europe for many years and we look forward to our first births in due course. They will not be on show for a while as they are currently in quarantine - but so far they are thriving on a diet of fruits, seeds and nuts.

PALAWAN BEARCATS ARRIVE!

Friday 02 April 2010

We are proud to announce the arrival of two young pairs of Palawan Bearcat (Arctictis binturong whitei). They recently arrived from Avilon Wildlife Conservation Foundation in The Philippines, where they were born. Avilon has had great success in breeding this rare species, and we plan to work with them on an ongoing basis so that we can initiate a Captive Breeding Program for this rare subspecies of Binturong. These are the first Palawan Bearcat in Europe and until recently most Binturong in the European captive population have been the result of breeding  animals from all over South East Asia, rather than specific sub species being bred (resulting in zoo Binturongs), we would like to see this change. The Palawan Bearcat is the smallest species of Binturong (or Bearcat as they are also known), they are also covered in their trademark white or silver tipped hairs, they are only found on the Philippine Island of Palawan. We also have pure Indochinese Binturong at RSCC and you will be able to see clearly how different they are in size and colour.

NEW SRI LANKAN SPECIES AT RSCC

Thursday 25 March 2010

We are pleased to announce the arrival of two pairs of Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel and a male Rusty Spotted Cat at RSCC. The Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel is one of the largest species of squirrel in the world and are found only in the forests of Sri Lanka. We are one of only 4 zoos in Europe and only 5 outside of Sri Lanka to house this species. One pair of Giant Squirrel will be on show at RSCC by the end of April in our indoor forest area in a new enclosure we are currently constructing for them. 

NEW FISHING CAT HABITAT

Sunday 28 February 2010

Work is nearing completion on our new Fishing Cat habitat, complete with Giant Bamboos, a flowing stream, waterfalls and a ruined Cambodian temple. Our pair of Fishing Cats will be moving in in about 4 - 6  weeks time once the roof is complete. They have been housed since last summer in temporary accommodation at RSCC as the zoos they came from needed to move them urgently. We are happy to see that they will soon have a more suitable home. Perhaps soon we will hear the pitter patter of tiny webbed cat feet - Yes that's right these are one of only a couple of cat species that has webbed paws, this aids them in the water which is where they catch their preferred dinner of fish. Fishing Cats are now listed by the IUCN as Endangered and are seriously declining in numbers in their native South East Asia.

FEMALE OWSTON'S CIVET ARRIVES AT RSCC

Saturday 27 February 2010

After 3 years of waiting our male Owston's Civet has just been joined by a female from Pontscorf Zoo in France. Currently there are only 8 of these beautiful creatures in European Zoological facilities. So we are very lucky to have them at RSCC. We are hoping that our pair will breed in the very near future, if this occurs it will be a highly valuable addition to the captive breeding program. If you would like to come and see our pair of Civets then it is best to come in mid to late afternoon when they begin to wake up. Owston's Civets along with most other Civets are mostly active at night.

THE WORLD'S SMALLEST CAT ARRIVES AT RSCC!

Wednesday 10 February 2010

We are proud to announce that we are now home to Sri Lankan Rusty Spotted Cats, this species of cat is the smallest in the world. Fully grown they are only about the size of a domestic cat kitten. They are even smaller than our already tiny Black Footed Cats. We are currently finishing their new enclosure in our indoor forest area and they will have moved into their new home by Easter. Only 5 European facilities house this incredible species, but be warned they are very shy so in order to get a glimpse of them please keep quiet and be patient!

SUN BEAR RESEARCH IN SUMATRA

Wednesday 04 November 2009

Wai-Ming Wong has been sponsored by RSCT to study Sun Bears in Sumatra. He will be based in Kerinci Seblat National Park for one year, he will be studying their population, behaviour, ecology and their responses to human habitat modification and the extent of their conflicts with humans. This is the first time such a study has been carried out and we are proud to be able to support his study.