New male for 'Tabitha' the Tragopan

This week we had an exciting new addition to the collection, a male Temminck's Tragopan from Paignton Zoo. Sadly our last male, nicknamed 'Terence' by the keepers, passed away from old age about a fortnight ago. He was one of the friendliest birds in the collection and would come up to the keepers to take food before we were really ready! 'Terence' and our female (nicknamed 'Tabitha'), who has been at the zoo since 2007 successfully reared a female chick last year. This bird has since been rehomed but we are keen to continue breeding this species. The birds can live alone or in a pair but we fortunately found a companion for our female in no time at all.

Temminck's tragopan are found in forested habitat in Northeasten India, Southern and Central Asia and Central China. As you can see from the photograph, our new male has not yet got the majority of his colourful adult plumage, he will be fully mature at two years old. At this time we will be hoping to achieve breeding success once again.

Our very own Jemima Puddle-Duck

A new arrival has joined the many birds which live in the walk-in enclosure. Four weeks ago, our pair of runner ducks hatched one chick, and the youngster is now thriving amongst the various ducks, geese, guinea fowl and chickens which share this area. Although the keepers do not know whether the new bird is a male or a female, it has been given the nickname Jemima. The wet weather in recent weeks created lots of little puddles for the chick to splash about in, so the name seemed fitting! The chick is growing quickly and has recently been exploring the lake, as always, closely followed by its parents.

In an earlier post we told you about our first fallow fawn of 2009, well we have had five born in total this year. They are all fit and healthy and back with the main herd. At the beginning of July we received six new black cheeked lovebirds from Newquay Zoo to add to our existing flock. Both the black cheeked and the peach faced lovebirds have also bred well again this year.

Introducing Comet, Donna and Blitzen

Three young reindeer arrived earlier in the year and are now on view to the public for the first time. The two females, Donna and Comet, and their male companion, Blitzen, are now around a year old. When the animals first came to Dartmoor they were very nervous of people. They were kept in an off show enclosure to allow keepers time to build a trusting relationship with them. After many long patient hours, the reindeer began to hand feed and started allowing keepers to attach lead ropes to their head collars. Donna had always been the most comfortable around humans and soon she was being taken for walks in an empty field. Blitzen, and then Comet, later joined her on these excursions and keepers gradually began introducing the animals to the sights, smells and sounds of the zoo environment.

The reindeer have become much more confident around humans and are no longer spooked by most new experiences. Now that they have settled in, the keepers wanted to place them on public view, although the new reindeer complex is not yet finished. The tapir enclosure is home to Roger and Chana. It is composed of two stables, two hardstanding areas and one large paddock. As one of these stables and hardstanding areas is not currently in use, it was decided that Donna, Comet and Blitzen should temporarily move in . The tapir are shut into their hardstanding area for a few hours during the day so that the reindeer can use the paddock for a little while. Until mid afternoon, Roger and Chana are always asleep in their house, so they are not missing out.

The reindeer are still taken for a walk around the zoo every day and they continue to improve. They are in training for Christmas when we hope they will be firm favourites with our visitors. So, if you visit Dartmoor Zoo you will be able to see the trio and if you're lucky enough you may even meet one close up on a walk!

Fallow Fawn

Dartmoor Zoo's first baby fallow deer of 2009 is now one week old. These photos, taken today, show him lying low amongst the logs in the paddock. He is now becoming more mobile however, and will soon be running with the herd. The keepers are hoping he will be joined by a few more youngsters in the coming weeks!