Marwell Zoological Park
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Marwell Zoological Park, or Marwell Zoo, is situated in Hampshire, England, near Winchester. Opened in 1972, it was one of the earliest zoos in Europe to place an emphasis on animal conservation and is considered one of the leading instituations in that field. It is best known for its Lemurs, holding a large colony of Ring-tailed Lemurs. It also holds a group of Giraffes.
In 1977, a giraffe called Victor collapsed on his stomach, and was unable to get up. The Press claimed that he had slipped while trying to mate. All attempts to get him on his feet failed, and his plight became a major international news story. The Royal Navy were brought in, and made a sling to winch him onto his feet. Unfortunately, he died of a heart-attack very shortly afterwards. The publicity turned Marwell into a major tourist attraction, and interest was revived the following summer, when Victor's mate Dribbles, gave birth to a female calf, Victoria.
An interesting feature at the zoo is a multimedia guide that runs on Palm handheld computers. Visitors can use the guide to learn about the animals, and to visualize images and movies about them. The guide was developed by Lapavalley.
The zoo's logo is a scimitar-horned oryx seen in silhouette, this was one of the first species kept at Marwell. More than 200 calves have been born and reared at Marwell since 1972 and many of these have been sent to other zoos around the world. London, Whipsnade and Edinburgh Zoos co-operate with Marwell in breeding this oryx, with the aim of reintroduction to their natural habitat. This aim was realised in December 1985 when 10 yearling oryx left Marwell for the Bou Hedma National Park in Tunisia. An area of 24 square kilometres in this reserve has been kept free from habitation, grazing and cultivation for the past 8 years, resulting in a dramatic recovery of vegetation, and providing a perfect reintroduction site for the captive-born oryx, since this was part of the former range of their predecessors. Since 1985, the herd has settled in extremely well, has started to breed, and has become increasingly wary of humans.
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