Cologne Zoo (Zoo Köln) » Cologne Zoo

24-05-2008

I will second what Sun has said I have also heard about the mountain tapirs. the new curator came from wuppertal zoo and is a very nice guy who likes species that are rare in zoos!

24-05-2008

I was not implying ..... Sun, I just wanted to know how concrete the tapir bit was. Personally, I feel a little uneasy with the whole affair and would have preferred if they had stayed with Baird's tapirs and somehow set up an European offshoot to the ALPZA breeding programme for them.

The thing with the mountain tapirs is that they are far rarer and the SSP population is more or less heavily inbred. The most important breeder in the past was Los Angeles Zoo and - if I am correct - San Diego bred them sometime as well. Also, the mountain tapirs are not well represented in South American zoos. Andean countries like Colombia, Peru and Bolivia do not have exactly a high number of them in captivity.

What is the plan actually once they are in Europe. Does Koeln Zoo plan to set up a similar arrangement with them as with the doucs and Vietnam? Or no such plans at this early date of the project?

24-05-2008

Thanks Al for the confirmation.
@jelle: I know about the situation about the mountain tapir, including the ones in the US. As far as I know, the inbred factor and the impossibility to obtain new animals are the reasons that force the US zoos to think about fading out the husbandry in general-which would be a shame, as the species clearly does and reproduces well in captivity. According to my source of information (let's call him "Deep Throat" ), the mountain tapir Cologne bit seems to be plausible; they seem to wish to get a male first for the already existing South American exhibit (the one close to the Okapi exhibit) and then bring in a female. But he couldn't tell me any further plans about the mountain tapirs in particular. I'm just wondering whether the European zoos could achieve what the US zoo couldn't...Well, if they involve the Czechs, they surely could make it.

20-07-2008

What is/are wanderus?

20-07-2008

wanderoo is another name for a lion tailed macaque

20-07-2008

Thanks Kiang