Coffs Harbour Zoo closes

Coffs Harbour Zoo closes
02-02-2007

Coffs Harbour Zoo announced this morning that they are closing. A contingency plan is in place for dispersal of the animals to other zoos and wildlife parks, and some animals have already been moved to other wildlife parks.

02-02-2007

mostly natives and a few CT tamarins yeah?

02-02-2007

that's the one... Echidnas and koalas have been placed already, with the others to be moved soonish

02-02-2007

Dont they also have SPpder Monkeys and Capuchins?

02-02-2007

I'm pretty sure that the only primates they have are four male cotton-top tamarins.

02-02-2007

ohh ok, thought they had capuchins, what zoo do you think will take the tamarins? or are they not geneticly valuable?

02-02-2007

They are over represented, and genetically surplus. However, since the species is well managed in the region, the species coordinator will no doubt make a recommendation to place them based on previous requests from other institutions.

Adelaide Zoo is looking to acquire the species in 2007, but I suspect they will want animals that are suitable for breeding. None of the other zoos are looking to acquire additional males right now, especially not over represented animals. I couldn't guess at this stage where they will be moved to, it will be up to the coordinator.

02-02-2007

yes adelaide are likeing tamarins and marmosets lately with the pygmies also arriving
and god are they small!

02-02-2007

Why has the zoo closed, financial reasons or something to do with the council. If I had been able to buy a zoo I would have liked to buy it and turn it into a Mogo of the north NSW.

03-02-2007

Folks,

Would it not be a great idea if these overrepresented cotton top tamarins could be sent back to their native Colombia for release into the wild?

Is that not an offshoot goal for any captive breeding project!!

Any of you have any great ideas on this?

return to Colombia
03-02-2007

although I am not a zoologist , I would hazard that there are 2 reasons why this idea , as wonderful as it seems , will probably not take place ...

1 The cost of shipping a couple of these animals to Colombia will be far greater than shipping them anywhere else in the Aust/NZ region

2 Unless these capuchins were actually born/bred in the wilds of Colombia , they would have very few ( if any ) survival skills . How would they know what food to eat , ( there will be no more keepers delivering food on a regular basis ) . How would they deal with animals that would consider THEM as meals ?
It will take a long time of reconditioning and training to get captive animals to the point where they can return .

I am sure it is possible , but it will only be viable if there is a large group of them , and not just a small number

03-02-2007

agree nigel.

for animals to be suitable to be re-released into the wild they must fit at least the following criteria.

1) of known pedigree (if applicable)
2) of the right age group (why would we re-introduce non-breeders?)
3) be aclimatised to the native environmet (this involves lengthy training (often from a very young age) to teach the animals how to find food, water, avoid predators and possibly interact with wild animals)
4) and most importantly, be necessary

its not a cheap easy process, usually results in very high mortality rates (one reason why nigel said you often need a pretty decent group size if the animal is social) and often takes years of planning and work onece the animal is repatriated to its home country.

03-02-2007

And on top of all of those good reasons why it is very unlikely to happen, in order for a zoo in Australia to receive wildlife export permits, the recipient institution must be "approved" by DEH, and be part of a managed program fopr the species. If animals are to be exported for release to the wild, we would have to be part of the release program in the range state, and prove that the animals are required by the range state as part of a coordinated release program. I could be wong, but to my knowledge, this isn't the case with cotton-tops.

It sounds all nice and conservation-minded to suggest that we pop these guys into a box and set them free in the wild, but in reality, it's far, far, far from a simple process logistically, and these animals are not really suitable candidates for release. One of them is 26 years old for a start!

04-02-2007

and might i suggest that coffs harbour health screening facility might not of been to the highes tof standards. whilst its a registered/accredited wildlife park, it obviouslt lacked funds to operate, so might have cut corners in animal health. seeming as though primates are so susceptible to human diseases, the risk these animals have been exposed to zoonotic disease in the past which they could in turn introduce to the wild (despite quarantine/screening etc) is a risk i feel isnt worth running.

04-02-2007

Any liklihood of a another small zoo ( perhaps Alma Park ) wanting to have them ? Or how about Mogo Zoo taking them on until they have enough resources to handle the proposed chimpanzees ?