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Zebraduiker

Giant armadillos, Duisburg Zoo

Giant armadillos, Duisburg Zoo
    • Zebraduiker
      The picture is from the Annual Report 1974 of Duisburg zoo.
    • CZJimmy
      Amazing creatures, but shouldn't this be in the Duisburg gallery, not the London one?
    • okapikpr
      Wow, look at those claws.
    • Arizona Docent
      I had no idea there were ever giant armadillos outside of South America. Would love to see one of those (not as much as I would love to see a marbled cat or bay cat though ;)).
    • gerenuk
      San Antonio and Oklahoma City used to have them at one point.
    • Tim May
      London Zoo received its first giant armadillo in 1959. Another specimen was received in 1976 (when the President of Brazil presented one to the Queen); this animal was kept in the Stork & Ostrich House and sent to Rotterdam Zoo in 1978 to make a pair.

      I’d love to see a bay cat too, although I very much doubt I ever will!
    • Hix
      I saw a Kakapo last month, something I never expected to see. So you never know your luck - a bay cat may turn up somewhere in the next few years!
    • DavidBrown
      Is it possible that we may ever see giant armadillos in a North American or European zoo again, or are they too fragile and/or impossible to acquire?
    • IanRRobinson
      Well, here's what Wikipedia says:-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Armadillo

      On the surface, keeping them alive in zoos should be a lot easier than giant anteaters and aardvarks, and many places manage these well enough today.

      OTH, something tells me that a breeding attempt would require space for a pair of retiring animals (the one in London never showed itself in daylight) and a deep burrow. The late Frank Wheeler (London Zoo's Small Mammal House Head Keeper), who knew his stuff, reckoned that echidna reproduction needed a burrow fifteen feet deep. Echidnas are the size of porcupines. So heaven knows how deep a burrow an animal the size of a peccary would require.

      Plus the giant armadillo is listed on CITES Appendix I.

      So it looks as if an awful lot of bureaucracy will have to be overcome, and a lot of hard work is going to be needed, to build up a captive stock of an animal that most zoo visitors probably wouldn't see. Call me cynical, but I fear that many North American or European zoo directors will not want the bother.

      Which is a pity, because as well as being very interesting, it seems to be an animal in need of help.
    • drzoomi
      amazing picture! very intresting animals...
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  • Category:
    Zoo Duisburg
    Uploaded By:
    Zebraduiker
    Date:
    8 Jul 2008
    View Count:
    5,914
    Comment Count:
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