Animals that should be more "high profile"

Thanks jo. will get sim to look into it

 

are u going to Borneo for xmas?

 

oops! not quite two weeks, get there just after new years...

 

More info on this please?

 

I went to Borneo in 2005. I stayed on the western side of the island so i didn't get to the big orang rehab centre, but the resort i stayed at had a small orang utan sanctuary so i did see some.
Are you planning on seeing proboscis monkeys while you are there? you should.

 

boof, this is my itinerary...

oranguatans
sumatran rhino
proboscis monkeys
bornean pygmy elephants
climb mt kinabalu

...beach.

 

where will u c rhino @?

 

apparently (and hopefully) there is still one alive at sepilok. there is also apparently one in captivity at a zoo in kota kinabaulu, which i will be checking up on, though i have never had proper conformation of this animals existance.

 

You can try Tabin reserve in Sabah too Pat. They supposedly have the largest wild sumatran rhino population on Borneo. Good place to see pygmy elephants as well.

Sepilok's rhino breeding centre should still be holding rhino(s).

 

i heard one of the wto rhino at sepilok died. i'm not supprised. judging from teh photos it hardly looked liek the sort of place you would keep such a valuable animal. the chances of seeing one in the wild are virtually nil, but tabin may very well get a visit nonetheless...

definately looking for pygmy elephants.

 

We were looking at visiting Borneo, and combining it with a trip to Singapore. I'd like to see sumatran rhinos again though. They are amazing.

 

Amphibians as a order are the most endangered in the world and under represented at Zoos. I'd like to see large Amphibian houses at all large Western Zoos which focus on breeding frog species.

 

I believe quite a few zoos are planning new Amphibian houses. London as an example.

 

Interesting... But are they planning on breeding the right species..?

Its shocking to look at the IUCN endangered list, every second species is a frog species..!

Do you have any more info on the proposed House..?

 

No, I don't sorry.Regarding London's frog house, i've heard it mentioned on these boards previously.

I had read an article a couple of months ago which stated that zoos hould develop their own 'Amphibian Arks' in order to conserve the amphibians which are endangered. It was in chester's zoo magazine which may indicate they are planning one (maybe off-show) but there are other members on here who may be able to provide more accurate information.

I'll try and dig out the article.

 

That would be great..!

Cheers, I seem to be having trouble with Chester Zoo's website at the moment...

 

I've found the article (Z Magazine Autumn 2006 Issue 27). It just states the issues that amphibians are dealing with (chytridiomycosis - a fungal disease, and other problems) and that it is important for zoos to build Assurance Populations which will keep species alive until methods are found to prevent chytridiomycosis. Chester has been constructing Amphibian Arks and are gradually building the collection.

London's amphibian house will be called "Frog World", I believe.

 

You will need a week to rest if you are climbing Mt Kinabalu. Some of the people at the place I stayed at climbed it and they were buggered. Seeing an animal like the pygmy elephant in the wild would be great. Keep your eyes peeled for clouded leopards.

 

thanks boof. unfortunately so far i am yet to spot a wild cat. first the tiger alluded me in india, then the leopard in sri lanka followed by the jaguar in the amazon and the puma in the pantanal.

in the ridiculously unlikely event i saw a bornean clouded leopard however, it would all be made up for, for that, is probably the most elusive of all cats.

NZ - austrlalian and new zealand zoos are starting to take a greater role in frog conservation. i belive auckland has only just started breeding NZ's native species. melbourne has for a long time had a specially built frog house, though admittedly whilst great its already far too small for the amount of frog species they hold and thus only a few species ar ekept on display. fortunately one of those is the souther corroboree frog, a critically endangered australian alpine species that taronga, melbourne and the amphibian research centre (also here in melbourne) are developing a captive breeding program for. they have to be kept in refridgerated tanks, but they are as coulourful as dart frogs.

australia has so many frog species (second in the world only to south america) that we certainly have our fair share of critcally endangered frogs that need a captive back-up population. zoos stil tend to select their frog species based on attractiveness - melbourne recently imported another two species of dart frogs, plus they put in an aplication for another handful of unusual exotic species such as horned frogs and madagascan tomato frogs.

all beautiful and i'll enjoy seeing them but i very much hope we managed to save our native species first and foremost.

 

From Patrick: NZ - austrlalian and new zealand zoos are starting to take a greater role in frog conservation. i belive auckland has only just started breeding NZ's native species. melbourne has for a long time had a specially built frog house, though admittedly whilst great its already far too small for the amount of frog species they hold and thus only a few species ar ekept on display. fortunately one of those is the souther corroboree frog, a critically endangered australian alpine species that taronga, melbourne and the amphibian research centre (also here in melbourne) are developing a captive breeding program for. they have to be kept in refridgerated tanks, but they are as coulourful as dart frogs.



You missed my point a bit...I'm not saying they haven't started but it seems to be lip service at the moment compared to some zoos Aquarium and Reptile Houses... I've seen Taronga's Corroboree exhibit, a shipping container with one species of frog is not the large Amphibian houses that should be close to the top of zoo's wish lists (IMHO)... Melbourne (as far as I remember) and Auckland's frog houses are basically single rooms with a few displays in them...

I didn't know that about Australia, when you think of Deserts you don't really think Amphibians but it makes sense when you think of how many reptiles there are.