With the Superagüi lion tamarin it is really very difficult to know whether at this stage ex-situ captivity is a good option or more intensive in-situ work. I tend to think in-situ over ex-situ as I think there is a need to improve habitat connectivity between the different meta-populations to prevent the likelihood of inbreeding depression / genetic bottlenecks and of course to secure the future of the species in the wild. I know that ex-situ is currently only being considered by SPVS as a short-term option for injured tamarins and a long-term option for those that are injured and are unable to be rehabilitated to the wild. That said, I do think that ex-situ insurance population of this species would have once been a good idea and absolutely should have been created in zoos way back in the 1990's when first proposed but unfortunately too much time was wasted and nothing done. Yes, you are right, the capture of any species for ex-situ conservation is going to definitely be interpreted in the wrong way by the more radical elements in the animal rights activist movement. Sadly for these activists it will be seen and portrayed as an "imprisonment" even if this action is a desperate way of preventing the outright extinction of a species. This is of course an incredibly ignorant and frustating attitude to have to deal with.
Thanks, David! I might be visiting Belo Horizonte this month and if I do, I'll definitely visit the zoo. I really want to see the monitor and the talapoins, since I've never seen animals of those species before. Other than these two, I want to see the marsh deer, the black lion tamarins, the African bush elephants, the white rhino and the gorillas.
It's really nice to hear that! All these animals are indeed wonderful, and I consider a pleasure to be able to have them so near to me. I'm sure you'll love BH zoo. After the reopening, in october 11th, I have visited it once, and it's all safe around there; no agglomerations. I imagine you might know about it, but I would like to warn you about the zoo's opening times, wich are quite reduced and with some complicated needed reservations... I can pass you the details in the inbox if you want.
When I went to zoo last Saturday, there was a Gray's bald faced saki in the enclosure between the golden lion tamarins and the gabon talapoins' exhibits.
Yeah, last time I went there was a week before you, and they indeed had returned the Gray's bald faced sakis to the exibition. You might have viewed the emperor tamarins too, wich also returned. By the way, were you able to view the gorillas?
I was able to see and interact with the emperor tamarins, they were very sympathetic to both me and my parents. About the gorillas, when I arrived there, the apes (the monkeys were very active, so just the apes) had just finished having lunch, so they were feeling sleepy and weren't very active. The only gorilla I managed to see was Leon, which was sitting behind a rock far in the back whilst looking at the visitors.
The emperor tamarins are such cuties. I missed them; didn't know the zoo still kept them untill they re exhibited them last week. It's great that you got to see at least one gorilla. Leon is usually the most visible indeed, and he loves to sit in this place you mentioned. It's actually a small cascade that goes down in this rock, and he enjoys drinking from it while playing with his kids. As you mentioned in the other thread, you didn't see the capuchins ( and the howler monkeys, wich are located side by side). Were there other animals that you couldn't see? Wich exhibit and animal you liked the most?
I'd like to point out a sad part of the visit: when we (my parents and I) arrived at the gorilla exhibit, there was a zookeeper, to whom my mother asked some questions. The main question was related to the chimpanzees, as there was only one individual in the exhibit, which was a male - at first, before seeing his genitals, I thought the ape was Dorotéia - . The zookeeper said that recently, a chimpanzee had died, but she couldn't inform us its gender, since she didn't know it. I presume the animal that died was her because she already was very old.
I was able to see the howler monkeys, as their enclosure is/was right next to the corridor leading to the tamarin and talapoin exhibits. I didn't know if there was one or two because the place where they were being housed was too dark. But, when one moved, I noticed there was another individual laying where the other was initially sleeping.
The animals I wasn't able to see were those: -marbled lancehead -bearded dragon -giant anteater -owl monkey -capuchins -greater grison -jaguar Just those animals. Other than that, I didn't visit both the aquarium and the buttefly house, because we were running low on time.
The animals I liked the most were the ones that I had never seen before, like the northern talapoins and the Nile monitor. Other animals I really liked seeing were those that I didn't know were kept at the zoo, like the Alagoas curassow and the vulturine guineafowl (other two I had probably never seen before) and the ones I didn't know if I had seen them before or not, like the marsh deer and the black lion tamarins. The ABC species I liked seeing the most were probably the African bush elephants and Luna, the white rhinoceros.
"Dorotéia" is still alive. She's passing through veterinary treatments at the zoo's hospital. "Serafim" is alone in the exhibit while she's still unabled to return. I very recently asked the zoo's education manager about the health issues of this individual, cause I was also in doubt. The dead chimpanzee that the keeper mentioned, was probably "Lunga". There's already a little time since he died, but I'm quite sure he/she reffered to him; unless something I don't know happened in the last few days...
Luna was one of the stars of my visit. She only appeared after my dad started driving and right before the zoo closed its doors. I was fortunate enough to record a 30 second video of her and take some nice pictures, including some of the wild rail drinking the water in the enclosure as well.
What a shame you couldn't see these... the grisons usually leave their huts when they realize someone is there to see them, but sometimes they are just deeply sleeping...
About the chimps, the zookeeper said the chimp had passed away recently, so it could be Dorotéia or Lunga. I visited the zoo one week after you, right? Many things can happen in a week, so I unfortunately believe she could be actually dead. However, let's wait for an official announcement from the zoo.
Luna definitely enjoys staying inside her quarters, but when she appears, it's always a fantastic sight. She's enormous and a very beautiful specimen. The bird you saw drinking water was probably a grey-cowled wood rail. They seem to adore roaming around the zoo, and I always like to watch them...
I was also able to see a wild tegu, but it ran away inside the woods. And in the grison exhibit, there were some wild Guira cuckoos eating their food and drinking from their water bowls.
It will be a shame if it's actually "Doro". I really like that old lady. If she died, it was something that happened just before you went, once I always keep in touch with the zoo's staff via email or social media. I tend to think it was not her who died, once I've talked about other issues with the zoo's education manager just yesterday and she didn't mention anything about it.
