Two zoological organisations which have, thus far, done pretty well for themselves - with both collections on unbroken streaks of success. One will have to fall this time, however, as we turn our attention to the subject of ASIA and all this entails - species, exhibits, conservation..... there are many directions this discussion could take, and I hope for a pretty lively one this time!
I think it has to be Paignton / Whitley that wins this match for me based on the Asiatic species that they keep which tick off all of vertebrate orders and most are of conservation concern. Plus their contributions to in-situ conservation in South-East Asia. Species kept ex-situ Critically endangered- Bornean orangutan, Sulawesi crested macaque (coordinared EAZA ex-situ captive breeding programe for species), Sumatran tiger, blue crowned laughing thrush, Javan green magpie, Visayan warty pig . Endangered- Lar gibbon, pileated gibbon, mishmi takin, red panda, Asiatic lion, oriental stork, red crowned crane, wrinkled hornbill, Ownston's civet, Philippine spotted deer, Bali starling. Vulnerable - False gharial, fishing cat, Komodo dragon, pygmy slow loris, reticulated python, sarus crane, Asian short clawed otter. Near threatened- Luzon bleeding heart dove, crested wood partridge, . Other species kept Grey slender loris, blue peafowl, pink headed fruit dove, prevost squirrel, swinhoe striped squirrel, mandarin duck, grossbeak starling, Ural owl, saltwater crocodile, white rumped sharma, Fea's flying frog, Vietnamese mossy frog, Malayan mouse deer. In-situ conservation work - Whitley Both zoos work heavily with the Sulawesi crested macaque and ecosystem conservation in Sulawesi, Ownston's civet in Vietnam, ecosystem conservation through promotion of sustainable palm oil in Indonesia.
This is not Cotswold's greatest strength geographically, but it is something of a speciality for Newquay and Paignton would win on its own probably. Looking quickly at the lists, Whitley appears to have at least twice as many Mammals, Birds and Reptiles. The only mammals Cotswold hold that aren't at Paignton/Newquay are Clouded Leopard, Pallas's Cat, Binturong, Siamang, Prevost's Squirrel . On the other hand Whitley's list includes Bornean orangutan, Java mouse deer, lowland anoa, lar gibbon, mismi takin, belangers tree shrew, pileated gibbon, pygmy slow loris, sumatran tiger, fishing cat, warty pig, visayan spotted deer, slender loris, Swinhoes Squirrel, Owston's Civet. Whether Cotswold deserve a point is probably up for debate, this could be 3-0 Whitley, but I've gone 2-1 for now
Think you've missed a few - Wolverine (which ranges throughout northern Asia, not merely Scandinavia) for a start.
Newquay may still have Prevost’s Squirrels. They certainly had them for many years, housed with the Owston’s Civets. Same applies to Mouse Deer, which were breeding well in the Tropical House a few years ago.
You are right, I remember seeing the Squirrel last year, no sign of the civets though! They aren't listed on ZTL as current or former holders, which is wrong
In these polls it seems most people voting are focusing on mammals held by collections and not other taxa. Should I just infer that the criteria refers to mammals unless it states otherwise ?
Indeed; in theory as long as people do stick to the category, it is within their right to interpret it as they will. However, if the chosen interpretation is "relevant species held by the collection" it strikes me as playing slightly unfair to deliberately omit a whole swathe of relevant species
Well to be honest if Cotswold wildlife park still held purple faced langurs then it would have been a closer contest but as it is they don't and the Whitley zoos just have so many more Asiatic species.
Those langurs were indeed a bloody nice species - I saw the last one only a month or so before it died (having seen it a few times previously too). It wasn't all that old, either.
I remember you mentioning before the reasons for them leaving the collection on a thread on the forum too. It seems like it was a totally moronic decision for them to have left Cotswold / been phased out.
Yes, I only listed the mammals as an example, I didn't have time to post the much longer list for birds, plus reptiles and amphibians. But Whitley wins in all anyway
As I said above though I would have found it a lot harder to choose if Cotswold still kept purple langur monkeys as they are one of 25 most critically endangered primates in the world and not kept ex-situ too much.
