Can not remember ever seeing any white tigers in Zoologico de Buenos Aires. Did find it a nice zoo in transition to a native species wildlife park. Great to see they had several in situ conservation programmes running and advertising them, e.g. Andean condor breeding and release in the precordillera of Argentina (a regional effort with Chile's Santiago Zoo and several Colombian institutions), southern pudu genetic fingerprinting, maned wolf telemetry research in northern Argentina and vicuna breeding. They had also just initiated a new deer enclosure for introduced fallow and red deer and mirroring this with the native brockets and in future pudus (et al). I write this all on top of my memory from last December 2007. In one word Patagonia (Chile + Argentina) was simply breathtaking and wild, just .... wild!!!
I'll second that ... we were in the Patagonian region of Chile/Argentina in Jan/Feb this year - was fantastic. Will upload photos when I get time
Argentina has the most active anti-zoo movement in all latin america. Early this year city authorities annouced they were planning to close Buenos Aires zoo and turn into an ecological park. it was not clear what would happen to the animals. This would have been a tragedy for Buenos Aires. But then just a few days later the city council made another annoucement. The zoo is on land given to the city 140 years ago under the condition that it be used as an animal collection for the city. The family heirs of the original donor stated that the land could only be used as a zoo and did not approve it being used for other purposes. it also has many buildings of historical importance. Of course the zoo may be transformed, but Buenos Aires zoo will not close and will remain a vital part of the city.
Buenos Aires zoo to close after 140 years: 'Captivity is degrading' https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/23/buenos-aires-zoo-close-animals-captivity-argentina
I saw this but given that many animals won't move and that it will be reopened as an example 'ecopark' (whatever that means), I'm guessing that this is more a much-needed renovation rather than a closure.
For your information: the current management - in the face of little funding from its own municipality - has quite frankly already modernised much of the zoo with own resources. This is part of that all no argument mentality / fundamentalist approach shut all zoos rather than any real attempt or determination to improve conditions for wildlife in captivity. Secondly, this is entirely more Buenos Aires municipality convenience politics and pandering to central B.A real estate interests than any convincing wildife or zoo policy. Thirdly, the B.A. Zoo is one of those gem zoos with direct in situ projects for jaguar, giant anteater, vicuna and Andean condor et cetera et cetera. All that will be lost. And these municipal idiots are talking about releasing captive animals to nature parks. Now that is the entire collection, of which only a small portion might be realistically be released. In other words the rest will be killed or left to rot. It is a complete disgrace! And I am speaking from direct experience here having known the zoo and some of its management!
This is not the first time it has been annouced that Buenos Aires zoo will close. It still has not happened. The land the zoo is on does not even belong to the Buenos Aires municipality and the family that owns it says that it can only be used as a zoo. Argentine politics is very unstable and messy. It is difficult to know what will happen under all the changes from the Kirchners to Macri, and how long this will last. I agree with Kifaru that it is more an attempt by the mayor of Buenos Aires to force some change of land use and gain support from more extreme anti- zoo people, The zoo does have many outdated parts but much is renovated. Many of the critics do not realize how much conservation work the BA zoo has done. It would be a great tragedy for Buenos Aires to lose its zoo. But again, with all the political instablity that argentina has now it is difficult to say if anything is certain in the long run.
This "news" item quite frankly does not come up close to the normal high standard of BBC WS reporting we are used to. For a fact it remains woefully inaccurate and does not reflect the truth on the ground. It is high time that we had some zoo news from the BA zoo and what they are actually doing on the ground instead of newspapers and media copying talkback to one another. I will endeavour to do the latter from now on.
Will this is the first: proyecto Yaguarete. Zoologico de B.A. donated a jaguar for the Ibera project to repopulate Corrientes province with jaguars. It is a longterm game with the D. Tompkins Foundation involved to reestablish long extinct fauna, including jaguar, pampas deer and giant anteater et cetera. Link: Una historia de amor entre yaguaretés y la esperanza de restaurar esa especie extinta en Corrientes - 28.04.2016 - LA NACION
More info about the closure of Buenos Aires Zoo : PICTURED: Animals head for freedom as Argentina closes zoo | Daily Mail Online
With all due respect dear vogelcommando, this is no longer news. It is newspaper after newspaper copying a story without checking it. I contend and propose in this case we should have a thread about zoo closure - Zoo Buenos Aires and the real zoo news stuff on the ground in this thread.
Important declaration of ALPZA on the so called closure of Buenos Aires zoo https://www.facebook.com/notes/alpz...n-director-ejecutivo-de-alpza/538084952983490
So, it is. I wish and perhaps it has already happened that Argentinian zoo biologists and those working with them in the wildlife biological fields will already have spoken out. It would be better if the Zoo de Buenos Aires would be handled by an independent zoo board and directorship away from the Municipality. The latter in my view has over the years demonstrated a tendency towards short term political posturing and not really benefiting or supporting the zoo and its management. Once more: can we please have the discussion on possible zoo closure - for all the wrong reasons as ALPZA so clearly states - be continued in a separate thread. I would like to see only zoo news in this thread and not a continued discussion on just a lone subject matter that is probably deserving of its own thread! Thank you all.
Surprise, Buenos Aires zoo has reopened, It seems that the mayor of Buenos Aires has found reality. There is no money to send all the animals to the international sanctuaries that were supposed to recieve them. Some animals are not on exhibit, such Sandra the non human person who is also an orangutan and the white tigers. I hope they are alright. The zoo will remain open indefinitly for now. Some of us on this thread knew that this would happen. Here is the link in spanish. Are all the international anti zoo media reporting that BA zoo reopened ? El zoológico de Buenos Aires reabrió sus puertas - Sociedad | La Gaceta
More on the reopening of Buenos Aires zoo Así fue la reapertura del Zoo, que va camino a convertirse en un Ecoparque Glad to find that the mayor of Buenos Aires decided to change a wrong decision, few latin american politicians do that. International media still ignoring that the zoo has reopened. It is winter in Buenos Aires as you can see from the pictures. When will Sandra the non human person who is also an orangutan be back on exhibit? She seemed to enjoy watching people from the front of her enclousure.
Buenos Aires zoo has now been renamed Ecoparque Interactivo de Buenos Aires. https://www.facebook.com/ecoparqueba/
1) Who is running the zoo? 2) Where is it going? I could find this new plan: https://www.facebook.com/ecoparqueb...865917658126/1217347038310003/?type=3&theater Sadly, some of the native species seem to be "off-show" for which the zoo was actually running projects in the field or rehabilitation and release or educational awareness schemes. It all remains totally insane to me. These fundis in charge really have no clue nor concept of ecology or zoo management and I feel they are least of all not doing justice to the zoo management and keeper staff working there for yonker years.