To be honest, I am very excited for Nora to go to Oregon! She is related to the only male at Columbus, so keeping her around is redundant, and I am certain they will have more Cubs to replace her in the future. Additionally, she is hand reared, so it's not like she has any bonds with any of the other bears at the zoo. I have been to Oregon, and personally it is one of the nicest zoos I have ever been to! While their current exhibit is somewhat outdated by modern standards, it is still adequate for two bears, and with a new world class exhibit due to open in two years, things will be on the up and up for Nora! If their new health centre and elephant lands are anything to go by, this new exhibit will not at all disappoint. Along with the fact that Conrad and Tasul at Oregon were/are some of the oldest polar bears in the nation is a testament to the care their bears receive.
I highly doubt that it was a sudden decision. Zoos and the AZA governing zoos move animals all the time in order to ensure what is best for the longevity of the species. The moving out of an older cub means that the parents will be able to breed again, which means more cubs in the future. You make the comment that bears mourn, yet you're making a fallacy in anthropomorphizing the animals. In the wild, Polar Bears are solitary. Having a single animal won't be traumatizing for the species.
Thank you for your response, but I don't see what the hurry is to get her to a place that is not up to par from where she knows as home. I can't seem to grasp why anyone would think that her interaction with Tasul the 31-year-old Polar Bear is in Nora's best interest. Also from what I have found on the Elephant exhibit at the Oregon Zoo, it is listed 7th in the top 10 WORST Zoos. If this is true, I can't imagine having faith in a Zoo that has less than stellar policies in place for the treatment of all their animals.
Please put no stock in those "rankings." Those are published by a noted anti-zoo organization whose ultimate goal is the closure of all zoos.
Sometimes old and young animals get together better than anyone could expect. The hurry is to get her out of Columbus so the adult bears there can have another (hopefully successful) breeding season. With Nora there in addition to the adult bears and their cubs, it would be unbearably cramped (excuse the pun). With the new polar bear exhibit opening at Oregon Zoo in a few years, the quality will be similar to Columbus. I just had a look at the concept art, and it looked great. The information you are referencing on the elephant exhibit comes from In Defense of Animals, a highly biased organization that has little clue what they are talking about when it comes to elephant care. They think all elephant exhibits are bad. A three-way tie between Dallas, Omaha, and Sedgewick County for the worst elephant exhibit is laughably incorrect. Dallas has the best elephant exhibit in the nation (arguably, of course) the zoos in Omaha and Wichita have brand new elephant exhibits. All of the facilities are fantastic, but are being scoffed at for rescuing elephants from death. If you want accurate information on such elephant exhibits, feel free to browse the forum, start a thread yourself, and ask the members any questions you may have. Edit: cross-posted the second part with jbnbsn99.
This is their plan for the new exhibit. Going into an construction zone probably isn't the best, but I think the future exhibit doesn't seem to bad. Polar Passage | Oregon Zoo
A three-year-old male sloth bear named "Randhir" from the Little Rock Zoo has gone on exhibit in the Bornean sun bear exhibit. He is currently on exhibit from 9:00 to 10:00 every morning, with the sun bears going on exhibit afterwards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgVODmzFELo Video on the recall training done with the hoofstock in Heart of Africa:
The farewell of Nora: Farewell of Nora the polar bear draws thousands to Columbus Zoo | The Columbus Dispatch
Have been meaning to post this after my visit a few weeks back... as of my visit, the sloth bear was visible after 10:00 in the sun bear indoor exhibit (where the amur leopards had been), while the sun bear was on exhibit outside. Also, the Siberian musk deer signage was removed from the white-naped crane exhibit and no deer could be seen. If the species is indeed gone from the collection, I never managed to catch a glimpse. I tried to find someone to ask about the deer, but given the large crowds and a short time frame for my visit, wasn't able to find a keeper or docent who could tell me the status of the species. I hope to get back in the next few days and will try to get an answer (unless you already know, Kudu).
ZIMS is still reporting that the single male is still alive and within the collection, but beyond that, I, unfortunately, have no further information.. If you are able to get any information about him on an upcoming visit, it would be much appreciated! I haven't been able to catch a glimpse of him either, and I have never seen the species before either, so I very much hope that this is a temporary situation!
When I visited about a month ago, keeper told me they still have the musk deer but he was not compatible with the cranes in the exhibit and would not be on display for a while
That is unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected... Hopefully they will find a way to get him back on exhibit at some point!
Thanks for the info, Loxodonta. I wondered if that might be the case, as I've never spoken to anyone who got more than a slight glimpse of the deer (usually hiding as in the one picture on the site). Hopefully he'll be back on exhibit soon.
Can anyone help me with the bonobo group here? I currently have ten males (Jimmie, Toby, Maiko, Bila-Isia, Sukari, Donnie, Gander, Jerry, Wilber and Max) and six females (Susie, Lady, Unga, Ana-Neema, Elema and Mary-Rose). Am I missing anyone or is this all of them?
There are 9 males and 8 females. Sukari is a female not a male. Amelia, female, was born 9/14/2014 to Ana Neema. Also, Susie is pregnant and due in November.
A western lowland gorilla was born on Sept. 28. The infant, named JJ, was born to Macombo II (aka Mac) and Tabibu.
The zoo has four new manatees. All four are young orphans, Jedi, Junebug and exceptionally rare twins Millenium and Falcon. Adult manatee Stubby will be meet them soon. Cadbury was shipped back to Florida for release earlier this month. Columbus Zoo and Aquarium welcomes four new manatee rescues
