Are there any plans to make a larger group by including these females into the Orinoco otter enclosure? Or are they PERMANENTLY off exhibit?
I hope they would build a new and different enclosure as theirs is really not good. But they could never bring all four individuals together in one group as giant otters only live in pairs or family groups of parents and offspring of two or three years. Unfortunately, I don't really know, what their plans are.
The exhibit is a LOT bigger than most people give it credit for. There are 2-3 unseen levels below the exhibit. There have been 2 pairs at the DWA for some time. The 2nd pair is in an off exhibit facility across the street.
I am aware of the other levels and I agree that it is not as bad as it might seem on first sight - but still, it is certainly not a good exhibit. DWA did the best they could with the circumstances given, but it (after many years of keeping them) needs to be seen if cubs can be reared in this enclosure. Privacy is a big problem and the animals spend most of their time in the main enclosure which has a really bad land to water ratio.
Does anyone have any info on the jaguar exhibit renovations? Have they been completed? If so has any one seen it and what are your thoughts? Team Tapir
Expansion eventually became a new bird exhibit. I think there were some zoning/safety concerns with it being for jaguars.
Thank you for posting the on-line newsletter MikeG ! A pitty they don't mention much about their breeding results. Any ZooChatters with recent information about breeding result with ( esp. ) the birds - tanagers, cock of the rocks, toucans and toucanets and so on ?
Found this article with descripes the story of the, fortunately failed, pymy sloth import: Daryl Richardson's Dallas World Aquarium Causes Zoo Controversy | The New Republic But the good news is the last part-a new expansion of the DWA ?
the article was posted on here a few weeks ago and discussed in this thread: http://www.zoochat.com/22/dallas-world-aquarium-worth-351367/
DWA doesn't seem to publicize its breeding results much, but here's a bit of news about 2015 breedings: 2 Many-banded Aracari (Pteroglossus pluricinctus) hatched in June. DWA is the only zoo known to hold this species. 1 Humboldt's Lettered Aracari (P. humboldti) hatched in June. 6 Blue-throated Toucanets (Aulacorhynchus caeruleogularis) hatched during 2015.
3 Ivory-billed Araçari (Pteroglossus azara) hatched in January. 2 Many-banded Araçari (Pteroglossus pluricinctus) hatched in early February.
Thanks for the info. That answered my question if they have ivory billed aracari. I'm visiting tomorrow.
Would you be able to check how many species of Hummingbirds they currently house, and if they are breeding any while you are down there ?
I will, if I can find someone to ask. Through lots of records that I searched, here are the species they have as of a few years ago: Emerald hummingbird Violet crowned Hummingbird (Amazilla violiceps) Antillean mango Green mango Black-chinned hummingbird Ruby-throated hummingbird Puerto Rican emerald Sparkling violet-ear Broad-billed hummingbird Purple-throated Carib White-necked jacobin Blue-throated hummingbird Andean hillstar Antillean crested hummingbird Broad-tailed hummingbird Rufous hummingbird I don't know which are still at the aquarium, on display, breeding etc. and on their website they list Sparkling Violetear, Green Mango, Green-Throated Carib, Puerto Rican Emerald, and Giant.
Sorry, but no cigar. The docents or employees or whatever they call themselves are just hopeless for birds. When asked about the prong billed barbets, they just said "well if you don't see it, it's probably not on display." I didn't bother asking about the hummingbirds. If I saw the owner, I'd ask him and he would tell me a book's worth of info on them, but saw him nowhere. I missed some of the smaller birds, sadly. I did manage to see and kind of photograph 4/5 eagle species though.
