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Devilfish's year of adventures

Discussion in 'General Zoo Discussion' started by devilfish, 22 Oct 2015.

  1. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, an amazing little animal.
    Visits cost 20,000 Colombian pesos per adult (just over £5 sterling, or almost 10 NZD). I think you can get reasonably close by taking a series of minibuses, but would probably still have to walk some way up hill to get there. Unfortunately the website's down so I can't check if there's a direct bus service but I don't think so.
    Taxis are reluctant to go here - it took us some time to find one who was happy to take us, and they don't really know where it is. Even with the map I'd downloaded and the driver's GPS it was difficult to establish whether we'd already missed the park as we continued uphill on progressively poorer dirt tracks.

    On another note - photos seem to be going again. I could still see TLD's award when you mentioned it earlier, but now it's gone for me too (as have the embedded Artis photos.) Even if the issue was that the link changed, why would attachments disappear?

    EDIT: Bioparque La Reserva's website confirms that it's apparently simple to get to the nearest bus station, from where you can either walk the last 1.2km uphill (I thought it was more!), take a taxi or get a minibus which stops outside the park every half hour.
     
    Last edited: 27 Aug 2016
  2. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    thanks.

    I fixed the Artis post (it was just one photo there?). The link on the post was the "old" one which I replaced with the "new" one, as per LaughingDove's explanation of why the photos disappear. The Artis post was made before he explained that, so from now on there should be no issues so long as there is that gap between uploading and linking.

    Unrelated, I just saw your photo of a maybe Kabomani Tapir!
     
  3. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    Parque Jaime Duque, Colombia - March 2016

    The next stop was Parque Jaime Duque, further north on the outskirts of the city. I was aware that there were different areas to see, with amusement rides, recreations of monuments and the small zoo, but I was still very surprised.

    My French friend had been keen to go back to the city centre after the first zoo, but changed his mind and decided to stay on. When discussing it, our taxi driver described it as just ‘Disneyland’. I would disagree but I can see where he’s coming from. It’s difficult to compare to anywhere else I’ve been - truly a unique place. Who’d have thought you could stumble across a life-size replica of the Taj Mahal in the Colombian Andes? The place is remarkably lavish and overly extravagant. Kitsch is the word.

    A standard gravel car park leads to a large pool with fountains, a statue of a condor, and the entrance building, which seems to be styled on a Spanish bull ring. Maps of the park lined the walls to the ticket desks, and entertained the huge queues. Interestingly, there was also a guide map in English available. After the ticket desks this building has a number of information panels, with details about their conservation projects. The central part is an open hall with a dome, and a couple floors have encircling balconies. Around these we could see a number of frescoes depicting Colombian history, and on the balconies were some photos from the park from Joel Sartore’s ‘Photo Ark’ project. Encouraging. [I’m told this hall's interior may have been inspired by the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.]

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    Through a tunnel which leads under the highway, visitors are then sheltered by the raised miniature steam train platform, and are surrounded by lakes for pedalos and small boats. A bridge leads to a huge (38m tall) sculpture called ‘Monument to God’ - of a hand holding the globe - and to the enormous Taj Mahal, which looks more than a bit ‘off’ as it’s not marble and so they’ve had to paint it in places. In here are giant mosaic murals of works of art, displays on Colombian history and an invertebrate exhibition with giant plastic models.

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    The oddities continue outside, where a peacock enclosure has a tree-climbing structure more similar to those used for giant pandas, and a mock castle in the lake houses a recreation of a prison cell. Historic boats and planes have also been transported here, some because they have significance to Jaime Duque himself, the aviator and philanthropist who developed the park.

    A cafeteria on the lake has been converted into a reptile house, with a few indoor enclosures, and outdoor enclosures for American crocodile, ocelot, Hamadryas baboons and tortoises. Nothing to call home about. The flamingo lake opposite, however, was where I saw my first northern screamer.

    It seems that we have now entered the zoo. They like primate islands here, and so a series line both sides of the path ahead, for squirrel monkeys (+capybara), capuchins and oddly enough, night monkeys. Needless to say, the douroucoulis didn’t show.

    Ahead is an enclosure for a pair of tapirs and their youngster. They’re all quite small and dark, so I get the impression that they’re Kabomani tapirs. Ahead, past a few poultry enclosures and an enormous rodeo-style restaurant is a pony ride, a herd of American bison, and then uphill are large enclosures for spectacled bear and pumas, with a moderate Andean condor complex in between.

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    Back down past the poultry exhibits and behind the tapirs are another pair of monkey islands, for spider monkeys and capuchins. Llamas live to one side, as does something else, and on the other side are enclosures for a lone ‘grey’ brocket deer and a few goats. Across the top, heading towards the mountains, stretch long paddocks for collared peccary, white-tailed deer, agouti, Watusi cattle and water buffalo.

    The enclosures for the brocket deer are just a single row in a series which stretches for some distance; another features carnivores (inc. grey and culpeo foxes), another birds of prey and parrots, another marmosets and tamarins (most notably Geoffroy’s tamarins) - I was disappointed to find here that the labelled white-footed tamarins were not showing, but there were owls in their enclosures instead. Glass-fronted terrapin pools and jay aviaries almost complete this row, which is joined together by a trio of small outdoor enclosures for Colombian squirrels, kinkajou, and another for Colombian squirrels which actually features a Colombian mountain paca sleeping in a box! I get the impression the swarms of squirrels might just be wild animals who know where to find easy food. The other side of this path is lined by viewing windows into a long enclosure for spectacled bears; I suspect these have been merged in recent times as the tiger complex makes up the next row.

    The mammal collection is completed by a route which goes around some more monkey islands (featuring the missing white-footed tamarins) and an enclosure at the top for a pair of showy and vocal lions.

    Back to the replicas, continuing the walk visitors come across a set of cartoonish dinosaur models before reaching a Colossus of Rhodes, in all his glory, and walking through his legs to see interpretations of some of the other Ancient wonders of the world.

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    Not too far away are a fountain of mythology, a museum of humanity, an interpretation of ‘The Divine Comedy’, a boat ride based on ‘1001 Arabian Nights’ and a hall which contains a giant map of Colombia on the ground. The longer I spent at the map the more I saw that I liked; there are a few free-flying birds here, including a jay, a toucan and a yellow-headed caracara (which the member of staff insisted was a Harpy eagle - unless it’s sometimes called that here?). As you walk around the path a couple of floors above the map, signs explain features of the habitats which correspond to where you are nearest on the map, such as Pacific Ocean, Amazon rainforest and Andean highlands. Nice, but it would have been great to have a bigger selection of birds.

    [​IMG]


    We left shortly afterwards, with a detour to the impressive Salt Cathedral (a religious site hewn into a disused salt mine). Traffic was pretty ridiculous - worse than expected, so we had to navigate narrow country roads in order to avoid as much of the city as possible so that I could catch my onward flight.
     
  4. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    do you speak Spanish? Just a wonderment that came to me as I was reading your thread.

    Side-wonderment: a funny prank would be to put a pair of giant underpants on the Colossus of Rhodes statue :D
     
  5. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    Yeah - I speak Spanish to a reasonable level. It used to be much better so I'm a bit disappointed with my current level but it gets the job done. :)

    A nice idea, but how would you get the pants on if his feet are rooted in the ground? Unless you just drape them over... :p
     
  6. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    well you'd obviously have to make the underpants in advance (you couldn't go into a shop and say you want some in "Colossus of Rhodes size"), so have them open either side to get them on the statue, and then just staple them together. Simple.
     
  7. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    Ah! That would make much more sense! :D
     
  8. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    and this seems like the kind of place which would just leave them on the statue too! :D
     
  9. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    I think it depends on the pattern :p
     
  10. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    Vesty Pakos Zoo, Bolivia - March 2016

    And so my flight to La Paz landed in the early hours of the morning and I was in bed at 4.30 am. Less than four hours later I woke up, ate my breakfast and then got a taxi to the zoo.

    A bit of background: I was last in La Paz in 2010; we initially spent 4 days there during which I was pretty useless, having contracted food poisoning and developed acute mountain sickness (La Paz is the world’s highest country capital and the dehydration didn’t help me acclimatise). I only felt better when we went to a lower altitude (by idiotically mountain biking down ‘death road’ - the world’s most dangerous route) and I started taking Diamox, which helped significantly. The zoo was over an hour away by minibus, and with my illnesses I still didn't really feel like I’d manage it. A day later we left La Paz for the shores of Titicaca, but then I had a serious biking accident and broke my leg, among other injuries. I came back to La Paz for surgery and a few days in hospital and told my friends to continue to Peru and trek to Machu Picchu, and I would meet them in Lima (Meantime the plan was to try and visit Lima’s zoos and live in luxury for a few days). Overall, La Paz didn’t have enough appeal to me to think that I’d be back within the decade.

    And then last Sunday I heard via Facebook that the zoo had received a confiscated Andean cat. This youngster had been captured, apparently for the pet trade and had already been in captivity for 6 days; the plan was to release it as soon as possible. Tests had been performed, and it had been examined under anaesthetic - it seemed well. As I had just been granted time off work and received permission to work in my hospital in Brazil, I was very excited that this news had come at such a convenient time. Andean cats are one of my few ‘drop everything’ species - animals I would try to immediately take time off work and fly out for as soon as I heard they had entered captivity. I was extremely surprised that this isn’t bigger news; despite informing many people and a few zoo news groups, I only think one news group posted the information on facebook (the others feeling that baby kiwis/rhinos are much more newsworthy). This is enormous. The species is not known to have survived more than two months in captivity, if it was ever held at all. I called the zoo daily in the meantime, to confirm the presence/status of the cat, and to try and get permission to either visit the cat or witness the release. A very long shot, but fortunately they were eventually happy for me to visit, and confirmed that the cat would still be there when I visited. Given that I’d be jumping in altitude from London to la Paz in just over a day, I was taking prophylactic Diamox. Even the zoo is over 3000m above sea level.

    And so I got to the zoo early on Easter Sunday to be greeted with hugs and kisses from members of staff and to be given very special treatment. The director even came in on her day off. About eight of us went together to see the cat, which is hidden in the veterinary block behind a tarpaulin, with barriers all around and significant attempts to maintain silence. I was very impressed to see the lengths they would go to to minimise stress and human contact (despite it having been captured by humans). Although the enclosure is small (it’s a quarantine enclosure, after all), I don’t really think there’s anywhere better that this cat could be. Staff were incredible. I had to limit my time but of course they were aware I’d happily spend the entire day in front of the cat enclosure, and gave me plenty of space and freedom. A couple of small peepholes in the tarpaulin are all that you can see the cat through; I was allowed to photograph him through one and to observe him through another. He mostly sat quite still in one corner of the enclosure, but I was happy enough. I asked if there was anything else in this area which wasn’t on display, and I was directed to a crested eagle, a band-bellied owl and they brought out an screaming hairy armadillo and a domestic chinchilla for me (they were surprised to hear that I have two at home!)

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    I had two guides for the large cat complexes, where four enormous enclosures house several jaguars, a lion and a puma, and then one guide for most of the rest of the zoo. Nearby is an enclosure for coati, and then a giant dome aviary for Andean condors also houses some visiting wild mountain caracaras. It was nice to see some of the visiting birds around the zoo included things like tanagers and Andean coot. Near the condor aviary are a series of enclosures for tayra, grison and culpeo fox, with picturesque enclosures for mountain viscacha, pumas and screaming hairy armadillo further afield. The zoo’s famed reptile house (a building shaped like a snake) is no longer in use, with a brighter and larger reptile complex nearby. The zoo’s other reptile house, a pair of giant indoor tortoise enclosures, is housed towards the entrance.

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    Staff mentioned that the zoo’s biggest issue is public behaviour towards the animals, especially public feeding. The zoo are trying to get round this with informative signage, but are still having some difficulty. I expect that part of the issue is that there are no significant food outlets in the zoo; most members of the public buy food in bulk from the competitive stalls outside the main entrance, and then end up with excess. The extent of this is perhaps most apparent at the lake, where families just pour entire bags of popcorn or potato snacks for the carp to eat. I’m guessing that the limitation of catering within the zoo was actually an attempt to stop animal feeding but I’m not sure how best to remedy the situation.

    Another condor aviary and large paddocks for collared peccary and llamas are followed by a surprisingly large agouti enclosure, and a similarly sized enclosure for paca, which apparently are almost never seen by day visitors.

    A monkey complex for spider monkeys and capuchins, and a few aviaries for smaller parrots are scattered around this area. Not far away is an incredible spectacled bear enclosure. Enormous and full of hiding places and enrichment opportunities, it is home to an astounding seven bears.

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    A domestic animal paddock lines the path to the macaw aviary and small carnivores. Here ocelot, Geoffroy’s cat and tayra are displayed. It was very nice to see a lighter coated tayra next to the darker specimen, both very active.

    [​IMG]


    All that’s left of the zoo is another capuchin enclosure, except this one is large, housing a decent group and is glass-fronted, so staff are pleased it stops the visitors from feeding the animals. Nearby is a series of four adjoining aviaries which are arranged so that two are walk-under aviaries. two are for birds of prey, namely a harpy eagle, and the other holds black-chested buzzard eagles and variable hawks.
    The other two hold various parrots and macaw, and a guan in each.

    [​IMG]


    I really liked the zoo. Their care of the Andean cat, their dedication to improving the place, and the decent range of animals on display show that this is a very serious place, despite being municipal and entry costing under $1. They are acutely aware that the zoo moved away from La Paz to get more space, and they’re trying to give the animals the best possible deal. The old reptile house was closed down because of limited space and lack of natural light; I suggested they look at small nocturnal animals instead, and they’re already trying to do so.

    After my visit to the zoo I walked the 20 minutes to Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon), a geological formation (mostly of eroded rock), that gives the valley an extra-terrestrial appearance.
    It was here that I saw my first wild Bolivian hummingbird of the trip. He was amazing and would come when I attempted to call him, allowing for some decent photos. I think this is only the third wild hummingbird (out of many, many sightings) which I’ve ever managed to identify. My current thoughts:
    1. If a flower of decent size is being visited by bees in hummingbird country, and it’s not windy or noisy, it’s only a matter of time before a hummer comes along.
    2. Hummingbirds don’t tend to fly far and stop frequently, so follow them for photos/ID
    These are more rules for the hummingbirds to follow than for me, given that only three have been so kind – to date.
     
  11. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    A few things to bear in mind, in light of my last post:

    1. I've been trying to write these posts on my phone while I travel (ideally straight after visiting a zoo), so spelling mistakes and distortion of time will be common (e.g. 'last Sunday' which I refer to was now five months ago).

    2. I was judging the zoo given my expectations as someone who's been to a few South American collections. I would expect that standard European visitors would walk past the seemingly empty armadillo, fox, puma and viscacha enclosures, and be disappointed that they see a lot of monkeys in smaller cages - likely begging for food from obliging visitors.

    3. Given the importance of my behind-the-scenes visit I have written about it here and published the photos of the cat. I don't expect to be posting much more information about other private/off-show visits on this thread but if there's interest then I can seek permission to do so.
     
    animalszoos likes this.
  12. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    that sounds like a much better zoo than I had been expecting.

    La Paz has the highest airport in the world doesn't it? Or is it the highest international airport?
     
  13. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    It was much better than I had expected too! Some areas still need a lot of work but there are plenty of promising advances.

    The airport is actually in the neighbouring city of El Alto, and you're right - it's the highest international airport at over 4000m above sea level. Apparently there are four commercial airports which are higher (all in China/Tibet).
     
  14. FunkyGibbon

    FunkyGibbon Well-Known Member

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    That dome aviary looks incredible. Is it really that huge?
     
  15. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    It's amazing, isn't it?
    I'm astonished that you can fit so much inside and still have a lot of height. There are clusters of full-grown trees which can easily be hidden in here.
    I'd love to see somewhere closer to home do something like this; big birds of prey tend to get quite a raw deal in most zoos so it would be nice to see them glide properly at their own will. It must be reasonably economical too.
     
  16. Arizona Docent

    Arizona Docent Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    You are correct, the Andean cat is huge news with disturbingly low coverage. When I first got seriously interested in wild cats about 25 years ago, there was only one Andean cat photo in existence (that I know of). For many years this was the case, as every single book or article on cats included that same photo when they discussed Andean mountain cat. It was on a mountain ledge photographed by Gunter Ziesler. Then years later Jim Sanderson (founder of Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation) photographed one closer up. I first encountered his photo in a National Geographic ad sponsored by Canon cameras. (Through subsequent followup and his occasional involvement with my nearby University of Arizona, Jim and I have become personal friends). New field studies have resulted in a handful of additional photos. But the photo Devilfish posts here may be the best clear portrait shot of the species in existence in the entire world!
     
  17. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    Thanks! That may be a very short-lived title though, as official photos from the cat's release come to light. ;)
     
  18. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    Santa Cruz Zoo, Bolivia - March 2016.

    I paid extra on my flights from La Paz to Sao Paulo so that I could stop in Santa Cruz and see the zoo again. I only had a five hour stopover but I felt I wouldn’t need too long, having previously visited in 2010.

    On my arrival just after opening, the zoo hadn’t yet opened. Then I saw a sign to say ‘closed on Mondays’; clearly something new, as there was no sign of this online. Obviously I was very disappointed, and so I caught a member of staff going in and explained my situation. I then explained it to someone else too. I repeated it to a lady in the administration building who was extremely pessimistic about the visit but offered me some zoo maps, and then I finally met up with a director. It took him a few moments to make a decision but he was clearly very proud of his zoo and pleased that I’d visited before and could tell what had changed by looking at the new map. So eventually I was granted full, unaccompanied access to the zoo for my short visit. It was nice to see a lot of changes but a lot has stayed the same.

    [​IMG]


    The blocks of small concrete cages for carnivores, monkeys and parrots were unpleasant to see again, and some of the aviaries remain poor. On the bright side, a new armadillo complex has been built, housing six-banded, large hairy, a three-banded armadillo and a GIANT armadillo. Fortunately I caught him stretching mid-sleep too. Very impressive to see, although I’ve made plans to get better photos elsewhere later in the trip.

    [​IMG]


    The new reptile house also looks good, with glass-fronted enclosures on the outside as well as inside. Some choice animals here, including Matto Grosso viper, Bolivian anaconda and some unusual turtles. It was nice to see the aquarium - I think it was closed last time. Some interesting fish, but not much that isn’t familiar to aquarists.

    [​IMG]


    The large walkthrough aviary also looks much better - it seems to have matured, or gained more animals, or have better signage (most likely a combination). The whistling herons are very entertaining to watch here.

    [​IMG]


    Last time there were giant anteaters in the aviary but these have now been moved to a complex of at least three enclosures, and the anteaters are very active. One of these enclosures is also home to wood storks and black-legged seriema. A fourth enclosure houses a young tapir.

    The other things that surprised me were the presence of undulated tinamou in the red-fronted macaw (walk in) aviary. It’s the animal taxa and the improvements which got the zoo points in my book this time, but there’s still a long way to go!

    I had agreed with the taxi driver who dropped me off to meet back at the zoo entrance, but I was 40 minutes late for our rendez-vous. I couldn’t find the poor guy so I eventually found another taxi who got me to the airport just in time - as they were clearing the check-in desks. They then told me to rush to the gate even though we had almost an hour to go; I still took my time but it had been wise advice given the ridiculous waiting times for security and passport control, and the early closure of flight gates. I had been keen to photograph the wild rheas outside the airport, but had to give it a miss. My closest shave at an airport - yet.
     
  19. antonmuster

    antonmuster Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I will be visiting Japan for three weeks starting this weekend. We plan to visit two to max. 4 aquaria and/or zoos and I was wondering, which institutions you would recommend. Ideally, I would like to visit a 'typical' Japanese zoo, a large aquarium, and an aquarium with japanese aquascaping, style takashi amano.

    Thanks in advance for your advice.
     
  20. CGSwans

    CGSwans Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Ueno, Zoorasia, Osaka Aquarium and Sumida Aquarium.