Hi all, Recently I've been given charge of a local private collection and have been given the task of turning it into an operating establishment; or even if we remain closed to the public, to bring it up to all required standards, and beyond wherever I can (space is a limiting factor in Malta). I've joined the forum to get a better understanding of zoo operations, visitor expectations (assuming we ever open to the public), and most importantly animal needs. I'm still coming to grips with everything that's under my care here; but so far I've catalogued well over 800 individual animals, a very large portion of them birds (90 or so of them just lovebirds!). It's going to be an interesting journey, and I welcome you all to see it unfold. For those familiar with the park, I am aware of the many issues and public opinions of the place; I welcome constructive criticisms, however advice such as "tear the place down and send the animals elsewhere" is unsolicited. - Martin
Welcome and good luck. Birds are always good attractions, also small mammals and nocturnal species, both of which require smaller areas to display.
Thanks everyone. To be fully honest I too am curious; thus far I've compiled the following (In certain cases, like the goats, cows, and horses, there would be multiple strains of different types, however for now I have them listed as generic) White Cockatoo Galah Cockatoo Yellow Crested Cockatoo Vasa Parrot African Grey Parrot Pigeon Rainbow Lorikeet Dusky Lorikeet Derbyan Parakeet Burrowing Parrot Common Myna Australian Ring-Neck Chicken Terrapin Cockatiel Big Pigeon Quail Budgerigar Maltese Black Chicken Fantail Pigeon Frillback Pigeon Roule Roule Partridge Red Rump Parrot Kookaburra Barbary Dove Bobwhite Quail Zebra Finch Common Pheasant Ring-Neck Parakeet Rock Dove Pheasant Guinea Fowl Pheasant Golden Pheasant Hybrid Pheasant Guinea Turaco Emu Violet Turaco Diamond Dove Eastern Rosella Senegal Parrot Blue and Yellow Macaw Catalina Macaw Red and Green Macaw Chinese Painted Quail Quail Black Swan White Swan Pheasant Great White Pelican White Stork Grey Crowned Crane African Sacred Ibis Eurasian Spoonbill Mallard Guinea Fowl Peacock Mini Deer Rock Doves Straw Necked Ibis Greater Flamingo Japanese Crane Demoiselle crane Scarlet Ibis Mini Deer Ponies Lovebird Lesser Flamingo Patagonian Mara Sheep Goat African Spurred Tortoise Bengal Tiger* (supposedly...) Lion Ostrich Water Buffalo Camel Barbary Sheep Barbary Ape Baboon Ring-Tail Lemur Black Lemur Pied Crow Harris Hawk Red Tailed Hawk Golden Eagle Donkey This is an incomplete list, as I am still churning through all the accumulated paperwork, photographing the animals, adding them to the new database, figuring out which specimens are actually left, and which had passed away. There's been a managerial gap, and the paperwork is scattered around. We have a massive underground vault area, which I have been eyeballing for future repile/nocturnal/aquatic displays. But at the moment the thought of adding anything new gives me a headache. First things first is ensuring the health and social needs of the current animals. Physical health wise, we are doing fairly well, but a lot of social animals have lost their mates, or their numbers have dwindled over the years, and once the maintenance work is done, enclosure enrichment, and adding the needed animals to fill their social needs will be top priority before acquiring any new species. We also have a massive stables, with around 150 of the animals horses/ponies/donkeys. I think I'll start a thread in one of the other sub-forums to document the revitalization process, hopefully you'll all find it interesting.
You have quite the impressive collection Do you aim to become part of a Zoo association (EAZA, WAZA etc.)?
Yes, my end goal is to get this place meeting the requirements to join a Zoo association. I do not believe that has been done in Malta before, and I would consider it a personal victory to get there.
This is a very Impressive Species collection for your private Zoo. Thank you for providing us with a Species List.
Will provide a fuller list once I've sorted out more of the paperwork. It looks like we currently house around 1200 individuals, although about 770 of them are birds, and a decent amount are agricultural stock (sheep, goats, chickens etc.). Not much in any official regard at the moment. As mentioned I have taken over as curator/director just three weeks ago, and we are not even open to the public as the license was revoked several years ago after an incident involving a big cat. There is a lot of policies and groundworks to be put into place on an office level, and physical repairs and maintenance done to the enclosures before I can start focusing on conservation efforts beyond the park's own internal needs. We are one of the few places that breeds Maltese Black Chickens however; maybe not the most impressive conservation effort; but it's a start I suppose.
