I thought the centre closed due to not enough funds? But this vacancy can't be possible if the centre closed last year.
I thought they still had some animals at the site - and the ad does say it is not open to the public.
Right lets clear a few things up yes RSCC is closed,but it is is a long way away from being a dead collection,while it may not be open to the public it very much is still an animal collection therefore it does need keepers!!
Interestingly, the advert lists the following species as needing to be looked after: Clouded Leopard, Maned Wolf, Fosa, Ring-Tailed Vontsira, Grandidier’s Vontsira, Fanaloka, Sumatran Banded Civet, Palawan Binturong, Bengal Slow Loris, False Gharial, Great Hornbill and Caribbean Flamingo.
And one item on that list is very, very interesting indeed... Does Anyone/Anywhere else have Grandidier's vontsira, in Europe? Perhaps even anywhere outside of Madagascar?
Well to the best of my knowledge they don't have any False Gharial unless,they have built somewhere to keep them since we visited in October last year,also the pair that they claimed to have last year are now on-show at Crocodiles of the World,which is where they always were!
This species was only named thirty years ago; I think the RSCC specimens are likely the first outside Madagascar. (I certainly hope that the open days, mentioned in the advertisement, do take place as this is a species I would very much like to see.)
So, is the site of the RSCC, which was up for a sale a year ago, and which looked pretty forlorn when it was the venue for the IZES meeting last Autumn, now running as a private collection once more? This place has a history that is full of twists and turns, for sure....
At the moment in time you are correct,it is running as a private collection,but as for how long this will last your guess is as good as mine!
I certainly hope it is able to continue in this vein. I experienced it this way personally in early March 2015. They had pushed back their season opening to the end of March, but the owner (Todd) knew I was visiting from the States before that and invited me for a private tour. Having the place to myself with no other public was fantastic! If he can keep it going and open it on select days to zoo geeks, we will all be the better off.
