Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens LA Zoo News 2010

The one nice thing about the LA Zoo being City owned is that there are no secrets:

From the September 21, 2010 meeting of the Zoo Commissioners:

“Giant otter pups not being nurtured by their mother. This last litter survived longer than the previous litter.”

From the October 19, 2010 meeting:

“Commissioner Marteau asked Mr. Holland about the birth of the four giant otter pups on the transaction report. Mr. Holland explained that litter survived longer than previous litters, but ultimately none of the pups survived due to lack of maternal behavior from the female otter. Mr. Lewis further clarified that there was much improvement in the female’s maternal instincts. Mr. Lewis stated that Curator of Mammals, Jennie Becker, who oversees the giant otters, was at the Cali Zoo in Colombia when this litter was born. The Cali Zoo is one of the only Zoos that has successful bred the giant otters and Ms. Becker brought back valuable information to assist the LA Zoo with the successful rearing of these pups. Discussion about substrate in the exhibit, nesting boxes, and otter’s mother’s milk.”

 

There was a rumor going around the volunteers about the birth, but it was never officially confirmed to me, which is why I never posted the info here. I always forget about the Zoo commission meetings, which always tend to have new info.

So I was looking at the same Zoo Commission meeting papers where Polar Bear got the info and it says that the zoo will be receiving Philippine Cloud Rats. I wonder from where they'll be coming from and where they'll be exhibited? Also, in the October 29 meeting it mentions that the zoo will be trading with the Vienna Zoo 4 Terrestrial Arboreal Alligator Lizards for a Chinese Giant Salamander.

 

Thank you very much for the info about the giant otter cubs ! Maybe the zoo management should have another look at the husbandry guidelines...
Cali has not had any giant otter cubs in the past 6 years. This is not to undermine their achievements in any way, but a lot of new information has been gathered in the meantime.

 

Some things that I forgot to mention from my last visit to the zoo. The first thing is that the new Blue-billed Curassow is now in the former Great Curassow exhibit. I do not know what happened to the Great Curassow pair. The three (or four?) female Squirrel Monkeys are now on exhibit with the male. Also, the male and female Sumatran Tigers are back together on exhibit. I wonder if the zoo is trying to breed the pair again or if the female is on birth control since a while back I heard the zoo might get a new male because of over breeding with this pair.

 

I just checked the zoo's website and they have updated the zoo map including "Elephants of Asia". The zoo map also shows the construction going on at Treetops where the new Conservation Carousel is being built.

Link:http://lazoo.org/visit/zoomap/images/WS2011_Large.jpg

 

Thanks for sharing the map update Mario. Groundbreaking should begin in the next few months for Rainforest of the Americas. That will mean another map revision.

 

That is the one I am excited about, as long as they keep the jaguar exhibit (with underwater viewing?). There was some debate on this forum a few months ago about whether or not the jaguar was still part of the plan.

 

Unfortunately it looks as though the Jaguar exhibit has been scrapped from the project. The exhibit that you are talking about with underwater viewing is actually an old plan. That exhibit was going to be a complete remodel of a roundhouse.

 

Well that is really too bad, because the small cage they have the jaguar in now is a disgrace.

 

I heard that if the jaguar exhibit was deleted from Rainforest of the Americas that they would redo one of the roundhouse exhibits for the jaguar like what was done for the snowleopards. Obviously, no underwater viewing, but not a bad compromise.

 

If this could be achieved in the time it takes to create ROTA it would be a welcome departure to best quarters for the LA jags ...!