Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens Los Angeles Zoo News 2015

Just came along this, but not sure its the real history of Los Angeles Giant elands ??? :
Courthouse News Service

 

Could you post the whole article? I'm having trouble loading the link.

 

" Courthouse News Service
Tuesday, May 05, 2015 Last Update: 9:18 AM PT

$8M Demand for Endangered Antelope Work
By LORRAINE BAILEY

(CN) - A South African who captured 16 of the world's largest antelope - an endangered species called giant eland - says in court he is still waiting for his cut.
John Brooker filed the complaint Friday in Manhattan Supreme Court against the International Animal Exchange and its representative, Richard Hunt.
The South African plaintiff describes himself as an international game trader and conservationist with the "sole right, granted to him by the president of the Central African Republic, to capture and remove" giant eland.
He, Hunt and the late Rolf Rohwer allegedly made a deal in 1984 for Brooker to capture a number of the antelope for sale to the Los Angeles Zoo.
Brooker says the partnership benefitted him since "he would not have to finance the operation, including the quarantine and airfreight expenses to ship the animals."
The deal also allegedly included a long-term investment for Brooker "in the breeding program and offspring of such animals."
After selling a 50 percent share in the giant eland to the zoo for $1 million per head, the deal called for the partners to split the remaining interest in the zoo's breeding project for the antelope, according to the complaint.
Brooker says he captured and delivered 16 young and healthy giant eland to the Central African Republic's Bangui quarantine in 1985, and left them in the care of Hunt's nephew. When he returned later in the year, "Hunt had already moved the animals to the U.S. without consulting plaintiff," in violation of the agreement, he says.
Without Brooker's expertise in animal care, five of the animals died while in quarantine and another died in transit, he claims - a total loss of $12 million, the complaint alleges.
Brooker says Rohwer told him "Hunt would not agree to sell and wanted to just continue to breed the animals and have them and their progeny amass value for what would amount to a retirement type of investment."
Later, however, Brooker allegedly discovered that Hunt did sell the animals to the Los Angeles zoo, and continues to receive royalties under the retained 50 percent interest from the surviving offspring of the animals Brooker originally captured.
"Defendants did compensate Mr. Rohwer, and conspired between themselves to deny plaintiff his rightful compensation," Brooker says.
Pointing to files Brooker allegedly acquired in litigation with Rohwer's estate, Brooker says he found a fabricated document indicated he had sold his rights in the partnership for $230,000 in 1989.
"The signature on such document was forged," he claims.
Rohwer seeks at least $8 million, half of the animals' $16 million sale price, and punitive damages for breach of contract, dissolution of the partnership, fraud, conversion, and unjust enrichment.
He is represented by Roger Blank. "

 

Are there plans to acquire more Asian elephants?

 

Jaguar enclosure was soft-opened today, and it looks like it was a hit. Two of the three (I think there's 3 now?) jaguars were out exploring and lounging around. Pretty great sightlines, along with some nice areas for them to get out of sight of the visitors for a bit. One thing that they absolutely nailed was the addition of a log/branch that juts our from the incline starting at the back of the enclosure terminating near the front. One of the jagaurs absolutely loves to walk out almost over every one viewing her and plop down to catch a nap. The crowds went wild anytime she went climbing.

One curious result of the location of the new jaguar exhibit? Those birds (condors/buzzards/vultures) in the large off-exhibit space are getting the daylights scared out of them. Every time one goes flying, both jaguars, whether asleep or awake, come sprinting to the back of their space, staring down the bird in flight. One bird got so freaked out it missed it's landing on a perch above and smacked right into the mesh "wall".

At least it will make for some interesting enrichment for the jaguars. And all in all — this space is a HUGE improvement over the old half-a-roundabout one of them was previously located in.

 

In light of the new jaguar exhibit, I have to offer a mea culpa for my previous criticism of the Rainforest of the Americas. I still think the glassed off exhibits formerly at the end of the trail are an awful design decision as it's nearly impossible to view without smooshing your face into the glass that a hundred other people have previously done the same.

But with all the new babies, between the hilarious antics of the giant river otter pups and the crazy-active black howler monkey baby AND the new jaguar exhibit, there's a lot to spend your time with. The Rainforest itself is starting to fill in, and it seems like there's just a lot more activity in general in that area of the park now.

I still wish we could get closer to the cotton-top tamarins, and anywhere remotely within eyeshot of the red-faced uakari, but the Rainforest is quickly approaching one of my highlights of the whole place.

I could sit and watch those otter pups all day long!

 

One more bit about the new jaguar enclosure — it looks stunning as it gets closer to closing time. I'd love to be able to take some pictures as the sunset approaches.

 

New jaguar habitat opens at the Los Angeles Zoo - MyNewsLA.com

 

The April Zoo Commission Meeting Minutes have been released:

A few highlights include

The LA Zoo now has the only male Gray's Monitor, females are due to arrive for breeding soon

Indian Gharials will be arriving soon

http://www.lazoo.org/wp-new/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Apr-2015-Commission-Meeting-Minutes-FINAL.pdf

 

Gharial are coming? From where? and where will they put them?

 

They are renovating the former otter and sea lion exhibits across from the LAIR so presumably they will go in one of those exhibits.

 

Does this mean there will no longer be sea lions or sea otters?

 

No. Neither taxa is currently held at LA. I think the exhibits in question have been empty for a while.

 

There were never sea otters. It was a former penguin exhibit (I think) that was then a North American river otter exhibit. As zooboy indicated both of these exhibits have been vacant more or less since the LAIR opened.

The river otters are now in one of the round house exhibits.

The current harbor seal exhibit once held sea lions, but apparently the sea lions didn't take well to it, and there have not been sea lions at the zoo for a few years now.

 

Ohhh I see. Sorry,my memory of the zoo is a bit rocky, 7 years will do that to you. I thought you were referring to the Sea Lion Cliffs exhibit,and I was wondering what had brought on such a drastic change. This makes much,much more sense.

 

Don't know about the tamarins, but the uakari are very skittish and the location was a husbandry decision. Maybe not the best species for display then, but it's nice to get a glimpse of them.

 

That was the plan as of last summer when they brought the Thousand Oaks cobra in.