I assume this had not yet been picked upon. The Los Angeles Zoo has bred 2.0 Peninsular pronghorn calves this March (March 25, 2008 to be precise), the first to be born in a zoo environment. Their parents were taken in July 2006 from a breeding center in Mexico. When older both fawns - which are being handreared due to their rarity - will be sent on breeding loan to The Living Desert when they mature. The Los Angeles Zoo is involved in the Peninsular Pronghorn Recovery Project (PPRP for short) effort for this critically endangered subspecies of pronghorn in the lower Baja and upper Mexico. The entire world wild population only numbers 200 individuals. The captive facility holds up from 198 individuals and was established in 1998. To promote the rapid increase in Peninsular pronghorn, a semi captive-breeding facility has been built in their last refuge, in which the calves are protected from any predation in their formative years. The first phase sought to stabilise the wild population and formally ended in 2002, a second 5-year plan has been in operation that plans to raise the number of Peninsular pronghorn to 1,000 individuals (up from 350). The LA Zoo involvement dates back to 2000. Other zoo partners in this effort are California's The Living Desert and Florida's Disney Animal Kingdom (since the 2006 release), Oregon's Portland Zoo and Texas's Houston Zoo. The Mexican counterparts are the Espacios Naturales (an NGO) and the captive breeding center in Vizcaino. A first release of 25 Peninsular pronghorn has occurred in the Vizcaino Desert Biosphere Reserve in February 2006. A major accomplishment for the project. In coming years the breeding center in Vizcaino will sent some more fawns to US zoos to establish an insurance population in captivity.
I actually already posted some pics of the two babies. Here they are: Baby Peninsular Pronghorn at the Los Angeles Zoo - Photo Gallery Baby Peninsular Pronghorn at the Los Angeles Zoo - Photo Gallery Baby Peninsular Pronghorn at the Los Angeles Zoo - Photo Gallery The LA zoo actually try acquiring another pair by the end of last year, but there was some complications so it did not go through.
I hope they will come through this year after the breeding season ending in March (so, perhaps end September 2008). Hopefully, by then the Mexican breeding center will also have 1-2 female fawns ready for Living Desert (which is due to receive the 2.0 born at the end of this year.
The "Golden Monkeys of China" exhibit is indeed finished and is state of the art for these amazing animals. The exhibit is full of climbing structures and is well planted with many asian foliage. The only problem I see is that some of the newly planted trees are still too young and don't provide enough shade, but there is still some shade from the existing trees. I try to get some pics of the exhibit nex week. Of what I've heard from people at the zoo is that the zoo will indeed be getting the golden monkeys after all, but now it's only going to be 1.1 instead of 1.2, which was the original plan.
i was hoping they would be there by the time im there in October but i was wondering that since they probably won't be,are visotors allowed to atleast go into the viewing area and look in or is it forbidden.Also,will the uakari's being getting a new home in Rainforests Of The Americas?
No, the visitors are not allowed inside the viewing shelter. And I heard from one of the South American Enrichment Volunteer that the Uakari's will indeed get a new exhibit in Rainforests of the Americas, but I'm not sure if it's true. The Uakari monkeys are visible if you look to the top right, right next to the south american section entrance by the Cape Griffon exhibit, Aviary, and the World of Bird show. This summer, due to the heat, one of the tarps covering the exhibit was taken off, which allowed me to take pics.
I'm also an enrichment volunteer, but I'm more general because I work with animals all over the zoo not just a specific section. The section volunteers are higher in rankings because they are always with the zookeepers, so they are like zookeeper volunteers. I'm hoping that in the future I could get promoted to help in a section.
Can anybody tell me what happend to the Black Rhinos ? I can't remember a BR in 2002 and I've found an article about the euthanisation of a BR at the Zoo in 2001-so probably this animal was thelalst one at L.A.Zoo of that species ? What are the future plans for Rhinos at the Zoo ? And how is Rhonda ?I hope, she is fine ?
Rhonda is alive and old. She was still moving around well, and they took her off Indian rhino encounter because they didn't want to force her to do it as she was aging.
At the moment, Rhonda is the only ambassadress for her species - for which the LA Zoo raises good sums for rhino conservation in situ! Hence, it begs the question what plans for rhinos exist after Rhonda passes on.
They don't have a good habitat for any, and they can't change the two habitats Rhonda lives in because there is a family of hippos in between them, and I'm sure the other nearby habitats wouldn't be too happy either. It would require a lot of things closing for renovation, for a new habitat.
The black rhinos were sent to another zoo more than a decade ago. The zoo is working on a new master plan now that all of the projects funded by the 1998 bond have been completed (great apes, LAIR, elephants, seals, education building, Rain Forest of the Americas, new entrance). I would be surprised if a new rhino exhibit were not part of that plan, but we won't know for a few years probably until they release the next master plan.
Thank you all for these informations, guys.By the way-Rhond ais the oldest Indian Rhino ever lived in a Zoo., she was born in 1969 at Basle. It would be pitty if L.A. wouldn't continue keeping rhinos, because the Zoo was only of a few in the world showing four rhino speices, three of them at the same time. By the way- when the Zoo was opened in 1966, it kept already three rhino species and all four tapir species.... The Zoo celebrates its 50th Anniversary in November-any info about a book for this ? It would be time, as far as I know, there is not abook about the history of L.A.Zoos.
I've got no clue if they will make a history book or not, but they'd certainly have a lot to write about. The amount of rare species they had (and have even today) is crazy. If they got the golden monkeys, then they'd have at least four species you couldn't see elsewhere in America (but good luck seeing Panay cloud rats)