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Moscow Zoo is dying!

Discussion in 'General Zoo Discussion' started by Elephas Maximus, 12 Aug 2013.

  1. Elephas Maximus

    Elephas Maximus Well-Known Member

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    Urgent translation of the info about current situation in zoo, acquired from staff.
    This is likely NOT to be highlighted in mass media.

    In 2013, just a year before the upcoming 150 th anniversary of Moscow Zoo, its director Vladimir Spitsin who worked here more than for 30 years, was moved to the post of ‘Zoo President’ (who actually has very few possibilities to govern the zoo).
    Instead of him, a new executive director was assigned by the Moscow city council.
    That was Natalya Kolobova, 53, who has studied in a Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) at Applied Mathematics department. Before her new assignment, she worked as a chief booker in Petrokommerz bank. Along with her, several other people came to the zoo management, with the same lack of biological education. The only exception is Sergei Popov, a zoologist, who became a zoo’s general director of science but, strangely, has a very few possibilities to govern the zoo.

    It’s important to say that, unlike most of the world zoos, Moscow zoo is being under control of the city’s Culture Dept, not that of Ecology and Natural Resources. This is an absurd, as often happens in Russia. This allows to use Moscow zoo for business, just as an amusement parks.
    Nobody dares to establish a business in such famous museums as Moscow Paleontology museum or in a Tretyakov gallery, but the zoo seems to be a nice cash source for the greedy officials.

    The actions of N. Kolobova (who is just executive director, as stated again) have disastrous consequiences for the Moscow Zoo.
    More fast food restaurants and stands appeared, as well as various amusement rides and gambling machines, cramping the zoo’s walkways. That means more noise is stressing the animals, and more food is being fed to them by ignorant visitors.
    At May holidays, a 3-hour commercial rock concert took place at the zoo, despite the active protests of zoology authorities such as Sergei Popov (Zoo’s general director of Science, PhD Biology), Vladimir Spitsin (Former director, Zoo president, Academician), Nikolai Drozdov (PhD Biology) and Igor Muzychenko (Director of zoo’s Breeding station, PhD Biology). The profit from this concert cannot’ however, justify what happened with the animals. The stage was situated in close proximity to the aviaries and young animal enclosures.
    As the result of stress from the loud rock music, ALL of the birds abandoned their nests and destroyed the eggs, while some pregnant female mammals had abortions. The 2013 breeding year was failed for most species, including endangered ones.
    After the protests of biologists appeared at the zoo’s forum, it was closed to avoid negative publicity, and the moderator was fired.

    Another ‘great’ business action was an establishement of a platform at the Reticulated giraffe exhibit. The visitors payed to feed the animal from the platform, with the limit of 3 persons in same time. Ultimately, when left unsupervised by the zoo staff, the platform became overloaded with 11 people (that had to remove the covering canvas first) and collapsed. 7 were injured, including 3 children. One of them, a 8 year old boy, had spine compression fracture & shoulder fracture, now recovering.

    A Moscow zoo’s breeding station was founded by President Vladimir Putin 21 years ago. It’s situated in Volokolamsky District, 100 kilometers from Moscow, and consists of 290 hectare reserve along with 32 hectare auxiliary farm producing natural food for zoo animals.
    The meaning of the breeding facility, as stated by President’s enactment and the Zoo’s charter, is a research, husbandry, breeding and conservation of rare and endangered animal species. Just an example: the Siberian crane reintroduction project, that Putin himself has taken part in, is based on the birds bred here.
    The station and its director Igor Muzychenko are widely known among the scientific and zoo associations. This is the only facility where extensive breeding programs are established for such species as Peale’s falcon, golden eagle, snow leopard, Persian leopard, Marco Polo sheep, etc.
    Many of the world zoos are waiting for the offspring of rare species produced here – Golden takins, cheetahs, wolverines, great bustards, dholes, and more. This facility is the treasure of Russian biology.

    Nevertheless, ‘an effective management’ intruded there too. N. Kolobova described the station as ‘economically ineffective, expensive asset, a ballast’. The first action taken by her was firing of 13 keepers without hiring new ones, lowing the salary twice and demoting its director.
    Then she ordered a program of opening the breeding station for visitors, with all necessary amenities as rides, kiosks and hot dog stands. This means the end of 20-year efforts of research and breeding programs. Mr. Muzychenko made a protest, but was just told to resign (moreover, he was attacked and injured).
    Next victim of effective management was the unique acipenserid collection kept at the breeding station.
    After 10 years of history, it includes now ALL species of the Russian sturgeons, including ones considered to be extinct in the wild (such as Sakhalin sturgeon and Black Kaluga sturgeon). This collection is kept under the regulations of EAZA. But N. Kolobova has the other opinion. She thinks that the sturgeons are too expensive to keep, and the ichtyologists are smuggling black caviar. The best found solution was selling the sturgeons to fisheries for food.
    She insisted that fishes shouldn’t be kept neither at the zoo nor at breeding station, because those are places for animals and fish are not animals.

    The auxiliary farm was also ‘managed’. Following the verbal order made by Kolobova, the taxes for keeping live food animals weren’t accepted by zoo accounts. The reason is that those ‘ordinary’ animals – poultry, rabbits and livestock - can’t be exhibited, and their existence is useless. Despite the fact that presence of live and ecologically clean food is crucial to many carnivore species’ welfare and successful breeding.
    Finally, Kolobova shown a certain interest in land prices at the breeding station’s territory.

    The situation is quite serious now. If nothing is changed, the Moscow zoo will slowly die in next several years.
     
  2. Kifaru Bwana

    Kifaru Bwana Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    I have read these disconcerting reports too. It is time we no longer accept political appointees. The sheer lack of expertise in Messrs Kolobova is exemplified by the poor decision-making on her part and looks to change a world class scientifically well respected zoo like Moskva Zoo to go down the drain.

    What you suggest can be done here in the international media or even EAZA/WAZA et al?
     
  3. Elephas Maximus

    Elephas Maximus Well-Known Member

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    Everything is better actually.
    This message, widely reposted in Russian blogs and translated by me here, is an attempt of 'black PR' made by controversial people. It was disproved both by the zoo and the scientists mentioned.
    The only confirmed facts are the collapsing of the giraffe feeding platform and closure of auxiliary farm.
    No keepers or zoologists were fired.
    The concert took part for 30 minutes, at the zoo entrance. It didn't affect the animals and their breeding.
    All rides and most of the food stands are removed from the zoo.
    The sturgeons exhibit got new tanks this summer.
    Here's the article in Russian: http://www.gazeta.ru/science/2013/08/19_a_5573621.shtml
     
  4. condor

    condor Well-Known Member

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    Excellent! Among all the problematic things mentioned in the first post, the sturgeon information was the single thing I found most worrying, as some of the species kept by Moscow really are on the very brink of extinction (several other species mentioned in the post are very rare, but none to the point of some of their sturgeon). Thanks for returning and setting the record straight.
     
  5. Elephas Maximus

    Elephas Maximus Well-Known Member

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    Actually, the sturgeon breeding program hasn't an international status, but regional only.
    Renovation of sturgeon exhibit took part at the breeding facility, the zoo's one functions just for 2 years and may be considered 'new'
    Pics here: http://www.aqualogo-engineering.ru/news/1018/
     
  6. mazfc

    mazfc Well-Known Member

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    So who engineered the bad publicity and why? How do you know it's not true? (Not arguing just asking).
     
  7. Elephas Maximus

    Elephas Maximus Well-Known Member

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    The people (scientists & keepers) mentioned in the article proved it to be wrong. As well as zoo visitors, who rushed to check the situation. For people from other cities (like me) it was harder to believe.
    After the situation in a Kiev zoo (Ukraine) which really could be shut down due to corruption, money theft and bad animal care (but slowly manages to recover), people believe anything is possible, even in Russian capital zoo.
     
  8. Rhinopithecus

    Rhinopithecus Active Member

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    There are two sides of the story obviously. One is that Moscow ZOO never went through unavoidable proces of making it more visitor friendly and setting real priorities. You can't expect any changes towards mre economically viable institution with Staff on 12 hectares of zoo being above a 1000 people. In any of western zoos that would be served by perhaps 200-250 Staff and noone would notice change. So, in a rather desperate bid to change that they appointed a business person. This is also happening in many western zoos. In some of them with success, some are spectacular failures. Only time will tell what will happen in Moscow. Spitsin, supported by Major Luzhkov was like a half-god. But even half-gods sometimes loose powers. Whether the new director will be sensible enough to listen to zoologists remains to be seen. In fact Moscow would seriously require some thinning-up. Thousand of animals are kept behind the scenes. That would be fine with animals of really threatened forms, or undergoing serious research. This is rarely a case and they mostly fulfill private hobbies by higher Staff, with no Chance for exhibit at any forseeable future. Some are really kept in very bad accommodation. Look at giant echidna - since tens of years kept in a defunct shower on tiles with just a small mould of peat in the corner.
     
  9. Elephas Maximus

    Elephas Maximus Well-Known Member

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    The zoo says that its collection would be changed, eliminating species without conservation needs, to improve the husbandry of more important ones. New species added to collection will preferably be small animals.
    I know about that echidna, it's an old lonely male named Small. He was imported in 1998 along with an albino mate who died soon. (Hope she was preserved - but it's not clear, considering the fact how easily the zoo cremated a reticulated giraffe female, which could be no less attractive museum specimen!)
    [​IMG]
     
  10. tschandler71

    tschandler71 Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Sounds like so much disinformation and propaganda is surrounding this situation. Russia needs to clean its press and its institutions up.
     
  11. Kifaru Bwana

    Kifaru Bwana Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    If one cannot value the considerable achievements of Dr. Vladimir Spitsin and his team - all (inter-)nationally well respected individuals in the field of zoo biology / management one has little or no understanding of the standard of Russian zoos and their expertise in them.

    The very fact Dr Spitsin got / has been replaced by a Putin prop and managerial individual does not bode well for the immediate nor longterm future of the zoo and will no doubt damage quite a few conservation breeding programmes Moskwa Zoo is involved in and the collection at large. The outstation is a shining example of what zoos can do for native species / wildlife and provide a direct link to in situ conservation.

    The action by the now installed manager to "release" the important breeding programme / collection of several rare or critically endangered sturgeon species at the outstation - without due conservation diligence and non-observance of any IUCN guidelines on reintroduction and failure to heed zoological / wildlife biological advice borders on the criminal.

    The very fact that this type of bureacrat / technocrat can be installed at all is questionable onto itself.

    I rest my case and would advice those on this site to be more observant and symptathetic to what Elephas Maximus is reporting on / letting us all now.
     
  12. condor

    condor Well-Known Member

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    Kifaru, please see post 3 and 5 by Elephas Maximus (link in post 5 in Russian, but google translate deals reasonably with that language). If I understand it right, there has not been a dismantling of their sturgeon collection, as first reported.
     
  13. Rhinopithecus

    Rhinopithecus Active Member

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    If you check the "collection" on the EARAZA page it is indeed a collection of some single specimens, with a few species kept in any numbers. What is interesting is that there is lack of Scapirhynchus - the shovel-nosed sturgeons, ones of real conservation merit.
     
  14. callorhinus

    callorhinus Well-Known Member

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    I have received message from my moscow friend. Text about rock concert and failed breeding is a lie, but animals and science research are far not a priorities now.
    And it is sad reality that any information like one in the first post is more likely a truth than a lie.
     
  15. Kifaru Bwana

    Kifaru Bwana Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Thanks for pointing out that some issues hightlighted in the first posting are simply untrue. However, I DO remain in limbo as to what is true or not. Official media are the least I do trust to come out with the real truth in this cased.

    If half the storyline is untrue then who are those blacklisting untrustworthy characters then? What is their interest in pushing it this way? What is the driving force behind them?

    Secondly, I would still like to know what the role of this managerial figure is vis a vis Dr. Spitsin and his scientific and zoo management staff? What is the intention of riding in a set figure by the State Govt.?

    Please try and clarify for all of us!
     
  16. condor

    condor Well-Known Member

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    Could you provide a direct link? Without a good knowledge of Russian, it is rather difficult to find anything on EARAZA's page, even with the use of google translate. Singles are obviously of no real conservation value, but a few specimens of a species are better than none, and getting a big group is impossible (sourcing) for several of the rarest.

    I assume you mean Pseudoscaphirhynchus, which were included in Scaphirhynchus many years ago (the inclusion of Pseudoscaphirhynchus in the subfamily Scaphirhynchinae is in doubt too, as it appears closer to at least some Acipenser). Among the four sturgeon genera, Scaphirhynchus are probably the safest overall, even if one of the species, S. suttkusi is seriously threatened. In Pseudoscaphirhynchus, one species is probably extinct, and the remaining two are very close. Moscow is (was?) involved in a program for P. kaufmanni, but if I understand it right it never really took off. It seems that neither P. kaufmanni nor the other remaining species in the genus are present in captivity today? Considering their rarity, I also suspect it would be difficult to start a program now – getting the specimens needed to start it.
     
  17. callorhinus

    callorhinus Well-Known Member

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    A quote from the message mentioned earlier: "the truth is in the middle".
    I'm afraid you should not trust nor official media neither any other. The word "journalist" has become a dirty word here.

    It was the article on the popular blog site. Only alias, not name or something else. Maybe we'll know more later.

    Information about Dr. Spitsin and Dr. Popov is correct, they have very few possibilities to govern the zoo.
    New figure is an access to the resources. The most valuable is the land itself.
     
  18. callorhinus

    callorhinus Well-Known Member

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    Here is a page you can download annual EARAZA reports from. Here is the last one. Species names are in English, but names of facilities are only in Russian. You are welcome to ask any questions on translation etc.
     
  19. Rhinopithecus

    Rhinopithecus Active Member

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    Russian (as well as Ukrainian and to some part Belorussian) zoos remain a puzzle for me. Some of them have apparently huge amount of money for which they construct usually terrible animal enclosureas, some are struggling to even repair the cages that are falling apart. The animals import volume is perhaps third after China and Arab countries. If you hoever look into breeding results they are very poor. Every couple of months there are new zoos being opened, both private and govermental (local gov.). Also every couple of months there are new informations about total rebuilding or moving a zoo to another location. There were at least five different plans for Leningrad (St.petersbourg) zoo, the most recent two years ago when the City paid huge money to a foreign company for plan of a totally new zoo, just to find out that the location in question is a swamp and nothing can be built there. The current breeding station of Moscow zoo was initially meant as a new zoo, very modern and the old zoo are to be closed and sold. This may happen again. One thing for sure - watch the situation there, there are going to be surprises.
     
  20. condor

    condor Well-Known Member

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    Thanks callorhinus. A summary of Moscow's sturgeons as of 2013: Acipenser baerii (4*), A. baerii baicalensis (75), A. gueldenstaedti (20*), A. mikadoi (1), A. nudiventris (1, followed by a question mark; perhaps they're uncertain of its purity?), A. ruthenus (13*), A. schrencki (125), A. stellatus (4*) and Huso dauricus (101). Species marked with a star* are also kept at other EARAZA institutions and taxa kept at EARAZA institutions but not Moscow are A. gueldenstaedti colchicus and H. huso.