A friend of mine is on holiday in Bhutan and sent me a couple of photos which I have posted here: Off Topic Gallery Motithang Takin Preserve, located in the Motithang district of Thimphu, the capital city of Bhutan is a wildlife reserve area for Bhutan takin, muntjac and sambar. According to Wikipedia, apparently when a small number of takin were confined in a "mini-zoo" in Thimphu, the King of Bhutan felt that it was improper for a Buddhist country to confine animals for religious and environmental reasons. He therefore ordered the release of the animals and the closure of the mini-zoo. To everyone’s surprise, the takin, known for their docile behavior, refused to leave the immediate area, and strayed in the streets of Thimphu in search of food for weeks. Given that the animals had become virtually domesticated, it was decided to keep them in an enclosed, forested habitat at the edge of Thimphu and thus the Takin Preserve came to be established in the Motithang neighborhood. An area of 3.4 hectares (8.4 acres) was demarcated and fenced for the preserve. There are plans to expand the collection of the preserve by introducing other rarely seen animals of Bhutan such as the Red Panda, and the Himalayan Serow.
I could imagine takin searching for food could be rather destructive , probably a good thing they were re-enclosed! Great photos btw, I would love to visit Bhutan. And especially if they expand the zoo with a few more local species.
First reaction (assumption): animals dying in quick succession might indicate an infectious pathogen. But let us see what the Thai labs come up with (which I do hope is pretty damn quick before any other of the erstwhile 30+ herd White's takin dies ... It is beggars belief that this population needs some better husbandry management if it is to succeed in the long run. This along with a Wildlife Department and lab on site able to deal with vet emergencies. There has been an interesting report / science publication on the Motithang Taking Preserve recently and the obvious value as a breeding range and focal PR point for conservation efforts around the site with wild White's takin.
It should be clear to everyone my comments relate to the preserve as being an integral part of Bhutan's conservation program. I never implied the place was in Thailand, for clearly it is not. My comments were exactly to draw attention to the fact this site really needs improved local capabilities inside Bhutan in population management and zoo husbandry to move the interesting project forward.
