I'd estimate it to be about $60 per cat per day at Mogo. Thats keeper time, food vet costs and all that jazz. Now with 19 lions that's isover $1,100 a day. Without the white lions that could be upto $5,000 a week that could be going somewhere else like the chimp enclsoure. It is probably less than this but at even half that $2,500 a week over say twelve months. hmmm that chimp enclosure would be getting close to finished
i think Mogo Zoo had an amzing potential to outgrow its menagerie type beginnings, in so far that it started out as a rescue centre and dumping ground and turn into a major conservation player in the region. there is chronic shortage of private zoos holding exotic species both here in Australia and New Zealand. had Mogo pursued regional planning goals more aggressively it could have ended up with one of the most important exotic collections in Australia, with a range of species that could have rivalled small zoos including Perth. however, Mogo now seems stuck in a rut. Zoopro is absolutely right in what he has said, that regional species coordinators could now overlook Mogo as holders of some species because of how they have acted with the white lions. im sticking to my earlier points too that these lions are a waste of resources that could have better been spent on boosting capacity for oter species. whether surplus snow leopards or sumatran tigers currently exist in the region is not the point.....in order to get surplus we need breeding programs and there is no way our zoos are going to be able to breed more snow leopards, maned wolves and other species without current and non-holders commiting additional spaces. Mogo could have been a big player in this respect, either as a breeding facility or acting within a holding capactiy. currently, all their spare resources are tied up in a breeding program for magical white lions. what a croc of ****. 12 lions could have even been enough to even restart a program for jaguars or clouded leopards.
(i think the minimum considered number is actually 20) but yes so true! that will get zooboy thinking. i think the guy peter who does the zoonews digest summed it up with his little insert above the posted story.... "NSW zoo rears five male white lion cubs (My comment: Aaaaghhh! White! Why? Why? Why? Peter) A zoo in NSW has become the first in the world to successfully rear a pride of five male white lion cubs....." the more i think about this the more strongly i am against it. i believe i have become an anti-white supremist.
From the point of view of getting the public to come and take a look (and, of course, pay) I'm sure white lions are a greater attraction than more chimpanzees. (Maybe I'm prejudiced - I don't particularly like chimps - they're too much like people!)
Would you know who would be most likely to receive these sumartrans that are coming in the not to distant future? What zoos have the room? Which zoos are looking to increase the number of snow leopards in the region? How is it decided when it comes to who gets what, for instance if both Taronga and Melbourne wanted a male tiger, for example, but there was just one currently avaliable how do they determine the tiger's destination? Sorry about all the questions but you usually are the bloke to go when it comes to these type of questions.
fraid i can't answer specifics on which zoos are earmarked for tiger imports, but it is all based on which tigers are recommended for breeding/pairing. if for example a zoo held a tiger that was called apon for breeding but the zoo who owed that tiger had not the facilities to breed, its highly likely that the zoo would give up that specific animal to a zoo who did have the facilities (and who would therefore also aquire the animals recommended mate). in return the original zoo would no doubt be supplied with another cat(s) to display and hold. a lot of shuffling goes on. in regards to snow leopards i can tell you that melbourne is about to import a fourth snow leopard, to pair with their younger female. the older cats are on the way out. the national zoo also holds a female snow leopard (ex-mogo) who i believe they are trying to secure a mate for.
Thanks Pat, that briefly sums up what I would have prattled on about!! Adelaide, Melbourne and Mogo Zoos, and Orana Wildlife Park are all looking for more snow leopards right now. Three of them all have space available now, but I don't know about Mogo.
I know all about the problems importing hoofstock into Australia, in fact after reading the posts on this site i consider myself an expert on the subject, but when it comes to carnivores and primates are they "easier" to import. Also good to hear that mogo's siamangs doing so well, am i right in saying that they were imported from Edinburgh zoo?
i read somewhere that Edinburgh had exported there siamangs and they were to go to mogo zoo that was 2 years ago!
Mogo family group of siamangs are from Edinborough. Cats and primates are 'easier' to import because they don't have the same quarantine restricyions as ungulates.
and if recent experience is anything to go by elephants are the hardest of all to import hope mogo doesnt plan on getting any andy time soon
I have a book about London Zoo and there is a story in it about a White Elephant which arrived on 'tour' to the Zoo from America I think. Its mahut travelled with it and was offered a job by the zoo. The story continues with the mahut murdering one of the other elephant keepers and it was later discovered that the white elephant had died at around the same time in India... I don't know whether this is true or not however
Your probably already aware of this but when ZooPro mentioned in another thread that Mogo had 16 white lions, it got me thinking. . . the latest arrivals, four more this year. what are they going to do with all of those lions??? White lion cubs a big hit | Herald Sun
