According to directors FB there are now two cuban crocodiles (females) in rear. No more info about them for now.
Off exhibit, as I understand it, for now (but he promised there will be more info so I pressume that they will not stay there forever)
2 chicks of blue-throated piping guan hatched, these are the first chicks of this species after 14 years.
• 2nd black and rufous sengi arrived • Big aviary behind Sichuan house finally opened again, species lineup: Asian woolyneck, Black-headed ibis, Eurasian spoonbill, Night heron, Purple heron, White-naped crane, Spot-billed pelican, Milky stork, Red-crested pochard, Red-breasted merganser, Smew, Scaly-sided merganser, Baer's pochard, Magpie goose, White-winged wood duck, Vietnamese pheasant, Cabot's tragopan. • Former Australian aviary next to shoebills is now stocked with South-American birds, lineup: West Indian whistling duck, Brazilian teal, White-cheeked pintail, Crested oropendola, White-faced ibis. • Indoor enclosure for Hippos is finally open after many years of being closed due to malfunctioning water filtration.
Elefantenjunge “Minh-Tan” bekommt zwei Baby-Geschwister im Osnabrücker Zoo | hasepost.de Elephant cows Donna and Sita in Osnabrück are pregnant !!! The first Prague elephant calf will therefore have a calf at seven years! That's great news!
The zoo announced another 2 chicks hatched by rhinoceros hornbills. For discussion: The pair breeds every year. I do question if there are enough zoos with interest to take the continuing offspring. Does it make even sense to continue with breeding with this pair? With hardly any other breeding institution, new zoos can´t create pairs because there are not enough young unrelated birds in Europe. Maybe the zoo should purposedly hand-rear the new chicks so they can be used at least in bird shows? Zlín has similar situation with Indian hornbills, and they have sent their 2 chicks to Asia (Singapore) because they could not find any potential mates for them within Europe because no other zoo pairs breed. It´s time EAZA/Europeans zoos and bird parks step up their game and make concentrated effort to establish at least 3-4 reliable breeding pairs. Otherwise any zoo population management is null and void. Maybe some institution could volunteer to be a "dating centre for single hornbills" - other zoos would sent their bird there and get back re-paired ones. I actually don´t know if incompability is the main problem, or rather husbandry, but something should be done.
Of course they should continue breeding ! Several zoos / birdparks only have single birds so could use a partner and other juveniles could be placed - single - single-sex pairs or brother-sister pair in collections not currently keeping the species. As soon as other - unrelated - birds become avaible ( bred at other collections from Europe or from the USA or Asia, taken in custody, from privat keepers ) these birds can be paired up to make new pairs. And yes indeed, these should be created a dating-place in a zoo so the changes to be succesfull in new pairings should be greater !
Just a nitpick but there was a change of male somewhere after 2013, so some of the chicks have slightly different blood. The transport is so far only planned and didn't materialize yet as I saw those chicks in you talk about today. Also, you make it sound a bit like sending animals out of the continent is a bad thing, even though: animals get a chance to breed elsewhere if it's not possible to do it in Europe. it helps establish connections between overseas zoos, allowing animal trading, getting new blood/species.
According to latest director's blog, they will stay there. But they plan to do a "visitor experience" kind of a thing with them, where after paying a fee, a group of visitors will be able to go and watch their feeding. Money raised by this will be gifted to Cuban crocodile conservation.
Amazonie (if it happens) should have black caimans. I don´t like philosophy of this pay-for-experience trend, with giraffe feeding and now with crocs. But thats me.
That could change. Yeah, caimans would fit better, but as in Tasmania there are not just Tasmanian animals... Or stingrays and anacondas from big cat house could move there while crocs get their exhibit (not sure how sustainable it is for them though). But all of it is just hypothetical, probably nothing we will see in near future...
So according to directors comment on facebook, exposition for cuban crocs should come "in future, with reconstruction of old elephant house"
In an interview in early July (or late June), the zoo director mentioned they are thinking about koalas. I really hope not, they are lazy and their food costs too much, not worth it. I think it is enough when Vienna, Dresden and Leipzig have them (those places are day trips for most Czechs).
This is pretty much the exact rhetoric the director used in every other previous time koalas were mentioned, so this is quite fascinating U-turn if it materializes.
Well, few years back je was opposing to idea bring giant pandas, so... As long as he don´t turn in case of dolphins too, I am ok. Hey, could they live together with echidnas? (I know, too small and too dark...)
Pretty sure the zoo never really seriously considered pandas, from my understanding. Unless they were to go for another subspecies/ecotype of Koala other than Queensland then they won't be mixing them with anymore. All Queensland Koalas outside of Australia are managed by San Diego Zoo, who strictly enforces a 'no mixed species exhibits' policy. That is, of course, unless you are San Diego themselves or LA, then mixing them is fine ~Thylo
I could be completely misremembering, so forgive me if I am, but I’m sure that they share/d an outdoor space with (of all things) domestic rabbits at Zürich?
