Pygmy Hippo history Austral(asian) region

So the current population is 3.2 Pygmy Hippos (all closely related)? I really hope some imports happen soon.

 

That’s correct:

Taronga Zoo:

1.0 Fergus (2009) Frank x Fluffy
0.1 Kambiri (2010) Timmy x Petre

Melbourne Zoo:

1.0 Felix (2006) Frank x Fluffy

Adelaide Zoo:

1.0 Obi (2015) Felix x Petre

Darling Downs Zoo:

0.1 Kamina (2016) Fergus x Kambiri

I believe imports will occur in the near future (next five years), as there’s two obvious things that should have happened if imports were not on the horizon:

1. Kamina sent to Melbourne or Adelaide Zoo for breeding.

2. Breeding from Fergus and Kambiri again (they could have had three more calves in this time).

I imagine unrelated mates will be sourced for some of animals above; but ideally they’ll import at least two or three unrelated pairs or we’ll soon be back to a limited gene pool. This could be a good opportunity for new holders to step forward and support the breeding programme, either by holding new imports or surplus non breeding hippos.

 

You'd think they would breed again anyway, just as a safety - but there is little logic here. Melbourne, the only zoo in the country who had custom immersion exhibit specifically for this species and thus an vested interest in keeping them going, sat on a healthy unrelated pair for years and years without attempted breeding until they had actually passed the recommended breeding age.

Zoos simply make too many compromises to be effective safeguards for most species.

 

I do not necessarily agree with the last line: it may well hold true for some, but most definitely not for the majority of zoos (and/or species). What one could say in some exasperation is that zoos could well be more ambitious in their vision and endeavours to create captive assurance for the lesser Little Brown Numbers ...l

 

The assumption here is that a small Australian population pygmy hippos would have some conservation role in the future. I think that is a big assumption, as it is for all exotics in Australian zoos (happy to be proved wrong). Managed programs for exotics in Australian zoos are about maintaining big enough populations that they would be around in zoos for future decades. I have no idea what the reasoning was behind firstly obtaining then later dropping the pygmy hippo in Australian zoos, but I doubt it had anything to with maintaining a conservation population.

 

The only assumption I am making is that a zoo that has invested in an expensive immersion exhibit for pygmy hippos would be smart enough to ensure they maintained some to display.

I don't see how anything you have said counters any of my comments?

 

Sorry I misinterpreted the following :
Zoos simply make too many compromises to be effective safeguards for most species.
I took "safeguards" the wrong way. I can see where you are coming from now.

 

The fallacy with ZAA programs IMO seems to be rather a failure to commit and follow through! True enough Australia and New Zealand are not very rich in the number of zoos, yet therefore it is all the more vital to as an organisation come together over which exotic species and under what regime these should be imported, maintained and managed. It has of course be previously discussed that the usual course of action is 1-3 zoos being interested and importing and the rest unkeen to come into the fold! Onager, Przewalski horse, Malayan tapir, silvered leaf monkey, hippo, snow leopard et cetera et cetera!

Exactly, this almost smug attitude on senior management produces a hit and run stalemate and a dirge of underachiving populations of exotics without a purpose other than at some point to manage these again into extinction (or phase out as the distasteful politically correct phrase of the day says so)!

And for all intense purposes there really is no need to go about it like this, even if only a few of the 15-20 bigger zoo facilities work with a given species intensively!!! ZAA could easily work with either SEAZA or EAZA or the Japanese and Chinese zoo associations to create sustainable managed breeding programs built to last!

 

Could not agree more KB it does appear like its a almost smug attitude for some within the ZAA. Also one can add many many more examples of lost species to your above list that have been lost like sand between the fingers, the whim effect is strong within our region. Perhaps to few holding key points within a small group of zoos?. Yes also correct KB it can be managed much better perhaps a little to much politics involved perhaps?. But very glad to see so many regional zoos doing an outstanding job of it