BioParque do Rio Species list for Bioparque do Rio

Yes, exactly. I believe the pelicans are in this moment being kept in that exhibit that previously held the otters, as we could see in the pictures you shared. I tend to think they passed their quarantine in the former penguin exhibit, that is nowadays part of the backstage, and then were sent to where they are now.

 

i also hope that.

 

I honestly think the sambars, cassowary, rusa and blackbucks should wait for their new exhibits in another enclosure. Placing them in the african savanna might cause confusion to the visitors. The aoudads, in the other hand, are not actually a problem for being actual african animals.

 

i have the same thought as you, but the aoudads like rocks to climb, in african savanna you can see there are no rocks, i think the old exhibit of them should turn into something new, something that represents their habitat, because the aoudads live in high places, and i saw people complaining about the other animals because they aren't from africa.

 

Completely agree. When I say there is no problem on keeping the aoudads in the savanna, I'm considering this is just temporary. Despite spacious, the savanna exhibit is not proper to keep this species. My guess, as I previously said here, is that these animals will be kept in the former wild goat enclosure, that might pass through a renovation.
Besides all that, the african savanna exhibit is supposed to keep animals from the ecossystem of the african savanna itself, so the aoudads wouldn't fit well as permanent dwellers. As you mentioned, this is not the kind of morphoclimatic domain they inhabit.

 

that's right

 

now there are new animals at the zoo, like pelicans, otters, buffaloes, guinea pigs and etc.

 

We should edit this list anytime soon. I'm of the opinion that we should wait a little bit more to update it correctly, once the institution seems to be acquiring a considerable amount of new animals in the last few days.

 

yeah, let's wait.

 

I personally don't see the point in breeding lions, most of them are of uncertain origin. As for tigers, Itatiba imported some pure Siberian tigers some years ago, and they do breed well there. I personally think that Sumatran would have been a better choice.
As for the Gaur, I'm really looking forward for them, they are among my favorite species EAZA and AZA are discontinuing their stud books, so I really hope South American zoos could take over some animals and keep an healthy population.

 

personally i don't think the sumatran can live in south american zoo, considering that it's a rare specie of tiger, and i only saw sumatran tigers in captivity in the us.

 

Lion breeding in brazilian zoos is complicated indeed. Many of the captive individuals are too old or hybrids. São Paulo imported some from Gaia zoo a few years ago, and they bred very well. Not sure if they are pure lions indeed. I'm sure Pomerode imported some pure katanga lions from Lisbon some time ago, to start the EEP in Brazil. The ones in Lisbon have a pure genetic once they are descendants of wild captured lions in Angola when the african nation was a portuguese colony, afaik.

 

indeed, you're right

 

The only difficulty I see is obtaining the animals. Most parts of Brazil have a weather that would be proper for the species.

 

well, i suppose you're right.

 

Also, it's worth it to mention the male lion BH zoo imported in 2018 from Dortmund. It is a pure individual, afaik, but I'm not sure about the subspecies though. If I'm not wrong, the institution got the authorization to breed the species, but the only female, Hanna, who was kept at the time, had issues with her ovaries and they had to be removed. She died last year, and I tend to think the institution might plan to obtain other pure females to continue the program with the male.

 

I don't think this would be the biggest problem, the Siberian tigers that live in Itatiba came from Europe (I think the male came from Cologne). I'm not sure how the European Sumatran population is doing, but a lot of zoos prefer the Siberian, as they don't need heating during the winter. And I have absolutely no ideia about the AZA population.

I also am aware of the partial ban of breeding big cats in Brazil. The Katanga line in European zoos has a lot of inbreeding probelms, many of the animals have some health issues. The taxonomic status of the lion is still highly debatable, the IUCN officially recognizes only two subspecies. I'm not entirely sure if the male from Dortmund is a pure Southern lion, but I think it would be better to assume it's a hybrid.

 

well, we just can expect it's a hybrid.

 

Yes, I know there are lots of issues within the lion subspecies indeed. What I know is that the lions Pomerode imported from Lisbon are descendants of pure katanga lions, as Lisbon has never kept any other subspecies, once the lions they always had were descendants of wild captured individuals from Angola. It might be one of the purest populations in Europe, for what I've heard. Not sure about the inbreeding problems though.
About the pureness of the individual that came from Dortmund to BH zoo, I remember having talked about it with the crew, but I'm going to certify with the zoo's director and tell here what I found out about the subspecies the individual belongs to, or if it's indeed a hybrid.

 

With my very weak (and unreliable) capacity of lion subspecies identification, I would guess the individual is either a west-african lion or a hybrid, but as I said, I'll ask BH zoo's director about it.
You guys take a look at him and tell me what are your impressions.