its the leaves i believe.. grant, ficus trees are common oldworld rainforest trees, the genus name for figs (as jay mentioned), here in australia we reguarly use them for browse at the zoo and as an landscaping tree. unfortunately i'm gonna have to have a dig here and say its issue like this that bug me about zoos in cold climates thinking they are ideal places for breeding rare tropical animals. did they whisk these animals off to england and america without thinking twice about what they ate in the wild? or did they assume that carrots, maple leaves and cabbage is common in the rainforests of southeast asia?!!! sorry, i know i'm being a bit harsh but then again, the zoos did kill a whole bunch of one of the worlds rarest animals. personally it seems somewhat rediculous that their breakthrough was one of the most common fodder plants that zoos in warm climates use...
Rhino browse. Yes its the leaves of the Ficus they like. If you look on the Cincinnati Rhino camera(have you seen that?) you can often see masses of it in the indoor stall. That whole export thing was so badly planned(or rather not). I suppose the foreign zoos just presumed they could be kept like other rhino species- they soon found out how wrong they were! But I wouldn't say the in-situ centres in Asia have achieved much more for Sumatran rhinos so far- Cincinnati have really achieved the most but there just aren't enough captive animals to make this a viable option at present.... I certainly don't advocate catching any more after what has happened so far- though any new addition for captivity- like the new two young females at Way Kambas are very valuable. They MUST be able to get these breeding. Have you noticed how quickly a Sumtran rhino calf grows? The good thing is they are weaned/ semi independent at quite an early age for such a big animal too.. (look on my gorilla post too...)
on a quick note thnx grantsmb for actually sticking around and sharing your insight, i have noticed everyday a new person has jopined, and none are contributing, so thnx grantsmb, you have made a very, very welcome addition, now back to rhinos!
zoo boy-your idea about creating in-situ conservation centres in places like zimbabwe is just the point i was trying to make. this place is on the brink of civil collapse-economically and politically, and there are many other countries around the world in similar situations, and unfortunately most of these are in biodiversity hotspots. in-situ conservation is the first choice, but look at nepal, india, rwanda, madagascar. though these countries all have disparate political systems, their loss of biological diversity paralells one another. in india and nepal, decades of conservation work protecting rhino and tigers has been lost through corruption and coups. the case of the sumatran rhino is drastic but far from unique. around the world large vertabrate species, such as antelope, elephants, rhinos, tapirs, apes and big cats are the all facing extinction. these species, most of which are already in zoos, are the ones whose long-term survival would most benefit from a balance of in-situ and ex-situ conservation measures.
bingo glyn it would be the perfect scenario, but its near impossible if the political powers are at war. look at the northen white rhino. they are probably extinct in wild now due to war, and the aftc it is so hard for anyone to go and get in there to try and save them
Personally, being a somewhat pessamistic person, unless things dramatically in the future, I hold out little hope for most of the planets species that are larger than a sheep. Most of what there will be will only exist on mans suffarence
I remain an optimist in these matters. I really do think zoos can make a difference in in situ conservation. Look at the rhino campaign which has generated well over 1,000.000 euros for rhino conservation in Africa and Asia. Zoos are funding the re-establishment of Indian rhino from Kaziranga and Pobitora to other new rhino reserves in vision 2020. Similarly, in South Africa a captive-breeding center is to be set up with southern black rhino from US and Dubbo Zoos. Frankfurt zoos has sent several rhinos to Marakele NP in South Africa. Their oldest female has already given birth twice to a calf. This is a mating between two captive-born and released rhinos! Also, eastern black rhinos from European zoos have been sent to Africa for reintroduction and are breeding succesfully. Two calves from different captive-born females in 2005 and 2006 is something to celebrate.
That's okay!. I found this forum by accident but really enjoy talking with other zoo enthusasts. There isn't a forum like this for UK zoos(maybe we should have one) and the European ones are in other languages. I haven't got much knowledge of Australian zoos in general, apart from my past visits to Taronga & Melbourne, or of the 'political' problems e.g. the import bans, Australian zoos face so I can't contribute to those threads much- but its very intersting to learn- and you've certainly got a great bunch of enthusiasts on your forum. I'll definately post from time to time from now on, even if not quite as frequently as so far....
rhino conservation. Jelle- you're correct in that for all the other rhino species(well not Javan maybe) that zoo programmes are nowadays helping the wild populations. I would never have thought a few decades ago that black rhinos would be sent from zoos to successfully repopulate reserves, but it is happening and its turning into a success story which the participating zoos can be proud of.. THE Sumatran rhino story is very different- here I think its too early to know if Cincinatti's success with this species can help the remaining rhinos in S.E. Asia. I hope that it will.
zoo forums There isn't a forum like this for UK zoos(maybe we should have one) quote by Grantsmb. I used to belong to a forum that was primarily about Bristol Zoo volunteers that covered other zoos in the UK . There was limited amount that I could contribute from NZ , but I did what I could . If you contact Bristol Zoo , someone mifght be able to shed some light on whether the forum still exists . Unfortunately I dont remember the website address . Although this is mainly aimed at Australian Zoos ( and to a lesser extent NZ zoos ) I certainly appreciate the input from folk from Northern hemisphere , Asia and other places . They have things to share about running zoos just as much as we do .
zoo forums Thanks for that info. I did find a UK ZOOforum a while ago but it seems to have lapsed over the years. There are some good active European forums but in dutch/french/german so difficult to understand! In UK there is a 'zoo enthusiasts' club but its not a news or discussion forum. I think its very good to get feedback/input from opposite ends of the world- zoos and wildlife being worldwide and everywhere has an experience or story to tell..
