Last summer 6 Caiman lizards (Dracaena guianensis) hatched behind the scenes! Not only is this a zoo first breeding for Zoo Basel, but this is also the first time that this species has bred successfully in a zoo in Switzerland! Sadly one of the three males died quickly after hatching, Zoo Basel now has 2 adult pairs and 5 young. Source: Instagram of Zoo Basel (10/01/2023)
Sadly this female named Tufani suffered from both colon and peritonitis, she was therefore euthanised on the 12th of January. Source: Instagram of Basel Zoo (13/10/2023)
"A female orangutan died unexpectedly at Basel Zoo on Tuesday, four days after giving birth to her young. Because the newborn would hardly have survived, it was euthanized in consultation with specialists." Orangutan mother († 22) died after giving birth at Basel Zoo | Switzerland Times
Two lesser kudus were born, a male named Unayo on February 14th and a female named Uzuri on March 21st. Zoo Basel
Faddama, a female Gorilla, died yesterday because of "Fuchsbandwurm" (sorry, did not find a translation). They discovered that she suffering from it this January and medication was given, which helped her. Now for the last three days she deteriorated and was found dead in the enclosure in the morning hours of March 31st. She just turned 40 beginning February.
Illness caused by "Fuchsbandwurm" = Cystic echinocccosis (CE), also known as hydatid disease, is caused by infection with the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus (copy paste from google). This is unfortunately not so rare illness in apes in European zoos. Usti nad Labem lost its breeding orang male few years back. Vets had no idea what was wrong with him, he was (falsely) diagnosed with metastased cancer tumors in lungs. Real cause was found only during obduction of his body.
They sent her to Berne, to confirm this diagnosis. But I think it's most probably what took her life. Fox tapeworm is unfortunately well known in Basel. We lost Kisoro, Zungu and Quarta to it. I actually thought we were done with it. When I heard beginning this year, that Faddama suffers from it as well, I was really surprised. But I read, that the incubation period can last up to 15 years. So then again it would fit. (Kisoro was infected in 2010 and died 2014). So I assume that's when the Ladies infected themselves as well. By now the food is treated with necessary precautions and some foods are imported from regions of Switzerland, where there is no fox tapeworm. I really hope we're done with it now. I really do! :'-(
The bird house in Zoo Basel will open again after renovations on June 3rd. The building was completely renovated and a new smaller wing added. The new wing will be a walkthrough cloud forest for small Neotropical species. The main building will be a rainforest walkthrough which will (mainly?) house SE-Asian species. In addition there will be 6 outdoor aviaries, one a walkthrough for waldrapp (the former ibis & egret aviary). Finally a new small-clawed otter- and a pelican enclosure were created. The former duck pond is now gone. The following species have been confirmed, ones with an * are new to the zoo: Likely in the cloud forest: - Blue-necked tanager - Bay-headed tanager - Yellow cardinal* - Blue-backed grassquit* - Red siskin - Red-legged honeycreeper - Turqoise tanager - Violaceous euphonia* - Montserrat oriole - Soccoro pigeon Likely in the main walkthrough: - Bartlett's bleeding-heart pigeon - Blue-crowned laughing-thrush* - Blue-crowned hanging parrot - Asian fairy bluebird* - Nicobar pigeon* - Emei Shan liochlia* - Orange-bellied leafbird* - Palawan peacock-pheasant - Red-billed leiothrix - Red-tailed laughing-thrush - White-rumped shama - Black-naped fruit-dove* - Crested wood partridge - Chestnut-backed thrush Likely in the outdoor aviaries: - Waldrapp - European roller* - Hill myna - Sumatran laughing-thrush* - Bali myna - Purple-naped lory* - Fischer turaco - Kilimanjaro white-eye - Java sparrow More species will likely be added, but this is what is now confirmed on the website. Vogelhaus im Zoo Basel A link with a few pictures: Eröffnung neues Vogelhaus
Four gorillas, the whole group of dikdiks few years ago... they really need to make the fence and the gate fox-proof.
That wouldn't matter if it comes in with contaminated food as seems to be the case. Given that this disease can have an incubation time of 15 years, measures regarding food safety taken in 2011 by Zoo Basel would still have been too late.... Gorilla Faddama gestorben
Arrival of 8 young Boulenger's Cape Tortoises, an extremely rare species that lives in Southern Africa. It's the first time this species is displayed in a zoo worldwide. Actu'Zoo on Instagram: "L’info du jour (06 mai) Le Zoo Basel en Suisse est devenu le premier parc zoologique au monde à détenir des tortues homopodes de Boulenger. Ses visiteurs peuvent désormais y découvrir huit de ces petites tortues en voie de disparition dans leur milieu naturel sud-africain. Entre 2000 et 2017, seuls 24 homopodes de Boulenger ont été observés dans la nature en Afrique du sud, leur espace de vie, autrefois intact, ayant été détruit par les humains Depuis 2018, l'IUCN considère cette espèce comme fortement menacée. En 2019, une fondation néerlandaise engagée pour la survie de ces petites tortues plates a obtenu deux couples d'homopodes de Boulenger en provenance d'Afrique du sud. Un an plus tard, elle a réalisé une première: la reproduction de cette espèce en captivité.Le zoo de Bâle s'est vu confier, l'an dernier, huit jeunes tortues issues de cette reproduction."
Maybe the first WAZA or EAZA zoo worldwide, but zootierliste lists two small places with this species too. The species is on show in the Gamgoas house.
In April 3 Great white pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus) hatched. Source: Instagram of Basel Zoo (11/05/2023)
Another confirmed species is the Visayan tarictic hornbill, which is new for the zoo. Both scissor-billed starlings and red-eared parrotfinch (only kept in Karlsruhe currently) also appeared on the website, but were removed again, so presumably these are still planned but haven't arrived yet. The building opens this weekend, though the waldrapp & roller aviary won't be finished yet. For those interested, the latest annual report, including a complete stock list, can now be downloaded from their website: Zahlen & Fakten – im Geschäftsbericht | Zoo Basel
Other confirmed species for the bird house: Vietnam pheasant and marbled teal, the latter aren't there yet as they will go in the waldrapp aviary.
