ZooChat 'Embrace the ABCs' Challenge - Mammals

@Chlidonias,Thank you for spending the time on this very fulsome explanation. I understand the different taxanomic levels. I think my question was perhaps a much more mundane one of language usage:. Why do we call a Damnation a Dalmation (Grant's or other subspecies by name), while Europe calls it a dog (Plains Zebra)?

I am admittedly a bit confused about where the leopard falls on the taxanomic levels, but this is really probably not important in the greater scheme. When I started to sink deeper into this species, I found that there are two seemingly-equally-regarded recent theories that place leopards and jaguars on different levels in the species cladogram, swapping places if you will. I would have expected this to place one in a higher taxonomic level over the other, thus dropping the other down a level no matter which theory you ascribed to--and why this doesn't alter their names for accuracy.. However I'm starting to suspect that you may advise me that they are not truly different levels and more like "cousins" either way. Similarly, I'm ttrying to reconcile why Panthera pardus is used as both a species and subspecies name, crossing two levels.

My questions may indeed be more related to current language usage than to classification and etymology. Back to the (useful!) dog analogy: Why would Europeans use the more general panthera pardus and call it a leopard instead of Panthers pardus fusca, Indian Leopard as we would here? Although more fuzzy as an argument than the zebra analogy, why does Europe call a Dalmation a Dog (Leopard), while in North America it would be called a Dalmation (Indian Leopard)?

 

Ok, this solves my confusion about a cladogram not representing taxon levels. Eureka!

Dear @TLD, I know very well you use the names of dog breeds in Europe, lol as I was once all but mauled, tarred, and feathered in a disturbing, no-holds-barred, jaw-dropping attack over the breed of my own dog, one that left me utterly speechless for some time. In this case, I was merely continuing @Chlidonias' analogy to dogs to make my questions clearer.

Since the rules here required a description of the signage use, it seemed that Plains Zebra is the common term of use in Europe. So common is Grant's used here that I had no idea what a Plains Zebra was when I first saw the term. @Chlidonias is right--you effectively use the species name for all the zebra sub-species, while we use the subspecies' name itself:.

"I say Grant's Zebra, you say Plains Zebra,
You say Plains Zebra, I say Grant's Zebra,
Plains Zebra! Grant's Zebra!
Grant's Zebra! Plains Zebra!
Let's call the whole thing off."

With thanks to Ira Gershwin, I nevertheless still don't quite understand the deliberately different usage but will call off my inquiry in the interest of British-American relations. The use of "Bengal," is obvious, a given, a euphemism!

 

Àaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh...........yes..........

Complete and utter resolution. Serenity.
ToMAYto, ToMAHto. I'm good.

 

I love these! Thank you! All the references to Plains Zebra were challenge-required. You do call them Grant's too!

It's reassuring to know that I now understand the terminology used in this game that so many of you have now completed!

 

Hamerton Zoological Park, 13/03/2020

Equus quagga - Plains Zebra

...and after two-and-a-half months, and a couple of lucky visits (as actually today is the only one I planned specifically with this thread in mind!), that's the set.

I did see the Jaguarundi, so even without the spontaneous Wild ZP visit this would still have been the day I completed the list.


A: Ateles paniscus - Red-faced Spider Monkey (Welsh Mountain Zoo, 23rd Feb 2020)
B: Bison bonasus - European Bison (Whipsnade, 19th Jan 2020)
C: Crocuta crocuta - Spotted Hyaena (YWP, 18th Jan 2020)
D: Dama dama - Fallow Deer (Whipsnade, 19th Jan 2020)
E: Equus grevyi - Grevy's Zebra (Whipsnade, 19th Jan 2020)
F: Ateles fusciceps - Colombian Spider Monkey (Chester, 31st Jan 2020)
G: Gulo gulo - Wolverine (Whipsnade, 19th Jan 2020)
H: Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris - Greater Capybara (YWP, 18th Jan 2020)
I: Hydropotes inermis - Chinese Water Deer (Whipsnade, 19th Jan 2020)
J: Okapia johnstoni - Okapi (Chester, 31st Jan 2020)
K: Kobus leche - Lechwe (YWP, 18th Jan 2020)
L: Lynx lynx - Northern Lynx (Whipsnade, 19th Jan 2020)
M: Micromys minutus - Eurasian Harvest Mouse (WWT Slimbridge, 25th Jan 2020)
N: Nasua nasua - Ring-tailed Coati (Wild Zoological Park, 1st Mar 2020)
O: Orycteropus afer - Aardvark (Chester, 31st Jan 2020)
P: Papio papio - Guinea Baboon (YWP, 18th Jan 2020)
Q: Equus quagga - Plains Zebra (Hamerton, 13th Mar 2020)
R: Rhinoceros unicornis - Indian Rhinoceros (Chester, 31st Jan 2020)
S: Suricatta suricata - Meerkat (YWP, 18th Jan 2020)
T: Tapirus terrestris - Brazilian Tapir (Chester, 31st Jan 2020)
U: Ursus maritimus - Polar Bear (YWP, 18th Jan 2020)
V: Varecia variegata - Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur (Chester, 31st Jan 2020)
W: Wallabia bicolor - Swamp Wallaby (Welsh Mountain Zoo, 23rd Feb 2020)
X: Sapajus xanthosternos - Buffy-headed Capuchin (Dudley Zoo, 1st Mar 2020)
Y: Herpailurus yagouaroundi - Jaguarundi (Wild Zoological Park, 1st Mar 2020)
Z: Zalophus californianus - California Sea Lion (Whipsnade, 19th Jan 2020)

Have checked and I believe the correct points total from the above list is 58, plus (if no-one's posted while I've been working all this out) 4 for completing second, to give 62.

Didn't miss out on too many extras, I think only A could I have done better from the visits I've had - scoring higher otherwise would have meant forfeiting the chance of bonus points and possibly not finishing in time so wasn't worth it!

 

Although, I actually would have scored less without Wild ZP, as I would've had to sub in the more unusual but lower-scoring Notomys alexis for N.

 

Zoo Brno 12/3/2020
Mephitis mephitis, Striped Skunk
Varecia varegiata, Black-and-white ruffed lemur

Current list:

A: Atherurus africanus, African Brush-tailed Porcupine, 3pts, Prague
B: Bison bison, Bison, 3 points, Wien
C:Capra caucasica, Caucasian tur, 3pts, Prague
D: Dasyuroides byrnei, Kowari, 2pts, Jihlava
E: Eira barbara, Tayra, 2pts, Prague
F: Felis chaus, Jungle cat, 2pts, Jihlava
G: Gorilla gorilla, Lowland gorilla, 3pts, Prague
H: Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris, Capybara, 3pts, Jihlava
I:
J:
K: Kerodon rupestris, Rock cavy, 2pts, Jihlava
L: Lynx lynx, Eurasian Lynx. 3 points, Wien
M: Mephitis mephitis, Striped Skunk, 3pts Brno
N: Nasua narica, White-nosed coati. 3 points, Wien
O: Otolemur garnettii, Garnett's galago, 2pts, Jihlava
P: Phloeomys pallidus, Northern-Luzon Giant Cloud Rat. 3 points, Wien
Q: Equus quagga, Plains Zebra. 1 point, Wien
R:
S: Suricata suricatta, Meerkat. 3 points, Wien
T: Tapirus terrestis, South American tapir, 3pts, Jihlava
U: Ursus maritimus, Polar Bear. 2 points, Wien
V: Varecia variegata, Black-and-white ruffed lemur, 3 pts Brno
W: Wallabia bicolor, Swamp wallaby, 2pts, Prague
X: Xerus inauris, Cape ground squirrel 2pts, Prague
Y: Herpailurus yagouaroundi, Jaguarundi, 1pt, Prague
Z: Vulpes zerda, Fennec fox, 1pt, Jihlava


Points: 55

That is it for me, unless other competitors will be really slow in closing their lists...

 

Podium Standings

Gold: @Someokapinextdoor 66pts
Silver: @Maguari 62pts
Bronze:

 

A lot of people aren't going to have much of a choice I think with the virus.

 

Indeed. Both of my local zoos (Buffalo and Toronto) are closed. It's gonna be a long three weeks before Toronto is slated to reopen...

 

Since the challenge is close to being finished, and yet we are in an enforced period of almost zero zoo visiting, I thought I'd take this opportunity to open up the feedback session. Your thoughts are welcome whether you actually played or just followed the action. I'm not inclined to make any major changes before the next iteration, but there's always room for tweaking.

*****

Prompts:

How does the challenge feel to play? What was fun about it? What would make it more enjoyable?

What are people's thoughts on the points structure? How about the bonuses?

Do the restrictions feel too restrictive? (I'm thinking of number of species per zoo, having to update your list before your next visit, and inabilty to change entries)

Is the element of racing against other players interesting? Could/should it be increased or decreased?

*****

Any big picture thoughts are also very welcome. I'm sure most of us are already looking forward to getting back out there. I'm thinking the next round should start once things have opened up in most areas again. Stay safe and remain indoors!

 

I didn't play this time around (Only because my first zoo visit was based around getting jaguarundi out of the way an failing miserably! ) but I enjoyed following along, and did have plans to knock off the challenge pretty quickly, if I'd got jaguarundi. I even had Z and W lined up in quick succession.

I think the structure was fine, and I look forward to partaking in the next iteration.

 

For one thing this challenge is a nice deviation from the usual annual challenges. A real strenght is that this challenge is not so much influenced by visiting a few major collections. Another element that I really liked is the tactical part. With this challenge I had to think ahead and plan my choices (though I made some major mistakes in hindsight: I never realised how vital Burgers' Safari was for my score until I had left the zoo!).

One thing I'm a bit unsure about is the "sense of urgency" as you called it. On one hand it did trigger my competitive spirit - resulting in a super fast visit to Ouwehands when I saw a chance to do so. However, it doesn't give a lot of time to catch up when you're falling behind. I understand that there's a delicate balance between creating urgency and allow for some opportunity to catch up again. It may have been a leaning a bit too much to the urgency side for me.

The point structure and most restrictions were fine for me. I'll definately participate again in the next edition!

 

As a mentioned before, this challenge add more excitement and educational part to my zoo visits. I even tried to reach Jaguarundy, but they canceled my fly to Poznan on 21/3 due to Corona. When you see certain number of zoos and mammal species, man stops pay much attention to Crocuta crocuta or Nasua nasua, but the game made me revisit their enclosures few times

I think, that the rules are adequate and the only reason, the challenge took more time is the winter season. I could add one or two more 3 pointers, like Jaculus jaculus in Bronx, but preferred to play safe.

Would love to play this challenge on yearly base, with the term to get maximum points, instead for timing. The current world maximum - 69 points is achievable and would be great to run for it. May be next year . The total maximum of 71 points is historically available, but I do not think there are current holdings of Urocitellus undulatus and Indri Indri .

Nevertheless, enjoyed the current format very much and hope we all be safe and in good health to play again soon

 

It sucks that I couldn't even participate, but I know that I'll get there someday.