Probably was and I'm just remembering the color wrong because I expect them to be red. The animal was mostly in a log when I visited anyway. ~Thylo
Oh, they can be pretty red, depending on the age and population. Otherwise, the colloquial name would be an apparent misnomer. ^^
According to last edition of European Bison Pedigree Book there are not wisents in USA. The only place in North America keeping them is Rockwood Bison Ranch in Canada.
Yes I see it listed on their website, with photos. It looks like they do sell live animals, so it is always possible for them to end up in zoos: Live Sales
Minimal I suspect - would imagine they have the same domestic cattle hybridisation issue as Plains Bison *and* contamination with aforementioned species too.
Judging from this photo from elsewhere on their website, I'd say you're correct there. Hunting ranches are a tough thing because on one hand they breed so many endangered species which could potentially be added into captive breeding programs, but on the other hand you really have no idea what you're actually working with sometimes. Their website claims that they breed the largest ibex in the world, and that their Transcaspian urial are the "biggest and purest in the country" which, aside from being a sales pitch, really does imply some cross-breeding for size despite their claim of purity. They also state that they selectively breed their Urial for the striking white neck mane, which also implies probably inbreeding. ~Thylo
Out of Africa in Arizona has several large outdoor reptile exhibits. See the gallery photos posted by @snowleopard . It was @snowleopard whose European travel thread inspired me to start this thread. I have returned today from northern California with devastating news. He lamented (and I agree) about the stupidity of not offering printed maps in European zoos. Well guess what? I made my first visit to San Francisco Zoo and Sacramento Zoo and they no longer offer maps either! They told me there is a large map just inside the entrance that I could snap a photo of. This is awful! The European disease is spreading to California!
Sacramento Zoo not offering a map is new... three months ago they still did. @Hipporex is this a new policy do you know?
I honestly didn't know this until Arizona Docent told me early today. Last time I came as a guest they did still have maps. I get updated on zoo news, but they never mentioned this.
Although, considering the conservation stance AZA is moving towards, saving that much paper makes sense. Considering that a lot of people are probably taking photos of the big maps already using their phones, probably a small loss to the zoos. Many of the zoos already were asking you to recycle maps to the front for reuse. A lot of people don't seem to care to use paper maps anymore per my recent observations.
Looking at a tiny screen on a smart phone (or in my case a pocket camera) is hugely inconvenient to put it mildly. If you look at the entire map on the screen the individual names are too small to read. If you zoom in it is difficult to locate where you currently are and where you want to go. I did take a photo of the map board at San Francisco and Sacramento, but I would never look at my camera screen during my visit. I ended up just asking staff where to go. This is beyond annoying. I suppose if other zoos go this route (which I hope they do not) I would have to print a map at home off their website before visiting.
This is stupid. America is an amazing place to eat, if you actually try and find non-Mcdonald's places, you'll find something decent.
Printing the map at home, on an amateur scale on an often throw-away printer, must be ecologically more questionable than the zoo doing so professionally for you. Surely it would be even better to include the map in a guide-book, charged at a (sensibly) high enough price to both encourage sales and discourage discarding, resulting in a saved item and an in-built promotional tool?
Were they really physically re-using them? - ie giving people pre-used ones, a bit crumpled and dog-eared... surely not?
Fingers crossed San Diego and the other really complex zoos continue paper maps... Trying to find one's way around those without a map would be frustrating!
No they do not reuse them. They just have a collection bin so they can put the paper in the recycle waste to be processed at a recycling center.
