I believe European zoos could better invest in the two species of lori they still have left in reasonable numbers and the two galago species currently present in Europe. Dwarf lemurs are also a nice species of similar size that is not that common, especially the fat-tailed. With these 5-6 nocturnal species of that size I believe the current "market" is already pretty filled, especially as about half of those species definitively need more holders to be sustainable in the long term. The recent loss of Antwerp as a big powerhouse in grey slender lori breeding makes this all the more urgent. Potos also were more common once, looks to me like they have had their chance in Europe at least. Maybe the US still has a place for them.
Underrepresented animals in zoos
- Thread starter CheeseChameleon1945
- Start date
But while they may not be as hard to keep as one may think, displaying them is a challenge.
Frankfurt has a nocturnal house and you can see the Lorises move around, but I remember the Pygmy slow loris exhibit in Jihlava where one has to be extremely lucky to see one awake, as it's not a day lit exhibit.
There are four species of galago in European collections
sadly I would say the Dwarf Lemur is doomed in captivity, given they are down to a tiny fraction of the number held even a decade ago.All the more reason why there is very limited space for such species. Small diurnal monkeys like tamarins make a much easier display for the average public. In nocturnal houses they can be a nice species to display, but in my experience this is also a matter of luck. I've had the luck of seeing 4 different enclosures for loris at 3 different zoos, and in general I've been able to watch these exhibits roughly 150 times or more. Sometimes they are quite attractive, sometimes people just walk by because they don't see anything.
After a little check on ZTL it seems I've confused a few species names with each others. The dwarf mouse lemur and Goodman's mouse lemur still seem to have a decent basis, and it's indeed the fat-tailed dwarf lemur that is the doomed species. I though they all fel under the large name of "dwarf lemurs" but apparently not.There are four species of galago in European collections
For the galagos, at least the Garnett's bushbaby doesn't seem to viable at all so I already excluded it. Of the remaining three species, I seem to have underestimated their potential, though I have my doubts about every species except the Senegal for the long term. Especially about the Thick-tailed bushbaby.
How come you think the Garnett's is non-viable? There are a fair few collections breeding the species both in private and public - certainly more than is the case for Thick-tailed!
Moholi is also doing very well as far as private breeders are concerned.
The vast majority of the murinus on ZTL *are* indeed that taxon, or at least the same indistinct hybrid swarm of related taxa as has always been labelled thus.
The ganzhorni all derive from a single recent import, and as such the collections holding these are pretty easy to work out - it isn't so much the split being taken into consideration by some collections and not others (especially given ganzhorni wasn't even split from murinus in the first place, but rather myoxinus via berthae) and more the fact that the places with Ganzhorn's know where they got their animals from
For the record, ganzhorni are at Dvur Kralove, Jihlava, Plzen and Prague - and *might* also be at Wroclaw, as I think their stock derives from Plzen too.
I knew there was a possible split, but to be honest I have not been following wether this was widely accepted and how this is reflected in the zoo population management. I assumed they were still treated as one population just as they do with grey langurs (if those are at least hybrids and not just a pure population of unknown origin) alongside the assumption that those two species are able to produce fertile hybrids as well as fertile hybrid-hybrid offspring.
Very interesting, is Ganzhorni in any facilities in the U.S.? I know Murinus is kept in collections here in the U.S.
I must admit I've no knowledge of private populations of galago. If those two are common enough in the private circuit I agree those can be very viable, or at least with good coöperation between keepers.
For the garnett's, it's the small population in zoos and small number of zoos in Europe that made me jump to that conclusion. Good breeding is one piece to the puzzle, having a large enough population is another one needed to conserve a decent genetic diversity.
As noted above, all the Ganzhorn's in European collections are being managed as distinct from murinus and no interbreeding has taken place since the original import. They look very distinct from murinus - being much smaller and more rufous - and even before the new species was actually described, the newly-imported stock was being treated as something different but of unclear identity by the Czech collections holding the animals in question, and as such wasn't allowed to interbreed with murinus populations.
For comparison (ganzhorni above, murinus below)
Yes, I can definitely see the difference. I think I would prefer to see a Ganzhorn's more than a Gray.As noted above, all the Ganzhorn's in European collections are being managed as distinct from murinus and no interbreeding has taken place since the original import. They look very distinct from murinus - being much smaller and more rufous - and even before the new species was actually described, the newly-imported stock was being treated as something different but of unclear identity by the Czech collections holding the animals in question, and as such wasn't allowed to interbreed with murinus populations.
For comparison (ganzhorni above, murinus below)
Oh indeed - I was just surprised it was that one you were writing off immediately rather than Thick-tailed, which is in even fewer collections in Europe and has an even smaller population
I was just finishing mine when you posted yours, realized it just after I posted. They do indeed look very different, nice to know they haven't interbred. I agree with Cheese that I do like the Ganzhorn's more then the murinus. It will be interesting how their population wil evolve in the future.
For the tick-tailed "a lot" of Russian institutions are signed on ZTL. I'm not that trustful of these institutions, but as I'm not familiar with them I didn't find it right to just write them off immediately. Breeding records on ZTL are also not always that correct, so wether most of them don't breed them or it's just not listed that they breed is difficult to tell.Oh indeed - I was just surprised it was that one you were writing off immediately rather than Thick-tailed, which is in even fewer collections in Europe and has an even smaller population
Oh, I wasn't writing them off - but depending on how one defines Europe, three or four of them aren't European
The one on the Pacific coastline of Siberia certainly isn't!
True, and as it isn't an EU country nor are most of the Asian Russian zoos EAZA members I should probably start treating them more like part of the Asian zoo community. In general Russia (even the European part) does seem to be rather secluded from the wider European zoo community, but that's just my guts speaking.Oh, I wasn't writing them off - but depending on how one defines Europe, three or four of them aren't European
The one on the Pacific coastline of Siberia certainly isn't!
We need to bring back Saigas just in general. They are a very interesting species that are heavily affected by climate change. Zoo guests would be extremely interested in them and if you don't believe me just google saiga antelope. They also serve as an important message for the dangers of climate change. Because of climate change diseases have worsened and are now driving saigas to extinction.
They are very difficult to keep in captivity (not thriving well in various climates, in enclosures that are not massive in size, etc). It was discussed here (Are These in Captivity?), among other places in the forum by that particularly knowledgeable member and others.
That's true, the only zoo that is fit to house saigas in the US is the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. But I would still like to see them come back to that park. They were very successful with 100 Saiga births and they are allied with the Saiga Conservation Alliance. Having the Africa Tram go by their exhibit would definitely help educate the public on these animals' existence as San Diego Zoo is one of the most popular zoos in the US.
One zoo doesn't make a successful program, that's resources better spend on more viable programs.