Hoatzin in captivity

ChunkyMunky pengopus said:
Almost certainly not a Hoatzin at Shedd



No, the enclosure being described is currently home to various ducks and a wattled jacana. The wattled jacana (Jacana jacana) is also a bird that is rare in captivity, but nowhere near the level of the Hoatzin. It is an odd looking bird and fits many of the descriptions of the story, including some of them from the conversation with the keeper.



While it is probably a fabrication of half memories, it is also very likely the genuine mistake you mentioned because the Jacana inhabits that exact exhibit.
Click to expand...
Did you read that whole post? It may have started out as a genuine mistake but Mackensie Riley is clearly outright lying here.
 
Not much value to this input since this isn't exactly an unknown variable, but I confirmed with Shedd today that they do not currently house Hoatzin. They also confirmed that they have no record of Hoatzin being housed at their facility at any point in the past.
Mackenzie Riley said:
If you do go to look for him, be respectful, and wear something roughly hoatzin crest colored on your head.
Click to expand...

I may be mistaken but the last sentence of Mackenzie's post seems to indicate that their response was (hopefully?) meant to be taken as a joke, but I will just in case take their advice and be sure to wear my best Hoatzin-hue hat if I should ever have the good luck of seeing the species in person :D
 
Last edited:
csartie said:
Not much value to this input since this isn't exactly an unknown variable, but I confirmed with Shedd today that they do not currently house Hoatzin. They also confirmed that they have no record of Hoatzin being housed at their facility at any point in the past.
Click to expand...

Not surprised. If anyone actually had hoatzins in North America currently it'd be Dallas World Aquarium, not Shedd. Though even DWA is not known to hold them behind the scenes. Hoatzin just isn't kept anywhere outside native range, and pretty rare to non-existent even in the native range. They just don't survive in captivity for the majority of instances.
 
Since the hoatzins at Bronx lived for several years, they are possible to keep in a zoo. Only they did not breed, but it may be e.g. because they breed when only one pair is kept together, like some other birds which are social outside the breeding season.

They are common in parts of South America, so some bird keeper in e.g. Brazil might try again.
 
Orycteropus said:
Bronx not only kept Hoatzins. Four chick hatched and have been reared successfully in 1994, this was the world first breeding record.
Click to expand...

Jurek7 said:
Since the hoatzins at Bronx lived for several years, they are possible to keep in a zoo. Only they did not breed, but it may be e.g. because they breed when only one pair is kept together, like some other birds which are social outside the breeding season.
Click to expand...

They did breed though, so it's not impossible.
 
In Cecil S Webb’s book A Wanderer in the Wind, he talks about how he got the first hoatzin to London Zoo. He had fed them on lettuce and kept them quite happily while he was doing his animal collecting business, and apparently they did quite well. Sadly, on his trip back to London, a storm broke out, and despite Webb’s pleas to the captain of the ship they were on, the hoatzins were not allowed belowdecks. Three of them died due to colds caught from this storm, while the other lived for short time at the zoo. Webb suspects that the hoatzin would have done better if it had been with its companions.
 
Hello,

does anyone of you know if it is possible to get hoatzin in Europe? Are there any in Europe, or are there importers who can get these birds?

Regards
 
I think the question was more along the lines of "Is it possible to get them?" than "Are there any I can see at this moment?" If that is the case, then theoretically... yes. Hoatzin aren't listed on CITES, nor are they particularly endangered. If a range country will willing to issue and export permit and the importing country had no particular issues, then sure, they could be brought over.

The poor success that so many facilities have with hoatzin in the past (a few modest successes aside) has probably done more to protect the species from import than any laws on the books. Many zoos aren't going to import birds from the wild just to say they have "the one and only" - and many private collectors aren't going to take the expensive risk of importing birds that they suspect will fail to thrive.
 
Aardwolf said:
I think the question was more along the lines of "Is it possible to get them?" than "Are there any I can see at this moment?" If that is the case, then theoretically... yes. Hoatzin aren't listed on CITES, nor are they particularly endangered. If a range country will willing to issue and export permit and the importing country had no particular issues, then sure, they could be brought over.

The poor success that so many facilities have with hoatzin in the past (a few modest successes aside) has probably done more to protect the species from import than any laws on the books. Many zoos aren't going to import birds from the wild just to say they have "the one and only" - and many private collectors aren't going to take the expensive risk of importing birds that they suspect will fail to thrive.
Click to expand...
I see, I must have misinterpreted the question, apologies for any confusion I caused.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top