Berlin Tierpark Tierpark Berlin News 2024

markmeier

markmeier

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
Let's start the new Tierpark year with a look back at some of last year's highlights:

I hope they'll publish an official outlook on 2024 shortly, but for now that's what I am looking forward to:

1) The Asia enclosure likely will open this Spring (Asian Small-Clawed Otters, Babirusas, Black Crested Macaques/Sulawesi Crested Macaques).
2) The former snow leopard enclosure probably will receive a new species.
3) They likely will remodel and improve an existing exhibit or two as they always do and hopefully will continue planting and landscaping the huge park area around the lengthy visitor paths (this has been thriving ever since they received additional staff for this purpose and I'm loving it).
4) There should be massive progress with the elephant complex (I hope the new roof will finally be put on).
5) The "usual" surprises: newborns, new arrivals.

What I do not expect are major events as in some of the previous years. I think they extended the dino exhibition/installation for a reason. The remaining main project (elephants) isn't going to be finished and presented to the public this year.

But in a way it can also be a good thing, since the many large building sites in the park have been rather annoying. In this respect, it can be a good year to visit and enjoy the park (unless you desperately want to see African elephants, in this case you should wait at least another year).

I am definitely looking forward to my upcoming visits, although they will be rather limited (I have another busy year ahead which will likely drop a bit in a few years).
 
TeaLovingDave said:
ZTL still lists three European collections, plus three recently-added ones in Asia. The European population now consists solely of singleton males, so it's only a matter of time before it is lost entirely.
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Strange, I Just looked it up and didn't see any entries. But as you say, it only seems a matter of time then.

Edit: Never mind. I forgot opening the entries. Still not used to it. There even are 3 listings for Indonesia on there. But If that's all, the outlook seems rather bad. And I really liked the specimen in the Tierpark. I still remember how exciteded I was, when they bred them successfully...
 
TeaLovingDave said:
ZTL still lists three European collections, plus three recently-added ones in Asia. The European population now consists solely of singleton males, so it's only a matter of time before it is lost entirely.
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Time to get some new blood!
 
Therabu said:
With three to four subspecies to manage in Europe, some facing space issues, I am not sure starting again with Javan leopard would be such a good idea.

Helping Indonesian zoos to structure and keep a good program for their endemic subspecie would make much more sense and would be also way more cost-effective.
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What are the three to four currently being managed? Amur are by far the most common, with a few Sri Lankan, Indian and Javan knocking about? Have to say I'm not optimistic any of them apart from Amur have a sustainable future here.
 
Cat-Man said:
What are the three to four currently being managed? Amur are by far the most common, with a few Sri Lankan, Indian and Javan knocking about? Have to say I'm not optimistic any of them apart from Amur have a sustainable future here.
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Persian are the third major(ish) subspecies in Europe. Indian are down to only a couple of individuals and Javan down to three males. Both Persian and Sri Lankan should stick around for a while longer, they're doing fine last I heard. Your perception that they aren't is probably because leopard subspecies distribution in Europe is quite regional - Sri Lankan common in Southern Europe, Persian in Central and Eastern, Amur in Northern and Western. Obviously Indian and Javan are on the way out. North Chinese are probably the same subspecies as Amur, but if you count them separately, that's a fourth fairly sustainable leopard subspecies in Europe.
 
Ah of course, I forgot about Persian. A quick look on ZTL has confirmed what you said about geography and the population is in a far healthier state than I imagined, and both can have a future here should there be the will there to do so.

I guess we will wait and see on Javan - I believe TP Berlin imported a couple a few years ago, so it could happen again. But like you said, it may not be the wisest use of resources despite how rare they are in the wild.
 
Prague wanted to start breeding Javan leopards. It received male Arjuna (beautiful animal, but a little shy) from Berlin. And had serious plans to import female from Indonesian zoos. But meanwhile the EAZA TAG made decision to phase Javans out. Thus import got cancelled and Arjuna is living here alone waiting for the inevitable.

I don´t know if Europe could maintain another leopard subspecies long term - probably not. Unfortunately European zoos that decide to start with leopards in recent decade or two, tend to build mostly for snow leopards. Snow leopard program has more interested participants and larger animal population than it needs for sustainability while other leopards (Persian, Chinese, Sri Lankan) are fighting for any additional institution willing to take part in the program.
 
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markmeier said:
0,1 Javanese Leopard "Srikandi" increasingly suffered because of a tumor, and had to be put down. Now Zootierliste doesn't list a single zoo with Javanese Leopards at all (but since they started going global, they may list some in Asia sooner or later).
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Ah, that'll explain why I didn't see her during my visit on Sunday. It would appear they're already doing some maintenance on the enclosure.

Worth nothing that as Berlin already holds Persians, it's unlikely Tierpark will as well. Javan obviously suits the ABH much better as well. However, given the Berlin tiger situation and the prevelance of Persians in that area of Europe I wouldn't rule it out.

In other news...having now seen the elephant house, it is slightly confusing that it's still over a year from completion given how finished it is externally. Obviously it needs the roof and I assume it's gutted inside so given the size I guess it makes sense. Thoroughly impressive building regardless.
 
Therabu said:
With three to four subspecies to manage in Europe, some facing space issues, I am not sure starting again with Javan leopard would be such a good idea.

Helping Indonesian zoos to structure and keep a good program for their endemic subspecie would make much more sense and would be also way more cost-effective.
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Well said. Someone with common sense around and a good view of what holistic conservation/one plan approach means. You do not need to have animals in European zoos to help their conservation.

Jana said:
Snow leopard program has more interested participants and larger animal population than it needs for sustainability while other leopards (Persian, Chinese, Sri Lankan) are fighting for any additional institution willing to take part in the program.
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From which source do you base your assumption that the size of the snow leopard population is sustainable?
 
OkapiJohn said:
Well said. Someone with common sense around and a good view of what holistic conservation/one plan approach means. You do not need to have animals in European zoos to help their conservation.


From which source do you base your assumption that the size of the snow leopard population is sustainable?
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Probably the fact there are over 100 holders of the species in Europe!
 
Cat-Man said:
100 is more sustainable than most species could hope for.
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Fortunately, the vast majority of breeding coordinators do not think like that. Otherwise, we would not have zoo populations of most of our loved species 100 years into the future.
 
It depends on the species (e.g. litter size, breeding age, age per se, gestation time etc.). As for snowleopards, I'm absolutely agree with @Cat-Man that there are enough holders (= regular zoos, not to mention a few dozens/hundreds specimens in privat hands) at least at the moment, but not enough for 3 Panthera pardus subspecies unfortunately.
 
zoomaniac said:
It depends on the species (e.g. litter size, breeding age, age per se, gestation time etc.). As for snowleopards, I'm absolutely agree with @Cat-Man that there are enough holders (= regular zoos, not to mention a few dozens/hundreds specimens in privat hands) at least at the moment, but not enough for 3 Panthera pardus subspecies unfortunately.
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You are assuming , wrongly, that number of holders is the same as number of individuals and you are also assuming that every individual/holder is part of the breeding programme. There are many instances of individuals deemed redundant in a breeding programme that end up removed from it. Others might be senescent (not fertile anymore due to advanced age). There are also many holders in ZTL that hold animals of an EEP species, but these animals are not part of the EEP. I do not know if that is the case for the snow leopard but it happens with other species. The same also happens the other way around. Universities, governmental breeding centres, or even private holders that have individuals belonging to an EEP but because they are not zoos they do not appear in ZTL. Number of holders (especially in ZTL) is a bad metric to measure the sustainability of a zoo population. So do not blame the snow leopard for the lack of space for the other leopards. The snow leopard needs that space and even more.
 
OkapiJohn said:
From which source do you base your assumption that the size of the snow leopard population is sustainable?
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I can´t tract the source back now - but I have read somewhere a report of a Czech participant/curator that returned from an EAZA meeting few years back. With the message that snow leopard program discourages new participants and that the current population in EAZA zoos actually slightly exceeds the target one.
 
OkapiJohn said:
You are assuming , wrongly, that number of holders is the same as number of individuals and you are also assuming that every individual/holder is part of the breeding programme. There are many instances of individuals deemed redundant in a breeding programme that end up removed from it. Others might be senescent (not fertile anymore due to advanced age). There are also many holders in ZTL that hold animals of an EEP species, but these animals are not part of the EEP. I do not know if that is the case for the snow leopard but it happens with other species. The same also happens the other way around. Universities, governmental breeding centres, or even private holders that have individuals belonging to an EEP but because they are not zoos they do not appear in ZTL. Number of holders (especially in ZTL) is a bad metric to measure the sustainability of a zoo population. So do not blame the snow leopard for the lack of space for the other leopards. The snow leopard needs that space and even more.
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And you are assuming, wrongly, that there are only one specimen per holder and not 2 or more in the average. My "knowledge" is from a former director of Zoo Zurich about 10 years ago, saying that there are enough specimens for a sustainable stock and that zoos have problems to find good places for surplus individuals (although did not mention if the later were only such outside of breeding age or not). From where is yours??
 
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