They regard the cranes as big rival pheasants. Directly or indirectly, they’d kill them
Mixed species exhibit ideas
- Thread starter LowlandGorilla4
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Maybe? Feels like there's a lot of ways things could go wrong. I can't imagine it's ideal for best husbandry practices at any rate.
They regard the cranes as big rival pheasants. Directly or indirectly, they’d kill them
Huh, interesting. Learn something new every day. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen cranes and pheasants in the same exhibit. I suppose that likely explains why.
Chester does it, the bears have bred although I think the binturongs are too old. The binturongs do not come out much but in July I spotted both of them out in the indoor enclosure searching for hidden food, when a bear approached it was quickly chased away and often ran outside..
Strathmorezoo
Well-Known Member
You would think that a mixture of Red Winged Starling Spreo Starling and Purple glossy Starling, in a very large aviary (10mt×2'5×2'5mtr),with vegetation would be ok,,Wrong, it was almost carnage .You have to be so careful, even species that should get along with each other. Monitor constantly!
The goal of a mixed enclosure should never be "hopefully nothing dies". Every individual animal should be able to live a good life, not just "exist" without dying.
That's just two enclosures though, right? A mix of pinnipeds in one, and a mix of macropods in the other?
BenFoxster
Well-Known Member
Could any species of aquatic Californian birds be mixed with beavers? In particular I was wondering if either Great Blue Herons or Sandhill Cranes could coexist with beavers.
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Osedax
Well-Known Member
Essentially yes, but they would be able to go into each other's areas if they wanted to.
Waterfowl are routinely mixed with beavers. I wouldn't trust a predatory bird like a Great Blue Heron with them, especially in a breeding situation.
Torgos
Well-Known Member
I could actually see that happen with a male monal beating up a demoiselle really badly to the point it dies but hunting might not be the right word. The crane gets cornered and goes down and the monal is absolutely relentless. They are pretty good at killing their wives and that beak is such a weapon. But pretty unusual behavior in general and not something you'd have to worry about with almost any other crane/pheasant combo of species. More likely that cranes would be aggressors in my book. As with so many mixes the size and quality of the exhibit space is going to be a major factor here - hiding spaces, sight blocks, areas a larger species can't access, flightedness of individuals.
I agree about the aggression of red-billed magpies - terrorists in breeding season - but very pretty terrorists.
BenFoxster
Well-Known Member
Ok, what about Sandhill Crane?
I have references for a Swinhoe’s x Silver hybrid and a Silver Pheasant, hunting cranes and in the first case, a flamingo. When I say ‘hunt’, they deliberately seek out the object of their aggression, won’t let it rest or feed, and physically attack when it’s cornered. With Monal they were actually working as a pair. Many pheasant species can live amicably with cranes, Tragopan and Chrysolophus species both seem OK. Much depends on the individual birds, and the space available.
I’ve known two pairs of Purple Glossies disagree seriously in an aviary of similar size. To mix starlings with any prospect of success, a much bigger enclosure is needed
Haliaeetus
Well-Known Member
In Beauval there are 3 or 4 species of Glossy Starlings together in a large walkthrough aviary.
They are mixed with Fruit Bats, Giant Tortoises and a pair of Von Decken Hornbills.
Once there were Coconut Crabs too. I missed them because they have been quickly removed. They tried to escape the aviary, and fell even from the topping net to the ground !
An idea I've had in passing - would it be safe to have a large tank of cichlids (say, of Malawi or Tanganyika cichlids) mixed with little grebes? I know they can eat small fish, but every reference I've found suggests the sort of fish they eat are more minnow or stickleback sized than the larger cichlids.
And if grebes couldn't work, could maccoa ducks work with the same mix of cichlids?
And if grebes couldn't work, could maccoa ducks work with the same mix of cichlids?
AndyJ08
Well-Known Member
I’ve seen ducks and other waterfowl mixed in with cichlids. As a fishkeeper, the answer would be yes, it would work, but expect a few fish to get eaten from time to time. Just make sure to not mix the grebes with any expensive/rare cichlid species and they’ll be fine.
Yes, it's possible - it usually works best with only two individuals and when different genera are involved. It's always risky though, and should be done cautiously. Turacos are a bit notorious for suddenly disliking each other, whether the same species or not.
The more different the species look, the higher the chance is that they'll get along.
So, for example, Violet turacos can get along fine with Great blue or Guinea turacos, but not with Lady Ross turaco
Those mixes can still go sour - but the chances of success are higher. Fine is not the word I would suggest using here. Whether introducing two turaco of the same species or different species, it should be done carefully and cautiously.
True, I was just giving examples of long-existing mixes in zoos I've seen. Like Blijdorp, Beekse Bergen and Avifauna