cornu aspersum
Well-Known Member
Even if Ernie was still alive he couldn't have bred since he was castrated.
ZOO Antwerpen Zoo Antwerpen News 2024
- Thread starter KevinB
- Start date
Seems she will be paired with Dublin's sole female, Heidi for now. Heidi has been living by herself following Ernie's passing a few months back.
It appears there is the intention to acquire a bull to pair with these two girls in the future.
cornu aspersum
Well-Known Member
I hope they expand their hippos facilities before breeding.
Why is it suddently okay to breed from a hybrid chimpanzee group? What is the sense in that when a critically endangered Pan troglodytes verus (West Africa) and a small nominate troglodytes subspecies are part of the EEP/EAZA program?
I really don't understand that when the reduced Antwerpen group is not re-arranged into one of the above when their ageing individuals started progressively passing away!??? What puzzles me even more that female Marit with her related Kolmarden born friend Mia are both known hybrids anyway?!!!
What is the rationale behind all this?
Haliaeetus
Well-Known Member
The baby Tapir has received the name of ZAKI.
ZOO Antwerpen on Instagram: "Een naam voor onze nieuwe gestippelde vriend!
Jullie maakten het spannend, het was een nek-aan-nekrace, maarrrr... jullie stemden uiteindelijk het meest voor Zaki! Dankjewel voor jullie enthousiasme en betrokkenheid. Heb jij onze pasgeboren tapir in ZOO Antwerpen al kunnen spotten? #ZOOantwerpen #tapir"
A female African penguin has hatched and been given the name Zazou.
ZOO Antwerpen - Dag, kleine Zazou! Onze piepjonge... | Facebook
ZOO Antwerpen - Dag, kleine Zazou! Onze piepjonge... | Facebook
Today hippopotamus Hermien was euthanized due to her age and health issues. Her daughter Imani will move to Dublin Zoo where she will live with another hippo. Hermien's corpse will be donated to the University of Antwerp, where the zoo's vet will carry out the necropsy with specialists to learn more about hippos and about the osteoarthritis Hermien suffered from, which might in the future help other zoo hippos.
ZOO Antwerpen
ZOO Antwerpen
After the dead of hippo Hermiee, I was wondering if anyone has a recent copy of the studbook of hippo's in Europe?
EliasNys
Well-Known Member
Went to the Zoo today, a few things took my attention:
- I hadn't visited the zoo since 2019, so there were quite a lot of exhibits i didn't see yet ( i don't remember the parrot aviaries, the markhors and the alpacas and babirusas, i also had never been in the bird house before and i also don't remember the caves under the buffalo restaurant ( but that could also have been because i take the playground route)
- i saw that the upper part of the hippotopia building was already opened. Currently there isn't much to see except the upper view of the aviary but at least it is a nice shortcut as long as the building itself is closed.
- I also never noticed before that they also kept a treekangooroo in the small apes building. I used to remember the koala exhibit differently, but i could be confusing with other zoos
- there seemed to be quite some neglect when it comes to the winter garden. Lots of plants were partially rotten. I also don't understand why they don't keep more species here, like small seed eating birds or some jungle bat species, currently the garden is beautiful but it just seemed quite empty
- can anybody confirm if the one in the back is the eastern lowland gorilla? I never knew there were 2 gorilla species kept at antwerpen, but i found out when there was only one left in the entire world (in zoos) so i really wanted to see him in case he suddenly would pass away.
- There wasn't really any progress on the Jubileum complex, except for some herbs being removed.
- I also saw some reptiles (madagascar gekko, the lizard that is kept in the first enclosure when you enter the building (forgot his name) a Braziliaanse Vogelspin (forgot english translation), amphibians( a poison frog) juveniles in the reptile building
- I also saw the baby tapir born recently and the oustiti babies born recently.
- can anybody confirm if the one in the back is the eastern lowland gorilla? I never knew there were 2 gorilla species kept at antwerpen, but i found out when there was only one left in the entire world (in zoos) so i really wanted to see him in case he suddenly would pass away.
The individual at the back here is indeed Amahoro, and she is a female. She is easily recognizable by her large size and by being entirely black.
EliasNys
Well-Known Member
It's a female? Then why don't they just artificially inseminate her to save the species? I always thought it was a male because of her size and because i thought they would keep breeding with a female.
Where would they get the sperm from? And how would breeding this single female "save the species"?
I believe Eastern lowland gorillas are the largest subspecies of gorilla.
With regards to breeding her: it would be of no use to inseminate her with sperm of Western lowland gorillas and raise hybrids. And I don't think it would be realistic at all to gather sperm from wild males in the difficult and unstable regions of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo where wild Eastern lowland gorillas are found, especially to inseminate just one female. The Eastern lowland gorilla is best saved by conserving them in their native range.
There are about 50 orphaned and disabled individuals in the care of sanctuaries. Personally I would love that Antwerp would start a breeding program for Eastern Lowland gorillas with Amahoro. Since the subspecies is in steep decline of 77% since 1994. With the last review being in 2015. Also since zoos love to keep gorillas I think this could work. However this is a dream reality is harsher.
Btw other female in the picture is Mambele
Btw other female in the picture is Mambele
I did not know there are eastern gorillas in human care, and several tens!
I agree that it would be best for the gorillas themselves if foreign zoos got them as breeding loans. Currently they are in some orphanages in Africa, where they are vulnerable to diseases, civil disorder and uncertain funding at least as much as wild gorillas. However it looks like neither wolds zoos nor these orphanages are interested in such a plan. Western zoos have enough zoo-bred western gorillas, orphanages have mentality from 50 years ago - before the idea of breeding plans existed and nature was great and safe.
I agree that it would be best for the gorillas themselves if foreign zoos got them as breeding loans. Currently they are in some orphanages in Africa, where they are vulnerable to diseases, civil disorder and uncertain funding at least as much as wild gorillas. However it looks like neither wolds zoos nor these orphanages are interested in such a plan. Western zoos have enough zoo-bred western gorillas, orphanages have mentality from 50 years ago - before the idea of breeding plans existed and nature was great and safe.
I would very much prefer some European zoos and in particular Antwerpen Zoo to use their only eastern lowland gorilla as an ambassador for their species and provide long term support to the sanctuaries in eastern DR Congo and create a program beyond the sanctuaries to support in situ protection of wild populations and possibly allow the current groups of captive confiscated eastern lowland gorillas to set up some breeding and (perhaps release/reintroduction) plan.
It will be political suicide, both in Europe as in DRC on sending orphaned gorillas to western zoos. Even without the political elements it would be a challenge to import gorillas due to veterinary challenges, creating enough space for a 2nd gorilla breeding programme and creating new breeding stable breeding groups from this orphaned gorillas.
It will be a lot easier to improve the situation in the orphanages, help them to build up capacity and create breeding groups there.
It will be a lot easier to improve the situation in the orphanages, help them to build up capacity and create breeding groups there.
Western zoos certainly spend much money on protecting national parks in gorilla habitat.
Lets reverse the argument: instead of making an orphanage in Africa, caretakers of local gorillas would be much more efficient to donate money to local national parks etc. But it would be impossible - and this shows the folly of this thinking.
In fact, it would be much more difficult to solve ebola in apes, political unrests and bushmeat hunting in Central Africa than to move orphaned gorillas to good zoos.
There are many precedents when local zoo-like institutions in Central Africa failed, with extinction of northern white rhinos in the wild and repeated burning and attacks on okapi and ape centers. But still people naively ignore political and economic reality in conservation.
Lets reverse the argument: instead of making an orphanage in Africa, caretakers of local gorillas would be much more efficient to donate money to local national parks etc. But it would be impossible - and this shows the folly of this thinking.
In fact, it would be much more difficult to solve ebola in apes, political unrests and bushmeat hunting in Central Africa than to move orphaned gorillas to good zoos.
There are many precedents when local zoo-like institutions in Central Africa failed, with extinction of northern white rhinos in the wild and repeated burning and attacks on okapi and ape centers. But still people naively ignore political and economic reality in conservation.
I'm very familiar with the political and economic reality of Central Africa and how difficult it is to work there. But we should also not pretend that African-led conservation is impossible. Ebola can be managed and centers can be protected. War can affect European zoos as well just think of what happened/is happening to the Saiga herd in Askania Nova. And if you want precedents of disease impacting endangered species the history of Eastern Gorillas in Antwerp is telling and there are endangered animals in European zoos where disease and veterinary management is problematic.
Taking the Eastern gorillas out of the orphanages to Western Zoos will be perceived as a colonialist intervention and will not help the conservation of the species in-situ. This is not like some of the Asiatic bird species that were sent to Europe at the request of the range country.
Plus where are you going to put them. There is no capacity to bring in enough gorillas to form a stable breeding programme, unless you want to send a large number of gorillas (Western or Eastern) to Asia.
Taking the Eastern gorillas out of the orphanages to Western Zoos will be perceived as a colonialist intervention and will not help the conservation of the species in-situ. This is not like some of the Asiatic bird species that were sent to Europe at the request of the range country.
Plus where are you going to put them. There is no capacity to bring in enough gorillas to form a stable breeding programme, unless you want to send a large number of gorillas (Western or Eastern) to Asia.
Yes, taking into western zoos' captivity is a very arrogant attitude to begin with as if the ICCN does not exist nor perform major tasks inside and outside protected areas, conducts research and surveys across the country. They do and yes they work under the very difficult circumstances.
But excuses me, take out the Eastern lowland gorillas out of their current sanctuaries. I reiterate what I said above, we as northern hemisphere zoos need to double up support for these sanctuaries and re-establish a functioning link to rehabilating the gorillas and/or establish an African and Congolais driven effort to conserve the species in ex situ conservation breeding.
The Antwerpen old lady Amahoro could be their ambassador and given Belgium's blackened colonial past in the Congo from giving over power to the Congolais themselves and the murder of Panafrican leader Patrice Lumumba .... (), it is a good step forward. Perhaps they should look at the Bruxellois Africa Museum and their key word with the Congolese Govt. and Congolais ties to the new museum and cooperation on culture and science between both the Africa Museum and the Congolais Govt. and scientific and Universities' in DR Congo.
PERIOD!