Rare Species Conservation Centre RSCC news 2009
- Thread starter kiang
- Start date
Vulpes
Well-Known Member
Two very nice species! I think i need to pay this place another visit soon!
1:1 Ring Tailed Lemur and 1:1 Meerkat have gone to Dehiwala Zoo in Sri Lanka in exchange for 2 pairs of Giant Squirrels and 1:0 Rusty Spotted Cat.
Lemurs and meerkats for Dehiwala Zoo
Lemurs and meerkats for Dehiwala Zoo
Two young pairs of Palawan Binturong (Arctictis binturong whitei) have arrived from Avilon Wildlife Conservation Foundation in the Philippines. One pair of Indochinese Binturongs has been placed on breeding loan with Exmoor Zoo, to make way for these new additions.
Update 2010 RSCC
Visited RSCC on JULY 4th 1/The 2 Smooth Otter cubs cubs still with their
parents made an appearence for several minutes.They looked very robust and surprisingly large for their age.2/Alot of activity with the Malaysian Singing dogs.Both the mother and sister coming in to heat and young male
dogs very challenging.The youngsters I believe will be moved to Exmoor
Zoo next week?.3/Sadly 6 of the 7 mouse deer have died.One male left.
Feed brussel sprouts which resulted in a number of dying from toxic shock.
Another had a hoof infection which result in it's death.4/Jaguandi have had kittens and mother very protective. 8/Also one of the giant Sri Lankan
Squirrels has died (female?),three left.Can see lone male in round house to left of fossa 9/Work on Fishing cat exhibit nearly finished.10/Two Malaysian Tapirs made an appearence after lunch.11/Aardwolves also very active mid morning.12/Two madagascan teal in flamingo pool.13/Area beyond snow leopards to be opened up soon.
Wonderful experience.Overall increased greening of zoo looks good.However feeling of overcrowding and needs expansion into adjoining orchard and field soon!Animals and ambiance wonderful.Sorry to hear attendence down.
Visited RSCC on JULY 4th 1/The 2 Smooth Otter cubs cubs still with their
parents made an appearence for several minutes.They looked very robust and surprisingly large for their age.2/Alot of activity with the Malaysian Singing dogs.Both the mother and sister coming in to heat and young male
dogs very challenging.The youngsters I believe will be moved to Exmoor
Zoo next week?.3/Sadly 6 of the 7 mouse deer have died.One male left.
Feed brussel sprouts which resulted in a number of dying from toxic shock.
Another had a hoof infection which result in it's death.4/Jaguandi have had kittens and mother very protective. 8/Also one of the giant Sri Lankan
Squirrels has died (female?),three left.Can see lone male in round house to left of fossa 9/Work on Fishing cat exhibit nearly finished.10/Two Malaysian Tapirs made an appearence after lunch.11/Aardwolves also very active mid morning.12/Two madagascan teal in flamingo pool.13/Area beyond snow leopards to be opened up soon.
Wonderful experience.Overall increased greening of zoo looks good.However feeling of overcrowding and needs expansion into adjoining orchard and field soon!Animals and ambiance wonderful.Sorry to hear attendence down.
Thre should still be animals at Wroclaw, but I'm not sure how many. It's certainly a major setback.
Wroclaw have sent all animals but one pair to RSCC. ISIS lists them as having 1,1,1 and that sounds to be right (a pair plus offspring).
Thanks Jana.
Down to four animals. Even if the youngster at Wroclaw is female that's gonna be very difficult to keep them going. Shame.
I suppose the only bright side is they at least know what went wrong, should they have the opportunity to import more.
peacockpheasant
Active Member
It's really not acceptable for 5 animals to die from poor husbandry in this day and age ESPECIALLY when the requirements of the genus are firmly established.
I am not alone in thinking Mr. Dalton is being more than a little irresponsible with the rate of expansion when considering his experience. There is absolutely no valid reason or excuse for the volume of tiny exhibits and enclosures crammed into that site.
Vulpes
Well-Known Member
I think there is a distinction to be made here between poor husbandry and a mistake. It appears they were fed the wrong diet which killed them. It is hardly neglect. I think Human error can never be eliminated no matter what day and age it is. however I do see your point. I think this is why many collections acquiring new species usually start with one or two surplus males to master the husbandry techniques before valuable breeding animals are taken on. It is a shame, and in many ways a waste.
I agree with some of your other points, When I started this thread there had not been many breeding successes but it appears they are starting to happen. It is a fine collection but as you say there is little space. hopefully this will change.
One thing that really annoys me about the collection is that last time i was there the puma and clouded leopard alternate in the cage, puma during the day, clouded leopard at night. see to me that is down right and utter carelessness and I have no doubt the main reason for the mate being killed. put yourself in the clouded leopards position. there is another cat invading its territory daily and marking the place. of course the first thing that moves in the cage is going to be attacked in fear that the predator has returned. again a waste of a cloudie!
Anyway I do hope this collection can sort out its kinks because if it does it will be one of the countries finest!
I disagree with your reasoning. The Louisville Zoo conducted a long-term study of urine samples in its 'Islands' rotation exhibit and found the increase in stress levels to be negligible. Furthermore, the Howletts cloudies all live within close proximity to one another yet that zoo has produced a huge number of cubs suggesting that this proximity to other cats is not a great disturbance to the leopards. Finally, clouded leopards live in the same territories as other large cats in the wild. If this caused them to kill any potential mates, there would be no clouded leopards! In my opinion, the reason is probably that the animals were too old when introduced. This is why Howletts make introductions early, as it reduces the chance of one partner killing the other.
EDIT: The event you are referring to also happened before this policy began, it has only ever been the one animal rotated with the pumas.
Last edited:
The female Clouded Leopard was lost several months before the Pumas were even born, let alone arrived on site. So you should be careful not to throw in accusations like that.
The remaining Clouded Leopard never once ventured from its sleeping den during the zoo opening hours so there was no reason why the otherwise empty cage could not be used to display the pumas. A smaller excercise cage has been added to the side of the main Cloudie exhibit (that cannot be seen from the public walkway) for the use of the pumas whilst the Clouded Leopard is able to indulge his nocturnal habits. I see little reason why this arrangement should not work.
johnstoni
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't say that to access an enclosure of moderate size in order to exercise would be to 'indulge'. There are conflicting studies about olfactory stressors on clouded leopards, although people have, IMHO, correctly identified the usual reasons for mate killing in clouded leopards being introductions of older animals.
I would be interested to read the Louisville zoo study, does anyone know what publication it appeared in?
As for the RSCC, it must not be forgotten that ISIS listed young as having been born at this facility not long after it had opened. I do not know if Howletts did the RSCC a favour and sent a pregnant female, who was later then unsuccessfully introduced to the male, or if the pair at the RSCC did indeed breed after a successful mating, only for disaster to strike on reintroducing them once the cubs had been reared. I would be interested to know what happened to the cubs, if they were parent/hand-reared, and if that was successful where they went.
The main reason I don't really like this rotational set-up with the pumas is that the Centre advertises Clouded Leopards as a species the public can see. It is one thing for a noctural animal to be allowed to remain inside and not show itself during opening hours, but altogether another if another species entirely occupies its enclosure during the day. I wonder what the plans are for clouded leopards at the RSCC.
I would be interested to read the Louisville zoo study, does anyone know what publication it appeared in?
As for the RSCC, it must not be forgotten that ISIS listed young as having been born at this facility not long after it had opened. I do not know if Howletts did the RSCC a favour and sent a pregnant female, who was later then unsuccessfully introduced to the male, or if the pair at the RSCC did indeed breed after a successful mating, only for disaster to strike on reintroducing them once the cubs had been reared. I would be interested to know what happened to the cubs, if they were parent/hand-reared, and if that was successful where they went.
The main reason I don't really like this rotational set-up with the pumas is that the Centre advertises Clouded Leopards as a species the public can see. It is one thing for a noctural animal to be allowed to remain inside and not show itself during opening hours, but altogether another if another species entirely occupies its enclosure during the day. I wonder what the plans are for clouded leopards at the RSCC.
It would be good for some of you to stop speculating and get some of your facts correct about RSCC. I personally think the collection has done well in recent breeding successes, the centre is looking better each year and a great deal of improvements have been made - it all takes time and Rome was not renovated in a day. The staff and the director in fact have a great deal of past experience with specialised animals and negative comments should not be made by individuals who do not know what they are talking about. Perhaps some of you would do a better job with the collection and facility, and could sacrifice more than the current management team??? Perhaps the points and news below will clarify the situation for you:
BALABAC CHEVROTAINS
Indeed RSCC has lost 7 animals, 5 of them died due to a copper problem in their system which in fact came from the Philippines due to diet deficiencies. And the research done has shown it was not due to the husbandry or care at RSCC. This is a tragic shame, however the next batch of animals will be pre tested before leaving so that the animals that arrive are in perfect shape. Wroclaw have a pair which came in with no issues and two offspring, the RSCC male is ok and copper levels fine so he will be paired with a young female born at Wroclaw. The program will be added to to ensure a good captive future for the species in Europe. Two of the Mouse Deer died from a toxic reaction to Brussel Sprouts not ever noted before in captivity with Chevrotains. This was very sad but can happen.
CLOUDED LEOPARD/PUMA
The Clouded Leopard killed his mate in early 2008, well before RSCC had Puma - occassionally there are often killer male Cloudies and he was sadly a nervous and highly strung cat - it had nothing to do with a mixed exhibit. He does not like being out in the daytime so that is why there are Puma in the enclosure in the day, they each have their own houses and off show exercise enclosure. The animals are in excellent condition and health and are well looked after!
GIANT SQUIRRELS
Two pairs arrived from Sri Lanka, one pair are old and the female arrived with a massive abscess in her jaw due to disease, and sadly she died after extensive vet work to save her. These things happen! The other Squirrels are doing really well and another female is arriving soon.
RSCC BREEDING SUCCESSES
RSCC's animals are all young due to the fact it is a new collection, it takes some time for animals to settle in and also be old enough to breed. SO far RSCC has bred the following species, which to be frank some of which are very significant indeed:
Black Footed Cat
Ocelot
Jaguarundi
Fishing Cat
Red Ruffed Lemur
New Guinea Singing Dog
Emperor Tamarin
Fat Tailed Dwarf Lemur
Bengal Loris
Potto
Toco Toucan
Smooth Coated Otter
Goeldi's Monkey
That is about 25% of the collection so far and there are still a number of animals too young to breed or that will start soon. And there are some that are due soon. It would be nice to see more support for the collection, not everywhere is the same and Im glad that there are still a few maverick collections out there that will ensure that new species are worked with so that more people can be educated about them. I think there are a few enclosures at RSCC that are not 100%, however this is changing over time - and certainly all of the animals look in excellent condition and are well cared for.... Remember size is not everything, enrichment and care is often far more critical. Do you see the Sun Bears stereotyping? In fact the male stereotyped when he arrived (previously he was locked in a tiny cage outside a disco in Cambodia) and he no longer does. Must give some credit to the RSCC! Can we all start talking about what is positive about a collection?
BALABAC CHEVROTAINS
Indeed RSCC has lost 7 animals, 5 of them died due to a copper problem in their system which in fact came from the Philippines due to diet deficiencies. And the research done has shown it was not due to the husbandry or care at RSCC. This is a tragic shame, however the next batch of animals will be pre tested before leaving so that the animals that arrive are in perfect shape. Wroclaw have a pair which came in with no issues and two offspring, the RSCC male is ok and copper levels fine so he will be paired with a young female born at Wroclaw. The program will be added to to ensure a good captive future for the species in Europe. Two of the Mouse Deer died from a toxic reaction to Brussel Sprouts not ever noted before in captivity with Chevrotains. This was very sad but can happen.
CLOUDED LEOPARD/PUMA
The Clouded Leopard killed his mate in early 2008, well before RSCC had Puma - occassionally there are often killer male Cloudies and he was sadly a nervous and highly strung cat - it had nothing to do with a mixed exhibit. He does not like being out in the daytime so that is why there are Puma in the enclosure in the day, they each have their own houses and off show exercise enclosure. The animals are in excellent condition and health and are well looked after!
GIANT SQUIRRELS
Two pairs arrived from Sri Lanka, one pair are old and the female arrived with a massive abscess in her jaw due to disease, and sadly she died after extensive vet work to save her. These things happen! The other Squirrels are doing really well and another female is arriving soon.
RSCC BREEDING SUCCESSES
RSCC's animals are all young due to the fact it is a new collection, it takes some time for animals to settle in and also be old enough to breed. SO far RSCC has bred the following species, which to be frank some of which are very significant indeed:
Black Footed Cat
Ocelot
Jaguarundi
Fishing Cat
Red Ruffed Lemur
New Guinea Singing Dog
Emperor Tamarin
Fat Tailed Dwarf Lemur
Bengal Loris
Potto
Toco Toucan
Smooth Coated Otter
Goeldi's Monkey
That is about 25% of the collection so far and there are still a number of animals too young to breed or that will start soon. And there are some that are due soon. It would be nice to see more support for the collection, not everywhere is the same and Im glad that there are still a few maverick collections out there that will ensure that new species are worked with so that more people can be educated about them. I think there are a few enclosures at RSCC that are not 100%, however this is changing over time - and certainly all of the animals look in excellent condition and are well cared for.... Remember size is not everything, enrichment and care is often far more critical. Do you see the Sun Bears stereotyping? In fact the male stereotyped when he arrived (previously he was locked in a tiny cage outside a disco in Cambodia) and he no longer does. Must give some credit to the RSCC! Can we all start talking about what is positive about a collection?
I have long been an advocate for the RSCC on this site, and I do love the collection. However, I think you hit the nail on the head when you say that Rome wasn't built in a day and, in my opinion, the zoo's management need to take this into account. Bringing in new species is all very well, but the site is already over-crowded and many of the enclosures are unsuitable for their inhabitants. If the long-discussed expansion did finally happen then great - bring in giant panda, javan rhino and god knows what else, until then, I think they need to really focus on improving the current facilities. As I said, I love the RSCC and think its heart is in the right place, but I can't see it going anywhere other than down hill if the current attitude of "grab em whilst their hot" is maintained.
Bit odd that 5 chevrotain survive quite a few months in Wroclaws' quarantaine but die as soon as they hit UK soil due to factors that were sustained in the Phillippines? Could happen, but still odd...
Not to say i don't like all the new species in Europe...
Not to say i don't like all the new species in Europe...