johnstoni
Well-Known Member
I mean this respectfully when I say I thought this thread started off in quite an interesting way, I think it is valid to examine the 'breeding success' (there are many definitions of this, but I am interested in young being produced and parent reared to go on and produce further generations elsewhere or at Chester). While mixed-gender groups of meerkat, dwarf mongoose, crested porcupine, and wallaby should be cause for concern if they are NOT breeding successfully (yet many are sensibly prevented from doing so), I wouldn't attribute these to the overall success of a zoological collection, as they can and do breed successfully in zoos which many would consider to be substandard.
As someone points out, breeding success should only be examined where the intention was to breed. If there was no recommendation to breed jaguar, then there is little point questioning how successful Chester is with this species if they are separating sexes or keeping them on contraceptive implants.
While I don't believe Chester has been very successful with Asiatic lions in the last few years, this definitely follows a trend across many zoos holding this species, and may or may not be associated with the very small founder group imported into Europe around 1990. For the first generation of these animals, cubs were more common, now we see cubs at London or Bristol as a real event, and certainly in the UK the rate has slowed in the last few years to just one collection having a successful birth/rearing.
I am not so familiar with Chester's black rhino breeding history since Emma was hand-raised. They may not be particularly successful in proportion to the number of animals they hold now, but they are still more successful than most other UK collections that have attempted to breed this species. Time will tell whether chester-born rhino grow up to be healthy, long-lived breeding adults...certainly some of the London and Bristol-born calves didnt.
As someone points out, breeding success should only be examined where the intention was to breed. If there was no recommendation to breed jaguar, then there is little point questioning how successful Chester is with this species if they are separating sexes or keeping them on contraceptive implants.
While I don't believe Chester has been very successful with Asiatic lions in the last few years, this definitely follows a trend across many zoos holding this species, and may or may not be associated with the very small founder group imported into Europe around 1990. For the first generation of these animals, cubs were more common, now we see cubs at London or Bristol as a real event, and certainly in the UK the rate has slowed in the last few years to just one collection having a successful birth/rearing.
I am not so familiar with Chester's black rhino breeding history since Emma was hand-raised. They may not be particularly successful in proportion to the number of animals they hold now, but they are still more successful than most other UK collections that have attempted to breed this species. Time will tell whether chester-born rhino grow up to be healthy, long-lived breeding adults...certainly some of the London and Bristol-born calves didnt.
