ZSL London Zoo Marine Iguanas in the 1930s

[Bwassa]

I have recently acquired a London Zoo guide from 1933. It mentions that they had Marine Iguanas in the reptile house, and brought seaweed from Cornwall for their diet.
Does anybody know any more details ? How many they had? How long they lived ?
Have any other collections attempted to keep Marine Iguanas since ?

 

[Jurek7]

New York (Bronx?) had Marine Iguanas in 1930s. They were placed on grassy exhibit and, like many reptiles do in stress, refused to eat any type of seaweed or anything else.

They were brought from Galapagos by William Beebe together with some other Galapagos animals, like Swallow-tailed Gulls.

 

[Tim May]

Not surprisingly, I don’t think that any zoos have been very successful with keeping marine iguanas.

Belle Vue Zoo (Manchester) had three marine iguanas, which refused to eat and did not live for long. (Somewhere I have further details of these Manchester animals, but it will take me a while to find it.)

I think that marine iguanas have also been kept in Frankfurt Zoo.

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

I hope together we can discover the underlining reasons that precluded any marine iguanas (of this tiny set of immigrants) from "doing well" in captivity. One has to consider the level of reptile management proficiency at the time, the transport and stress factor, the method of exhibitry (did it replicate their natural environment and their social, behavioral and reproductive strategies in the wild?).

It be nice if any of us would be able to dig up some publications on marine iguana keeping from that time ...

 

[Jurek7]

I think reptile husbandry in 1930's was very poor. I wouldn't be surprised if today Marine Iguanas could be kept without big problems. They are not exclusively algae-eaters, wild ones visiting research station ate various human food, even pudding!

But getting them from Galapagos is perhaps, impossible.

 

[gentle lemur]

I think it would be difficult and expensive to replicate the conditions in the Galapagos: very cold sea water and very hot rocks would be difficult to combine (without the Humboldt current to help) and you'd need some fancy kit to stop the viewing windows from misting up.
You'd need to persuade the Ecuadorean government to let you collect some juveniles; heaven knows what they would want in return.

Alan

 

[Tim May]

Marine iguanas are not listed in the London Zoo guide for 1932.

As Bwassa mentioned, the species is listed in the 1933 guide. This publication does not state how many specimens there were, but it is apparent that there were several.

According to the 1934 guide, there is only a solitary specimen in the Reptile House. The species is not mentioned at all in the 1935 guide; if such an unusual species were still in the collection, it would have probably been listed. It would appear, therefore, that they did not live for very long.

Incidentally, although I have not had the opportunity to do an exhaustive check of International Zoo Yearbooks, it is worth noting the 1966 edition lists four marine iguanas at Brookfield Zoo (Chicago) and also four at Frankfurt Zoo.

 

[Bwassa]

Thanks guys, especially Tim, for your info. As Gentle Lemur says, it would be difficult to replicate the Galapagos for a zoo, but if anybody manages it, it would be one hell of an exhibit !

 

[Jurek7]

it would be difficult to replicate the Galapagos for a zoo, but if anybody manages it, it would be one hell of an exhibit !

Yep, I dreamed once of Galapagos exhibit in some zoo or museum - a hall with all Darwin animals brought together - giant tortoises, iguanas, finches and all. Pity than Ecuadorian government doesn't allow any exports!

 

[Tim May]

Belle Vue Zoo (Manchester) had three marine iguanas, which refused to eat and did not live for long. (Somewhere I have further details of these Manchester animals, but it will take me a while to find it.)

It has taken me a while to follow up on my earlier post, but more information about the Belle Vue marine iguanas:-

Three specimens arrived at Belle Vue, Manchester, on 25th June 1964. Sadly, none of the trio lived long; the last died on 6th September.

Two refused to eat anything; one would eat an occasional tomato.

Reference: The Reptiles of Belle Vue 1950 – 1977; David Barnaby & Clive Bennett; 1989

 

[Chlidonias]

I think it would be difficult and expensive to replicate the conditions in the Galapagos: very cold sea water and very hot rocks would be difficult to combine (without the Humboldt current to help) and you'd need some fancy kit to stop the viewing windows from misting up.

I don't think that would actually be necessary. The iguanas only ever enter the water to feed, and only remain in it as long as they can before becoming numbed. As the seaweed in a captive situation wouldn't be actually grown in the pool, the temperature of the water would probably be irrelevant. The air and rock temperatures would be more important as this is where the iguanas would be spending almost all their time, and these are easily arranged.

 

[johnstoni]

I think it would be difficult and expensive to replicate the conditions in the Galapagos: very cold sea water and very hot rocks would be difficult to combine (without the Humboldt current to help) and you'd need some fancy kit to stop the viewing windows from misting up.
You'd need to persuade the Ecuadorean government to let you collect some juveniles; heaven knows what they would want in return.

Alan

Since Rafael Correa was elected, the Ecuadorian government is taking the preservation of the Galapagos islands seriously for the first time in many, many years. Just as a foreign expedition to our shores to pick up a few red squirrels, water voles, tree sparrows, (or any other species we have failed to prevent the decline of) would be met with ridicule and strong opposition, I would be surprised if Ecuador responded any differently.

I personally would feel a little sad to see attempts to work with Marine Iguanas ex situ, unless there was a real need to conserve them in this way.

 

[chrisbarela]

This too, is one of my "blue sky" exhibits. And I agree with the other posts here that herp care has vastly improved since the 30's or even the 60's. And, while I am in no way an expert on reptile husbandry, I would think that an exhibit to replicate marine iguanas would be no more of a difficult task that most large aquarium exhibits. How I always imagined it was to take the Monterrey Bay Aquarium kelp tank and add a rocky cliff extending up out of the water from there. Chilling the water is expensive but common practice in aquariums. I would display several species of native fish and inverts in the water half and include the red cliff crabs along with the marine iguanas above. I think the real trick would be to aqua-culture the actual algae that they feed on in the tank itself. I would also use actual ocean water (seems that exhibits do much better with pumped sea water).
In my "blue sky" exhibit I would treat each island as it's own exhibit - separate from each other so that the guest understands them literally as islands and what it means to evolution. And while it is a shame that Ecuador won't export these unique animals, the real crime is that I don't believe any zoo or aquarium would devote the resources or space to an fully immersive Galapagos exhibit since it had never been done before (and thus the guest/profit increase could not be estimated). Of course this is EXACTLY why they should do an exhibit like this!

 

[reduakari]

This too, is one of my "blue sky" exhibits. And I agree with the other posts here that herp care has vastly improved since the 30's or even the 60's. And, while I am in no way an expert on reptile husbandry, I would think that an exhibit to replicate marine iguanas would be no more of a difficult task that most large aquarium exhibits. How I always imagined it was to take the Monterrey Bay Aquarium kelp tank and add a rocky cliff extending up out of the water from there. Chilling the water is expensive but common practice in aquariums. I would display several species of native fish and inverts in the water half and include the red cliff crabs along with the marine iguanas above. I think the real trick would be to aqua-culture the actual algae that they feed on in the tank itself. I would also use actual ocean water (seems that exhibits do much better with pumped sea water).
In my "blue sky" exhibit I would treat each island as it's own exhibit - separate from each other so that the guest understands them literally as islands and what it means to evolution. And while it is a shame that Ecuador won't export these unique animals, the real crime is that I don't believe any zoo or aquarium would devote the resources or space to an fully immersive Galapagos exhibit since it had never been done before (and thus the guest/profit increase could not be estimated). Of course this is EXACTLY why they should do an exhibit like this!

Back in the 1980s I recall seeing a fully-developed design for an immersive Galapagos exhibit at the San Diego Zoo, done by Jon Coe the pioneering zoo designer. It included a large outdoor salt-water environment for marine iguanas. Obviously it never happened, probably because of export restrictions, but the notion of a zoo that at the time was both capable of carrying out and open to such a concept is intriguing to think about. This was of course when San Diego was building exhibits like the Kopje and Tiger River, not EO and Tasmanian climbing walls.

 

[condor]

In my "blue sky" exhibit I would treat each island as it's own exhibit - separate from each other so that the guest understands them literally as islands and what it means to evolution

To fully explain the situation a zoo shouldn't divide it into separate islands. If you've ever had the chance to visit the Galapagos–a remarkable experience–you'll notice that the majority of the species are found on many/most islands in the archipelago (lava lizards, Phyllodactylus geckos and mockingbirds are the main exceptions). For example, 9 of the 14 species of Galapagos finches are found on most islands.
Evolution in isolation happens all the time, all around the world. This can easily be shown in exhibits dealing with other world regions. Evolution in sympatry or parapatry, as happened among e.g. many of the Darwin's finches (ground vs. tree feeder, and specializing on big seeds/small seeds/soft plant parts/insects, etc), is far less obvious most other places in the world.

(another famous example of sympatric/parapatric speciation are the cichlids of the African Great Lakes, but there are others.)

 

[zoomaniac]

This was of course when San Diego was building exhibits like the Kopje and Tiger River, not EO and Tasmanian climbing walls.

Can you hear my yells of aggreement and my applause?

 

[Tim May]

I have recently acquired a London Zoo guide from 1933. It mentions that they had Marine Iguanas in the reptile house, and brought seaweed from Cornwall for their diet.
Does anybody know any more details ? How many they had? How long they lived

Marine iguanas are not listed in the London Zoo guide for 1932.

As Bwassa mentioned, the species is listed in the 1933 guide. This publication does not state how many specimens there were, but it is apparent that there were several.

According to the 1934 guide, there is only a solitary specimen in the Reptile House. The species is not mentioned at all in the 1935 guide........

A little more information about those London Zoo marine iguanas:

London Zoo received four marine iguanas, together with a Galapagos flightless cormorant, on 20th December 1932; these animals were presented by Lord Moyne and it was the first time either species had been represented in the ZSL collection.

 

[zooman64]

It has taken me a while to follow up on my earlier post, but more information about the Belle Vue marine iguanas:-

Three specimens arrived at Belle Vue, Manchester, on 25th June 1964. Sadly, none of the trio lived long; the last died on 6th September.

Two refused to eat anything; one would eat an occasional tomato.

Reference: The Reptiles of Belle Vue 1950 – 1977; David Barnaby & Clive Bennett; 1989

Very interesting to learn that Belle Vue Zoo acquired a trio of Marine Iguanas in 1964. Very recently I spent several days at the Durrell Wildlife Park (Jersey Zoo) looking through archive material and there I discovered a typed sheet of paper from 1964 showing that in 1964 a single Marine Iguana was obtained by Jersey Zoo. It's not mentioned in the annual report for that year, and died later that same year. It is tempting to speculate that it was probably obtained from the same dealer/importation as the Belle Vue specimens.

I believe I'm right in saying (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that currently the giant tortoises are the only representatives of Galapagos fauna to be found in captivity.

 

[DavidBrown]

A little more information about those London Zoo marine iguanas:

London Zoo received four marine iguanas, together with a Galapagos flightless cormorant, on 20th December 1932; these animals were presented by Lord Moyne and it was the first time either species had been represented in the ZSL collection.

Do you have any idea how long the iguanas or the cormorant lived at the zoo, Tim?

 

[Tim May]

Do you have any idea how long the iguanas or the cormorant lived at the zoo, Tim?

Four marine iguanas were received at the end of 1932; I don’t know exactly how long they lived but I doubt it was long.

The species is mentioned in the 1933 guide; according to the 1934 guide there is only a single specimen in the Reptile House; the 1935 guide doesn’t mention marine iguana at all. (If such an unusual species were still in the collection, it would probably feature in the guide so I assume that none were there when this guide was published.)

I don’t know off-hand about the flightless cormorant; I would need to do some further checking.