I know that Tyson (the young male in the photo) did share with a much older female called Winnie, but I didn't see her on this occasion so I'm not sure if she is still around or not.
If Edinburgh hadn't aimed to go into this species several years ago (didn't he arrive at Edinburgh from Prague zoo?), I cannot see Howletts attempting to continue with this species. In some ways I think it was fortunate that Edinburgh at the time couldn't find a mate for him while the male had passed away at Howletts leaving them with the opportunity to place their young male there, the only UK institution that has bred this species. I'm hopeful as they have now ended up with a young male, so rather than just letting the older animals die out and going out of keeping this species, they now have a young animal and can afford to spend some time trying to source a mate for him.
I'm hopeful as they have now ended up with a young male, so rather than just letting the older animals die out and going out of keeping this species, they now have a young animal and can afford to spend some time trying to source a mate for him.
Agree. If they'd been left with the old female, that would probably have been the end of them. However, getting a new one might be very difficult, as females are in short supply- nowhere of the few zoos that have them have extra females, its either single males or pairs, except possibly Johannesburg/Pretoria or San Diego.
Yes he is called Tyson and they brought him in to be with 24 year old Winnie however she unfortunatley died and now they are looking for a new female at zoos in the USA and Europe.
Hope they are succesful. Always enjoyed hearing the destructive adventures of Tyson when he was at Edinburgh! I'm sure he's keeping the keepers at Howletts on their toes! I really like this species in general, good, hard, tough creatures and smart with it too!
