Oh goodness, has this been updated since then? I just read an article today the Khali the female sloth bear from Smithsonian National Zoo moved her recently on a breeding recommendation. Definitely a step down from the DC exhibit.
Oh goodness, has this been updated since then? I just read an article today the Khali the female sloth bear from Smithsonian National Zoo moved her recently on a breeding recommendation. Definitely a step down from the DC exhibit.
The bear grottoes at Little Rock Zoo are horrendous (all 4 of them) and they don't seem to have changed much since they were first built many moons ago.
Oh goodness, has this been updated since then? I just read an article today the Khali the female sloth bear from Smithsonian National Zoo moved her recently on a breeding recommendation. Definitely a step down from the DC exhibit.
I have often noticed that too. However, with a captive population the animals have to be placed somewhere and I think often the SB organisers sometimes have no choice but to direct that animals go to substandard exhibits- if the animals need to move and these are the only places available.
About ten per cent, if that, of the size of the exhibit for this species abandoned at London . Even allowing for the fact that EAZA is not AAZA, there seems a bit of a discrepancy here.
What confuses me is I am not sure why they need to represent Khali's genes or risk it. I believe she had two cubs in the past, and she recently had Remy last year. Also with the fact she ate two of her cubs last year, should they attempt to breed her again so soon? It's almost like she's being punished for that behavior! Even though I know she isn't.
However, the article also mentioned her and the male Francois in DC were interested in each other this breeding season. They did not allow them to mate. Maybe she's also being eliminated so he forgets about her and/or make room to keep the cubs?
I agree, though EAZA`s recommendations are aimed at avoiding that of course. Animals do sometimes still end up in "sub-standard" collections, though in fairness probably not as much as they used to do.
I have seen various older studbooks and most contain lots of registered animals in all sorts of collections from circuses to private collections (but that is not to say that these are bad necessarily, some of the latter are actually very good).
But this enclosure in the photo does not give a great impression.
The 2014 Master Plan states that "the old bear grottoes do not represent the current thinking in yard size or state of the art exhibitry...keeper areas are small and potentially dangerous. The entire complex is suffering from years of wear and tear...completely replaced within the next 10 years". The series of grottoes here and in the Small Carnivore area will be combined to create modern exhibits for tigers, sloth bears, binturongs and a variety of smaller animals.
