I saw the last proboscis monkey in Stuttgart (Wilhelma) Zoo the day before it was sent to New York (Bronx) Zoo. I remember thinking then that we might not see any more in Europe…..
I still that think that it is highly improbable that there will be South American river dolphins in Europe again but, as you comment, "never say never".
Finally I must just add that this is a lovely photograph of this dolphin.
As to lintworm's comment: a sustainable population of freshwater dolphins, kept in acceptable conditions, would cost a very large amount of money, and certainly far more than Proboscis Monkeys.
Apenheul has already lost 3.0 specimens since 2011. European zoos have been phasing out the leaf-eating Old world monkey species (doucs, nilghiri etc.) over the last decades due to their expensive diet. Maybe Apenheul'll get proboscis monkey females in the future (as kind of an exclusive, "one-of-a-kind special" no other European zoo has, but I wonder whether the species will be able to establish itself in European zoos for any longer period this time.
As for the boto: Duisburg Zoo tried to get specimens in the past, and failed. Given the financial situation of the city of Duisburg (D - like Detroit...), I doubt they're in for more attempts. They already have to fight to justify their bottlenose dolphin husbandry. And the other zoos having money in their pocket would rather build a giant otter pool than getting river dolphins and the ire of the dolphin protesters included...
Sadly, I doubt that any zoo in Europe or North America would take on the challenge, but it does look as if this is a species capable of being acclimatised in zoos. Maybe somebody in Singapore, China or Japan would feel differently.
After the failure of breeding and saving baiji, I believe China won't try the husbandry of fresh-water dolphins again, except the finless porpoises, which we HAVE TO try.
I saw the last proboscis monkey in Stuttgart (Wilhelma) Zoo the day before it was sent to New York (Bronx) Zoo. I remember thinking then that we might not see any more in Europe…..
I still that think that it is highly improbable that there will be South American river dolphins in Europe again but, as you comment, "never say never".
Finally I must just add that this is a lovely photograph of this dolphin.
